Carrot, cabbage
Unstressed voweis /s/ and jij
In words with two or more syllables, at least one syllable is weak (does not have stress). A2S • Listen to these words which have two syllables, and the second syllable is weak.
carrot cabbage
In weak syllables, native speakers of English very often use the weak vowel sounds Is/ and N. • Listen again to the two words above: the O in carrot is pronounced hi and the A in cabbage is pronounced hi.
» Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make the sound hi. A29 « Listen to these examples and repeat them. The weak vowels in the unstressed syllables in bold are pronounced I si.
weak A: away      banana      woman sugar weak E: garden      paper under weak O: police      doctor correct weak U: support     figure colour
"I ate an apple and a banana in a cinema in Canada."
In words like paper, sugar, colour, the final R is not pronounced in many accents, so vista /'visto/ imporw rhymes with s/sfer/'sists/, for example.
• Many speakers of English (especially non-native speakers) do not change vowels in weak syllables to hi
• Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make the sound hi. A,° • Listen to these examples and repeat them. The weak vowels in the unstressed syllables in black
are pronounced /1/.
---- ,i weak A: orange cabbage
:■-,]  weak H: d.tn.es      warned     begin women front of J§|P^^^||   weak I: music walking
tongue up-\Z*a5b., *fi weak U: lettuce minute
"Alex's lettuces tasted like cabbages."
Spelling
Notice in the examples above that nearly any vowel spelling may be pronounced as a weak vowel. /K Note: Often, whole words are pronounced as weak syllables, with a weak vowel. For example: half an hour, going to work, Jim was late. See Unit 33.
7.2
A32
7.3
A33
7.4
A34
Exercises
7.1    Listen to the poem. Circle the words which rhyme.
A31
Mr Porter loves his pasta. No one else can eat it faster. Mr Porter's sister Rita, Buys the pasta by the metre. Mr Porter's older daughter, Boils it all in tubs of water.
Listen. In each sentence or phrase there are two vowels which are not hi. Circle them. Example  an (gpple and a banana
1 from Canada to China
2 The parrot was asleep.
3 The cinema was open.
4 the photographer's assistant
5 a question and an answer
6 a woman and her husband
7 a pasta salad
Write the words in the correct part of the table, fhen listen and check.
collect    market   begin visit
orange salad
woman return teaches needed
letter sofa
asleep
peaches   quarter women
vowel in weak syllable = hi	vowel in weak syllable = /i/
woman	orange
Listen and circle the word you hear.
1
2
3
4
5
Woman or women?   What time did the woman I women arrive? Dress or address?   Where's Kate's dress I address? Manager's or manages?   The team manager's I manages well. Teacher's or teaches?   The German teacher's I teaches English. Weight's or waiter's?  The weight's I waiter's heavy.
6 Dancer's or dances?   The woman dancer's I dances fast.
7 Officer's or office's?  The officer's I office's here.
8 Away or way?  Take that away I way.
9 Driver or drive?   What a nice driver I drive'. 10 Racer's or races?   The racer's I races finished.
Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 7.4, choosing one of the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said?
mmm>
n
English Pronunciation in Use
English Pronunciation in Use
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