The English Phonetics Podcast

Roger and Rahim
The English Phonetics Podcast

Welcome to our home for everything about English phonetics! We are Roger and Rahim and we have a shared passion for English phonetics. Maybe you are embarrassed to talk in English or can’t understand what other people are saying. Maybe you are an English teacher looking for ideas for your lessons. Or maybe you’re just curious about the often crazy and weird way the English language works. We hope you find something to entertain, learn and discover about English phonetics and the English language. Get in touch if you have any questions, we love to chat with our community 🙂

Episodes

  1. Party /ɑː/ Ep 5

    08/28/2024

    Party /ɑː/ Ep 5

    Party /ɑː/ Ep 5 Welcome to a fresh episode of our podcast, perfect for anyone eager to master the art of English pronunciation! If you're looking for an enjoyable and effective way to sharpen your phonetics skills, you've come to the right place. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your pronunciation, this podcast is designed to help you speak with clarity and confidence. In this episode, we'll dive into the /ɑː/ sound, as heard in the word "Party." Get ready to learn how to articulate this phoneme with ease and precision! Included in this episode: Name That Sound: Ship horns and interesting facts about why and when they sound. Phenomenal Phoneme: Drama at the Party, it’s the /ɑː/ sound father - /ˈfɑː.ðə/ start - /stɑːt/ bath - /bɑːθ/ ask - /ɑːsk/ palm - /pɑːm/ spa - /spɑː/ aunt - /ɑːnt/ heart - /hɑːt/ laugh - /lɑːf/ half - /hɑːf/ Tongue Twister The dazzling, darting, dashing darter darts daringly down the dark, damp darter's dart. /ðə ˈdæzlɪŋ ˈdɑːtɪŋ ˈdæʃɪŋ ˈdɑːtə dɑːts ˈdeərɪŋli daʊn ðə dɑːk dæmp ˈdɑːtəz dɑːt/ Barking bards bawl at bards so barmy that the barmy bards bark back at the barking bards /ˈbɑːkɪŋ bɑːdz bɔːl æt bɑːdz səʊ ˈbɑːmi ðæt ðə ˈbɑːmi bɑːdz bɑːk bæk æt ðə ˈbɑːkɪŋ bɑːdz/ Word of the Week: Confused? Baffled /ˈbæfld/ Here's the breakdown: /ˈbæf/: "baff" (the first syllable) /ld/: "led" (with the "e" being almost silent, representing the "l" and "d" sounds together) Bewildered The word "bewildered" in phonetics is transcribed as: /bɪˈwɪldəd/ Here's the breakdown: /bɪ/: "be" /ˈwɪl/: "wil" /dəd/: "dered" Befuddled /bɪˈfʌdld/ Here's the breakdown: /bɪ/: "be" /ˈfʌd/: "fudd" /ld/: "led" (with the "e" being almost silent, representing the "l" and "d" sounds together) Word Goblins: homonyms An explanation and lots of examples. That’s a great question to ask! We pick a random question from 1 to 500  Questions from our listeners Enrico from Rome asks - “How can I improve my pronunciation?”  Join us on Instagram and Facebook to continue your phonetics journey! We love keeping it fun and engaging, with plenty of interesting content to help you master pronunciation. Follow us for tips, challenges, and a community of fellow enthusiasts! ⁠@myenglishphonetics ⁠

    55 min
  2. Shush /ʃ/ Ep 4

    08/01/2024

    Shush /ʃ/ Ep 4

    Shush /ʃ/ Ep 4 This is the ideal podcast for anyone interested in phonetics! Discover an easy and fun way to improve your English pronunciation. Whether you're just starting out or want to fine-tune your skills, this podcast helps you speak clearly and confidently. This episode focuses on the phoneme  /ʃ/ as in the word "shush." Included in this episode: Name That Sound: “cock-a-doodle-doo” A rooster or a cockerel and interesting facts. Phenomenal Phoneme: today's phoneme is /ʃ/ as in the word "shush." 1. Ship /ʃɪp/ 2. Shirt /ʃɜːrt/ 3. Shoe /ʃuː/ 4. Fish /fɪʃ/ 5. Wish /wɪʃ/ 6. Brush /brʌʃ/ 7. Shell /ʃɛl/ 8. Rush /rʌʃ/ 9. Dish /dɪʃ/ 10. Flash /flæʃ/ 11. Cash /kæʃ/ 12. Marsh /mɑːrʃ/ 13. Push /pʊʃ/ 14. Wash /wɑːʃ/ (or /wɔːʃ/ depending on the accent) Words of the Week: this week's words are  "effervescent."  /ɛfərˈvɛsnt/  "resilience." /rɪˈzɪljəns/. Interesting Idioms: "to hit the nail on the head." explanation and the use.  Jolly Jokes. Word Goblins: silent letters like Debt: The "b" is silent. /dɛt/ Knight: The "k" is silent. /naɪt/ Receipt: The "p" is silent. /rɪˈsiːt/ Island: The "s" is silent. /ˈaɪlənd/ Hour: The "h" is silent. /aʊər/ Psychology: The "p" is silent. /saɪˈkɑːlədʒi/ Subtle: The "b" is silent. /ˈsʌtəl/ Chaos: The "ch" is silent. /ˈkeɪɑːs/ Doubt: The "b" is silent.  /daʊt/ Autumn: The "n" is silent.  /ˈɔːtəm/ Tongue Twisters: Roger’s tongue twister with sh  /ʃ/ She sells seashells by the seashore, /ʃiː sɛlz ˈsiːʃɛlz baɪ ðə ˈsiːʃɔːr/ The shells she sells are surely seashells. /ðə ʃɛlz ʃiː sɛlz ɑːr ˈʃʊrli ˈsiːʃɛlz/ So if she sells shells on the seashore, /soʊ ɪf ʃiː sɛlz ʃɛlz ɑn ðə ˈsiːʃɔːr/ I'm sure she sells seashore shells. /aɪm ʃʊr ʃiː sɛlz ˈsiːʃɔːr ʃɛlz/ Six sharp smart sharks,  /sɪks ʃɑrp smɑrt ʃɑrks/ Six sharp smart sharks, /sɪks ʃɑrp smɑrt ʃɑrks/ Six sharp smart sharks. /sɪks ʃɑrp smɑrt ʃɑrks/ Silly sheep sleep soundly on soft sheets. /ˈsɪli ʃiːp sliːp ˈsaʊndli ɑn sɑft ʃiːts/ Silly sheep sleep soundly on soft sheets. /ˈsɪli ʃiːp sliːp ˈsaʊndli ɑn sɑft ʃiːts/ Silly sheep sleep soundly on soft sheets. /ˈsɪli ʃiːp sliːp ˈsaʊndli ɑn sɑft ʃiːts/ Shep should show Shawn some sheep-shaped sweets. /ʃɛp ʃʊd ʃoʊ ʃɔn səm ʃiːp ʃeɪpt swiːts/ Shep should show Shawn some sheep-shaped sweets. /ʃɛp ʃʊd ʃoʊ ʃɔn səm ʃiːp ʃeɪpt swiːts/ Shep should show Shawn some sheep-shaped sweets. /ʃɛp ʃʊd ʃoʊ ʃɔn səm ʃiːp ʃeɪpt swiːts/ Shelly's shop sells shiny shells by the seashore. /ˈʃɛliz ʃɑp sɛlz ˈʃaɪni ʃɛlz baɪ ðə ˈsiːʃɔːr/ Shelly's shop sells shiny shells by the seashore. /ˈʃɛliz ʃɑp sɛlz ˈʃaɪni ʃɛlz baɪ ðə ˈsiːʃɔːr/ Shelly's shop sells shiny shells by the seashore. /ˈʃɛliz ʃɑp sɛlz ˈʃaɪni ʃɛlz baɪ ðə ˈsiːʃɔːr/ Join us on Instagram and Facebook to continue your phonetics journey! We love keeping it fun and engaging, with plenty of interesting content to help you master pronunciation. Follow us for tips, challenges, and a community of fellow enthusiasts! ⁠⁠@myenglishphonetics ⁠⁠

    49 min
  3. King /ŋ/ Ep 2

    06/07/2024

    King /ŋ/ Ep 2

    Join us for a fun and exciting journey as we explore the amazing world of the English language through phonetics. In this episode, we dive into the rich, interesting, and sometimes puzzling parts of the language all around us. This episode includes: Name that sound!: A Froggy Guessing Game, Exploring Frog Sounds from around the World, and Fascinating Frog Facts and Figures. Phenomenal Phoneme: The King Sound /ŋ/Sing - /sɪŋ/ Ring - /rɪŋ/ King - /kɪŋ/ Bring - /brɪŋ/ Spring - /sprɪŋ/ Swing - /swɪŋ/ Strong - /strɔŋ/ Long - /lɔŋ/ Song - /sɔŋ/ Ping - /pɪŋ/ Wing - /wɪŋ/ Word of the Week:  Serendipity  /ˌsɛrənˈdɪpɪti/  Mellifluous  /məˈlɪflʊəs/ Interesting Idioms: Bite the bullet Bite off more than one can chew Jolly Jokes Word Goblins: Longest Word Pneumono-ultra-microscopic-silico-volcano-coniosis /ˌnjuːməˌnəʊˌʌltrəˌmaɪkrəˌskɒpɪkˌsɪlɪˌkəʊvɒlˌkeɪnəʊkəˈnaɪəsɪs/ Antidisestablishmentarianism /ˌæn.tiˌdɪs.ɪˌstæb.lɪʃ.mənˈtɛə.ri.əˌnɪ.zəm/ Tongue Twister: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? Leave a comment on your favorite part of the podcast, ask any questions, or give us a suggestion for a future podcast. Join us on Instagram and Facebook to continue your phonetics journey! We love keeping it fun and engaging, with plenty of interesting content to help you master pronunciation. Follow us for tips, challenges, and a community of fellow enthusiasts! ⁠myenglishphonetics ⁠

    44 min

About

Welcome to our home for everything about English phonetics! We are Roger and Rahim and we have a shared passion for English phonetics. Maybe you are embarrassed to talk in English or can’t understand what other people are saying. Maybe you are an English teacher looking for ideas for your lessons. Or maybe you’re just curious about the often crazy and weird way the English language works. We hope you find something to entertain, learn and discover about English phonetics and the English language. Get in touch if you have any questions, we love to chat with our community 🙂

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