AUDIO KEY: Manchester (bold) In many areas of England, particularly in big cities like Manchester, some speakers don’t pronounce < th > words with /θ,ð/, instead they use /f,v/: THANKS, THEATRE, BROTHER. So the word THREE is pronounced in the same way as FREE....
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic
AUDIO KEY: West Country (bold), Standard (italic)
In the South West of England where the ‘West Country’ accent is spoken, people pronounce every written < r >, so words like SHARK, HORSE and SPIDER all contain /r/. This is also true of most American, Irish and Scottish accents: they are ‘RHOTIC’.
Standard English (GB) is NON-RHOTIC, ‘r’ is silent except before a vowel sound: /ʃɑ:k/,
/hɔːs/ and /ˈspʌɪdə/.
– Listen and decide if the word is pronounced in rhotic West Country (WC) or non-rhotic Standard (GB):
1. bird WC GB
2. mother WC GB
3. car WC GB
4. there WC GB
5. aren’t WC GB
6. port WC GB
7. park WC GB
8. four WC GB
9. thirst WC GB
10. nearly WC GB
11. worth WC GB
12. tour WC GB
Answers & Audio
1. women
2. once
3. again
4. business
5. says
6. does
7. friend
8. built
9. flood
10. sausage
Related Lessons
TH Fronting
/ʊə/ – Modern vs Traditional
AUDIO KEY: Standard (italic), Traditional (bold) The diphthong /ʊə/ is becoming less common in British English speakers. Many words, such as SURE, BOOR, TOUR and CURE are pronounced with /ɔː/ these days in standard pronunciation. /ʊə/ is still heard in older...
< a > – BATH TRAP Split
AUDIO KEY: Birmingham (bold), Standard (italic) Some words spelt with a single < a >, like BATH, GLASS and FAST are pronounced with long /ɑː/ in standard English. In most of the middle and north of England, these same words are pronounced with short /a/ BATH,...
/ʌ/ vs /ʊ/ in Northern English
AUDIO KEY: Northern (bold), Standard (italic) In northern England, local accents don’t contain /ʌ/ so words like FUN, LOVE and SHUT are all pronounced with /ʊ/ In standard English these words are pronounced with /ʌ/: /fʌn/, /lʌv/ and /ʃʌt/. - Decide if the...
American vs British < er >
In Standard American (GA) English the final ‘r’ is pronounced so words with ‘er’ endings like SHIVER, FIGHTER and SLOWER, end with /r/. In Standard British English (GB) the final ‘r’ is silent, so these same words end with a schwa: /wɪntə/, /fʌɪtə/ and /sləʊə/. ...
/ʊə/
/ʊə/Security during the tournament was poor.The plural of tour is surely ‘tours’. Previous & Next Lessons Related Lessons
Diphthong Expressions
1. “so so” /əʊ/ 2. “pay day” /eɪ/ 3. “hear hear” /ɪə/ 4. “high time” /ʌɪ/ 5. “out and out” /aʊ/ 6. “hoity toity” /ɔɪ/ Previous & Next Lessons Related Lessons
Diphthong Vowel Word Construction
- Make 2 (or more) common words by placing diphthong sounds in the gaps:1. /b_t/ 2. /n_/ nay, neigh /neɪ/ nigh /nʌɪ/ no, know /nəʊ/ now /aʊ/ near /ɪə/ 3. /fl_/ flay /fleɪ/ fly /flʌɪ/ flow /fləʊ/ 4. /pl_/ play /pleɪ/ ploy /plɔɪ/ ply /plʌɪ/ plough /plaʊ/ 5....
/ɔɪ/
/ɔɪ/The annoying noises spoilt the boy’s joy. My choice as employer is to appoint Floyd. Previous & Next Lessons Related Lessons
/ʌɪ/
/ʌɪ/ Fine wine and light bites tonight. I dislike high and mighty types. Previous & Next Lessons Related Lessons
/əʊ/
/əʊ/ No, don’t moan over the phone. Although the road is soaked, he’ll go. Previous & Next Lessons Related Lessons
