The consonant sounds /m/, /n/ and /η/are made by stopping the flow of air out of the mouth so that it goesthrough the nose instead. The three sounds are different because theair is stopped by different parts of the mouth. You can feel this whenyou say the words some, sun, sung. Listen to the sound /m/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. Note: Always close your lips for /m/, even at the end of a word when the next word begins with /k/ or /g/, for example: cream cake; warm glow.
Listen to the target sound /m/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side.
target /m/ nice mice nice sun some sun swing swim swing hang ham hang
Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. Examples: miss more make smoke jump harmed comb autumn film
Listen to the sound /η/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. Note: Openyour mouth but breathe through your nose. If you do this you will findthat the air is stopped at the back of the mouth. This is where youstop the air to make the sound /η/
Listen to the target sound /η/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side.
target /η/ some sung some Kim king Kim thin thing thin
Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. Examples: sing singer sink bang bank banks thing think finger
Noteson spelling: There may be a silent В or N after /m/ (comb, autumn).There may be a silent К before /n/ (knife), /n/ changes to /η/ when thenext sound after it is /k/ or /g/; the N in thin is /n/, but the N inthink is /η/.
Read this conversation. It contains 19 examples of the sound /m/. Howmany examples of the sounds /n/ and /η/ does it contain? Write youranswers. Then listen and check. Key./m/ = 19 /n/ = 11 /η/ = 5
1 Robin or robbing? My friend likes Robin Banks / robbing banks. 2 Ran or rang? Tom ran / rang yesterday. 3 Swing or swim? She had a swing / swim in the garden. 4 Warned or warmed? The son warned / sun warmed me. 5 Singing or sinking? The people were singing / sinking fast.
Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in4, choosing one of the two words or expressions. Make a note of whichwords you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is itclear which words you said?