Pronunciation tips
The dark L
In English, the L sound changes depending on its position in the word. When L is at the beginning of a word or before a vowel, it is a clear, simple sound. This is called the light L.
like [laɪk]
love [lʌv]
learn [lɜrn]
When L is at the end of a word or before a consonant, it becomes a dark L. To pronounce it, raise the back of your tongue towards the soft palate while the tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth.
feel [fi:ɫ]
call [kɔ:ɫ]
full [fʊɫ]
milk [mɪɫk]
help [hɛɫp]
skill [skɪɫ]
The symbol [ɫ] is used in this section to show the dark L sound. In the rest of this book and in the other books, L is always represented as [l] for clarity.
The two TH sounds
English has two TH sounds.
Voiced [ð]
Place the tip of your tongue against the back of your upper teeth and let the air flow out while your vocal cords vibrate.
the [ðə]
this [ðɪs]
that [ðæt]
they [ðeɪ]
mother ['mʌðər]
weather ['wɛðər]
Voiceless [θ]
Place your tongue between your teeth and blow air, without vocal cord vibration.
think [θɪŋk]
three [θri:]
month [mʌnθ]
bath [bæθ]
birthday ['bɜrθdeɪ]
anything ['ɛniθɪŋ]
The schwa [ə]
The schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. It is a short, relaxed, neutral sound, like a very soft a or e. It appears in unstressed syllables.
about [ə'baʊt]
banana [bə'nænə]
sofa ['soʊfə]
today [tə'deɪ]
problem ['prɑbləm]
animal ['ænɪməl]
Many words that are spelled very differently use the same schwa sound in their unstressed syllables. The schwa is key to sounding natural in English.
The initial S + consonant
In some languages, words cannot start with S + consonant, and speakers tend to add a short vowel sound before the S. In English, there is no vowel before the S. Be careful not to add one.
speak [spi:k] (not "espeak")
street [stri:t] (not "estreet")
small [smɔl] (not "esmall")
stop [stɑp] (not "estop")
school [sku:l] (not "eschool")
Spain [speɪn] (not "eSpain")
The R sound [r]
The English R is very different from the R sound in many other languages. In English, the tongue curls back and does not touch the palate. The tongue does not vibrate.
red [rɛd]
river ['rɪvər]
right [raɪt]
really ['ri:əli]
breakfast ['brɛkfəst]
country ['kʌntri]
Silent letters
English has many silent letters. Here are the most common patterns:
Silent K (before N)
know [noʊ]
knife [naɪf]
knee [ni:]
knock [nɑk]
Silent W (before R)
write [raɪt]
wrong [rɔŋ]
wrap [ræp]
wrist [rɪst]
Silent B (after M)
climb [klaɪm]
bomb [bɑm]
thumb [θʌm]
dumb [dʌm]
Silent GH
night [naɪt]
light [laɪt]
daughter ['dɔ:tər]
thought [θɔt]
Silent H
hour ['aʊr]
honest ['ɑnɪst]
honor ['ɑnər]
Drilling one topic until it feels easy is tempting, but mixing different topics together builds more flexible, durable knowledge. The variety forces your brain to work harder, and that's what makes it last.
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