The Madness of English Pronunciation
The pronunciation of well spoken English, can seem a little barmy.
Seriously.
I am indigenous and can trace my family back at least a thousand years on one side and more on the other, but I still think the spelling versus the pronunciation of well spoken English – is extremely misleading!
English is made up of so many languages that the spelling bears little relation to the English pronunciation of the words..
For example: the pronunciation of h
A very common mistake is pronouncing the letter h with an h!
… Actually, h should be pronounced ‘aitch’ and the explosion of air used only when it is in a word…
or not …
– ugh?
– yes really, there are certain words that begin with h when it is not pronounced at all.. eg: honour, hour and honest
BUT NOT ‘ERB’ – say the h – herb! …
This is UK English 🙂
So to help your English Pronunciation …
I’ve made a list of of common words and spelt them phonetically.
Common words and their correct English Pronunciation
(the) government = guv-eu-meunt
a = eu (eu as in entrpreneur / amateur / saboteur)
almond = pronounced ar-meund
area = air-ree-eu
art = ahh-t
back = bak
Beauchamp Place = Bee-cheum Play-s
Beaulieu = Byou-lee
body= bo-dee
book = beu-k
business = biz-nis
car= kah
case = cai-s
change= chay-nj
child = chy-euld
city = si-tee
community = ceu-myou-ni-tee
company = cum-peu-nee
country = cun-tree
day = day-ee
done = dun
door = dor
education = ed-you-kay-sheun
eye = I
face = fay-s
fact = fak-t
family = fam-lee
father = fah-theu
force = for-s
friend = fre-nd
girl= geul
group = groop
guy = gye
head = he-d
health= hell-th
history = hiss-tor-ree
Holborn = Hoe -beun
home = hoe-m
hour = a-o-weu
idea = I-dee-eu
information = in-feu-may-sheun
issue = ish – you
kind = kye-nd
law = lor
level= leh-veul
life = ly-ff
London = Lun-deun
Marylebone = Mar-le-beun
minute = min-it
moment = moe-meunt
money = mu-nee
month = mun-th
mother = mu-theu
name= nay-m
night = nye-t
obviously = ob-vee-eus-lee
office = o-ffiss
others = u-theuz
of = ov
off = of
parent = pare-reunt
part = pah-t
party = par-tee
people = pee-peul
person = per-seun
place = play-s
point = poy-eent
power = pow-weu
president = prez-i-dent
primeminister = pry-min-eu-steu
problem = pro-bleum
program = proe-gram
question = kweh-stcheun
reason = ree-zeun
research = reu-seuch
result = reu-zult
right= rye-t
room = reum
school = skoo-eul
service = ser-vis
side = sye-d
state = stay-ee-t
story = stor-ree
student = stu-deunt
study = stuh-dee
system = sis-teum
table = tay-beul
teacher = tee-cheu
team = teem
thank you = thang-que
time/thyme = tie-m
war/waugh = wor
water = war-teu
way /wey = wai-ee
Wednesday – Wenz- day
woman = weu-meun
word = wer-d
work = wer-k
world = Weu-ld
year = yer if ur posh! and yee-eu if you’re not ! 🙂
English Pronunciation of Place Names:
Loughborough = Luff-beu-reu
Marylebone = Mar-le-beun
Holborn = Hoe-beun
Shrewsbury = Shrowz-bree
Beauchamp Place = Beecheum Play-s
Beaulieu = Byou-lee
Magdelen College (Oxford Uni) = More-deu-lin