Limba engleză

M 01
Introduction:
Spelling and Pronounciation
 Spelling: doubling of final consonants
Many English words change their spelling before the endings -ed, -ing and
-er, -est. Words ending in a consonant may double it (e.g. stop, stopping).
The rules are as follows:

1) A consonant is only doubled at the end of a word. Compare:

hop, hopping BUT hope, hoping
fat, fatter BUT late, later
plan, planned BUT phone, phoned

2) Doubling only happens when there is one consonant after one vowel-
letter. Compare:
fat, fatter BUT fast, faster (not *fastter)
bet, betting BUT beat, beating (not *beatting)
3) In words of more than one syllable, the final consonant is only doubled if it
is in a stressed syllable. Compare:
up'set, up'setting BUT 'visit, 'visiting
be'gin, be'ginning BUT 'open, 'opening
re'fer, re'ferring BUT 'offer, 'offering

'galloping, 'galloped NOT *'gallopping, *'gallopped

de'veloping, de'veloped NOT *de'velopping, *de'velopped
'benefiting, 'benefited NOT *'benefitting, *'benefitted

4) In British English, final -l is doubled (after one vowel) even if the syllable
is not stressed.

'travel, 'travelled 'equal, 'equalled

In American English, final -l is only usually doubled if the syllabic is stressed.

Compare:

rebel, re'belled 'travel, 'traveled

5) Final -c is changed to -ck before -ed, -ing, -er.

picnic, picnickers

6) The reason for doubling is to show that the vowel has a short
sound. This is because a stressed vowel before one consonant usually
has a long sound in the middle of a word. Compare:

hoping ['hǝʊpiŋ] / hopping ['hɔpiŋ]

later ['leitǝ(r)] / latter [lætǝ(r)]
dining ['dainiŋ] / dinner ['dinnǝ(r)]
 Spelling: y and i
1) Final -y usually changes to -i- if something is added to a word (e.g. -ed, -er,
-est, -able, -merit, -ness, -ly, -ous, -age).

• hurry, hurried easy, easier rely, reliable

• merry, merriment busy, business happy, happily
• fury, furious marry, marriage
•
• Nouns/verbs ending in -y have plural/third-person forms in -ies.

• story, stories hurry, hurries spy, spies

2) This change does not happen before endings beginning with -i- (e.g. -ing, -
ish, -ize, -ism).

• try, trying study, studying baby, babyish

• Tory, Toryism
3) This change does not happen if the -y comes after a vowel-letter.

buy, buying play, played

enjoy, enjoyment grey, greyish

Exceptions:
say, said lay, laid pay, paid

4) Final -ie changes to -y- before -ing.

die, dying lie, lying

 Spelling: final –e
1) When something is added to a word ending in -e, the -e is normally
dropped before a vowel.

hope, hoping make, making note, notable

fame, famous

This does not happen with words ending in -ee.

see, seeing agree, agreeable

Exceptions: like, likeable/likable mile, mileage/milage

2) With words ending in -ge and -ce, the -e is not dropped before a or o.

courage, courageous replace, replaceable

3) Final -e is not normally dropped before a consonant.
excite, excitement hope, hopeful nice, nicely

Exceptions: words ending in -ue.

due, duly true, truly argue, argument

Judg(e)ment can be written with or without -e.

 Spelling: adverb formation

1) We often change an adjective into an adverb by adding -ly. When this

happens, the adjective does not usually change its spelling.

late, lately right, rightly glad, gladly

hopeful, hopefully real, really medical, medically
definite, definitely complete, completely

Note that final -e is not dropped (completely, not *completly), and that if
the adjective ends in -l, the adverb will have -ll- (real, really not *realy).

2) Final -y changes to -i- before -ly.

happy, happily easy, easily dry, drily

3) If an adjective ends in -le, the adverb has -ly instead of *-lely.

noble, nobly idle, idly

4) If an adjective ends in -ic, the adverb ends in -ically

tragic, tragically domestic, domestically

Exceptions: truly, duly, wholly, fully, shyly, slyly, publicly.

 Spelling: ch and tch, k and ck
1) After a single vowel, at the end of a word, we usually write -ck and -tch
for the sounds [k] and [tʃ].

back neck sick lock stuck

catch fetch stitch botch hutch

Exceptions: rich, which, such, much, detach, attach, yak.

2) After a consonant or after two vowel-letters, we write -k and -ch for the
same sounds.

bank, work, talk break, book, soak

march, bench, belch peach, brooch, coach
 Spelling: ie and ei
The combination ei is not a common way to spell the sound [i:]. We
normally write ie, except after c. (English children learn the rhyme ‘i
before e, except after c’)

believe chief field grief

ceiling deceive receive receipt

Exception: seize

Note that the spelling ei usually stands for the sound [ei]. For example:
beige deign rein reign veil

Exception: foreign ['fɔrǝn]

 Spelling: -ise and -ize

In British English, most words ending in -ise can also be spelt with ize.

mechanise / mechanize computerise / computerize

realise / realize

Exceptions are words in two syllables (e.g. surprise), and advertise. In

American English, only -ize is used.
Note also analyse (GB); analyze (US).
 Spelling: capital letters
1) The days of the week, and the months, are written with capital letters at
the beginning (but not usually the seasons),

Sunday Tuesday March September

BUT summer autumn

2) Capital letters are used for the names of the planets (but not the earth,
the sun or the moon).

Jupiter Venus Mars

3) Capital letters are used for ‘nationality’ words (nouns or adjectives).

He's Russian. I speak Russian. Russian history.

4) The words north, east, south and west are written with capital
letters when rhey are used in place names.

The Far East The West End (of London)

North Africa

5) The names of professions have capital letters when they are used as
titles. Compare:

He’s a professor. He’s just been promoted colonel.

Where’s Professor Jones? There’s Colonel Sanders.
 Spelling: hyphens

A hyphen ['haifn] is the short line (-) that is put between two words in an
expression like book-shop or ex-husband.
The rules about when to use hyphens are not very clear. If you are not
sure whether to put one in a particular expression, it is safest to leave it
out.
The following points may help:
a) Hyphens are common in compound adjectives like broken-hearted,
blue-eyed, heart-broken (made with -ed or a past participle),
b) When a group of words is used as an adjective before a noun, hyphens
are often used. Compare:

He’s out of work. an out-of-work lorry-driver

It cost ten pounds. a ten-pound note
c) In many cases, there is a connection between spelling and
pronunciation. Words which are put together (with a hyphen or as one
word) usually have the main stress ' (spoken with the strongest force) on
the first word; expressions which are written separately usually have the
main stress on the second part. Compare:

book-case ['bʊk keis] make-up ['meik ʌp]

paper bag [peipǝ 'bæg] to make up [meik 'ʌp]

2) Hyphens are also used to divide words at the ends of lines.

... is not the policy of the present government, which was voted into
power with a clear mandate to...
 Spelling: full stops with
abbreviations
A full stop (called a ‘period’ in American English) is the dot that comes at the
end of a sentence. It is also often used after an abbreviated word, and after an
initial letter that stands for a word or name.

Mr. Lewis Ms. Johnson T.S. Eliot

U.S.A. S.E. Asia

In modern English (especially British English), abbreviations are often

written without full stops.

Mr Lewis Ms Johnson T S Eliot

USA SE Asia
Full stops are not usually written in a group of initial letters that is
pronounced like a word (like NATO or UNO).
1) -stle and -sten are pronounced [sl] and [sn] at the end of a word (the t is
silent).

whistle ['wisl] castle [ka:sl] listen ['lisn]

fasten ['fa:sn]

-gn is pronounced [n] at the beginning or end of a word (the g is silent).

sign [sain] foreign [fɔrǝn] champagne [ʃæm'pein]
gnome [nǝʊm]
(BUT gnu [nju:])

-mb and -mn are pronounced [m] at the end of a word.

climb [klaim] comb [kǝʊm] dumb [dʌm]

hymn [him] autumn ['ɔ:tǝm]

kn- is pronounced [n] at the beginning of a word.

know [nǝʊ] knife [naif]

ps-, pn- and pt- are pronounced [s], [n] and [t] at the beginning of a word (the p
is silent).

psychology [sai'kɔlǝdʒi] pneumatic [nju:'mætik]

pterodactyl [ˌterǝ'dæktl] ptomaine ['tǝʊmein]

wh- is pronounced [h] before o at the beginning of a word.

who [hu:] whose [hu:z] whole [hǝʊl]

In other cases, wh- is pronounced [w] at the beginning of a word.

where [weǝ(r)] what [wɔt] whip [wip]

Some people pronounce these words with [hw], an ‘unvoiced w’, like hw, especially
in the north of England, in Scotland, and in many parts of the United States.

where [hweǝ(r)]
wr- is pronounced [r] at the beginning of a word.

wrap [ræp] write [rait]

2) In British English, r is not pronounced before a consonant.

board [bɔ:d] turn [tǝ:n]

In British English, r is only pronounced at the end of a word when the next
word begins with a vowel sound and follows without a pause.

ear [iǝ(r)] mother [mʌðǝ(r)]

ear-ache ['iǝr eik] mother-in-law ['mʌðǝr in lɔ:]

The verb ending -ered is pronounced [ǝd].

wondered [wʌndǝd] bothered ['bɔðǝd]

The ending -re is pronounced [ǝ(r)].

theatre ['θiǝtǝ(r)] centre ['sentǝ(r)] fire ['faiǝ(r)]

In the word iron ['aiǝn], the r is silent.

In American English, r is pronounced in all positions in a word.
3) Some other common words with silent letters:

silent l:
calm [kɑ:m] half [hɑ:f] should [ʃʊd] would [wʊd]
chalk [tʃɔ:k] palm [pɑ:m] talk [tɔ:k]
could [kʊd] salmon ['sæmǝn] walk [wɔ:k]

silent h:
honest ['ɔnist] honour ['ɔnǝ(r)] hour ['aʊǝ(r)]
heir [eǝ(r)]

silent d:
handkerchief ['hæŋkǝtʃif] sandwich ['sænwidʒ]
Wednesday ['wenzdi]

silent t:
Christmas ['krismǝs] often ['ɔfǝn] soften ['sɔfǝn]
silent p:

cupboard ['kʌbǝd]

silent c:

muscle ['mʌsl]
 Spelling American English and British
English
a) In American English, final -l is not usually doubled in an unstressed
syllable:

e.g. US traveler, leveling / GB traveller, levelling.

b) Some words end in -ter in American English, and -tre in British:

e.g. US theater, center / GB theatre, centre.

c) Some words end in -or in American English and -our in British:

e.g. US labor, honor, color / GB labour, honour, colour.

d) Some words end in -og in American English analogue in British:

e.g. US catalog, dialog, analog/G B catalogue, dialogue, analogue.

e) Many verbs end in -ize in American English, but in -ize or -ise in
British:

e.g. US realize / GB realize or realise.

f) Some spelling differences in individual words:

US / GB
aluminum / aluminium, analyze / analyse, check / cheque (from a bank)
defense / defence, jail / gaol, jail, jewelry / jewellery, offense / offence
pajamas / pyjamas, plow / plough, practice (verb) / practise
pretense / pretence, program / programme, specialty / speciality
tire / tyre (on a car)
 Pronunciation
There are, of course, many different regional accents in both Britain and
America. The most important differences between ‘standard’ American
and ‘standard’ British speech are as follows:

a) Stressed vowels are often lengthened more in American English than

in British (so that British people think Americans ‘drawl’ and Americans
think British speech is ‘clipped’),

b) Vowels are often nasalized in American English; that is to say, air

comes out through the nose and mouth at the same time. Vowels are not
nasalized in most British pronunciations, so this makes the two accents
sound very different.

c) Most vowels are pronounced a little differently in British and

American English. Three vowels are very different:
1. The vowel [ǝʊ] (as in home, no) is a diphthong (double vowel) in
British English; in American English it is closer to being a monophthong
(single vowel), and it sounds very different.
2. The vowel [ɔ] (as in pot) is pronounced in American words without
lip-rounding, and sounds like the vowel [ɑ:] (as in palm).
3. Many British people pronounce [ɑ:] (a back vowel) in some words
where Americans pronounce [æ] (a front vowel). Examples: can’t, castle,
fast, glass, class, staff, after, pass, example.

d) In standard British English, r is only pronounced before a vowel. In

American English, r is pronounced in all positions in a word, and it
changes the quality of a vowel that comes before it. So words like car,
turn, offer sound very different in British and American speech.

e) In American English, t and d both have a very light ‘voiced’

pronunciation [d] between vowels — so writer ['raidǝr] and rider
['raidǝr] sound the same. In British English, t remains ‘unvoiced’
between vowels: writer ['raitǝ(r)], rider ['raidǝ(r)].
f) Before -u and -ew, British people pronounce n-, d- and t- like ny-, dy-
and try- [nj-, dj-, tj-]. Americans pronounce them as they are written.
Examples: tune (GB [tju:n]; US, [tu:n]); new (GB [nju:]; US [nu:]);
duke, due, dew, reduce, tube, intuition, tumour, nude.

g) Words ending in -tile are pronounced with [-tail] in British English,

and [-tl] in American. Examples: fertile (GB ['fǝ:tail]; US ['fǝ:rtl]); futile.

h) Borough and thorough are pronounced differently in British and

American English:

GB ['bʌrǝ,'θʌrǝ]; US ['bʌrǝʊ, 'θʌrǝʊ].

There is a useful British-American/American-British dictionary called

What's the Difference? by Norman Moss (Hutchinson).