Class 11 Employability skills Unit 1 Session 4 : Pronunciation Basics

Class 11 Employability skills Unit 1 Session 4 : Pronunciation Basics – Employability skills can be defined as those soft skills which employers look for in a potential employee. These skills equip the employees to carry out their role to the best of their ability and client satisfaction. For example, the ability to explain what you mean in a clear and concise way through written and spoken means, helps to build a better relationship with the client or the customer.

Here we will study about communication skills which is Session 4 : Pronunciation Basics of unit 1 according to latest syllabus as per CBSE.

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Class 11 Employability skills —Unit 1: Communication Skills

Session 4 : Pronunciation Basics

Pronunciation is the way you say a word or a language is spoken.Correct pronunciation will help you express yourself in a clear and confident manner. It will also help others to understand your words easily.

Speaking properly

A common mistake that people make is when they are not able to pronounce words. Therefore, it is important to clearly and correctly pronounce the words.

Say the following words aloud — Your , World , Chair , Wear

Also try saying these words aloud. —- Fall , Fail , Sail , Sale ,Tail , Tale

Sometimes words, which have similar spellings are pronounced differently. Sometimes words, which have different spellings may be pronounced in the same way. The best way to learn correct pronunciation of words is to listen carefully.

Phonetics

Every word is made up of one or more sounds. We put these sounds together to pronounce words. Phonetics is the study of the sounds that we make when we speak.

For example, the word dog is made of three sounds put together: d-o-g. Speak the word aloud as shown in
Hindi to help you pronounce it correctly:
ड + ौ + ग = डौग

The English alphabet has 26 letters, from A to Z. But each of these letters can be pronounced in different ways in different words. We use 26 letters to write in English. But, we use more than 26 sounds when we speak English. This is why a word’s spelling does not always match its pronunciation.

Let us take the letter ‘a’ for example. Read out the words below aloud. ‘a’ is pronounced differently in different words as shown –

Types of Sounds

All English words are made of three basic types of sounds as below –

Vowels	Diphthongs (combination sound of two vowels)	Consonants
The English alphabet has 5 vowels (a, e, i, o and u) but 12 vowel sounds. This means most vowels can be pronounced in different ways. We make a vowel sound when we read a vowel in a word.	We make a diphthong sound when we combine two vowels.Diphthongs start as one vowel sound and go to another.	A consonant sound is any sound that is neither a vowel nor a diphthong sound.
Example: We pronounce the letter ‘i’ in the word ‘bit’ by using a vowel sound.	Example: The sound ou in the word ‘house’ is a diphthong or a combination. In Hindi, it is: हाउस	Example: We useconsonant sounds to saythe letters ‘p’ and ‘t’.Pot. In Hindi is: पौट
Say the word ‘bit’ aloud and listen to how you are saying the vowel sound.	Say the word ‘house’ aloud and listen to how you are saying the diphthong.	Say the word ‘pot’ aloud and listen to how you are saying the consonant sounds.

A. Multiple choice questions
Read carefully all the options given below the question and choose the correct options.

What is phonetics?
(a) It is the study of how we write words in English.
(b) It is the study of how people understand sentences.
(c) It is the study of how many words the English language has.
(d) It is the study of the sounds we make when we speak.

Answer : (d) It is the study of the sounds we make when we speak.

2. What are the different types of sounds we use in English pronunciation?
(a) Vowel sounds
(b) Diphthong sounds
(c) Consonant sounds
(d) All of the above

Answer : (d) All of the above

Class 11 Employability skills Unit 1 Session 4 : Pronunciation Basics