Thread: Mastering general American pronunciation step by step

I've noticed overtime that I've become better able to understand Russian accents when they're speaking English. If you want a Native American English speaker that rarely speaks to Russians opinion, I can have my wife listen to the audio?


Scott

Originally Posted by iCake

How can it be fine if you even have to ask me which vowel I pronounced?



noon
excuse
spoon
soon
you
blue



dog
soggy
talk
walk
law

It's obvious that my consonants suck




I will

I could understand them. In 'blue', a softened ль was audible. Also in a previous set, 'pipe', the Russian style of pronouncing п was audible. So I can hear what you are doing well enough to tell what you are doing phonetically. It sounds pretty good to me.

Try a sentence instead of isolated, single words. What do you think?

Originally Posted by Seraph

Try a sentence instead of isolated, single words. What do you think?

Yes, I will. Just not now, I have to work through all the vowels and at least some consonants to start doing sentences.

iCake,
Here's my wife's opinion. 1 = bad, 5 = American speaker

https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/ees/s-j0WoQ


Vowels 5


Rapes 1
Lame 4
Day 5
Say 5


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/ees-1/s-fknAo


Vowels 5


Beam 2
Beat 5
Seat 5
Dean 3


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/a/s-X3oTY


Vowels 4


Arm 3
Car 3
Other 2
? 1


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/o/s-ws40y


Vowels 2


Warm 3
Form 3
Dorm 3
Born 3


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/a-n...ressed/s-aeCki


Arm 2
Car 2
Father 4
Box 4


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/o-n...ressed/s-JIBfY


Warn 3
Form 3
Torn 3
Born 3
https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/ae/s-zcimZ


Vowels 4


Lash 4
Bath 1
Tap 2
Bat 4


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/21-1/s-5mQKo


Vowels 4


No 4
Show 3
Dome 3
?
Bow 4


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/6y/s-06mwQ


Vowels 4


Why 4
Shy 3
Bride 2
?
?


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/1-1/s-Q5DIc


Vowels 4


Noon 4
Excuse 4
Spoon 4
Soon 3
You 3
Blue 1


https://soundcloud.com/icoolcake/3aw/s-RGwcn


Vowels 3


?
Soggy 2
?
Walk 3
Law 2



Scott

Thanks, fortheether. Now I see how bad I really am and I'm not being too hard on myself, just being realistic. I think right now I'll focus on at least some consonants and after that I'll try to hone the vowel sounds I've practiced so far. That will help me to pronounce words properly because it's obvious that my consonants desperately require some serious work, and even more than that bad consonants also tend to modify the vowels they precede. So lots of work to be carried out.

After that's been done I think I'll try to be more creative in my recordigs, maybe some simple sentences, minimal pairs and so on are to come.

And one more time, thank you for all the invaluable help you've provided.

Не за что!

Originally Posted by iCake

Thanks, fortheether. Now I see how bad I really am and I'm not being too hard on myself, just being realistic. I think right now I'll focus on at least some consonants and after that I'll try to hone the vowel sounds I've practiced so far. That will help me to pronounce words properly because it's obvious that my consonants desperately require some serious work, and even more than that bad consonants also tend to modify the vowels they precede. So lots of work to be carried out.

After that's been done I think I'll try to be more creative in my recordigs, maybe some simple sentences, minimal pairs and so on are to come.

And one more time, thank you for all the invaluable help you've provided.

Hello gals and lads.

Even though I know I messed it up miserably I'm still going to put up recordings of two consonants that I've been training for two days. They are N and M.

As promised I also said some simple sentences, so I'm also including transcripts of what I've tried to say to save your time.

N consonant:

Words:
rain - fender - knock - nine - spine - between

Sentences:
there was rain on the fender - there was one telephone at the emergency station


M consonant

Words:
swim - team - amber - arm - remember - mind

Sentences:
The swim team from Rome was welcomed - The ambulance number will come to mind


I hope to see a detailed report of how I coped with that. Also there are a lot of vowels that I've trained earlier there, so feel free to judge all the words..


Listen to the N consonant

Listen to the M consonant

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to your replies

iCake,

N – words were all excellent! To other post I heard "knock".



Sentence - “on” and “at” were a LITTLE too fast.



M – all excellent!

Excellent job!



Scott

Originally Posted by iCake

Hello gals and lads.

Even though I know I messed it up miserably I'm still going to put up recordings of two consonants that I've been training for two days. They are N and M.

As promised I also said some simple sentences, so I'm also including transcripts of what I've tried to say to save your time.

N consonant:

Words:
rain - fender - knock - nine - spine - between

Sentences:
there was rain on the fender - there was one telephone at the emergency station


M consonant

Words:
swim - team - amber - arm - remember - mind

Sentences:
The swim team from Rome was welcomed - The ambulance number will come to mind


I hope to see a detailed report of how I coped with that. Also there are a lot of vowels that I've trained earlier there, so feel free to judge all the words..


Listen to the N consonant

Listen to the M consonant

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to your replies

Originally Posted by fortheether

iCake,

N – words were all excellent! To other post I heard "knock".



Sentence - “on” and “at” were a LITTLE too fast.



M – all excellent!

Excellent job!



Scott

Thanks, good to know I actually pulled something off. Going to post new stuff later today then.

What about the general pronunciation there? Not just regarding N and M but all the vowels there? Also how were my TH'S and R'S there?

It was all good.


Scott

Originally Posted by iCake

Thanks, good to know I actually pulled something off. Going to post new stuff later today then.

What about the general pronunciation there? Not just regarding N and M but all the vowels there? Also how were my TH'S and R'S there?

iCake,
My wife's opinion.

N words



Words – good



1^st sentence – good



2^nd sentence – she heard “run to the phone” instead of “one telephone”



M words



Words – understandable but with an accent



1^st Sentence – good but the word “swim”



2^nd Sentence – good


Scott

Originally Posted by iCake

Hello gals and lads.

Even though I know I messed it up miserably I'm still going to put up recordings of two consonants that I've been training for two days. They are N and M.

As promised I also said some simple sentences, so I'm also including transcripts of what I've tried to say to save your time.

N consonant:

Words:
rain - fender - knock - nine - spine - between

Sentences:
there was rain on the fender - there was one telephone at the emergency station


M consonant

Words:
swim - team - amber - arm - remember - mind

Sentences:
The swim team from Rome was welcomed - The ambulance number will come to mind


I hope to see a detailed report of how I coped with that. Also there are a lot of vowels that I've trained earlier there, so feel free to judge all the words..


Listen to the N consonant

Listen to the M consonant

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to your replies

Just for fun -- An audio reading of Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, which was written by an American linguist to demonstrate the point that, in English, vowel pronunciation is relatively unimportant for comprehension, at least in comparison to consonant pronunciation, syllabic stress, and phrase intonation.



Here's the written text.

Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage, honor itch offer lodge dock florist. Disk ladle gull orphan worry ladle cluck wetter putty ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.

Wan moaning, Rat Rotten Hut's murder colder inset, "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter an shirker cockles. Tick disk ladle basking tutor cordage offer groin-murder hoe lifts honor udder site offer florist. Shaker lake! Dun stopper laundry wrote! An yonder nor sorghum-stenches, dun stopper torque wet strainers!"

"Hoe-cake, murder," resplendent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, an tickle ladle basking an stuttered oft. Honor wrote tutor cordage offer groin-murder, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut mitten anomalous woof. "Whale, whale, whale!", set disk wicket woof, "Evanescent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut! Wares are putty ladle gull goring wizard ladle basking?"

"Armor goring tumor groin-murder's," reprisal ladle gull. "Grammar's seeking bet. Armor ticking arson burden barter an shirker cockles."
"O hoe! Heifer blessing woke," setter wicket woof, butter taught tomb shelf, "Oil tickle shirt court tutor cordage offer groin-murder. Oil ketchup wetter letter, an den - O bore!"

Soda wicket woof tucker shirt court, an whinney retched a cordage offer groin-murder, picked inner widow, an sore debtor pore oil worming worse lion inner bet. Inner flesh, disk abdominal woof lipped honor bet an at a rope. Den knee poled honor groin-murder's nut cup an gnat-gun, any curdled dope inner bet.

Inner ladle wile, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut a raft attar cordage, an ranker dough belle. "Comb ink, sweat hard," setter wicket woof, disgracing is verse. Ladle Rat Rotten Hut entity bet rum an stud buyer groin-murder's bet.

"O Grammar!" crater ladle gull, "Wood bag icer gut! A nervous sausage bag ice!"
"Battered lucky chew whiff, doling," whiskered disk ratchet woof, wetter wicket small.

"O Grammar, water bag noise! A nervous sore suture anomolous prognosis!"
"Battered small your whiff," insert a woof, ants mouse worse waddling.

"O Grammar, water bag mousy gut! A nervous sore suture bag mouse!"
Daze worry on-forger-nut gulls lest warts. Oil offer sodden, thoroughing offer carvers an sprinkling otter bet, disk curl and bloat-thursday woof ceased pore Ladle Rat Rotten Hut an garbled erupt.

Mural: Yonder nor sorghum stenches shut ladle gulls stopper torque wet strainers.

As written, the text is complete nonsense, but when read aloud with "normal" English intonation and (mostly) correct consonant sounds, the sense quickly becomes clear to native speakers, even though the vowel sounds are totally f**ked up. (E.g., Armor goring tumor groin-murder's, reprisal ladle gull = "I'm a-going to my grandmother's, replies the little girl.")

Again, just for fun, and definitely not a model of standard US English vowels!!

Just for fun -- An audio reading of Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, which was written by an American linguist to demonstrate the point that, in English, vowel pronunciation is relatively unimportant for comprehension, at least in comparison to consonant pronunciation, syllabic stress, and phrase intonation.

That, of course, is very interesting and educational and everything. Although, all I have right now is a funny video but no feedback on how I did. Now I ended up asking myself whether I should work more on the current sounds or move on...

Originally Posted by iCake

I ended up asking myself whether I should work more on the current sounds or move on...

You should be fine to move on. At most I only noticed two mistakes - "brain on the fender" (this one I heard wrong) and "swin team". I have even accidentally said "swin team", so don't worry. Keep it up!

Hi iCake!
Although, as I understood, you approve of answers from native speakers better I'll venture to say one or two things about your work.

N
1. There's written "knock", but on the recording you say "not", don't you?
2. In the word "spine" you aspirate the "p", but p, t, k are not aspirated before "s".
3. And in "between" the other way round there's a kind of aspiration. Just listen to some recording, find there words with "tw" and note how it's pronounced
4. "Telephone", again not aspirated.

M
1."Come" not aspirated

Originally Posted by kib

Hi iCake!
Although, as I understood, you approve of answers from native speakers better I'll venture to say one or two things about your work.

N
1. There's written "knock", but on the recording you say "not", don't you?
2. In the word "spine" you aspirate the "p", but p, t, k are not aspirated before "s".
3. And in "between" the other way round there's a kind of aspiration. Just listen to some recording, find there words with "tw" and note how it's pronounced
4. "Telephone", again not aspirated.

M
1."Come" not aspirated

Thanks for the tips but as you can see the thread title is "Mastering American pronunciation step by step". I'm just not that advanced student to know what you were talking about. I just never even got to those p, k, t etc sounds yet. All I've done are almost all the major vowels and M, N consonants. Anyway, your post is extremely useful and I'll definitely look into it. Thanks.

About the "knock", I didn't try to say "not" I tried to say "knock". Native speakers seem to hear it the way I tried to pronounce that but maybe you're right.

Originally Posted by iCake

About the "knock", I didn't try to say "not" I tried to say "knock". Native speakers seem to hear it the way I tried to pronounce that but maybe you're right.

That's very strange, I'm 100% sure that there's a t on the recording. Of course it doesn't really matter to anybody, but I'm curius to know how's that! I don't think I hear SO differently from natavies as to mix up "t" and "k".

А вообще, Игорь, можешь рассказать поподробнее, что за курс ты приобрел и как ты по нему занимаешься?

Originally Posted by kib

А вообще, Игорь, можешь рассказать поподробнее, что за курс ты приобрел и как ты по нему занимаешься?

Gene Zerna - Master spoken English.

There is no special secret about how I use the course. I just try to get through it carefully, trying to mimic everything Gene Zerna teaches there. Recording my voice, comparing it to original, then posting results here to see what people say about that.

Originally Posted by iCake

Gene Zerna - Master spoken English.

There is no special secret about how I use the course. I just try to get through it carefully, trying to mimic everything Gene Zerna teaches there. Recording my voice, comparing it to original, then posting results here to see what people say about that.

I see, thanks.