Letters Du Jour - English PDF

A Workshop - Pronunciation from A [eI*] to Z [zi]
page 1
Workshop - LETTERS du JOUR - Workshop
PRONUNCIATION
from A [eI*]
to Z [zi]
Rocco Dal Vera

University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music
page 2
PRONUNCIATION AUTHORITIES CONSULTED ......................................................................................................................3

INDEX TO LETTER DU JOUR ...................................................................................................................................................8
Letter du Jour A .....................................................................................................................................................11
[œ]/a, as in HAD.......................................................................................................................................................................11
[A]/ah, as in FATHER ...............................................................................................................................................................12
[O]/aw, as in LAWYER ..............................................................................................................................................................13
[eI*]/ay as in HAY ......................................................................................................................................................................13
Letter du Jour B......................................................................................................................................................17
[b]/b, as in BUBBLE ..................................................................................................................................................................17
Letter du Jour C .....................................................................................................................................................19
[tS]/ch, as in CHURCH ..............................................................................................................................................................19
Letter du Jour D .....................................................................................................................................................22
[d]/d, as in DREADED ..............................................................................................................................................................22
Letter du Jour E ......................................................................................................................................................25
[i]/ee as in HEED ......................................................................................................................................................................25
[E]/e as in HEAD.......................................................................................................................................................................26
Letter du Jour F ......................................................................................................................................................28
[f]/f as in FLUFF .......................................................................................................................................................................28
Letter du Jour G .....................................................................................................................................................30
[g]/g as in GIGGLE ...................................................................................................................................................................30
Letter du Jour H .....................................................................................................................................................33
[h]/h as in HOW .......................................................................................................................................................................33
[çj]/hy as in HUGE ...................................................................................................................................................................34
Letter du Jour I ......................................................................................................................................................36
[I]/i, as in HID ..........................................................................................................................................................................36
[´]/´, the "schwa", or neutral vowel.......................................................................................................................................37
[aI*]/i@, as in HIGH ......................................................................................................................................................................37
Letter du Jour J ......................................................................................................................................................40
[dZ]/j, as in JUDGE....................................................................................................................................................................40
Letter du Jour K .....................................................................................................................................................42
[k]/k, as in COOK .....................................................................................................................................................................42
Letter du Jour L ......................................................................................................................................................44
[l,:]/l, as in LULL.......................................................................................................................................................................44
Letter du Jour M ....................................................................................................................................................47
[m]/m, as in MAMMAL ............................................................................................................................................................47
Letter du Jour N .....................................................................................................................................................49
[n]/n, as in NANNY ..................................................................................................................................................................49
[N]/ng, as in SINGING ..............................................................................................................................................................49
Letter du Jour O .....................................................................................................................................................52
[oU*]/oh, as in HOE ....................................................................................................................................................................52
[aU*]/ow, as in HOW ..................................................................................................................................................................53
[OI*]/oi, as in HOIST ..................................................................................................................................................................53
[Å]/o, as in HOT........................................................................................................................................................................54
Letter du Jour P ......................................................................................................................................................56
[p]/p, as in POPULAR ...............................................................................................................................................................56
Letter du Jour Q .....................................................................................................................................................59
Letter du Jour R .....................................................................................................................................................60
[r]/r, as in REWRITE.................................................................................................................................................................60
[‰±]/UR and [„]/ur, as in MURMUR ["m‰±m„] ...........................................................................................................................62
Letter du Jour S ......................................................................................................................................................66
[s]/s as in SERIOUSNESS ..........................................................................................................................................................66
[S]/sh, as in SHUSH ..................................................................................................................................................................68
Letter du Jour T .....................................................................................................................................................70
[t]/t, as in TOTALITY ...............................................................................................................................................................70
[T]/th, as in THING, & [D]/th, as in THIS................................................................................................................................72
Letter du Jour U .....................................................................................................................................................74
[u]/u, as in PRUNE....................................................................................................................................................................74
[U]/uu, as in PUT ......................................................................................................................................................................75
[ø]/u, as in HUT .......................................................................................................................................................................75
Letter du Jour V .....................................................................................................................................................77
[v]/v, as in VALVE....................................................................................................................................................................77
Letter du Jour W ....................................................................................................................................................79
[w]/w, as in WITCH, & [∑]/hw, as in WHICH .........................................................................................................................79
Letter du Jour X .....................................................................................................................................................81
Letter du Jour Y......................................................................................................................................................82
[È]/ee, as in EASY......................................................................................................................................................................82
[j]/y, as in YOU.........................................................................................................................................................................83
Letter du Jour Z ......................................................................................................................................................85
[z]/z, as in ZONES.....................................................................................................................................................................85
[Z]/zh, as in AZURE ..................................................................................................................................................................85
WORDS THAT CHANGE WITH USE.........................................................................................................................................87
GLOSSARY FOR LETTER DU JOUR ..........................................................................................................................................90
page 3
LETTERS du JOUR - Workshop

Workshop -
P RONUNCI ATI ON from A [eI*] to Z
[zi]
Some pronunciations in the following section may strike you as so

foreign that they just don't seem right. What if you are convinced the
pronunciation dubbed "standard" is wrong? How did we pick standard
pronunciation? The following respected sources are used. There are 35 of
them because each has certain strengths and many sources disagree.
Pronunciation can be a contentious subject. Both Rocco and Bob (and
almost every other actor) have at some time experienced shock in finding
that our assumptions about "proper" speech are not necessarily shared by
the experts. In fact most of the words listed were chosen because they
gave us a jolt when we found out how they should be said.
Table LdJ .1 Pronunciation A uthorities

PRO N UN C IATIO N AUTH O RITIES C O N SULTED
English Pronouncing The Oxford English The Oxford A merican
Dictionary, Daniel J ones Dictionary, Sir A gustus Dictionary
Henry Murray, et al., eds.
NBC Handbook of A Dictionary of Modern Merriam Webster's 9th New
Pronunciation, Eugene, English Usage, H. W. Fowler Collegiate Dictionary
Ehrlich
A Dictionary of the English Speak With Distinction, Ten Thousand Words: How
Language, J oseph Worcester Edith W. Skinner to Pronounce Them,
J osephene Turck Baker
The Century Dictionary, Webster's Collegiate 18,000 Words Often
William Whitney, Benjamin Dictionary Mispronounced, W. H. P.
Smith Pfyfe
The New Century Desk-Book of 25,000 Words Webster's New International
Dictionary, H. G. Emery, K. Frequently Mispronounced, Dictionary
G. Brewster, eds. Frank Vizetelly
Everyday Errors in Common Errors in English The A merican College
Pronunciation, J ohn and How to A void Them, Encyclopedic Dictionary
Gilmartin A lexander Witherspoon
A Pronouncing Dictionary The Winston Dictionary Webster's Third New
of A merican English, J ohn Internatiuonal Dictionary
Kenyon, Thomas Knott
page 4
Funk & Wagnalls New The A merican Heritage The Scribner-Bantam

Practical Standard Dictionary English Dictionary
Dictionary
Funk & Wagnalls Standard Webster's Ninth New The Random House
Dictionary Collegiate Dictionary Dictionary of the English
Language
Webster's New Twentieth Webster's New World Webster's New World Guide
Century Dictionary Dictionary to Pronunciation, William
Chisholm
Webster's II New Riverside The New York Times
Dictionary Everyday Reader's
Dictionary of
Misunderstood, Misused,
and Mispronounced Words,
Lawrence Urdang, ed.
There is No Zoo in Zoology, Shakespeare's Names, Helge Shakespeare's
and Other Beastly Kökeritz Pronunciation, Helge
Mispronunciations, Charles Kökeritz
Elster
Note that charts refer to PREFERRED or STANDARD (the most elevated or

cultured of pronunciations) and to NON-STANDARD. They do not refer to RIGHT
and WRONG nor to CORRECT and INCORRECT pronunciation. What if it sounds
British to your ear? Some pronunciations may, but they are actually based on a
dialect called Elevated Standard. That is a stage dialect we will cover more fully
in Chapter 5. We assume that all actors wish to know the preferred
pronunciation of a word, and then make their own choices, depending on
different contexts they are in and characters they are playing. If you're doing a
voice-over for a medical video, you will want to say "respiratory" [rI."spaI*´*.r´.ÆtO´*.rÈ],
"cerebral" ["sE.r´.br´:], and "bulimia"[bju."lI.mI.´] in order to sound authoritative and
credible - even though many doctors don't say them that way. But, if those
words come up in an "After-School Special", the more commonly heard
pronunciation will probably be the better choice. Remember, good speech is
not about showing off, it is what communicates most effectively under the
circumstances. Good speech is what works.
The following workshop section has two primary goals:

page 5
1. to provide the tools for you to adjust toward a neutral, non-regional

sound - when you wish to do so. Most student actors begin their studies
with at least broadly regional, and possibly narrowly dialectal speech.
2. to assist you in eliminating common problems and stumbling blocks
associated with each sound.
If you can adjust these influences at will, you have a much better
chance at mastering all language. Instead of layering every other dialect
on top of your own, thus creating a potentially hopeless muddle, you can
start clean, without distraction. Instead of forcing each character to
employ your own articulation style, you have choice. You can use as many
or as few of your own speech tendencies as you wish.
page 6
LETTERS D U J O UR - O N E LETTER AT A TIM E.

How do you organize that task? Most seemingly monumental tasks simply
need to be broken down into manageable, daily jobs. The big tasks can
therefore even become pleasurable. Because the alphabet is the single most
familiar way in which most of us organize the sounds in English, we have
created a series of exercises for each letter. Your daily LETTER du JOUR menu
includes these parts:
D ESC RIPTIO N : categories the sound falls into, such as voiced/unvoiced,

fricative/glide, etc. (see pp. _____).
WAY S TO PRO N O UN C E
Table. 3.9 Ways to Pron. Example
IPA Respelling
Examples of words and their various spellings
Symbol
Here you will see the many different sounds the
letter can represent.
FO RM ATIO N : what lips, tongue, vocal folds, and jaw are doing to make sound.
PLAC EM EN T PRO B LEM S: preferred sound quality, common placement errors.
ARTIC ULATIO N PRO B LEM S: ways sound slips out of line, changes through
regional dialects, drills to adjust sound to standard1.
D RILLS: tongue twisters, and phrases to practice
Table. 3.10 Mispronunciation Example

M O ST C O M M O N M ISPRO N UN C IATIO N S
Problem Word Preferred Pronunciation Non-Standard Pronunciation
Pronunciations are transcribed in phonetics as well as respelled so you can use

the system that's clearer for you.
Consider these three ways to use the material:
1Specific sound changes can be difficult to describe. We will use both phonetics and
respelling to indicate some of the ways speakers shift standard sounds. Refer to the vowel
and consonant charts (pp.___/___) to help you with the symbols and respelling keys.
page 7
1) Start at the beginning and work your way through A- to - Z, spending a

couple of sessions on the more complex sections, and breezing through
others. Some letters may take more "jours" than others. Note that A, J, O,
and R have two to three times more work connected with them than most
letters, while F, J, K, Q ,V and W are very brief work-outs. You may wish
two or three sessions for A alone, just to get used to the work. Then, on
some other days, you may actually be able to cover two or three full
letters, to average out a month of work.
2) Group sets of related sounds (as opposed to letters) together and work
them as units - all the plosive consonants, or all the front vowels, for
example. A Guide To Finding The So unds B y C atego ry follows.
3) Search for specific drills because you've been told you need work on
forming a particular letter or sound. If you get that kind of note from
your teacher, director or coach, the following Index to the Letter du
Jour will help you look up the approprate exercises. Because you might
get a note using either spelling or sound terms, and since there is such a
disparity between spelling and sound in English, we provide the index to
help you reconcile the two, and show you where to find the sections you
want.
page 8
SO UN D S B Y C ATEGO RY - AN IN D EX
Table. X.XX Guide To Sounds By Category

Letter du Jour - GUIDE TO FINDING SOUNDS BY CATEGORY
FRONT VOWELS BACK VOWELS CENTRAL VOWELS
Symbol Letter Page Symbol Letter Page Symbol Letter Page
[i]/ee E [A]/ah A/O [ø]/u U
[È]/ee Y [Å]/o O [´]/´ I
[I]/i I [O]/aw A/O [„]/ur R
[E]/e E [U]/uu U [‰±]/UR R
[œ]/a A [u]/oo U
DIPHTHONGS DIPHTHONGS/TRIPHTHONGS of [„]
Symbol Letter Page Symbol Letter Page
[eI*]/ay A [I„*]/ir R
[aI*]/i I [e„*]/air R
[OI*]/oi O [A„*]/ahr R
[aU*]/ow O [O„*]/or R
[oU*]/oh O [U„*]/uur R
[aI*„*]/i r R
[aU*„*]/owr R
CONSONANTS
PLOSIVE FRICATIVE AFFRICATE
Symbol Letter Page Symbol Letter Page Symbol Letter Page
[p]/p P [f]/f F [tS]/ch C
[b]/b B [v]/v V [dZ]/j J
[t]/t T [s]/s S LATERAL
[d]/d D [z]/z Z Symbol Letter Page
[k]/k K [S]/sh S [l]/l L
[g]/g G [Z]/zh Z [:]/l L
NASAL [T]/th T GLIDE
Symbol Letter Page [D]/th T Symbol Letter Page
[m]/m M [r]/r R [w]/w W
[n]/n N [∑]/hw W
[N]/ng N/A [j]/y Y
page 9
Table. X.XX Index-Letter du J our

IN D EX TO LETTER D U J O UR
SOUND WAYS THE SOUND APPEARS IN WORDS, Letter Page
IPA/Respelling SPELLING VARIETIES
[i] ee b e , see , recei ve, b ea k, peo ple, key -q uay , machi ne, E
fie ld, Cae sar, phoe nix, debris
[È] ee silly , chamois, Raleigh, goalie , Chelsea Y
[I] i i t, my th, gui lt, bu sy, take n, i ma ge, wo me n, captai n, I
bree ches, b e fore
[e] (not addressed in its pure form)
[E] e me t, dea d, leo pard, hei fer, b u ry-b e rry, gue st, sai d, E
a ny, Tha mes
[œ] a ha d, plai d, gua rantee A
[a] (not addressed in its pure form) a sk, au nt
[A] ah cal m, fa ther, hurrah A/O
[Å] o wa tch, ro ck, lau rel, sq ua sh, Law rence-Lau rence, O
fo rest, Glou cester, bureau cracy
[O] aw flaw , tau nt, bal k, a ll, ou ght, cho rus A/O
[o] (not addressed in its pure form) o pinion, O phelia, po etic
[U] uu too k, wo lf, wou ld, pu ll, wor sted U
[u] oo ru de, blue -blew , frui t, do , oo ze, sou p, shoe , U
through -thru -thró -threw
[ø] u tu b, co me, tou ch, bloo d, doe s U
[´] ´ a ffirm, soda , tele phone, possi ble, o ppose, purpo se, I
melo dy, u pon, su ppose, choru s, labyrinth, sirrah ,
natio nal, gorgeou s, viciou s, porou s, Confuciu s, the
(weak form before a consonant) , to (weak form before a consonant)
[„] ur over , sugar , ascer tain, mother , grandeur , R
taper -tapir , stubbor n, actor , cupboar d, sur prise,
sulfur , picture , martyr
[‰±] UR cer tain, fir st, cur t, myr tle, myrrh , wor se, rehear se, cour teous,
R
chauffeur , colo nel
[eI*] ay a te-ei ght, rai n-rei n-rei gn, pray -prey , grea t-gra te, A
gau ge, cliché , ballet , matinée
[aI*] i I -eye -aye , tie -Thai, thigh , I 'll-ais le-is le, I
b y -b uy -b ye , gui de, hei ght, beni gn, dia mond, fi re
[OI*] oi oy ster, oi l, boy , b uoy ant, Freu d O
[aU*] ow hou se, b ow -b ough O
[oU* oh so -sew -sow , sou l-so le-S eou l, coa t, doe -dough , mau ve, O
b eau -b ow , yeo man, broa ch-broo ch
[i„*] ir here -hear , deer -dear , pier -peer , weir d, R
Gloucestershire , souvenir
[e„*] air their -there , pair -pare -pear , pa rent, ma re, R
air -ere -e'er -heir -Ayr -Eyre
[A„*] ahr are , car , ser geant-Sar gent, hear th, guar d, catarrh , R
bizarre , bazaar
[O„*] or oar -ore -o'er -or , door , pour , war , dinosaur R
[U„*] uur poor , tour , sure , ju ry, Moor -moor -M oore R
page 10
[aI*„*] i r hire -higher , b yre -b uyer , dire -dyer , lyre -liar R

[aU*„*] owr flower -flour -flow'r , our -hour -Auer R
[b] b be, bubble, tube B
[tS] ch ch icken, c ello, wretch ed, nat ure C
[d] d d ab, padd le, stored D
[f] f f all, ph onetic, f luff , cough , half F
[g] g g ive, lag , egg , begg ar, ex amine, exh aust, gh ost G
[h] h h e, wh o, mish ap H
[∑] hw wh at, somewh ere W
[dZ] j J uly, g enuine, sold ier, j udg e, reg ion, exagg erate J
[k] k K im, c oat, ch aos, q uit, ex pend, back , plaque -plack K
[l,:] l l i l y, tall L
[m] m m ad, humm er, hymn , bomb , phlegm, calm , Ban ff M
[n] n n on e-n un , gunn ing, mn emon ic, pn eumatic, N
gn ome-N ome, rei gn -rei n -rai n
[N] ng si ng i ng , ban k, tongue N/A
[p] p p at, happ y, hop , hiccough P
[r] r r ight-r ite-wr ite-Wr ight, carr y, rh eumatism R
[s] s s aid, ps ychology, sch ism, c ent-s ent, di c e, ax , hi ss , pi zz a S
[S] sh sh oe, s ure, oc ean, mach ine, anx ious, mi ss ion, S
conscious, motion , schnapps
[t] t t op, bett er, hi t , helped , Th ames, pt omaine, doubt , ri ght T
[T] th th ick, Matth ew T
[D] th th is, lath e T
[v] v v erv e, of , Steph en-Stev en V
[w] w w eed, w ow, langu age, q u ip, o ne, San J uan W
[j] y y ou. brilli ant, u sual, kn ew-n ew, bea uty, J ung Y
[z] z z oom, x ylophone, di s aster, was , clos e, buzz , ex amine Z
[Z] zh negli g ée, mirag e, az ure, treas ure, bi j ou, Zs a Zs a Z
EXERCISE X.XX FINDING YOUR WAY THROUGH LETTER du JOUR
1.Make a list of your most frequently received pronunciation notes.
2.Using the Guide and the Index, identify the Letters that will cover your issues; (Some
problems may fall into more than one area.) For example:
"Don't say 'git.'" (E)
"Sounding a little too sibilant." (S, Z)
"Duke isn't DOOK, it's DYOOK." (Y)

page 11
3. Share your list with your imitating partners and the class to get their feedback, and to
plan which areas to concentrate on.
For the various tasks in this chapter and the workshop sequence,
twenty minute to half hour sessions are ideal, because the level of
concentration required is high. Breaks are important to allow information
to settle in. Be patient with yourself. This very technical work has a big
pay-off that comes with time. Mastering your own language is an
extraordinary thrill earned by tiny, intricate steps. But when mastery
comes, suddenly even your ideas seem better, finer and fuller, because
you are so much better at expressing them.
page 12
Letter du Jou r: A
WAY S TO PRO N O UN C E - 15!
Table LdJ .2 Letter du J our-A

IPA Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
Symbol
[i] ee leak, quay
[E] e dread
[œ ] a fad, guarantee, plaid
[A] ah father, suave, palm, hurrah
[Å] o what, laurel, Lawrence, bureaucracy
[O] aw drawl, fall, quality, daughter
[´] ´ above
[‰± ] ur earnest
[eI* ] ay great, fate, day, ail, gauge, gaol
[aI* ] i@ aisle
[aU* ] ow kraut, miaow
[oU* ] oh float, faux, mauve, beau
[I„* ] eer fear
[E„*] air hair, fare
[A„*] ahr far
We will focus on [œ]/a, [A]/ah, [O]/aw, and [eI*]/ay.

[œ]/a, as in H AD
FORMATION: Front of tongue low and relaxed, mouth wide open, the lowest of
front vowel sounds. Compare with nearest contrasting sounds by looking in a
mirror and saying HEAD [hEd], HAD [hœd] , HOD [hÅd].
PLACEMENT: If not correctly placed, can be the most tense and nasal2 sounding
vowel. Relax, make a slight yawn to lift your soft palate. Say HAD [hœd]. To test
for an overly nasal sound, pinch your nose closed and say the sound. If it
changes, then too much of the air and sound is being sent through your nose.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS:
1.- [œ]/a changing to [ E*œ ]/ea. Open your mouth wider, and faster.
Practice on: Nancy, imagine, natty, man, band, dandy
2Describing sound qualities in print is like writing wine reviews (rich, nutty, amusingly
fruity but unassuming...). We sometimes use following terms to describe problems with
sounds. You may wish to review them in the glossary if they are unfamiliar: nasal, tense,
bright, dark, sibilant, lateral lisp, off-glide, on-glide, round, blurred, overly-retroflexed,
hard.
page 13
a. - Daniel can't stand canned Spam.
b. - Hand the man another ham sandwich.
2.- [œN]/ang changing to [œI*N]/aing, or [EN]/eng. Keep the front of your tongue
low.
Practice on: band/bank, sand/sank, planned/plank
c. - The lanky man angrily drank himself into blankness.
d. - Dan dangled a sack of cash and his banker thanked him.
3.- [œr]/ar changing to [Er]/er. Put the [r]/r into the next syllable, so that HARRY
would be ["hœ rÈ]/HA-ree, not ["hE„* È]/HAIR-ee.
Practice on: arid, parry, barrier, marry, Barry, character, mariner
Use these pairs of words to separate the sounds [E]/e and [œ]/a:
merry/marry, berry/Barry, hairy/harry, Terry/tarry
e. - Harry, the baritone barrister, married the garrulous character actress Sharon
Harrington, and carried her off to his garret in a wheelbarrow with a parasol
attached.
[A]/ah, as in FATH ER
FORMATION: Back of tongue low and relaxed, mouth wide open, lips
unrounded, soft palate raised - as if the doctor just asked you to open your
mouth and say "ah". This sound is often used for singing practice because of its
openness.
PLACEMENT: This open vowel sound is a good place to practice releasing any
tenseness in your tone. Add a slight yawn and relax into the sound [hA]/hah.
- [A]/ah changing to [a]/a. The sound becomes too bright. Drop the back of the
tongue and relax the mouth farther open.
Practice on: suave, alms, hurrah, Milan, lava, barrage, lager, saga
a. - A h, father calms mama's qualms with a massage at the spa.

page 14
b. - Hurrah! Brahms and Mahler in concert at Baden Baden!
[O]/aw, as in LAWY ER
FORMATION: Back of tongue mid-low and relaxed, lips rounded.
PLACEMENT: Sound is warm, dark and rounded.
1. - [O]/aw changing to [A]/ah. The sound becomes too bright. Round the lips
more.
Practice on these word pairs saying the first word in the British manner with the "r" dropped,
then matching that sound on the second word:
lore/law, lord/laud, torn/taunt, or/awe, court/caught
2. - [O]/aw changing to [U´*]/uu´. This substitution is particularly common on the

East coast. Speak slowly. Look in a mirror and don't relax or change your lips,
or drop the center of your tongue during the sound.
Practice on: bawdy, caution, vault, hawk, talk, thought, stalk
a. - Paul Kaufman's awesome paunch daunted the staunchest tailors.
b. - Shaw bawled at the thought of his daughter marrying an awful pauper.
[eI*]/ay as in HAY
FORMATION: Diphthong. Front of tongue starts at mid-front level and rises to
high front level, Jaw closing slightly with action; lips relaxed and unrounded.
PLACEMENT: Sound needs to stay far forward in the mouth with a bright, clear
quality. Avoid letting the tongue drop and making the sound lax or dark.
- [eI*]/ay changing to [Í*]/ui. Keep the sound forward. Smile on the sound. Keep
the center of your tongue high.
- [eI*]/ay changing to [e]/ay. Regionally and with some dialects (especially those
influenced by Scots/Irish such as Canadian) the second part of the diphthong
will disappear.
page 15
Practice on: aid, weigh, train, name, survey, gauge, plague
a. - Today is the day they take the babies away.
b. - The caped and overweight lady sailed forward in a vague shapeless wave of
beige.
Table LdJ .3 A -Mispronounced

WO RD S M O ST FREQ UEN TLY M ISPRO N O UN C ED
aberrant ´."be´*.rńt ´ BER ńt "œ.b´.rńt A bu rńt
abyss ´."bIs ´ BIS "œ.bIs A bis
academia Æœ.k´."di.mI.´ A k´ DEE mi ´ Æœ.k´."deI*.mI.´ A k´ DAY mi ´
accent (n.) "œk.sEnt Ak sent Improper Stressing

œk."sEnt ak SENT
accent (v.)
accessory œk."sE.s´.rÈ ak SE s´ ree ´."sE.s´.rÈ ´ SE s´ ree
acclimate ´."klaI*.mIt ´ KLi@ mit "œk.l´.ÆmeI*t AK l´ MA YT
accompanist ´."køm.p´.nIst ´ KUM p´ nist ´."køm.p´.ni.Ist ´ KUM p´ nee ist
accompt ´."kaU*nt ´ KOWNT ´."kÅmt ´ KOMT

accouterment ´."ku.t„.mńt ´ KOO tur mńt ´."ku.tr´.mńt ´ KOO tr´ mńt
accurate "œ.kjU.rIt A kyuu rit "œ.k´.rIt A k´ rit
across ´."krÅs ´ KROS ´."krÅst ´ KROST
acumen ´."kju.mń ´ KYOO mń "œ.kju.mń AK yoo mń
adieu ´."dju ´ DYOO ´."du ´ DOO
adjective "œ.dZIk.tIv A jik tiv "œ.dZ´.tIv A j´ tiv
admirable "œd.m´.r´.b´: AD m´ r´ b´l œd."maI*´*.r´.b´: ad Mi@ r´ b´l

advertisement Æœd.v„."taI*z.mńt A D vur Ti@Z mńt Æœd."v‰±t.´z.mńt AD VUR t´z mńt
acceptable for British speech
aegis "i.dZIs EE jis "eI*.dZIs AY jis
aerie "E.rÈ E ree "I.rÈ, "œ.rÈ, "eI*„*.rÈ I ree, A ree,

AY ´ ree
Aesop "i.sÅp EE sop "eI*.sÅp AY sop
affluence "œ.flu.Ins A flu ins ´."flu.Ints ´ FLU ints
Albany (New York) "O:.b´.nÈ AWL b´ nee "œ:.b´.nÈ AL b´ nee
algae "œ:.dZÈ AL jee "œ:.dZeI*, "œ:.dZaI* AL jay, AL ji@
alleged ´."lEdZd ´ LEJD ´."lEdZ.´d ´ LE j´d
alms3 Amz A HMZ A:mz A HLMZ

alumnae4 ´."løm.nÈ ´ LUM nee ´."løm.naI* ´ LUM ni@
3The "l" on this word is dropped as it is for: almond, balm, balmy, calm, calmly, embalm,
halm, Malmesbury, malmsey, napalm, psalms, palm, palmistry, qualm.
page 16
alumni ´."løm.naI* ´ LUM ni@
always "O:.weI*z AWL wayz "A.wiz AH weez
amateur "œ.m´.t„ A m´ t´r "œ.m´.tS„ A m´ ch´r

"œ.m´t.U„* A m´ tuur
"œ.m´t.jU„* A m´ tyuur
ambergris "œm.b„.Ægris AM b´r GREES "œm.b„.ÆgrIs AM b´r GRIS
amenable ´."mi.n´.b´: ´ MEE n´ b´l ´."mE.n´.b´: ´ ME n´ b´l
ancillary "œn.sI.ÆlE.rÈ AN si le ree Æœn."sI.l´.rÈ A N SI l´ ree

angst œNst A NGST ANst A HNGST
Antarctic(a) œnt.ÆA„*k.tIk ant AHRK tik œ."nA„*.dIk a NAHR dik
antenna (singular) œn."tE.n´ an TE n´

œn."tE.nÈ an TE nee œn."tE.naI* an TE ni@
antennae (plural)
apartheid ´."pA„*t."heI*t ´ PA HRT HA YT ´."pA„*.TaI*d ´ PA HR THi@D

A froh DEE zhee ak
aphrodisiac Æœ.froU*."dI.zI.œk A froh DI zee ak Æœ.froU*."di.Zi.œk
A ppalacia (n, s) Æœ.p´."lœ.tSI.´ A p´ LA chi ´ œ.p´."leI*.S´ A p´ LAY sh´
apparatus Æœ.p´."reI*.t´s A p´ RAY t´s Æœ.p´."rœ.t´s A p´ RA t´s
applicable "œ.plI.k´.b´: A pli k´ b´l ´."plI.k´.b´: ´ PLI k´ b´l
aqua- "œ.kw´ A kw´ "A.kw´ AH kw´
aqueous "eI*.kwI.´s AY kwee ´s "œ.kwI.´s A kwee ´s
archaeology ÆA„*.kI"Å.l´.dZÈ A HR kee O l´ jee ÆA„*.keI*."Å.l´.dZÈ AHR kay O l´ jee
archangel "A„*."keI*n.dZ´: A HR KA YN j´l ÆA„*."tSeI*n.dZ´: A HR CHA YN j´l
archetype "A„*.k´.ÆtaI*p AHR k´ Ti@P "A„*.tS´.ÆtaI*p AHR ch´ Ti@P
arctic "A„*k.tIk AHRK tik "A„*.tIk AHR tik
argot "A„*.goU* AHR goh "A„*.g´t AHR g´t

aristocrat "œ.rIs.t´.Ækrœt A ris t´ KRA T ´."rIs.t´.Ækrœt ´ RIS t´ KRA T
arse As A HS A„*s A HRS
asbestos œs."bEst.´s as BES t´s œz."bEst.oU*s az BES tohs
assembly ´."sEm.blÈ ´ SEM blee ´."sEm.b´.lÈ ´ SEM b´ lee
assuage ´."sweI*dZ ´ SWAYJ ´."sweI*Z, ´ SWAZH,

´."swAZ ´ SWAHZH
asterisk "œ.st´.ÆrIsk A st´ RISK "œ.strIks, "œ.strIk A striks, A strik
athlete "œT.lit ATH leet "œ.T´.Ælit ATH ´ leet
atmospheric Æœt.m´s."fE.rIk A T m´s FE rik Æœt.m´s.fI.rIk A T m´s FI rik
authority O."TÅ.rI.tÈ aw THO ri tee A."TO„*.rI.tÈ ah THOR i tee
4A lumnus is a male graduate or former student of a school, college, or university. Its

plural is alumni . A lumna is a female graduate or former student. Its plural is alumnae .
A lumni is generally used to refer to both the alumni and alumnae of a coeducational
institution.
page 17
auxiliary Og."zI:.j´.rÈ awg ZIL y´ ree Og."zI.l´.rÈ awg ZIL ´ ree

page 18
Letter du Jou r: B
D id y o u k no w that the letter B actually means "ho use"? It was

originally the second letter in the alphabet used by ancient Syrians and
Palestinians. I was called "beth", their word for "house". Many believe that it
evolved from the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for house and it certainly is an
enclosed letter. The Egyptians however drew the symbol like this with even a
doorway _____ then it evolved thusly through the Semites, Phoenicians and
Greeks_______ _______ finally being rounded to its present form by the
Romans about CE 114. When the Greeks first borrowed the symbol they called it
"beta" (They also called the entire set of letters "alphabet" from their first two
letters alpha and beta).
The letter B comes in about 20th place in frequency of use in written
materials and of course carries the connotation of second (not as good as an A
but good, Company B, Team B, B List actors, etc.). The small case version of the
letter didn't appear until CE 300 as a shortcut, taking less time to write than a
capital.
B usually corresponds to the sound [b]. Is it now mute after m at the ends
of words like climb, dumb, bomb, and lamb. That wasn't always true, but
pronunciation evolves over time to make speaking easier. So, the B probably
was dropped in mb combinations as the language shifted from Middle to
Modern English because it takes too much lip action to articulate it well5.
5A nextreme extension of this action can be heard today in some Scottish dialects where
the mb drops the b in words like humble, amber, thimble, etc.
page 19
D ESC RIPTIO N : voiced, bi-labial, stop-plosive consonant

Table LdJ .4 Letter du J our-B

Symbol
[b] b bill (initial)
above, blubber (medial)
club (final)
climb (silent)
[b]/b, as in B UB B LE
FORMATION: With lips lightly closed, breath exhaled; vocal folds vibrated; soft
palate raised causing pressure to build behind lips; lips quickly separated
resulting in a voiced explosive sound.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Some accents and dialects unvoice the final "b"
sound, so that [b]/b changes to [p]/p, or the lips fail to completely block the
stream of air so that [b]/b changes to [B]/bv.
Practice on: scribe, barb, robber, neighbor, bubble, dubious
Pay particular attention to clear, well-sounded endings.
Practice on: fibbed, verbs, cubed, tribes, enfeebles, eatables. curb, herb, cab
a. - Balance the better bids on the bankrupt apartment building.
b. - The probable trouble was intolerable, and Bobby babbled on about it, sobbing
abjectly.
DRILLS:- repeat each several times rapidly and clearly.
1. rubber baby buggy bumpers 2. begging beguilingly
3. bigger buggies 4. bleached cherubs
5. a big black bug bit a big black bear, 6. the bootblack brought the black
made the big black bear bleed blood book back
7. toy boat 8. Peggy Babcock
9. Bodega Bodega 10. paper poppy, baby bubble
11. p b t d k g t d [p´ b´ t´ d´ k´ g´ t´ d´]

- repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
page 20
page 21
Table LdJ .5 -B
Troublesome Words

Babel "beI*.b´: BAY Úb´l "bœ.b´: BA b´l
bacchanal Æbœ.k´."nœ: BA k´ NAL ÆbA.k´."nA: BAH k´ NAHL
Bacchus "bœ.k´s BA k´s "bA.k´s BAH k´s
Bach bAç 6 bAk BAHK
bade bœd BAD beI*d BAYD
badminton "bœd.mIn.tń BAD min tń "bœd.mI.tń BAD mi tń
bagel "beI*.g´: BAY g´l "bœ.g´: BA g´l
Bahamian b´."heI*.mI.ń b´ HAY mi ń b´."hA.mI.ń b´ HAH mi ń
bankruptcy "bœNk.røpt.sÈ BANGK ruhpt see "bœNk.røp.sÈ BANGK ruhp see
balk bOk BAWK bO:k BAWLK
balm bAm BAHM bA:m BAHLM
banal7 "beI*.n´:, b´."nœ: BAY n´l, b´ NAL
b´."nA:, bœ."nA: b´ NAHL, ba NAHL
barbiturate bA„*."bI.tS´.rIt bahr BI ch´ rit bA„*."bI.tSu.It bahr BI chu it
basal "beI*.s´: BAY s´l "beI*.z´: BAY z´l
basil "bœ.z´: BA z´l "beI*.z´: BAY z´l
basis (s.) "beI*.sIs BAY sis reversing
basis (pl.) "beI*.siz BAY seez pronounciations
bas relief "bA rI."lif BAH ri LEEF "bAs rI."lif BAHS ri LEEF
because bI."kOz bi KAWZ bi."køz bee KUHZ
been bIn BiN bEn, bin BEN, BEEN
behemoth bI."hi.m´T bi HEE m´th "bi.h´.m´T BEE h´ m´th
Beijing8 beI*."dZIN bay JING beI*."SIN bay SHING
beneficent b´."nE.fI.sńt b´ NE fi sńt b´."nI.fI.sńt b´ NI fi sńt
beneficiary ÆbE.nI."fI.SI.´.rÈ BE ni FI shi ´ ree ÆbE.n´."fI.S´.rÈ BE n´ FI sh´ ree
benignant bI."nIg.nńt bi NIG nńt bI."naI*.nńt bi Ni@ nńt
bequeath bI."kwiD bi KWEE TH bi."kwiT bee KWEETH
bestial "bEst.j´: BEST y´l "bis.tS´: BEES ch´l
bestiality ÆbEs.tI."œ.lI.tÈ BES ti A li tee Æbis.ti."œ.lI.tÈ BEES tee A li tee
blasphemous "blœs.f´.m´s BLAS f´ m´s blœs."fi.m´s blas FEE m´s
blithe blaI*D BLi@TH blaI*T BLi@TH
Boise "bOI*.sÈ BOY see "bOI*.zÈ BOY zee
bolivar/Bolivar boU*."li.vA„* boh LEE vahr "boU*.lI.ÆvA„* BOH li VAHR
6The final consonant sound in Bach is difficult to describe to English speakers. It does
show up in the English language as the first sound in words starting with "hu" as in
human, or humor. It is a typical German sound and is represented by the phonetic
symbol [ç].
7No matter which pronunciation you choose you will fail to please at least half of your
listeners. Many public speakers simply drop banal from their vocabulary. Of course, an
actor doesn't have that option with a script. So pick whichever pronunciation you like.
8It is risky to make assertions about foreign place names. Problems stemming from
differences in alphabets, and sounds used in native speech that don't exist in English
result in the creation of "exonyms" like Florence for Firenze, Moscow for Moskva, etc. Our
recommendation for the capital of China is to pronounce the now less frequently used
Peking as ["pi."kIN] and Beijing as [beI*."dZIN] even though neither is how it is really said in
China.
page 22
bombardier ÆbÅm.b„."dI„* BOM b´r DIR ÆbÅm.b´."dI„* BOM b´ DIR

bona fide "boU*.n´.ÆfaI*d BOH n´ FI D ÆboU*.n´."faI*.dÈ BOH n´ FI dee
bon mot bO) mo BAW(N) MOH bAn mAt BAHN MAHT
bouquet (flowers) bu."keI* boo KAY boU*."keI* boh KAY
bouquet (aroma) boU*."keI* boh KAY bu."keI* boo KAY
boudoir "bu.dwA„* BOO dwahr bU."dwA„* buu DWAHR
Brobdingnagian ÆbrÅb.dIN."nœ.gI.ń BROB ding NA gi an ÆbrÅb.dIg."neI*.dZI.ń BROB dig NAY ji ń
breeches "brI.tS´z BRI ch´z "bri.tS´z BREE ch´z
brooch broU*tS BROHCH brutS BROOCH
bruit brut BROOT "bru.It BROO it
bulimia bju."lI.mI.´ byoo LI mee ´ bu."li.mI.´ boo LEE mee ´
buoy "bu.È BOO ee bOI* BOY
Byzantine bI."zœn.tIn bi ZAN tin "bI.zń.ÆtaI*n BI zń Ti@N
page 23
Letter du Jou r: C
Table LdJ .6 Letter du J our - C

Symbol
[k] k crisp, Christian, cup (initial)
tactical, because, inchoate (medial)
music, ache, back, Bach (final)
[s] s cease (initial)
policing (medial)
mice (final)
[ tS ] ch choose, cello (initial)
kitchen (medial)
cinch (final)
[S] sh schnapps, Cherbourg, chagrin (initial)
machine, ocean, conscious (medial)
gauche (final)
We will focus on the sound [tS]/ch.

[tS]/ch, as in C H URC H
FORMATION: Affricate sound - combination of plosive [t]/t and fricative [Z]/zh.
Blade of tongue raised to touch front palate just behind gum ridge; breath
stream momentarily stopped by tongue at front palate. Tongue then quickly
lowers slightly, allowing breath stream to explode between it and front palate.
Sound is unvoiced.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: If the tongue extends too far forward the sound will
be overly sibilant, and lisping. If instead of releasing the tongue tip on the [t]/t
sound, the sides of the tongue are released, a lateral lisp will result. Both
sounds can vary from mild lisps which only require practice and attention to
correct, to cases which need the assistance of a speech pathologist.
Practice on: church, change, structure, latching, stretch, witch
sheet/cheat, muss/much, shoes/choose, shuck/chuck
eats/each, cats/catch, hits/hitch, coats/coach

page 24
dish/ditch, wish/witch, bush/butch, mash/match
a. - Richard felt wretched after a lunch of chocolate and chives.
b. - Chuck fetched a pitcher of chalky milk and perched on his chair cheerfully
munching Cheerios.
1. Chichester witches 5. charming bachelor Chuck
2. Christian churches 6. richest challenge
3. bleached cherubs 7. charting challenging channels
4. choose orange shoes 8. sh-zh-ch-j-s-z-ch-j

[S´-Z´-tS´-dZ´-s´-z´-tS´-dZ´]
repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
Table LdJ .7 Mispronounced - C

cadre "kœ.drÈ, "kA.d„* KAD ree,
KAH d´r
"kA.dreI* KAH dray
calm kAm KAHM

kA:m KAHLM
calve9 kœv KAV

kœ:v KALV
Cambrian "kœm.brI.ń KAM bri ń "keI*m.bri.ń KAYM bree ń

cannot "kœ.nÅt KA not
k´."nÅt k´ NOT
capricious k´."prI.S´s k´ PRISH ´s

k´."pri.S´s k´ PREE sh´s
caramel kœ.r´.m´: KA r´ m´l

"kA„*.m´: KAHR m´l
carbonate (n.) "kA„*.b´.nIt KAR b´ nit

failure to
carbonate (v.) "kA„*.b´.ÆneI*t KAR b´ nayt distinguish
Carnegie10 kA„*".neI*.gÈ kahr NAY gee
"kA„*.nI.gÈ KAHR ni gee
Caribbean Ækœ.rI."bi.ń KA ri BEE ń

k´."rI.bi.ń k´ RI bee ń
caveat "keI*.vI.œt KAY vi at

"kœ.vI.Åt KAH vi ot
celebratory "sE.l´.br´.ÆtO.rÈ SE l´ br´ TAW ree

s´."lE.br´.ÆtO.rÈ s´ LE br´ TAW ree
cents sEnts SENTS

sIns SINS
cerebral "sE.r´.br´: SE r´ br´l

s´."ri.br´: s´ REE br´l
chaise longue SeI*z lON SHAYZ LONG

tSeI*s lAU*ndZ CHAYS LOWNJ
chassis "Sœ.sÈ SHA see

"tSœ.sIs, "tSœ.sˆ CHA sis
chemise S´."miz sh´ MEEZ

S´."mis sh´ MIS
chicanery SI."keI*.n´.rÈ shi KAY n´ ree

tSI."keI*.n´.rÈ chi KAY n´ ree
Chicano tSi."kA.noU* chee KAH noh

tSI."kœ.noU* chi KA noh
chiropodist kaI*."rÅ.p´.dIst ki@ RO p´ dist

S´."rÅ.p´.dIst sh´ RO p´ dist
9Calf is also sometimes similarly mispronounced by the insertion of an "l".

10 "The accent is on the second syllable." - A ndrew Carnegie. For the concert hall, and
Dale Carnegie, the accent on the first syllable is most commonly heard.
page 25
chivalrous "SI.v´:.r´s SHI v´l r´s

SI."vœ:.r´s shi VAL r´s
chromosome "kroU*.m´.ÆsoU*m KROH m´ SOHM

"kroU*.m´.ÆzoU*n KROH m´ ZOHN
cliché kli."SeI* klee SHAY

kl´."SeI* kl´ SHAY
clique klik KLEEK

klIk KLIK
clitorus "klI.t´.r´s KLI t´ r´s

kl´."tO´*.r´s kl´ TOR ´s
coitus "koU*.I.t´s KOH i t´s

koU*."aI*.t´s, KOH i@ t´s,
KOH ay@ t´s,
koU*."eI*.t´s, Koy t´s
"kOI*.t´s
colander "kø.lń.d„ KU lń dur
"kÅ.lń.d„ KO lń dur
collate k´."leI*t k´ LAYT

"koU*.leI*t KOH layt
collation k´."leI*.Sń k´ LAY shń

"koU*.leI*.Sń KOH lay shń
combatant k´m."bœ.tńt kom BA tńt

"kÅm.b´.tńt KOM b´ tńt
British Speech
acceptable for
comparable "kÅm.p´.r´.b´: KOM p´ r´ b´l
k´m."pE.r´.b´: k´m PE r´ b´l
conch kÅNk KONGK

kÅntS KONCH
consortium kń."sO„*.SI.´m kń SOR shi ´m

kń."sO„*.tI.´m kń SOR tee ´m
constable "køns.t´.b´: KUN st´ b´l

"kÅns.t´.b´: KAHN st´ b´l
consummate (adj.) kń."sø.mIt kń SU mit,

KAHN syoo MAYT
"kAn.s´.m´t KAHN s´ m´t,
KAHN s´ MAYT
consummate (v.) "kÅn.sju.ÆmeI*t "kAn,s´.ÆmeI*t
contemplative kń."tEm.pl´.tIv kń TEM pl´ tiv failure to
(n. of religious orders) distinguish
contemplative KON t´m play tiv meanings
(adj. pensive) "kÅn.t´m.ÆpleI*.tIv
contumely "kÅn.tjum.lÈ KON tyoom lee
kń."tum.lÈ kń TOOM lee
controversial ÆkÅn.tr´."v‰±.S´: KON tr´ VUR sh´l

ÆkAn.tr´."v‰±.si.´: KON tr´ VUR see ´l
coral "kÅ.r´: KO r´l

"kO´*.r´: KOR r´l
coupon "ku.pÅn KOO pon

"kju.pÅn KYOO pon
courage "kø.rIdZ KU rij

"k‰±.rIdZ KUR rij
covert (adj. & n.) "kø.v„t KU vurt

koU*."v‰±t KOH VURT
crayon "kreI*.Ån KRAY on

krœn KRAN
culinary "kju.lI.n´.rÈ KYOO li n ´. ree "kø.l´.nE.rÈ KU li ne ree
cupola "kju.p´.l´ KYOO p´ l´

"kju.p´.loU*, KYOO p´ loh.
KUP y´ loh
"ku.pj´.loU*
page 26
Letter du Jou r: D
D ESC RIPTIO N ; (typically) voiced, lingua-dental, stop-plosive, consonant.

Table LdJ .8 Letter du J our -D

ipa Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
Symbol
[d] d dog (initial position
middle (medial position)
end (terminal position)
[t ] t asked (final)
[dZ ] j adjust, soldier (medial)
pledge (final)
[d]/d, as in D READ ED
FORMATION: Tip of tongue lightly pressed against gum ridge behind upper
teeth; sides of tongue touch side teeth; soft palate raised; air stream stopped.
Air is sent past the vocal folds causing them to vibrate; air pressure builds
behind tongue tip, which is released quickly, and air explodes out of the mouth.
1. - Sometimes the [d]/d is dropped from the middle of words.
Practice on: grandfather, sandwich, commanded, breadth
a. - I demanded the width of my sandwich have the breadth of a hand.
b. - A nderson, the candle-maker, handled dozens of individually hand-dipped
candles daily.
2. - Do not let the tongue touch the teeth11. This dentalization [d1] is noticeable
in several Eastern urban dialects.
Practice on: wreathe/reed, breathe/breed, thence/dense, they/day, loathe/load,
thither/dither, though/dough
c. - Don't dither, Dudley, weed the garden, and do the dishes.
11Unless [d]/d is followed immediately by a "TH" sound.

page 27
d. - Danny, wouldn't dare drop his daughters dolls in the dumpster.
3. - Make sure that final [d]/d sounds are fully voiced and don't become [t]/t
through a lack of energy on the sound. Be careful not to make an off-glide
sound [d´]. Stop on the [d].
Practice on: beat/bead, set/said, hurt/heard, root/rude, goat/goad, right/ride
e. - Todd hoarded a load of hardwood, and didn't intend to vend it.
f. - Did you hide the kids in the woods, or in the old shed?
1. A dozen Black & Decker Dustbusters 5. Paddy had a deadened haddock in the
paddock.
2. deranged avenger 6. wooden noodle
3. handle dandelion 7. depth and breadth
4. Dwight wouldn't dwell with a dozen 8. p b t d k g t d

wooden dwarves. [p´ b´ t´ d´ k´ g´ t´ d´]
Table LdJ .9 Mispronounced - D

daiquiri "daI*.k´.rÈ Di@ k´ ree
"dœ.k´.rÈ DA k´ ree
dais "deI*.Is DAY is

"daI*.Is Di@ is
damask "dœ.m´sk DA m´sk

d´."mœsk d´ MASK
data "deI*.t´ DAY t´

"dœ.t´ DA t´
decibel12 "dE.sI.ÆbE: DE si BEL

"dE.s´.b´: DE s´ b´l
decrease (n.) "di.kris DEE krees

di KREES
improper stressing
decrease (v.) dI."kris
deity "di.I.tÈ DEE i tee
"deI*.I.tÈ DAY i tee
deluge "dE:.judZ DEL yooj

"deI*.luZ DAY loozh
depot "di.poU* DEE poh

"dE.poU* DE poh
military & British
suitable for some
despicable "dE.spI.k´.b´: DE spi k´ b´l
d´."spI.k´.b´: d´ SPI k´ b´l
detritus dI."traI*.tIs di TRY tis

"dE.tr´.t´s DE tr´ t´s
dew dju DYOO

du DOO
12A n interesting bit of trivia, and a good way to remember this pronunciation is that the
last syllable of this word is meant to honor A lexander Graham Bell. That’s why the symbol
describing this is dB for deci (divisions of ten) Bells (units of sound pressure).
page 28
diesel "di.z´: DEE z´l

"di.s´: DEE s´l
diminution ÆdI.mIn."ju.Sń DI min YOO shń

ÆdIm.ju."nI.Sń DIM yoo NI shń
diphtheria dIf."TI.rI.´ dif THI ri ´

dIp."TI.rI.´ dip THI ri ´
diphthong "dIf.TÅN DIF thong

"dIp.TÅN DIP thong
dirigible "dI.rI.dZI.b´: DI ri j´ b´l

Æd´."rI.dZ´.b´: di RI j´ b´l
discourage dIs."kø.rIdZ dis KU rij

dIs."k‰.rIdZ dis KUR rij
disheveled dI."SE.v´:d di SHE v´ld

dIs."hi.v´:d dis HEE v´ld
disparate "dIs.p´.r´t DI sp´ r´t

dI."spE.rIt di SPE rit
dissect dI."sEkt di SEKT

"daI*.sEkt Di@ sekt
doth døT DUTH

dÅT DOTH
dour dU„* DUUR

"dAU*.„* DOWUR
drawer (one who "drO.´± DRAW er

drO´± DROR
draws and the receptacle)
drowned drAU*nd DROWND

"drAU*n.d´d DROWN d´d
ducat "dø.k´t DUK ´t

"du.k´t DOOK ´t
duty "dju.tÈ DYOO tee

"du.tÈ DOO tee
page 29
Letter du Jou r: E
WAY S TO PRO N O UN C E - 12!
Table LdJ .10 Letter du J our - E

Symbol
[i] ee receive, seed, people, read, cede, chief
[I] i because, except, breeches
[E] e heavy, get, leopard, leisure
[u] oo flew, blue, queue
[´] ´ women, difference
[´± ] ur user
[‰± ] ur learn, clerk
[eI* ] ay great, obey, cliché, ballet, matinee, reign, eight
[aI* ] i@ height, die, dye
[oU* ] oh beau
[I„*] eer here, dear, cheer, weird
[E„*] air there, heir
We will focus on [i]/ee, and [E]/e.

[i]/ee as in H EED
FORMATION: Highest and most forward of all the vowel sounds, front of tongue
lifted high toward front palate; muscles of tongue tense; jaw almost shut; lips
unrounded. Because of the effort needed to make this sound it is usually found
on stressed syllables. Compare it to the nearby [I]/i, as in HID, and [È]/ee as in
the last syllable of SILLY.
PLACEMENT: Often called the "smile vowel" - why we say cheeeese when
someone takes a picture. It is supposed to be a bright sound. If the lips are
rounded, or closed the sound will lack brilliance and clarity.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Some regions (notably American Southern) start this
sound with a relaxed tongue then tense into the vowel, producing an on-glide
diphthong [´*i]/uee. Work instead to come cleanly on to the vowel.
Practice on: agree, thee, eagle, convene, seize, teased, police, peeling, reveal
bid/bead, pill/peal, rid/read, dim/deem, kills/keels, sin/seen

page 30
a. - Steve is weak-kneed and queasily freezes at scenes from B-movies.
b. - Edith eats the greasy eels with ease, peeling each with her teeth.
[E]/e as in H EAD
FORMATION: Front of tongue at mid-front level, relaxed; lips unrounded; jaw
half-open. Compare it to nearby sounds [I]/i, as in HID, and [œ]/a, as in HAD.
PLACEMENT: Keep sound forward and bright. A slight smile will help. As with
[œ]/a, this sound can become nasal, so experiment with pinching your nose
closed, and see if the tone changes. If it does, then too much of the sound is
resonating through your nose. Make a slight yawn (this will raise your soft
palate) and see if the sound comes out more clearly.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: The infamous "git-get" substitution. To correct it
open your mouth farther and drop the front of your tongue.
Practice on: hid/head, pit/pet, did/dead, rid/red, will/well, bitter/better
ten tin men, then hem him in, pin Dennis' pen, din in the den
a. - Every Wednesday Betty gets her best dress ready for a heavy session of betting
on roulette with friends and a heavy sweating session with Teddy.
b. - Yesterday's leftover lettuce, a deviled egg, and several sections of wet bread
went into J enny's breakfast.
c. – Measure the egg on your leg.
Table LdJ .11 Mispronounced - E

ebullient I."bU:.jńt i BUUL yńt
I."bu.lI.ńt i BUU li ńt
economic Æi.k´."nÅ.mIk EE k´ NO mik

ÆE.k´."nÅ.mIk E k´ NO mik
electoral I."lEk.t´.r´: i LEK t´ r´l

Æi.lEk."tO„*.r´: EE lek TO r´l
eleemosynary ÆE.l´."mÅ.s´.n´.rÈ E l´ MO s´ n´ ree Æi.lI.´."mÅ.s´.nE.rÈ E lee ´ MO s´ ne ree
elephantine ÆE.l´."fœn.tIn E l´ FAN tin

"E.l´.fń.ÆtaI*n E l´ fń Ti@N
encourage In."kø.rIdZ in KU rij

En."k‰±.rIdZ en KUR rij
enclave "En.kleI*v EN klayv

"Ån.kleI*v ON klayv
envelope (n.) "En.v´.ÆloU*p EN v´ lohp

"Ån.v´.ÆloU*p ON v´ lohp
envoy "En.vOI* EN voi

"Ån.vOI* ON voi
page 31
equanimity Æi.kw´."nI.mI.tÈ EE kw´ NIM i tee

ÆE.kw´."nI.mI.tÈ E kw´ NIM i tee
equilibrate Æi.kw´."lI.breI*t EE kw´ LI brayt

I."kwI.l´.breI*t i KWI l´ brayt
era "I.r´, "I„*.r´ I r´

"E.r´ E r´
err ‰± UR
E„* AIR
erratum I."reI*.t´m i RAY t´m

I."rœ.t´m i RA t´m
erudite "E.ru.ÆdaI*t E roo Di@T

"E„.ju.ÆdaI*t ER yoo Di@T
espresso I."sprE.soU* i SPRE soh

Ek."sprE.soU* ek SPRE soh
et cetera ÆEt."sE.t´.r´ ET SE t´ r´
ÆEk."sE.tr´ EK SE t´ r´
evolution ÆE.v´:."ju.Sń E v´l YOO shń

Æi.v´:."ju.Sń EE v´l YOO shń
British speech
suitable for
evolve I."vÅ:v i VOLV
i."vA:v ee VAHLV
exclaim Ik."skleI*m ik SKLAYM

Ek."skleI*m ek SKLAYM
explicable "Ek.splI.k´.b´: EK splik ´ b´l

Ik."splI.k´.b´: ik SPLIK ´ b´l
exquisite "Ek.skwI.zIt EK skwi zit

Ik."skwI.zIt ik SKWI zit
extant Ik."stœnt ik STANT

"Ek.stńt EK stńt
extraordinary Ik."strO„*.dI.n´.rÈ ik STROR di n´ ree ÆEk.str´."O„*.dI.nE.rÈ EK str´ OR di ne ree

page 32
Letter du Jou r: F
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) unvoiced, labio-dental, fricative, continuant

consonant.
Table LdJ .12 Letter du J our - F

Ipa Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
Symbol
[f] f flu (initial)
after, stuffing (medial)
if, tiff, calf (final)
[v] v of (final)
[f]/f as in FLUFF
FORMATION: Lower lip brought up under edge of upper teeth; soft palate raised;
breath comes out in continuous stream between lower lip and upper teeth;
vocal folds do not vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Practice usually needed here on rapidity and clarity.
Practice on: further/father/farther, hoofer/heifer/huffer, field/filled/felled
a. - Five flasks of coffee for breakfast lifted the fretful fog from Fred's mind.
b. - The selfish elf finished the fine French aftershave himself.
1. filly fully folly 5. fluffy finches flying fast
2. fetch fresh fruit 6. Frank threw Fred three free throws.
3. fixed perspectives 7. French-fried falafel
4. Freddie's friend Eddie phoned for 8. f v sh zh s z sh zh

Freddie to fetch fresh fruit from the [f´ v´ S´ Z´ s´ z´ S´ Z´]
farm of the famous French farmer. - repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
Table LdJ .13 Mispronounced - F

falcon "fO:.kń FAWL kń "fœ:.kń FAL kń
familiar fE."mI:.jE± f´ MIHL y´r fE±."mI.jE± f´r MIH jur
page 33
February "fE.bru.ÆE.rÈ FE broo E ree "fE.bju.ÆE.rÈ FEB yoo E ree

fetid "fE.tId FE tid "fi.tId FEE tid
finis "fI.nIs FI nis fi."ni fee NEE
flaccid "flœk.sId FLAK sid "flœ.sId FLA sid
Florida "flÅ.rI.d´ FLO ri d´ "flO´*±.d´ FLOR d´
flutist "flu.tIst FLOO tist "flaU*.tIst FLOW tist
forbade fO„*."bœd for BAD fO„*.beI*d for BAYD
forehead "fÅ.rId FAW rid "fO„*."hEd FOR HED
foreign "fÅ.rIn FO rin "fO„*.rIn FOR rin
forget f„."gEt f´r GET f„."gIt fur GIT
formidable "fO„*.mI.d´.b´: FOR mid ´ b´l fO„*."mI.d´.b´: for MID ´ b´l
forte (strong point) fO„*t FORT "fO„*.teI* FOR tay
forte (music) "fO„*.teI* FOR tay fO„*."teI* for TAY
foyer "fOI*.„ FOI ur "fOI*.jeI* FOI yay
frequent (adj.) "fri.kwńt FREE kwńt Improper stressing
frequent fri KWENT
(v.) frI."kwEnt
Friday "fraI*.dÈ FRi dee "fraI*.deI* FRi day
fungi "føn.dZaI* FUN ji@ "føN.gÈ FUNG gee
page 34
Letter du Jou r: G
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiced, lingua-palatal, stop-plosive, consonant
Table LdJ .14 Letter du J our - G

Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
IPA Symbol
[g] g good, ghost (initial)
begin (medial)
bag, rogue (final)
[dZ ] j gelatin (initial)
ledger, exaggerate (medial)
trudge (final)
[Z] zh gendarme (initial)
bourgeois (medial)
rouge (final)
[f] f cough (final)
[k] k hough, lough (final)
[N] ng hanger (medial)
song (final)
[Ng] ng-g linger (medial)
[n] n gnu (initial)
foreign (final)
[p] p hiccough (final)
(silent) height, bough13
[g]/g as in GIGGLE
FORMATION: Back of tongue raised and in contact with soft palate,which is
elevated. Exhalation begun, building up pressure, and the vocal folds vibrated.
The tongue is quickly lowered, producing a voiced plosive sound.
1. - If back of tongue doesn't press firmly against the soft palate, [g]/g will take
on a fricative sound. This will make the speaker sound fuzzy, or slightly drunk.
Spanish speakers are particularly prone to this as the correlative Spanish sound
is a fricative [Ø].
13Infact OUGH is one of the most problematic spellings in English. Observe: bough [aU*],
Edinborough [´], hiccough [øp], Lough [Åç], hough [Åk], ought [Å], though [oU*], through [u],
tough [øf], trough [Åf]. The word "slough" is pronounced [slaU*, sløf, slu].
page 35
Practice on: begin, logging, giggle, boggle, again, league, tiger, argue, mug
a. - Gary's golf game began to disintegrate as he gulped great flagons of lager.
b. - Gregory the greengrocer haggled with the gluttonous and aggressive
gourmand over a bag of grapes.
2. - At the ends of words be careful to give the sound full value. Some speakers
lose energy and unvoice the sound to [k]/k, or drop it altogether.
Practice on: fatigue, twig, shrug, fugue, brogue, plague, burgh, hag, egg
c. - Meg bragged of her big-league log book, and begged for autographs.
d. - Greta's legs graced the pages of Vogue and gobs of catalogues.
1. giggle gaggle 5. bigger buggies
2. eight great gray geese grazing 6. linger longer

gaily in Greece
3. gouging grouchy Gauchos 7. begging beguilingly
4. p b t d k g t d 8. n ng k g l ng k g
[p´ b´ t´ d´ k´ g´ t´ d´] [n N k g l N k g]
- repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath) - repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
Table LdJ .15 Mispronounced - G

gala "geI*.l´ GAY l´ "gA.l´ GAH l´
gaseous "gœ.sI.´s GA si ´s "gœ.S´s GA sh´s
Gawain "gA.wIn GAH win g´."weI*n g´ WAYN
genuine "dZEn.ju.In JEN yoo in "dZEn.ju.ÆwaI*n JEN yoo wi@n
get gEt GET gIt GIT
gibberish "dZI.b´.rIS JI b´ rish "gI.b´.rIS GI b´ rish
giblet "dZI.blIt JI blit "gI.blIt GI blit
glaucoma glO."koU*.m´ glaw KOH m´ glAU*."koU*.m´ glow KOH m´
gondola "gÅn.d´.l´ GON d´ l´ gÅn."doU*.l´ gon DOH l´
government "gø.v„n.mńt GU vurn mńt "gø.v„.mńt GU vur mńt

page 36
gramercy gr´."m‰±.sÈ gr´ MUR see reversing pronunciations

GRA mur see
Gramercy14 "grœ.m„.sÈ
granary "grœ.n´.rÈ GRA n´ ree "greI*.n´.rÈ GRAY n´ ree
gratis "grœ.tIs, GRA tis, "grA.tIs GRAH tis

GRAY tis
"greI*.tIs
grievous "gri.v´s GREE v´s "gri.vi.´s GREE vee ´s
grimace grI."meI*s gri MAYS "grI.m´s GRI m´s
grocery "groU*.s´.rÈ GROH s´ ree "groU*.S´.rÈ GROH sh´ ree
grovel "grø.v´: GRU v´l "grÅ.v´: GRO v´l
guillotine "gI.l´.Ætin GI l´ TEEN "gi.j´.Ætin GEE y´ TEEN
14Gramercy is the name of a New York City park. Gramercy (usually all in lower-case) is
an interjection expressing pleasant surprise or thanks - a contraction of grand mercy.
page 37
Letter du Jou r: H
D ESC RIPTIO N : unvoiced, glottal, fricative, continuant, consonant

Table LdJ .16 Letter du J our - H

IPA Symbol Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
[h] h hand (initial)
mishap (medial)
[H] h behind (medial)15
[çj ] hy huge (initial)16
inhumane (medial)
[g] g ghost (initial)
[f] f photo (initial)
roughage (medial)
cough (final)
[p] p hiccough (final)
[∑ ] hw when (initial)
anywhere (medial)
[D] th this (initial)
other (medial)
seethe (final)
[T] th thing (initial)
brothel (medial)
both (final)
[tS ] ch churn (initial)
bachelor (medial)
watch (final)
[S] sh shine (initial)
bashful (medial)
wish (final)
Although this consonant shows up in ten different sounds, we will focus on just
two: [h]/h and [çj]/hy
[h]/h as in H O W
15[ H ] is a subtle voiced sound found in English only in the medial position between two
vowel sounds.
16[ ç ] is a sound most frequently recognized in German on words like ich, or in Scottish
on words like loch. It is present in many languages, but its only occurrence in A merican
English is on the rapid connection of [ h ] and [ j ].
page 38
FORMATION: Produced by continuous flow of air through vocal folds,throat and

the mouth; tongue and lips relaxed and in position for following vowel; soft
palate raised; vocal folds do not vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Speakers with breathy voices need to watch that
words starting with the unvoiced air stream of [h]/h don't carry that airy quality
throughout the entire word.
Practice on: heavy, health, hedge, wholly, Hamlet, highway, hungry, hundred
a. - Her high hopes hid behind a heavy heart and inhibited her happiness.
b. - Hard-hearted Harold hit Henry hard with a hickory-handled hammer.
c. - Henry howled horribly and hurriedly hobbled home.
[çj]/hy as in H UGE
FORMATION: sound begins in the same manner as [h]/h. As the tongue rises in
anticipation of [j]/y, the air stream is focused on the soft palate producing the
unvoiced fricative [ç].
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Some dialects (New York is a good example) drop [ç]
leaving the [j]/y sound to stand alone, so "human" becomes ["jumń]/Y O O m´ n.
Practice on: hue/ewe, Hugo/you go, Houston/Euston, Huron/you're on
humid, humility, humanitarian, hewn
a. - Hubristic Hugo humorlessly hated humanity.
b. - They humiliated Hubert, the humongous human, by heaving him into lake
Huron.
Drills: repeat each several times rapidly and clearly.
1. you knew Hugh 5. dormant humidors
2. you go with Hugo 6. perhaps happy hippies
3. huge humans humorously hued 7. humorous rumors
4. Youmans' menu/human's - men who 8. how many mahogany and

mohair hassocks has Hermione
page 39
Table LdJ .17 Mispronounced - H

halve hœv HAV
hœ:v HALV
handkerchief "hœN.k„.ÆtSIf HANG kur chif

"hœN.k„.ÆtSif HANG kur cheef
harass "hœ.r´s HA r´s

h´."rœs h´ RAS
height haI*t Hi@T

haI*tT Hi@T TH
heinous "heI*.n´s HAY n´s

"hi.ni.´s HEE nee ´s
helicopter "hE.lI.ÆkÅp.t„ HE li KOP tur

"hi.lI.kÅp.t„ HEE li KOP tur
herb17 ‰±b URB

h‰±b HURB
homicide "hÅ.mI.ÆsaI*d HO mi Si@D

"hoU*.mI.ÆsaI*d HOH mi Si@D
homogeneity ÆhoU*.moU*.dZ´."ni.I.tÈ HOH moh j´ NEE i tee ÆhoU*.moU*.dZ´."neI*.I.tÈ HOH moh j´ NAY i tee
horrible "hÅ.rI.b´: HO ri b´l

"hO„*.r´.b´: HOr r´ b´l
horror "hÅ.r„ HO rur

"hO„*.„ HOR ur
hospitable "hÅs.pI.t´.b´: HO spi t´ b´l

hÅ."spI.t´.b´: ho SPI t´ b´l
hostile "hÅs.t´: HOS t´l

"hÅs.taI*: HOS ti@l
British speech
acceptable for
houses "hAU*.zIz HOW ziz
"hAU*.sIz HOW siz
housewife "hø.sIf HU sif

"hAU*s."waI*f HOWS Wi F
hovel "hø.v´: HU v´l

"hÅ.v´: HO v´l
huge çjudZ HYOOJ

judZ YOOJ
human "çju.mń HYOO mń

"ju.mń YOO mń
hundred "høn.drId HUN drid

"hø.n„d HU nurd
hygienist haI*."dZi.nIst hi@ JEE nist

haI*."dZE.nIst hi@ JE nist
hysteria hI."stI.rI.´ hi STI ri ´

hI."stE.rI.´ hi STE ree ´
17Pronounce the initial "H" in herbal, herbicide, herbaceous, herbivore, herbivorous,

and herbarium. Keep it silent on herbage, and herb.
page 40
Letter du Jou r: I
WAY S TO PRO N O UN C E: 11!
Table LdJ .18 Letter du J our - I

IPA Symbols Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
[i] ee receive, chief
[I] i hit, build
[E] e leisure (British)
[œ ] a plaid
[u] oo fruit
[´] ´ edible
[eI* ] ay faint, vein
[aI* ] i@ wine, lie, height
[OI* ] oi oil
[I„* ] ir bier, weird
[E„*] air fair, heir
We will focus on the sounds of [I]/i, [´]/´, and [aI*]/i@.

[I]/i, as in H ID
FORMATION: Front of tongue high, but more relaxed than for [i]/ee; lips
unrounded and relaxed; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate. Compare to the
nearby sounds [i]/ee, as in HEED, and [E]/e, as in HEAD.
PLACEMENT: This bright forward vowel can become murky sounding if you
round your lips. Allow your lips to spread slightly in the feeling of a smile to
keep the sound clear.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Many non-native speakers will substitute [i]/ee. Also
guard against nasality, especially near nasal sounds [m, n, N]/m, n, ng. Make clear
separations between [I]/i, and its two surrounding sounds [i]/ee, and [E]/e.
page 41
Practice on: beat/bit/bet, deed/did/dead, seed/Sid/said, seal/sill/sell, reed/rid/red
hips, bib, titter, hideous, tickle, niggardly, thimble, million, village, billion
a. - Tim, sitting prettily in his silver slip, didn't consider his idiosyncrasies to be
significant.
b. - Will the gypsy's whiskey still irritate my liver, or shall I switch to gin fizzes?
[´]/´, the "schwa", o r neutral vo wel

FORMATION: Tongue low, in most relaxed state; lips unrounded; jaw relaxed,
mouth slightly open;soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
PLACEMENT: Situated in center of mouth; most relaxed of all the vowels, and
likely to have most balanced tonality. If you have a problem with tonality, this,
and it's stressed correlative [ø]/u are good vowels to use to find a centered
tone.
USE: This sound is sometimes called the :"schwa" from the German-Yiddish
word sheva for emptiness. It is regarded as the most neutral of the vowel
sounds, and is the most frequently occurring vowel in American English. Since it
is the most relaxed vowel, it can only occur on unstressed syllables.
Hear the sound in comparison to [ø]/u:
commence/come, suppose/sup, Tacoma/tuck, upon/upper.
Practice on: apparent, beneficent, dependent, machine, support, common
a. - The amateurish artificiality of the actress was reprehensible.
b. - Her experiences of their selfishness and carelessness caused her anxiety.
[aI*]/i@, as in H IGH
FORMATION: Diphthong. Tongue starts in low mid-back position and moves
forward toward high front region; lips unrounded; the jaw starts dropped, then
lifts; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
page 42
PLACEMENT: Watch out for over-nasality. A good adaptation to make this

diphthong rounder is to adjust the first sound from [a] to [A]. 18 That is a darker
and rounder sound, and can keep the diphthong from being too brassy.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: This is the diphthong Southerners are famous for
changing, so that we hear "I'm right fine" shift to "Ahm raht fahn." Use a tape
recorder to check the sound, and a mirror so you can see the jaw close and
tongue lift to the second sound.
Practice on: Tom/time, tall/tile, spa/spy, bah/buy, dock/dike, fond/find
tie, thigh, I'll, diamond, scythe, sublime, hive, crimes, imbibe,
a. - I'm the kind that likes a wild time for a dime.
b. - Write, we know, should not be written "right", should not be written "wright",
nor should it be written "rite", but "write", for only then is it written right.
Table LdJ .19 Mispronounced - I

idea aI*."di.´ i@ DEE ´
aI*."di.„ i@ DEE ur
ignominy "Ig.noU*.ÆmI.nÈ IG noh mi nee

Ig."nÅ.m´.nÈ ig NO m´ nee
ignoramus ÆIg.n´."reI*.m´s IG n´ RAY m´s

ÆIg.n´."rœ.m´s IG n´ RA m´s
illustrative I."løs.tr´.tIv i LUS tr´ tiv

ÆI.l´."streI*.tIv I l´ STRAY tiv
impious "Im.pI.´s IM pi ´s
Im."paI*.´s im Pi@ ´s
impotent "Im.p´.tńt IM p´ tńt

Im."poU*.tńt im POH tńt
incognito In."kÅg.nI.toU* in KOG ni toh

ÆIn.kÅg."ni.toU* IN kog NEE toh
increase (n.) "In.kris IN krees improper stressing

in KREES
increase (v.) In."kris
indefatigable ÆIn.dI."fœ.tI.g´.b´: IN di FA ti g´ b´l ÆIn.dI.f´."ti.g´.b´: IN di f´ TEE g´ b´l
inexplicable In."Ek.splI.k´.b´: in EK spli k´ b´l In.Eks."plI.k´.b´: IN ek SPLI k´ b´l
infiltrate In."fI:.treI*t in FIL trayt

"In.f´:.ÆtreI*t IN f´l TRAYT
influence "In.flu.ńs IN floo ńs

In."flu.ńts in FLOO ńts
inherent In."hI´*.rńt in HI rńt

In."hE.rńt in HE rńt
inhospitable In."hÅs.pI.t´.b´: in HO spi t´ b´l

ÆIn.hÅ."spI.t´.b´: in ho SPI t´ b´l
inquiry In."kwaI*´*.rÈ in KWi@ ree

"In.kw´.rÈ IN kw´ ree
integral "In.t´.gr´: IN t´ gr´l

In."tEg.r´: in TE gr´l
18Many phoneticians do write this diphthong as [AI, AI*, AI, Ai].

page 43
interest "In.tr´st IN tr´st

"In.t´.ÆrEst IN t´ REST
interesting "In.tr´.stIN IN tr´ sting

"I.n´.ÆrEs.tIN I n´ RE sting
intravenous ÆIn.tr´."vi.n´s IN tr´ VEE n´s

ÆIn.tr´."vi.nI.´s IN tr´ VEE nee ´s
Iran I."rAn i RAHN aI*."rœn i@ RAN
Iraq I."rAk i RAHK aI*."rœk i@ RAK
irony "aI*.r´.nÈ i@ r´ nee "aI*.„.nÈ i@ ur nee
irregardless ---- ----
---- This is not a word.
irrelevant I."rE.l´.vńt i RE l´ vńt

I."rE.v´.lńt i RE v´ lńt
irreparable I."rE.pr´.b´: i RE pr´ b´l

I.rI."pE.r´.b´: i ri PE r´ b´l
irrevocable I."rE.v´.k´.b´: i RE v´ k´ b´l

I.rI."voU*.k´.b´: i ri VOH k´ b´l
Italian19 I."tœ:.jń i TAL yń
aI*."tœ:.jń i@ TAL yń
19Rocco, as you might expect, is particularly alert to this one!

page 44
Letter du Jou r: J
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiced, affricate, consonant

Table LdJ .20 Letter du J our - J

IPA Symbol Respelling
[dZ ] j jury (initial)
adjust, rejoice (medial)
[Z] zh jabot (initial)
Raj (final)
[j] y J ohannes
[h] h jacaranda
We will focus on the letter "J" as it represents the sound of [dZ]/j.

[dZ]/j, as in J UD GE
FORMATION: Affricate sound - combination of stop-plosive [d]/d, and fricative
[Z]/zh. Blade of tongue raised, lightly touching front palate just behind gum
ridge; breath stream momentarily stopped by tongue at soft palate; tongue then
quickly lowers a bit, allowing breath stream to explode between it and front
palate to form the [Z]/zh part of the sound. Palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: If the tongue extends too far forward the sound will
be overly sibilant, and lisping. If instead of releasing the tongue tip on the [d]/d
sound, the sides of the tongue are released, a lateral lisp will result. Both
sounds can vary from mild lisps which only require practice and attention to
correct, to cases which need the assistance of a speech pathologist. Be sure to
fully voice this sound at the ends of words. Don't let it become [tS]/ch.
Practice on: each/siege, rich/ridge, catch/cadge, leather/ledger, etch/edge
juice, jaw, jolly, region, fugitive, dodges, fringed, avenged
a. - A surge of rage changed his visage from joyful to jaundiced.
b. - The juvenile gigolo joshingly badgered his bejeweled benefactress about a
juicy sojourn in A rgentina.

page 45
Drills: repeat each several times rapidly and clearly:
1. gorgeous Georgia's jargon 5. generous German managers
2. urgent juror 6. strange Indian hinges
3. deranged avenger 7. devulging bulging bilges
4. begrudging curmudgeon 8. sh zh ch j s z ch j
[S´ Z´ tS´ dZ´ s´ z´ tS´ dZ´]
Table LdJ .21 Mispronounced - J

jewelry "dZu.´:.rÈ JOO ´l ree "dZu.l´.rÈ JOO l´ ree
joust dZøst J UST dZAU*st J OWST
jubilant "dZu.bI.lńt JUU bi lńt "dZu.bju.lńt JUU byoo lńt
juror "dZU´*.r„ JUU rur "dZ‰±.rO„* JUR or
just dZøst J UST dZIs J IS
juvenile "dZu.v´.n´: JOO v´ n´l "dZu.v´.ÆnaI*: JOO v´ ni@l
page 46
Letter du Jou r: K
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) unvoiced, lingua-velar, stop-plosive, consonant

Table LdJ .22 Letter du J our - K

IPA Symbol Respelling
[k] k klaxon (initial)
irksome (medial)
brook (final)
[n] n know (initial)
[k]/k , as in C O O K
FORMATION: Back of tongue raised and in contact with soft palate, which is
elevated. Exhalation is begun, building up pressure; vocal folds not vibrated;
tongue quickly lowered, producing unvoiced plosive sound.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: If the back of the tongue doesn't come into firm
contact, a blurred fricative sound will replace [k]/k. Additionally, the sound is
often omitted at the ends of words and in challenging consonant combinations.
Practice on: guilt/kilt, gram/cram, ragging/wracking, boogie/bookie, bag/back, tag/tack,
beacon/begun
excellent, election, clip, eccentric, tact, heckler, acne, picture, A rctic, flaccid
chaos, kept, lackey, broker, occur, forsook, walk, pick, fluke, ask
a. - J ack whisked a flask of the musked vodka-like tincture from his jacket pocket.
b. - The instructor inked political questions on Marx, Kant and Copernicus.

page 47
DRILLS: repeat each several times rapidly and clearly:
1. kinky cookie 5. necessary accessories
2. kickle cackle 6. go-kart cargoes of take-out tacos
3. fixed perspectives 7. p b t d k g t d
[p´ b´ t´ d´ k´ g´ t´ d´]
4. mixed biscuits 8. n ng k g l ng k g
[n´ N´ k´ g´ l´ N´ k´ g´]
Table LdJ .23 Mispronounced - K

kiln kI: KIL kI:n KILN
kismet "kIz.mEt KIZ met "kIs.m´t KIS m´t
Koran k´."rAn k´ RAN "kO„*.rœn KAW ran
kudos20 "kju.dÅs KYOO dahs "ku.doU*z KO O do hz
20 Useage note: kudos is not a plural word. It means glory or praise. There is no singular
form of the word, so you can’t give someone a ‘kudo’. ‘He received many kudos is also
incorrect. You should say, “He received much kudos.”
page 48
Letter du Jou r: L
D ESC RIPTIO N : voiced, lingua-alveolar, lateral, continuant, semi-vowel

consonant.
Table LdJ .24 Letter du J our - L

IPA Symbols Respelling Examples of words and their various spellings
[l] l like (initial)
relish (medial)
[:] l faulty (medial)
tall (final)
silent calm
[l, :]/l, as in LULL

FORMATION: Jaw open fairly wide; broadened tip of tongue pressed against
upper gum ridge; sides of tongue allow openings between them and side teeth
for air to flow laterally; palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Though "l" has one formation, it has two important
functions. [l] is the "clear", or "released" consonant. It is always followed by a
vowel sound. When you form this sound, you can feel your tongue will only
touch briefly on your gum ridge, then release into the vowel. Focus on speed
and alacrity with this sound.
Practice on: lily, lovely, failing, shallow, toweling, Philip, silly, lullaby,
Be careful not to add an extra syllable, so that words like "failing" become FAY
´ ling.
a. - The lovely ladies leaned on the leeward rail of the luxury liner and looked
longingly at the eleven lanky Leningrad longshoremen.
b. - Lollie loved flipping off literary allusions and belly laughs during long
telephone talks.
page 49
[:] called the "dark", or "unreleased L" is followed by either a consonant or

silence. When you say this sound your tongue will hold against the gum ridge,
and the back of your tongue will drop lower. This is a natural quality, and not
one you will want to emphasize. The "dark l" is a problematic sound for many
speakers. Here are some of the misarticulations:
1. - many speakers fail to touch their tongue to the gum ridge at all on this
sound. The result is either [oU*]/oh or [ :‚ ], also called a "double-dark l." On all
these exercises look in a mirror and be sure you see and feel your tongue meet
the gum ridge.
2. - [:] can distort the vowel in front of it, changing "feel" to "fill.
Practice these pairs of words, and keep the vowel the same for both.
feeling/feel, peeling/peel, failing/fail, bailing/bail
3. - avoid adding an extra syllable before [:].
scowl, girl, steal, coil, pearl, mile, foil, Carl, deal
4. - on words of more than one syllable, don't add [w]/w or [j]/y before [:].
towel is ["taU*´:]/TO W ´l, not ["taU*w´:]/TO W- w´l
vial is ["vaI*´:]/V i@ ´l, not ["vaI*j´:]/V i@ y´l
5. - don't drop the [:] when it's followed by [j]/y. Practice on:
value, brilliant, Italian, will you, peculiar, billion, failure

Natalia Hilliardi, sister of Illya, the peculiar Italian Duke, found herself engaged to J ulius
Williams, a brilliantly alluring, but hateful A ustralian. Illya's millions would join with J ulius'
billions, and Illya Hilliardi would be the richest and most resilient Italian Duke. But Natalia
valued neither millions nor billions, and certainly didn't like J ulius. When Illya insisted, she
took to Valium, and nearly made his plot a failure.
Practice on:
a. Consult the dull culturally refined authorities about hushing up while studying.
b. I'll swallow a tall glass of cold milk.

page 50
c. Fill the bottle until it is full.
d. Tell Phil he'll pull all the wool from the dull colored ball.
DRILLS: - repeat each several times rapidly and clearly
1. Culligan and calla lily 6. red leather, yellow leather

11. peculiarly brilliant
2. limited ability 7. minimal animal 12. Italian William
3. eleven benevolent elephants

8. philological ability 13. lemon liniment
4. will you, William 9. literally literary 14. Willamette family
5. aluminum linoleum 10. alabaster balasters 15. n ng k g l ng k g [n´ N´ k´ g´ l´ N´ k´ g´]
Table LdJ .25 Mispronounced - L

lackadaisical Ælœ.k´."deI*.zI.k´: ] LA k´ DAY zi k´l Ælœk.s´."deI*.zI.k´: LAK s´ DAY zi k´l
lambaste lœm."beI*st lam BAYST

"lœm."bœst LAM BAST
lamentable "lœ.mń.t´.b´: LA mń t´ b´l

l´."mEn.t´.b´: l´ MEN t´ b´l
largess "lA„*.dZ´s LAHR j´s

lA„*."dZEs lahr JES
leisure "l”.ZE± LEH zhur

"li.ZE± LEE zhur
length lENkT LENGKTH lEnT, leI*nT, liNkT LENTH, LAYNTH, LEENGKTH
liaison "li.´.zÅn, LEE ´ zon,

lee AY zon,
"leI*.´.zÅn LAY ´ zon
li."eI*.zÅn,
Æli.eI*."zO) lee ay z o)
library "laI*.brE.rÈ L i@ bre ree "laI*.bE.rÈ L i@ be ree
liege lidZ LEEJ

liZ LEEZH
lingerie "lœn.Z´.rÈ, LAN zh´ ree

lan zh´ REE
ÆlAn.dZ´."reI* lahn j´ RAY
lœn.Z´."rÈ
lithe laI*D L i@TH laI*T L i@T H
loath (adj.) loU*T LOHTH

LOHTH
reversing pronunciations
loathe (v.) loU*D

LOH TH s´m
loathsome "loU*D.s´m "loU*T.s´m LOHTH s´m
long-lived lÅN laI*vd LONG L i@VD lÅN lIvd LONG LIVD
louring/ "lAU*´*.rIN LOWUR ring

"loU*.w´.rIN LOH wur ring
lowering
(threatening)
page 51
Letter du Jou r: M
D ESC RIPTIO N : voiced, bi-labial, nasal, continuant, consonant

Table LdJ .26 Letter du J our - M

Symbol
[m ] m mask (initial)
hamburger (medial)
beam (final)
[m` ] m (syllabic initially, only on foreign words) Mhorr
rhythm (final)
silent mnemonic
[m]/m, as in M AM M AL
FORMATION: Lips lightly closed; soft palate lowered to allow air to pass through
and out of nose; tongue relaxed and lowered; vocal folds vibrate.
PLACEMENT: Since this sound is produced through the nose, the quality of sound
can reveal nasal blockage. As that is usually not correctable by simply "speaking
better", medical attention may be required before correction can be effective.
Blockage can be caused by congestion from adenoids, growths in the nasal
passage, deviated septum, injury, allergies, or the common cold. This is true of
all the nasal resonating consonants: [m, n, N].
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Use this sound to increase your sense of facial mask
resonance. Focus also on speed and precision.
Practice on: mimicking, mummery, mumbled, manumission, remember
a. - Mamie mumbled and murmured memorandums to the members at Monday's
interminable meeting.
b. - Mama maintains her moments of submissiveness are merely my imagination.
DRILLS: repeat each several times rapidly and clearly

page 52
1. minimal animal 5. moving Vermont
2. mommala poppala 6. inimically mimicking
3. murmur rumors 7. abominable mambo
4. Martin met a mob of marching 8. remembered dismembering

munching monkeys.
9. abominable abdominals
Table LdJ .27 Mispronounced - M

machination Æmœ.kI."neI*.Sń MAK i NAY shń
Æmœ.SI."neI*.Sń MASH i NAY shń
madman "mœd.mń MAD mń

"mœd.mœn MAD man
magi "meI*.dZaI* MAY j i@ "mœ.dZaI* MA j i@
maraschino Æmœ.r´."ski.noU* MA r´ SKEE noh

ÆmE.r´."Si.noU* MA r´ SHEE noh
mature m´."tjU„* m´ TYUUR

m´."tS‰± m´ CHUR
mauve moU*v MOHV

mÅv, mOv MOV, MAWV
mayonnaise "meI*.´.ÆneI*z MAY ´ NAYZ "mœ.neI*z MA nayz
mayoral "meI*.´.r´: MAY ´ r´l

meI*."O´*.r´: may AW r´l
medieval mE.dI."i.v´: me dee EE v´l

mee dee EE v´l
mI."di.v´: mi DEE v´l
mi.dI."i.v´:
memento m´."mEn.toU* m´ MEN toh
moU*."mEn.toU* moh MEN toh
memorabilia ÆmE.m´.r´."bI.lI.´ ME m´ r´ BI li ´ ÆmEm.r´."bi:.j´ mem r´ BEEL y´
men mEn MEN

mIn MIN
mentor "mEn.t„ MEN tur

"mEn.tO„* MEN tawr
merchandise (n.&v.) "m‰±.tSń.ÆdaI*z MUR chń Di@Z "m‰±.tSń.ÆdaI*s MUR chń Di@S
midwifery "mId.waI*.frÈ MID w i@f ree mId."wI.f´.rÈ mid W i@ f´ ree
milieu mi:."jU meel YUU

"mI:.ju MIL yoo
minuscule mI."nøs.kju: mi NUS kyool

"mI.n´.skju: MI n´s kyool
minutiae mIn."ju.SI.Æi min YOO shi ee

mI."nu.S´ mi NOO sh´
mirror "mI´*.r„ MI r´r

"mI„* MEER
mischievous "mIs.tS´.v´s MIS ch´ v´s

mIs."tSi.vI.´s mis CHEE vee ´s
Monday "møn.dÈ MUN dee

"møn.deI* MUN day
mores "moU*.rIz MOH reez

"mO´*.reI*z MAW rayz
mustache m´."stœS m´ STASH

"møs.tœS MU stash
page 53
Letter du Jou r: N
D ESC RIPTIO N : voiced, alveolar, nasal, continuant, consonant.

Tabe LdJ .28 Letter du J our N

IPA Respelling Examples of their words and their various spellings
Symbol
[n] n need, knead, mnemonic, pneumonia (initial)
announce (medial)
win (final)
[ n` ] n (syllabic initially, only on foreign words) Nkomo
even (final)
[N] ng singer (medial)
song, tongue, think (final)
Silent condemn
We will focus on the sounds of [n]/n, and [N]/ng

PLACEMENT: Both sounds, like [m]/m are nasal resonators, and rely on an open
and clear nasal passage.
[n]/n, as in N AN N Y
FORMATION: Tip of tongue pressed lightly against the upper gum ridge, sides of
the tongue in contact with side teeth; lips unrounded; tongue relaxed; air passes
through nose as soft palate is lowered, and vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Don't get stuck in the nasal resonators for the
following vowel. Work for speed and clarity. Don't omit the sound in difficult
consonant combinations such as [nm]/nm.
Practice on: deed/need, dab/nab, done/none, dale/nail, wading/waning
ninny, none, government, environment, phenomenon
a. - Nanette's need for nicotine wasn't known until noon.
b. - Neil's unnerving tendency to gnaw his knuckles undermined the important job
interview.
page 54
[N]/ng, as in SIN GIN G

FORMATION: Lips unrounded; jaw slightly open; back of tongue raised against
soft palate, so air cannot exit mouth; tip of tongue rests low behind lower front
teeth; soft palate lowered, allowing air to move through nasal passage; vocal
folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: This is a difficult sound for many American dialects
and foreign accents.
1. - complete "ing" endings so that [IN]/ing doesn't change to [ń]/´ n.
2. - don't alter "ing" endings so that [IN]/ing changes to [in]/een.
Practice on: sing/singing, bring/bringing, wing/winging, ding/dinging, cling/clinging
a. - Darling, you'll not be getting something for nothing this evening.
b. - Singing, laughing and drinking, their lives came to nothing.
3. - when [N]/ng is followed by a vowel, don't change it to [Ng]/ng-g.
Practice on: long/longing, throng/thronging, clang/clanging, hang/hanging
Long Island, gingham, hanger, bring it, king of, sing on, bang at
c. - King A lbert sang a long and twanging song of young love.
d. - Bringing A llen along, we were running along the Long Island shipping
anchorage.
4. - the [Ng]/ng-g sound is present in many words
Practice on: angular, mangle, younger, longer, linguist, singled, bungled
e. - Linger longer in the jungle, King of Tonga.
f. - Mr. Bungle's attempts to mingle in the singles bar were anguishing.
5. - the [Nk]/ng-k sound is present in many words
Practice on: length, strength, ankle, sprinkle, thinking, tinkle, minx, larynx
ankle/angle, tinkle/tingle, anchor/anger, rankle/wrangle, banker/Bangor
6. - beware of [œN]/ang changing to [œI*N]/aing. Keep the front of your tongue

low.
page 55
Practice on: band/bank, sand/sank, planned/plank, hand/handkerchief
g. - The lanky man angrily drank himself into blankness.
h. - With a loud clanging and banging, A nne madly rang the gong.
Practice on this combination of [N]/ng sounds:
i. - The lanky English linguist languished long, feeling hungry and angry, his
strength shrinking, as he sank on a mangled plank and drank until his anger
shrank.
DRILLS: - repeat each one several times rapidly and clearly:
1. linger longer 6. winging to England
2. twanging language 7. anchor in Bangor
3. belonging longer 8. drinking ink
4. wrong rung wringing 9. long, long ago

10. n ng k g l ng k g
5. angry banker in Bangor [n´ N´ k´ g´ l´ N´ k´ g´]
-repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
Table LdJ .29 Mispronounced- N

naiveté nA.iv."teI* nah eev TAY
naI*."i.v´.tÈ nah EEV ´ tee
nascent "nœ.sńt NA sńt

"neI*.sńt NAY sńt
negotiate n´."goU*.SI.ÆeI*t n´ GOH shee AYT

n´."goU*.si.ÆeI*t n´ GOH see AYT
new nju NYOO

nu NOO
New Orleans nju "O„*.lI.ńz nyoo OR li ńz Ænu O„*."linz NOO or LEENZ
newspaper "njuz."peI*.p„ NYOOZ PAY pur

"nus."peI*.p„ NOOZ PAY pur
nihilism "naI*.´.lI.z´m N i@ ´ li z´m "ni.´.lI.z´m NEE ´ li z´m
nuclear "nju.klI„* NYOO kli ur

"nu.kj´.l„ NU ky´ lur
nuptial "nøp.S´: NUP sh´l

"nøp.tSu.´: NUP choo ´l
page 56
Letter du Jou r: O
Table LdJ .30 Letter du J our - O

Symbol
[i] ee people, amoeba
[I] i women
[E] e leopard
[Å] o knowledge, hot, orange
[O] aw bought
[o] oh opinion
[U] uu woman, could, wolf, foot, Worcestershire
[u] oo ooze, to, food, wound, ouzel
[ø] u color, hiccough, blood
[´] ´ polite
[´± ] ur actor
[‰± ] ur work, journey
[eI* ] ay gaol
[OI* ] oi boy, oil
[aU* ] ow loud, how, oust
[oU* ] oh shoulder, bowl, boast, home, no
[O„*] or floor, hoary, horn
[U„*] uur poor, tour
[w ] w once, ouija, someone
We will focus on "O" as it is used in the sounds [oU*]/oh, [aU*]/ow, [OI*]/oi, and
[Å]/o.
[oU*]/o h, as in H O E
FORMATION: Diphthong - for initial sound [o] back of tongue in upper mid back
position and relaxed; lips rounded and lax; soft palate raised; vocal folds
vibrate. As diphthong shifts into second sound [U] back of tongue rises slightly,
and lips tense, rounding farther.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Be sure not to slide into a British sounding [Ú*] when
speaking classical texts because of a misguided desire to "speak well."
page 57
Practice on: photo, oleo, Hoboken, Tokyo, overgrowth, taupe, boast, bowl, home
a. - The hole in J oan's hose had slowly grown past her soles and over her toes.
b. - It was so cold in the old theatre that there was snow blowing over the front
rows.
[aU*]/o w, as in H O W
FORMATION: Diphthong - tongue starts in low mid-back position, rises to high-
back region; lips lax and unrounded for first element of diphthong [a];
becoming tense and rounded for second sound [U*]; jaw moves from open to
closed; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Many speakers make the initial sound too far
forward and the diphthong takes on the brassy quality of [œU*] instead of the
darker [aU*]/ow. It can be helpful to take the sound all the way to [A]/ah21. In the
following word pairs let the sound of the first word help shape the initial vowel
in the diphthong.
Practice on: ah/hour, papa/power, balm/bow, calm/cow, spa/spout, drama/drought
a. - Howard's frowzy spouse slouched around the house, and lounged on the couch.
b. - How the stout Countess allowed her round and mountainous form to gain
pound upon pound astounded us all.
[OI*]/o i, as in H O IST
FORMATION: Diphthong - tongue starts in mid-back position [O] and moves to
the high front region [I*]; lips move from slightly rounded to unrounded; soft
palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: If the tongue doesn't rise to make the second sound
[I]/i, the vowel [O]/aw results so that oil sounds like all. Additionally, when the
21Many phoneticians do write this diphthong as [AU, AU*, AU, Au].

page 58
diphthong is followed by [:]/l, there is a tendency to add [j]/y, so that oil sounds
like oiyal.
Practice on: moil, foil, toil, coil, boil, doily, spoil, recoil, multifoil, voile, soil, despoil
a. - Floyd, the royal boy, joined the singing with a moistly adenoidal voice.
b. - Roy enjoyed Troy's joyous boyish foibles, but was disappointed by his adroit
avoidance of toil.
[Å]/o , as in H O T
There are three vowel sounds in English that are so close together that many
speakers have trouble differentiating between them: [A]/ah, [Å]/o, and [O]/aw. All
are formed with a low back tongue placement. Many American dialects
generalize them into one sound. They should be separated. The main difference
is lip roundness:
Americans tend to speak these sounds more accurately when accompanied by

an "R" sound, so look in a mirror and watch your lips as you say these key
words:
[A]/ah as in hard is unrounded.
[Å]/o as in horrible (make it rhyme with hot) is slightly rounded. (For US
speakers this sound is often used naturally in words like — sorry, borrow and
tomorrow.)
[O]/aw as in horn is very rounded.
Practice these words in comparison:
Table LdJ .31 [A, Å, O]- in Comparison

[A]/ah [Å]/o [O]/aw [oU*]/ o h [A]/ah [Å]/o [O]/aw [oU*]/ o h
1. ah ox awe oh 17. alms odd awed owed
2. Allah Ollie all old 18. palm pod pawed polled
3. palm policy Paul pole 19. papa popper pauper pope
4. balm bomb bawl bowl 20. Baden body bawd bode
5. Tahoe Tom tall toll 21. Tana tonic tawny tone
6. taco tock talk toque 22. Dahl doll Dalton dole
page 59
7. Dada dotted daughter dote 23. calm cod cawed code

8. Kahn con call cone 24. mama mop maw mow
9. spa spondee spawn spoke 25. armada mod Maud mode
10. Mahler moll maul mole 26. Nazi knotty naughty noted
11. llama lolling lawless loan 27. father fond fawned phoned
12. father folly falcon foal 28. facade sod sawed sewed
13. psalm somber sauce sews 29. sake sock Salk soak
14. Shah shot Shaw show 30. mirage Roger raw row
15. Brahms broth brought broach 31. drama drop drawn drone
16. Java John jaundice Jones 32. cha-cha chock chalk choke
Compare these sets of sentences where the sounds fall in the same order:
a. Charge off to war, Homer. The almond got raw and old.
b. Martin swallowed the gorgeous cone. Massage the monster's paw slowly.
c. Carve the horrible warm bowl. Calm that hot mawkish tone.
When [Å]/o is followed by an "R", most Americans change it to [O„**]/or. Compare

these words, and match the vowel sounds.
Practice on: hot/horrible, dot/Dorothy, fog/forest, log/lorry, Tom/torrent
This next sentence has these sounds [År, œr, O„*] in random order:
d. Rehearsing makes Horace hoarse, and hoarseness is
‰± Å.r O„* O„*
harassing to his humble hobby horse. Now if this hoarseness
œ.r ø Å O„* O„*
harasses Horace's horse, how it must affect Horace. A ctually, it
œ.r Å.r O„* ø Å.r
haunts Horace.
O Å.r
Table LdJ .32 Mispronounced - O

obeisance oU*."beI*.sńs oh BAY sńs
oU*."bi.sńs oh BEE sńs
obelisk "Å.b´.ÆlIsk O b´ LISK

"oU*.b´.ÆlIsk OH b´ LISK
oblique ´."blik ´ BLEEK

oU*."blik oh BLEEK
official ´."fI.S´: ´ FI sh´l

oU*."fIS.´: oh FI sh´l
often "Å.fń O fń

"Åf.tń OF tń
page 60
olfactory Å:."fœk.t´.rÈ ol FAK t´ ree

oU*:."fœk.t´.rÈ ohl FAK t´ ree
oligarchy "Å.lI.ÆgA„*.kÈ O li GAHR kee

"oU*.lI.ÆgA„*.kÈ OH li GAHR kee
onerous "Å.n´.r´s O n´ r´s

"oU*.n´.r´s OH n´ r´s
onomatopoeia ÆÅ.n´.ÆmA.t´."pi.´ O n´ MAH t´ PEE ´

ÆÅ.n´.ÆmA.n´."peI*.´ O n´ MAH n´ PAY ´
ophthalmologist ÆÅf.TA:."mÅ.l´.dZ´st OF thahl MO l´ j´st ÆÅp.TA."mÅ.l´.dZ´st OP th´ MO l´ j´st
oracle "Å.rI.k´: O ri k´l

"O„*.rI.k´: OR ri k´l
origin "Å.rI.dZń O ri jń

"O„*.rI.dZń OR ri jń
ornery "O„*.n´.rÈ OR n´ ree

"An.rÈ AHN ree
orthoepy "O„*.ToU*.ÆE.pÈ OR thoh E pee

O„*."ToU*.´.pÈ or THOH ´ pee
our aU*„* OW´R

A„* AHR
page 61
Letter du Jou r: P
D ESC RIPTIO N : bi-labial, voiceless, stop-plosive consonant.

Table LdJ .33 Letter du J our - P

Symbol
[p] p poem (initial)
happen, upon (medial)
hop (final)
[n] n pneumatic (silent)
[p]/p, as in PO PULAR
FORMATION: Lips closed; soft palate raised; air exhaled to create gentle
pressure behind lips; lips then opened quickly; air released explosively; tongue
relaxed; vocal folds don't vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Guard against over-popping when using a
microphone (though on-stage it might be a strong dramatic effect). Work for
speed and clarity
Practice on: bit/pit, beg/peg, rib/rip, tab/tap, dabber/dapper, Mabel/maple
a. - Pepe peculiarly planted purple paper poppies and pink paper petunias, in
perfectly preformed patterns.
b. - Harper typically supposes his perspectives are popular, but his personal
prejudices appeal only to purely apish disciples.
1. paper poppy, baby bubble 5. dapper dabber
2. Peggy Babcock 6. keep on peeking, creeping peeper
3. peculiarly perverted viper 7. sloppily sipping purple slurpees
4. rapid rabid rabbit 8. p b t d k g t d

[p´ b´ t´ d´ k´ g´ t´ d´]
page 62
Table LdJ .34 Mispronounced - P

paean "pi.ń PEE ń
"peI*.ń PAY ń
palm pAm PAHM

pA:m PAHLM
paradigm "pœ.r´.ÆdIm PA r´ DIM

"pœ.r´.ÆdaI*m PE r´ Di M
British speech
acceptable for
parley "pA„*.lÈ PAHR lee
"pA„*.leI* PAHR lay
pastoral "pœs.t´.r´: PAS t´ r´l

pœs."tO´*.r´: pas TOR r´l
pectoral "pEk.t´.r´: PEK t´ r´l

pEk."tO´*.r´: pek TOR r´l
pen pEn PEN

pIn PIN
penalize "pi.n´.ÆlaI*z PEE n´ Li Z

"pE.n´.ÆlaI*z PE n´ Li Z
permit (n.) "p‰±.mIt PUR mit

pur MIT
improper stressing
permit (v,)
p„."mIt
persevere Æp‰±.sI."vI„* PUR si VIR
p„."sE.v„, pur SE vur
PUR sur VIR
Æp‰±.s„."vI„*
phenomenon f´."nÅ.mI.ÆnÅn f´ NO mi NON
f´."nÅ.mI.Ænøn f´ NO mi NUN
pianist pi."œ.nIst pee A nist

"pi.´.nIst PEE ´ nist
piquant "pi.kńt PEE kńt

pi."kAnt, pee KAHNT
PEE kwńt
"pi.kwńt
plantain "plœn.tIn PLAN tin
plœn."teI*n plan TAYN
poinsettia pOI*n."sE.tI.´ poin SE ti ´

pOI*nt."sE.t´ point SE t´
police p´."lis p´ LEES

"poU*.lis POH lees
porcupine "pO„*.kj´.ÆpaI*n POR ky´ Pi N

"pO„*.kÈ."paI*n POR kee Pi N
porridge "pÅ.rIdZ PO rij

"pO„*.rIdZ POR rij
possess p´."zEs p´ ZES

poU*."zEs poh ZES
precedence prI."si.dńs pri SEE dńs

"prE.s´.dńs PRE s´ dńs
predator "prE.d´.t„ PRE d´ t´r

"prE.d´.ÆtO„* PRE d´ TOR
preferable "prE.f´.r´.b´: PRE f´ r´ b´l

prI."f‰.r´.b´: pri FUR r´ b´l
prelude "prE:.jud PREL yood

"preI*.lud PRAY lood
premises "prE.mI.s´z PRE mi s´z

"prE.m´.Æsiz PRE m´ SEEZ
premonition Æpri.m´."nI.Sń PREE m´ NI shń

ÆprE.m´."nI.Sń PRE m´ NI shń
preparatory prI."pE.r´.ÆtO´*.rÈ pri PE r´ TOR ree

"prE.pr´.ÆtO´*.rÈ PREP r´ TOR ree
prestigious prI."stI.dZ´s pri STI j´s

prE."sti.dZ´s pre STEE j´s
preventive prI."vEn.tIv pri VEN tiv

prI."vEn.t´.tIv pri VEN t´ tiv
primer (book) "prI.m„ PRI m´r

PRi m´r
failure to distinguish
primer (he, who,
or that which primes) "praI*.m„
privilege "prI.v´.ÆlIdZ PRI v´ lij
"prIv.lIdZ PRIV lij
process "prÅ.sEs PRO ses

"proU*.sEs PROH ses
British speech
page 63
acceptable for
processor "prÅ.sE.s„ PRO se s´r
"prÅ.sE.sO„* PRO se sor
program "proU*.grœm PROH gram

"proU*g.r´m PROH gr´m
progress "prÅ.grEs PRO gres

"proU*.grEs PROH gres
British speech
acceptable for
promulgate pr´."mø:.geI*t pr´ MUL gayt
"prÅ.m´:.ÆgeI*t PRO m´l GAYT
pronunciation pr´.Ænøn.sI."eI*.Sń pr´ NUN si AY shń

pr´.ÆnAU*n.sI."eI*.Sń pr´ NOWN si AY shń
psalm sAm SAHM

sA:m SAHLM
pulpit "pU:.pIt PUUL pit

"pø:.pIt PUL pit
page 64
Letter du Jou r: Q
Table LdJ .35 Letter du J our - Q

Symbol
[ kw ] kw quite (initial)
inquire (medial)
[k] k plaque
[ kj ] ky queue
"Q" has no phonetic identity in English, - all sounds it is used to create are
represented by other letters - so there will be no articulation drills for this
section.
Table LdJ .36 Mispronounced - Q
qualm kwAm KWA HM kwA:m KWA HLM
quasi "kweI*.zaI* KWAY zi "kwA.zÈ KWAH zee
quay ki KEE kweI* KWA Y
querulous "kwE.r´.l´s KWE r´ l´s "kwI„*.j´.l´s KWIR y´ l´s
query "kwI´*.rÈ KWI ree "kwE.rÈ KWE ree
quietus kwaI*."i.t´s kwi EE t´s "kwaI*.´.t´s KWi ´ t´s
page 65
Letter du Jou r: R
D ESC RIPTIO N : voiced, retroflexed, lingua-palatal fricative continuant

consonant.
Table LdJ .37 Letter du J our - R

Symbol
[r] r right, write (initial)
around, furry (medial)
[„] ur over, hear, hair, far, for, poor, fire, hour
[ ‰± ] UR worm, turn, journey, fern, earn, third,
myrtle, myrrh, chauffeur
Remember, "R" can function as both vowel and consonant. R, L, and S are
considered to be the most troublesome letters in English, so this is an important
section. First, the consonant:
[r]/r, as in REWRITE
FORMATION: Center of tongue raised toward center of palate; tongue tip and
blade may be raised toward the palate, but do not touch it; lips very slightly
rounded and protruded; jaw lowered; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate. For
[r] to function as consonant, it must be followed by a vowel sound.
1. - Don't over-round the lips substituting [w] for [r]. Use a mirror, or place a
finger across your lips to feel for any movement on the [r].
Practice on: way/Wray, weak/wreak, wangle/wrangle; wen/wren, wit/writ, wench/wrench,
west/wrest, wiggle/wriggle, wight/Wright
a. - Francois' rust brown Rolls Royce raced around the track, driven dreadfully by
the dangerously deranged Frenchman.
2. - Some dialects and accents substitute [:]/l for [r].
Practice on: lead/read, lack/rack, lug/rug, load/road, lore/roar, lip/rip

page 66
b. - Really, relying for their living on their relations' salaries, relaxed Lorraine and
Larry.
3. - When [r] is placed between two vowels, the first vowel often inadvertently
changes, and the [r] is shifted to [„r]. To correct this, identify the first vowel, and
save the [r] for the second syllable. For example: "marry" is often said as "mer-
ry". To get it right, say it as ["mœ-rÈ]/MA-ree.
Practice on these sets of words. For accuracy, refer to the IPA vowel chart, pp.__, since respelling
is less specific.
Table LdJ .38 Comparison of the Front Vowels With [r]

[Ir]/ir [e´* r]/air [Er]/er [œr]/ar
erase airy=aerie Eric arid
pyrrhic paring perish parish
berate bearing=baring bury=berry Barrie=Barry
tyranny tearable terrible tarry
direct dairy Derry Darrow
Kirin caring Kerry carry
mirror Mary merry marry
miracle Marion A merica Marilyn
lyric hilarious celerity hilarity
virile vary very Varro
sirrah Sarah serenade Saracen
heroic hairy herring Harry
spirit sparing Sperry sparrow
Table LdJ .39 Comparison of the Mid-Vowels with [r]

[‰r]/ur-r [´r]/ur-r [ør]/u-r
burry drapery burrow
furry sufferer furrow
currish conqueror courage
stirring surrender Surrey
whirring wanderer worry
myrrhic summary Murray
Table LdJ .40 Comparison of the Last Three Back Vowels with [r]
[Or]/awr [År]/o-r [Ar]ahr
auricle oracle aria
Laura lorry Lara
chorus Corin carabao
Maureen morals Mara
orally orange aria
pouring porridge sparring
page 67
boring borrow barring

story torrid starring
[‰±]/UR and [„]/ur, as in M URM UR ["m‰±m„]

FORMATION: Central part of the tongue raised and tensed; tongue tip may be
curled back slightly, but doesn't touch roof of mouth; lips slightly rounded; jaw
half open; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate. These sounds can only be
made properly if followed by a consonant or silence. [‰±] is stressed and longer,
[„] is unstressed and shorter.
PLACEMENT: Mid-central vowels (see the vowel chart, pp.__), tend to have a
naturally even tone, but some dialects (such as Australian and British North
Country) will over-round the lips and make these sounds strongly nasal.
1. - The "Hard R", or overly-retroflexed "R". This is one of the defining sounds
of western, mid-west, range, country, and mountain American dialects. If your
"R" is too "hard", you are probably lifting and pulling back on the tip of your
tongue. Here is a way to reduce that tendency:
Practice:
a. Say the word "hard" and observe the placement of your tongue tip and any tension in the
back of your tongue.
b. Say the word "hard" again with a British dialect (no retroflection). Keep the tip of your
tongue pressed lightly against the back of your lower teeth; relax the back of the tongue.
c. Say "hard" again with as heavily retroflexed a sound as you can. Pull your tongue tip up
and back
d. A lternate several times between the British and over-done A merican dialects until you
have a clear sense of how your tongue tip operates on this sound.
e. Finally, split the difference between the two sounds so that your "R" isn't as hard as
before, but hasn't disappeared entirely. Play with varying degrees of retroflection.
page 68
2. - When you feel comfortable with that exercise, use the same format to
practice on all the various ways the vowel of "R" shows up in English:
Table LdJ .41 Comparison of R Diphthongs/Vowels

[‰±]/UR [„]/ur [I„*]/ir [e„*]/air [A„*]/ahr
aver over ear air army
purple perplex pier pair part
confer conifer cheer care card
burn amber beer bare barn
dirt wonder deer dare dark
[O„*]/awr [U„*]/uur [aI*„*]/i r [aU*„*]/owr
pour poor pyre power
tore tour tire tower
shore sure shire shower
door dour dire dower
bore boor byre bower
3. - The presence of an "R" vowel also causes some mispronunciations: pour for
poor, shore for sure, as well as words like fear said with too high a vowel so it
sounds like "feer". Also avoid making triphthong words sound like two
syllables: tower like tow-wer (there is no "W" sound in those words), and fire
like fi-yer.
4. - If an "R" diphthong is followed by a vowel sound in the beginning of the
next word, that will cause the sound to change to a diphthong followed by an
"R" consonant. For example, in "far, far away", the first "far" is different from
the second ([fA„ fA´* r´"weI*]) because of the vowel in "away". Because of this
natural shift, in dialects or regional speech where no r-coloring is used (East
coast, Southern, etc.), there is a tendency, in phonetically similar situations, to
intrude an r-consonant out of thin air. For example: "idea is" becomes "idea
ris", or "law of averages" changes to "law rof averages".
Practice on: so far away/sofa away, finer and/China and, lore of/law of
a. - Minnesota after a rainfall is A merica at its finest.
b. - Canada always appears bigger than China on the map.

page 69
You may have discovered that you need to adjust your articulation of some "R"
sounds. To help, whenever "R" is followed by a vowel sound underline it.
Whenever followed by a consonant sound, or by silence, cross it out. Any "R"
that is underlined will function as a consonant. Guard against [r] to [w]
substitution. Any "R" that is crossed out is a vowel. Beware of over-
retroflection. Remember that these are rules of sound not spelling. For
example:
A ll for one, and one for all. ("one" begins with the [w] consonant sound)
For hour after hour. ("hour" begins with the diphthong [aU*], not the consonant "H")
Here are some sentences for you to practice marking and speaking the "R":
Practice on:
a. The erstwhile poet wrote earnest but worthless verses.

‰± r ‰± ‰± ‰±
b. Return the green pre registration forms before enrolling.

r ‰± r r r r O„* O´*. r r
c. A fter a rousing round of beer and pretzels, I'm ready to retire.

´.r r r I´.* r r r r aI*„*
d. Beware of the rip-tide running offshore.

E´.* r r r O„*
e. The rustic rocking chair remains a relic of rural life.

r r E„* r r rU´*.r
f. The dramatic instructor was feared for his temper.

r r „ I„* O„* „
g. The horrible warriors wreaked a terrible catastrophe.

Å.r Å.r ´± r E.r r
page 70
h. The bored jurors snored through the original hearing.

O„* U´*.r„ O„* r O.r I´*.r
i. The editor's grammar rarely ever required correction.

„ r „ rE„* „r aI*„* r
j. The ambassador traveled to the Orient to protect A merican trade interests

„ r O´.*r r E.r r r
regarding the importing of car parts, scrap iron, and rubber tires.
r A„* O„ A„* A„* r aI*„* r „ aI*„*
Table LdJ .42 Mispronounced - R

rabid "rœ.bId RA bid
"reI*.bId RAY bid
ratiocination Ærœ.SI.ÆÅ.sI."neI*.Sń RA shi O si NAY shń

ÆreI*.SI.ÆÅ.sI."neI*.Sń RAY shi O si NAY shń
ration "rœ.Sń RA shń

"reI*.Sń RAY shń
realtor "ri.´:.t„ REE ´l t´r

"ri.l´.t„ REE l´ t´r
recognize "rE.k´g.ÆnaI*z RE k´g Ni Z

"rE.k´.ÆnaI*z RE k´ Ni Z
refuge "rEf.judZ REF yooj

"rEf.juZ REF yoozh
refugee "rEf.ju.ÆdZÈ, REF yoo JEE

REF yoo JEE
"rEf.ju.ÆZÈ REF yoo ZHEE
REF yoo ZHEE
ÆrEf.ju."dZi ÆrEf.ju."Zi
regime reI*."Zim ray ZHEEM
rI."dZim ri JEEM
remonstrate rI."mÅns.treI*t ri MON strayt

"rE.mń.ÆstreIt RE mń STRAYT
reparable "rE.p´.r´.b´: RE p´ r´ b´l

rI."pE.r´.b´: ri PER r´ b´l
repartee ÆrE.pA„*."ti RE pahr TEE

ÆrE.pA„*."teI* RE pahr TAY
respiratory rI."spaI*´*.r´.tO´*.rÈ ri SPi r´ taw ree "rEs.p´.r´.ÆtO´*.rÈ RE sp´ r´ TAW ree
respite "rEs.pIt RES pit

r´."spaI*t res PYT
roof ruf ROOF

rUf RUUF
route rut ROOT

rAU*t ROWT
ruse ruz ROOZ

rus ROOS
rural "rU´*.r´: RUU r´l

"r‰.r´: RUR r´l
page 71
Letter du Jou r: S
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiceless lingua-alveolar fricative continuant

consonant.
Table LdJ .43 Letter du J our - S

Symbol
[s] s see, pseudo, schism, science (initial)
astride, cassette, (medial)
base, amass
[z] z disaster (medial)
nose, his (final)
[S] sh shore, schnapps (initial)
ashen (medial)
wash, Bosch (final)
silent Illinois
We will focus on "S" as [s] and [S].

[s]/s as in SERIO USN ESS
FORMATION: Blade of tongue slightly grooved or channeled, and raised toward
alveolar ridge; sides of tongue sealed against side teeth; air passes between
tongue and alveolar ridge in continuous flow; teeth close together but not
closed; soft palate raised; vocal folds don't vibrate.
1. - If the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge, and air is allowed to pass
around the sides of the tongue, you get a lateral lisp.
2. - If the tongue thrusts forward between the teeth, you get a frontal lisp which
sounds like [T]/th.
3. - If the focus of the sound is too far back it will have a vague, almost [S]/sh
quality.
4. - If the sound is made too forcefully, or for too long, it will stand out and
draw attention.
page 72
We will work on both "S" and its voiced cognate "Z". The "S" is one of the most
important sounds to get right, and one of the most difficult. If it has any non-
standard quality at all it will become the center of attention and steal focus
from the speaker. The high frequency sound of the "S" carries great distances,
and microphones are especially sensitive to the sound. If you have ever gotten a
warning comment on this sound, take it seriously. Few issues can stop a career
more quickly. The drills here are for those who need a minor tune-up. If you
don't respond easily to these, a visit to a speech pathologist could be the
answer.
Practice these consonant combinations:
1. (slowly - hold each sound) l....n.....z....d, l....n....s....t, (repeat several times. Don't let
the tip of your tongue touch the back of your upper teeth. The goal is to focus the "S" and "Z".
Experiment with subtle adjustments in placement to find the best focus. Often an objective
listener and a tape recorder are necessary to help you hear it.
2. Say these pairs. Let the n, t, d, and l sounds help you place the s and z.
neat-seat need-zeal knit-sit did-zit
net-set Ned-said tat-sat dad-Zach
bought-sought Len-Zen test-zest tone-zone
3. Say each word with a "T" sound before it. Keep "S" as brief as possible.
t-steam t-stem t-stab t-stand t-stack t-staff t-stag t-stage
t-stain t-staid t-stale t-stall t-stamp t-stand t-stink t-star
t-staple t-start t-state t-static t-status t-stay t-stead t-steal
4. Say each word with a "N" sound before it.
n-zoom n-zooms n-zany n-zeal n-Zen n-zest n-zinc n-zenith
n-zoo n-zoos n-zoot n-Zulu n-zone n-zebra n-zero n-Zoe
5. Say each word with a "T" sound before it. Keep the "S" as brief as possible. Don't change
[str]/str to [Str]/shtr.
page 73
{t-steam, t-stream, t-seam} {t-stand, t-strand, t-sand} {t-stay, t-stray, t-say}
6. Though the following words end with an "S" spelling it is actually a "Z" sound. Be sure to
fully voice that sound.
loses as because cheese please news surprise wise
his hers is was tells weeds wins judges
longs deeds allows nose close ease says has

page 74
[S]/sh, as in SH USH
FORMATION: Blade of tongue slightly grooved or channeled, and raised with the
sides of tongue sealed against side teeth, tongue tip pointed downward; air
passes between tongue blade and front of hard palate in continuous stream; lips
slightly protruded; soft palate raised; vocal folds do not vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: If the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge and
one or both sides of the tongue release, the sound shifts to a lateral lisp. If the
tongue tip thrusts forward a frontal lisp [T]/th results.
Practice on: seen/sheen, said/shed, sock/shock, Sam/sham, sort/short
viscous/vicious, my scene/machine, press her/pressure
lease/leash, office/fish, Russ/rush, hopeless/flesh, mass/mash
On the following sentences, identify the [s]/s, [z]/z, and [S]/sh sounds, and articulate them
clearly:
a. Sister Susie is sewing shirts for soldiers; such skill at sewing shirts for soldiers
Sister Susie shows.
b. Sharon's shameless gaucheries surely caused a share of the vicious gossip about
her suspicious attraction to the Welsh fisherman.
c. The sharp-looking Chevy was washed to a shiny finish and furnished to perfection
with sheepskin seat cushions.
Table LdJ .44 Mispronounced - S

sacrilegious Æsœ.kr´."lI.dZ´s SAK r´ LIJ ´s
Æsœ.kr´."li.dZ´s SAK r´ LEEJ ´s
salve sœv SAV

SA v´r sœ:v SALV
SAL v´r
salver
"sœ.v„ "sœ.:v„
sandwich "sœnd.wItS SAND wich
"sœm.wItS SAM wich
sanguine "sœNg.wIn SANG gwin

"sœN.gwaI*n SANG gwi n
schedule "skE.dZu: SKE jool

"SE.dZu: SHE jool
British speech
acceptable for
schism "sI.z´m SI z´m
"skI.z´m SKI z´m
schizophrenia ÆskIt.s´."fri.nI.´ SKIT s´ FREE ni ´

ÆskIt.s´."frE.nI.´ SKIT s´ FRE ni ´
page 75
secretary "sEk.r´.ÆtE.rÈ SEK r´ TE ree

"sE.k„.ÆtE.rÈ SEK ur TE ree
secreted (all meanings) sI."kri.t´d si KREE t´d

"si.kr´.t´d SEE kr´ t´d
senile "si.naI*: SEE ni l

"sE.naI*: SE ni l
servile "s‰±.v´: SUR v´l

"s‰±.vaI*: SUR vi l
sheik SeI*k SHAYK

Sik SHEEK
short-lived "SO„*t "laI*vd SHORT Li VD

"SO„*t "lIvd SHORT LIVD
siege sidZ SEEJ

siZ SEEZH
sieve sIv SIV

siv SEEV
similar "sI.mI.l„ SI mi l´r

"sIm.ju.l„ SIM yoo l´r
sinecure "saI*.n´.ÆkjU„* Si n´ KYUUR

"sI.n´.ÆkjU„* SI n´ KYUUR
sirrah "sI´*.r´ SIR r´

s´."rA si RAH
sonorous s´."nO„*.r´s s´ NOR r´s

"sÅ.n´.r´s SO n´ r´s
British speech
acceptable for
species "spi.SÈz SPEE sheez
"spi.siz SPEE seez
spherical "sfE.rI.k´: SFE ri k´l

"sfI´*.rI.k´: SFI ri k´l
spontaneity ÆspÅn.t´."ni.I.tÈ SPON t´ NEE i tee

ÆspÅn.t´."neI*.I.tÈ SPON t´ NAY i tee
status steI*.t´s STAY t´s

stœ.t´s STA t´s
strength strENkT STRENGKTH

strEnT, striNkT, STRENTH, STRINGKTH,
STRAYNGKTH
streI*NkT
succinct s´k."sINkt s´k SINGKT
s´."sINkt s´ SINGKT
summarily "sø.m´.r´.lÈ SU m´ r´ lee

s´."mE.r´.lÈ s´ ME r´ lee
superfluous sju."p‰±.flu.´s syoo PUR floo ´s

Æsu.p„."flu.´s SOO pur FLOO ´s
Æsju.p„."flu.I.tÈ
SYOO pur FLOO i tee
superfluity Æsu.p„."flu.I.tÈ SOO pur FLOO i tee
supposed s´."poU*zd s´ POHZD

s´."poU*.z´d s´ POH z´d
sure SU„* SHUUR

S‰± SHUR
swath swOT SWAWTH

swAD SWAHTH
swathe
sweI*D SWAY TH
swAD SWAHTH
syrup "sI´*.r´p SI r´p

"s‰±.r´p SUR r´p
page 76
Letter du Jou r: T
The letter T actually began as X! Ancient Egyptians used the symbol

about 300 BC, then the Semites took it, called it "taw"(which to them meant
"mark") and shifted it around so it looked like a plus or cross ( +) . When the
Greeks took over the letter, they moved the cross bar to the top of the vertical
stroke much like its present form. While it is 20th in the Alphabet, this is the
second most widely used letter in printed material. The smaller case version did
not develop until the CE 500s, went through various changes and finally reached
its present form in the 1500s.
In the relationship of spelling to sound, the letter T almost always
represents the sound [t]. The reverse is not as consistently true. The sound [t]
can be spelled ed in words like walked and missed, or spelled th in a few proper
names like Thomas, Theresa, Thailand, Thompson, and words like thyme. The t
with h spelling is alphabetically inferior to the way the Greeks do it. They have a
specific symbol called a "theta" (T). The th sound was alien to the Latin
speaking Romans, so they didn't include it in their 25-letter alphabet. Both
voiced [D] as in either and voiceless [T] th as in ether were spoken in Old English,
however, and the runic "thorn" and the "edh" were used interchangeably
to spell them. The Latin educated Norman scribes rejected these symbols and
used the th or, less frequently the y22. In Modern English th represents both the
voiced sound and the voiceless sound.
T is allegedly silent in tch-ending words like catch, fetch and itch (i.e., as
ch includes [t] when it spells [tS]). It has become mute also in the orally awkward
22Modern misunderstanding of this spelling convention has resulted in confusing

readings of Shakespearean texts where ye can be the weak form of you, versus the word
the as in Ye Olde Sweete Shoppe. Ye for you should be pronounced [j´]. Ye for the should
be pronounced [D´, Di].
page 77
stl and tn consonant clusters in words like castle, nestle, thistle, jostle and
hustle, and in fasten, listen, often and soften.
page 78
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiceless, lingua-alveolar, stop-plosive, consonant.

Table LdJ .45 Letter du J our - T

Symbol
[t] t talk, thyme, ptomaine (initial)
after, butter (medial)
hit, butt, light, doubt (final)
often (silent)
[T] th thing (initial)
athlete, Matthew (medial)
both (final)
[D] th this (initial)
bother (medial)
breathe (final)
[t]/t, as in TO TALITY
FORMATION: Tip of tongue lightly pressed against gum ridge behind the upper
teeth; sides of tongue touch side teeth; soft palate raised; air stopped; vocal
folds separated and do not vibrate. Air pressure builds behind tongue tip;
tongue is released quickly, and air explodes out of mouth.
This consonant functions three ways in English: unaspirated [tÆ], aspirated [tÓ],
and dentalized [ t1 ].
1. - When the sound is followed by a consonant it is "unaspirated", or has the
stop, but not the plosive quality. If you put in that aspiration, your speech will
sound affected, or over-pronounced. Do it both ways to hear the difference.
Practice on: hits, heatstroke, pit bull, hot dog, football, notebook, fat free
a. - Hit lots of little cotton balls lightly, and correct your wrist position, or your golf
game won't be its best.
2. - When the unaspirated [tÆ]/t is followed by [r]/r, be careful not to splash the
sound or change it to [tSr]/chr - so that "tree" becomes "chree".
Practice on: trial, true, attract, betray, chartreuse, tremendous, trajectory
b. - Travel on the train to Trenton.

page 79
c. - Trevor trilled twenty-two Italian trios.
Further, the situation is even more complex when [tr] is preceeded by [s]. Be
careful not to change it to [StSr]/shchr
d. – Strength training should include instruction in stretching.
e. – Striped vests with string fringes strike me as abstractly stylish.
3. - When the [tÆ]/t at the end of a word, is followed by the same sound at the
start of the next word, don't make two sounds. Rather, hold your tongue in
place a bit longer, and give a slight burst of energy for the second [tÓ]/t.
Practice on: hit to, fat Tillie, last ticket, can't tell, spanked Tom, swiped ten
f. - Matt touched ten tent tops, testing to see if they were tied tightly.
4. - When the [tÓ]/t is followed by a vowel sound, or silence, it is "aspirated", or

pops with a light rush of air like a small "H". Be careful not to turn this into
[ts]/ts.
In the following example the only difference between these pairs is that the first words will have
a slightly longer and more present "H".
Practice on: bet her/better, kit he/kitty, shut her/shutter, pat her/patter
g. - You bet he'd better not touch the teeth on the "T" consonant.
h. - Tom took Peter to batting practice.
5. - When [tÆ]/t is followed by [T]/th, or [D]/th, the sound is "dentalized", or made

with the tongue touching the top front teeth in anticipation of the "TH" sound23.
It is noted as [ t1 ]. This is a fairly natural action, and usually doesn't need to be
forced.
Practice on: bet three, first Thursday, adjust things, ancient Thebes
g. - Hit the ball at the first throw.
h. - I hate that the bills are due on the fifth and twelfth
23The same action happens when [n, d] are followed by [T, D] . We make note of it here,
because the issue of [t] articulation is more complex, and more likely to need this level of
detail.
page 80
[T]/th, as in TH IN G, and [D]/ th , as in TH IS

FORMATION: Tip of tongue placed inter-dentally (between front teeth); air
moved between tongue tip and upper teeth in continuous stream; soft palate
raised, on [T]/th, vocal folds do not vibrate, for [D]/th, they do.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: This sound requires the tongue to reach so far
forward that some consonant combinations are challenging. Some dialects
substitute [f]/f for [T]/th, so "birthday" becomes "birfday", and [d]/d for [D]/th,
so that "this" shifts to "dis". These are a difficult sounds for non-native
speakers because they don't exist in most other languages. Foreign speakers will
tend to substitute [t]/t, or [s]/s for [T]/th, and [d]/d, or [z]/z for [D]/th.
Practice on: [T]/th
tree/three, tick/thick, sin/thin, saw/thaw, tie/thigh, boat/both
a. - I think Theadora's thesis was thin and not thought through thoroughly.
b. - The anesthesiologist's ether throbbed in my throat.
Practice on: [D]/th
Dan/than, dare/there, wiz/with, laze/lathe, seed/seethe
c. - Breathe rhythmically, and don't dither as you gather together.
d. - Mother loathes bathing and clothing teething babies.
1. Topeka, Topeka, Topeka 6. teases Terry's teary thesis theories
2. three tethered teething things 7. the thorn had torn through
3. Heather's hat has ten thousand 8. p b t d k g t d

[p´ b´ t´ d´ k´ g´ t´ d´]
feathers -repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
4. Sarah's rising sighs and 9. sh zh th th s z th th

writhing thighs [S´ Z´ T´ D´ s´ z´ T´ D´]
5. Strategy tragedy
page 81
Table LdJ .46 - T

Troublesome Words
temperature "tEm.p´.r´.tS„ TEM p´ r´ ch´r "tEm.p„.tS„ TEM p´r ch´r
tercel24 "t‰±.s´: TUR s´l t„."sE: t´r SEL
textile "tEks.t´: TEKS t´l "tEks.taI* : TEKS ti l
the (before a consonant) D´ th ´ reversal of pronunciations
the (before a vowel) Di th ee
theatre "Ti.´.t„ THEE ´ t´r Ti."eI*.t„ thee AY t´r
thither "DI.D„ TH I th´r "TI.D„ THI th´r
thoroughly "Tø.r´.lÈ THU r´ lee "T‰±.r´.lÈ THUR r´ lee
Thursday "T‰±.zdÈ THURZ dee "T‰±z.deI* THURZ day
timbre (sound) "tœm.b„ TAM b´r "tIm.b„ TIM b´r
timber (wood) "tIm.b„ TIM b´r --- --
tiramisu Æti.rA.mi."su TEE rah mee SOO ÆtI.rE."mi.su TIH rE MEE soo
tortuous (twisted) "tO„*.tSu.´s TOR choo ´s reversal of pronunciations
torturous (tormented) "tO„.*tS´.r´s TOR ch´r r´s
tousled "tAU*z´:d TOW z´ld "tAU*s´:d TOW s´ld
transfer (v.) trœns."f‰± trans FUR improper stressing
transfer (n.) "trœns.f´± TRANS f´r
trauma "trO.m´ TRAW m´ "trAU*.m´ TROW m´
traverse "trœ.v„s TRA v´rs tr´."v‰±s tr´ VURS
tribunal traI*."bju.n´: tri BYOO n´l trI."bju.n´: trI BYOO n´l
triumvirate traI*."øm.v´.ÆrIt tri UHM v´ RIT ÆtraI*.´m."vaI*.rIt TRI ´m VI rit
Tuesday "tjuz.dÈ TYOOZ dee "tuz.deI* TOOZ day
tumult "tju.m´:t TYOO m´lt "tø.m´:t TU m´lt
turgid "t‰±.dZId TUR jid "t‰±.gId TUR gid
turret "tø.rIt TU rit "t‰.rIt TUR rit
tyrannical tI."rœ.nI.k´: ti RA ni k´l taI*."rœ.nI.k´: ti RA ni k´l
24Tercelis a male peregrine falcon. The name of the car model is taken from this source.
Toyota may choose to pronounce it anyway they like.
page 82
Letter du Jou r: U
Table LdJ .47 Letter du J our - U

Symbol
[ i] ee quay
[ I] i build
[ E] e guess
[ œ] a guarantee
[ Å] o hough, lough
[ O] aw caught, bought
[ U] uu could, vacuum
[ u] oo true, fruit, rude, soup, through
[ ø] u up, touch
[ ´] ´ upon
[ „] ur urbane
[ ‰±, ‰ ] UR fur, furry
[ aI* ] i guy, guide
[ OI* ] oi deutzia, Reuters, Freud
[ aU* ] ow house, kraut
[ oU* ] oh mauve, beau
[ O„* ] or four
[ U„* ] uur tour, sure
[ a„* ] ahr guard
[ aU„* ] owr flour
[ ju ] yoo feud, due, duke, beauty
[ w] w guava
We will focus on [u]/oo, [U]/uu, and [ø]/u.

[u]/u, as in PRUN E
FORMATION: Highest back vowel. Back of tongue raised, lips rounded and
forward, soft palate raised, vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Keep the sound distinct. Don't let it drift into the
nearby sounds of [U]/uu, as in COULD, or [ø]/u, as in CUP.
Practice on: hut/hook/hoot, cup/cook/kook, tuck/took/toucan, putt/put/pewter
stood/stooge, pull/pool, full/fool, hood/who'd, putsch/pooch
a. - Who's soup spoon was used to scoop the goo from the school's pool?
b. - Ruth rudely goosed Bruce as he removed his shoes.

page 83
[U]/uu, as in PUT
FORMATION: Back of tongue high, lips moderately rounded, soft palate is
raised, vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: as this sound isn't in many other languages, foreign
speakers will often substitute [O]/aw, [oU*]/oh, or [u]/u, which are all close
sounds. Native speakers are most likely to shift [U]/uu to [´]/´, by releasing the
lip roundness and not putting enough energy on the sound.
1. - When it is followed by [:]/l, be careful not to add an extra syllable, changing
wool [wU:]/wuul to ["wU´:]/WUU-´l.
Practice on: pull, full, wool, bull, fulfill, wolf
a. - The good-looking snooker player hooked fully five balls off the cushion.
b. - Spinsterhood can be quite good, if it's fully understood.
c. - Don't use that bull to pull the wool over my eyes.
2. - Don't change the diphthong [U„*] /uur to [‰±]/UR, or [O„*] /or.
Practice on:
Table LdJ .48 [U„*, O„*, ‰±] Comparison

[U„*]/uur [O„*]/o r [‰±]/UR [U„*]/uur [O„*]/o r [‰±]/UR
boor/Boer bore/boar burr Moor more Myrrh
tour tore turn sure shore shirt
spoor spore spurn your yore yearn
poor pore/pour purple dour door dirt
d. - The demure and immature juror looked with curiosity at the lurid evidence
during the trial of the "Brooklyn Butcher".
e. - The furious epicure took a poorly planned tour of the bush country looking for
obscure rural cookbooks.

page 84
[ø]/u, as in H UT
FORMATION: Tongue centered and relaxed, lips unrounded, soft palate raised,
vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Non-native speakers will often shift this sound to
[Å]/o, as in HOT. Southern regional dialects will sometimes alter it to [‰]/UR, so
that HUT sounds like HURT (without the "R").
Practice on:
Table LdJ .49 [‰±, ø, Å]- Comparisons

[‰±]/UR [ø]/U [Å]/o [‰±]/UR [ø]/U [Å]/o
sir supper sop search suck sock
dirge drudge dodge dirk duck dock
lurch lunch lodge first fussed fond
hurt hut hot shirt shut shot
bird bud body turn tumble Tom
These word pairs will have the SA ME SOUNDS IN BOTH WORDS:
cut/courage, cup/curry, bum/burrow≈borough25, tub/turret, come/current,
mud/Murray, nut/nourish, fun/furrow, sun/surrey, hum/hurry, flub/flourish,
come/constable.
Practice sentences:
a. - Mother Courage had such a wonderful run in London.
b. - Consult the dull culturally refined adults about hushing up while studying.
c. - It takes courage to hurriedly gulp hot curry.
Table LdJ .50 Mispronounced - U

ultimatum Æø:.tI."meI*.t´m UL ti MAY t´m
Æø:.tI."mA.t´m UL ti MAH t´m
undertaking Æøn.d„."teI*.kIN UN d´r TAY king reversal of stressing

(endeavor)
undertaking UN d´r TAY king
(mortician's profession) "øn.d„.ÆteI*k.IN
usurp ju."z‰±p yoo ZURP

ju."s‰±p yoo SURP
25 Note
the problematic similarity of: borrow ["bÅ.roU*], burro ["bU.roU*], bureau ["bjÁE*.roÁ*], and
borough≈burrow≈boro (suffix)≈Burrough(e)s≈Burrows ["bø.roU*](z).
page 85
usury "ju.Z´.rÈ YOO zh´ ree

"ju.z´.rÈ YOO z´ ree
page 86
Letter du Jou r: V
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiced, labio-dental, fricative continuant,

consonant.
Table LdJ .51 Letter du J our - V

Symbol
[v] v verse (initial)
over (medial)
love (final)
[v]/v, as in VALVE
FORMATION: Lower lip touches edge of upper teeth; soft palate raises; air
pushed out between lower lip and upper teeth in steady stream, vocal folds
vibrated.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: As with other voiced-fricative sounds, attention must
be placed on the sound in the final position to be sure it doesn't unvoice to
[f]/f. Many non-native speakers will unvoice this sound in all positions. Spanish
speakers will tend to confuse this sound with [B]26 or [b]/b. Europeans are prone
to [v]/v, [w]/w interchanges.
Practice on: folly/volley, feel/veal, off/of, safe/save, leaf/leave, safes/saves
berry/very, buy/vie, bend/vend, cab/calve, lobes/loaves
wane/vein-vane, wow/vow, "y"/vie, wicker/vicar, weal/veal
a. - Very well, loaves of baked unleavened bread will be served with the Bavarian
veal.
b. - A bove every withered vine, bumblebees bobbed and weaved, buzzing about
with benevolent abandon.
26[B] is a voiced bi-labial fricative. It sounds like a combination of "B" and "V".
page 87
DRILLS: Repeat each one several times rapidly and clearly
1. deliver shriveled devils 5. vibrantly verbal Bavarian
2. involved Volvo lovers 6. beveled vestibule
3. marvelous larvae 7. Vanna wooed a voodoo man
4. nervous Vern's weird red vest 8. alluvial bivalve

9. f v sh zh s z sh zh
[f´ v´ S´ Z´ s´ z´ S´ Z´]
-repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
Table LdJ .52 Mispronounced - V

vacuum "vœ.kju.´m VA kyoo Em "vœ.kjum VA kyoom
vagaries v´."ge´*.rIz, v´ GAIR reez "vœ.g´.rIz VA g´ reez
VAY g´ reez
"veI*.g´.rIz
valet "vœ.lIt VA lit vœ."leI* va LAY
vase veI*s VA YS vAz VOZ
vaudeville "voU*d.vI: VOHD vil "vO.d´.ÆvI: VAWD ´ VIL
vegetable "vEdZ.t´.b´: VEJ t´ b´l "vE.dZ´.t´.b´: VE j´ t´ b´l
vehicle "vi.I.k´: VEE i k´l "vi.hI.k´: VEE hi k´l
venereal v´."nI.rI.´: v´ NI ri ´l v´."nE.rI.´: v´ NE ri ´l
vendor "vEn.d„ VEN d´r "vEn.dO„* VEN dor
vertebrae "v‰±.t´.Æbri VUR t´ bree "v‰±.t´.breI* VUR t´ bray
vice versa "vaI*.sI "v‰±.s´ Vi si VUR s´ "vaI*s "v‰±.s´ Vi S VUR s´
victuals "vI.t´:z VI t´lz "vIk.tSu.´:z VIK choo ´lz
visa "vi.z´ VEE z´ "vi.s´ VEE s´
page 88
Letter du Jou r: W
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiced, bi-labial, glide (semi-vowel), continuant,

consonant.
Table LdJ .53 Letter du J our - W

Symbol
[w] w will (initial)
away (medial)
[∑] hw what (initial)
somewhere (medial)
[w]/w, as in WITC H , and [∑]/hw, as in WH IC H

FORMATION: For [w]/w, lips slightly rounded and protruded; back of tongue
lifted, tip of tongue behind the lower front teeth, air flow sent between the lips
as they part, soft palate raised, vocal folds vibrate. This consonant must be
followed by a vowel sound. To form [∑]/hw, the operation is almost the same
except unvoiced, so vocal folds are open and not vibrating. The action is like
blowing out a candle. It too, must be followed by a vowel sound.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Non-native speakers sometimes switch [v]/v for
[w]/w, or [∑]/hw. Native speakers frequently fail to use the [∑]/hw sound at all.
[∑]/hw will always be used when the word is spelled with "WH", except for:
whooping, who, whom, whose, whole, wholly, whore - those words use [h]/h.
Practice on:
Table LdJ .54 [∑, w, v, f]- Comparisons

[∑]/hw [w]/w [v]/v [f]/f [∑]/hw [w]/w [v]/v [f]/f
wheel we'll veal feel whelp wealth veldt felt
wherry wary very ferry whirred word averred furred
whale wale veil fail whales Wales vales fails
why "Y" vie fie whine wine vine fine
while wile vile file where wear very fair
page 89
a. - When white-wall wheels are worn in wet weather, they become somewhat the
worse for wear.
b. - Once or twice during the week we will work, otherwise we will wait, while
watching television.
c. - The squire acquiesced to the weird whims of his squawking wife because,
however wild her wishes, he could not ever bear to be without her.
1. whither which way 6. Willie's villa
2. wrong rung wringing 7. we'll wail at the whale
3. will you, William 8. wicked wicket victim
4. Willamette metalworkers 9. p b w hw p b r w
[p´ b´ w´ ∑´ p´ b´ r´ w´]
5. while her withers wither with her - repeat rapidly (20 times on one breath)
Table LdJ .55 Mispronounced - W

"W" "dø.b´:.Æju DU b´l yoo "dø.bj´ DUB y´
wash wAS WA HSH wA„*S WA RSH
wastrel "weI*s.tr´: WAY str´l "wAs.tr´: WAH str´l
Wednesday "wEnz.dÈ WENZ dee "wEnz.deI* WENZ day
werewolf "wI„*.ÆwU:f WIR WUULF "wE„*.ÆwU:f WER WUULF
whoop(ing) hup HOOP ∑up HWOOP
wisteria wI."stI.rI.´ wi STI ri ´ wI."stE.rI.´ 27 wi STE ri ´
with wID WI TH wIT WITH
wizened "wI.zńd WI zńd "waI*.zńd Wi zńd
wont wOnt WA WNT wAnt WA HNT
WOHNT
woU*nt
worsted "wUs.tId WUUS tid failure to distinguish
(s.) yarn, cloth
worsted WURS tid
(v.) from worst "w‰±s.tId
27This pronunciation is correct for the spelling wistaria, which may have been the
original intention, since the shrub is named after Caspar Wistar. However, it is not in
common use.
page 90
Letter du Jou r: X
Table LdJ .56 Letter du J our - X

Symbol
[ gz ] gz exist
[ ks ] ks excuse
[ kS ] ksh luxury
[ z] z xylophone
[ s] s xi (Greek letter, [saI*])
No phonetic sounds will be specifically assigned to this letter.
Table LdJ .57 Mispronounced - X

Xanthippe zœn."tI.pÈ zan TI pee zœn."TI.pÈ zan THI pee
Xavier "zeI*v.j„ ZAYV y´r Ig."zeI*v.j„ ig ZAYV y´r
(ÆhA.vi."Er· Spanish)
xenophobia ÆzE.n´."foU*.bI.´ ZE n´ FOH bi ´ Æzi.n´."foU*.bI.´ ZEE n´ FOH bi ´
page 91
Letter du Jou r: Y
Table LdJ .58 Letter du J our - Y

Symbol
[j] y you (initial)
canyon (medial)
[ i] ee quay
[ È] ee easy
[ I] i myth
[ „] ur martyr
[ ‰± ] UR myrtle, myrrh
[ eI* ] ay pray, prey
[ aI* ] i eye, aye, buy, by, "Y"
[ OI* ] oi boy, buoyant
[ E„* ] air A yr, Eyre, they're
We will focus on "Y" as it is used in [È]/ee, and [j]/y.

[È]/ee, as in EASY
FORMATION: Front of tongue lifted high toward front palate, tongue tense, jaw
almost shut, lips spread, soft palate raised, vocal folds vibrate. Compare this to
the close sounds of [i]/ee in the first syllable of EASY ["izÈ], and [I]/i in the first
syllable of SILLY ["sIlÈ].
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Only found on unstressed syllables, typically "y", and
"ie" spelled endings of words, and the "day" endings for the days of the week
(Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Avoid stressing the sound, or lifting it up to [i]/ee.
Practice these words; the first vowel will be [i], the second, [È]:
easy, beastly, meaty, needy, Petey, seamy, Erie, dearie, dreamy
Practice these words; the first vowel will be [I], the second, [È]:
pretty, hippie, silly, Billy, hilly, misty, giddy, ability, piggy, pity
Sentences: a. - The ability of the pretty filly to run easily on a muddy track, makes her a fairly
safe bet for Monday's race.
b. - Fifty very tiny lilies grew peacefully in the cemetery.

page 92
[j]/y , as in Y O U
FORMATION: Lips slightly widened, jaw relaxed open, front of tongue raised to
front of palate, air stream directed over tongue, vocal folds vibrate. This
consonant must be followed by a vowel sound.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: This sound poses few problems in common words
like "beauty", "argue", and "fuel". However,
1. - When preceded by [d]/d, it is sometimes incorrectly shifted to [dZ]/j ("did
you" becomes "di-joo").
Practice on: did you, would you, could you, had you, good year, heard you
2. - When preceded by [t]/t it can shift to [tS]/ch ("don't you" becomes "dohn-
choo"), or [t]/t can shift to a glottal stop [/] ("don't you" becomes [doU*/ ju]).
Practice on: can't you, won't you, don't you, hit you, trust you, must you
3. - When preceded by [s]/s it might shift to [S]/sh ("kiss you" becomes "ki-
shoo").
Practice on: kiss you, miss you, force you, pass you, toss you, curse you
4. - When preceded by [z]/z, it can shift to [Z]/zh ("as you" becomes "a-zhoo").
Practice on: as you, please you, tease you, has uses, his yell, was young, is yet
5. - When preceded by [:]/l, it can shift to [:‚]/l, or [oU*]/oh ("will you" becomes
"wioh you").
Practice on: will you, tell you, brilliant, peculiar, Italian, kill you, will yell
6. -General American dialect frequently omits the [j]/y altogether. For Elevated
Speech, this sound is commonly called the "Liquid U". It usually is found when
the letter "U" is preceded by: t, d, th or n, and is optional following: l and s.
Practice on: butte/tutor, view/stew, abuse/obtuse, Cuba/tuba, humor/tumor
beauty/duty, puke/duke, fuse/dues, imbue/adieu, few/dew
Matthew/enthuse, impugn/Bethune, both you/Thucydides
mew/new, muse/news, amuse/renews, computer/neuter

page 93
miss you/sue, muse/sues, mute/suit, permute/hirsute
abusive/elusive, mute/lute, cued/lewd, cube/lubricate

page 94
Sentences: a. - The resolute suitor was a nuisance as he serenaded her enthusiastically on his
new tuba.
b. - The superbly dutiful new Lieutenant knew that the superintendent's
attitude was suicidal, but assumed his behavior would continue as usual.
c. - Bruce wanted to re-do the new room in unusual hues, with nuances of puce
and fuchsia, because it suited his humor.
DRILLS: repeat each rapidly and clearly:
1. peculiarly brilliant Italian stallion 5. curiously obscure procurer
2. did you, would you, could you 6. enthusiastic Thucydides
3. don't you, won't you, can't, you 7. unique New York
4. new venue's revenue 8. excuse the askew skewers
Table LdJ .59 Mispronounced - Y

yarmulke "jA„*.m´:.k´ YAHR m´l k´ "jA.m´.k´ YAH m´ k´
ye D´, Di 28 TH ´ ,TH EE ji YEE
(article, meaning the)
ye Y´ ,YEE
(archaic form of you) j´ , ji
yolk joU*k YOHK joU:k YOHLK
your jU„* YUUR j‰± YUR
28[D´] is used when the next sound is a consonant. [ Di ] or [ DI ]is used when the next
sound is a vowel, or for unusual stress.
page 95
Letter du Jou r: Z
D ESC RIPTIO N : (typically) voiced lingua-alveolar fricative continuant

consonant.
Table LdJ .60 Letter du J our - Z

Symbol
[z] z zoom (initial)
dazzle, sizes (medial)
buzz, recognize (final)
[Z] zh Zsa Zsa (initial)
azure (medial)
[ ts ] ts Zeitgeist (initial)
pizza (medial)
We will focus on [z]/z, and [Z]/zh.

[z]/z , as in ZO N ES
FORMATION: Blade of tongue slightly grooved, or channeled, and raised toward
alveolar ridge; sides of tongue sealed against side teeth; air passes between
tongue and alveolar ridge in continuous flow; teeth close together, but not
closed; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: "Z" is the voiced partner of the unvoiced "S", so all
the sibilant issues are present with both sounds (see page__, under letter S).
Additionally, guard against the tendency to unvoice [z]/z at the ends of words.
Practice on: as, because, was, is, news, size, seizes, buzzes, daisies, businesses
cease/seize, seal/zeal, bus/buzz, sip/zip, sue/zoo, noose/news
a. - Girls are mere playthings to those boys whose looks send chills down the backs
of co-eds.
b. - Studying the zoology of buzzards is an unpleasant and sometimes hazardous
business.
page 96
[Z]/z h, as in AZURE
FORMATION: Blade of tongue slightly grooved or channeled, and raised with
sides of tongue sealed against side teeth, tongue tip pointed downward; air
passes between tongue blade and front of hard palate in continuous stream; lips
slightly protruded; soft palate raised; vocal folds vibrate.
ARTICULATION PROBLEMS: Be sure to fully voice this sound, especially in final
positions.
Practice on: grey shirt/grazier, glacier/glazier, sea shore/seizure, ashen/azure
a. - The Persian's unusual exposure to the sun's rays caused a mirage which gave
him much pleasure as the delusion was a vision of Zsa Zsa in a luxurious beige
negligée.
b. - For purposes of persuasion, some resort to rouge, others to massage, and some
to exposure.
DRILLS: Repeat each several times rapidly and clearly
1. Gigi seizes Genet 5. glazier's glacier, grazier's glacier
2. measure regimes 6. Parisian's pleasurable persuasions
3. usual casual users of userers 7. sh zh th th s z th th

[S´ Z´ T´ D´ s´ z´ T´ D´]
4. f v sh zh s z sh zh 8. sh zh ch j s z ch j
[f´ v´ S´ Z´ s´ z´ S´ Z´] [S´ Z´ tS´ dZ´ s´ z´ tS´ dZ´]
Table LdJ .61 Mispronounced - Z

zealot "zE.l´t ZE lEt "zi.lAt ZEE laht
Zeus zjus ZYOOS zus ZOOS
zoology zoU*."Å.l´.dZÈ zoh O l´ jee zu."Å.l´.dZÈ zoo O l´ jee
zoological ÆzoU*.´."lÅ.dZI.k´: zoh ´ LO ji k´l Æzu.´."lÅ.dZI.k´: zoo ´ LO ji k´l

zoologist zoU*."Å.l´.dZIst zoh O l´ jist zu."Å.l´.dZIst zoo O l´ jist
page 97
zounds29 zundz ZOONDZ

ZOUNDZ
zAU*ndz
29A n archaic contraction for the oath by God's wounds. This justifies the common
theatrical pronunciation of [zundz]. In that context [zAU*ndz] would seem to be a
misinformed "spelling pronunciation". However, in the 16th and 17th centuries, when
this expression was in use, the word wound was pronounced [waU*nd], not [wund] as we do
today. Some scholars feel that since it is an archaic term, not a modern one, we should
preserve its original pronunciation, and not up-date it.
page 98
WORDS THAT CHANG E WI TH USE
Many words shift syllable stress and pronunciation to indicate different

meanings or function in a sentence. For example: Her perfume perfumes the
air; or, You mustn't discount already disco unted sale items.
Here is a partial list of words that change pronunciation when they change
function:
Table LdJ 62 Words that Change With Use

accent (n.) [ "œk.sEnt ] Ak sent
accent (v.)
[ œk."sEnt ] ak SEN T
bouquet (flowers) [ bu."keI* ] boo KAY
bouquet (aroma)
[ boU*."keI* ] boh KAY
complex (adj. complicated) [ k´m."plEks] k´m PLEKS
complex (n. group)
[ "kÅm.plEks] KO M pleks
conjure (charge solemnly) [ kń."dZU„* ] kń J UUR
conjure (invoke a spirit)
[ "køn.dZ„ ] KUN j´r
console (n.) [ "kÅn.soU*: ] KO N sohl
console (v.)
[ kń."soU*: ] kń SO H L
consummate (adj.) [ kń."sømIt ] kń SU mit
consummate (v.)
[ "kÅn.sjU.ÆmeI*t ] KO N syuu MAYT
contemplative (pensive)
[Æ "kÅn.tEm.ÆpleI*.tIv ] KO N t´m PLAY tiv
contemplative (of religious orders)
[ kń."tEm.pl´.ÆtIv ] kń TEM pl´ TIV
content (what is contained) [ "kÅn.tEnt ] KO N tent
content (well-being)
[ kń."tEnt ] kń TEN T
contest (s.) [ "kÅn.tEst ] KO N test
contest (v.)
[ kń."tEst ] kń TEST
contract (s.) [ "kÅn.trœkt ] KO N trakt
contract (v.)
[ kń."trœkt ] kń TRAKT
contrast (s.) [ "kÅn.trœst ] KO N trast
contrast (v.)
[ kń."trœst ] kń TRAST
control (s., v.) [ kń."troU*: ] kń TRO H L
control (in machinery)
[ "kÅn.troU*: ] KO N trohl
convert (s.) [ "kÅn.v„t ] KO N vurt
convert (v.)
[ kń."v‰±t ] kń VURT
convict (s.) [ "kÅn.vIkt ] KO N vikt
convict (v.)
kń VIKT
page 99
[ kń."vIkt ]
decoy (s.) [ "di.kOI* ] D EE koi
decoy (v.)
[ dI."kOI* ] di KO I
decrease (s.) [ "di.kris ] D EE krees
decrease (v.)
[ dI."kris ] di KREES
defect (s.) [ "di.fEkt ] D EE fekt
defect (v.)
[ dI."fEkt ] di FEKT
desert (deserved, abandon) [ dI."z‰±t ] di ZURT
desert ( wilderness)
[ "dE.z„t ] D E z´rt
detail (item) [ dI."teI*: ] di TAY L
detail (squad, to catalogue)
[ "di.teI*: ] D EE tayl
discard (s.) [ "dIs.kA„*d ] D IS kahrd
discard (v.)
[ dIs."kA„*d ] dis KAH RD
discord (s.) [ "dIs.kO„*d ] D IS kord
discord (v.)
[ dIs."kO„*d ] dis KO RD
discount (s.) [ "dIs.kAU*nt ] D IS kownt
discount (v.)
[ dIs."kAU*nt ] dis KO WN T
discourse (s.) [ "dIs.kO„*s ] D IS kors
discourse (v.)
[ dIs."kO„*s ] dis KO RS
entrance (s.) [ "En.trńs ] EN trńs
entrance (v.)
[ In."trœns ] in TRAN S
expatriate (s., adj.) [ Eks."peI*.trI.´t ] eks PAY tri ´t
expatriate (v.)
[ Eks."peI*.trI.ÆeI*t ] eks PAY tri AYT
expert (s., adj.) [ "Ek.sp„t ] EKS p´rt
expert (when not attributive)
[ Ik."sp‰±t ] ik SPURT
forte (in music) [ "fO„*.teI* ] FO R tay
forte (strong point)
[ "fO„*t ] FORT
frequent (adj.) [ "fri.kwEnt ] FREE kwńt
frequent (v.)
[ frI."kwEnt ] fri KWEN T
gill (respiratory organ, ravine) [ gI: ] GIL
gill (measure)
[ dZI: ] JIL
Gill (man's name)
Gill (short for Gillian) [ gI: ] GIL
[ dZI: ](as in Jack and Gill, now JIL
more frequently written Jack and Jill.)
increase (s.) [ "In.kris ] IN krees
increase (v.)
[ In."kris ] in KREES
insert (s.) [ "In.s„t ] IN s´rt
insert (v.)
[ In."s‰±t ] in SURT
minute (very small) [ maI*."njut ] mi N Y O O T
minute (time, angle, memo)
[ "mI.nIt ] M I nit
object (s.) [ "Åb.dZEkt ] O B jekt
page 100
object (v.) [ ´b."dZEkt ] ´b J EKT

perfect (s., adj.) [ "p‰±.fIkt ] PUR fikt
perfect (v.)
[ p„."fEkt ] p´r FEKT
perfume (s.) [ "p‰±.fjum ] PUR fyoom
perfume (v.)
[ p„."fjum ] p´r FY O O M
permit (s.) [ "p‰±.mIt ] PUR mit
permit (v.)
[ p„."mIt ] p´r M IT
primer (he, who, or that which primes) [ "praI*.m„ ] PRi m´r
primer (elementary book, printing type)
[ "prI.m„ ] PRI m´r
protest (s.) [ "proU.*tEst ] PRO H test
protest (v.)
[ pr´."tEst ] pr´ TEST
rebel (s.) [ "rE.b´: ] RE b´l
rebel (v.)
[ rI."bE: ] ri B EL
reject (s.) [ "ri.dZEkt ] REE jekt
reject (v.)
[ rI."dZEkt ] ri J EKT
research (s.) [ "ri.s„tS ] REE s´rch
research (v.)
[ rI."s‰±tS ] ri SURC H
subject (s.) [ "søb.dZEkt ] SUB jekt
subject (v.)
[ s´b."dZEkt ] s´b J EKT
survey (s.) [ "s‰±.veI* ] SUR vay
survey (v.)
[ s„."veI* ] s´r VAY
torment (s.) [ "tO„*.mEnt ] TO R ment
torment (v.)
[ tO„*."mEnt ] tor M EN T
toward (adj.) [ "toU*.„d ] TO H ´rd
toward (prep.)
[ t´."wO„*d ] t´ WO RD
transfer (s.) [ "trœns.f„ ] TRAN S f´r
transfer (v.)
[ trœns."f‰± ] trans FUR
page 101
G LOSSARY FOR LE TTE R DU JOUR
Accent - Pronunciation and style characteristic of a foreign language speaker.
Adenoids - Lymphoid tissue growths in the nose above the throat that when swollen may
obstruct nasal breathing, induce postnasal discharge, and make speech difficult.
Blurred - Unclear speech sounds blended together; lacking specificity and clarity.
Bright - Placed forward in the mouth.
Clear - Precise, forward placed.
Dark - Mellow tone, placed back in the mouth.
Double Dark L - [ :‚ ], L sound made without touching the tongue upwards to the alveolar
ridge, but by dropping the back of the tongue and rounding the lips.
Deviated Septum - When the thin partition between the two sides of the nose shifts to
block the nasal passage. It can be the result of an injury, or abnormal growth.
Hard - Tense, retroflexed.
Interdental - Between the teeth.
Lax - So relaxed as to be slurred, or lack clarity and precision.
Liquid U - The combination of [j]/y and the vowel [u]/oo, as in DUKE [djuk]/dyook and
sometimes in combination with the vowel [U]/uu as in DURING ["djU´*rIN]/DYUUring.
Lisp (Lateral, Frontal) - A speech defect or mannerism characterized by the failure to
produce normal sibilants, especially by thrusting the tongue forward, substituting the
sounds (th) and (th) for the sibilants (s) and (z) in a frontal lisp. Lateral lisp releases the
side of the tongue.
Murky - Indistinct, lacking clarity of tone or precision in articulation.
Nasal - 1) Uttered by lowering the soft palate and occluding the mouth so that most of
the air passes through the nose, as in sounding m, n, and [N]/ng. 2) Characterized by or
resembling a resonant sound produced through the nose: a nasal whine.

page 102
Off-Glide - Falling diphthong where the second element is weaker than the first. A lso
releasing sound after a final terminal consonant: DID as [dId´].
On-Glide - Non-standard diphthong where a primary vowel is initiated by a weak vowel,
typically [´]: DEED as [d´*id].
Retroflexed - Pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back against the roof of the
mouth.
Round - Balanced, pleasing tone.
Sibilant - A speech sound, as [s]/s, [S]/sh, [z]/z, or [Z]/zh, that suggests hissing.
Substitution - Replacement of one sound with another as: MEN [mEn]/MEN to [mIn]/MIN
Tense - Constricted, harsh sound produced when the articulators are clenched or held
tightly.

Letters Du Jour - English PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Letters Du Jour - English PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Letters Du Jour - English PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Workshop - Pronunciation from A [eI*] to Z [zi]

Workshop - LETTERS du JOUR - Workshop

Rocco Dal Vera

PRONUNCIATION AUTHORITIES CONSULTED ......................................................................................................................3

LETTERS du JOUR - Workshop

Some pronunciations in the following section may strike you as so

Table LdJ .1 Pronunciation A uthorities

Funk & Wagnalls New The A merican Heritage The Scribner-Bantam

Note that charts refer to PREFERRED or STANDARD (the most elevated or

The following workshop section has two primary goals:

1. to provide the tools for you to adjust toward a neutral, non-regional

LETTERS D U J O UR - O N E LETTER AT A TIM E.

D ESC RIPTIO N : categories the sound falls into, such as voiced/unvoiced,

Table. 3.10 Mispronunciation Example

Pronunciations are transcribed in phonetics as well as respelled so you can use

1) Start at the beginning and work your way through A- to - Z, spending a

Table. X.XX Guide To Sounds By Category

Table. X.XX Index-Letter du J our

[aI*„*] i r hire -higher , b yre -b uyer , dire -dyer , lyre -liar R

EXERCISE X.XX FINDING YOUR WAY THROUGH LETTER du JOUR

1.Make a list of your most frequently received pronunciation notes.

"Don't say 'git.'" (E)

"Sounding a little too sibilant." (S, Z)

"Duke isn't DOOK, it's DYOOK." (Y)

plan which areas to concentrate on.

Table LdJ .2 Letter du J our-A

We will focus on [œ]/a, [A]/ah, [O]/aw, and [eI*]/ay.

Practice on: Nancy, imagine, natty, man, band, dandy

a. - Daniel can't stand canned Spam.

b. - Hand the man another ham sandwich.

Practice on: band/bank, sand/sank, planned/plank

c. - The lanky man angrily drank himself into blankness.

d. - Dan dangled a sack of cash and his banker thanked him.

Practice on: arid, parry, barrier, marry, Barry, character, mariner

merry/marry, berry/Barry, hairy/harry, Terry/tarry

a. - A h, father calms mama's qualms with a massage at the spa.

b. - Hurrah! Brahms and Mahler in concert at Baden Baden!

then matching that sound on the second word:

lore/law, lord/laud, torn/taunt, or/awe, court/caught

2. - [O]/aw changing to [U´*]/uu´. This substitution is particularly common on the

Practice on: bawdy, caution, vault, hawk, talk, thought, stalk

a. - Paul Kaufman's awesome paunch daunted the staunchest tailors.

b. - Shaw bawled at the thought of his daughter marrying an awful pauper.

Practice on: aid, weigh, train, name, survey, gauge, plague

a. - Today is the day they take the babies away.

Table LdJ .3 A -Mispronounced

abyss ´."bIs ´ BIS "œ.bIs A bis

academia Æœ.k´."di.mI.´ A k´ DEE mi ´ Æœ.k´."deI*.mI.´ A k´ DAY mi ´

accent (n.) "œk.sEnt Ak sent Improper Stressing

acclimate ´."klaI*.mIt ´ KLi@ mit "œk.l´.ÆmeI*t AK l´ MA YT

accompanist ´."køm.p´.nIst ´ KUM p´ nist ´."køm.p´.ni.Ist ´ KUM p´ nee ist

accompt ´."kaU*nt ´ KOWNT ´."kÅmt ´ KOMT

across ´."krÅs ´ KROS ´."krÅst ´ KROST

acumen ´."kju.mń ´ KYOO mń "œ.kju.mń AK yoo mń

adieu ´."dju ´ DYOO ´."du ´ DOO

adjective "œ.dZIk.tIv A jik tiv "œ.dZ´.tIv A j´ tiv

admirable "œd.m´.r´.b´: AD m´ r´ b´l œd."maI*´*.r´.b´: ad Mi@ r´ b´l

aerie "E.rÈ E ree "I.rÈ, "œ.rÈ, "eI*„*.rÈ I ree, A ree,

[aI„] i r hire -higher , b yre -b uyer , dire -dyer , lyre -liar R

acclimate ´."klaI.mIt ´ KLi@ mit "œk.l´.ÆmeIt AK l´ MA YT

admirable "œd.m´.r´.b´: AD m´ r´ b´l œd."maI´.r´.b´: ad Mi@ r´ b´l

aerie "E.rÈ E ree "I.rÈ, "œ.rÈ, "eI„.rÈ I ree, A ree,

algae "œ:.dZÈ AL jee "œ:.dZeI, "œ:.dZaI AL jay, AL ji@

Antarctic(a) œnt.ÆA„k.tIk ant AHRK tik œ."nA„.dIk a NAHR dik

apartheid ´."pA„t."heIt ´ PA HRT HA YT ´."pA„.TaId ´ PA HR THi@D

archaeology ÆA„.kI"Å.l´.dZÈ A HR kee O l´ jee ÆA„.keI*."Å.l´.dZÈ AHR kay O l´ jee

archangel "A„."keIn.dZ´: A HR KA YN j´l ÆA„."tSeIn.dZ´: A HR CHA YN j´l

archetype "A„.k´.ÆtaIp AHR k´ Ti@P "A„.tS´.ÆtaIp AHR ch´ Ti@P

arctic "A„k.tIk AHRK tik "A„.tIk AHR tik

argot "A„.goU AHR goh "A„*.g´t AHR g´t

assuage ´."sweIdZ ´ SWAYJ ´."sweIZ, ´ SWAZH,