Speech tip: Mastering the unexpected

People who grow up speaking English learn how to pronounce words mostly from hearing them.  However, if you learned English as a second language, you may have  learned many new words by reading them, sometimes never having heard how they are pronounced.  If you try to guess the correct pronunciation, you may or may not say the word correctly.  

Here is an example.  Click on the to hear how to pronounce the words on the left.  Then, click on the for the correct pronunciation of the words on the right. 

Stove, drove, cove, clove, grove

love, above, dove, move

Were you surprised how some of these words are pronounced?

Any literate native speaker of English would easily know how to read the words on the left or the right with the correct pronunciations.  All the words share a combination of letters, but the words on the right sound different from the ones on the left.  For someone who learned English as a second language, it is much easier to guess the correct pronunciation of the words on the left.  They are pronounced just as you might expect from the spelling of typical words in English. They all are  pronounced with the same vowel, and they rhyme.   The words on the right, however,  are not pronounced as you might expect from the spelling.  If you were unfamiliar with the correct pronunciation of these words, you might guess the wrong pronunciation of these words.     

Here are more examples. 

Maid, paid

plaid, said

Based on how they are written, the words on the left have predictable pronunciations. Those on the right are exceptions. Click next to each group to hear the correct pronunciations.

In some languages, if you see how a word is written, you know exactly how it is pronounced. These languages (like Spanish) are said to have writing systems that are transparent.

This is not the case with English. English writing is less transparent than Spanish and many other languages. (In other words, its writing system is more opaque.) English writing has many silent letters that are not pronounced (the gh in right, the e in fade). Nevertheless, a proficient speaker and reader of English learns to recognize patterns. We learn that certain combinations of letters will nearly always be pronounced the same way. As with the word right, we know that the gh is not pronounced in light, sight, although,and bought. Similarly, we know that, just as with the word fade, the e is not pronounced in late, tame, chase,and plate.

The problem with English is that there are many irregular spellings. The patterns do not apply 100% of the time. The danger is in the many exceptions!

Here are more examples:

Games, names		Thames River
Although		rough, tough, trough
Pays, days, trays		says
Bought, brought, thought		drought

If you have learned English as a second language, you are almost certain to make some pronunciation mistakes based on how words are written. How can you avoid making pronunciation mistakes based on how a word is written? Here are 4 suggestions:

1. Use dictionary software to check the pronunciation of new words you learn in English. With a number of programs, you can click on the word and hear the correct pronunciation.
2. Check the pronunciation of words you use frequently in your profession or your daily life. You certainly want to avoid making frequent errors with these words!
3. Listen with a careful ear to how words are pronounced by proficient English speakers.
4. If you sometimes mispronounce words because of the way they are written, most of your errors will be with the vowel sounds. Learn to recognize each of the distinct vowel sounds of English. It may help to think of a key word to help you remember each of these vowel sounds.