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Consonants
p b t d k
"; s z
cat father got saw put actual too cup fur about say go go my boy now near hair pure
/kt/ /[f";+3(r)/ / 6#t / / s&; / / pIt / /[ktRu3l / / tu; / / kVp / / f4(r)/ / 3[baIt / / se= / / 63I / / 6oI / / ma= / / b&= / / naI / / n=3(r)/ / he3(r)/ / pjI3(r)/ (British English) (British English) (British English) (British English) (American English) (British English)
pen bad tea did cat get chain jam fall van thin this
see zoo shoe vision hat man now sing leg red yes wet
/ si;/ / zu;/ /Ru;/ /[v=Zn / / ht / / mn / / naI/ / s=E/ / le6/ / red / / jes / / wet /
# &; I u u; V 4 3 e= 3I oI a= &= aI =3 e3 I3
R Z
h m n
6
tR dZ f v
E
l r j w
U +
The symbol (r) indicates that British pronunciation will have / r / only if a vowel sound follows directly at the beginning of the next word, as in far away; otherwise the / r / is omitted. For American English, all the / r / sounds should be pronounced. (r) / r / far away / r / / r / /x/ represents a fricative sound as in / l#x / for Scottish loch, Irish lough. * /x/ / l#x / loch lough
Many British speakers use / &; / instead of the diphthong / I3 /, especially in common words, so that sure becomes / R&;(r)/, etc. / &; / / I3 / sure / R&;(r)/ The sound / # / does not occur in American English, and words which have this vowel in British pronunciation will instead have / "; / or / &; / in American English. For instance, got is /6#t/ in British English, but / 6";t / in American English, while dog is British /d#6 /, American /d&;6 /. / # / / "; / / &; / got /6#t/ / 6";t / dog /d#6 / /d&;6 /
R164
The three diphthongs / =3 e3 I3 / are found only in British English. In corresponding places, American English has a simple vowel followed by / r /, so near is / n=r /, hair is / her /, and pure is / pjIr /. / =3 e3 I3 / / r / near / n=r / hair / her / pure / pjIr / Nasalized vowels, marked with //, may be retained in certain words taken from French, as in penchant /[p#R# / , coq au vin /]k#k 3I [v /. // penchant /[p#R# / coq au vin /]k#k 3I [v /
Syllabic consonants
The sounds / l / and / n / can often be syllabic that is, they can form a syllable by themselves without a vowel. There is a syllabic / l / in the usual pronunciation of middle /[m=dl/, and a syllabic / n / in sudden /[sVdn /. * / l / / n / middle /[m=dl/ / l / sudden /[sVdn / / n /
Stress
The mark / [ / shows the main stress in a word. Compare able /[e=bl /, stressed on the first syllable, with ability / 3[b=l3ti /, stressed on the second. A stressed syllable is relatively loud, long in duration, said clearly and distinctly, and made noticeable by the pitch of the voice. / [ / able /[e=bl / ability / 3[b=l3ti / Longer words may have one or more secondary stresses coming before the main stress. These are marked with /] / as in abbreviation /3]bri;vi[e=Rn/, agricultural /]6r=[kVltR3r3l /. They feel like beats in a rhythm leading up to the main stress. /] / abbreviation /3]bri;vi[e=Rn/ agricultural /]6r=[kVltR3r3l / Weak stresses coming after the main stress in a word can sometimes be heard, but they are not marked in this dictionary. When two words are put together in a phrase, the main stress in the first word may shift to the place of the secondary stress to avoid a clash between two stressed syllables next to each other. For instance, ]after[noon has the main stress on noon, but in the phrase ]afternoon [tea the stress on noon is missing. ]Well [known has the main stress on known, but in the phrase ]well-known [actor the stress on known is missing. ]after[noon noon ]afternoon [tea noon ]well [known known ]well-known [actor known
R165
Tapping of / t / / t /
In American English, if a / t / sound is between two vowels, and the second vowel is not stressed, the / t / can be pronounced very quickly, and made voiced so that it is like a brief / d / or the r-sound of certain languages. Technically, the sound is a tap, and can be symbolised by / T /. So Americans can pronounce potato as /p3[te=ToI/, tapping the second / t / in the word (but not the first, because of the stress). British speakers dont generally do this. / t / / t / / d / r (tap) / T / potato /p3[te=ToI/ / t / t The conditions for tapping also arise very frequently when words are put together, as in not only, what I, etc. In this case it doesnt matter whether the following vowel is stressed or not, and even British speakers can use taps in this situation, though they sound rather casual. not only what I
Stress in idioms
Idioms are shown in the dictionary with at least one main stress unless more than one stress pattern is possible or the stress depends on the context. The learner should not change the
position of this stress when speaking or the special meaning of the idiom may be lost.