Basic Phonetics : Vowel Sounds

Summary

This video lecture introduces phonetic symbols and sounds in English, emphasizing the importance of phonetic accuracy for impressive speaking. It explains phonetics as the scientific study of language sounds and highlights the variations in English pronunciation across regions, such as American and British accents. The lecture focuses on British Received Pronunciation (RP) as a globally accepted accent and details its 44 distinct sounds, dividing them into vowels and consonants. It thoroughly covers the 20 vowel sounds, including 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs, providing examples of words for each sound to aid in learning correct pronunciation.

Takeaways

• 😀 The lecture aims to familiarize students with English phonetic symbols and their corresponding sounds to improve pronunciation.
• 📚 Phonetics is defined as the systematic and scientific study of the sound system of a language, specifically focusing on English in this lecture.
• 🌏 English is spoken as a native language in various parts of the world, with different styles and accents, such as American and British English.
• 🗣️ There are significant differences in pronunciation, spelling, and grammatical construction between American and British English.
• 🇬🇧 The lecture will follow the British Received Pronunciation (RP), considered widely and socially acceptable worldwide.
• 🔊 British RP consists of 44 distinct sounds, categorized into vowel and consonant sounds, with 20 vowels and 24 consonants.
• 🎶 Vowel sounds are further divided into monophthongs (pure vowels) and diphthongs (vowel glides), with 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs.
• 🔍 Monophthongs represent a single vowel sound, while diphthongs are combinations of two vowel sounds, creating a glide from one sound to another.
• 📖 Good dictionaries, such as the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, provide phonetic transcriptions to learn correct pronunciation.
• 📝 The lecture covered 12 monophthongs with their phonetic symbols and examples of words using these sounds.
• 🔜 The next lecture will focus on the 24 consonant sounds in British Received Pronunciation.

Q & A

What is the main objective of the video lecture on phonetic symbols and sounds in English?

The main objective of the video lecture is to familiarize students with different phonetic symbols and their corresponding sounds in the English language to improve their pronunciation.

Why is phonetics important for developing an impressive style of speaking in English?

Phonetics is important because it helps in developing a phonetically correct English, which is as crucial as speaking grammatically correct English for an impressive style of speaking.

What is phonetics in the context of linguistics?

Phonetics is the systematic and scientific study of the sound system of a particular language, focusing in this case on the English language.

Why is there a difference in the pronunciation of English spoken in different parts of the world?

There are differences in pronunciation because English is spoken in various styles and accents across different regions of the world, influenced by local dialects and linguistic habits.

What are the two dominant accents of English mentioned in the script, and what is an example of a pronunciation difference between them?

The two dominant accents mentioned are American English and British English. An example of a pronunciation difference is the word 'chance', pronounced as 'fast chance' in British English and 'past chance' in American English.

Which accent will be followed in the series of lectures on phonetics, and why is it considered widely acceptable?

The series of lectures will follow the British Received Pronunciation (RP), which is considered widely and socially acceptable and well-received across the world.

How many distinct sounds does British Received Pronunciation have, and what are they categorized into?

British Received Pronunciation has 44 distinct sounds, categorized into vowel sounds and consonant sounds.

What is the difference between monophthongs and diphthongs in the context of vowel sounds?

Monophthongs are the articulation of a single vowel sound, while diphthongs are a combination of two vowel sounds, creating a glide from one sound to another.

How many monophthongs and diphthongs are there in British Received Pronunciation, and what are they classified into?

There are 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs in British Received Pronunciation. Monophthongs are further classified into short and long vowel sounds, while diphthongs are categorized based on the glide towards certain vowel sounds.

What is the significance of the colon sign (:) in phonetic symbols, and how does it affect the pronunciation?

The colon sign in phonetic symbols indicates that the pronunciation should be stretched or lengthened, signifying a long vowel sound.

How can students learn the correct phonetic pronunciation of words using a dictionary, and which dictionary is mentioned in the script?

Students can learn the correct phonetic pronunciation of words using a good dictionary like the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, which provides phonetic transcriptions alongside word meanings and usages.

What will be the focus of the next lecture in the series, according to the script?

The next lecture will focus on the consonant sounds in English phonetics.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Phonetics and English Pronunciation

This paragraph introduces the video lecture's focus on phonetic symbols and sounds in the English language. The lecturer aims to help students improve their pronunciation by understanding different phonetic symbols. It emphasizes the importance of phonetic correctness in addition to grammatical accuracy for impressive English speech. The lecture also explains that phonetics is the scientific study of sounds in a language, highlighting variations in English pronunciation across different regions, such as American and British English. The British Received Pronunciation (RP) is chosen as the standard for the lecture due to its global acceptance. The paragraph concludes with an introduction to the 44 distinct sounds in British RP, with a focus on the 20 vowel sounds in this lecture and the 24 consonant sounds to be covered later.

05:01

🗣️ Vowel Sounds in British Received Pronunciation

The second paragraph delves into the classification of vowel sounds in British Received Pronunciation, distinguishing between monophthongs (pure vowels) and diphthongs (vowel glides). There are 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs in British RP. Monophthongs are single, distinct vowel sounds, exemplified by words like 'bit' and 'sit' for short 'e', and 'beat' and 'seat' for long 'e'. The paragraph provides examples of other monophthongs, including short and long 'a', 'o', and 'u' sounds, and their corresponding words. The lecturer also explains the notation for long vowels, indicated by a colon, to signify a stretched pronunciation. The summary of monophthongs concludes with a list of the 12 sounds covered.

10:01

🔍 Exploring Diphthongs and Vowel Glides in English

This paragraph continues the discussion on vowel sounds, focusing on diphthongs, which are combinations of two vowel sounds creating a glide. The eight diphthongs are categorized into three groups based on the glide direction towards 'e', 'o', and 'u' sounds. Examples of words containing these diphthongs are provided, such as 'gate' and 'late' for the 'aɪ' sound, 'bite' and 'kite' for 'aɪ', 'boil' and 'coil' for 'ɔɪ', and others. The paragraph clarifies that in English phonetics, there is no distinct 'o' sound as in 'home', which is pronounced with an 'oʊ' sound. The lecture concludes with a summary of the eight diphthongs, reinforcing the understanding of vowel glides in English pronunciation.

15:05

📘 Conclusion of Vowel Sounds and Introduction to Consonants

The final paragraph wraps up the discussion on vowel sounds, summarizing the 20 vowel sounds covered in the lecture, which include 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs. It reiterates the importance of these sounds in English pronunciation and provides a brief overview of the sounds with examples. The lecturer then announces an upcoming lecture that will focus on the remaining 24 distinct sounds in English phonetics, which are consonant sounds. This sets the stage for further exploration into the nuances of English pronunciation beyond vowels.

Keywords

💡Phonetic Symbols

Phonetic symbols are graphical representations of the sounds of a language. In the context of this video, phonetic symbols are the focus for learning English pronunciation accurately. They are essential for non-native speakers to understand and produce the correct sounds, as demonstrated through the script with examples like 'bit' and 'sit' for the short 'e' sound.

💡English Language

The English language is a West Germanic language that is the primary language in numerous countries and is considered a global lingua franca. The video emphasizes the importance of mastering English pronunciation for effective communication, noting its widespread use in various regions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

💡Pronunciation

Pronunciation refers to the way in which words are articulated when spoken. The video stresses the significance of correct pronunciation in English, not just grammatical correctness, for developing an impressive speaking style. It is a core component of the phonetics study highlighted in the lecture.

💡Phonetics

Phonetics is the scientific study of sounds in languages. The video defines it as a systematic approach to understanding the sound system of a language, specifically English in this case. It is a foundational area of linguistics that helps in the analysis and teaching of pronunciation.

💡Accents

Accents are particular ways of pronunciation that are characteristic of a region or country. The script discusses the differences in accents, such as American English and British English, and how they affect various aspects of the language, including spelling, grammar, and pronunciation, as illustrated with the word 'chance' pronounced differently in both accents.

💡British Received Pronunciation (RP)

British Received Pronunciation, often abbreviated as RP, is a standard accent in the UK. It is considered widely acceptable and is what the video series will focus on for teaching phonetics. RP is also known as the 'Southern educated British English' and is often used as a model for teaching English as a foreign language.

💡Vowel Sounds

Vowel sounds are the sounds produced without significant constriction of the airflow in the vocal tract. The video script categorizes them into 'monophthongs' and 'diphthongs', with examples given for each type, such as 'bit' for the short 'e' monophthong and 'beat' for the long 'e' monophthong.

💡Monophthongs

Monophthongs are pure vowel sounds that do not change in quality during their articulation. The video explains that there are 12 monophthongs in British RP, each represented by a unique phonetic symbol, and they are essential for learning the correct pronunciation of English words.

💡Diphthongs

Diphthongs are complex vowel sounds that begin with one vowel quality and end with another, gliding through the two sounds. The script distinguishes between 'close-mid' and 'open-mid' diphthongs, with examples like 'gate' and 'bite' illustrating the glide towards 'e' and 'i' sounds, respectively.

💡Consonant Sounds

Consonant sounds in the script refer to speech sounds that are articulated with a partial or complete closure of the vocal tract. While not the main focus of the provided script, the video mentions that there are 24 distinct consonant sounds in British RP, which will be covered in a subsequent lecture.

Highlights

The lecture's main objective is to familiarize students with different phonetic symbols and their corresponding sounds in English to improve pronunciation.

Developing an impressive speaking style requires both grammatical and phonetic correctness in English.

Phonetics is the systematic and scientific study of the sound system of a language, specifically English in this lecture.

English is spoken as a native language in various parts of the world, each with distinct accents and styles.

Differences in accents, such as between American and British English, can be observed in spellings, grammar, and pronunciation.

The lecture will follow the British Received Pronunciation (RP), considered widely acceptable and well-received globally.

British RP consists of 44 distinct sounds, including 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds.

Vowel sounds are categorized into monophthongs (pure vowels) and diphthongs (vowel glides).

Monophthongs are single vowel sounds, while diphthongs are combinations of two vowel sounds.

There are 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs in British Received Pronunciation.

A good dictionary, like the Oxford Advanced Learner's, provides phonetic transcriptions to aid in learning correct pronunciation.

The lecture demonstrates the 12 monophthongs with their phonetic symbols and examples of English words.

Monophthongs are further divided into short and long vowel sounds, with 7 short and 5 long sounds.

Diphthongs are vowel glides from one sound to another, forming a distinct sound category.

The lecture categorizes diphthongs into three groups based on the glide direction towards e, u, and ooh sounds.

Examples of diphthongs include 'gate', 'bite', 'boil', 'go', 'house', and 'shu', illustrating the glide between sounds.

The lecture concludes with a summary of the 20 vowel sounds covered, with plans for a subsequent lecture on consonant sounds.

Transcripts

welcome to this video lecture on

phonetic symbols and sounds in English

language the main objective of this

particular lecture is to familiarize all

of you with the different phonetic

symbols and their corresponding sounds

in English language so that it helps you

all in improving your English

pronunciation students do keep in mind

that in order to develop an impressive

style of speaking it is not just

important that you speak grammatically

correct English but but also

phonetically correct English and here in

lies the importance of phonetics as an

area of studying so before I actually

start demonstrating the different

phonetic symbols along with their sounds

in English language let me first of all

brief you all what exactly is phonetics

so phonetics is the systematic and the

scientific study of the sound system of

a particular language and the language

that we are concerned with right now is

the English language

now English language is the first

language or the native language for

people residing in different parts of

the world for instance in United States

of America in United Kingdom in Canada

in Australia people speak English

language but do you think that the

English language that is spoken in

different parts of the world it is

spoken in the same style with the same

accent in the same manner the answer is

no English language is spoken but IND

different styles it has got different

accents in different regions of the

world now for instance let me give you

an example of differences between the

two very dominant you know accents that

is American English and British English

so there are differences there are a lot

of differences as far as you know you

know spellings of words are concerned

and there are also differences as far as

you know uh the grammatical construction

you know of language is concerned so

there are differences between American

English and British English and most

importantly there is a difference uh in

pronunciation and accent for instance

you know if you take very simple words

like f a s and c h a n c e I have given

very simple words so in British English

the pronunciation is fast chance but in

American English the pronunciation of

the same words is past chance so the

difference is clear here so there are a

lot of differences in both the Styles in

both the accents British English and

American English now the question is

dear students which accent should we

follow students in my series of lectures

as far as phonetics is concerned we are

going to follow the accent which is

known as the British received

pronunciation in short British RP

British received pronunciation is also

known as the southern educated British

English and this this particular

pronunciation or accent is considered to

be you know the most widely and socially

acceptable and well received

pronunciation all across the world so we

are going to follow the British received

pronunciation now dear students British

received pronunciation has got

44 distinct sounds in it so if you all

can learn all the 44 distinct sounds

along with their symbols then it shall

be very easy for all of you to learn the

correct English pronunciation of the

words when you all communicate on a

daily basis now my work here is to

demonstrate all the different fonetic

symbols along with their sounds so that

you can learn the correct pronunciation

let me also mention one thing that any

good dictionary for instance the Oxford

Advanced Learners dictionary it mentions

the phonetic transcriptions of The Words

which means that you can learn the

correct phonetic pronunciation of those

words along with the word meanings and

usages even the phonetic transcription

is provided so once you can learn the

symbols along with their sounds then you

can also learn the correct English

pronunciation as far as the words that

you use by communication so without much

delay let us get started and let me

first demonstrate the 44 distinct

sounds so

students British

RP here RP stands for received

pronunciation so British RP has got

44 distinct

[Music]

sounds and these 44 distinct sounds

students are divided into

to two

categories the vowel

sounds and the consonant

sounds dear students we are going to

concentrate in this particular

lecture only the vowel sounds in my next

Le lecture I shall concentrate on the

consonant sounds students there are 20

vowel sounds and there are

24 consonant sounds in British received

pronunciation now

students the vowel sounds are again

classified into

two categories and they are mon of

Kongs and

diffs mon of thongs means pure vels

and D pongs are Vel

Glides please keep in mind that there

are 12 mon of thongs and there are eight

diff thongs let me explain to you what

is the difference between mon of thong

and D thong mon of thong is the

articulation of a single vvel

sound and if thong is a combination of

two vvel sounds it's a Glide from one

wobble sound towards another wobble

sound hence they are known as wble

Glides and mon of thongs are known as

pure wobble sounds because they are just

a single distinct wavel song students

let us first of all cover the mon of

thongs and after covering the mod of

thongs we shall look into diff thong

category

now as far as the mon of thongs are

concern the sounds I shall write the

phonetic symbols

this is the short e and this is the long

e for instance this particular sound is

used in English words like

bit

sit and this is a long

sound

e and this long wavel sound is

in English words for example

beat

seat

these

dream bit sit lit fit so this is the

short e and this is the long

e the next monong sound is

short a and long

a this particular sound that is the a

sound is in for example in words like

but

cut and the a sound is in English words

for for example

card

large so you all can understand this is

the a sound and this is the a sound the

next is the o

sound for instance in pot

pot and we have the longer version to

the

a for

instance

ball call tall

fall so this is a and this is a this is

a this is a this is e this is e this is

U and this is

ooh for inst for instance in words like

book

took and this ooh sound is for instance

in

room tube

and so on so this is the u sound and

this is the ooh sound all right and the

next sound is

the

A and

uh for example in English words

like

about

ahead and this is for instance in words

like

curse no

n

bird the next sound is the let me write

it

here the next sound is

the a for example

bed

red and the next sound is the a

for example

bad fat

fat bat Matt so students 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 and 12 so we are done with the

12 mon of tongs I repeat along with

their phonetic symbols let me also

repeat the correct articulation of the

sound this is the short e the this is

the long e this is the short a this is

the long a this is the short o this is

the long o this is the short o this is

the long ooh this is the short uh and

this is the long uh this is a and this

is a now you see students wherever you

see this colon sign that is the double

Dots here we have to make the

pronunciation a little a little lengthy

long pronunciation we have to stretch e

a o ooh uh so these are the long vels so

we can say that mon ofong are again

classified into short vowel sounds and

long vowel sounds okay short vowel

sounds there are seven short vowel

sounds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and as far as long

vowels are concerned 1 2 3 4 5 so there

are long vowel sounds how many five so 7

+ 5 you know you will get 12 mon ofong

sounds so once again e e a a o o o o uh

uh a

a bit sit beat seat B cut card large hot

pot ball car

book took R tube above ahead curse Nurse

B red bad sad so students we are done

with the monong category let us now

concentrate on the diff pong category in

diff pong category you will see that

there are all total eight sounds in the

dong category and and it's a combination

of two monong sounds two sounds when

they come together when it's a Glide

from one wble sound towards another

wobble sound you get a dong sound unlike

the monong sounds they are pure vels and

diff Thoms

are vowel

Glides there are eight dong

sounds now for our convenience we will

divide them into three categories that

is Glide

towards

e so you can see that the the these

three dong sounds combination of two

sounds as you can see they are all

Glides towards e e e a e a e o e a e so

the sound is a a i e i o e o once again

a i i so for example in English words

like

gate

late I for example

bite

kite oil for example

boil

coil okay so this is a e a i e i o e o

so we have words like gate late in

English words this sound is used for

example bite kite and this particular

sound o is used in English words like

boil coil so the next is Glides

towards

[Music]

U uh U

O A U

ow O for example

go

home do keep in mind that in English

Fanatics there is no o sound so we have

to articulate it as pronounce it as o go

ho all right this is the o sound and

this is the a sound a for example

House

Cow now a o o o o o o so this is these

are Glides towards the u sound and the

last category is Glides towards the u

sound for example

the so these are all Glides towards the

a sound all right e e u a u e a a u for

example

CH for for example this is for example U

for example

Shu a a

CH a CH fa CH all right e CH Fe u a sha

Tua so students you can see that this is

the first category where we see that

there are lines English the discount

sounds are all Glides towards the same

sound that is e the short e a i o and

these two are Glides towards the o sound

o ow and the last three sounds they are

all Glides towards the uh sound e u a

once again so how many we get we should

get eight 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 so we have

eight defound sounds once again a a gate

late I bite kite oil boil Co o go home

our house

C CH

Fe sh Tu a a CH fair so

students these are your total we have

covered

the first category that is the 20 vvel

sounds and you have seen that the Vel

sounds are classified into Mon ofong

sounds and diff thong sounds all total

there are 12 mon ofong sounds and eight

deong sounds so we are left with 24

distinct sounds in English phonetics and

those are the consonant sounds I shall

very soon come up with my lecture as far

as the phonetic symbol and sounds that

is the consonant sounds are concerned

thanks for watching