You've been practicing your American accent, working on words, patterns, and changing pronunciation. You are able to change how you say words when you practice, but when you go to speak with colleagues, friends and strangers, you still have an accent.
Sound familiar? Changing your speech patterns can be challenging because in order to have conversations, we have to think about what we are saying, rather than how we are pronouncing words. Here's a practice tip to help you get those new patterns into your everyday speech. Think of something you say on a regular basis. For example, do you order the same coffee drink at the drive-through, or greet the same person as you arrive at work each day? Think about the words you use. Do any of them have your target sounds? For example, if you usually order a vanilla latte, are you using a good intial V sound on the word vanilla? If you typically say "good morning" to the receptionist, are you able to used a voiced "d" at the end of the word good? Select one small target to keep in mind, and try to use it each time you are in the setting. Soon you will find you don't have to think so hard to use your correct pronunciation pattern, because it has become a habit. Then you are ready to add a new target or a new setting. It may seem like an insignificant step, but small changes are the way to get real results in in your real communication interactions. Leave your ideas and successes in the comments below.
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What words do you find most difficult to say in English? Speech Modification's Accent Reduction Technique (S.M.A.R.T.) focuses on the most frequently used words in English, as well as the business, technical and social words that you use the most. By practicing the things you actually say, you can change your speech. We want to hear from you! Tell us which words you find the most difficult, and we will provide recordings for you to practice these words. Choose from the list below, or add your own words. We'll help you say what you really want to say, and to say it correctly.
The US celebrates Independence Day on July fourth each year. People typically refer to the holiday as the Fourth of July. The word fourth can be a challenge to say. Firstly, many people have difficulty with the th sound at the end of this word. They might use a t sound or an f sound instead. Fourth might sound like fort or forf.
Practice the th sound by putting your tongue between your teeth and blowing air over it. Make sure you hold this sound at the end of the word. You can try other words with this sound, like with, both, earth, teeth. You might also find that the vowel in fourth is difficult to say correctly. “Or” is really two vowel sounds together: o and er. Try saying it slowly. Sometimes people leave out the “er” sound or make more of an “uh” sound instead. Avoid saying oh-uh by making sure you have a tight tongue pulled back in your mouth to say er. Now try putting it all together. Happy Fourth of July! Chile: Chee-lay or chill-e? Iraq: Eye-rack or ee-rock? How we choose to pronounce place names and foreign loan words in English says something about our world knowledge. The trend towards using pronunciations on words which are authentic to the language of origin can be controversial. Is it better to be "correct" and true to the way the word is said in the country it originates from, or should we use the American pronunciation, which may have completely altered the original? Quartz.com talks about recent trends in the media, and how shifts occur as news stories highlight other parts of the world. (Read more here.) Perhaps the wisest approach is to know your audience. If you talk about your recent visit to Par-ee (Paris) and Not-re Dam (Notre Dame de Paris), and you see a confused look on your friend's face, repeat yourself and say "Paris." But if you're talking about the American University Notre Dame (Noter Dame), stick with the way the Americans say it. Not sure how Americans say a word? Ask a friend, or use an online dictionary to clear it up. |
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