English is one of the main languages in the world, it is considered native by more than 500 million people, and the same number speak it to a greater or lesser extent. Starting to learn English, first of all, we are faced with mastering the vocabulary of the language, its grammar and, of course, pronunciation. How to read a word correctly, especially if its spelling is clearly different from the sound designation? Transcription will help you with this. And what is transcription, its designation and ways of reading, you will learn from our article. After carefully studying it, you can easily pronounce even the most difficult words, as well as use the dictionary and study materials where it is widely used.
So what is transcription
If we take a scientific definition, then this is a system for recording signs and the rules for their combination, whichdesigned to record the correct pronunciation of a word. That is, in fact, we write one thing, but in sound we get something completely different. Having learned the signs of English transcription, as well as the basic letter combinations, you can easily master any text written in English. Indeed, in this language, as in Russian, words are often written quite differently than they are pronounced, and sometimes it is simply necessary to memorize their correct reading in order to avoid mistakes in the future.
Basic signs and rules for reading English transcription
To convey the correct pronunciation of English words, a phonetic alphabet was invented, in which sounds are indicated by special phonetic signs. Keep in mind, despite the fact that there are 26 letters in the English language, there are as many as 44 sounds in it. Therefore, for the best learning of the language, you should pay close attention to them. In general, the transmission of pronunciation exists in any language, therefore, various signs are used not only for the English language, but, for example, for the transcription of Russian words. This is very convenient, given that the rules are quite standard, and by carefully remembering them, you can convey the sounds of absolutely any language unit. Knowing what transcription is in general, let's start studying it. The following are the rules for reading vowels, two-vowels and consonants.
Reading vowel sounds correctly
i ː is a long, stressed vowel "and", for example: tea, sea;
ɪ - short and unstressed (but can sometimes be stressed) sound between Russian "i" and"s", examples - bit, business;
æ - pronounced as a clear and percussive sound, similar to something between "a" and "e", for example: cat, rat;
ɑ ː - long and deep sound "a", examples - car, heart;
ɔ ː - also a long and open "o" sound, read the words sort, board;
ʊ - a very short "y" sound, for example: put, could;
u ː - on the contrary, a long, slightly softened sound "u", for example - fool, shoes;
ʌ - sounding closer to the percussion sound " a", for example: up, couple;
ɜ ː - a little long sound between "e" and "o", read - her, turn;
ə - short, not quite intelligible sound "a", in words until, alias;
e - slightly softened sound "e", for example: bed, head;
ɒ - a sound similar to something between "o" and "a", in the words rock, body.
Rules for reading two-vowel sounds (diphthongs)
eɪ - slightly softened "hey", for example: tray, make;
aɪ - reads like just "ay", in the words sky, buy and so on;
ɔɪ - pronounced like "oh", for example: joy, boy;
ɪ ə - a cross between "ie" and "yy", for example: fear, here;eə
- sound "ea", where the last "a" is unstressed, in the words hair, there and so on;
ʊ ə - long "y" sound at the end of whichan indistinct "a" is heard, for example: tour, poor;a
ʊ - a slightly softened sound "ay", in the words trousers, hour; əʊ - also a little soft "oh" like joke, go.
Read consonants
p - a clear, energetic sound "p", examples - parking, open;
b - also a clear "b", in the layers of board, abandon;
t - the sound "t" ", but when pronouncing it, we set the language a little higher than when pronouncing a similar Russian sound, for example: trunk, receipt;
d - a clear "d", in the words add, advertising;
k - sound " k", in words such as cord, school;
g - pronounced similarly to Russian "g", for example: grace, agree;
tʃ - again a slightly softened sound "h", in the words chance, catch;
dʒ - a strong, percussive sound between "h" and "zh", usually in Russian it is transmitted as John, Jackson, for example: jungle, logic;
f - the same that Russian "f", for example: fool, enough;
v - reads just like "v", for example: vocal, voice;
θ - a sound that is quite difficult to pronounce, try to hold it down a little tongue between the teeth and say "s" or "f", for example: thanks, ethnic;
ð the pronunciation rule is the same as the previous sound, try pronouncing with a voice "z" or "v", for example: there, this; s - a sound almost identical to Russian "s", in the words sunday, east;
z - pronunciation close to Russian "z", for example: zebra, resign;
ʃ - also close toRussian "sh", only a little softer, in the words shine, action; ʒ - just a soft sound "zh", for example: visual, usual;
h - sound "x", barely audible on the exhale, for example: head, hill;
m - just the sound "m", for example: mother, mouse;
n - pronounced almost the same as the Russian "n", only the language raise a little higher to the sky, in the words note, knowledge;
ŋ - the sound "n", clearly pronounced "on the nose", for example sing, reading
l - similar to the Russian "l", but not soft or hard, but rather, something in between, for example: laughter, legal;
r - the sound of meju "r" and "l", moreover, softened, in the words random, order;j - a sound very close to the Russian "y", for example: yet, you;
w - a short sound pronounced between "y" and "v", in the words what, where, one.
These were the main signs of the transmission of English pronunciation. Having carefully studied them and already knowing what transcription is, now you can read any English word without much difficulty.
