Understanding English Pronunciation

Understanding English Pronunciation In order to improve your English pronunciation, it is important to understand a number of terms and concepts. This article introduces the most important components from smallest- a unit of sound- to largest- sentence level stress and intonation. A short explanation is given for each concept with links to more resources to improve, as well as teach, English pronunciation skills. Phoneme A phoneme is a unit of sound. Phonemes are expressed as phonetic symbols in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). Some letters have one phoneme, others have two, such as the diphthong long a (eh - ee). Sometimes a phoneme may be a combination of two letters such as ch  in  church, or dge in judge.   Letter There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. Some letters are pronounced differently depending on which letters they are with. For example, c can be pronounced like a hard /k/ or as an /s/ in the verb cite. Letters are made up of consonants and vowels. Consonants can be voiced or voiceless depending on the sound (or phoneme). The difference between voiced and voiceless is explained below. Consonants Consonants are the sounds that interrupt vowel sounds. Consonants are combined with vowels to form a syllable. They include: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, z Consonants can be voiced or voiceless. Vowels Vowels are open sounds caused with the vibration of vocal sounds  but without obstruction. Consonants interrupt vowels to form syllables. They include: a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y NOTE:  y is a vowel when it sounds as /i/ such as in the word city. Y is a consonant when it sounds as /j/ such as in the word year.   All vowels are voiced as they are produced using the vocal chords. Voiced   A voiced consonant is a consonant that is produced with the help of the vocal chords. A good way to tell if a consonant is voiced is to touch your fingers to your throat. If the consonant is voiced, you will feel a vibration. b, d, g, j, l, m, n, r, v, w Voiceless A voiceless consonant is a consonant that is produced without the help of the vocal chords. Place your fingers on your throat when speaking a voiceless consonant and you will only feel a rush of air through your throat. c, f, h, k, q, s, t, x Minimal  Pairs Minimal  pairs are pairs of words that differ in only one sound. For example: ship and sheep differ in only in the vowel sound. Minimal pairs are used to practice slight differences in sound. Syllable A syllable is formed by a consonant sound combining with a vowel sound. Words can have one or more syllables. To test how many syllables a word has, put your hand under your chin and speak the word. Each time your jaw moves indicates another syllable. Syllable Stress Syllable stress refers to the syllable that receives the main stress in each word. Some two-syllable words are stressed on the first syllable: table, answer - other two syllable words are stressed on the second syllable: begin, return. There are a number of different word syllable stress patterns in English. Word Stress Word stress refers to which words are stressed in a sentence. Generally speaking, stress content words and glide over function words (explained below). Content Words Content words are words that convey meaning and include nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and negatives. Content words are the focus of a sentence. Glide over function words to stress these content words to provide the rhythm of English. Function Words Function words are required for the grammar, but they provide little or no content. They include helping verbs, pronouns, prepositions, articles, etc.   Stress-Timed Language When speaking about English we say that the language is stress-timed. In other words, the rhythm of English is created by word stress, rather than syllable stress as in syllabic languages. Word Groups Word groups are groups of words that are commonly grouped together and before or after which we pause. Word groups are often indicated by commas such as in complex or compound sentences. Rising Intonation Rising intonation occurs when the voice goes up in pitch. For example, we use rising intonation at the end of yes/no questions. We also use rising intonation with lists, separating each item with a short rise in the voice, before a final, falling intonation for the last item in a list. For example in the sentence: I enjoy playing hockey, golf, tennis, and football.   Hockey, golf, and tennis would rise in intonation, while  football would fall.   Falling Intonation Falling intonation is used with information sentences and, in general, at the end of statements. Reductions Reductions refers to the common practice of combing a number of words into a short unit. This generally occurs with function words. A few common reduction examples are: gonna - going to and wanna - want to Contractions Contractions are used when shortening the helping verb. In this way, two words such as is not become one isnt with only one vowel.

Art and Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Art and Revolution - Essay Example Racism is obviously the key theme to the story since in Richard wright’s life, it is the central theme. In the 1900s the black community is disrespected and suffers at the hands of its white counterpart. Richard does not see any difference between whites and blacks when he is young but his view in life and particularly in relation to the subject above changes as he grows up (Wright 38). At the time of the death of his friend’s brother and his uncle Hoskins his eyes are opened to the truth. The white people being the ones behind this tragedy that engulfs him, makes him yearn for freedom from racism. Hand in hand with racism is the violence around. This is extreme in the southern states where violence is the order of the day. In as much as Richard looks for comfort from his own people when the whites are suppressing them the opposite is what he gets. He is often beaten by his relatives and family members. This experience together with encouragement from his mother forces him to fight against those who attack and suppress him thus becoming violent himself. He gets into fights in school with the hope and expectation that this will attain the respect and freedom he wants from his peers. It doesn’t stop there because at some point he threatens his aunt Addie and his uncle with razor blades. This is a show that he is desperate and hungry for freedom from violence and even if it means him turning into a violent guy, he is ready to play that card (Wright 58). He is always fighting against someone to be himself, express himself and even better himself in case there is a greater challenge the next day. Richard fights and claws his way through everything in life all in an attempt to accomplish the goals that everyone deemed pointless. The other point clearly coming out in our emphasis that there was a hunger for freedom is the issue on oppression. Oppression occurs between couples of different groups of people throughout the novel. The main being the o ppression of the white community over the black community in terms of availed opportunities, preference and outright hatred just but to the mention a few. As we scrutinize this point we should be careful to not forget that oppression is also evident within the black community itself. Be it in the family setting where it is either the father against the children, a husband against a wife or a brother against a sister. Richard is ridiculed and discriminated against for his intellectualism and desire to write by his neighbors, classmates and even his own family members. The people who should have your back at each and every point pulling you down (Wright 74). One word to describe this, very demoralizing. It is not just the white people that hold black people back but the ones oppressed try and hold back those who want and yearn for a better life. Maldoror and the Complete Works of the Comte De Lautreamont The career of Ducasse is a posthumous one since it is chronically complicated by the interpretation of Lautreamont and Malodor which is a mystery and an enigma. He is born in the month of April 1846. His father being well-to-do and he even goes on to become a chancellor but little is known about his mother (Lautreamont 19). The book is first printed in 1868 under the title les chants de Malodor but the next year, the complete Malodor is printed and bound in Belgium where the author is identified as Comte de Lautreamont. This is because of the fear of

Fire service administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Fire service administration - Essay Example They quickly alerted the teacher who was around who lined all students to vacate the building. As the teacher to make her way out of the class to access the avenue that led to the exit, the smoked was more intense and hence, she was forced to sit back in the class with the students to wait for help. The fire ignited fiercely and more time passed before the school alarm rang (McBride, 1979) At this time, a window was shattered at the staircase’s foot from the intense ignition providing the fire with oxygen. The heat also lit a roll of building paper that along with the oil based waxes triggered the oily, thick dark smoke that led to deaths from the smoke inhalation. The staircase made of wood also got ignited. Just around the same time the janitor noticed the fire and alerted the housekeepers to alert the department of fire. For 330 children and 6 teachers, the remaining outlet was jumping from the second floors or wait for the rescue team to arrive. Noticing the fix they were in, they teachers encouraged the students to sit at their lockers and pray. The intense flames, heat and smoke pushed them towards the windows. One of the teachers suggested that the students should stuff furniture at the door front that slowed the smoke till the rescue team arrived. Out of all the students, 8 got injured, and 2 died. One died out of roof collapse. The other died in the ho spital out of injuries (John K, 2008) What triggered the fire could not be established. A student of 5th grade during the time of ignition confessed to have set the place ablaze and then withdrew the confession. He feared telling this to the parents than to the authorities. He also said that he had been setting a series of fire in apartment buildings in the neighborhood. On that day, the boy had been excused to go the washrooms at 2pm. At this time is when the ignition started in the bin. Succeeding the incident, investigation established

Reading About The Freedom Writers English Language Essay

Reading About The Freedom Writers English Language Essay When someone thinks of freedom writers, they instantly think of the movie that was made in 2007. Most people dont even know that the movie was based on a true story. In the 1990s, a new schoolteacher by the name of Erin Gruwell decided that her curriculum needed to be changed. Erin wanted to inspire low-achieving students. Instead of teaching the students about subjects that they dont care about, she handed out journals and asked the students to write about their own lives and the struggles they have been through. Erin knew that all the students didnt like her and she wanted to not only be a teacher, but to be a friend to her students. Making a connection to her students was hard, but she knew that something would be able to get to them, and that was to connect her work to the lives of the students. Stories and plays such as Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and Anne Frank were presented within the classroom. The students could relate to these stories because just like in Romeo and Julie t, there were gangs. In Anne Frank, there was racism and death. After reading about The Freedom Writers, to words that stand out to me are racism, gang violence and struggles during school and at home. At the time, education was strict because that was the only way to succeed in life. A quote that was stated by one of the writers says, Ive lost many friends, friends who have died in an undeclared war. By analyzing this quote, I feel as if this writer is talking about their experience with gang violence. Because of gang violence, most, if not all, of the writers have to have their guards up. They never know when a gun rampage might begin. Most of the writers were already in a gang because they had no choice. They didnt know what was right from wrong and even their families were in gangs. If they didnt have family, they would go into a gang and make a family. Being in a gang has affected teens way of learning while in school. Their focus is not on school work. Gangs also caused more racism during school. In most of the classrooms, the students were all separated into their racial groups. These groups affected the way the students felt because if they werent a certain type of race, then they werent allowed in. This made it hard for students to ask for help in classrooms because they were in a different group. After reading through the diaries, anyone can understand why and how the writers have overcome their obstacles. To succeed in life, they had to be more open minded and not judge people without knowing them. Its crazy to read the diaries and see how difficult it was to live in a life where you could only talk to people that were in your group, or judging people who I dont even know just because they are different. When someone thinks they have an awful life now, itd good to look back on how the lives of the writers were because it helps us realize that we actually do have a great life and we should be grateful for all of the opportunities we get to take. Being able to go to school, get an education and have friends of many racial groups is an honor. One of the most interesting stories that involved the Freedom Writers was The Diary of Anne Frank. This story was introduced to the writers in the classroom to help them realize that there is someone out there who has it just as bad as they do. Anne Frank had to deal with the Holocaust which was when Germany killed pretty much all of the Jews. Anne Frank fortunately made it out alive because Miep Gies helped hide Anne Frank. Miep Gies actually got out alive as well and was able to write about her experience in the Concentration Camps. The writers were so interested in this book that they just had to meet Miep Gies. They actually raised money and worked together and in the end, they get to meet Miep Gies. Her story touched the hearts of the students and that moment changed their lives forever. Statistics say that during this time, most if not all of the students did pass high school and even move on to college. They honestly didnt think that they would be able to pass because no one believed in them, until Mrs. Gruwell came to teach their classes. I dont blame the students either. Imagine being in a poor neighborhood where all around you are gangs and every night you cant sleep because you hear gun shots. Your family never graduated from school or maybe you have no family to look up to. How in the world could anyone believe in themselves when no one around them cared enough to help them? The Freedom Writers, in my opinion, is probably one of the greatest stories in human history. It not only tells people a little bit about the Holocaust and how it affected many people, but it also lets people know that there are people out there who are suffering and we dont even realize it. I know for certain that most people dont even go in a down town area because they know that there are trashy and poor people who live there. They dont even get the chance to let those types of people explain their story and how they ended up there. Most teens dont have the ability to get a good education like most upper classmen do. After reading about and even watching the movie about the Freedom Writers, it has shown me that people need to give other people a break and not judge anyone just by looking at them. Since the Freedom Writers actually happened, most of us are accepting people of other races and more people are getting educations. In our society, we cant get anywhere without an educati on. From personal experience, The Freedom Writers is actually an inspiring story for young people like me. This story is being read in classrooms all around the world still today. The journals that were written by the students in the classroom, was actually made into a book and is inspiring people all around the world to do better for themselves and for others. After the story of the Freedom Writers leaked out, a foundation called The Freedom Writers Foundation was formed. Its a non-profit organization that was created to inspire young, underprivileged students to pick up books instead of guns and knives. One of my favorite quotes from The Freedom Writers was, When you die, do you think its going to matter if you were a gangster? If you had swag? If you dressed a certain way? Youre dead and youre going to rot. And when you rot, no one is going to remember you because all you left behind in this world was something no one cares about. This quote was stated by Erin Gruwell and this quote should be said to every student thats in school. A lot of people act or dress a certain way to become popular or to stand out, but thats not going to get them anywhere in the world. No one cares how good you look in the real world; its how good you handle situations that are thrown at you. The Freedom Writers is one of the most known stories in American history. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/free-j27.shtml http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/freedomwriters.php http://michaellmaxwell.hubpages.com/hub/Freedom-Writers-Diary-A-True-Story http://www.aish.com/j/f/48942031.html http://www.myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=e_gruwell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Writers_Foundation http://pinterest.com/pin/210613720044334735/

Aurora- Light of Mystery Essay -- Papers

Aurora- Light of Mystery Text Box: This shuttle image shows the characteristic oval shape of the aurora.i What is aurora? Auroras, or polar lights, are the luminous phenomenon of the upper atmosphere occurs in high latitudes of both hemispheres. Auroras in the northern hemisphere are called aurora borealis and those in the south hemisphere are called aurora australis. Aurora (Latin for 'dawn') is beautiful and amazing lights which are visible in the dark sky in the poles. It can appear as many different forms, but usually it is a greenish quivering glow near the horizon. In 1621 the term 'aurora' was coined by the French astronomer. More and more observations were done and a concrete description was archived soon afterwards. Many theories were developed this phenomenon. Some suggested that it was the reflection of sunlight of artic light and some believed it was the firelight at the edge of the world; however both hypotheses are rejected because it was found that aurora was found 100-400km above the earth surface which is well beyond the atmosphere. Around the 17th century it has been discovered that it is caused by the interaction between energetic plasma particles from outside atmosphere with atoms of higher atmosphere. Till now, not all the questions about aurora have been answered, but with the escalating astronautic technology, we have a much better understanding on this puzzling phenomenon. How does aurora form? At every moment the sun is giving out charged particles in solar wind. Some of these particles are captured by the earth magnetic field and the bombardment of the solar wind with the atmospheric particles... ...aurora_e/index.html The Exploration of the Earth's Magnetosphere. http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wmap.html Learning about Aurora. http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~cyclopi/lesson1.html Applied physics laboratory site. http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/1998/auroras.htm NASA website. http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Web Exhibits site. http://webexhibits.org/ Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/ Hyperphysics. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hph.html Evaluation on resource: My source information comes from books, journals and internet. The information about most topics is quite consistent except the formation of voltage drop in the aurora acceleration region. There are many theories explaining the phenomenon, but I only concentrated on the two main ones.

PSY 435 Full Course Material Essay

PSY 435 Entire Course All Assignments Weeks 1-5 http://homeworktimes.com/downloads/psy-435-entire-course-assignments-weeks-1-5/ For More Tutorial Visit: http://homeworktimes.com For any Information Email Us: Uopguides@gmail.com PSy 435 Week 1 Industrial Organizational Psychology Worksheet(1) PSy 435 Week 2 Job Analysis Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 3 Employee Selection and Training Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 4 Improving Organization Retention Paper PSy 435 Week 4 Learning Team Assignment Outline(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Leadership and Performance Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Working with Employees Portfolio(1) PSY 435 Entire Course All Assignments Weeks 1-5 http://homeworktimes.com/downloads/psy-435-entire-course-assignments-weeks-1-5/ For More Tutorial Visit: http://homeworktimes.com For any Information Email Us: Uopguides@gmail.com PSy 435 Week 1 Industrial Organizational Psychology Worksheet(1) PSy 435 Week 2 Job Analysis Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 3 Employee Selection and Training Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 4 Improving Organization Retention Paper PSy 435 Week 4 Learning Team Assignment Outline(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Leadership and Performance Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Working with Employees Portfolio(1) PSY 435 Entire Course All Assignments Weeks 1-5 http://homeworktimes.com/downloads/psy-435-entire-course-assignments-weeks-1-5/ For More Tutorial Visit: http://homeworktimes.com For any Information Email Us: Uopguides@gmail.com PSy 435 Week 1 Industrial Organizational Psychology Worksheet(1) PSy 435 Week 2 Job Analysis Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 3 Employee Selection and Training Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 4 Improving Organization Retention Paper PSy 435 Week 4 Learning Team Assignment Outline(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Leadership and Performance Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Working with Employees Portfolio(1) PSY 435 Entire Course All Assignments Weeks 1-5 http://homeworktimes.com/downloads/psy-435-entire-course-assignments-weeks-1-5/ For More Tutorial Visit: http://homeworktimes.com For any Information Email Us: Uopguides@gmail.com PSy 435 Week 1 Industrial Organizational Psychology Worksheet(1) PSy 435 Week 2 Job Analysis Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 3 Employee Selection and Training Paper(1) PSy 435 Week 4 Improving Organization Retention Paper PSy 435 Week 4 Learning Team Assignment Outline(1) PSy 435 Week 5 Leadership and Performance Paper(1)

Definition of Horticultural Society in Sociology

A horticultural society is one in which people subsist through the cultivation of plants for food consumption without the use of mechanized tools or the use of animals to pull plows. This makes horticultural societies distinct from agrarian societies, which do use these tools, and from pastoral societies, which rely on the cultivate of herd animals for subsistence. Overview of Horticultural Societies Horticultural societies developed around 7000 BCE in the Middle East and gradually spread west through Europe and Africa and east through Asia. They were the first type of society in which people grew their own food, rather than relying strictly on the hunter-gather technique. This means that they were also the first type of society in which settlements were permanent or at least semi-permanent. As a result, the accumulation of food and goods was possible, and with it, a more complex division of labor, more substantial dwellings, and a small amount of trade. There are both simple and more advanced forms of cultivation used in horticultural societies. The most simple use tools such as axes (to clear forest) and wooden sticks and metal spades for digging. More advanced forms may use foot-plows and manure, terracing and irrigation, and rest plots of land in fallow periods. In some cases, people combine horticulture with hunting or fishing, or with the keeping of a few domesticated farm animals. The number of different kinds of crops featured in gardens of horticultural societies can number as high 100  and are often a combination of both wild and domesticated plants. Because the tools of cultivation used are rudimentary and non-mechanic, this form of agriculture is not particularly productive. Because of this, the number of people composing a horticultural society is typically rather low, though can be relatively high, depending on the conditions and technology. Social and Political Structures of Horticultural Societies Horticultural societies were documented by anthropologists all over the world, using various types of tools and technologies, in many different climatic and ecological conditions. Because of these variables, there was also variety in the social and political structures of these societies in history, and in those that exist today. Horticultural societies can have a matrilineal or patrilineal social organization. In either, ties focused on kinship are common, though larger horticultural societies will have more complex forms of social organization. Throughout history, many were matrilineal because the social ties and structure were organized around the feminized work of crop cultivation. (Conversely, hunter-gatherer societies were typically patrilineal because their social ties and structure were organized around the masculinized work of hunting.) Because women are at the center of work and survival in horticultural societies, they are highly valuable to men. For this reason, polygyny—when a husband has multiple wives—is common. Meanwhile, it is common in horticultural societies that men take on political or militaristic roles. Politics in horticultural societies is often centered on the redistribution of food and resources within the community. Evolution of Horticultural Societies The kind of agriculture practiced by horticultural societies is considered a pre-industrial subsistence method. In most places around the world, as technology was developed and where animals were available for plowing, agrarian societies developed. However, this is not exclusively true. Horticultural societies exist to this day  and can be found primarily in wet, tropical climates in Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa. Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.