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• Stress: The emphasis we put on certain syllables or words. For example:
w "Desert" (noun): DE-sert (a dry area of land)
w "Desert" (verb): de-SERT (to abandon)
• Intonation: The rise and fall of our voice as we speak. For example:
w Used in yes-no questions: "Are you coming?" (The pitch rises at the end of the sentence)
• Rhythm: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. For example:
w "The CAT is ON the MAT." (Stressed syllables: CAT, ON, MAT)
Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of the sounds that we make when we speak. We use sounds to speak. Every word is made up
of one or more sounds. We put these sounds together to pronounce words. Phonetics is essential for understanding
how languages use sound to convey meaning and for improving pronunciation in language learning. If you engage in
phonetic exercises and training programs then it will help you enhance your pronunciation skills.
The English alphabet has 26 letters, from A to Z. But each of these letters can be pronounced in different ways in
different words. We use 26 letters to write in English. But, we use more than 26 sounds when we speak English. This is
why, a word's spelling does not always match its pronunciation. Let us see some examples.
Breakdown of Sounds
• Cat (/kæt/): The 'a' in "cat" is pronounced as a short vowel sound, /æ/, which is similar to ",s" in Hindi.
• Father (/ˈfɑːðər/): The 'a' in "father" is pronounced as a long vowel sound, /ɑː/, which can be approximated to "vk"
in Hindi.
• Name (/neɪm/): The 'a' in "name" forms part of a diphthong, /eɪ/, which is a combination of two vowel sounds,
similar to ",s" in Hindi.
• About (/əˈbaʊt/): The 'a' in "about" is pronounced as a schwa, /ə/, which is an unstressed and neutral sound, often
represented as "v" in Hindi.
Let us take the letter 'a' for example. Read the words below aloud. The letter 'a' is pronounced differently in different
words as shown in the given table.
Words Pronunciation of the letter 'a' Pronuniation in Hindi
cat, apple and back ,s oSQV] ,siy] cSd
car, fast and park vk dkj] iQkLV] ikoZQ
call, ball and saw vkW dkWy] ckWy] lkWo
Importance of Phonetics
By understanding and practicing phonetics, you can.
• Improve Pronunciation: It helps you learn the correct way to produce the sounds of English, leading to clearer and
more accurate speech.
• Enhance Listening Skills: It gives you a better platform to recognise and differentiate sounds thus improving
comprehension.
• Reduce Accent: It helps you gain awareness of how native speakers produce sounds, which helps in reducing accents.
• Increase Confidence: It guides you in speaking with correct pronunciation and thus boosts the confidence in
communication.
Types of Sounds
In the English language the alphabets are not enough to match different types of sounds we make, when we speak. Let
us take a closer look at the sounds we use. All English words are made of three basic types of sounds.
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