Syllabic [n̩] and silent "k/g" before "n"

In some sources one can find a number of words in which the sequence [ən] is given another symbol, [n̩]. This stands for syllabic /n/, i.e. a nasal which does not need a vowel sound in order to form a full syllable. When teaching pronunciation, I prefer to spell it as a schwa sound [ə] followed by a [n] to keep things simple.

The letters "g" and "k" are often silent when followed by "n", in which case only /n/ is pronounced. 

To create the first exercise below I used Teflpedia and Reszkiewicz (1984: 74).

Ex. 1 Select the words which contain the syllabic version of /n/.

a. 'Music and passion are always the fashion...'

b. Listen to Mr Parson talking about education. It's an important lesson.

c. The train was safely driven to the Manchester Central Station.

d. The kitten ate a dozen fish.

e. If you want more information, press this button and ask a question; the machine will reply.

f. I saw a documentary about environmental pollution on television.

g. What would happen if you explained the reason why Jane left the party early? Would Jason be angry?

h. The papers wrote about weapons of mass destruction.

Ex. 2 Write the transcribed words which contain "gn" or "kn" using ordinary orthographic transcription.

a. /nɪt/, /nəʊ/, /niː/, /ˈnɒlɪdʒ/, /naɪt/, /niːl/

b. /næt/, /nɔː/, /saɪn/, /əˈlaɪn/, /reɪn/, /əˈsaɪn/, /məˈlaɪn/

KEY

1 a. passion, fashion, b. listen, Parson, education, lesson, c. driven, station, d. kitten, dozen, e. information, button, question, f. pollution, television, g. happen, reason, Jason, h. weapons, destruction

2. a. knit, know, knee, knowledge, knight, kneel b. gnat, gnaw, sign, align, reign, assign, malign

IPA Phonetic symbol [n̩]. Teflpedia. Accessed 25.05.2019.
https://teflpedia.com/IPA_phonetic_symbol_%E3%80%9An%CC%A9%E3%80%9B

Reszkiewicz, Alfred. 1984. Correct Your English Pronunciation. Warszawa: PWN.

Plural, Present Simple and possessive -s

The same principles apply to three functions of the -s suffix: the plural marker, the 3rd person singular Present Simple marker and the possessive (Saxon Genitive) -'s or -s':

1. After a voiceless consonant, the -s is pronounced /-s/, as in tips, likes, Jack's.
2. After a voiced consonant, semi-vowel, vowel or diphthong, the -s is pronounced /-z/, as in bans, shoes, pays, Hugh's.
3. After /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ or /dʒ/, the -s or -es is pronounced /-ɪz/ (some sources claim it is /-əz/), as in cases, bushes, passes, buzzes, marches or judge's.

Ex. Put the following words containing -s or -es in three categories, depending on the pronunciation of the suffix.

1. Plural -(e)s:   beets, apples, pears, oranges, peas, sweets, quiches, pizzas, chocolates, grapes
2. Present Simple -(e)s:   cooks, fries, slices, boils, bakes, dices, peels, eats, chops, seasons
3. Possessive -'s or -s':   chef's, France's, restaurant's, customer's, Italy's, gourmet's, waiter's, India's


KEY
1. /-s/ beets, sweets, chocolates, grapes /-z/ apples, pears, peas, pizzas /-ɪz/ oranges, quiches
2. /-s/ cooks, bakes, eats, chops /-z/ fries, boils, peels, seasons /-ɪz/ slices, dices
3. /-s/ chef's, restaurant's  /-z/ customer's, Italy's, gourmet's, waiter's, India's /-ɪz/ France's

Minimal pairs: /f/, /v/ and /w/

Ex. 1 Look at the following words containing the voiceless consonant /f/ and find their counterparts containing the voiced consonant /v/.

a. fail, fan, fast, fat, fault, fee, feign, fender, ferry, file, fine

Are these words minimal pairs?

b. laugh - love, phase - vase, feast - vast, fake - vague, cough - cove, often - oven

Ex. 2 Look at the following words containing the voiced consonant /v/ and find their counterparts containing the semivowel /w/.

vain, vary, veg, veil, vent, verse, vest, vet, via, vie, vile, vine, viva, volley, vow

KEY
Ex. 1 a. veil, van, vast, vat, vault, V (vee), vain/vane/vein, vendor, very, vile, vine
b. None of these is a minimal pair - there is more than difference between the words.

Ex. 2 wane, wary, wedge, wail, went, worse, west, wet, wire, why, while, wine, weaver, Wally, wow

/ʒ/ in words and phrases derived from French

The consonant /ʒ/ appeared in English after the Old English period and it is still impossible to find in words that are originally Germanic. This post focuses not on well-known words containing /ʒ/, such as television, but more foreign-sounding and looking words. Note that the pronunciation is Anglicised according to RP rules: it is not original French pronunciation.
I used Cambridge Dictionary at https://dictionary.cambridge.org to write this exercise.

Ex. Decode the orthographic spelling of the following transcribed words and phrases. Note that some of the words use diacritics which do not usually occur in English.

1. /ˌʒə nə seɪ ˈkwɑː/ 2. /ˌdeɪ.ʒɑː ˈvuː/ 3. /ˌməʊ ˈʒuːst/ 

4. /ˌbon vɔɪˈɑːʒ/ 5. /ˌdeɪ.kuːˈpɑːʒ/ 6. /ˌdeɪ.kɒl.ɪˈtɑːʒ/

KEY
1. je ne sais quoi, 2. déjà vu, 3. mot juste, 4. bon voyage, 5. découpage, 6.
décolletage

Pronunciation of "s" and "ss"

To create this exercise, I used Teflpedia: https://teflpedia.com/Decoding_the_letter_S and Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org .

Ex. Put the following words in categories depending on their pronunciation of the letter "s" or "ss".

Arkansas, cosy, passion, measure, trousers, mission, pleasure, lose, loose, vision, island, pressure, precision, seat, sugar, soup, Aussie, dinosaur, Sean, Siobhán (Celtic names), basic, possess, ensure, class, inclusion, aisle, phrase, invasion, release, isle, desert, dessert

1. /s/   2. /z/   3. /ʃ/ 4. /ʒ/   5. silent

KEY
1. /s/ loose, seat, soup, dinosaur, basic, class, release  2. /z/ cosy, trousers (both /z/), lose, phrase, desert, dessert, Aussie, possess   3. /ʃ/ passion, mission, pressure, sugar, Sean, Siobhán, ensure 4. /ʒ/ measure, pleasure, vision, precision, inclusion, invasion  5. silent: Arkansas, island, aisle, isle

Vocabulary: Striking and protesting

Much as I avoid getting involved in political discussions, in today's post I would like to express my support for teachers on strike in Poland. I hope that the government will realise that education matters and that there can be no education without reasonable curricula, respect and financial stability for teachers.

Ex. Choose one correct option to fill in the gaps.

1. Unless the minister agrees to change the law, there will be ___.
   A. industry action   B. industrial action   C. a working event   D. a protesting action

2. Many teachers in Poland belong to the ZNP, Poland's largest ___ for teachers.
   A. guildhall   B. workers' society   C. trade union   D. professional team

3. Desperate times ___ desperate measures.
   A. call for   B. bring about   C. put out   D. take in

4. Thousands of people ___ the streets yesterday to protest the new labour law.
   A. ambled on   B. went off   C. took to   D. went about

5. Several hundred teachers and students took part in a ___: they left their classrooms at noon.
   A. walkaway   B. go-out   C. outing   D. walkout

6. The employees are dissatisfied with the management, who often drive ___.
   A. a hard bargain   B. by hook or by crook   C. to and fro   D. high and mighty

7. The privatisation of the steel industry reminds many people of 1980's ___ and the strikes that resulted from it.
   A. Reaganism   B. Bushism   C. Majorism   D. Thatcherism

8. When the unions suggested another meeting with the minister, she refused ___.
   A. make or break   B. point-blank   C. as tough as nails   D. all-around

9. People who refuse to strike and continue to work are called ___.
   A. black ravens   B. black sheep   C. blacklegs   D. blackbirds

10. This policy of ___ will get you nowhere: if you don't strike now, they'll just want more and more.
   A. appeasement   B. appraisal   C. apprehension   D. appointment


KEY 1B, 1C, 3A, 4C, 5D, 6A, 7D, 8B, 9C, 10A

Minimal pairs: /ʃ/, /s/ and /tʃ/

Ex. Look at the following words containing 1. /s/, 2. /tʃ/ and find their counterparts containing the consonant /ʃ/.

1. a. Mars, mass, sag, sale, same, sell, sin   b. seek, seep, sock, sod, sue/Sue   

c. lease, save, sea/see, seat, sort

2. a. catch, hatch, latch, match, watch, which/witch   b. chi/qi, cheap, chin, chips, chose, choose

KEY

1. a. marsh, mash, shag, shale, shame, shell, shin   b. chic, sheep, shock, shod, shoe   c. leash, shave, she, sheet, short

2. a. cache/cash, hash, lash, mash, wash, wish   b. she, sheep, shin, ships, shows, shoes