Last week, in English for Lunch, we saw how misleading English spelling can be!
While in some languages the way we write the words can be quite close to the way we pronounce them, that's often not the case in English!
Let's take the word 'Worcester' (which is a city in the English Midlands) as an example. People (even some native English speakers not familiar with the word) may try to pronounce it as it is written, but if you're buying a train ticket, make sure you ask for a single or return to 'wooster' (or /ˈwʊstə/)!
That's not been always the case, as in the past people did pronounce it more closely to the way it is spelt, but English spelling sometimes gives us an idea of how language changes over time.
That's why in English it is very important to learn how a word is spelt and how it is pronounced (and have you ever taken a look at the phonemic chart?
What about these other places in the UK, can you find out how we pronounce them?
Loughborough /ˈlʌfbrə/
Leicester /ˈlestə/
London /ˈlʌndən/
Bournemouth /bɔːnməθ/
Edinburgh /ˈedɪnbrə
Gloucester /ˈɡlɒstə/
Let us know what you think they sound like and join us next Thursday for some more pronunciation work.
While in some languages the way we write the words can be quite close to the way we pronounce them, that's often not the case in English!
Let's take the word 'Worcester' (which is a city in the English Midlands) as an example. People (even some native English speakers not familiar with the word) may try to pronounce it as it is written, but if you're buying a train ticket, make sure you ask for a single or return to 'wooster' (or /ˈwʊstə/)!
That's not been always the case, as in the past people did pronounce it more closely to the way it is spelt, but English spelling sometimes gives us an idea of how language changes over time.
That's why in English it is very important to learn how a word is spelt and how it is pronounced (and have you ever taken a look at the phonemic chart?
What about these other places in the UK, can you find out how we pronounce them?
Loughborough /ˈlʌfbrə/
Leicester /ˈlestə/
London /ˈlʌndən/
Bournemouth /bɔːnməθ/
Edinburgh /ˈedɪnbrə
Gloucester /ˈɡlɒstə/
Let us know what you think they sound like and join us next Thursday for some more pronunciation work.
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