Voice & Accent Neutralization

Objectives
At the end of this program you will



Understand aspects of Speech
Know about Pronunciation
Speak Globally acceptable and
understandable English
Learn the art of articulating your voice
Consonant Sounds

Vowel Sounds

Intonation
Course Outline

There are 26 letters in the English Alphabets
However there are 44 sounds

24 Consonant Sounds

20 Vowel Sounds (12 vowels & 8 Diphthongs)
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Some startling facts:

Regional Influence/Mother Tongue
influence

Speech Pattern

Personality

Family & Friends factor
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Factors that affect Pronunciation and
intonation are:

Very/wary/vary There/dare
HRYech HR Matter/Mutter
Friend:Farend want/wont
The snacks are in The snakes are in the
the hall hole
Thirty: Thiraty
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Regional Influence/Mother Tongue Influence:

The mechanism of speech involves production and
articulation of the sounds produced.

Consonant and vowel sounds are an integral part of
English speech

Consonant sounds are produced by a blockage or
obstruction to the exhaled air.

Vowel sounds are produced without any obstruction to
the exhaled air.
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Pronunciation
Created by blocking the outgoing breath.
Grouped in families classified according to the
obstruction.
Clarity in speech depends on the way consonants are
pronounced.
To pronounce consonants clearly, you need to identify
the obstruction.
Consonant sounds in different languages differ in
quality.
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Consonant Sounds
Organs of Speech
LL Lips
TT Teeth
TR Alveolar ridge, convex part of the mouth, immediately behind the teeth
H Hard palate, concave part of the roof of the mouth
S Soft palate in lowered position
U Uvula, the loose hanging end of the soft palate
P Pharynx
BL Blade of the tongue, including the tip, the part opposite the teeth ridge
F Front of the tongue, the part opposite the hard palate
B Back of the tongue, the part opposite the soft palate
E Epiglottis; this is drawn over the windpipe when swallowing
W Windpipe
FP Food passage
V Vocal cords or vocal lips
Laryn
x
The upper extremity of the windpipe (Adams apple) which contains and
protects the vocal cords
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
What are consonants?
/ / /
Consonants Place
/p/ Bilabial
/b/ Bilabial
/t/ Tip-alveolar
/d/ Tip-alveolar
/k/ Back-velar
/g/ Back-velar
/ Blade/front palato-alveolar
/ Blade/front palato-alveolar
/m/ Bilabial
/n/ Tip-alveolar
/ Back-velar
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
What are consonants?
/ / / /
/f/ Labio-dental
/v/ Labio-dental
/ Tip-dental
/ Tip-dental
/s/ Blade-alveolar
/z/ Blade-alveolar
/ Blade/front palato-alveolar
/ Blade/front palato-alveolar
/h/ Glottal
/l/ Tip-alveolar
/r/ Blade-postalveolar
/w/ Bilabial back-velar
/j/ Front-palatal

Consonant sounds can be categorized into

Plosive
Fricatives
Affricates
Nasals
Laterals
Approximants

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
What are consonants?

Plosive: /b/ /p/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/
Fricatives: f/ /v/ /th/ /s/r /z//sh/
/h//zh
Affricates: /dj/ /ch/
Nasal: m/n/ng
Lateral: /l/
Approximants: r/w/j

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Consonant Sounds are grouped in the
following families:

Voiced sounds create a resonant sound in the
throat.

Unvoiced sounds are aspirated sounds.

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Consonant sounds are divided into Voiced
and Unvoiced sounds.

Unvoiced Voiced





CH J (Dj)
S Z
SH ZH
K G
T D
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Unvoiced Voiced




TH (Thanks) TH (That)
F V
P B
W
M
N

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Unvoiced Voiced




L
R
H
NG Y

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

/p/ path /b/ bath
/t/ time /d/ dime
/k/ came /g/game
/f/ fan /v/ van
/th/ think /th/them
/s/ price z/prize
/sh/shoe /zh/usual
/ch/chin /dj/gin

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice:
Unvoiced Sounds Voiced Sounds


This is an unvoiced aspirated sound. It is pronounced
like ph with distinct breath coming out.
Example:

Problem - Phraablem
Past - Phaest
Promise- Phraamis

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The P sound


Peter had a problem with his project
Pickles are more expensive than peas.
My parents made the payment for Patricias
picnic.
Politicians are publicizing the polished
policemens work.
The patient ran in panic for no particular
reason
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise
The P sound

Examples:

Color- Khalar
Contribute- Khantribute
Customer- Khustomer

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The K sound
This is an aspirated sound. It has to be
pronounced like kh with a puff of air thrown out:


I was coming back home after my coaching classes. On
my way I saw a cute girl clinging and cringing on the
branch of a tree. She was crying at the top of her voice. I
called out for her and asked her to calm down. She
requested me to help her come down the tree. I feared
that my clothes will get soiled. But I somehow gathered
the courage to climb the tree. Just when I was a little
short of clutching her arm, my leg slipped and I came
crashing down the road. The cream color of my collar
became black and I got a cut on my right knee. I quickly
contained my anxiety and made quick steps towards the
cocoon of my home.
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise (emphasize on the k sound)



Examples:
This That These The They
Breathe Teethe Bathe Sheathe
Father Brother Mother
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Voiced TH Sound
This sound is created by placing the tongue behind your
teeth touching the upper palate of your mouth.
The voiced th usually occurs in function words or
pronouns and words that end with the.

The unvoiced TH sound usually occurs in content words

Examples:
Thud Something With Thousand
Both South North Thank

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Unvoiced TH Sound
The unvoiced TH sound is created by placing your
tongue between your lips and releasing the air through
the slit.
Read out these sentences aloud:

Banana makes me thin.
Most people think that they have the answer.
It is time to put on your thinking cap.
Martha is thick-skinned.
I thought I heard thunder. Thank you very much for
doing a thorough job.
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Exercise:

In some words th is pronounced as t.
These words are usually proper nouns.

Examples:

Thomas Thailand Thames
Esther
.
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel Sounds
Exceptions:

Practice these words:
Third Without Theatre
Fourth Author Thought
Fifth Nothing Thursday
Eighth Thirsty Three
Eleventh Theme Thelma
Twelfth Month Dorothy
Thirteenth Birthday Elizabeth
Twentieth Through Samantha
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Exercise:

This is a voiced sound. To produce the v sound allow your
upper teeth to rest on your lower lip and push the sound
through the slit. Bite the lower lip and feel the vibration.

Examples:

Verify, Discover, Voice

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The V Sound


Read these words with the correct v sound.

Valid Divide Above Invest
Victim Heavy Love Velocity
Video Save Leave Vegetables
Vote Valentine Festival Vanessa
Vinegar Vast Virtue Vice
Evoke Arrive Victor Visit
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise

Read out the following sentences:


Leave the lovely vase in the van
The executive arrived late for the seventh meeting.
Vincent advised Vanessa to meet the vice president.
He was actively working on the velocity of the van.

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise

This is a voiced sound. To produce the w sound, make
your lips rounded and the tongue drawn back as in the
position of u. Your lips should form a soft circle.

Examples:

Work
Wedding
Wednesday

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The W sound

Read out these words with the correct w sound.


Twenty Wish Sandwich Sweet
One Winter Weather Wait
Water Wave Wallet Watch
Walnut Wine Weed Weigh
Weave Wander Wonder Walk
Wash Wane Weep Win
Weight Wise Railway Swim
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise

Read out the following sentences:


William was waiting at the railway station
Wilma is working on her weight for her wedding
Winne wanted wine instead of water
You shouldnt wear a watch while swimming

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise

Very Wary
Verse Worse
Wheel Veal
West Vest
Vie Whale
While Vile

Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
How will you pronounce these words?

This is an unvoiced aspirated sound:

Church
Cherish
Chant
Chamber


Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The Ch sound

Practice Exercise

Charlie chose the chilly chicken
Chitra chanced to sit on the Chiming chair.
Cherry cheered the charming champion.
Check the cheese before you eat.
Channel of the chimney was charred.
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The Ch sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Practice Exercise:

Gin and tonic water is the gist for success for
gigantic parties.
Gillette is the brand of a shaving gadget
Gauge the height of the hill gingerly.
Fit the gauge gently.
The dj Sound
This is a voiced sound which is made by the
lower jaw touching the palate
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
The sh sound

This is a voiced sound. Produce the sh sound by
pursing your lips in an oval shape resting your upper
teeth straight on your lower teeth and blowing the air
through the slit between the teeth.

The sh sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice

Shell
She
Shoot
English

The sh sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Practice Exercise:

Chef, Champagne
Musician ,Ancient
Tension, Pension
Russia, Expression
Sanction, Section

The sh sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

The S sound is a voiced sound produced by
placing the tongue towards the upper ridge of
your teeth and passing the air through the slit

Swim
State
Start

The S Sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Practice Exercise

Sally Silly Smoke Sam
Sells Straw s Subway Street
Station Sandy Study Strong
Straight Stammer String


The S Sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds


This sound is produced in the same ways as sh. The only
difference is that of a strong vibration in the throat:

Pleasure Measure Treasure
Seizure Leisure Azure


The Zh sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

This is a voiced sound. It is produced by placing
your tongue between the upper ridge of your teeth
and gives a buzzing effect:

Zebra, Zeal, Zoo, Zip, Zest

The Z sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Practice Exercise:

Zulu Amaze Graze Crazy
Blaze Cozy Doze Accuse
Maze Glaze Praise Daze
Ease Faze Freeze Buzz
Lizard Jazzy Lazy Busy
Zoology Prize Booze Maize
The Z sound
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds

Kr tr dr

St sp

Str

Clusters
Introduction to Consonant and Vowel
Sounds
Managing Clusters

/sp/ Splash
/st/ Style
/str/ Straight
/sts/ Lasts
/ss/ Students strike
/tr/ Train
/dr/ Drive
/kr/ Cross
Managing Clusters
Vowel Sounds

OOT OHT AWT AHT AYT EET
OOD OHD AWD AHD AYD EED
OON OHN AWN AHN AYN EEN
OOB OHB AWB AHB AYB EEB
OOP OHP AWP AHP AYP EEP
OOM OHM AWM AHM AYM EEM
OOG OHG AWG AHG AYG EEG
Cecily Berry Exercise
Vowel Sounds

OOF OHF AWF AHF AYF EEF
OOV OHV AWV AHV AYV EEV
OOS OHS AWS AHS AYS EES
OOZ OHZ AWZ AHZ AYZ EEZ
OOTH OHTH AWTH AHTH AYTH EETH
Cecily Berry Exercise (continued)
Vowel Sounds



A diphthong is a combination of two vowel
sounds

Vowels are sound carriers.
Vowel Sounds

20

Simple Vowels Complex Vowels
or Diphthongs
12 8

English Vowel Sounds
a e i o u
Vowel Sounds
SIMPLE VOWELS
They are also called pure vowels or monopthongs.
A vowel is a sound without detectable change in quality from beginning to end.
It results from changing the shape and the position of the tongue and lips.
sleep sit book boot
ten after bird horse
cat up far hot
Vowel Sounds
COMPLEX VOWELS (DIPHTHONGS)
Have continually moving tongue shape and changing sound quality
they are represented by two vowel symbols but counted as one unit
the two symbols represent the beginning and the end of the sound quality
the jaw, tongue and lips make a gliding movement from the first element of the diphthong to the
second
the first part is much stronger than the second part
can be classified as either closing or centering

beer say
fewer boy go
bear high how
Vowel Sounds

Last Lost Lust
Quiet Quite Quit
Accept Expect Except

How would you say these words:
Short vowels Long vowels
Vowel Sounds
Practice exercise:


Read out the following sentences:

Marthas car wont start.
Did Sean fall off the wall?
Sue is wearing brown shoes
Louis took the cookbook
Who has the boys toy
How do you get downtown?
Jennifer needs the airfare

Vowel Sounds

Read the following sentences:

I may go late for my tuition.
He went down the steps and found the lost coin.
The fair skinned maiden was standing on the stairs.
Her tears are a result of sheer agony.
I left a note close to the table so that you read it before
you go

Practice Exercise:
Vowel Sounds

Hotel Component Petrol

Industry Engineer Cassette

Decade Chaos Development
Some Commonly Mispronounced Words

Intonationn

What is intonation

Rise and fall in pitch is intonation
It can also be defined as Speech Music


Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall in pitch . It
conveys personal intentions and emotions
such as surprise, anxiety, excitement.
Pitch is the number of vibrations per
second.

Changes in pitch determine the TONE
of speech.

Intonation
Let us look at examples:





1. I didnt say he stole the money
2. I didnt say he stole the money
3. I didnt say he stole the money
4. I didnt say he stole the money
5. I didnt say he stole the money
6. I didnt say he stole the money
7. I didnt say he stole the money

Intonation

1. I didnt say he stole the money - someone else did
2. I didnt say he stole the money- thats not true at all
3. I didnt say he stole the money- I only suggested it
4. I didnt say he stole the money- someone else took it
5. I didnt say he stole the money- he may have borrowed
6. I didnt say he stole the money- but rather some other
money
7. I didnt say he stole the money- He may have taken
jewelry

Let us look at the sentences again:

Intonation
Rules of Intonation

STATEMENTS-QUESTIONS

Typically, statements end with a downward drop. This pattern signals the listener that the thought is
complete. It may be the listeners turn to talk or the speaker may have more to say but it marks
the end of an idea.

The students are from the national science academy.
Hes capable of maintaining excellent health.
My boss decided to hire the five finalists.
The judge and jury joked about the arrangement.

Questions which cannot be answered with "yes" or "no" are sometimes called wh questions because
they often contain where, when, who, or why. They have a rhythm that usually ends with a
downward drop.

Which teachers signature is on the check?
What American customs do visitors find annoying?
Is her degree in psychology or psychiatry?
Who wrote the script for the story?

Intonation
Rules of Intonation

STATEMENTS-QUESTIONS







Questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no" usually end with an upward slide. This rhythm
signals the listener that it is his turn to respond.

Did the stock split?
Will they finish the film before February first?
Is Jim eligible for the job in geology?
Was testing of the space station successful?
Does the chart at the end of the text make sense?


Intonation
Rules of Intonation


Set the cake on the left side of the table, okay? (final upward inflection)
Set the cake on the left side of the table, okay? (final downward inflection)

Cindy lives in a very distant city, doesnt she? (final upward inflection)
Cindy lives in a very distant city, doesnt she? (final downward inflection)


ITEMS IN A SERIES

When items are presented in sequence, you will notice upward inflection with each one until the final
item, where there is usually a downward step.

All kinds of data are on the charts, tables, and graphs.
Desks were covered with computers, manuals, and papers.
Prepositions include across, until, among, and of.
The last three letters of the alphabet are X, Y, Z.
Add flour, sugar, and butter to the batter.

In English, we do not say each syllable with the same force or strength. In one
word, we accentuate ONE syllable. We say one syllable very loudly (big, strong,
important) and all the other syllables very quietly.




Let's take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic. Do they
sound the same when spoken? No. Because we accentuate (stress) ONE syllable
in each word. And it is not always the same syllable. So the shape of each word
is different.

PHO TO GRAPH
PHO TO GRAPH ER
PHO TO GRAPH IC
What is Word Stress?
Word Stress
There are two very important rules
about word stress:






One word, one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. So if you
hear two stresses, you have heard two words, not one word.)

The stress is always on a vowel.

Sentence Stress in English

Sentence stress is the music of spoken English. Like word stress,
sentence stress can help you to understand spoken English,
especially when spoken fast.


Sentence stress is what gives English its rhythm or "beat". You
remember that word stress is accent on one syllable within a word.
Sentence stress is accent on certain words within a sentence.


Most sentences have two types of word:
content words
structure words

Content words are the key words of a sentence. They are the
important words that carry the meaning or sense.
Sentence Stress in English
Imagine that you receive this telegram message:
This sentence is not complete. It is not a "grammatically correct" sentence. But you probably understand it. These
4 words communicate very well. Somebody wants you to sell their car for them because they have goneto France.
We can add a few words:
The new words do not really add any more information. But they make the message more correct
grammatically. We can add even more words to make one complete, grammatically correct sentence. But
the information is basically the same:

Content Words
Will you SELL my CAR because I've GONE to FRANCE.
Structure Words
In our sentence, the 4 key words (sell, car, gone, France) are accentuated or stressed.

Will
you SELL me CAR because I'm GONE to FRANCE

Will
you SELL my CAR because I've GONE to FRANCE
Sentence Stress in English
Rules for Sentence Stress in English



The basic rules of sentence stress are:


content words are stressed
structure words are unstressed
the time between stressed words is always the same

Sentence Stress in English
Rules for Sentence Stress in English



Content words - stressed

Words carrying the meaning Example
main verbs SELL, GIVE, EMPLOY
nouns CAR, MUSIC, MARY
adjectives RED, BIG, INTERESTING
adverbs QUICKLY, LOUDLY, NEVER
negative auxiliaries DON'T, AREN'T, CAN'T
Structure words - unstressed

Words for correct grammar Example
pronouns he, we, they
prepositions on, at, into
articles a, an, the
Intonation

What happens when we lack intonation while
conversing?







Negates the essence of information
Makes us sound mechanical
causes miscommunication