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/fəˈnɒlədʒi peɪdʒ/

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Activity 1. Find the minimal pairs of these words:      

iː	ɪ	iː	ɪ	iː	ɪ
bead	bid	keep	---	---	sit
bean	---	---	kill	seek	---
ɪ	e	ɪ	e	ɪ	e
---	bed	lit	---	six	---
big	---	nick	---	till	---
e	æ	e	æ	e	æ
ate	---	---	mansion	pen	---
---	bad		marry	led	---
æ	ɑː	æ	ɑː	æ	ɑː
---	arm	---	harm	had	---
ant	---	lack	---	---	art
ɒ	ɔː	ɒ	ɔː	ɒ	ɔː
---	corn	---	sword	---	wars
copse	---	sot	---	shone	---

Solutions (following cells file by file): kip, seat, bin, keel, sick, bid, let, sex, beg, neck, tell, at, mention, pan, bed, merry, lad, am, ham,

hard, aunt, lark, hat, con, sod, was, course, sort, shorn.

Activity 2. Transcribe the next lyrics from the PJ Harvey’s album ‘Let England Shake’, released in 2011: 

‘England’

I live and die through England

Through England

It leaves a sadness

Remedies never were within my reach

I cannot go on as I am

Withered vine reaching from the country

That I love

England

You leave a taste

A bitter one

I have searched for your springs

But people, they stagnate with time

Like water, like air

To you, England, I cling

Undaunted, never failing love for you

England 

Solution:

ˈɪŋglənd 

aɪ lɪv ən daɪ θruː ˈɪŋglənd

θruː ˈɪŋglənd

ɪt lɪvz ə ˈsædnɪs

ˈremədɪz ˈnevɜː wər wɪðˈɪn maɪ riːtʃ

aɪ ˈkænɒt gəʊ ɒn əz aɪ əm

ˈwɪðəd vaɪn ˈriːtʃɪŋ frəm ðə ˈkʌntri

ðət aɪ lʌv

ˈɪŋglənd

jə liːv ə teɪst

ə ˈbɪtə wʌn

aɪ həv sɜːtʃt fə jɔː sprɪŋz

bət ˈpiːpəl/ ðeɪ stægˈneɪt wɪθ taɪm

laɪk ˈwɔːtə/ laɪk eə

tə juː/ ˈɪŋglənd/ aɪ klɪŋ

ʌnˈdɔːntɪd/ nevə feɪlɪŋ lʌv fə juː

ˈɪŋglənd 

Activity 3. Transcribe the next Edward Lear’s limerick, from ‘A Book of Nonsense’, first published in 1846: 

   There was an Old Man with a beard, who said, ’It is just as I feared!

                  Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren, 

                       Have all built their nests in my beard!’

Solution: 

ðeə wəz ən əʊld mæn wɪθ ə bɪəd/huː sed/ ɪt ɪz dʒʌst əz aɪ fɪəd

tuː aʊlz ənd ə hen/ fɔː lɑːks ənd ə ren

həv ɔːl bɪlt ðeə nests ɪn maɪ bɪəd 

  Activity 4. Write the pronunciation with assimilation of the following words:

unbridgeable→ ʌnˈbrɪdʒəbl→ ---

inpatient→ ɪnˈpeɪʃnt→ ---

cranberry → ˈkrænbəri→ ---

ungracious→ ʌnˈgreɪʃəs→ ---

midpoint→ mɪdˈpɔɪnt→ ---

broadcast→ ˈbrɔːdkɑːst→ ---

  Solutions:

ʌmˈbrɪdʒəbl  nb›mb

ɪmˈpeɪʃnt  np›mp

ˈkræmbəri  nb›mb 

ʌŋˈgreɪʃəs  ng›ŋg 

mɪbˈpɔɪnt  dp›bp

ˈbrɔːgkɑːst   dk›gk

Some useful links

http://ipa.typeit.org/

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-english-uni.html

http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/learwk.html