BAB I

BACKGROUND
Bibliographic Information
Name of book : Vowels And Consonants Pronounciation Practice
The certain topic : Vowels And Consonants
Author : Edited by Alan Gillis and Michelle
Year : © in this edition Blackwall Oxford, 2015
Amount of section : Three Section
Amount of pages : 234 Pages
Distribution and city : Blackwall Oxford
Writer : Azrun Nasution

A. Background
Language is a mean of communication. It is something natural that can not be
avoid by people. Through communication people can not only know how to put
themselves in life but also know how to survive in this world in the future.
When we speak or read, we use sounds. When we read, the sounds are
represented by 26 letters of the alphabet. Associating sounds with letters of the
alphabet is called phonics. Each of the 26 alphabet letters represents one or more
sounds. A letter's name can also be one of its sounds. When letter sounds are put
together, they become words.
There are two types of letters in the alphabet : consonants and vowels. The
basic difference is how the sound is produced through the mouth. When
sounding consonants, air flow is interrupted or limited by the position of the tongue,
teeth or lips. The majority of letters in the alphabet are consonant letters. Most
consonant letters have only one sound and rarely sound like their name. But when
sounding vowels, our breath flows freely through the mouth.

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 Based on this book’s background of this study “Vowels And Consonants”, l
can tell my reaction that this book can be a speacial way for enhancing, enriching,
deepening knowledge about Vowels And Consonants so that learning english about
Vowels And Consonants is not glimpsed. This book can be a sustaining in developing
our reference in Vowels And Consonants. It’s meant, this book has several discussion
about Vowels And Consonants. Espeacially students of university, using this book
they afford to increase reference in Vowels And Consonants.
Actually, this book has several main discussion completely with its own
interesting topic and explanation such as the most complete discussion about Vowels
And Consonants. Even though, this book has weakness in the most complete all
materials’ literature, but this book need to take considering cause complete discussion
in 4 matters of Vowels And Consonants types.

B. Objective and Benefits

The chapters of this book do not need to be read in sequence, and you may
find it more useful to read particular chapters or sections in an order that suits your
own needs. The book aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the
forms and techniques literature uses and the variety of ways in which it can be
interpreted. This means that the essays do use specific and specialist terminology to
define Vowels And Consonants. These are explained by each contributor as they arise
in discussion. At the end of each chapter you will find a list of ‘Next Steps’,
indicating critical works that our contributors judge to be good places to continue
your own reading and research in a particular area. (From the author).
If we talk about the objective from this book, actually this book’s author said
“the book aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the forms and
techniques literature uses and variety of ways in which it can be interpreted”. Based
on the aim above, we can make a concluding that this book Objective/ aim is it will
provide us general knowledge and development of Vowels And Consonants.

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 More especial, this book will provide us literature discussions that can be
several ways for improving the readers’ interpreting skill due to variety topics and
Vowels Consonants discussions.And then based on another aim from the author, it
can appear our reaction that why the author said this book has variety discussion,
because actually this book’s contents was mixed by wide variety and its example
taking by different period. It’s meant, the topic and literature in this book was
upgraded or in other word had taken up to date in new period like right now. Due to
literature’s convertment by several century make us aware that it’s kaind of us if we
can choose the best one vowel and consonant book was upgraded in modern period/
the least up to date.
So for the benefits, using this book we can realize how to learn Vowels And
Consonants types. And we will acquire the up to date discussion about Vowels And
Consonants in the least update. Something interesting from this book is this book’s
content was from different period. I think, it will attempt for getting good response by
the learners.

C. Definition And Discussion

1) Definition of Vowels
As we know, Vowel is 1) a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the
tongue is not touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc; 2) a letter that represents a
vowel sound, in English the vowels are a, e, i, o, and u – compare consonant. Each
language has a different vowel system.
A vowel is a letter of the alphabet (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) that
represents a speech sound created by the relatively free passage of breath through the
larynx and oral cavity. Letters that are not vowels are consonants. The word “vowel”
is come from Latin, means voice.

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 When sounding vowels, your breath flows freely through the mouth. In
all vowels, the mouth passage is unobstructed. If it is obstructed at any time during
the production of a speech-sound, the resulting sound will be a consonant. Five of the
26 alphabet letters are vowels: A, E, I, O, and U. The letter Y is sometimes considered
a sixth vowel because it can sound like other vowels. Unlike consonants, each of the
vowel letters has more than one type of sound or can even be silent with no sound at
all. When a vowel sounds like its name, this is called a long sound. A vowel letter can
also have short sounds. Whether a vowel has a long sound, a short sound, or remains
silent, depends on its position in a word and the letters around it. The letter Y is
sometimes considered a vowel because it can sound like the vowel letters A, E, or I
depending on the letters around it or whether the letter Y is at the middle or end of a
word. For example : symbol, cry, myth, etc. Because of that thing, the letter Y is
called by a half a vowel. Vowel Rules :
1) When there is only one vowel in a word, and it is anywhere except at the
end of a word, it usually has a short sound : net, ant, sun, pins etc.
2) Where there is only one vowel and it comes at the end of a word, it usually
has a long sound : go, she, he, no, etc.
3) When there are two or more vowels, and the word ends with the vowel ‘E’,
two things happen, (1) The ending vowel ‘E’ is silent, and (2) The vowel that comes
before it has a long sound : gate, make, lake, hole, wade, etc.
4) When two vowel letters are together, the first vowel letter has a long sound,
and the second vowel letter is silent : rain, pain, real, cheat, seal, tied, etc.
5) When a word has a vowel followed by two same consonants in a row
(called a double consonant), a short sound is used for the vowel : pull, dull, dinner,
simmer, summer, etc.
6) When a word has two of the same vowels in a row (called a double vowel),
pronounce them as one vowel using the long sound. This rule is doesn’t apply when
‘O’ is the double vowel : peek, seek, vacuum, greet, meet, etc.

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 7) When ‘O’ is a double vowel, it makes different sound : book, pool, fool,
tool, door, etc.

2) Definition of Consonants
Consonant is 1) a speech sound made by completely or partly stopping the
flow of air being breath out through the mouth; 2) a letter of the alphabet that
represents a consonant sound, for example ‘b’, ‘c’, ‘d’, ‘f’, etc. – compare vowel. The
word consonant is come from Latin, means “agree” and “sound”.
A consonant is a speech sound that's not a vowel. The sound of a consonant is
produced by a partial or complete obstruction of the air stream by a constriction of
the speech organs.In writing, a consonant is any letter of the alphabet except a, e, i, o,
u, and sometimes y. When two or more consonant sounds are pronounced in
succession without an intervening vowel (as in the words dream and bursts), the
group is called a consonant blend or consonant cluster. In a consonant blend, the
sound of each individual letter can be heard. By contrast, in a consonant digraph (as
in the word phone), two successive letters represent a single sound. There are
21 consonant letters in the written alphabet (B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R,
S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z), and there are 24 consonant sounds in most English accents. . . .
Because of the erratic history of English spelling, there is no neat one-to-one
correlation between letters and sounds.
Classifying the Consonants Sounds of English According to the Manner and
Place of Articulation. According to the manner of articulation (how the breath is
used) the consonants are: stops, also known as plosives, fricatives, affricates, nasals,
laterals, and approximants. Nasals, laterals and approximants are always voiced;
stops, fricatives and affricates can be voiced or unvoiced.

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 During production of these sounds, the airflow from the lungs is
Stops
completely blocked at some point, then released. In English, they are
/Plosives/
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/.
The flow of air is constricted, but not totally stopped or blocked. In
Fricatives English, these include /f/, /v/, / /, / /,
/s/, /z/, / /, / /, and /h/.
These sounds begin like stops, with a complete blockage of air/closure
of the vocal tract, and end with a restricted flow of air like fricatives.
Affricates
English has two affricates - the / / sounds of "church" and the / / of
"judge".
Nasals are sounds made with air passing through the nose. In English,
Nasals
these are /m/, /n/, and / /.
Lateral consonants allow the air to escape at the sides of the tongue. In
Laterals
English there is only one such sound - /l/
In the production of an approximant, one articulator is close to
another, but the vocal tract is not narrowed to such an extent that a
Approximants
turbulent airstream is produced. In English, these are /j/, /w/ and /r/.
Approximants /j/ and /w/ are also referred to as semi-vowels.

D. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

1) Vowel
In the beginning discussion from this book is information about the Vowels
And Consonants Pronounciation Practice. This Chapter talked about Vowels And
Consonants types then explained completely by the auhor. The main idea from this
chapter is about Vowels And Consonants . Vowels and consonants are two kinds of
alphabet. The names of a vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y (a half of vowel).
There is a vowel in every words. This makes them very important. A consonant is
any letter of the alphabet that is not a vowel. They are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N,
P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y (a half of consonant) and Z.

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 2) Strenghts
a. The topic about Vowels and consonants was explanained on detail by the
author.
b. There are discussion about Vowels and consonants completely with the detail
direction.
c. The example of Vowels and consonants increadibly put in each topics
discussion.
d. It’s not just about the glimps discussion about Vowels and consonants but it’s
a long discussion about Vowels and consonants that provide the new and
detail Vowels and consonants types to me.
e. Although this book’s section is only 4 section available but each the section
was divided beibg several detail discussion.
3) Weakness
The weakness of this book actually it’s not in its discussion or materials but
the weakness in in the difficult to understand the main topic what the book talked
about. Ii think native speakers afford to understand the long discussion with non
familiar vocabulary but it’s something difficult to me to undeerstand many strange
and non familiar Vocabulary And the another weaknesss of this book is its marks
written. There are losing mark word in its discussion.
E. CONCUSION AND SUGGESTION
1) Conclusion
Having studied this book, l am aware if there are kinds of Vowels and
consonants from its historical discussion till all complete Vowels and consonants
types. I felt great with this book due to the detail discussion in each its Topic. this
book is recommended fo us especially an University students who want to improve
our Vowels and consonants understanding. And then being a part of Vowels and
consonants, By learning that, the readers can know the picture that is actually true
about vowel and consonant sounds.

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 2) Suggestion
After analyzing vowels and consonants, the writer suggests that the following
readers can analyze the vowels and consonants types too.