Правила произношения английского: полное руководство

Правила гласных

"Magic E Rule"

A silent final -e makes the preceding vowel say its letter name

""cap" → "cape"; the e is silent but changes the vowel sound"

Правила гласных

"Vowel Digraph "ai" / "ay""

"ai" appears mid-word; "ay" appears at the end

""rain", "train" vs "play", "say""

Правила гласных

"Open Syllable Rule"

A vowel at the end of a syllable is usually long

""go", "be", "hi", "no", "by""

Правила гласных

"Closed Syllable Rule"

A vowel followed by a consonant in the same syllable is usually short

""cat", "hit", "lot", "cup""

Правила гласных

""oo" Sounds"

"oo" can be /uː/ (long) or /ʊ/ (short) depending on the word

""food" /uː/ vs "foot" /ʊ/"

Правила гласных

""ea" Digraph"

"ea" is usually /iː/ but can be /ɛ/ before certain consonants

""beach" /iː/ vs "bread" /ɛ/"

Правила гласных

""ow" Diphthong"

"ow" can represent /aʊ/ or /oʊ/ depending on the word

""cow" /aʊ/ vs "snow" /oʊ/"

Правила гласных

"Schwa Reduction"

Unstressed vowels in multi-syllable words often reduce to /ə/

""about" = /əˈbaʊt/; "sofa" = /ˈsoʊfə/"

Правила согласных

"Soft C Rule"

"c" is pronounced /s/ before e, i, or y; otherwise /k/

""city" /s/, "cycle" /s/ vs "cat" /k/, "coat" /k/"

Правила согласных

"Soft G Rule"

"g" is pronounced /dʒ/ before e, i, or y; otherwise /ɡ/

""gem" /dʒ/, "gym" /dʒ/ vs "gap" /ɡ/, "got" /ɡ/"

Правила согласных

"TH Sounds"

"th" is voiced /ð/ in function words and voiceless /θ/ in content words

""the", "this" /ð/ vs "think", "bath" /θ/"

Правила согласных

"Flap T (American)"

In American English, /t/ between vowels is often pronounced as a quick /d/-like flap

""butter" sounds like "budder"; "water" like "wader""

Правила согласных

"Glottal Stop"

In British English, /t/ before an unstressed syllable or at word end is often replaced by a glottal stop /ʔ/

""bottle" = /ˈbɒʔl/; "button" = /ˈbʌʔn/"

Правила согласных

"Final -ed Pronunciations"

Past tense -ed is /t/ after voiceless consonants, /d/ after voiced, /ɪd/ after t/d

""jumped" /t/, "called" /d/, "wanted" /ɪd/"

Правила согласных

"CH and SH Digraphs"

"ch" is usually /tʃ/ and "sh" is always /ʃ/; never pronounce each letter separately

""church" /tʃ/, "ship" /ʃ/"

Правила согласных

"Nasal Assimilation"

"n" before /p/, /b/, /m/ often shifts articulation to /m/; before /k/, /ɡ/ it becomes /ŋ/

""input" → /ɪmˈpʊt/; "income" → /ˈɪŋkʌm/"

Немые буквы

"Silent K"

"k" is silent before "n" at the start of a word

""knife" /naɪf/, "know" /noʊ/, "knight" /naɪt/"

Немые буквы

"Silent W"

"w" is silent before "r" at the start of a word and in "who", "whole", "write"

""write" /raɪt/, "who" /huː/, "wrong" /rɒŋ/"

Немые буквы

"Silent GH"

"gh" after a vowel is usually silent, making the preceding vowel long

""night" /naɪt/, "light" /laɪt/, "through" /θruː/"

Немые буквы

"Silent B"

"b" is silent after "m" at the end of a word

""lamb" /læm/, "bomb" /bɒm/, "thumb" /θʌm/"

Немые буквы

"Silent L"

"l" is silent before "f", "k", "m", and "d" in certain words

""half" /hæf/, "talk" /tɔːk/, "calm" /kɑːm/"

Немые буквы

"Silent H"

"h" is silent at the start of certain words, especially of French origin

""hour" /ˈaʊər/, "honest" /ˈɒnɪst/, "heir" /ɛər/"

Немые буквы

"Silent P"

"p" is silent before "n", "s", or "t" in Greek-origin words

""pneumonia" /njuːˈmoʊniə/, "psalm" /sɑːm/, "pterodactyl" /ˌtɛrəˈdæktɪl/"

Немые буквы

"Silent T"

"t" is silent in many words of French origin and fixed English expressions

""castle" /ˈkæsəl/, "listen" /ˈlɪsən/, "often" /ˈɒfən/"

Правила ударения

"Two-Syllable Nouns"

In two-syllable nouns, stress usually falls on the first syllable

""TAble", "PEOple", "WINdow", "CIty""

Правила ударения

"Two-Syllable Verbs"

In two-syllable verbs, stress often falls on the second syllable

""reLAX", "beGIN", "deCIDE", "conTROL""

Правила ударения

"Noun/Verb Stress Shift"

Some words change stress depending on whether they are a noun or verb

""REcord" (noun) vs "reCORD" (verb); "PROtest" vs "proTEST""

Правила ударения

"-tion / -sion Suffix Rule"

Stress always falls on the syllable immediately before -tion or -sion

""naˈtion", "inforˈmation", "teleˈvision""

Правила ударения

"-ic Suffix Rule"

Stress falls on the syllable before -ic

""elecˈtric", "ecoˈnomic", "scienˈtific""

Правила ударения

"Compound Noun Stress"

In compound nouns, the first element carries primary stress

""BLACKbird" (a bird) vs "black BIRD" (a bird that is black)"

Правила ударения

"Content vs Function Words"

Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are stressed; function words are usually reduced

""I WANT to GO to the SHOP" — "to" and "the" are unstressed"

Правила ударения

"-ate Suffix Stress"

Nouns/adjectives ending in -ate are stressed on the first syllable; verbs on the last

""COMplicate" (adj) vs "complicATE" (verb); "CERtificate" vs "cerTIFicate""

Правила интонации

"Falling Intonation"

Statements and wh- questions end with falling pitch — this sounds definite and complete

""I live in London." ↘ "Where do you work?" ↘"

Правила интонации

"Rising Intonation"

Yes/no questions and lists (except the last item) use rising pitch

""Do you speak English?" ↗ "coffee ↗, tea ↗, or juice ↘""

Правила интонации

"Fall-Rise Intonation"

A fall-rise signals reservation, contrast, or implication — something is left unsaid

""I passed the exam." ↘↗ (but I didn't do well)"

Правила интонации

"Tonic Stress Placement"

The word carrying new information receives the nucleus — the main pitch movement of the tone unit

""I SAW John." (not someone else); "I saw JOHN." (not someone else)"

Правила интонации

"Tag Questions Intonation"

Genuine tag questions rise; rhetorical ones (expecting agreement) fall

""It's cold, isn't it?" ↗ (genuine); "You can't miss it, can you?" ↘ (rhetorical)"

Правила интонации

"Listing Intonation"

Each item in a list rises except the final one, which falls to signal the list is complete

""I need eggs ↗, milk ↗, bread ↗, and butter ↘.""

Правила интонации

"Attitude Through Intonation"

The same words spoken with different intonation patterns carry completely different meanings

""Really?" with rise = interest; with fall = scepticism; with fall-rise = mild surprise"

Правила интонации

"Pausing and Chunking"

Speakers divide speech into tone units — each chunk has one main stress; pauses mark boundaries

""When I arrived / the meeting / had already started ↘.""

Связная речь

"Linking (Consonant + Vowel)"

When a word ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel, the sounds link smoothly

""turn off" sounds like "tur-noff"; "an apple" → "a-napple""

Связная речь

"Linking R (British)"

In non-rhotic accents, a final -r is pronounced when followed by a vowel-initial word

""here and there" → "here-r-and there-r-and…""

Связная речь

"Intrusive R (British)"

A /r/ sound is inserted between two vowels even when no r is spelled

""the idea of" → "the idea-r-of"; "law and order" → "law-r-and order""

Связная речь

"Elision"

Sounds are dropped entirely in fast speech, especially /t/ and /d/ between consonants

""last night" → "las' night"; "next day" → "nex' day""

Связная речь

"Assimilation"

A sound changes to become more like a neighbouring sound

""ten people" → "tem people" (/n/ → /m/ before /p/)"

Связная речь

"Weak Forms"

Function words are reduced to a shorter, quieter form in normal speech

""and" → /ən/, "to" → /tə/, "for" → /fər/, "of" → /əv/"

Связная речь

"Gemination (Double Consonants)"

When two identical sounds meet at a word boundary, one elongated sound is produced, not two

""good day" → one long /d/; "black cat" → one long /k/"

Связная речь

"Yod Coalescence"

/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/ merge with a following /j/ to create new sounds in connected speech

""did you" → "didja" /dɪdʒə/; "meet you" → "meetcha" /miːtʃə/"