Practicing Pronouncing vowels and Diphthongs

Revision: Identify the word which has consisted of the sound in square bracket from the alternatives given in the parentheses.

1. Which word has [i] sound? ( height/meat)
2. Which one of the words has [ə] sound? (about/ salary)
3. Which one of the following words has [æ] sound?(lactose/father)
4. Which word has [oi]   sound ?( destroy/oil)
5. Which word has [ʌ] sound? ( cover/cotton)

Here are some more examples:

Phoneme	Example Words	IPA Transcription
[i]	heat, hit, sheet, deep, ski	/hiːt/, /hɪt/, /ʃiːt/, /diːp/, /skiː/
[ə]	about, banana, occur, demand, alone	/əˈbaʊt/, /bəˈnænə/, /əˈkɜr/, /dɪˈmænd/, /əˈloʊn/
[æ]	man, cat, bat, trap, stamp	/mæn/, /kæt/, /bæt/, /træp/, /stæmp/
[ɔɪ]	destroy, voice, enjoy, choice, toy	/dɪˈstrɔɪ/, /vɔɪs/, /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ/, /tʃɔɪs/, /tɔɪ/
[ʌ]	cover, fun, run, under, but	/ˈkʌvər/, /fʌn/, /rʌn/, ˈ/ʌndər/, /bʌt/

These examples should give you a good sense of how each of these sounds can appear in different English words.

     Describing Processes

When you describe a process, you can use expressions such as: first, second, having done this, the next step is, then, don’t forget, it is important to. For more clarity, look at a short description about the process you follow in describing how “datt’a” is prepared.

I. Describing the Process of Datt’a Preparation

“Datt’a” is a well-known spicy type of food which is very hot and finely tapering pepper of special pungency that is mostly used to add flavor to other main foods such as chunk of raw meat or roasted meat especially among Wolaita community. Nowadays, it is a type of food which is highly loved not only by the Wolaita community but also by other people all over the country. Any person who has a chance to visit Wolaita Soddo town, the first thing she/he wants to buy and take home is this food. Nowadays, it is being exported even to foreign countries for Ethiopians who are living there. The process of its preparations begins by picking up the chilies that have not yet well ripened. The second step is to mix them with other spices like garlic and cardamom. Having done this, mostly the women, put it on a traditionally carved flat stone mill and grind it with a small oval shape piece of stone by moving it up and down. After it is well ground and changed into smooth dough, it will be taken off from the stone and put into a container. When the family needs to eat meet, they mix it with each chunk and eat it together or sometimes they eat it in the same way with inset (bread made up of false banana), kita (flat bread) or injera (thin and flat bread made up of teff, sorghum or maize)

II. Describing the Process of Honey Making

Here is an example

Honey making is a fascinating process where honeybees collect nectar from flowers using their proboscis and store it in a specialized stomach called the honey sac. Back at the hive, the bees pass the nectar to other worker bees who chew it and mix it with enzymes. This mixture is then stored in honeycomb cells where the bees fan it with their wings to evaporate excess water, turning it into thick, sticky honey. Honey is sealed in the comb with beeswax until it’s ready to be harvested by beekeepers.