The s sound in English. Sounds and letters

Having studied the Russian alphabet, we can easily read any texts. But to read correctly in English you will have to put in more effort, because there are many discrepancies between the spelling and pronunciation of words. If you decide to learn this language on your own and cannot understand how to read words in English correctly, then this material is exactly what you need. Today we will look at the nuances of pronunciation of English letters and letter combinations, and find out how easy it is to learn to read English from scratch. A table that shows all the letters and their sounds will help you learn the rules of reading English for beginners.

First, let's get acquainted with the most important law of reading in English - the rule of open and closed syllables. There is no similar norm in the Russian language, so we will analyze in detail what it is. Please pay attention to the transcription.

An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel sound. As a rule, it occurs in the following cases:

• The word ends in a vowel, so the last syllable is always open: t ake[take].*
• A vowel is followed by a consonant, followed by another vowel sound: ed uca tion [education].
• There are two vowels adjacent to the word: cr ue l [cruel].

*Final e in most cases it is considered “dumb”, that is, it is not pronounced, but appears at the base of the word precisely to form an open syllable.

In open syllables, the vowel is always pronounced smoothly and drawn out. Accordingly, closed syllables are all those syllables in which the vowel sound is closed by a consonant and therefore sounds short and abrupt: c ut[cat].

In addition, special reading rules in English are characteristic of syllables in which the vowel sound ends with the letter r. The fact is that in the British version of the pronunciation of such syllables, the letter r is often completely omitted, i.e. not pronounced. Therefore, there are two options for reading such letter combinations:

1. In an open syllable, when r is surrounded by vowels, only both vowels are read: c are[keea]. In such cases, the last e will not be dumb.
2. In a closed syllable ( voice+r+acc.), r is also unreadable, but affects the sound of the vowel sound, making it longer: start [staat]

The rule of open and closed syllables is the basic law of reading in English, although there are many exceptions to it. But it’s too early to teach exceptions without knowing the main rules. Therefore, now we will look at the sound options of all letters and letter combinations.

Rules for reading English for beginners - letter and sound correspondence table

Even if you started learning English and reading it from scratch, you are probably already familiar with the spelling and sound of all the letters of the English alphabet. But, as we already learned from the previous section, when reading, the pronunciation of letters depends on the type of syllable or letter combination. Therefore, in the tables below you can find several sound options for the same letter. But don't be alarmed, there will be an accessible explanation for each case. So, let's continue to study English for beginners and learn the rules of reading in English.

Consonants

Let's start with the easiest thing: with a table of consonants, the pronunciation of which is similar to the Russian sound.

*English d and t are pronounced with more aspiration than their Russian counterparts.

**w is pronounced with the lips extended into a tube, the result is something between the Russian sounds v and u.

Now let's deal with more complex letters.

We will also study letter combinations of consonants in English.

In addition, it is worth considering that the English language never allows consonants at the very end of a word to be deafened. Otherwise, you may say something completely different from what you wanted. For example: back [back] – behind, behind; bag [bag] – bag, sack.

Vowels

It is much more difficult to cope with reading English vowels, but the already familiar rules of open and closed syllables will help us understand it. We take them into service and learn to read the vowels of the English language correctly.

Do not forget that in a closed syllable all letters are pronounced briefly.

And the vowels of an open syllable are always smooth and drawn out.

We remember that the letter r after a vowel, as a rule, is not pronounced.

Now we know how to read vowels in English words. But for perfect reading in English, it is necessary to study one more point.

Diphthongs and triphthongs in English

An important aspect of English for beginners is diphthongs and triphthongs, i.e. combinations of two or three letters that have a special sound. Their pronunciation is called sliding, because. First, the main sound is pronounced intensely, and then it is smoothly transferred to the secondary sound. Diphthongs are a kind of exception and do not obey general grammatical laws, so they can only be learned by heart. The table below will help us learn the rules for reading English diphthongs for beginners.

*doubling the letter indicates the length of the first sound in relation to the second.

So, we have looked at the main nuances of reading in English. Treat the stated rules responsibly: conduct reading lessons more often and be sure to learn to distinguish between types of syllables in the English language. Otherwise, you will make gross mistakes in pronunciation, which will lead to a complete misunderstanding of your words by your interlocutor. Good luck in learning English and see you again!

A graphical recording of how letters of the English alphabet or words sound through a sequence of corresponding symbols is transcription of English words.

Undoubtedly - being studied English transcription pretty boring. After all, this is a set of symbols that simply need to be memorized, as they say, “by heart.” Therefore, this process does not cause much enthusiasm for most students. Some even prefer to abandon the idea of ​​studying this important aspect - transcription looks very boring and not very popular in practice in the eyes of many.

However, believe me, if you decide and devote some time to this topic, you will understand how right you did. Indeed, in this case, further learning of the English language will be much easier, if only because knowledge of transcription will allow you to more easily perceive new words.

Why is it important to learn the transcription of English words?

The fact is that, unlike the Russian and Ukrainian languages, where most letters in words always denote the same sound, in English the same letters, which may even appear in the same word, will be read differently.

For example, the English letter “C” can be read both as “C” and “K” in various situations. And the English letter “U” can be read both as “A” and “U”. The English letter “A” in various words can be expressed as “A”, and as “Hey”, and as “E”. And that’s not all – the situation is approximately the same with other letters of the English language.

Therefore, in order to be able to read a new English word correctly, as well as remember it and be able to apply it in practice, you simply need to learn the rules transcription of English words. Only in this way will teaching English be truly effective and productive.

Learning transcription of English words

Of course, it would be stupid to say that by spending 15 minutes learning the rules of transcription, you will be able to read and learn English words on your own and still have perfect pronunciation. Of course this is not true. And you will have to spend much more time on transcription, and you will not immediately be able to accurately apply the acquired knowledge. At first, difficulties and errors are not excluded, but each time they will become less and less. Some time will pass, and you will even be able to perform (record by ear) transcription of words yourself.

Where and how to learn English and transcription of its words?

Of course, in the modern world there are all conditions to obtain any knowledge. You can even engage in self-study, stocking up on a mountain of textbooks. However, as practice shows, the learning process is much easier in the presence of “live” personal contact, a mentor in training and a clearly structured educational process. Therefore, if you want to learn the language most effectively, we recommend enrolling in English courses.

Thus, you will be able to receive data correctly systematized for the best perception and memorization, as well as support at all stages of learning. This approach is also good because it is through courses that people learn English the fastest.

Our English language school in Kyiv (suburb, Vishnevoe, Sofievskaya Borshchagovka, Boyarka, Petrovskoe, Belogorodka) offers to start learning English right now - without putting it off for later. Come and see - everyone can speak English here!

English Transcription is a sequence of phonetic symbols that helps us understand how to read a particular sound or word. The concept of transcription is quite difficult for Russian speakers to understand, because In our language, although such a category exists, it is used extremely rarely.

Why is transcription needed?

The phonetics of the English language has a noticeable feature: historically, words are often read differently from how they are written, that is, from the spelling of a word it is not always possible to guess how it is pronounced. Of course, there are common ones, but there are still plenty of exceptions. For example, there are a large number of words that have either unreadable or readable letters depending on the environment. And the rules themselves are difficult for schoolchildren to remember. Therefore, in almost any dictionary, after writing an English word in square brackets, its reading in transcription symbols is given.

Often, schoolchildren and students encounter transcription at the beginning of learning a language, when it is still quite difficult to read even fairly simple words. Then, as you study the transcription signs, it becomes easier and easier to perceive the contents of the square brackets.

How are transcription signs read?

In the English pronunciation system there are 48 sounds, therefore, there are 48 transcription signs. Let's look at their pronunciation depending on the letters of the English alphabet that represent them.

Use to consolidate your knowledge of transcription.

You can practice your pronunciation using this video:

Is it possible to write English words in Russian letters?

Sometimes on websites or even in books you can see “English transcription in Russian” or “pronunciation of English words in Russian letters” - that is, writing English words in Russian letters. The point is that schoolchildren are encouraged not to learn sophisticated icons, because... You can convey sounds in Russian letters. I think this approach is extremely dead-end. The phonetics of the Russian language differs from the English phonetics so much that the sound can only be conveyed very, very approximately. We simply do not have some sounds of English speech, as well as vice versa.

", transcription is used by everyone, sometimes even unconsciously. First, let's refresh our memory, what does the phrase “English transcription” mean?

English Transcription is a sequence of phonetic symbols that helps us understand how to read a particular sound or word. Often, students encounter transcription at the beginning of learning a language, when it is still quite difficult to read even fairly simple words, and then they simply do not pay attention to it. However, this will not be the case forever.

As soon as a student begins to skillfully use complex grammatical structures and develops a good vocabulary for free communication, then the desire immediately appears to speak beautifully, like a native speaker, that is, to improve his pronunciation of English words. This is where we remember the good old transcription.

In order not to have to remember the well-forgotten old things, we suggest returning to the repetition from time to time. Of course, ideally, the transcription should be completed together with the teacher, because writing cannot convey all the subtleties of pronunciation, but if you are reading this article now, the foundation for beautiful pronunciation and correct reading has already been laid, and you will definitely achieve your desired goal.

Transcription of vowel sounds

There are two types of vowel sounds - single sounds and diphthongs.

[ ʌ ] - [a] - short;
[a:]- [a] - deep;
[i]- [and] - short;
[i:]- [and] - long;
[o]- [o] - short;
[o:]- [o] - deep;
[u]- [y] - short;
[u:]- [y] - long;
[e]- as in the word “plaid”;
[ ɜ: ] - as in the word “honey”.

English diphthongs

A diphthong is a sound that consists of two sounds. Most often, a diphthong can be divided into two sounds, however, this cannot be conveyed in writing. Often diphthongs are indicated not by a combination of several characters, but by their own sign.

[əu]- [ OU ];
[au]- [au];
[ei]- [ Hey ];
[oi]- [ Ouch ];
[ai]- [ouch].

Rules for pronunciation of vowels in English

• Sound " a"has four varieties:
  [ ʌ ] - short sound, as in the words “duck”, “cut”;
  [ æ ] - soft sound. There is no analogue to it in the Russian language. It is read as in the word “cat”;
  [a:]- a long sound that is read as in the word “car”;
  [ ɔ ] - a short sound that sounds similar to both “o” and “a”. In British pronunciation, it is more of an "o", as in "hot" or "not".

• Sound " e" can be read in three ways:
  [e]- for example, as in the word “let”;
  [ ə: ] - this sound is a little reminiscent of the Russian letter “ё”, only it is read a little softer. For example, "bird", "fur";
  [ ə ] - one of the most common sounds in English transcription. In sound, this sound is similar to the Russian sound “e”. It occurs only in unstressed syllables and can be practically inaudible or indistinguishable, for example, ["letə", "letter" - letter.

• Sound " i"can be long or short:
  [I]- short sound, for example, as in the word “film”;
  [i:]- a long sound, for example, as in “sheep”.

• Sound " O"also has 2 options - long and short:
  [ ɔ ] - short sound, as in the word “bond”;
  [ ɔ: ] - a long sound, as in the word “more”.

• Sound " u" can also be pronounced in two ways. It can be long or short:
  [u]- short sound, as in the word “put”;
  [u:]- long sound, as in the word “blue”.

Transcription of consonants

In the transcription of consonant sounds, everything is quite simple. Basically they sound similar to Russian. It is enough to take a thoughtful look at the above-mentioned letter combinations a couple of times, and they will remain in your memory.

Consonants
[b]- [b];
[d]- [d];
[f]- [f];
[ 3 ] - [ and ];
[dʒ]- [j];
[g]- [ G ];
[h]- [ X ];
[k]- [ To ];
[l]- [l];
[m]- [m];
[n]- [n];
[p]- [ P ];
[s]- [ With ];
[t]- [ T ];
[v]- [ V ];
[z]- [z];
[t∫]- [h];
[ ∫ ] - [w];
[r]- soft [r], as in the word Russian;
[ O ]- a sign of softness as in the Russian letter “ё” (Christmas tree).

English consonants that are not in Russian and their pronunciation:
[ θ ] - soft letter “c”, the tongue is located between the front teeth of the upper and lower jaws;
[ æ ] - like “e”, only more sharply;
[ ð ] - like “θ”, only with the addition of a voice, like a soft letter “z”;
[ ŋ ] - nasal, in the French manner, sound [n];
[ ə ] - neutral sound;
[w]-like “v” and “u” together, soft pronunciation.

Features of English transcription

In order to make it easier to navigate reading words, it is important to know the main features of transcription:

• Feature 1. Transcription is always formatted in square brackets
• Feature 2. In order not to get confused about where to place the stress in a word, it is worth considering that it is always placed before the stressed syllable. ["neim] - transcription of the word name.
• Feature 3. It is important to understand that transcription is not the English letters and sounds that make up a word. Transcription is the sound of words.
• Feature 4. In English, transcription consists of vowel sounds, diphthongs and consonants.
• Feature 5. In order to show that the sound is long, a colon is used in transcription.

Of course, knowing only character sets, it is quite difficult to read everything correctly, because there are many exceptions. In order to read correctly, you need to understand that there are closed and open syllables. Open syllable ends with a vowel (game, sunshine), closed- on a consonant (ball, dog). Some sounds in English can be pronounced differently depending on the type of syllable.

Conclusion

It is worth remembering that in any business the main thing is practice (by the way, you can start practicing English remotely right now). Transcribing sounds in English will be easy for you if you work hard at it. Reading the rules once is not enough. It is important to return to them, work through them and repeat them regularly until they are practiced to the point of automaticity. In the end, the transcription will allow you to correctly pronounce sounds in English.

Dictionaries will help you memorize English with transcription and correct pronunciation of English letters and words. You can use both English online dictionaries and good old printed publications. The main thing is not to give up!

Inspiration to you and success in your studies. May the knowledge be with you!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

Hello reader! 🙂 Today we have once again prepared a whole training for you to learn the pronunciation of English sounds. In this series of articles (this is already the 3rd in a row) we will analyze the intricacies of the English phonetic system and find the differences between the sounds of the English language and our Russian ones.

Today we will look at the analogues of the /o/ sound in English. Or rather, they are not exactly analogues, but our phonemic hearing plays a cruel joke on us, and we:

1. replace all three English sounds with Russian /o/,
2. We don’t see the difference between these 3 sounds and, thus, we change the meanings of some words.

We will practice the sounds of the English language as before: with the help of educational videos, a special set of words, exercises, tongue twisters and a song with a standard pronunciation. Let's go!

Attention: The article uses the British version of pronunciation. I will indicate below exactly what differences Americans have.

Pronunciation of the sound /ɜː/ – long vowels in English

Pronounced in words girl, nurse, learn, etc. The sound is very complex: something between our /o/ and /e/ (indicated in the letter eate d) And e (me l) respectively), while being neither one nor the other.

I would say that you need to take the position of your lips as for /e/, hold your mouth in that position, but try to pronounce /o/. Reminds me e in a word Ge those. The sound is long.

The dorsum of the tongue lies flat, the middle part of the tongue is slightly raised, higher than the front and back of the tongue. The tip of the tongue is located at the lower teeth. The edges of the tongue do not touch the upper teeth. The distance between the upper and lower teeth is quite narrow. The lips are tense and stretched, slightly revealing the teeth.

Errors in pronunciation of English words in Russian

What are the main mistakes of Russian speakers:

1. Complete replacement of /e/ with Russian in words like pearl(obsolete Russian is pronounced like this pearl), were and etc.

Advice: you need to give the sound / ɜː / a hint of the Russian sound / o /. The position of the lips is the same as for /e/, but we pronounce /o/.

2. Complete replacement with the Russian sound / o /, denoted by the letter ё in writing, in words like, worse, sir etc.

Advice: give the English sound a touch of Russian /e/. The lips should be stretched, the teeth should be brought closer together, the tongue should be flat.

And, accordingly, do not round your lips, as for Russian /o/. It is recommended to pronounce / ɜː / with almost the same extended lip position as for the phoneme / i: / => see /si:/ – sir /sɜː/, fee /fi:/ – fir /fɜ:/, heat /hi:t / – hurt /hɜːt/.

A stretched lip position is especially necessary when pronouncing / ɜː / after / w / => we /wi:/ – world /wɜːd/, we /wi:/ – work /wɜːk/, we /wi:/ – worm /wɜːm/.

3. Also note that the consonant before this vowel does not need to be softened (we’ll talk about this). In words like girl, first, bird and other consonants will be hard.

Advice: do not raise the middle back of the tongue towards the hard palate when pronouncing a consonant. First pronounce the hard consonant, and then start pronouncing the vowel.

Examples for English vowel sounds

Got it? Now we move on to establishing the correct pronunciation of words in English. We adjust the speech apparatus to the desired position and begin training:

first /ˈfɜːst/

stir /stɜːr/

fir /ˈfɜːr/

Great! And now I’ll tell you about the difference in pronunciation performed by an American (I didn’t say it before so as not to confuse). American transcription looks like this:

firm – /f ɝ ːm/ (or /fɜrm/ as in our language).

In British pronunciation, we can only hear the overtone /r/ at the junction of words, when the next word begins with a vowel: si r A lec /sɜː r æ lɪk/.

English tongue twisters for vowel sounds will help us consolidate the result:

• G e rman l ea rners l ea rnG e rman w o rds, T u rkish l ea rners l ea rn T u rkish w o rds.
• An ea rl gave P ea rl a f u r and a c ir cell of p ea rls for h er th ir ty–f ir st b ir thday.
• The f ir stsk ir t is d ir tier than the th ir dsh ir t, The f ir st sh ir t is d ir tier than the th ir dsk ir t.

Finally, let’s find this English sound in a famous song so that it is imprinted in the auditory memory. Since we took British pronunciation as a basis, the example will be exclusively British - The Beatles “Girl”

From 0:18 to 0:30

Sound /ɒ/ – pronunciation of short vowels in English

“Inverted a in English transcription” is pronounced in the words doll, hot, what. The English sound is similar to the Russian /o/ under stress (as in the word PO st) But:

• our lips are more rounded (and protrude forward),
• for our sound the language rises higher, therefore the Russian sound is less open,
• our sound is longer.

How the speech apparatus works: the articulation is much like the sound /a:/, as in the word part(). But the root of the tongue is retracted back and down even more than with /a: /, and is not tense. The tip of the tongue is pulled further from the lower teeth than with /a:/ and is lowered down. The distance between the jaws is large. The lips are slightly rounded, lip protrusion is completely absent. The sound is short.

Advice: Since the English sounds /a:/ and /ɒ/ are somewhat similar, you can try this: start saying the word part /pa:t/(listen to the British pronunciation), but move the root of the tongue back as much as possible, DO NOT round your lips too much and make the sound short - you will get the correct pronunciation of the word pot /pɒt/(listen to the British version).

To avoid accidentally replacing the sound with Russian /o/, open your mouth wider, lower and move your tongue lower. When rounding your lips, do not protrude them forward and reduce the sound.

Let's move on to practice. Let's put the correct pronunciation of the English language using a set of words:

Once again I draw attention to the differences in American pronunciation. In AmE there is practically no “short o”, and they pronounce the above words with the sound / a: / (we talked about it above) – not /nɑːt/.

Watch from 2:01 to 3:22

Let's reinforce the pronunciation with tongue twisters in English to practice sounds:

• R o b o ften dr o ps his w a llet in sh o ps, T o m o ften dr o ps his w a llet at st o ps.
• D o lly w a nts to w a tch n o vels o n TV, P o lly w a nts to w a tch h o rrors o n TV.
• Kn o tt and Sh o tt f o ught a duel. Kn o tt w a s sh o t and Sh o tt w a s n o t. It w a s better to be Sh o tt than Kn o tt.

In conclusion line from a song. By the way, finding an example was not so easy... This sound is short, and I wanted it to be heard in the song. But singers have the right to stretch out even short sounds :) Therefore, we take as an example the rather fast and rhythmic song “13 Little Dolls” by British performer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Fight them hard then keep them safe
Those 13 little do lls
One for each moodo f the day
Those 13 little do lls
Cro ss your heart and try to sleep
Leave them out to play
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 little do lls

From 1:00 to 1:18

Sound /ɔː/ – pronunciation of vowel sounds in English

The sound /ɔː/ is pronounced in words horse, wall, law and etc.

The articulation sound is similar to the previous / ɒ / - the tongue moves back and down, BUT the back of the tongue is raised half the distance (and in the previous sound the root of the tongue is relaxed), so in this sound you feel how the hole in the throat “closes”. The lips are pressed together into a small hole, as if you are planning to kiss someone. The sound is long.

That is, in essence, we pronounce a very, very deep sound /o/, but the position of the lips is the same as for the sound /u/.

Understanding the difference between these sounds is also important because replacing a sound can change the meaning of a word:

cock /kɒk/ (rooster) – cork /kɔːk/ (bark, wine cork)

pot /pɒt/ (pot) – port /pɔːt/ (port)

wad /wɒd/ (a pack of something – banknotes, chewing gum) – ward /wɔːd/ (hospital ward)

Correct pronunciation of words in English

I hope you were able to catch the articulation of this sound. Let's move on to training in words:

store /stɔːr/

shore /ʃɔːr/

floor /flɔːr/

chalk /tʃɔːk/

fourth /fɔːθ/

thought /θɔːt/

brought /brɔːt/

Note that here too there is a difference from British pronunciation. In words like ball, small, low Americans are pronouncing the sound /a:/ again, and in words like horse /hɔːrs/ and north /nɔːrθ/– /r/ is pronounced. Read more about American pronunciation at.

Now let's move on to tongue twisters:

• A ll P au l's d au ghters were b o rn in C o rk, A ll W a lt's d au ghters were b o rn in Yo rk.
• F ou r expl o rers expl o re f o rty w a terf a lls, F o rty expl o rers expl o re f ou r w a terf a lls.
• D o ra's d au ghter is t a ller than N o ra's d au ghter, N o ra's d au ghter is sh o rter than D o ra's d au ghter.

As a musical example, I suggest taking the British group Pink Floyd and the song “Another Brick In The Wall” (or rather, one word from it - wall).

From 3:05 to 3:25

We do not say goodbye!

There are 44 (!!!) sounds in the English language. We have already examined 10. In the next article of this section we will focus on consonants. We haven’t decided which ones yet, so tell us in the comments :)

Read the continuation of the section: .