The English language is fundamentally dependent on its Phonetics. That
means, Phonetics plays an important role in determining the right form
of the morphologic elements, and even in deciding on the meaning of our
messages. In addition, as a branch of Grammar, Phonetics helps
pronouncing the English words correctly, and the foreign one as well.
The globalization of our World comes with increased information exchange
from one language to another. Since English is the international
standard language, this implies that foreign names need to be translated
into English phonetic sounds appropriately. Pronouncing foreign names
correctly is a matter of consideration, respect, and it shows a good
command of Phonetics—and of the English grammar as well.
In LSEG4, Phonetics is presented only for its grammatical functionality, according to the following
structure:
PH1: English Sounds PH2: Vowels PH3: Semi-Vowels PH4: Consonants PH5: Diphthongs and Triphthongs PH6: Spelling the Alphabet PH7: Pronouncing Foreign Names
ATTENTION Particularly useful today is the fact that many English dictionaries come in an electronic format. Consequently, the readers may
actually hear the pronunciation of the English words! However, we still need to know/use
the international standard phonetic alphabet—presented
in
LSEG4.
Unfortunately, most USA dictionaries use an "ad hoc"/"in house" method of writing phonetic sounds, unlike the UK dictionaries
and unlike the international standard phonetic alphabet. Consequently, in
LSEG4 we advise the readers to purchase UK dictionaries for a correct phonetic representation. In the other side, the
USA dictionaries are far more accurate on explaining technical words/terms.
In order to use English appropriately,
ESL students and native speakers as well need to know the "phonetic alphabet".
"Phonetic symbols" correspond to the basic phonetic sounds, and they are always written between square
brackets. For example, the phonetic sound [e] is the letter "e" from: "ten",
"seven", "error", "lemon".
Fragment from LSEG4: the group of
non-pulmonic consonants.
Fragment from LSEG4: the modified version of the Little Alphabet
Song. The mp3 song may be played and downloaded
here, or using the audio control below.
This little song is the first step in learning English phonetics for ESL and native students alike. The modified version we present in LSEG4
is a lot easier to learn&remember.
Fragment from LSEG4, Appendix 2: three
phonetic-codes commonly
employed (in USA and in UK) to spell
the letters of the alphabet.
In order to use English appropriately,
ESL students and native speakers as well need to know the "phonetic alphabet".
"Phonetic symbols" correspond to the basic phonetic sounds, and they are always written between square
brackets. For example, the phonetic sound [e] is the letter "e" from: "ten",
"seven", "error", "lemon".
