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Transcript

A little guide

to English pronunciation

Contents

Unit 1

/s/ and /z/

Unit 2

/s/ , /θ/ and /ð/

Unit 1

/s/ and /z/

/s/ and /z/

The s and the z sounds are often studied together becuase they sound very similar. But there is an important difference.









The /s/ sound:
  • is a voiceless sound
  • it sounds like the hissing sound of a snake
  • The common spelling of the s sound are s/ss, ce, ci, sx and x
  • Examples: fox, this, miss, face, house, lips, sister, city, fence, circle, science





The /z/ sound:
  • is a voiced sound
  • it sounds like the sound of buzzing bees
  • The common spellings of the z sound are z/zz, s and x
  • Examples: phase, zebra, quiz, was, zoo, noise, bags, girls, busy, Tuesday


/s/ and /z/

Here are some examples:







/s/ /z/

bus buzz
case Ks
ice eyes
once ones
pence pens
place plays
price prize



Click here to listen to the audios.

Unit 2

/s/ , /θ/ and /ð/

/s/ , /θ/ and /ð/

The th sound is particularly difficult for German learners of English as we do not have this sound. There are two forms of this sound: the voiced and the voiceless version. They both share the same spelling. For more information about the s-sound, have a look at page 3.

The th sound can be at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word.





Pronunciation matters!

Watch the following video:






The voiceless th sound (/θ/):






/s/ , /θ/ and /ð/

/s/ , /θ/ and /ð/

Th at the beginning of a word:

  • Thursday
  • three
  • thing
  • thanks
  • thin





Th in the middle of a word:

  • birthday
  • athlete
  • something
  • healthy




  • Der Vorteil (advantage)
  • Der Zoo (zoo)
  • zehn (ten)
  • Die Wand (wall)
  • Der Wind (wind)

    Exercise

    Read the following words aloud.

    • Das Quiz (quiz)
    • viel (a lot)
    • Der Vertrag (contract)
    • Vielleicht (maybe)
    • Wollen (to want)

      Unit 3

      Umlauts

      Umlauts


      • ä: sounds like the "e" in melon or like the "ai" in hair or fair.

      Examples: die Ärztin (female doctor), später (later), die Äpfel (apples), die Männer (men), die Hände (hands)


      • ö: sounds like the "i" in girl or the "o" in worst.
      Examples: öffnen (to open), schön (nice, beautiful), der Löffel (spoon)











      Umlauts


      • ü: the "ü" is pronounced like the "u" in dude or lure.

      Examples: die Tür (door), müde (tired)





      • Österreich (Austria)
      • verrückt (crazy)
      • Das Märchen (fairy tale)
      • Das Mädchen (girl)
      • Die Öffnungszeiten (opening hours)

          Exercise

          Read the following words aloud.

          • zerstören (to destroy)
          • Die Überrraschung (surprise)
          • Tschüss (goodbye)
          • hören (to hear)
          • Der Süden (the South)

            Unit 4

            Miscellaneous

            Miscellaneous


            • pf: this sound does not really exist in the English language; both letters are pronounced, but quickly after each other.

            Examples: das Pferd (horse), die Pflanze (die), der Pfeil (arrow)



            • sch: the "sch" is pronounced like the "sh"sound in ship or shoe.
            Examples: der Schluss (end), schwarz (black), schwer (heavy), die Schule (school)



            Miscellaneous


            • pf: this sound does not really exist in the English language; both letters are pronounced, but quickly after each other.

            Examples: das Pferd (horse), die Pflanze (die), der Pfeil (arrow)



            • sch: the "sch" is pronounced like the "sh"sound in ship or shoe.
            Examples: der Schluss (end), schwarz (black), schwer (heavy), die Schule (school)



            Miscellaneous


            • sp/st: at the beginning of a word, the consonants p and t follow a sound that is pronounced like "shhh". Examples: sprechen (to speak), spielen (to play), der Strom (flow, electricity), der Stern (star)




            • ch: this sound does not really exist in the English language. It is not pronounced like a "k"; it is a sound that comes from the back of your tongue. While pronouncing it, you should feel the air rolling over your tongue.
            Examples: ich (I), das Buch (book), auch (also), mich (me, myself), welche (which), wirklich (really)

            • sprechen (to speak)
            • Die Pfanne (pan)
            • Der Stuhl (chair)
            • Schwimmen (to swim)
            • Spanien (Spain)
            • Das Spiel (game)

                  Exercise

                  Read the following words aloud.

                  • Der Stift (pen)
                  • Der Stuhl (chair)
                  • mich (me, myself)
                  • Der Kopf (head)
                  • Der Apfel (apple)

                      1) Choose one sentence (you find them at the following page).
                      2) Go to https://vocaroo.com/. Read the sentence and take a recording (see explanation at page 23).
                      3) Post the recording at this Padlet: https://padlet.com/wagner_lena/4lqpqeui7avdmvr3
                      4) Listen to two other sound recordings. Comment on them (What was good? What could be improved?).

                          Pronounciation challenge

                          How does it work?

                          • Wir gehen zu zweit in den Zoo.
                          • Ich lebe gerne in Europa.
                          • In meiner Stadt gibt es viele Häuser.
                          • Ich wasche mir die Hände.

                              Sentences

                              Choose one of those sentences:

                              Vocaroo.com

                              How to make a recording:

                              • Press the red button and allow the access to you microphone.
                              • Take the recording and stop it when you are finished.
                              • Click on "Speichern und Teilen".
                              • Copty the url link and post it on the Padlet.

                                    Congratulations!

                                    Your German is getting better day by day :-)

                                    Sources

                                    • https://publicdomainvectors.org/de/kostenlose-vektorgrafiken/Eine-Biene/38156.html
                                    • https://pixabay.com/de/vectors/schlange-python-gr%c3%bcn-reptil-312561/