LESSON SEVEN: VOICED & VOICELESS CONSONANT PAIRS

Dr.David Alan Stern

AUDIO

[LANGUAGE NOTE: Many Europeans have trouble pronouncing voiceless consonants at the ends of words. This is particularly true when coming from GERMAN, RUSSIAN, and other SLAVIC languages. Some Asian speakers also have difficulty with the voiceless forms -- particularly those from VIETNAM and other parts of SOUTHEAST ASIA. Be sure to follow the tape carefully throughout this whole lesson, as it teaches you to make clear differences between the voiced and voiceless consonants in each of the following pairs.]

L7/S1: "SH" and "ZH" Phonetic Symbols: [ ò ] / [ ' ]

BEIGE/BASH LOGE/GAUCHE BRUSH/ROUGE
VISUAL/VICIOUS DELICIOUS/COLLISION CASHIER/CASUAL

"sh":- DICTION, PASSION
"zh":- VERSION, CONFUSION

And now a few more pairs and sentences comparing SH and ZH in both final and medial positions: prestige/quiche garage/harsh

-- I was ashamed that I bashed the cashier in the face.
-- Stash the cash on the shelf of the garage.
-- Do I have permission to finish pining on the corsage?
-- The shark envisioned itself close to the ocean shore.
-- It's a shame to delay the occasion.

L7/S2: "F" and "V" Phonetic Symbols: [ f ] / [ v ]

SAFE/SAVE HAVE/HALF RELIEF/RELIEVE GRIEVE/GRIEF
"v":- CAVE, BEHAVE, STEVE

-- I HAVE HALF OF THE LEAF.
-- I FEEL SAFE WHEN I LEAVE AND MY RELIEF SHOWS UP.

Additional drills not recorded on the tape:

love/enough shelves/shelf wave/waif groove/roof grove/loaf leave/leaf

-- I' d love to live off the land.
-- Give of yourself when you have money.
-- I can save myself if I have to.
-- Not having enough love can cause grief.

L7/S3: "th" and "TH" Phonetic Symbols: [ ] / [ ]

TEETH/TEETHE
-- NEW TEETH MAKE A BABY TEETHE.
SOOTH/SOOTHE
-- THE SOOTHSAYER CAN SOOTHE AWAY YOUR WORRIES.
BATH/BATHE
-- HE CAN BATHE IN THE BATH TUB.
FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH

And a few more sentences for this pair:

-- He bathed for the fourth time.
-- The dentist can soothe your tooth with clove oil.
-- The will teethe when he gets his new tooth.

L7/S4: "P" and "B" Phonetic Symbols: [ p ] / [ b ]

CAB/CAP TAB/TAP COP/COB
TRIBE, CRIB, CRAB, HUB

-- STOP THE CAB!
-- CAN THE COP NAB THE CRIMINAL?
-- THE HOTEL LET ME KEEP THE ROBE.

Here are a few more contrast drills which contrast the final "B" and "P" consonants.

slip/crib slept/ebb cap/cab corrupt/hub crape/Abe rope/robe curb/burp

-- The baby can't sleep in that crib.
-- Wear a bib and sip this cup of soup.
-- You can' t stop that tribe.

L7/S5: "K" and "G" Phonetic Symbols: [ k ] / [ g ]

SACK/SAG MUG/MUCK HOCK/HOG BAG/BACK
PIG, BRAG, DRAG, BIG, MUG

-- CRACK OPEN THE KEG!
-- DON'T KICK THE DOG!
-- HE WAS STRUCK ON THE BACK BY A PLASTIC BAG.

And now some additional drills for G and K contrasts:

peck/peg lock/log rag/rack lag/lack stack/stag pig/pick jock/jog

-- The keg gorged a crack at the back of the green doghouse.
-- Greg can kick the ball back over the log.
-- The big picked up a jug of water.
-- He has a big chip on his shoulder.
-- Drag that sack back inside.

L7/S6: "T" and "D" Phonetic Symbols" [ t ] / [ d ]

SEAT/SEED SAD/SAT HEIGHT/HIDE
BEAD, BREAD, SAID, HAD

And here are a few extra drills, even though we'll do much more with T' s and D' in Course #3.

bet/bet rate/raid fade/fate feet/feed grade/great paid/pate set/said

-- Let the seed sit on the ground.
-- You need a hat on your head on hot days.
-- Get outside and walk around a bit.
-- I hit my head a lot when I'm tired.