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Language
Language is the set or system of linguistic signs, sounds or gestures used by a number of
people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same
cultural tradition to communicate intelligibly with one another, and through which their
knowledge, belief, and behavior can be experienced, explained, and shared.
 Linguistics—the study of the nature, structure, and variation of language.
 Native language—also first or primary language (L1); mother tongue; the language that
a person has spoken or acquired from earliest childhood.
 Second language—L2; the language learned by a person after his/her native language,
especially as a resident of an area where it is in general use, or in educational and
governmental functions where most of its speakers are non-native.
 ESL—English as a Second Language; the study of English by non-native speakers in an
English-speaking environment.
Philippine English
Philippine English is the variety of English used in the country by the media, government,
and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two
official languages of the Philippines—the other being Filipino, the standardized dialect of
Tagalog. English, as it is taught in the country, is very similar to North American English (US).
Non-standard usage of English arises from our second language acquisition.
 Some words and phrases and their respective definitions or uses are peculiar to
Philippine English and may not appear in most English dialects*.
 Many English phonemes are not found in most Philippine dialects; pronunciation
approximations are extremely common.
*dialect—a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the language’s
speakers; regional speech patterns.
 Coño English—also konyo or Englog (English + Tagalog); a variant of English that
introduces Tagalog words and is used primarily by the upper-class members of Philippine
society, though it is often passively imitated by those who aspire to climb the social ladder
or circulate within their group. One variant of coño English is known as colegiala English.
 Taglish—Tagalog + English; essentially Tagalog but merely uses English nouns and
verbs, yet retains Tagalog grammatical function words for the most part, and is used by
the broadest range of people in the Philippines.
Code-switching
Code-switching is using more than one language or dialect in conversation. Bilinguals, who
can speak at least two languages fluently, have the ability to use elements of both languages
when conversing with another bilingual.
 Even if words from another language are included into the sentence, they will be
adapted to the grammatical rules of the first language.
 Code-switching can occur between sentences or within a single sentence.
Example:
We’ve been friends for a long time ago. We come from the same alma mother. Actually,
our paths crossed one time on another. But it’s only now that I gave him a second look. I
realized that beauty is in the eyes. The pulpbits of my heart went fast, really fast. Cute pala
siya. And then, he came over with me. He said, “I hope you don’t mine. Can I get your
number?” Nag-worry ako. What if he doesn’t gave it back? He explained naman na it’s so we
could keep intact daw. Sabi ko, connect me if I’m wrong but are you asking me ouch?

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Nabigla siya. Sagot niya, “The?” Aba! Parang siya pa ang galit. Persona ingrata! Ang kapal
niya! I cried buckles of tears.
Na-guilty yata siya. Sabi niya, isipin mo na lang na this is a blessing in the sky.
Irregardless daw of his feelings, we’ll go ouch na rin. Now, we’re so in love. Mute and
epidemic na ang past. Thanks God we swallowed our fried. Kasi, I’m 33 na and I’m running
our time. After 2 weeks, he plopped the question. “Will you marriage me?” I’m in a state of
shocked. Kasi mantakin mo, when it rains, it’s four! This is true good to be true. So siyempre,
I said “yes.” Love is a many splendor.
Pero nung inaayos ko na ang aming kasal, everything swell to pieces. Nagdi-dinner kami
noon nang biglang sa harap ng aming table, may babaeng humirit ng “Well, well, well. Look
do we have here.” What the fuss! The nerd ng babaeng yon! She said they were still on. So I
told her, whatever is that, cut me some slacks! I didn’t want this to get our hand kaya I had to
sip it in the bud. She accused me of steeling her boyfriend. Ats if! I don’t want to portrait the
role of the other woman. Gosh, tell me to the marines! I told her, “please, mine you own
business!” Who would believe her anyway?
Dahil it’s not my problem anymore but her problem anymore, tumigil na rin siya ng
panggugulo. Everything is coming up daisies. I’m so happy. Even my boyfriend said liketwice.
He’s so supportive. Sabi niya, “Look at is this way. She’s our of our lives.”
Kaya advise ko sa inyo — take the risk. You can never can tell. Just burn the bridge when
you get there. Life is shorts. If you make a mistake, we’ll just pray for the internal and external
repose of your soul. I second emotion.
Accent
Accent is a manner of pronunciation of a language. Accents should not be confused with
dialects which are varieties of a language differing in vocabulary and grammar, as well as
pronunciation.
 Standard pronunciation—usually the form promoted in schools and the media;
normative for educated native speakers. It is considered by users of the language to
be more “correct” in some sense than other dialects. Speakers who deviate from it are
often said to “speak with an accent.”
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United
States. Approximately two-thirds of native speakers of English live in the US. The use of
English in the US was inherited from British colonization.
 English has become the most widely used second language in the world and it is subject
to alteration by non-native speakers, even in the US.
 Numerous non-native dialects are developing their own standards of English.
Standard Spoken American English is the accent of American English perceived by
educated native speakers to be most “neutral” and free of regional characteristics. It is also
known as American Broadcast English.
 Accent reduction—the process of learning the sound system (or phonology) of a
language. It includes identifying deviations in the person’s current speech from the
desired accent—such as pronunciation, speech patterns, and speech habits;
changing the way you use your mouth, teeth, and tongue to form vowel and
consonant sounds; modifying your intonation and stress patterns; and changing your
rhythm.

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Exercises: Consonant Sounds

Unit 1: The “th” sound—as in think, bathroom, and teeth
Place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth. Don’t put it between your
lips. Make the sound by forcing air through the opening between your teeth and tongue. Don’t
vibrate your vocal cords.
Exercise 1: Word repetition—Listen to these words and repeat.
Thursday without teeth
think bathroom path
third nothing method
throw breathless booth
Thelma mythology wrath
Exercise 2: Minimal pairs—Listen to the following word pairs. Repeat them, being careful to
make the distinction between the two sounds.
three free thin sin
Thor soar pass path
both boat fought thought
tore Thor moth moss
frilled thrilled three free
Exercise 3: Phrases with “th”—You will hear phrases of words that either contain the
sound “th” or do not. As you listen to each phrase, circle “Yes” if you hear “th,” and circle
“No” if you do not.
1. Yes No 4. Yes No 7. Yes No
2. Yes No 5. Yes No 8. Yes No
3. Yes No 6. Yes No 9. Yes No
Exercise 4: Minimal pair distinction
Part 1—You will hear the sentences, but only one of the italicized words will be spoken.
Circle the one word which you hear.
1. Geoffrey saw the ( pass, path ) and took it.
2. Thora and Thelma read all about the ( trees, threes ).
3. After the rain, his ( booths, boots ) were covered with mud.
4. All the students saw the ( free, three ) men and applauded.
5. The new manager really liked his new ( theme, team ).
Part 2—Listen for the missing words and write them on the lines below.
6. That man was ____________________ when I saw him.
7. Paula and John were ____________________ by the Halloween costumes.
8. The little girl had a big ____________________.
9. My ____________________ are no good.
10. The baseball player had a hot ____________________.
Exercise 5: Dictation—Listen to the sentences and write them.
1. ______________________________________________________________ thumb.
2. _________________________________ thirsty _____________________________.
3. ______________________________________________________________ healthy.
4. _______________ thinks _______________________________________________.
5. _________________________________ moths _____________________________.

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Exercise 6: Tongue twisters—Say these tongue twisters out loud to practice the sound.
1. Thor is the god of Thunder.
2. Thelma and Theo have bad breath.
3. Three free thrilling frills fought on Ruth’s roof.
4. Thieves are thankless thugs who deserve our wrath.
5. Nothing is worth thousands of deaths.
6. Mr. Smith’s teeth are thin and lethal.
7. Thursdays are thirsty days for lethargic Ruth and Thelma.
8. It seems themes are sought by thousands of mythical misses.
9. Thick ticks on three trees brought broth to ten thin tin men.
10. Sick thickets thwarted seven thin sinners from passing through.
Exercise 7: Pair dictation—Read the following paragraphs to your partner. Repeat as many
times as your partner needs. Then, write down what your partner tells you. Ask your
partner to repeat if necessary.
Beth and Faithful
Beth, a nurse, likes to think about how things were in the good old days. Beth remembers
taking her dog, Faithful, for a walk along the garden path. She liked to throw things for
Faithful to catch. The garden had 33 kinds of plants and thousands of flowers. For Beth,
nothing compared to a thoughtful walk through the garden.
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Thankful Ruth
Ruth doesn’t like to remember things from the past. Thirteen years ago, Ruth came close
to death. She was very thin and lost 30 pounds. Three of her teeth also fell out. Ruth is
thankful for her nurse, Beth, who helped her through thick and thin. Now, Ruth can enjoy
long, thoughtful baths.
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Exercise 8: Dialogue—With a partner, practice the conversation below until you have
memorized it. Then, perform it in front of your classmates. For names, you can substitute
Theresa, Theo, Thelma, Beth, Ruth, Seth or any other name with “th” on the lines
provided.
__________: Hello ____________________ how are you?
__________: Fine, thanks. And how are you, ____________________?
__________: I’m OK, I guess. Thanks for asking. But I think my health is not so good.
__________: You think so, ____________________? You look fine! I think you seem a
little thin.
__________: No, I don’t think I’m any thinner, but thanks anyway. No, I think my teeth are
unhealthy.
__________: You should see a dentist. I’m thinking of going on Thursday. Do you want to
come with me, ____________________?
__________: Thanks, but no. I think by Thursday I’ll have healthy teeth again. I hope.
__________: I hope so too, ____________________.

Unit 2: The “TH” sound—as in those, mother, and soothe

Place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower teeth. Don’t put it between your
lips. Make the sound by forcing air through the opening between your teeth and your tongue.
Vibrate your vocal cords to make “TH.” The difference between “TH” and “th” is that the first is
voiced and the second, voiceless.
Exercise 1: Word repetition—Listen to these words and repeat.
than although sheathe
those mother loathe
there father teethe
them northern soothe
thy whether seethe
Exercise 2: Minimal pairs—Listen to the following word pairs. Repeat them, being careful to
make the distinction between the two sounds.
than Dan breathing breeding
father fodder dare there
either ether clothing closing
teething teasing thy thigh
those doze thy die
Exercise 3: Phrases with “TH”—You will hear phrases of words that either contain the
sound “TH” or do not. As you listen to each phrase, circle “Yes” if you hear “TH,” and
circle “No” if you do not.
1. Yes No 4. Yes No 7. Yes No
2. Yes No 5. Yes No 8. Yes No
3. Yes No 6. Yes No 9. Yes No
Exercise 4: Minimal pair distinction
Part 1—You will hear the sentences, but only one of the italicized words will be spoken.
Circle the one word which you hear.
1. They were ( breathing, breeding ) like rabbits.
2. I don’t enjoy getting ( ether, either ) at all.

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3. When exactly will ( they, day ) come?

4. My neighbors ( soothe, sued ) me often.
5. I don’t think that essay is ( worthy, wordy ).
Part 2—Listen for the missing words and write them on the lines below.
6. He can spell ____________________ very well.
7. All my children like her ____________________.
8. His writing became ____________________ after each paragraph.
9. The little girls are ____________________.
10. The snake is beginning to ____________________.
Exercise 5: Dictation—Listen to the sentences and write them.
1. _________________________________bathing_____________________________.
2. _________________________________ soothing ___________________________.
3. ________________bother_______________________________________________.
4. ______________________________________________________________brother.
5. ________________________________ soothes _____________________________.
Exercise 6: Tongue twisters—Say these tongue twisters out loud to practice the sound.
1. Those of the southern and northern areas are still writhing and seething.
2. Breathe the breeze, loathe the lows, and soothe the Sues.
3. Rather than loathing their mothers, soothe their fathers.
4. Bathing in the bays is soothing to those teething brothers.
5. Dan would rather scythe in wetter weather.
6. Their dare was to Dan rather than those dozing northerners.
7. Ether either makes Thor writhe or seethe.
8. Though dough is worthy, it is worthier with their father’s tithe.
9. That thatch there on their thighs, although sheathed, is weathered.
10. Breeding breathing southern otters in the north is worth thousands to them.
Exercise 7: Pair dictation—Read the following paragraphs to your partner. Repeat as many
times as your partner needs. Then, write down what your partner tells you. Ask your
partner to repeat if necessary.
Thora and Thelma
One Thursday, Thora and Thelma were bathing in the lake when Thelma said that she
needed a breath mint. Thora thought Thelma was either joking or crazy, as bathing in the
water was soothing, and Thora didn’t want to leave. Rather than have Thelma loathe her,
Thora sank into the water a little deeper and said, “Thelma, the weather is fine, and I’m
wetter than you, so why don’t you go if you think it’s worth it?” Thelma replied with a thin
smile, “This is such a thankless task. I either have to walk thousands of steps or have bad
breath the rest of the day. However, I will go; otherwise, what would Mother and Father
say?”
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Three Thieves
Three thieves were sleeping under a tree when they woke to the sound of thunder. One
of the thugs said that he thought the weather was changing and it would soon rain. The
other two were lethargic and didn’t want to move. Rather than wait for his companions,
the first thief left the other two thugs, saying, “I’ve thought it over, and it’s not worth
getting wet in this weather. Whether I go north or south, I’m not sure, but either way, we
won’t be three anymore.” And off he went.
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Exercise 8: Dialogue—With a partner, practice the conversation below until you have
memorized it. Then, perform it in front of your classmates. For names, you can substitute
Theresa, Theo, Thelma, Beth, Ruth, Seth or any other name with “th” on the lines
provided.
__________: Hi, ____________________! How is it going?
__________: Good, ____________________. And you?
__________: OK. Say, are your mother and father coming over for dinner this Thursday?
__________: I think so, though mother’s a bit under the weather.
__________: Why’s that?
__________: Oh, my baby brother is teething. He just lies in bed writhing in pain.
__________: Oh, that’s terrible. Are you soothing your brother?
__________: Yes, regularly. That’s a worthy thing to do, though I’d rather have a quieter
brother.
__________: That’s for sure.

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Unit 3: The “p” and “f” sound—as in pat and fat

For “p,” have your two lips touching, like in “b,” except make it voiceless. For “f,” put your top
teeth onto your bottom lip, and make a sound exactly like “v” except voiceless.
Exercise 1: Word repetition—Listen to the following words and repeat.
pat fat telephone
punish furnish periphery
apart afar photograph
couple TOEFL* philosophy
pupil fulfill phosphor
*Test of English as a Foreign Language
Exercise 2: Minimal pairs—Listen to the following word pairs. Repeat them, being careful to
make the distinction between the two sounds.
pine fine supper suffer
peel feel copy coffee
open often pew few
pork fork cheap chief
depend defend cups cuffs
Exercise 3: Phrases with “f”—You will hear phrases of words that either contain the sound
“f” or do not. As you listen to each phrase, circle “Yes” if you hear “f,” and circle “No” if
you do not.
1. Yes No 4. Yes No 7. Yes No
2. Yes No 5. Yes No 8. Yes No
3. Yes No 6. Yes No
Exercise 4: Minimal pair distinction
Part 1—You will hear the sentences below, but only one of the italicized words will be
spoken. Circle the one word which you hear.
1. He saw a ( pile, file ) of books on the desk.
2. The guard is keeping the ( pork, fork ).
3. I’m trying not to ( pry, fry ).
4. They wondered when they were going to ( supper, suffer ).
5. The ( coffee, copy ) machine is broken again.
Part 2—Listen for the missing words and write them on the lines below.
6. We ____________________ the orange.
7. You are ____________________ me again.
8. His ____________________ were stolen last night.
9. John did the ____________________ thing at the conference.
10. The ____________________ looks wonderful on the table.
Exercise 5: Dictation—Listen to the sentences and write them.
1. _________________________________________________________________pew.
2. Fiona _______________________________________________________________.
3. Phoebe _____________________________________________________________.
4. ________________________________________________ pine ________________.
5. Fred ________________________________________________________________.

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Exercise 6: Tongue twisters—Say these tongue twisters out loud to practice the sound.
1. The pool is full of fools.
2. Jeffery plans to pick up a leaf for his faithful wife.
3. The professor professed that professional proficiency would be preferred.
4. Fine gifts are difficult to find.
5. They failed to fulfill their promises to perform a perfect play without faults.
6. Phoebe laughed at an awful photograph of her nephew’s falling off a fence.
7. Definitely that pessimistic philosophy inflicted a sophisticated philanthropist.
8. The fancy-pants lapped, laughed, leapt, and left.
9. Firefighters are fighting painfully against forest fires.
10. Sophie sipped coffee and sifted files to find phenomenal facts.
Exercise 7: Pair dictation—Read the following paragraphs to your partner. Repeat as many
times as your partner needs. Then, write down what your partner tells you. Ask your
partner to repeat if necessary.
Fredrick and Jennifer
Fredrick and Jennifer had fun when they went flying-fish fishing. As they saw flying fish
frolicking in the frigid water, they clapped and laughed. Although Fredrick felt frustrated
about not catching fine flying fish for his wife, they had a wonderful and fantastic time.
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Fiona on Friday
Last Friday, Fiona felt like going to a poppy field for a change of pace. The wind felt
wonderful on her face, and birds flew by, fluffing their feathers. She felt like she was
floating out on a blanket of soft clouds, but she was soon pelted by hailstones and her
frolicking ended.
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Exercise 8: Dialogue—With a partner, practice the conversation below until you have
memorized it. Then, perform it in front of your classmates. For names, you can substitute
Frank, Fernando, Fiona, Felisa or any other name with “f” on the lines provided.
__________: Hi, ____________________! How is it going?
__________: Have you heard about ____________________, ___________________?
__________: No, ____________________, what happened to him? Was he fired?
__________: Far from it. ____________________’s been promoted to chief of staff.
__________: What’s the problem with that, ____________________?
__________: Well, he’s far from being the right person for the position. He must have
pulled a few strings.
__________: You are always finding fault with ____________________. Did you realize
that, ____________________?
__________: Give me a break. No one is fairer and friendlier than me, good ol’
____________________.
__________: Fat chance that’s a fact, ____________________!

Unit 4: The “b” and “v” sound—as in bat and vat

Exercise 1: Minimal pairs—Read the following word pairs, being careful to make the
distinction between the two sounds.
Initial Medial Final
bat vat Sybil civil curb curve
bile vile gibbon given jibe jive
base vase Serbs serves verb verve
ban van robed roved dub dove
bend vend saber saver slob Slav
bane vane rebel revel strobe strove
berry very abuse of use cabs calves
bale veil dribble drivel swab suave
bet vet hobble hovel Gabe gave
best vest rabble ravel sob salve

Exercise 2: Minimal pair distinction

You will hear the sentences, but only one of the italicized words will be spoken. Underline
the one word which you hear.
1. That’s a very big ( bat, vat ).
2. What does “( bet, vet )” mean?
3. He ran to the ( base, vase ).
4. What’s another word for “( bow, vow )”?
5. Does this word start with a “( B, V )”?
6. How do you spell “( berry, very )”?
7. Did you say “( best, vest )?”
8. How do you say “( ban, van )” in Japanese?
9. He tried to buy my ( boat, vote ).
10. Could you explain the word “( bending, vending )”?

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Exercise 3: Tongue twisters—Say these tongue twisters out loud to practice the sound (of
“w” and “v”).
1. Wendell Vaccario wasted vine after vine.
2. Woolen vests for wailing wolves are worn in the vast woodlands.
3. Varied berries are wetted while Val and Walt whisper in vain.
4. Woodson’s waistcoat is weirdly vented.
5. Wise women don’t walk in the woods while wolves wander.
6. Vivian, Valerie, and Virginia verbally voiced vivid salvos.
7. Mervin never drivels when vexing wooing vendors.
8. Walt’s villa is verging on the weird and vile.
9. Groves of vines veered west along the villain’s veranda.
10. For once, weary Wanda’s woolgathering lost its vim and vigor.

Unit 5
Direction: Read out loud the poem and then watch/listen to the video to compare your
pronunciation.
I take it you already know
Of TOUGH and BOUGH and COUGH and
DOUGH?
Others may stumble but not you
On HICCOUGH, THOROUGH, SLOUGH and
THROUGH.
Well done! And now you wish perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of HEARD, a dreadful word
That looks like BEARD and sounds like BIRD.
And DEAD, it’s said like BED, not BEAD-
for goodness’ sake don’t call it DEED!
Watch out for MEAT and GREAT and
THREAT
(they rhyme with SUITE and STRAIGHT and
DEBT).
A MOTH is not a moth in MOTHER,
Nor BOTH in BOTHER, BROTH or
BROTHER,
And HERE is not a match for THERE,
Nor DEAR and FEAR for BEAR and PEAR,
And then there’s DOZE and ROSE and
LOSE-
Just look them up- and GOOSE and
CHOOSE,
And CORK and WORK and CARD and
WARD
And FONT and FRONT and WORD and
SWORD,
And DO and GO and THWART and CART-
Come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I’d learned to speak it when I was five!
And yet to write it, the more I sigh,
I’ll not learn how ‘til the day I die.

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