Pronunciation Diary (first post)

When we learn a new language, we shouldn't underestimate the value of a good pronunciation. It's quite pointless to study vocabulary by heart without even trying to pronounce them correctly. In my opinion, it is a very crucial part of learning a language as native English speakers might not understand you if you don't pronounce particular words correctly.

This problem can be demonstrated clearly with an example:

The word "wound" can have two different meanings, depending on its pronunciation.

As a noun it is pronounced like this: wo͞ond --> Click on it!
However, the verb sounds like this: wæʊnd

If you are interested in the way I pronounce it, just click on the words below:
wo͞ond
wæʊnd

These words are written the same way, but are pronounced differently. Words like these are called homonyms.

The opposite, words which are  pronounced the same way, but are spelled differently, are called homophones.

Example: flour and flower Look at this picture for more homophones. Isn't that interesting?

Homonyms and homophones are very interesting linguistic phenomena (quite a tough word) and demonstrate clearly what it means to have good pronunciation skills.

Each time I come across with an unknown vocabulary, I try to pronounce it correctly and in order to make sure I’ve done a good job, I check the correct pronunciation on the Internet. In most cases I do pronounce it correctly, but sometimes I just don't get it right. I plan to work on the pronunciation of words I am already familiar with.