MODERN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

Homework assignment 4
Name: ____________________
Transcribe the following words into phonetic symbols:
faux pas [
] (noun) a socially embarrassing mistake
joie de vivre [
] (noun) great enjoyment of life
deja vu [
] (noun) the feeling that you have already experienced what is
happening now
fait accompli [
] (noun) something that has happened and can't be
changed
carte blanche [
] (noun) complete freedom to take whatever action you
want
entre nous [
] (adj/adv) used to say that something should be a secret
'between ourselves'
en route [
] (adv) on the way to or from somewhere
nuance [
] ( noun) a very small difference in meaning, appearance, etc.
doppelganger [
] ( noun) a person who looks exactly like you but is not
related to you
realpolitik[
] (noun) practical politics, decided by immediate needs
rather than by principle
wanderlust [
] (noun) the wish to travel far and to many different places
incommunicado [
] (adj) not communicating with anyone
maana [
] (adv) tomorrow
El Nino [
] (noun) an unusual current in the Pacific Ocean that
temporarily changes world weather patterns
cognoscente[
] ( noun) a person who has a lot of specialist knowledge,
particularly of the arts - plural: cognoscenti
prima donna [
] (noun) someone who thinks they are special and should
be treated in a special way
bonsai[
] ( noun) a very small tree that has been stopped from growing
to its full size
kimono[
] (noun) a loose piece of outer clothing with side sleeves
origami[
] (noun) making decorative objects by folding paper
feng shui [
] ( noun) an ancient Chinese belief that the way your house is
built and the way that you arrange objects affects success, health and happiness
lychee [
] ( noun) a fruit with a rough brown shell and sweet white flesh
typhoon [
] (noun) a violent wind which has a circular motion, found in
the West Pacific Ocean
French:
denouement [
] (noun) the end of a book or play where everything is
explained
nouvelle cuisine [
] (noun) a style of cooking in which a small amount of
food is served in an attractive pattern on the plate
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bete noire[
] (noun) a person or thing that particularly annoys you or
that you dislike
cause celebre [
] (noun) a controversial event that attracts a lot of public
attention
de rigueur [
] (adjective) describing something you must have or do to
appear fashionable
clientele [
] (noun) the customers or clients of a business
contretemps [
] (noun) an embarrassing small disagreement
en suite [
] (adverb/adjective) describing a connected bathroom and
bedroom
nom de plume [
] (noun) a false name used by a writer
savoir-faire [
] (noun) the ability to do or say the right thing in any
situation
Chinese:
gingseng [
] ( noun) the root of a tropical plant used to improve health
kumquat[
] ( noun) a small, oval orange-coloured fruit
Italian:
diva[
] (noun) a famous female singer
sotto voce[
] (adjective) said in a very quiet voice
German:
ersatz [
] (adjective) describes something used instead of something else
because the original is rare or too expensive
schadenfreude[
] (noun) a feeling of pleasure you get when something
bad happens to someone else
Japanese:
haiku[
] ( noun) a poem made up of 17 syllables only
ninja[
] ( noun) a Japanese sword-carrying fighter
Spanish:
macho[
] (adjective) behaving forcefully and without emotion in a way
that was thought typical of a man
pronto [
] (adjective) quickly and at once
Russian:
glasnost [
] (noun) a policy of making government more open and
accountable to its
people
intelligentsia[
] (noun) the highly educated people in a society who are
interested in arts and politics
politburo[
] (noun) the main governing group in a Communist country
samovar [
] (noun) a large metal container used to heat water for tea
troika[
] ( noun ) a group of three powerful politicians