Competent speech: how to pronounce English words correctly. From the editors: how to correctly pronounce the names of brands and gadgets

Transcription and reading rules in English are two closely related concepts. Reading rules explain how letters and letter combinations are pronounced in different cases, and with the help of transcription we record and read speech sounds.

Reading rules can confuse a beginner. There are many of them, they are confusing, and there are more exceptions than the rules themselves. In fact, these rules are only so scary if you understand them deeply and try to learn them by heart, along with the exceptions. In reality, everything is much simpler: reading rules do not need to be remembered by heart.

While studying English, you will constantly be doing something, and soon you will learn to correlate letters and sounds without thinking, automatically. There is no need to worry about exceptions either. Usually the pronunciation, spelling and meaning of a word are remembered as one whole - you just know that such and such a word is pronounced this way.

Feature of English phonetics: we write “Manchester” - we read “Liverpool”

The phonetics of the English language has a noticeable feature: words are often read differently from how they are written, that is, from the spelling of a word it is not always possible to guess how it is pronounced. As linguists joke: “We write “Manchester”, but read “Liverpool.”

In the history of many languages, the following pattern can be traced: the phonetic structure becomes more complex, but the letters and spelling remain the same or change with great delay. English is no exception. At the dawn of its development, words were read and pronounced more or less similar, but over time this discrepancy became greater and greater, the situation was aggravated by the diversity of dialects, and now we are in words though, thought And through read a combination of letters - ough completely different, although the words themselves differ by one letter.

Nobody is in a hurry to reform English spelling; there are many reasons for this. For example, the English language has long no longer had a single “control center”. Reforms initiated in London may be coolly received in Sydney and rejected in Washington. And in general, spelling reform is always a painful process that meets resistance among a significant part of native speakers. It's much easier to leave it as is.

What is transcription and why is it needed?

Transcription in English is the recording of speech sounds using special characters. She should not be afraid or avoided, because she is a very good assistant in learning the language, which will be great for saving time and helping to avoid mistakes. One glance at the transcription of an English word is enough for you to understand how it is read correctly.

When you memorize or write down a new word that comes across in the text, you definitely need to look at its transcription and/or listen to the pronunciation (for example, in), otherwise you may remember it incorrectly, and then they will not understand you.

Is it possible to write English words in Russian letters?

Sometimes on websites or even in books you can see “English transcription in Russian” or “pronunciation of English words in Russian letters” - that is, writing English words in Russian letters. Like, why learn sophisticated icons if Can convey sounds in Russian letters? Then what it is forbidden. The phonetics of the Russian language differs from the English phonetics so much that the sound can only be conveyed very, very approximately. We simply do not have some sounds of English speech, as well as vice versa.

Transcription and pronunciation of all sounds of the English language separately (video)

With this interesting video table, you can listen to the sound of all sounds separately and see how they are recorded using transcription. Click on play and wait for the video to load completely, then click on the sound you want.

Please note that in the transcription, in addition to the symbols themselves denoting sounds, the following are used:

• Square brackets– traditionally, transcription is always written in [square brackets]. For example: [z].
• Vowel length icon– in English, vowels can be long or short, longitude is indicated by a colon after the vowel. For example: .
• Accent icon– if a word with more than one syllable is transcribed, the stress must be indicated with an apostrophe (comma at the top). It is placed before the stressed syllable. For example: – decision.

In total, there are 44 sounds in the English language, which, like in Russian, are divided into consonants and vowels. Among them there are sounds similar to Russian, for example: [b] - [b], [n] - [n], and sounds that have no analogues in the Russian language: [ ð ], [θ ].

In English phonetics there are no such concepts as softness/hardness of consonants, but there is longitude of vowels (not characteristic of the Russian language) - vowels can be short [a] and long. It should also be noted that vowel sounds in English can be:

• single (monophthongs): [ i: ], [ e ],
• consisting of two sounds (diphtogni): [ ai ], [ ɔi ],
• consisting of three sounds (triphthongs): [ aiə ].

Diphthongs and triphthongs are read and perceived as solid sounds.

Table of English sounds with examples and cards

Having studied how English sounds are pronounced individually, be sure to listen to how they are read whole words. It is often easier for students to understand and hear the pronunciation of English sounds when they are heard as part of a word, rather than separately.

In the tables below, all sounds are given with example words. Using electronic cards you can listen to the pronunciation.

How to learn to pronounce English sounds?

There are two approaches:

1. Theoretical– textbooks usually have a detailed description of how to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth to form a certain sound. With an illustration showing a cross-section of a human head. The method is scientifically correct, but it is difficult to use on your own: not everyone will understand what it means to “slide the upper teeth along the lower lip” and will be able to perform this action.
2. Practical– listen, watch and repeat. I think it's much easier this way. You simply repeat after the announcer, trying to imitate the sound as accurately as possible. Pay attention to articulation, try to repeat all movements of the lips and tongue. Ideally, of course, someone should supervise, but you can simply record yourself on a webcam and watch from the outside.

If you want to repeat after the speaker, imitating his speech, I recommend using the materials on Puzzle English, namely the “Video Puzzles” exercises, which are aimed at developing listening comprehension. In video puzzles, you can slow down your speech and, as in Lingvaleo, watch the translation of words by clicking on them directly in the subtitles.

In video puzzles, you first need to watch a video and then assemble sentences from words.

Detailed review of this service:

In addition, many kind people have made many videos for practical training that are available on YouTube. For example, these two videos examine in detail the sounds of English speech in the American and British versions:

British pronunciation

American pronunciation

When you start learning English, you shouldn’t strive to achieve “perfect” pronunciation. Firstly, there are a lot of varieties of pronunciation (the “generalized” British and American versions are presented above), and secondly, even native speakers who speak professionally (for example, actors) often take lessons from special trainers in order to master the features of or another version of pronunciation - practicing speech is not an easy task.

Just try to speak in a way that 1) is understandable and 2) doesn’t hurt your ears too much.

Reading rules in English: table and cards

Reading rules in English are, rather, not even rules, but generalized recommendations that are not particularly accurate. Not only can, say, the letter “o” in different combinations and syllable types be read in nine different ways, but there are also exceptions. For example, in the words food, too it is read as , and in the words good, look – as [u]. There is no pattern here, you just need to remember this.

If you look in different books, it turns out that the rules of reading, and indeed phonetics in general, can be told differently by different authors with varying degrees of immersion in detail. I think that there is no point in delving into the jungle of phonetic science (you can dive into it ad infinitum), and the easiest way is to take as a basis the most simplified version of the reading rules, that is reading rules in English for children.

For this article, I took as a basis the rules given in the textbook “English. Grades 1 – 4 in diagrams and tables” N. Vakulenko. Believe me, this is more than enough for both children and adults!

What is an open and closed syllable?

In English, there are open and closed syllables; it also matters whether it ends with the letter “r” and whether it is stressed.

A syllable is called open if:

• the syllable ends with a vowel and is the last in the word,
• a vowel is followed by another vowel,
• a vowel is followed by a consonant, and followed by one or more vowels.

A syllable is closed if:

• it is the last in the word, and ends with a consonant,
• A vowel is followed by two or more consonants.

In these cards and the table below you can see how different letters are pronounced in different combinations and syllable types.

The most important reading rules

The table above looks very busy, even intimidating. From it we can highlight several of the most important rules, which have almost no exceptions.

Basic rules for reading consonants

• The combination ph is read as [f]: photo, Morpheus.
• The combination th is read as [ð] or [θ]: think there. These sounds do not exist in the Russian language; their pronunciation requires some practice. Do not confuse them with the sounds [s], [z].
• The combination ng at the end of a word is read as [ŋ] - this is a nasal (that is, pronounced as if in the nose) version of the sound [n]. A common mistake is to read it as . There is no “g” in this sound. Examples: strong, King Kong, wrong.
• The combination sh is read as [ʃ]: ship, show, shop.
• The letter “c” before i, e, y is read as [s]: celebrity, cent, pencil.
• The letter “g” before i, e, y is read as: age, magic, gym.
• The combination ch is read as: match, catch.

Basic rules for reading vowels

• In an open stressed syllable, vowels are usually read as in: no, go, name, face, pupil, he, five. These can be monophthongs and diphthongs.
• In a closed syllable, vowels are read as short monophthongs: nut, got, ten.

How to remember reading rules?

Most people who are fluent in English as a foreign language will not be able to immediately name even a few basic reading rules. Rules readings do not need to be memorized, you need to be able to use them. But is it possible to use what you don’t know? As much as possible! Thanks to frequent practice, knowledge turns into skills and actions begin to be performed automatically, unconsciously.

In order for the reading rules to quickly reach the automatic stage, I recommend:

• Study the rules themselves - read, comprehend, speak examples out loud.
• Practicing reading aloud will help develop pronunciation skills, and at the same time, the rules of reading will be reinforced. Take the text with audio, video with subtitles so that you have something to compare it with.
• Do small written works - writing practice is useful for developing vocabulary, consolidating knowledge of grammar and, of course, improving spelling.

To prevent trips to fashion boutiques and beauty corners from turning into an illiteracy test, we have compiled a list of how to pronounce brand names that most often cause difficulties with correct pronunciation.

How to correctly pronounce fashion brand names

Buying clothes and shoes from famous brands seriously complicates our lives. Now we not only cannot live without our favorite Christian Louboutin pumps, but we also don’t know how to correctly pronounce the name of the brand. You shouldn’t try to translate the brand name into Russian on your own; at best, they simply won’t understand you, and at worst, you’ll look funny.

Azzedine Alaïa– French designer with Tunisian roots. Usually, difficulties in pronunciation are caused by his surname with a letter of the Latin alphabet. Azzedine Alaïa- everything is simple and easy.

Balenciaga- correct answer " Balenciaga" Everything is very simple!

Balmain– according to English rules it sounds “Balmain”, but the brand is named after the name of the creator, French designer Pierre Balmain, which means it’s correct to say Balman.

Chloé – Kloe- just like that, with an emphasis on “e”. Don't tell me you were thinking "Chloe."

Christian Lacroix– the brand name sounds right Christian Lacroix with emphasis on the last syllable. Moreover, the sound “r” is practically not pronounced, as if you were burring.

Christian Louboutin– the name of the French shoe designer, recognizable by its signature red sole, sounds like Christian Louboutan. But even professionals make mistakes when they say: “Louboutin”, “Louboutin”, “Lobutan”.

Givenchy- French fashion house created by designer Hubert Givenchy, accordingly it should be said Givenchy.

Guy Laroche– the name of the French designer is spelled correctly Guy Laroche. But many sometimes call him “Guy”.

Hermes– the brand name is often pronounced to Erme. It seems that according to the rules this is correct (the sound “s” in French transcription should be absent), but in this case it is correct to say Ermes. The same applies to the brand Rochas– sounds right Rocha.

Hervé Leger is a French brand that became famous thanks to the invention of the bandage dress. Previously Hervé Peugnet, but Karl Lagerfeld advised the designer to change the unpronounceable surname to Léger. Pronounced Herve Leger.

Lanvin– I immediately want to say Lanvin, but it’s correct Lanvan.

Louis Vuitton– correct version of the pronunciation of the brand name Louis Vuitton, not Louis Vuitton or Louis Vuitton.

Maison Martin Margiela– for a beginner, even with good knowledge of the French language, it is difficult to correctly pronounce the name of the famous French brand. And it actually sounds quite simple - Mason Martin Margiela.

Rochas – Rocha with emphasis on the last syllable.

Sonia Rykiel – Sonia Rykiel– this is the name of the queen of knitwear and the founder of the fashion house of the same name, Sonia Rykiel.

Yves Saint Laurent is a French fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent, which is why we say nothing less than Yves Saint Laurent.

Zuhair Murad- sounds literally in Russian Zuhair Murad.

Anna Sui– very often the name of a famous designer can be heard as Anna Sue, but it sounds correct Enna Sui.

Badgley Mischka– you might think that this is the name of one person. In fact, the name consists of the surnames of two designers who founded the brand - Mark Badgley and James Mischka, and sounds nothing more than Badgley Bear.

Burberry Prorsum- an English company, recognizable by its trademark - “cage”. Pronounced Burberry Prorsum, but not “Burberry” or “Barbury”.

Carolina Herrera- Venezuelan-American designer. Usually difficulties arise with pronunciation of the surname. You need to speak in Spanish, that is Carolina Herrera.

Gareth Pubh– in Russian the name of the English designer sounds like Gareth Pugh.

Coach– many people love bags from the famous Coach brand, but not everyone knows how to correctly pronounce the brand name. Coach– this is the name of the brand known in Russian for its fashion accessories.

Levi's– the creator of the famous jeans was named Levi and according to all the rules you need to say Levis, not Levi's. Although both options have long been in common use. By the way, in the states everyone says “Levis”. You can argue on this topic endlessly.

Manolo Blahnik is an English brand specializing in the production of women's shoes. In Russian, the correct brand name sounds like Manolo Blahnik.

Marc Jacobs– the designer and founder of the fashion brand of the same name is Marc Jacobs. Although some people manage to pronounce Marc Jacobs – it sounds funny.

Marchesa– an English brand, but its name is pronounced according to the rules of the Italian language – Marchesa.

Mary Katrantzou– despite the fact that the designer was born in Greece, the brand is English. That's why we pronounce it in the British manner - Mary Katrantzou.

Monique Lhuillier– the name of the famous luxury wedding dress designer is correctly pronounced as Monique Lhuillier.

Naeem Khan– the name of the American designer of Indian origin sounds Naeem Kan, but definitely not “Khan”.

Prabal Gurung– as it is written, so it is read – Prabal Gurung.

Proenza Schouler– no “Sharpie”, it’s correct to say Proenza Schooler. This is how the American brand is correctly pronounced.

Ralph Lauren– despite the fact that the designer’s surname is French and many people mistakenly pronounce “Laurent”, the brand is American. And it's right to say Ralph Lauren with emphasis on "o".

Rodarte – Rodarte.

Roksanda Ilincic– but the brand name Roksanda Ilincic, despite the fact that it is English, is pronounced according to the rules of Serbian transcription, since the designer was born in Belgrade. And it sounds like Roksanda Ilincic.

Vera Wang– the surname Wang can be pronounced as Wang and Wong, but the first option is still preferable. And the designer herself introduces herself as Vera Wang. The same applies to the brand Alexander Wang.

As a bonus, we present another name of a popular brand, which does not get along in the minds of Russian fashionistas.

Nike– everyone knows the brand like Nike. In fact, it is correct to say Nike. But the first option has taken root in Russia so much that even the official representative office of the company in our country sounds differently than Nike.

Bvlgari– the brand name is based on the Latin alphabet, where “V” is equivalent to “U”. There is one more “but” - emphasis, so we say: “ BulgAri”, and not like many “Bulgari”.

DSquared2– an Italian brand founded by Canadian brothers, should be pronounced Discuert, but not Disquared.

Ermenegildo Zegna– a real brain explosion. It’s quite difficult to pronounce the first time, but after practice, Ermenegildo Zegna pronounced as easily as the well-known brands “Chanel” and “Christian Dior”.

Fausto Puglisi is another Italian brand whose pronunciation can often be difficult. To speak correctly Fast Puisy.

Miu Miu– an Italian brand, which is pronounced according to the rules of Italian transcription – Mew Mew.

Moschino– this Italian brand is read according to the same rules. Pronounced Moschino, and not Moschino, as it sounds in English.

Giambattista Valli– nothing complicated – Giambattista Valli.

Other designer brands and brands

Ann Demeulemeester– the Belgian designer would be correctly called Ann Demeulemeester and nothing else.

Dries Van Noten– it’s hard to make a mistake in the name of this brand. As you may have guessed, it sounds right Dries Van Noten.

Elie Saab- Lebanese designer whose name sounds Elie Saab, but not El Saab.

Issey Miyake– finally, a Japanese designer has made it onto our list of “hard to pronounce brand names.” The name of the Japanese fashion legend is correct to say Issey Miyake. Name of the second famous designer Yohji Yamamoto sounds from the land of the rising sun Yohji Yamamoto.

Loewe– when pronunciated, it should sound something between Lowewe And Loewe.

Peter Pilotto– the name of the international brand is pronounced correctly Peter Pilato, and not “Piloto”, as it seems at first glance.

Philipp Plein– German designer, that’s why the name is pronounced Philipp Plein, not "Plein". The same case as with Calvin Klein- because we are talking Calvin Klein.

To find out, the British magazine i-D decided to conduct a fashionable lesson on illiteracy by releasing an educational video. In a four-minute lesson, along with a demonstration of the collections, models voice the names of brands, from Azzedine Alaïa to Zegna.

How to correctly pronounce beauty brand names

It's the same story with the pronunciation of the names of cosmetic brands. For example, everyone knows the brand l"occitane, many of us even use it. But they call it whatever they call it: Lokitan, Lossitane, and Lochitan. There is even a joke that the brand name has about 40 pronunciation options, but only one is correct - Locsitane.

Kiehl's- an American brand founded by John Keel, which is why it is pronounced the same way as his last name is read - Keels.

Sephora– most of us pronounce the name correctly, the only thing is that the emphasis should be on the last syllable, on “a”, that is Sephora.

Babor– the name of the German brand also confuses many. Reads correctly BAbor with emphasis on "a".

La Roche-Posay– the name of the cosmetics brand is read according to the rules of French transcription – La Roche Posay.

Pierre Fabre– another representative of pharmaceutical high-quality French cosmetics. Reading - Pierre Fabre.

Payot– we bet you didn’t even suspect that the brand has Ukrainian roots – its founder was born in Odessa. Only at the time of the creation of the brand she was already Mademoiselle Payot, which is why the name of the brand is read in the French manner - Payo, without pronouncing the letter "t".

Sothys – Satis.

La Biosthetique – La Biosthetic.

Methode Jeanne Piaubert– it seems that French cosmetics are trying to win the love of Russian beauties. Another popular beauty brand founded in France is Method Jean Pubert.

Guerlain – Guerlain, and nothing else.

Estée Lauder – Estee Lauder– this is how the name of the founder and the name of the brand itself are pronounced.

La Prairie– one of the best beauty brands producing luxury cosmetics reads like La Prairie.

Erborian is another cosmetic brand that combines traditional Korean medicine methods and modern European technologies. The Korean-French brand Erboria sounds Russian Erborian.

Oribe – Orbe Canales– a famous stylist and creator of the eponymous brand of professional hair products. By the way, this is one of any Jennifer Lopez stylists.

Essie– it is correct to name a brand of nail polishes popular throughout the world Essie.

Lalique– the name of the creator of unique fragrances is Rene Lalique, so we pronounce the name of the brand only as Lalique.

NYX– the name of the American brand, consisting of three letters, is pronounced briefly and clearly – Knicks.

If you carefully read everything to the end, you will no longer make stupid mistakes in pronouncing the names of famous brands. Speak clearly and confidently, as if you always knew that the correct word to say was SephorA, not SifOra or Sephora.

English is the central language in international communication. Learning English is not an easy task. At least because the words in it are pronounced not at all as they are written. Therefore, in this article we will talk about how to read english words correctly.

The spelling system of any language is built on three principles:

1. Phonetic - what is written completely matches the sound.
2. Morphological - what is written coincides only partially with its sound composition.
3. Historical - what is written does not match the sound; its pronunciation is characterized by historical traditions.

English, like any other language, has undergone changes, developed, and evolved over a fairly long period of existence. Which entailed a lot of rules, subtleties, patterns in the study of language, including in the pronunciation of words.

Most people had an English subject at school. As we know from the school curriculum, the English alphabet contains 26 letters, but it contains almost twice as many sounds necessary to pronounce words. It contains 48 sounds. The process of converting letter combinations into sounds takes a huge amount of time. Of course, there are basic rules for reading. But it just so happens that in English there are more exceptions than rules.

In order to master the difference between pronunciation and spelling, phonetic transcription comes to the rescue. This is a set of special characters that represent actually pronounced sounds. According to the rules, it is written in square brackets. For ease of reading, correct pronunciation and convenience of learning English, knowing transcription is not only useful, but also important. The designations of vowels and consonants of English transcription are presented in the figure.

English transcription signs

Let's look at a few examples of letter combinations. In international transcription, the sounds ch/sh (sh/ch) are designated as follows and [ʃi:]. For example, the word bench is read bench, and shirt is read as shoot [ʃərt]. The combination of letters ck after short consonants sounds like K [k] (clock - hours read kok). The combination of two EEs is pronounced like I [i] (street - street in Russian sounds striiit). A pair of letters OO forms the sound U [u] (book - a book will be a beech).

The pronunciation of the letter W in various variations is interesting. W in a duet with H at the beginning and before vowels sounds simply W [w], i.e. H [h] is lost (white - white is pronounced white). The same W paired with H in front of the letter “O”, on the contrary, will lose the sound [w] and only [h] will remain (whole - whole, like a hole). And the letter combination Wr at the beginning before vowels sounds [r] (wrinkle - wrinkle, like rinkle).

A list of various combinations of English letters with correct pronunciation and transcription is located below on the page.

Pronunciation of letter combinations in English

In addition, if you have a great desire to learn English perfectly, you can study it on the way to/from work, during your lunch break, etc. There are a lot of different applications for different levels of language proficiency, with a variety of trainings, interactive exercises, game-based learning style, etc. See below for a selection of mobile applications for learning English! We wish everyone success!

English language: learning words

Polyglot - English language

Learn English with Lingualeo

When you study a foreign language, you learn not only a set of vocabulary and grammar, you in any case come across the culture and mentality of the people who speak this language. The best means of learning language and culture is reading in original. And to read in a foreign language, you must first learn to read this language .

You don"t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. You can just make people stop reading them.

But, if at school or university you studied German or French, or your school base turned out to be smaller than you would like, and now you have decided to learn English, then let's start with the most primary and basic and find out several methods of where to start in order to master reading rules.

English alphabet

I think you know that English is different from Russian and German, in which we mainly write and read. In English the system is a little more complicated. The very first thing we need to do is learn the alphabet.

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, including 21 consonants and 5 vowels. Knowledge of letters and the ability to pronounce them correctly is the key to successful and competent reading in English.

English alphabet with transcription of letter names.

A very easy way to memorize letters visually and aurally is with the help of a song. Watch the video and sing the song until you remember the letters of the alphabet.

You can use the same method to teach the alphabet to your children and sing the song with your kids.

Reading rules in English

After studying the alphabet, we will begin to study the combination of letters and read short words. There are a number of rules in the English language that you need to learn, practice and remember if you want to read English words correctly.

Rules for reading English consonants

Many consonants are read similarly to Russian consonants, for example the letters m, n, l, b, f, z. You can see this in words like mom, lemon, finger, boy, zebra .

Letters like t And d sound similar, but pronounced with aspirated. For example words table, teacher, dad, dirty.

Letter c has two reading options. Before letters i,e,y it reads like [s]- city, face, cyber. And before other vowels it is read as [k]- cat, cake, factory.

Rule with vowels i,e,y also works with letters g. In front of them it reads like - gym, George, giant. Before other consonants the letter is read as [g].

Letter q always occurs in a combination of letters qu and reads like - quick, queen, square.

Letter j always reads like - jacket, jam, joy.

Table of the relationship between consonants and sounds in English.

How to read vowels in English

In English, a word can end in an open or closed syllable, which affects pronunciation. For example words cat, pot, sit end in a closed syllable and have vowels a, o, i give sounds .

Words such as name, home, five end with an open syllable, since there is a letter at the end of the word e, which is not readable. But, thanks to her, the vowels in the middle of the word are read exactly the same way as they are pronounced in the alphabet, that is, the word name read .

Types of reading English vowels in stressed syllables.

Reading vowel combinations in English

There are certain combinations of letters that have established reading rules, although English is a language of exceptions, and when reading more complex words you should consult a dictionary. The table below shows combinations of English vowels with examples how they are read and what sound they make.

Table of vowel combinations in English.

And of course, there are exceptions to all rules. However, don't worry and think that you will never be able to learn it. Everything can be understood, you just need to try and practice a little.

Diphthongs of the English language with transcription

When you study the basic rules of reading, you will see that in English there are diphthong sounds that are quite difficult to reproduce, especially if you begin to study the language not in childhood, but in adulthood.

Table of English diphthongs with transcription.

Transcription of sounds in English

Practice shows that when children learn a language, they must definitely study transcription, but adults do not want to learn it and it can be difficult for them.

If you still want to learn how to write and read transcriptions, then great! And if not, then you can use online dictionaries, where the word will be pronounced for you. One of the best dictionaries today is Multitran and the online dictionary Lingvo.

Important!

Remember that you need to use dictionaries, not translators!

Here is an example of reading short words with transcription:

Table of vowel sounds in English and transcription.

Living in the Internet age has some advantages. While sitting at home, you can master various knowledge online. For your attention video lesson, which explains the basic principles of reading. However, even after gaining knowledge through an online lesson, it needs to be consolidated in order for a skill to be formed.

Learn English tongue twisters

Tongue twisters, which are often aimed at practicing one sound, can help you here. Here are some examples you can use.

Don't worry about tongue twisters! At this stage, when you are just learning to read and practicing sounds, it is important to pronounce them correctly, albeit slowly. You can always speed up.

Learn to hear English speech

After learning the basic, basic rules of reading, you can use the method of repeating after the speaker. Your auditory memory will also work and you will hear how words are pronounced correctly and what intonation is in sentences.

For this, you can use short dialogues and audio books for beginners. At this level, it would be ideal if the text is in front of your eyes, you listen, read and repeat at the same time!

You can use such a great resource as Oxford bookworm Library, which features audiobooks for all levels. You can download the library for free

For those who continue to learn English, we recommend learning the language from films, which you can read about in the article

Work on your pronunciation

Learning to read is only the first step towards learning a language. Just like learning grammar and vocabulary, learning to pronounce and hear correctly is very important if you want to understand what is being said to you and say it so that you are understood. Especially if you speak with a native speaker.

As we said a little above, one of the best ways is listen carefully to native speakers and try to copy their pronunciation and intonation .

Particular attention should be paid to sounds that do not exist in your native language. Often, people learning English have a problem with the ‘r’ sound, since in Russian it is hard, but in English it is more guttural and growling.

There are also difficulties in pronouncing the two sounds that combination of letters 'th'. Students persistently pronounce it as ‘c’ and ‘z’. Although it is worth noting that in words such as this, that, there this sound is spoken as between ‘z’ and ‘d’. And in words like three, think, thief, it is pronounced as a sound between ‘f’ and ‘s’.

This may seem strange to you, since there are no such sounds in the Russian language, but if you listen to native speakers, you will understand that this is how they speak.

Don't worry if you can't say these words correctly the first time, it just takes a little practice. But, try to learn correctly from the very beginning, because it will be more difficult when you are forced to relearn.

Learn to pronounce phrases in English correctly

In English, words in sentences are not pronounced separately; they often merge as if into one whole, especially if it is a combination of a vowel and a consonant. Watch and practice with these transcription examples.

The same applies to phrases where one word ends with the letter ‘r’, and the next word begins with a vowel. In such cases, the sound 'r' is pronounced. Here are some examples.

Are you sure you pronounce brand names correctly, such as popular cars, sneakers or clothing? To check yourself and correct existing errors, you should look at our selection.

Statistics show that more than half of people pronounce the names of popular brands completely incorrectly. In order not to be one of them and not to look like an illiterate person during your next trip to fashion boutiques, you need to learn how to correctly pronounce at least the most popular brands. We will be happy to help you with this.

1. Hermes

The well-known brand of bags and scarves, which are very loved by women around the world, does not sound correctly “Hermes” and certainly not “Hermes”. There are people who pronounce it as “Ermes” and from the point of view of French grammar, this is correct, but there is one detail - the name was chosen not because of the god of trade, but in honor of the founder - Thierry Hermes, so it is correct to call it “Ermes” "

2. Levi's

In many countries around the world, the name of this famous denim brand is used in two versions: “Lewis” and “Levi’s”. The second version is more common in English-speaking countries, since their name Levi (the creator of the first jeans was named Levi) is read as “Levi.” However, many do not know that at birth the founder of the brand received the name Loeb, but after moving to the USA it was changed to Levi. To summarize, we come to the conclusion that, according to English grammar and the word source, the correct option is still “Lewis”.

3. Dsquared

There are many versions of the pronunciation of the popular brand, since it is very difficult for Russian-speaking people to pronounce it. The most common but incorrect versions are “Disquire” and “Diskverd”. There is only one correct name, which is worth remembering - “Disquaed”.

4. Philipp Plein

The most common pronunciation of this brand is "Philipp Plein", but this English version is incorrect. Since the designer was born in Germany, his name should be pronounced in the German manner - “Plein”. Here it would be appropriate to mention the famous lingerie brand - Calvin Klein, which is read as “Calvin Klein”.

5. Moët & Chandon

Problems with correct pronunciation also affected the world-famous champagne brand. Many are sure that when translating it is necessary to remove the letter “t” in the first word, but this is not so, since the second “n” in the second word is excluded. The ampersand (& sign) is read in the French manner, like “e”. The result is “Moet e Shando”.

6.Lamborghini

One of the most famous manufacturers of luxury sports cars is based in Italy, and it produces not "Lamborghini" but "Lamborghini". It is worth noting that in Russia it is the first incorrect option that is widespread, so even Google’s automatic search system produces it.

7. Christian Louboutin

The shoe brand that many girls dream of is often incorrectly named. A huge number of people, and even those who are interested in fashion, make mistakes in the pronunciation of the surname, for example, “Louboutin” or “Lobutan”. Moreover, the designer’s real name translates as “Christian Louboutin.”