SS2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE FIRST TERM WEEK TEN

CONTENT

1. Speech Work: Syllabic Consonants (little, often, nestle, etc.)
2. Vocabulary Development: Words Associated with Power Production
3. Reading Comprehension: Reading for Critical Evaluation – ‘Deforestation of the Tropical Forests’ (NOSEC, 64 – 65)’   
4. Structure: Conditional Clauses
5. Writing Skills: Article Writing (Introduction) “Procrastination and Lack of Ambition”

ASPECT: Speech Work

TOPIC: Syllabic Consonants (little, often, nestle, etc.)

The great majority of syllables in all languages have a vowel at their centre and may have one or more consonants preceding and following the vowel (though languages differ greatly in the possible occurrences of consonants in syllables). However, in a few cases, we find syllables which contain nothing that could conventionally be classed as a vowel. Sometimes this is a normal state of affairs in a particular language; in some other languages, syllabic consonants appear to arise as a consequence of a weak vowel becoming lost. In English some syllabic consonants appear to have become practically obligatory in present-day speech: words such as ‘bottle’ and ‘button’ would not sound acceptable in BBC pronunciation if pronounced bɒtəl, bᴧtən (though these are normal in some other English accents), and are instead pronounced bɒtl- , bᴧtn- .