Segmentals

English Sounds

English sounds, also known as segmentals, are the heart of traditional pronunciation teaching (Levis, 2018). Clear pronunciation of vowels and consonants is crucial for producing intelligible speech. The next two chapters will provide an overview of vowel and consonant sounds. Guided by the Intelligibility principle (Levis, 2005), the chapters will discuss the basic characteristics of the sounds (also known as segmentals) and ways that teachers can help learners be better understood.

Please note that this chapter will cover the General American (GA) English sound system. This is not because other varieties of English are less important, but rather because GA is an important model, and it is the sound system the authors work with.