English pronunciation
Hi there !
I'm new here, and I have a topic that I'd want to discuss.
I read a lot, and the difficulty for me is to pronunce correctly in my head the words I read, so I don't take wrong habits.
It seems to me there's a rule ( with exceptions, of course, as all the rules ;) ) for "a" and "i". Here is what I think :
1. When "a" and "i" are followed by 1 consonant only, then at least 1 vowel, they are pronunced as diphtongs ( "ei" and "ai" )
(ex: take, like...) ( first exception I see, "live", to differentiate adjective ( "laiv" ) and verb ( "liv" ))
2. When "a" and "i" are followed by 2 consonants, or 1 consonant that is the end of the word, they are pronunced as "a" and "i", one sound only. (ex: tack, lick...)
Do you agree with me ?
Is this really a rule ?
It would be great...
Thanks in advance for your posts !
I'm new here, and I have a topic that I'd want to discuss.
I read a lot, and the difficulty for me is to pronunce correctly in my head the words I read, so I don't take wrong habits.
It seems to me there's a rule ( with exceptions, of course, as all the rules ;) ) for "a" and "i". Here is what I think :
1. When "a" and "i" are followed by 1 consonant only, then at least 1 vowel, they are pronunced as diphtongs ( "ei" and "ai" )
(ex: take, like...) ( first exception I see, "live", to differentiate adjective ( "laiv" ) and verb ( "liv" ))
2. When "a" and "i" are followed by 2 consonants, or 1 consonant that is the end of the word, they are pronunced as "a" and "i", one sound only. (ex: tack, lick...)
Do you agree with me ?
Is this really a rule ?
It would be great...
Thanks in advance for your posts !
Posts: 613
23 May 2011