SOME HELP TO PASS YOUR B2 EXAM
By Sonia P.R.
Sounds and spelling
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It's important to note that the spelling of a word is not always an accurate guide to how it is pronounced. Similarly the pronunciation of a word is not always helpful when working out how that word should be spelt.
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There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but there are many more sounds in the English language.
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This means that the number of sounds in a word is not always the same as the number of letters. For example, the word 'CAT' has three letters and three sounds but the word 'CATCH' has five letters but still only three sounds. If we write these words using sound symbols, we can see exactly how many sounds they have.
What is connected speech?
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When we speak naturally we do not pronounce a word, stop, then say the next word in the sentence. Fluent speech flows with a rhythm and the words bump into each other. To make speech flow smoothly the way we pronounce the end and beginning of some words can change depending on the sounds at the beginning and end of those words. These changes are described as features of connected speech
Sounds link
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Linking is a way of joining the pronunciation of two words so that they are easy to say and flow together smoothly.
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In English there are different ways that this happens.
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Consonant to vowel linking - when the first word ends with a consonant sound and the second word begins with a vowel sound. See Radio Programme 1
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Vowel to vowel linking - when certain vowels come next to each other an extra sound is added to make the link smooth. See Radio Programme 1
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Linking 'r' In standard British English (RP) the letter 'r' after a vowel sound at the end of word is often not pronounced. However, when the following word begins with a vowel the /r/ sound is pronounced to make a smooth link. See Radio Programme 2
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Sounds disappear
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When the sounds /t/ or /d/ occur between two consonant sounds, they will often disappear completely from the pronunciation. See Radio Programme 2
Sounds join together
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When a word ends in a consonant sound and the following word begins with the same consonant sound, we don't pronounce two sounds - both sounds are pronounced together as one. See Radio Programme 2
Sounds change
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When a word ends in a consonant sound and the following word begins with a consonant sound, depending on the particular sounds, the last sound of the first word or both the last sound and the first sound of the next word can change. See Radio Programme 3
Voiceless
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Schwa is the name for the most common sound in English. It is a weak, unstressed sound and it occurs in many words. It is often the sound in grammar words such as articles and prepositions. Getting the schwa sound correct is a good way of making your pronunciation more accurate and natural.
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In unstressed syllables: Any vowel letter can be pronounced as schwa and the pronunciation of a vowel letter can change depending on whether the syllable in which it occurs is stressed or not.
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Not just a letter The sound schwa does not only represent a single letter. In some words it is the sound of several letters or even a whole syllable. This is often, but not only, seen in words which have a syllable made up of a vowel letter followed by the letter 'r'. Remember the schwa sound is only used if the syllable which it is in is not stressed.
