The following table gives the diacritical marks for the vowels. Study this table and learn to pronounce the words you look up. When you have determined the correct pronunciation of the word, repeat it over to yourself aloud a number of times until you have accustomed your ear to the correct pronunciation.
Different dictionaries use different keys to pronunciation. This table is taken from the dictionary which we are using in connection with this course—Winston's New Universal Self-Pronouncing Dictionary.
Key to Pronunciation
- ā as in late, fade.
- ä as in mar, father.
- ȧ as in mask, dance.
- a as in cat, had.
- aw as in awl, fall.
- ē as in he, feet.
- ẽ as in her, verge.
- e as in let, men.
- ī as in line, time.
- i as in tin, little.
- ō as in vote, home.
- ô as in orb, form.
- o as in lot, odd.
- oi as in oil, join.
- o̅o̅ as in moon, school.
- oo as in cook, foot.
- ou as in out, house.
- ū as in mute, unit.
- u as in nut, drum.
The spelling lesson for this week is composed of words containing the different vowel sounds. Look up in your dictionary and mark all the a's in Monday's lesson, all the e's in Tuesday's lesson, all the i's in Wednesday's lesson, all the o's in Thursday's lesson, and all the u's in Friday's lesson. In Saturday's lesson note the use of w and y as vowels.
Monday
- Pause
- Adjective
- Lazy
- Quality
- Advance
Tuesday
- Resemble
- Descend
- Adverb
- Interjection
- Complete
Wednesday