Voiced Consonants

Continuants  /l/  and  /r/

 Click on the image to see it on a large scale!]

 

Step 1: Watch the videos - VERY IMPORTANT!
              (I've given the transcript for an easy grasp of the speech.)
             First,  while  you  are  watching  a video,  make the consonant  sound and  pronounce
             the words as instructed by Alex.
             Second, play the video again but this time look at the transcript while listening to Alex.

             Again, don't forget to make the consonant sound and pronounce the words.

 

Voiced Consonant / l /

  (Video 1 - Watch in 'Full Screen')

This is a (voiced) consonant sound.
You can hear it at the beginning of the word ‘light’ /laɪt/;
in the middle of the word ‘valley’ /ˈli/;
at the end of the word ‘bell’ /bel/

and at the beginning and end of the word ‘level’ /ˈlevl/ 

Now, you try! Listen and repeat. 

         light       /laɪt/
         valley    ./ˈli/
         bell        ./bel/
         level      ../ˈlevl/           Ok!

 

similar sounds /l/ and /r/ 

Speakers of some  languages  may find it difficult to tell the difference  between this sound /1/ and another consonant /r/.

Now,  listen  carefully  to  hear  the  difference  between  the  following  two  words  and watch the position of my mouth.  light /laɪt/    right /raɪt/  2X

I make the /l/ sound with the front part of my tongue behind my teeth and I make the /r/sound by making my lips come out and pulling my tongue back - /r/. 

Now, listen to some examples and watch the shape of my mouth. 

         led         ./led/                 red         ./red/ 
         clash      /klæʃ/              .crash     ../kræʃ/
         climb    ../klaɪm/             crime      /kraɪm/
         lice         /laɪs/               ..rice        ../raɪs/ 

         lock       ./lɒk/                .rock       ./rɒk/ 

Now you try! Listen again and repeat after me. (Refer to the above list!)  Ok!

 

extra information about /l/ 

In English, /l/ at the beginning of a syllable is a bit different from /l/ at the end of a syllable. Listen carefully!

         leaf        ./li:f/                ..feel              /fi:l/     2X  and

         let          ./let/                  tell              /tel/      2X 

Did you hear that little difference? Listen again (beginning) /1/ and (ending) /l/ 2X 

Now for some speakers of English, this can change the vowel a little bit. Listen again!

         loaf       ../ləʊf/               .foal           ../fəʊl/   .2X  and

         loot       ../lu:t/                .tool           ../tu:l/     2X 

Now, this can actually make the /l/ sound disappear at the end of a syllable. So, I can say...
         pal         /pæl/      or     /pæl/
         pill        ./pɪl/        .-      /pɪl/
         mile      ../maɪl/      -      /maɪl/  
         milk       /mɪlk/     .-      /mɪlk/

         cold      ../kəʊld/    -      /kəʊld/ 

To be careful! There’s a bit of difference.

 

 

Voiced Consonant / r /

(Video 2 - Watch in 'Full Screen')

This is a (voiced) consonant sound.
You can hear it at the beginning of the words ‘right’ /raɪt/ and ‘wrong’ /rɒŋ/;

in the middle of the words ‘sorry’ /ˈri/ and ‘arrange’ /əˈreɪndʒ/. 

Now, watch my mouth while I’m saying this sound. My lips come out and I pull my tongue back - /r/.  Okay, let’s practise! Repeat after me.

         right         ./raɪt/
         wrong       ./rɒŋ/
         sorry        ../ˈri/

         arrange     /əˈreɪndʒ/                 Ok! 

 

similar sounds /r/ and /l/ 

To speakers of some languages, it may be difficult to tell the difference between this sound /r/ and another consonant /l/. 

Now,  listen  carefully  to  the  following  examples  and  watch  the  shape of my mouth. For each example, I’ll say the word with the sound /r/ first. 

         wrong       ./rɒŋ/                     .long          ./lɒŋ/ 
         royal         ./ˈrɔɪəl/                   loyal         ./ˈlɔɪəl/
         misread    ./mɪsˈred/              ..mislead     /mɪsˈled/
         pirate       ../ˈpaɪrət/                 pilot         ../ˈpaɪlət/
         pray         ../preɪ/                    .play          ./pleɪ/                 
.
Now, let's practise! Listen carefully and repeat after me.  (Refer to the above list!)  Ok! 

 

Linking /r/

Now in Standard Southern English,  you won’t usually hear this sound at the end of a syllable or word. Listen to the following examples! 

         car           .../kɑ:/
         card          ./kɑ:d/
         bored       ../bɔ:d/
         hear          ./hɪə/

         heard       ../hɜ:d/ 

Ok! Let’s practise this. Listen and repeat. (Refer to the above list!) 

Now, you will hear this sound at the end of a word if the following word begins with a vowel (sound). Listen to the following two sentences. 

         1. This is my car.    /ðɪsɪz maɪ kɑ:/

         2. My car is blue.   /maɪ kɑ:rɪz blu:/ 

In the first sentence, ‘This is my car.’, you don’t hear the /r/ sound because it’s at the end of a sentence. 

In the second example,  ‘My car is blue.’, the following word begins with a vowel (sound)  /ɪ/. 

So, let’s practise this.

         car                      /kɑ:/
         car is                 ../kɑ:rɪz/
         my car is            /maɪ kɑ:rɪz/

         My car is blue.  /maɪ kɑ:rɪz blu:/   Ok!   

 

 

SUPPLEMENTARY VIDEO

(Video 3 - Watch in 'Full Screen')

In this video, teacher Melanie demonstrates how to make the consonant sounds /l/ and /r/. She also describes about the place of articulation for these two sounds.  

Step 3: Your Audio Assignment - COMPULSORY
             Record the following as per the instructions given and embed your audio player in the
             comment box. [If you've never used a voice recorder before, click HERE and learn how

             to do it.]

   1.      .Say the phonemes the number of times they appear.

             Voiced consonant /l/:
                   [Put the tip of your tongue against the tooth ridge!]               /l/     /l/     /l/     /l/     /l/
             Elongate the consonant /l/ in each word:   lent ... lake ... lap ... lime 
 
             Voiced consonant /r/:
             [Point the tip of  your tongue towards the roof of your mouth!]   /r/     /r/     /r/     /r/     /r/

             Elongate the consonant /r/ in each word:   rent ... rake ... rap ... rhyme 

   2.       Read the following minimal pairs.

             a)  initial  /1/ and /r/ 

            leading    /ˈli:dɪŋ/        .reading    /ˈri:dɪŋ/
            lusty       ../ˈlʌsti/         ..rusty       ../ˈrʌsti/
            liver         /ˈlɪvə/           .river        ./ˈrɪvə/
            locket      ./ˈlɒkɪt/         .rocket     ../ˈrɒkɪt/

            lather      ./ˈlɑ:ðə/         rather     ../ˈrɑ:ðə/

             b)  /l/ and /r/ in other positions               

             bloom    ../blu:m/         broom      /bru:m/
             splint      /splɪnt/         sprint       /sprɪnt/
             alive       ./əˈlaɪv/        ..arrive       /əˈraɪv/
             belly        ./ˈbeli/          .berry        /ˈberi/

             flees       ../fli:z/           .freeze       ./fri:z/

   3.       Read each sentence twice.

             Lenny Lou leopard led leprechauns leaping like lemmings.

             / leni lu: lepəd led leprəkɔ:nz li:pɪŋ laɪk  lemɪŋz / 

             Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.

             / raʊnd ‿ən raʊnd ðə rʌgɪd rɒk ðə rægɪd rɑ:skl ræn /

   4.     Read the following passage.

(Bare in mind that not all written 'r's are pronounced in Southern British English!)

From the start we have shared a strong and supportive love for one another.  I  promise to  nurture  and  embrace  that  love,  so as we grow our love grows with us.  You  have always been somebody that I have seen as my equal. I have infinite respect for you and will let no other  treat  you  any  differently. We’ve shared joys and troubles during our relationship  and  continued to support each other with all that we have.  I vow that my support will never waver or fade, nor cower during difficult times.

A sample of the audio assignment that I've recorded for you!

You can use this Vocaroo Voice Recorder to practise the above Audio Assignment.

Powered by Vocaroo

[Note: Your recordings will not be saved permanently in this widget!] 

This study session is assisted by G & G: Gabriel | Galina

 

" Learning is never done without errors and defeat."
~ Vladimir Lenin ~

 

~* GS *~
July 1st. 2013

 

Click HERE to go (back) to the main contents page at EC Virtual Classroom if you
want to check all the previous and future lessons. 

Study Session 11

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Comments

  • Hello Galina,

    I just wanted to express my gratitude in passing, to you and in particular to Gabriel,

    you two spend most of your time to help us, I highly appreciate it,

    with my best regards,

    Selma,

    note; I'll be playing catch-up :))

  • Hi, my dear friends!

    Just want to remind you how to practise English intonation ( word stress, sentence stress, speed of speech). I use Audiopal (TTS -text to speech function). I embed the text I need to practise, then listen to the native speaker several times, then practise myself ( usually I'm not happy with my own pronunciation), so I do it many times. Only after that I record it.

    Happy learning!

  • Hi, Ehab!

    It’s great to hear from you! You  never fail to join these wonderful Study Sessions to practise English pronunciation! I respect you a lot for it! I’ve been practising English pronunciation for all my life and still I’m not satisfied with it, as it’s one of the most difficult part of learning English.  That’s why I think Gabriel is doing a great job giving us a chance to practise it!

    Ok, as for your voice recording, it’s very nice! You pronounced the sounds /r/ and /l/  and minimal pairs in a proper way! The only thing I’d recommend you to practise more is the proper pronunciation of the whole paragraph (task 4). Try to observe word stress and what’s more important sentence stress. For me it’s the most difficult part. I always read the paragraph several times ( maybe 10 or more) to acquire the necessary speed and intonation. For me it’s very difficult. Thanks God, I love doing it and always do it with pleasure. I’m sending the record of the task 4 for you. Frankly speaking I was glad to practise it once more.  Try to pay attention to the word stress, sentence tress and the speed.

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  • @ Dear Galina ,

                                                           

                                                                          2387476975?profile=original

                                                            

  • Hello

    this is session 12  part B

  • Hello

    how are you all ?

    I hope that you are all good

    this is my session 12 part A

  • Hala!

     

    yourebrilliant0f.jpg?width=300

  • Wow!

    Hala!

    Thanks a million for your support! My voice recording was the only one! That's why I'm so glad to see your comment! You've made my day, dear! Hope somebody else will join very soon! 

    dCZnPTEmbz*1ZTJhZjk*YjhkMjI*NzE1YmFjNmQ3MzE5YmJjMDkxNyZvZj*w.gif

  • Thank you Gabriel for posting another important Study Session . The truth is that I read during my study many books about pronunciation and speaking skills, but they were only theories .Here, in your Study Sessions you give us the chance to put theories into practice by recording our assignments which is the most important part of studying the correct pronunciation of English. Thanks again ,dear and here's my audio assignment:

                                      

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