Transcribe the following words using the phonetic alphabet. Begin by representing the RP pronunciation, but if there are variations in your own accent, try to represent this version too.
strength
youth
justice
vocation
probability
pleasure
choice
praise
sexism
judgement
Answer/discussion
strength
/streŋθ/
youth
/juːθ/
justice
/ʤʌstɪs/
vocation
/vəʊkeɪʃən/
probability
/prɒbəbɪləti/
pleasure
/pleʒə/
choice
/ʧɔɪs/
praise
/preɪz/
sexism
/seksɪzəm/ or /seksɪzm̩/
judgement
/ʤʌʤmənt/
Question 2 (Explore)
What considerations would arise with regard to indicating pronunciation if you were preparing dictionary entries for the following words:
ice skate house bouquet scone
Answer/discussion
The first example, ice skate, raises the question of whether or not you treat this compound as two distinct words. As two words, it would be represented as /aɪs skeɪt/, while a more ‘natural’ pronunciation would be /aɪskeɪt/ with the two adjacent /s/ elements reduced to one. A pronunciation dictionary would probably give both possibilities. Bouquet and scone also have alternative pronunciations, but for a different reason, namely the vowel quality. Scone can be /skəʊn/ or /skɒn/ and any one speaker may use both variants. Bouquet can be either /bukeɪ/ or /bəʊkeɪ/. The standard pronunciation of house depends on whether it is being used as a noun /haʊs/ or a verb /haʊz/. (Mouth is another example like house, with a contrast between the noun /maʊθ/ and the verb /maʊð/.)
