SAME SPELLING, DIFFERENT PRONUNCIATION: REVISION
Sometimes stressed vowels may be pronounced differently in different forms of a word, such as nature [ neɪ ɚ]
and natural [ næ ɚrəl]. Read the words in the following Table to see some common words of this type.
In general, the pronunciations [eɪ], [i], [aɪ], [ou] and [u] are found in the root or base word (often a final syllable
ending in silent e).
[eɪ]
[i] [aɪ] [ou]
[u]
E.g.: nature, obscene, mine, close, reduce
The vowels change to [æ], [ ], [ɪ], [a] and [ə], when suffixes such as –ic, –al and –ity (and others) are added.
[æ]
[ ]
[ɪ]
[a]
[ə]
E.g.: natural, obscenity, mineral, closet, reduction
[eɪ]
[æ]
[i]
[ ]
grade
gradual
meter
metric
grateful
gratitude
serene
serenity
nation
national
obscene
obscenity
profane
profanity
supreme
supremacy
sane
sanity
equal
equity
volcano
volcanic
athlete
athletic
to bathe
a bath
compete
competitive
recede
recession
[aɪ]
[ɪ]
mine
mineral
hero
heroine
line
linear
please
pleasant
divine
divinity
mean
meant
crime
criminal
to read
(have) read
sign
signature
to breathe
breath
decide, decisive
decision
precise
precision
cone
conical
revise
revision
phone
phonic
Bible
Biblical
sole
solitude, solitary
cycle
cyclical
atrocious
atrocity
type
typical
provoke
provocative
wild
wilderness
joke
jocular
child
children
diagnosis
diagnostic
microscope
microscopic
[u]
[ou]
[ə]
[a]
reduce
reduction
know
knowledge
produce
production
close
closet
consume
consumption
to clothe, clothing, clothes
cloth
resume
resumption
numeral
number
[aʊ]
south
[ə]
southern
EXERCISES
I. Read through the Table, listening to the mp3 recording (11a – Alternations of Vowel Quality in Stressed Syllables: Student CD / American Accent Training / Individual Sounds Training). Give the Russian translation of
each word. Record yourself reading the words and their translation and send the recording to your teacher.
II. Listen to the mp3 recording of the following sentences (11b – Alternations of Vowel Quality in Stressed Syllables: Student CD / American Accent Training / Individual Sounds Training) and read them, using the Table
above to guide you. Write the phonetic symbol over each underlined vowel. Record yourself reading the sentences and send the recording to your teacher.
1. It’s natural for children to love nature.
2. There was a story about the United Nations on the national news.
3. She took a bath after sunbathing for two hours.
4. The metric system measures length in meters.
5. Many athletes get athletic scholarships to attend college.
6. Take a deep breath and then breathe out.
7. I didn’t know he had so much knowledge about computers.
8. You could make some beautiful clothes with this cloth
9.So I sign my own name or get someone else’s signature?
10. Certain types of plants are typically grown indoors.
11. The producers thought the cost of production was too high.
12. A person who comes from the South is called a southerner.
III. Match the following words with their definitions.
1. Wound [wund]
a. Not dead; energetic (adjective)
2. Wound [waʊnd]
b. A kind of bird, a pigeon (noun)
3. Row [rou]
c. Plunged head first (e.g. into water) (verb, Past Tense)
4. Row [raʊ]
5. Bow [bou]
d. Bend forward at the waist (verb and noun); the pointed end of a
ship (noun);
e. A drop of liquid from the eyes (noun)
6. Bow [baʊ]
f. A soft heavy metal (noun)
7. Dove [dəv]
g. To go first; first position (verb and noun)
8. Dove [douv]
h. To understand something written (verb)
9. Live [lɪv]
i.
10. Live [laɪv]
j.
11. Wind [wɪnd]
k. Understood something written (verb, Past Tense, Participle II)
12. Wind [waɪnd]
l.
13. Lead [lid]
m. To injure; an injury (verb and noun)
14. Lead [l d]
n. Turned around and around (verb, Past Tense, Participle II)
15. Read [rid]
o. Moving air (noun)
16. Read [r d]
p. To be alive; to exist; to dwell (verb)
17. Tear [tiɚ]
q. A neat line of things (noun)
18. Tear [t ɚ]
r. To turn around and around (verb)
A ribbon tied in a knot (noun); a weapon for shooting arrows
(noun); a long rod used to play the violin (noun)
A noisy argument, a quarrel (noun)
To rip or pull apart; a rip, a hole (verb and noun)
IV. Write a short story using the words from this handout (at least 20) and prepare to read it to you classmates as a
dictation. Feel free to send your dictation to your teacher for checking before you practice reading it out loud.