Engaging with pronunciation –

individual sounds
Glossary
Individual sounds
These are the separate sounds of English that make up words.

International phonetic alphabet (IPA)

The international phonetic alphabet (IPA) is a way to transcribe sounds of a language. It is

usually used with languages that are spoken in a different way to their spelling, such as English.
For example, see how the IPA transcribes ‘ough’ in these words: through /Өruː/, rough /rʌf/,
though /ðәʊ/.

Minimal pair

A ‘minimal pair’ is a pair of words that almost sound the same, but one individual sound within
them is different, e.g. ‘pray’ and ‘play’.

Tongue twister

A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, e.g. ‘She sells
sea-shells on the sea-shore’.

www.teachingenglish.org.uk
References and further reading
The following links and resources explore the areas discussed in this module in more detail:

Baker, A (2006) Ship or Sheep? An Intermediate Pronunciation Course. Cambridge University

Press.

Baker, A (2006) Tree or Three? An Elementary Pronunciation Course. Cambridge University

Press.

Hancock, M (1995) Pronunciation Games. Cambridge University Press.

Kenworthy, J (1987) Teaching English Pronunciation. Longman.

App with an interactive phonemic chart – Android version

App with an interactive phonemic chart – Apple version

An article exploring how to integrate pronunciation into classroom activities.

A selection of articles, resources, lesson ideas and classroom materials to support the teaching
of pronunciation.

www.teachingenglish.org.uk