/æ/ vs./ɛ/ and /n/ vs. /l/ and /ŋ/

Pronunciation LessonMs. Quiñones

VOWELS

Sounds of the dayVowels

/æ/ as in apple, bad, and math

/ɛ/ as in end, bed, and slept

Commonly Confused Sounds

/æ/ and /ɛ/ are commonly confused with each other.Ex. “bed” vs. “bad” or “pedal” vs. “paddle”

/æ/ can be confused with other vowels, like /ai/Ex. “mite” for “mat” or “find” for “fanned”

/ɛ/ is often confused with /ai/ or /I/Ex. “sighed” for “said” or “bide” for “bed”Ex. “bid” for “bed” or “wit” for “wet”

Vowels of the day: /æ/&/ɛ/ /æ/

Pronounced with the lips pulled back and teeth open, the tongue forward and low in the mouth

/ɛ/ Pronounced with the lips relaxed, but open; the

tongue is forward and at middle-low position in the mouth

Individual Practice/æ/

The mad man sat in the sand and clapped as the bad band was canned.

/ɛ/ The best bellboy at the hotel went to send the

letter to the red-headed director, who was said to be better than his dead friend.

Put it togetherEven the best bed went bad when ten tall

friends spent time adding to the heavy load it had held haphazardly.

When the bad bed fell, the ten had to take a bath to deaden the headache that threatened their fun fad of setting pads on the bad bed.

Additional Practice1. The mad men mentioned that Ted and Tad had

been bad before bed.

2. Sally sells ads in Harry’s magazine which is sent to ten addressees in Harrisburg.

3. Ben can bend metal better than Barry.

4. Malory bet Melanie that the men could pedal paddleboats faster than the women could paddle rafts.

CONSONANTS

Sounds of the dayConsonants

/n/ as in nail, dinner, and pain

/l/ as in leave, mellow, and yell

/ŋ/ as in finger, brung, and sang

Commonly Confused Sounds

/n/ is often confused with /l/ or /ŋ/ /l/ for /n/ = “lay” for “nay” or “low” for “no” /ŋ/ for /n/ = “sing” for “sin” or “fang” for “fan”

/l/ is often confused with /n/ or /ð/ /n/ for /l/ = “nern” for “learn” or “known” for “loan” /ð/ for /l/ = “they” for “lay” or “though” for “low”

/ŋ/ is often confused with /n/ or /nk/ /n/ for /ŋ/ = “run” for “rung” or “thin” for “thing” /nk/ for /ŋ/ = “sink” for “sing” or “hunk” for “hung”

Production/n/

Pronounced with the tongue pressed behind the teeth, forcing air through the nose, lips open, vocal cords vibrating.

Production/l/

Pronounced with the tip of the tongue pressed behind the teeth, lips open, the air is forced around the sides of the mouth, vocal cords vibrating.

Production/ŋ/

Pronounced with the back of the tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, forcing air through the nose, lips open, vocal cords vibrating (tip of tongue loose)

Practice/n/

Naomi needs a nifty nook to nap in. Then she can make dinner for Nancy and Sandi.

/l/Let Lee leave his yellow pail in your sailboat. He’ll

call Al to clear up all the leftovers later.

/ŋ/Norma sings as she brings the rings for the

wedding.

Put it togetherNeal never nails his songs. Norma thinks Neal’s

singing stinks because he nips ginger ale and snacks on vanilla wafers all the time. Neal is not thin.

Under the lever is a client’s number. Can Nelly bring the client’s number to Norman and Sally’s new office? Please notify Nelly not to bring the wrong thing.

Additional Practice1. Never nap on Neptune. Nero left laws outlawing

Neptunian naps.

2. Sing a song about a silly sink.

3. Melly, lean on Nelly if you need relief from hanging nets tonight.

4. Tonight, twilight will leave a little light for nightlife.

5. Ron runs up the rungs nightly, ringing bells to let them know the tank is low.