In this lesson we will get back to learning the consonants.
Review
Review the American English phonetic chart:
And review the British English vowels:
Fricatives
You know how your hands get hot when you rub them together?
That’s caused by friction.You can also create friction in your mouth by making the air have a hard time getting out.
Fricatives are consonants that let air through with a lot of friction. They don’t make your mouth hot, but they do produce a special sound.
The /f/ and /v/ sounds
Both of these are labiodental sounds. That means you make them by touching the top teeth to the bottom lip and blowing air through. /f/ is voiceless and /v/ is voiced, but the mouth position is the same.
Words
- few, view
- fan, van
- feel, veal
- fear, veer
- life, live
- leaf, leave
- half, have
Some people have trouble with /f/ and /p/.
- coffee, copy
- fast, past
- defend, depend
- fee, pee
- fool, pool
- fleas, please
- phrase, praise
- wife, wipe
- laugh, lap
Phrases
- five free fries
- very vicious
- give it to Fred
- a passion for fashion
Tongue twister
Flat flying fish fly faster than flat flying fleas.
The /θ/ and /ð/ sounds
Put a piece of paper in front of your mouth and try to make it blow in the wind coming from /θ/.
Words
/θ/
- think
- three
- thin
- Jonathan
- author
- earth
- bath
- math
/ð/
- they’re
- then
- the
- father
- other
- bathe
- breathe
Comparisons
- thigh, thy
- with, with
- breath, breathe
- bath, bathe
Don’t say /s/
- sinking, thinking
- sin, thin
- sank, thank
- bass, bath
- mouse, mouth
Don’t say /t/
- tin, thin
- tinker, thinker
- tank, thank
- mat, math
- tree, three
Don’t say /d/
- den, then
- dirty, thirty
- eater, either
Don’t say /z/ or /dz/
- ease her, either
- rise, rides, writhe
Joke
There was an English ship sailing in the ocean far from home. All of a sudden a storm came and the ship began sink. The captain made an emergency call on the radio and said, “Hello? Is anyone there? We’re sinking! We’re sinking!” Another ship answered, “Yes, hello. We are here. What are you sinking about?”
Song
The /s/ and /z/ sounds
Words
- see, Z
- sip, zip
- sue, zoo
- sap, zap
- hiss, his
- piece, peas
- ice, eyes
- force, fours
Don’t mix up /z/ and /dz/
- cars, cards
- rays, raids
- please, pleads
- nose, nodes
In English /dz/ never comes at the beginning of words.
- zero
- zoo
- zipper
Phrases
- his is zero
- buzzing bees
- Sally sat sifting seashells on the seashore.
- Zip A Dee Doo Dah
Song
The /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ sounds
Words
/ʃ/
- shoot
- she
- wished
- fisherman
- ash
- wash
- consternation
- shark
/ʒ/
- usually
- pleasure
- beige
- fusion
- vision
- Asia
Phrases
- How’s your vision?
- She usually wishes for more.
- my pleasure
- I live in Baton Rouge.
Song
Affricates
Affricates are a mixture between plosives and fricatives. There are two of them in English: /ʧ/ and /ʤ/.
The /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ sounds
Words
/ʧ/
- chairs
- choose
- cheetah
- each of
- church
- which
- tree
- train
- true
/ʤ/
- jump
- Jennifer
- agile
- adjust
- edge
- fridge
- dry
- dredge
- drip
Comparison
- rich, ridge
- etch, edge
Phrases
- hodge podge
- Jack and Jill
- check out that
Homework
Practice double sounds with all of the consonants that we have done so far. Try to get at least 70% correct with at least double pairs.
