ABSTRACT
The chapter begins with a brief discussion of possible pronunciation models for learners of British English and decides in favour of General British (GB) pronunciation rather than its older predecessor Received Pronunciation (RP). With reference to segmental phonology, the terms ‘phoneme’ and ‘allophone’ are explained. After a brief description of how speech sounds are produced, the GB consonants and vowels are each described and classified in articulatory terms. Phonemic transcriptions for the 44 GB phonemes are presented and illustrated in tabular form and a further table classifies the GB consonants in articulatory terms. The explanations in this chapter are also supported by graphic representations of the GB monophthongs and diphthongs, respectively, as well as a labelled diagram of the vocal tract and organs of speech. Some attention is given to the ways in which sounds are influenced by the linguistic environment in which they occur both within a word and across word boundaries in fluent speech, and the terms ‘elision’ and ‘assimilation’ are introduced. With reference to supra-segmental phonology, a brief description of stress, rhythm and intonation patterns in GB pronunciation is also offered.
The chapter concludes with a section devoted to practical suggestions for teachers concerning classroom pronunciation practice. This is divided into practice of sounds in single words and practice of sounds in connected speech.
