The ch sound in English. Reading letter combinations sh, ch
I have not yet mastered all 44 sounds of the English language. Today we will analyze 4 sounds - paired | ʃ | – | ʒ | and | ʧ | – | ʤ|.
For those who are reading the section for the first time, I will explain: we select several similar sounds and compare them with their Russian counterparts. Afterwards we practice the correct pronunciation using several dozen words, tongue twisters and examples from songs.
1. English consonant sound |ʃ| - pronunciation
Pronounced in words: shape, she, shirt and etc.
The sound resembles Russian | w |, but there is an important difference:
Pay attention to the advice to “make the sound noisier.” Due to the different position, the English version is more “hissing” (imagine when you or your friend “shushed” so much that you could even hear a whistle).
It is also noisier and “whistling”. This “noise” can be clearly heard in the pronunciation of actor Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper.
Leonard: What are you doing?
Sheldon: We're going to be late. I'm pa c ing nerve s ly.
Leonard: You're jogging.
Sheldon: Thi s i s how the Fla sh pa ces.
Leonard; Just chill out, Sheldon.
Sheldon: I'm not Sh Eldon. I'm the Fla sh. And now I’m going to the Grand Canyon to s cream in fruit s tra tion. I'm back.
Exercises on English sounds
So, we figured out the pronunciation. Now let's hone our skills on a set of words. We adjust the speech organs to the desired position and proceed:
shower /ˈʃaʊər/
shrimp /ʃrɪmp/
shoulder /ˈʃəʊldər/
Tongue twisters for English sounds
- Sh e sells sea sh ells by the sea sh ore. The sh ells sh e sells are s urely sea sh ells. So if sh e sells sh ells on the sea sh ore, I'm s ure sh e sells sea sh ore sh ells.
- Sh irley has just finished sh ed wa sh ing this sh eet in the wa sh ing ma ch ine.
- Sh aron wa sh eddi sh es in a di sh wa sh er, next sh e wa sh ed sh ades in a wa sh ing ma ch ine. Sh might sh e wa sh the di sh es in the di sh wa sh er, before wa sh ing the sh ades in the wa sh ing ma ch ine?
And the last step is a line from a song that will be etched into your auditory memory. I settled on the immortal song “Shake Shake Shake” by KC & The Sunshine Band.
From 0:33 to 0:51
2. English consonant sound |ʒ| - pronunciation
Pronounced in words: vision, usual, beige, decision and etc.
Differs from the Russian version | f | exactly the same as his deaf predecessor.
Another important point is the English sound | ʒ | is not stunned at the end of words, etc.: bei ge . It becomes weaker, but remains sonorous.
Examples of words with the sound |ʒ|
pleasure /ˈpleʒər/
measure /ˈmeʒə r /
treasure /ˈtreʒər/
leisure /ˈleʒər/
vision /ˈvɪʒn/
decision /dɪˈsɪʒn/
explosion /ɪkˈspləʊʒn/
invasion /ɪnˈveɪʒn/
usual /ˈjuːʒuəl/
casual /ˈkæʒuəl/
Asia /ˈeɪʒə/
occasion /əˈkeɪʒn/
conclusion /kənˈkluːʒn/
garage /ˈɡærɑːʒ/
confusion /kənˈfjuːʒn/
mirage /ˈmɪrɑːʒ/
provision /prəˈvɪʒn/
television /ˈtelɪvɪʒn/
massage /ˈmæsɑːʒ/
Tongue twisters in English for practicing sound |ʒ|
- After much persuasion si on he took the deci si on to watch “Trea s ure Island” on television si on at lei s ure.
- Bei ge lin g erie is more u s ual than a z ure bi j ou, a z ure bi j ou is less u s ual than bei g elin g erie.
- Vi s ual revi s ion of a fusela g e for corro s ion u s usually occa s ions gara g e, camouflage g e and demonta g e of the fusela g e.
Finally, a song: Argent, “Pleasure.”
From 1:01 to 1:14.
3. Consonant |tʃ| – pronunciation of English sounds
Pronounced in English words: chair, cheap, lunch, champion etc. Reminds me of Russian sound | h |, but not identical to it.
To accustom yourself to a firmer and noisier version of English, practice the word contrast exercise: сheese - clean, child - tea, сhalk - Chop, choose - sensitive etc.
I also decided to find an example of this sound in a famous TV series. This time “Friends”:
Words: chair, Chandler, Joey (voiced version of the sound, but more on that below).
Examples for the unvoiced sound |tʃ| in English
chair /tʃeər/
champion /ˈtʃæmpiən/
change /tʃeɪndʒ/
question /ˈkwestʃən/
cheers /tʃɪəz/
chapter /ˈtʃæptər/
cherry /ˈtʃeri/
chicken /ˈtʃɪkɪn/
child /tʃaɪld/
China /ˈtʃaɪnə/
church /tʃɜːtʃ/
Tongue twisters with the sound |tʃ|
- Ch erry tea ch es ch ildren at ch ur ch. Ch erry also ch ecks the rooms and does ch ores.
- The tea ch er ch angry the questions t ion in the ch Allenge. The ch Allengers ch angry the answers for the ques t ion.
- Ch arles is a ch eerful ch icken farmer. A poa ch er is wat ch ing Ch arles' ch ickens ch oozing whi ch to snatch ch, and ch uckles at the ch ance of a ch oice ch icken to ch ew for his moon ch. But the ch uckle rea ch es Ch arles who ch ases the poa ch er and cat ch es him.
As a song example, the classic “We Are The Champions” by Queen.
From 0:38 to 1:17
4. Consonant |dʒ| – pronunciation of English sounds
Pronounced in words job, jam, jazz, joke etc. There are no analogues to this sound in the Russian language!
A typical mistake of Russian speakers is to pronounce this sound as a combination | j |. Actually sound | dʒ | – this is simply a voiced version of the previous sound – | tʃ |, as in chair. There will be no problems with it if you have learned to pronounce the unvoiced version. But we’ll repeat it just in case.
WE RECOMMEND: First say the Russian word chas, and then say it with the tip of your tongue at the back of the alveoli. Make the sound a little harder and noisier. The third step is to make the sound ringing ⇒ you will get an English sound | dʒ | and something like the word jazz :)
To feel the contrast between Russian |j| and English | dʒ |, compare pronunciation of words jazz with Catherine Zeta-Jones and jazz from Larisa Dolina:
If we look for analogies in the Russian language, then | ʤ | rather resembles a voiced one | h | in continuously pronounceable combinations: before whose _hero, ne whose _pancakes, le whose _yes_ to rest.
So, everything is clear with pronunciation, let’s move on to training in words.
Pronunciation of the sound |dʒ| in English: examples of words
procedure /prəˈsiːdʒə r /
jealous /ˈdʒeləs/
judge /dʒʌdʒ/
January /ˈdʒænjuəri/
Japan /dʒəˈpæn/
jeans /dʒiːnz/
jelly /ˈdʒeli/
jewelery /ˈdʒuːəlri/
jogging /ˈdʒɒɡɪŋ/
journey /ˈdʒɜːni/
Georgia /ˈdʒɔːdʒə/
bridge /brɪdʒ/
Tongue twisters for the sound |dʒ|
- J oyful j oggers j og j oyously. J ames, J ohn, J enny and J Ohnny are j oggers.
- The g enerous g ymnasts like oran g e j uice. The oran g e j uice makes the g ymnasts g enuinely happy.
- Can you ima g ine an ima g inary mena g erie mana g er ima g ining mana g ing an ima g inary mena g erie?
As a musical example (besides the already mentioned “All That Jazz”), Ray Charles’ song “Georgia On My Mind”.
To summarize: pronunciation of consonant sounds in English
- English sounds | ʃ | – | ʒ | noisier, stronger and softer than their counterparts | w | – | f |. To pronounce them, you should raise the alveoli to the posterior slope Tip of the tongue, and not its front part, pronounce with more noise.
- English sound | tʃ |, on the contrary, is harder than Russian | h |. Tip of the tongue again touches the posterior slope of the alveoli.
- English | dʒ | has no analogue in Russian at all. This voiced pair of previous sound– | tʃ |. Under no circumstances should you pronounce it like the Russian combination | j |. To improve pronunciation, first train the previous unvoiced sound, and then simply make it voiced.
- Don't forget that sonorous sound | ʒ | and | dʒ | are not stunned at the end of the word! They become a little weaker, but remain sonorous.
See you later, friend!
After that we were left with 19 English sounds. Therefore, today there are 19 left - 4 = 15. Next time, according to tradition, we will take several similar vowels.
Moving from sound to sound according to this method learning to read in English, we finally got to the paired affricates (plosives) of English consonants - And . We will learn to pronounce them based on what you have already learned to pronounce correctly. By the way, in Russian the affricates are the sounds - "ts" and "ch".
If you look closely at the transcription symbols of these sounds, they seem to consist of two halves:
[t] + [ʃ]=
[d] + [ӡ]=
How to pronounce English sounds correctly?
So, to pronounce the English sound That's right, you need to pronounce the sound quickly [t], and then immediately [ʃ]. So, try to quickly pronounce these sounds so that they merge into one sound:
[t]-[ʃ]-[t]-[ʃ]-[t]-[ʃ]-[t]-[ʃ]-[t]-[ʃ]-[t]-[ʃ] =
Sound harder, unlike the Russian “ch”, so do not raise the back of your tongue to the palate. To feel the difference, try saying in English, for example, cup of tea, four o'clock.
Now let's move on to the sound , which is a voiced sound pair , that is, pronounced with a voice. Let's try to pronounce it in two ways:
- The first way is to pronounce the sound with your voice .
- The second method (similar to the one described above) is to quickly pronounce the sounds one by one so that they merge into one sound:
[d]-[ӡ]-[d]-[ӡ]-[d]-[ӡ]-[d]-[ӡ]-[d]-[ӡ]-[d]-[ӡ] =
Happened?
Listen to how English consonants are pronounced And —
What letter combinations represent sounds in writing?
- ch— ch in (Excl. a ch e, s ch ool, ch aos, ch oir, ch character and etc.)
- tch-ki tch en
- ture - pic ture
What letters and letter combinations represent sounds in writing?
- g— g in
- j— j am
- dge-ba dg e
Phonetic exercises for practicing reading words with sounds (closed content for subscribers)
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Title: Teaching reading in English. Subscription code 19
Description: Access to a course of lessons on teaching reading in English and pronunciation at the same time. Author T.V. Nabeeva
And finally,...
Exercise 6. Read words with new sounds learnedAnd .
cheap (cheap) – jeep (jeep)
chin (chin) – gin (gin)
larch (larch) – large (large)
chest (chest) – jest (joke)
chill (cool) – Jill (Jill)
rich (rich) – ridge (mountain range)Your browser does not support the audio tag!
Phrases for daily training of sounds and:
- Just imagine! - Just imagine!
- Meet John. - Meet John.
- Justice is justice. - The law, what a drawbar.
- Fetch me matches. - Bring me matches.
- Not much of a catch. - Little value!
Let's sum it up results of lesson 12, from which you learned:
- how to pronounce english sounds And Right;
- what letter combinations represent the sounds and.
See you in the next reading lessons! Author, Tatyana Nabeeva
18.12.2015
Today we will talk about how to correctly read English words that contain the letters “c” and “g” or the letter combinations “ch”, “gh”. Such words seem especially difficult not only to those who have just started, but also to those who seem to already speak and read English well, but have not taken a course in English phonetics, and therefore read the words “as I remember, as I heard.” There are not many “complex” letters and letter combinations in the English language, and today there will be 4 fewer of them for you!
Rules for reading the letter "s"
Typically the English letter "s" is pronounced [ k]: come, clone, cube, cave.
Like the sound [ s] it is pronounced only when it comes before the letters “ e, i, y»: cinema, center, cycle, capacity, practice.
Letter combination "ch"
As for this letter combination in English, there are several rules for reading it:
- Like the sound [h] - chin, chess, chill, chips, chops, such;
- In words of French origin like [w] – machine, chic;
- In words of Greek origin like [k] – architect, archaic, chemistry, scheme, character, technical, school;
Rules for reading the letter "g"
Yes, yes, this letter is one of the most difficult, not in terms of the pronunciation process itself, but in terms of correctly reading it in different words. There are several rules for reading the letter “g”:
- Like [g] before vowels a, o, u – gas, gold, gun;
- Like [g] before any consonant – green, glass;
- Like [g] at the end of a word - big, strong;
- Like [j] before e, i, y – page, giant, gym;
- In words of French origin like [zh] – garage, massage, genre;
Exception words, in which “g” is read as [g]: anger, begin, forget, forgive, geese, get, gift, girl, give, hunger, target, tiger, together.
Letter combination "gh"
And lastly, the combination of English letters “gh” is usually not readable, i.e. if "gh" is at the end of a word, such as sigh, high, eight, neighbor, through, highest, night, fight etc., then we pronounce this syllable as [ai / ay]: “sai, hai, eit.”
Exception words, in which the letter combination “gh” can be read as [g] or as [f]: cough(kof), draft(draft), enough(inaf), ghost(ghost), laugh(laf), rough(raf), tough(taf).
That's how it is, friends. If you still have questions about or how these letters are read correctly in certain words, write, I will be happy to answer you.
See you soon! Bye-bye for now!
LESSON 4
READING RULES
Letter combinationsh, ch.
The letter combination sh denotes the sound [ʃ] similar to Russian [ш] in the word ma tire. It's a little softer than the Russian one. For example: she [ʃiː] - she
Read aloud:
[ʃ ] shop, shot, she, shed, dish, fish, shake, ship, finish, shine, shy
The letter combination ch denotes two sounds:
1 . As a rule, the letter combination ch denotes the sound corresponding to the Russian [ch] in the word lu h. For example: cheese [ʧiːz] cheese. Sometimes, the letter combination ch is found together with the letter t, that is - tch, where it also conveys the sound [ʧ], for example: match match, match.
2. Rarely, in words from Greek roots, ch conveys the sound [k], corresponding to the Russian [k] in the word okay. For example, scheme scheme, chemist ["kemɪst] chemist, ache - pain
Read aloud:
[ʧ ] chat, cheese, match, kitchen, China["ʧaɪnə],attach[ə"tæʧ]
[k] ache, chemist, scheme ,tech Chris Chris
LetterX, x.
The letter X is usually read as in the word bo ks, but sometimes it is read as, corresponding to the Russian [gz] in the word exam [egz amen]. The Russian word "exam" is written with the letter "k", which is pronounced as [g].
Read aloud:
[ks ]: box, text, next, six, fox, exit["eksɪt]
[gz ]: exam[ɪg"zæm], exist, exact [ɪg"zækt]
GRAMMAR
1. Noun - plural
(continuation)
In Lesson 3, we saw that the plural of English nouns is formed by adding the suffix - s.
But if a singular word ends in -o, -s, -x, -ch or -sh, then the plural is formed by adding the suffix -es, for example: box box - boxes boxes
a n o refusal - knowledge
a boss s boss - bosses
a bo x box - boxes
a mat ch match
a fi sh fishes
As can be seen from these examples, the plural ending. numbers in the form -es are pronounced. How do you pronounce the plural ending? numbers in the form - s, we taught in lesson 3: after vowels and voiced consonants, the suffix - s is pronounced as, and after voiceless consonants, as.
But nouns ending with a letterYin front of which it stands consonant letter, for example - a ba b y["beɪbɪ], lose the letterYand get the ending - ies: a bab y-bab ies, lad y- lad ies.
A small number of English nouns have a special plural form, for example:
Man man - men men
In this lesson, memorize a couple of the most frequently used words with a special plural form:
Unit number / Mn. number
Man men
person people
Child [ʧaɪld] children ["ʧildrən]
Children
In subsequent lessons, you will encounter several more words with a special plural form, which will be indicated immediately next to the singular form. For example: a man (plural number of men).
2. Adjective
English adjectives, unlike Russian ones, do not change either in gender or in number. Compare:
ared table -red th table
ared rose -red and I rose
ared apple -redohapple
red apples -red s apples
As can be seen from this example, the English adjective " red " remained unchanged in all four examples.
Translate the phrases:
red nose, red rose, red apple, red boxes
Remember!
If a noun is preceded by an adjective (big, red, etc.), then the article is placed before this adjective, and not before the noun.
a pen - a red pen
the apples - the red apples
TEXT
Read aloud and translate the text using the dictionary below.
Take the cheese. Take the cheese from the plate on the table. Take a plate and a dish from the kitchen. Chris, help me do the dishes. Take six apples from the box. Take the exam. Steve, help me make notes in French. Adam, help me type a text in French. Help the child type the name. Children, type a text in French. Help the man make the plan. Help the men make the plan. Invite Chris, Ann, Steve and me. Eve, do the dishes. Let me invite the children. Stop my ache. Help the child do the test. Help the children do the test. Let the man help me. Let the men help me. Take a match. Take the matches from the box. Take that text. Take that box. Take an apple from the box. Open the shop and take the fish from the box. Open the shop at six. Be at home at five. Let me see the shot. Take the cheese from the table in the kitchen. Open five boxes. Help the boss type the French text. Tell my boss. Tell the bosses. Take the matches from the box. Finish the text. Make an example. See my best shots from China. Live in China!
NEW WORDS
ache - pain (usually dull)
boss - boss, chief
box - box
cheese [ʧiːz] - cheese
child [ʧaɪld] - child
children ["ʧɪldrən] - children
China ["ʧaɪnə] - China
Chris - Chris (name)
dish - dish
dishes - dishes
do the dishes - wash the dishes
example [ɪg"zɑːmpl] - example
for example - for example
Make an example - Make an example
exam [ɪg"zæm] - exam
Take an exam - Pass the exam
finish ["fɪnɪʃ] - finish
fish - fish
French - French
invite [ɪn"vaɪt] - invite
kitchen ["kɪʧɪn] - kitchen
match - match, match
men - men, people
plate - plate
she [ʃiː] - she
shop [ʃɔp] - store
at the shop - in the store
shot [ʃɔt] - shot, snapshot (photo)
six - six
at six - at six
text - text
HOMEWORK
Place the following words on the appropriate lines depending on the reading of the letter combinations sh, ch and the letter X:
a ch e, box, ch eese, ch ild, ch ildren, Ch ina, Ch ris, dish, dishes, example, finish, fish, French, kitchen, match, she, shop, shot, six, text, exam
[ʃ]
[ʧ]
[k]
2. Translate the words in writing:
She, six, box, cheese, man, people, French, invite, match, plate, text, kitchen, child, children, China, chemist, shop, boss, fish, Chris, dish, dishes, example, for example, finish , snapshot, man, men
3. Write these words in plural:
No, boss, box, match, fish, man, child, fox, shop, text, plan, home, study, baby, lady, boy
4. Put these phrases in the plural.
redthtable, redand Ibox, redohapple, redsapples
5. Translate the text in writing.
Take the fish from the table. Go to the store at six. Help your child print my name. Send tests to Steve. Open the red boxes. Take the red pen from the box. Help the man. Help people. Open the store at nine. Take six red roses (any). Help your boss send the tests. Help your bosses type French texts. Do the test in the kitchen (in the kitchen). Go to the store and get red pens (any kind). Make a note (any note). Take notes (any kind). Help your child take the test. Help the children take the test. Let's invite me. Invite them. Finish the text. Pass the exam. Give an example. Wash the dishes.
TEST
1. How is the letter combination sh read?
2. How is the letter combination ch read?
3. How is the plural of nouns ending in - o, s, ss, ch, sh, x formed?
4. How is the plural of nouns ending with the letter Y formed before a consonant? For example: a study
5. Write two nouns with a special plural form.
The combination of letters in English is a phenomenon that is closely related to phonetics, since often the reading of consonants or vowels changes if another letter appears next to them. It is important not only to navigate the various variants of such combinations, but also to understand how different methods of connecting individual letters differ and what pronunciation features will arise. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the main letter combinations in the English language and provide a special classification of this phenomenon so that it is somewhat easier to understand the entire algorithm of actions.
Basic principles of combinations of English letters
The norms of the English language allow the letters of the alphabet to be combined in such a way that new variants of sounds are subsequently formed. It must be remembered that sometimes such combinations are pronounced completely differently than it seems at first glance, and the phonetics of both letters used in a particular combination may be lost.
Methods of letter combinations in the English language allow the formation of new sounds by combining two consonant letters, two vowels, as well as a combined version of vowels and consonants. In this case, a certain combination can be formed by connecting three letters; they are called triphthongs and differ from diphthongs in that they consist of three rather than two elements. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the basic rules for reading English letter combinations, and you can start with the vowel + vowel options.
Letter combinations vowels + vowels
When reading English letter combinations that include consonants, it is necessary to take into account both letters that are part of a particular construction. The options may be as follows:
ai –– pain, rain;
ay-– game, pay;
ei –– deceive, weight, height;
ea – [e]– head, read, break;
ey –– key, grey, eye;
ee –– tree, screen;
ew –– new, few;
eu –– neutral, feudalism;
oo – [u] [ɔ:] [ʌ]– wool, pool, door, blood;
oa – [əu]– road, soap;
ou –– house, mouse;
ie – [e]– friend, field, diet.
All these variants with vowels are quite common and in English are read only in accordance with the specified reading rules. Their sound conveys only vowel sounds, however, it is important not to confuse the letter combinations, otherwise there is a risk of incorrect spelling of words and constructions.
Letter combinations consonants + consonants
It is necessary to remember very well how one or another combination of consonant letters is read, since there are significantly more such types of combinations than with vowels. Below are the most common ways to pronounce English consonants in combination with each other:
ch – [k] [ʃ]– chair, character, machine;
ck – [k]– stock, shock;
tch– the combination tch – is consonant with the sound ch –
– match, catch; the sound h in English is characterized by two variants of consonant combinations;
bt at the end of a word - [t]– doubt, debt;
gh– after combinations ou, au [f], [–]– cough, slight;
dg-– hedgehog, edge;
th – The interdental sound th is read in two ways. In auxiliary parts of speech and between vowel sounds, the th sound in English gives [ð]
– brother, the, and at the beginning or end of words, as well as before consonants, it sounds like [θ]
– throw, bath;
sh – the sound sh can be read as [ʃ]
– shrimp, shell;
gn – [n]– sign, reign;
mb- in the middle of a word
– remember, at the end of a word [m]– thumb;
mn – in the middle of a word
– insomnia, at the end of a word [m]– column;
kn – in the middle of a word
– sickness, at the beginning of the word [n]– knock;
wh – [w]– what, wheel;
ng- in the middle of a word [ŋg]– singer, at the end of a word [ŋ]
– ring;
ph – [f]– philosopher, photo;
wr – [r]– write, wrong.
It is important to pay attention to how th, kn and other combinations are read, which have two pronunciation options and sound differently depending on their position in the word. The rule for reading all the above combinations must always be observed, otherwise errors in the reading process and, accordingly, pronunciation will be inevitable.
Letter combinations vowels + consonants
Another option for combinations is vowels and consonants. Some letters in the alphabet can form certain ways of pronunciation, and this phonetic variation is also quite common. Here are the methods:
er- in an unstressed position [ə]
– worker, looker;
or- in an unstressed position [ə]
– doctor, traitor;
an- before consonants
– swan, plant;
al – [ɔ:]
– chat, talk. Another reading option is – half, calf;
wa –– was, water;
wor -– word, work;
war –– war, ward;
igh –– right, night;
qu –– quiet, sequence;
ild –– wild, mild;
ind -– find, bind.
All these options, presented with transcription, must be taken into account when pronouncing and reading the corresponding combinations. To display a combination of letters in English, a table can become an element that can group all the main options and present information in the most concise form. Here's what it might look like:
All these methods of combining letters of the English alphabet are very actively used in the language and are taken into account when studying phonetics and reading rules. All possible options should be memorized gradually, but it is necessary to know them, since, judging by the examples, some of them can be read differently. By focusing on all reading methods, you will be able to avoid many mistakes, and the interlocutor will be able to assess the level of preparation of the speaker, who, in turn, will correctly use the rules of letter combinations and not take liberties in pronunciation.