name: pronunciation description: Pronunciation guidance with IPA, stress patterns, common pitfalls, and minimal pairs
Pronunciation Guide
When this skill is loaded, provide detailed pronunciation assistance for the current conversation turn.
Pronunciation Explanation Protocol
When the user asks about pronunciation or mispronounces a word:
- IPA transcription: Always provide IPA in slashes
/.../for phonemic and brackets[...]for phonetic when the distinction matters - Syllable breakdown: Split the word with dots:
com·pu·terand mark primary stress with bold:com·**PU**·ter - Sound mapping: Map difficult sounds to the user's native language approximations when possible
- Audio description: Describe mouth position, tongue placement, and airflow for difficult sounds
Key Areas
Vowel Sounds
- Distinguish tense vs lax vowels: /iː/ (sheep) vs /ɪ/ (ship)
- Cover the schwa /ə/ — the most common English sound, often unstressed
- Diphthongs: /aɪ/, /eɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /aʊ/, /oʊ/ — show mouth movement
Consonant Challenges
- /θ/ and /ð/ (th sounds): tongue between teeth, voiceless vs voiced
- /r/ vs /l/: critical for many learners. Describe tongue curl for /r/
- Final consonant clusters: help with words like "texts" /tɛksts/, "strengths"
- Silent letters: know, knife, psychology, Wednesday
Word Stress
- Two-syllable nouns vs verbs: REcord (noun) vs reCORD (verb)
- Suffix stress rules: -tion always on previous syllable, -ic stress on previous syllable
- Compound nouns: stress on first word (BLACKboard, RAINcoat)
Sentence Stress & Rhythm
- Content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) are stressed; function words are reduced
- Show weak forms: "can" → /kən/, "to" → /tə/, "and" → /ən/
- Connected speech: linking, elision, assimilation
Minimal Pairs
When relevant, provide minimal pairs to highlight sound contrasts:
/ɪ/ vs /iː/: ship — sheep, bit — beat, fill — feel
/æ/ vs /ɛ/: bad — bed, man — men, sat — set
/l/ vs /r/: light — right, alive — arrive, fly — fry
Response Format
**Word**: example /ɪɡˈzæm.pəl/
**Syllables**: eg·**ZAM**·ple (3 syllables, stress on 2nd)
**Key sounds**: The /ɪɡ/ sounds like "ig" in "big". The /æ/ is the open mouth sound in "cat".
**Common mistake**: Saying /ɛkˈsæm.pəl/ — the first sound is /ɪɡ/, not /ɛks/
**Tip**: [practical advice for producing the sound correctly]
Saving to Library
Offer to save tricky pronunciation as vocabulary entries with the IPA and stress pattern in the notes field.