CHASING PIRATES. DIPHTHONGS /eɪ/ /aɪ/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/

Norah Jones' swirling singing will, this time, take us into the slippery world of some diphthongs /eɪ/ /aɪ/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/ (phonemically analyzed as a sequence of a semivowel and a monophthong) with her song Chasing pirates.
WARNING: don’t confuse /əʊ/ and /aʊ/ (they are often mixed up!). Click first on the phonetic chart on the right to hear the difference.

I have to admit I chose this song because I like it, nevertheless, it does serve the purpose of showing the difference between these very diphthongs. American English is commonly described as having wide diphthongs, made with less oral tension. This is quite evident in the song where the singer (born in New York) makes little distinction between /əʊ/ /aʊ/, but she does make it.

Native-Burmese speakers find it almost impossible to pronounce diphthongs and triphthongs. The same is true of native-Caribbean speakers.

Listen to the song and fill in the gaps (using ordinary spelling, not phonetics) as you listen to it. 


For further practice with diphthongs, try this game

COMMUNICATION. Linking consonants to vowels

 

 

Not understanding can be  a good reason to disconnect, both in daily communication and in life.

The clues in the gap- fill exercise for this song, Communication by the Cardigans, can help you  recognise linking features of connecting consonants to vowels and identify flap or tap t, /ɾ/, in order to understand  speech better, so that you don't have to disconnect!

• In General American, International English and colloquial British English,  /t/ can be pronounced as the so-called flap or tap t, /ɾ/,  which sounds like a short d or, more precisely, like the quick, hard r sound heard  in Spanish pero. So letter  can be heard as /leɾə/.

Within words,  /ɾ/ must be followed by a weak unstressed vowel, i.e.  /ə, i /. The /t/ is tapped    in átom  /ˈæɾəm/ ,  but not in atómic /əˈtɒmɪk/.

In connected speech, across words, this stress-sensitivity ceases to exist, and  /t/ followed by any vowel undergoes this t- to- r process; not only do we find tapping in get alóng  /ˈɡeɾəˈlɒŋ/ , where the next vowel is unstressed, but in get úp /ˈgeɾʌp/ too.

• Listen to the song and do the gap-fill exercise while listening. Click on the clue button to get a phonetic transcription of the missing letters. Be aware that in the gap you have to write the ending of a word, a space and the  next word or beginning of  it.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE IT WORSE THAN ME

Some stuff for advanced level. Tim Minchin's witty humour can be difficult to follow for non native speakers of English, but he's certainly a treasure source of material to practice all aspects of connected speech. It contains language that might be offensive, but be aware that the intention is purely humorous. The song Some People Have It Worse Than Me composed and interpreted by Tim Minchin.


"Simultaneously an excellent stand-up comedian, a purveyor of physical comedy, an accomplished musician and a lyricist of diabolical ingenuity. Witty, smart, and unabashedly offensive.” (The Age, Melbourne)

“Articulate, thoughtful, dry and unashamedly polysyllabic… dark irreverent and talented… excellent, provoking, funny.” (The Age, Melbourne)

Simply listen and read at the same time. To follow the lyrics, move the bar down (on the right of the lyrics). To control the speed move up (+) or down (-) as needed.

Can you spot the 7 differences between what's written and what he actually says? If you do, send them as a comment.

Lyrics | Tim Minchin lyrics - Some People Have It Worse Than Me lyrics

THAT DAY. /S/ INITIAL POSITION

Some latin based languages tend to add an intrusive 'e' sound before the /s/ sound when it is followed by a consonant in initial position.

eg: 'e'Steve 'e'speaks 'e'Spanish.

The song That Day by Natalie Imbruglia will help in the practice of the sound /s/ in initial position as well as the practice of this sound in connected speech. Try to hear the language as chunks of speech rather than individual words. In this way you will soon be able to hear (and then hopefully produce) language as it is really spoken rather than as you think it is spoken.

• Listen to the song and fill in the gaps with the missing words, most of them are adjectives connected by commas. As you fill in the gaps remember to write the commas when needed or your answer will be seen as incorrect. If you need help click on the ? button and you will get the words transcribed phonetically.

• Further practice in phonetic transcription for advanced students. Try the following matching exercise:

These two activities have been made with the help of PhoTransEdit, a programme for transcribing ordinary English into phonetics