Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P.

Smith 2011 1

Ph I Dictations for HW
Set 2
Key & Ordinary Spelling

Dictation 1











1

1Coalescence.

Just a Few Sweets

Sally: What’s the first thing you remember, Peter?

Peter: The first thing? That’s easy. I remember my mum was out one day, and I was alone in the house. I
went to the bathroom, and found a bottle, in the drawer. I opened it.
S: What was it?
P: Yellow tablets.
S: What were they like?
P: Horrible.
S: Did your mum find out?
P: Yes, she did. When she came home I looked very ill, so she phoned the doctor.
77 w
Source: Adapted from Breakaway 2 by Bolton, D. and L. Peterson. UK: Nelson. (1984) (p. 11)

Dictation 2







 1



2

*1In the exploded version, coalescence is produced 

1 st
*2 According to Collins and Mees (2008, p. 100-1, 104), the 21 century pronunciation of is a steady –state
2
vowel  : Upton , (2008, p. 246) states that this same vowel can be heard with a small schwa after it.

1 nd
Collins, B. and I. M. Mees (2008): Practical Phonetics and Phonology. 2 ed. UK: Routledge.
2
Kortmann, B. and C. Upton (ed.) (2008): Varieties of English. The British Isles. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P. Smith 2011 2

Breakfast Time

Mother: Stop doing that John! You know your father doesn´t like it.
Boy: Stop doing what? Reading the newspaper?
M: Reading the newspaper. No. You know very well what I mean. Whistling. Stop whistling.
B: Oh I´m sorry. Forgot.
Girl: Forgot? I bet you wouldn´t forget to eat your breakfast.
B: Mind your own business.
G: Same to you. Mummy? D’you think I could have two eggs this morning? We’ve got to go out on a visit.
A museum, I think. And you know I get a bit hungry.
M: Yes of course, Mary.
88 w
Source: Unknown

Dictation 3

 





 
*1
2
3

*1 Regressive assimilation of place.
2 Elision of schwa.
3 Elision of / d /.

Can you make a million?

Interviewer: So, Gareth. You’re going to tell us how to make a million.

Gareth: Well, to go back to the beginning…mm… I went to study graphic design, after leaving school. I
was there for two years, and when I left college, I decided to go off and see a bit of the world.
I: Where did you go?
G: Well a friend of mine got a job in Brazil, so I decided to go and have a look at Brazil. And I had a
wonderful time. The social life was terrific, and I made a lot of fantastic friends. Some of these friends
then decided to drive up to the USA.
112 w
Source: Unknown

Dictation 4









*1


*1 Regressive assimilation of place.

Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P. Smith 2011 3

A Telephone Call

Mike: Hello.
Sue: Hello, Mike? I´m ringing you up to wish you a happy birthday.
M: Sue! What a fantastic surprise! Where are you phoning from? I can hear you so clearly. I thought you
were in Spain.
S: Yes, I am. And I´m having a marvellous time here.
M: What’s the weather like? It´s pouring with rain here.
S: Oh here it’s absolutely boiling. I´m living in my bikini and getting really brown.
M: Lucky you! Hey! Where are you ringing from? I can hear people laughing and talking, in the
background.
92 w
Source: Meanings into Words Intermediate by Doff, A., C. Jones and K. Mitchell. UK: CUP. (1983).

Dictation 5










1





1 The / v / in ‘of’ is devoiced because it is followed by a / k /. It can be transcribed with / f / though, since it is
preceded by a short vowel (schwa), and ‘of’ is a function word.

Saturday’s Payday

Emily: How much money have you got on you, Jane?

Jane: Not much.
E: Can you lend me a pound?
J: What for?
E: To buy some make-up you know, for my eyes. I can pay you back on Saturday. It´s payday you see.
I´ve got a new job at the supermarket. I was lucky, there weren´t many jobs round here. And a lot of
people from my school wanted this job.
J: Why did you want it?
E: To earn money, of course. To buy things like, CDs, clothes…
J: How many hours d’you work, Emily?
E: From nine till five thirty.
J: That’s eight and a half hours, quite a lot.
E: Yes, but we get an hour for lunch, and a couple of tea breaks.

119 words
Source: Adapted from Breakaway 2 by Bolton, D. and L. Peterson. UK: Nelson. (1984)

Dictation 6





Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P. Smith 2011 4









Asking the Way


A: Oh, excuse me. I wonder if you could tell me how I get to Riverside Lane.
B: Riverside Lane? Now let me see. What’s the quickest way? Do you know this district?
A: Well, no. Not really. I haven´t been here for a long time.
B: I see. Well, it´s quite simple, really. The best way is to continue walking down this street, till you come
to the traffic lights.
A: The traffic lights. Yes?
B: Then turn left. Keep on walking for about four hundred yards, until you see a sign which says ‘Salvation
Army’. You can´t miss it really, because there´s generally a salvation army girl standing under it,
shaking a box, and asking for money.
116 w
Source: Unknown

Dictation 7











Kingcup Cottage (From a bed-side story)

‘Whenever choosing a house’, old Uncle Frog used to say, ‘see that there are plenty of damp patches on
the walls. And if the roof leaks, so much the better’.
When she had to find a home of her own, Francesca remembered his words. She rented Kingcup
Cottage. Kingcup Cottage would have pleased Uncle Frog. It sagged oozily among tree roots at the edge
of Heron Lake. Snails loved it. And here Francesca lived happily enough among the marsh marigolds.
‘I have water laid on in every room’, she would say, ‘so what more could I want?’
99 w
Source: Kingcup Cottage by Racey Helps. London: The Medici Society Limited. (1962)

Dictation 8











Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P. Smith 2011 5










Rooms and Furniture

Mrs. Davis: Four four seven, four seven one six.

Student: Hello. Is that Mrs. Davis?
Mrs. D: Speaking.
S: Good afternoon, my name’s Stephen Brent. I was given your address by the Student Accomodation
Agency. I understand you have a room to let.
Mrs. D: Yes, that´s right. I´ve just got one room still vacant. It´s an attic room, on the second floor. It’s
rather small, but I´m sure you’ll find it´s very comfortable.
S: I see. And how much do you charge for it?
Mrs. D: The rent´s £ 25 pounds a week. That includes electricity, but not gas.
S: Has the room got central heating?
Mrs. D: No, it´s got a gas fire, which keeps the room very warm.
S: I see. And what about furniture? It is furnished, isn´t it?
Mrs. D: Oh, yes. There’s a divan bed in the corner, with a new mattress on it. Let me see… there’s a small
wardrobe, an armchair, a coffee table, a bookshelf…
S: Is there a desk?
Mrs. D: Yes, there’s one under the window.
167 w
Source: Meanings into Words Intermediate by Doff, A., C. Jones and K. Mitchell. UK: CUP. (1983).

Dictation 9









1








*1 Second entry.
Planning a Party
A: Well, that’s settled then. Is it?
B: What’s settled?
A: The party.
Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P. Smith 2011 6

B: What party?
A: Oh, come on. Stop fooling around. The party we´re going to give tonight, to celebrate the end of
examinations.
B: Yes, of course. Where are the girls by the way? They should be here any moment now.
A: They´ve been out shopping all morning.
B: I hope they haven´t spend a lot of money.
A: Look, you can´t give a party, without spending money.
B: I’m not talking about money, I´m talking about a lot of money.
A: It doesn´t happen every day. Ah! Here they are.
C: Yes, here we are, with some of the things. The rest are downstairs. Perhaps one of you would like to
fetch them up.
D: Oh, Tom. Please, help me with these, will you?
Tom: All right, I´ll go down and bring the rest.
138 w
Source: Unknown

Dictation 10





















An Investigation

Last night, at 9.18, the director of a school, was walking from his office to his car, when he was attacked
from behind. The attacker hit the director on the head. The police think the attacker was a student, maybe
a girl student. The police are going to interview every student in the school.
A policeman interviewed the director, at the hospital last night.
P: Now Mr. Snow, what can you remember about the attack?
Mr. S: Well, I was working late yesterday evening.
P: What time did you leave the office?
Mr. S: About quarter past nine.
P: Are you sure?
Mr. S: Oh, yes. I looked at my watch.
P: What did you do then?
S: Well, I locked the door, and I was walking to my car, when somebody hit me on the head.
P: Did you see the attacker?
Mr. S: No, he was wearing a stocking over his head.
P: Tell me Mr. Snow. How did you break your leg?
Mr. S: Well, when they were putting me into the ambulance, they dropped me.
Ph I Dictations for HW Set 2 Key & Ord sp Compiled and recorded by Prof. Cinthia P. Smith 2011 7

171 w
Source: Streamline English Departures by Hartley B. and P. Viney. UK: Oxford University Press. (1979)
Unit 56.