PRONÚNCIA DA LÍNGUA INGLESA
DESAFIOS E BENEFÍCIOS DE SUA APRENDIZAGEM

Maria Flávia de F. Pereira Bollela (UNESP)

Ementa

Noções básicas de acento, ritmo, entoação, transcrição fonética e pronúncia dos sons vocálicos e consonantais da língua inglesa.

Objetivo

Este minicurso visa capacitar o aluno no reconhecimento e produção dos diferentes fonemas da língua inglesa, apresentando-lhe as noções básicas do acento, do ritmo e da entoação deste idioma. A partir deste aprendizado, o aluno estará apto a implementar sua produção oral e sua discriminação auditiva e poderá compartilhar o conhecimento adquirido com seus próprios alunos.

Bibliografia:

O material aqui reproduzido foi extraído de:

BOLLELA, Maria Flávia de F. Pereira. Uma proposta de ensino da pronúncia da língua inglesa com ênfase nos processos rítmicos de redução vocálica. Araraquara, 2002. 380 p. Tese (Doutorado) – Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade Estadual Paulista.

ACTIVITY 1

Practicing the stress-timed rhythm[1]

·         Clap your hands while saying the words in boldface. Remember that you must keep the same pace until the end of the exercise.

·         Insert each new word in the following line and produce them in an unstressed way keeping the same pace. Note the contrast between strong and weak syllables and especially that the pace is kept regular no matter the number of words or syllables inserted in-between the stressed numbers.

ACTIVITY 2

Intonation

This aspect of the English language is related to the different pitches the speech has. The speakers of English rise and down their intonation depending on what they are willing to say.

Greetings

Let’s role-play the dialogue below:

ACTIVITY 3

Silent -e Pronunciation Rule[2]

You are going to hear the explanation for the silent -e pronunciation rule. After that, follow along the CD reading the words below.

ENGLISH PHONEMES

Remember to have a copy of the phonetic chart in hand so that you can check the symbols every time you want.

PRONUNCIATION OF THE ARTICLES

Pronunciation of the definite article

THE[3]

The is pronounced [Diy] before a vowel and [D«] before a consonant. Compare:

            the ice [Diy ays]        the snow [D« snow]

The choice between [Diy] and [D«] depends on pronunciation, not spelling.

We pronounce [Diy] before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant.

            the hour [Diy awr]     the MP [Diy Em piy]

And we pronounce [D«] before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel.

            the university [De yuwnIÈv«rs«tiy]

            the one-pound coin [De Èw«n Èpawnd Èk�yn]

We sometimes pronounce a stressed [Diy] before a hesitation, or when we want to stress the following word, even if it begins with a consonant.

Pronunciation of the indefinite article

A and An[4]

We do not normally pronounce the sound [«] before a vowel. So before a vowel, the article a ([«]) changes to an. Compare:

            a rabbit                                        a lemon

            an elephant                                 an orange

The choice between a and an depends on pronunciation, not spelling.

We use an before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant.

            an hour [«n awr]                      an MP [«n Em Èpiy]

And we use a before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel.

            a university [« yuw…]            a one-pound coin [« w«n…]

Some people say an, not a, before words beginning with h if the first syllable is unstressed.

            an hotel (a hotel is more common)

            an historic occasion (a historic... is more common)

            (BUT NOT an housewife ¾ the first syllable is stressed.)

A is sometimes pronounced [ey] before a hesitation, when we want to emphasize the following word, or when we want to make a contrast with the.

            It’s a [ey] reason ¾ It’s not the only reason.

Note that as is usually pronounced [«z].

ACTIVITY 4

Write down the phonetic transcription of the minimal pairs listed below:

aisle        ____________                   owl         ____________

back       ____________                   bike        ____________

bag         ____________                   bug         ____________

ban         ____________                   bun         ____________

barn        ____________                   burn       ____________

beat        ___________bit______   bat          ____________

beg         ____________                   bag         ____________

bill          ____________                   bell         ____________

bud         ____________                   bird         ____________

bun         ____________                   burn       ____________

buy         ____________                   bow        ____________

cap         ____________                   cup         ____________

cat          ____________                   kite         ____________

chicks    _______________            cheeks   ____________

chicks_______________                checks   ____________

cup         ____________                   cop         ____________

cut          ____________                   cot          ____________

dean       _________ din _______  Dan       ____________

Don        ____________                   down      ____________

done       ____________                   Don        ____________

far           ____________                   fur           ____________

fill           ____________                   feel         ____________

fill           ____________                   fell          ____________

gull         ____________                   girl          ____________

hard        ____________                   heard      ____________

hat          ____________                   height    ____________

heart       ____________                   hurt        ____________

hill          ____________                   heel        ____________

hut          ____________                   hot          ____________

huts        ____________                   hurts      ____________

lead        _________ lid _______   lad          ____________

lied         ____________                   loud        ____________

luck        ____________                   lock        ____________

pants      ____________                   pints       ____________

pen         ____________                   pain        ____________

pepper   ____________                   paper      ____________

pin          ____________                   pen         ____________

pond      ____________                   pound    ____________

R             ____________                   hour       ____________

rag          ____________                   rug          ____________

run          ____________                   Ron        ____________

sack        ____________                   suck       ____________

said        ____________                   sad         ____________

Scot        ____________                   scout      ____________

seal         _________ sill _______   Sal          ____________

ship        ____________                   sheep     ____________

shot        ____________                   shout     ____________

shut        ____________                   shirt        ____________

sit           ____________                   seat        ____________

star         ____________                   stir          ____________

suck       ____________                   sock       ____________

tell          ____________                   tail          ____________

test         ____________                   taste       ____________

tile          ____________                   towel      ____________

van         ____________                   vine        ____________

wet         ____________                   wait        ____________

wrist       ____________                   rest         ____________

X             ____________                   axe          ____________

PRONUNCIATION OF THE -ed ENDING

The regular past endings –ed is pronounced as follows:

a) [d] after vowels and voiced consonants: [b], [g], [v], [D], [z], [Z], [dZ], [m], [N], [l], [r] (except [d]).

tried [trayd]

used [yuwzd]

b) [t] after voiceless consonants: [p], [k], [f], [T], [s], [S], [tS] (except [t]).

passed [pQst]

worked [w«rkt]

c) [Id] after [d] and [t].

ended [ÈEndId]

started [ÈstArtId]

Note: Voiced and voiceless sounds

When you pronounce voiced sounds, your vocal cords vibrate. When you pronounce voiceless sounds, your vocal cords do not vibrate. The vibration of the vocal cords is easy to be checked. Place your fingers on your throat and feel the difference: the vocal will only vibrate when you produce voiced phonemes.

            VOICED                      X                     VOICELESS

   vocal cords do vibrate                      vocal cords do not vibrate

ACTIVITY 5

Story: The Lion and the Mouse[5]

Fill in the blanks in the story below while listening to the recorded material.

Bedtime story²

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

One day a mouse was walking near a ________________ layer, _______________ what they call a lion’s cave. He _______________ his home in there.

The lion sprang upon the mouse, _______________ it in his _______________. The big cat _______________ the little mouse and _______________ up his _______________ . The mouse said: some day, Sir, you may need a favor, too. And if you’re kind to me right now, then I’ll be kind to you.

The lion _______________, you’re much too small to be of use to me, but, on a whim, he put him down. OK, he _______________. You’re free. The little mouse said: Thank you, Sir. _______________ out aside. Do you know the day came when the mouse _______________ he was right. For the lion was caught in a _______________ net and he _______________ : “Oh me! Oh my!”. The mouse out with the wife and ___________________ to be strolling by. The mouse _______________ a hole in the _______________ net so big, I’m telling you, an entire troop of _______________ could have gotten through.

From that day on the lion and the mouse were the closest _______________

They _______________ happily ever after.

And ________________ the way the story _______________

ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -ED: PRONUNCIATION[6]

The adjectives ending in -ed follow the same rule as the regular verbs, but there are some exceptions.

A few adjectives ending in -ed have a special pronunciation: the last syllable is pronounced [Id] instead of [d] or [t]. They are:

aged [ÈeydZId] (=very old)     naked [ÈneykId]

beloved [bIÈl«vId]   ragged [ÈrQgId]

blessed [ÈblEsId]          rugged [Èr«gId]

crooked [ÈkrUkId]    sacred [ÈseykrId]

cursed [Èk«rsId]            wicked [ÈwIkId]

dogged [ÈdAgId]            wretched [ÈrEtSId]

learned [Èl«rnId]            one/three/four legged [ÈlEgId]

Note that aged is pronounced [eydZd] when it means ‘years old’ (as in He has a daughter aged ten), or when it is a verb.

Other adjectives ending in -ed always have the normal pronunciation, with [Id] only after [d] or [t].

tired [tay«rd]  hunchbacked [Èh«ntSbQkt]           undecided [«ndIÈsaydId]

ACTIVITY 6

-Ed ending exercise[7]

Directions: With your partner, discuss the pronunciation of the -ed endings in the words below. Then write the correct pronunciation in the diagonal marks provided: [t], [d], and [Id]. Practice reading the dialogue, focusing particularly on the correct pronunciation of the endings.

Sam:           So, you visited the marital counselor I recommended?

                                   [   ]                                                  [   ]

Laura:        Yes, we visited him, and wasted fifteen minutes of our valuable time!

                                     [   ]                    [   ]

Larry:        Not to mention the fact that he charged us an arm and a leg!

                                                                        [   ]

Laura:        For once, I agree with you. We were definitely ripped off!

                                                                                            [   ]

Larry:        Well, I warned you it would be a waste of time, but you insisted we go.

                                        [   ]                                                            [   ]

Laura:        I insisted? You dragged me there!

                               [   ]                 [   ]

Sam:           Laura, Larry, control yourselves!

You should be ashamed, fighting like a pack of four-legged animals.

                                 [   ]                                          [   ]

Larry:        She started it.

                                  [   ]

Laura:        No, he did. He claimed it was my fault.

                                                 [   ]

Sam:           Let’s stick to the naked facts. Tell me exactly what Dr. Otter talked to you about.

                                                    [   ]                                                     [   ]

Laura:        Not a blessed thing! We waited over an hour in the reception room,

                                       [   ]                [   ]

  and then his secretary ushered us into the office.

                                        [   ]

Larry:        Then after five minutes, he glanced at his watch and stated that he had another

                                                                           [   ]                                   [   ]

   appointment.

Laura:        What wretched treatment! I’ve never been so offended!

                                        [   ]                                               [   ]

Larry:        I warned you it would be a waste of time, didn’t I?

                             [   ]

Laura:        You warned me? Who called and made the appointment?

                                 [   ]                  [   ]

PRONUNCIATION OF THE -S ENDING[8]

Form many plurals, possessives, and contractions by adding -s to a noun. Form the s form of a verb by adding -s to the base form. This ending has three different pronunciations.

The pronunciation of -s depends on which sound comes before it.

a) When a word ends in the voiceless consonants /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, and /T/, pronounce -s as [s], as in see.

b) When a noun ends in the voiced consonants /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /D/, /m/, /n/, /N/, /l/, or /r/, pronounce -s as [z], as in zoo. (Remember that all vowels and diphthongs are voiced. Thus, when a noun ends in a vowel sound, -s is pronounced [z]).

c) When a noun ends in /s/, /z/, /S/, /Z/, /tS/ or /dZ/, pronounce -s or -es as [Iz]. Pronounce [Iz] as a separate syllable.

Note:

We apply the -s ending rule in the following contexts:

Ø             plurals;

Ø             3^rd person singular;

Ø             possessives ( ’s );

Ø             contractions.

ACTIVITY 7

²       Sweet Baby James[9]

You are going to listen to part of the song by James Taylor: Sweet Baby James. Fill in the blanks while following the recording.

Directions: With your partner, discuss the pronunciation of the -(e)s endings in the words bellow. Then write the correct pronunciation in the diagonal marks provided: /s/, /z/ or /Iz/. Listen to the recording and check your predictions. Now practice singing or reading the song, focusing particularly on the correct pronunciation of these endings.

SWEET BABY JAMES

There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range

                                                      /  /

His horse and his cattle are his only companion s

                                                                               /  /

He works in the saddle and he sleeps in canyon s

            /  /                                              /  /                 /  /

Waiting for summer, his pastures to change

                                                     /  /

And as the moon rises he sits by his fire

                                  /  /        /  /

Thinking about women and glasses of beer

                                                       /  /

And closing his eyes as the doggies retire

                               /  /                        /  /

He sings out a song which is soft but it’s clear

           /  /                                                    /  /

As if maybe someone could hear.

ACTIVITY 8

Make the transcription of the words below and explain the concept or pronunciation rule that they represent.

1

2

3

4

5

6

ACTIVITY 9

²     Shadow reading

The text below is suitable for shadow reading, since its intonation pattern, pace and rhythm are easily noticeable.

About Friends^[10]

The good thing about friends

is not having to finish sentences.

I sat a whole summer afternoon with my friend once

on a river bank, basking heels on the baked mud

and watching the small chunks slide into the water

and listening to them – plop plop plop.

He said ‘I like the twigs when they...you know...

like that’. I said ‘There’s that branch...’

We both said ‘Mmmm’. The river flowed and flowed

and there were lots of butterflies, that afternoon.

I first thought there was a sad thing about friends

when we met twenty years later.

We both talked hundreds of sentences,

taking care to finish all we said,

and explain it all very carefully,

as if we’d been discovered in places

we should not be, and were somehow ashamed.

I understood then what the river meant by flowing.

REFERÊNCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS

BOLLELA, Maria Flávia de F. Pereira. Uma proposta de ensino da pronúncia da língua inglesa com ênfase nos processos rítmicos de redução vocálica. Araraquara, 2002. 380 p. Tese (Doutorado) – Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade Estadual Paulista.

CAUDLE, Brad; CAUDLE, Richard. Rock'n learn: letter sounds. Conroe : Rock'N Learn, 1997b. 1 fita cassete (60 min).

CELCE-MURCIA, Marianne; BRITON, Donna M., GOODWIN, Janet M. Teaching pronunciation: a reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. New York : Cambridge University Press, 1996.

GEDDES, Marion; STURTRIDGE, Gill; BEEN, Sheila. Advanced conversation. [S.l.] : Phoenix ELT, 1991.

LEWIS, Shari. One-minute bedtime stories. New York : Caedmon, 1986. 1 fita cassete (60 min).

ORION, Gertrude F. Pronouncing American English: sounds, stress, and intonation. 2. ed. Boston : Heinle & Heinle Publishers, 1997.

SWAN, Michael. Practical English usage. 2. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

UNDERHILL, Adrian. Sound foundations. Oxford : Heinemann, 1994. (The Teacher’s Development Series).

WELLS, J.C. Longman pronunciation dictionary. Essex : Longman, 1990.