This book is for students and teachers who wish to improve their pronunciation of English and acquire the correct patterns of stress, rhythm and intonation. Accepted Indian usage is discussed in comparison with British Received Pronunciation. Common substitutions occurring in the English speech of various Indian regions are described, with hints on how they may be corrected so as to achieve international intelligibility. Part I gives an introduction to phonetics and information about the sound system of English. Part II contains useful exercises for drills and practice.
This revised edition is accompanied by a SmartApp to help learners practise spoken English.
Dr R K Bansal was Professor of Phonetics and Spoken English, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. Dr J B Harrison was formerly Lecturer, School of Education, University of Leicester, U K. He was also, formerly Visiting Professor of Spoken English, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.
Publisher’s Note Preface List of Phonetic Symbols and Signs
Part I Phonetics and Spoken English 1. Introduction 1. Language 2. The English Language 3. Spoken English in India 4. Learning a Foreign Language
2. The Speech Mechanism 1. A Speech Event 2. The Production of Speech 3. Description of Sounds
3. The Description of Speech Sounds 1. Vowels and Consonants 2. Description of Consonants 3. Description of Vowels 4. Use of Phonetic Symbols
4. The Phoneme, the Syllable and Prosodic Features 1. The Phoneme 2. The Syllable 3. Prosodic Features
5. The Sounds of English: Vowels 1. Vowels in British Received Pronunciation 2. Vowels in General Indian English 3. Differences between the Vowel Systems of British R.P. and General Indian English 4. Description of the Vowels
6. The Sounds of English— Consonants 1. Introduction 2. Plosives 3. Affricates 4. Fricatives 5. Nasals 6. Lateral /l/ 7. Post-Alvelor Frictionless Continuant /r/ 8. Semi-Vowels 9. Consonant Clusters
7. Word Stress 1. Word Stress 2. Stress Shift 3. Historical Reasons for Shift 4. Compound Words 5. Stress Change According to Function 6. Word Stress in Indian English 7. Rules for Stress Patterns
8. Features of Connected Speech 1. Stress in Connected Speech: Rhythm 2. Weak Forms 3. Intonation
9. Factors Affecting the International Intelligibility of Indian English and Suggestions for Improvement 1. Features that Affect the Intelligibility of Indian English
Part II Exercises for Practice 10. Vowels 11. Consonants 12. Consonant Clusters 13. Conversations
A Select Bibliography