The English Speech Training Manual Part 2: Get Rid of Your Accent: Advanced Level

61 Pages·2011·11.34 MB·English

by  Linda James

T E E N G L I S H SPEEC
A L
'Il~/\INING
ISBN-10 0-9553300-1-7
978-0-9553300-1-8
ISBN-13
EAN 9780955330018
£19.95
Get Rid of your Accent
Advanced Level
The English Speech Training Manual Part I I
By Linda James & Olga Smith
"The non-native speaker aspiring to fluency in English needs this
advanced knowledge for getting rid of his accent. This vital book will
guide him in improving his delivery, mastering English names and
colloquialisms and displaying his ease and command in speaking in
public. "
John Kennedy Melling, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants, Fellow of the Royal Society of Art, author, broadcaster
and critic.
''I was struggling because I was stuck at the intermediate level of
English for a long time. Then I bought the first book by these authors,
Get Rid of your Accent, which helped me tremendously with improving
my accent. I was waiting for this new book, and its so useful for my
fluency and sounding more English!"
Laurent Blanchard, MS, IT BI Project Manager, Paris
''Its a brilliant book, and it has already changed my life. Among the
most useful features are wonderful fluency exercises, lots of idioms,
examples of onomatopoeia and pronunciation of British place names
(which had always puzzled me, and marked me out as a foreigner).
The book a/so made me a more interesting speaker by adding variety
to my voice, using the 4 Ps method. I recommend this book to all
professionals of foreign origin, because staying competitive in a
professional environment requires that one be a competent
communicator. "
Anna Burrows, Polish native living in Cambridge, ACMA, MSc, CMS
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1
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Published by Business & Technical Communication Services
8 Fairholme Road, London, W14 9JX
Information on th is title: www.batcs.co.uk
©
Business & Technical Communication Services, 2011
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction
of any part may take place without the express written permission of
Business and Technical Communication Services.
First Edition
Imak Ofs et, Merkez mah. Ataturk cad. Gol sok. No: 1, 34192
Yenibosna-Istanbul, Turkey
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2 3
L
Table of Contents
• Part 5: Additional Speech Exercises ............................
9~
Wann-up ex eCr I'ses ........... .......................... .................. .. ............ 9
International Phonetic Alphabet .... ........ ..... ................... ........ ..
1O~
Illtroduction .... .. .... ..... ................ .... ... ... ... ...... ..... ....... ......... ...... ..... 6 Vowel comparison charts ........................ " ............................... 10
Consonan t caln parJ'sons ................................ ' .................. . ........ 106
• Part 1: Difficult Speech Patterns .................................. II
Pronunciation of London Underground statIons and
Lesson I: Consonant clusters ..................................................... 12
Lesson 2: Voiced and unvoiced endings for plurals and pIa ce 11ames ............ :.: ....... ... ..................................................... 109
Pronunciation ofBnttsh place names ...................................... 112
third person singular ... ... .... ................. ............. ...... .. .... .......... .... 16
Strong and weak forms chart ................................................... 113
Lesson 3: Past tense verbs ending in "ed" ................................. 20
CD 1 Content ........................................................................... 114
Lesson 4: Glottal Stops f?! ........ ......................... .... ...... .... .. ... ..... 24
CD 2 Content ..................................... .......................... 115
Lesson 5: Neutral vowel (schwa)/a/··· ... ·· .................................. 26
............ .. ..................................... 116
GI os sary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 8
Lesson 6: Strong and weak forms of words .............. .......... ....... 30
Bibliography .......................................... ......... ... .... .................. 11
• Part 2: Connected Speech Patterns ............................. 35
Acknowledgements .................................................................. 119
Lesson 7: Consonant elision ...................................................... 36
Lesson 8: Liaisons - Compound nouns .................................... .40
Lesson 9: Liaisons - Phrasal verbs with adverbial
particles and prepositions ........................................................... 42
Lesson 10: Liaisons - Continuous verbs with adverbs
ornouns ... .... ... ........ .................... ...... ........... .. ... ...... .. .... .. ... 44
Lesson II: Liaisons - Words with preposition s ........................ 46
Lesson 12: Liaison of vowel to vowel ....................................... 50
Lesson 13: Linking Ir/ .......................... ...................................... 54
Lesson 14: Intrusive Ir/ ................ ... ,,, ........................................ 58
• Part 3: Flow of Speech ............................. ...................... 61
Lesson 15: Natural flow of speech ............................................. 62
Lesson 16: Sentence stress ......................................................... 64
Lesson 17: Intonation and inflection .......................................... 66
Lesson 18 : Onomatopoeia .......................................................... 70
• Part 4: 4 Ps ...................................................................... 73
Lesson 19: 4 Ps (Power, Pause, Pace and Pitch) ........................ 74
Lesson 20: Power ....................................................................... 76
Lesson 21: Pause .......... .. ...... .... .. ........ .... ...... ........... ..... .. ...... ...... 80
·Lesson 22: Pace .......................................................................... 84
Lesson 23: Pitch ......................................................................... 88
Lesson 24: Summary of the 4 Ps.. .................. ............................ 92
4
5
Introduction
All of our students had one goal in common: to blend into an Engl ish
speaking society in a most natural way, using good colloquial speech.
What we decided to do in this book was to collect expressions that
Why we wrote this book
native speakers of English use nowadays. We put them into our
sentences, passages and mini dialogues. Our new book will help you
Following the tremendous success of our first book, "Get Rid of your
to uncover the most current form of this dynamic language.
Accent", we launched a series of accent reduction courses for
diplomats and professionals. Many of our students had reasonably
good pronunciation with a few problem sounds, and just needed to
A short history of English pronunciation
fine tune some of the detailS, such as:
You may notice that the English pronunciation of certain words -
-
usage of neutral vowels,
especially place names - is not the same as the spelling of the words.
linkages,
Why is this?
liaisons, and
intonation, sentence stress and usage of pauses.
Many English words are imported from foreign languages, often when
speakers of the language immigrated to or conquered part of England.
We decided to create a complement to our first book with all the
Germanic peoples, Vikings, and of course the French, who conquered
things mentioned above, plus:
all of England, Wales and Scotland after invading in 1066, are the
best-known examples.
usage of voiced and unvoiced consonants,
consonant clusters,
When native English people adopted the words, they anglicised them.
intrusive vowels, and
For many centuries, the people speaking the newly adopted words
glottal stops.
were illiterate. They never saw, and wouldn't have recognised, the
spelling of the words they were saying. So the pronunciation evolved,
The difficulty with English pronunciation comes from the fact that
for hundreds and hundreds of years, completely unconstrained by the
English inherited many foreign words and names, and kept foreign
way the word was actually spelled.
spelling, but partly or completely anglicised their pronunciation. That's
why we also included:
This is why, just for one example, Worcester is usually pronounced
"Wooster", or Leicester is pronounced "Lester". In general, it's often
pronunciation of London Underground stations,
very difficult for a foreign-born person who has seen a place name in
-
British geographic names, and
print to recognise the same place name when a native English speaker
names of colleges and places of historic interest.
pronounces it.
We have also discovered that many non-native English speakers use
In the last couple of centuries, as literacy became the norm, some
old-fashioned, outdated expressions that they've taken from various
pronunciations have drifted back towards the way a word is spelled.
textbooks. Some of them also try to create their own expressions by
Contact with foreigners causes some English people to try to say
combining words using correct grammar. That makes them sound very
words the way they're pronounced in the original language, even
foreign, because English expressions are not based on correct
though this can sound pretentious. (The French phrase " hors
grammar, but just spring up creatively over time and are then copied
d'ceuvres", or appetizers, is pronounced in many different ways for
by others. Native English speakers tend to hear whole phrases, rather
this reason). But place names are deeply embedded in the speech of
than separate words.
the indigenous population. So it's unlikely we'll hear English people
saying "Warsester" any time soon.
6 7
Americans, from a much younger country, were never as illiterate as Who this book is for
the medieval English, and were never conquered. So Americans tend
to pronounce words in a way much closer to their spelling. But in the Native English speakers include:
UK, American pronunciations, word choices and spellings are • Pronunciation and speech teachers
• Actors with non-RP accents who wish to widen their range
somewhat looked down on, and foreign-born speakers who
accidentally pick them up often try to get rid of "Americanisms" and • Hollywood actors who need to develop a British accent
• Professionals for whom a high standard of English and clarity
return to the original English phrasing, spelling and pronunciation.
of speech are important
• Public speakers.
Methodology used in this book
Non-native English speakers include:
We believe that the best way to write a training manual is to base it • Students
on practical work, and the best way to learn language skills is by the • International businessmen and executives
regular, daily practice of these exercises, so eventually the correct • Diplomats
pronunciation becomes second nature to the speaker. We use mini • Call centre employees
dialogues, short passages, and sentences for you to incorporate the • Intelligence agents
fine pOints in your speech. • Skilled professionals: teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers,
journalists, etc, who wish to advance in their profession in
We show how the meaning of a sentence can be changed by placing Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and other
countries where English is an official or business language
stress on different words. We use a selection of poetry and prose,
where we show how you can use t he 4 Ps - power, pitch, pace and (e.g. India)
• pause - to create an impact wit h your speech. • People who work in service and hospitality industries and need
to communicate with good English
We support all exercises with recordings on the accompanying CDs. • Public speakers.
8 9
Part 1: Difficult Speech Patterns
•
10 11
Lesson 1: Consonant clusters
A3 " "
" Exercises for consonant cluster spr
Consonant clusters can be quite difficult to pronounce for both native
ise b breaking the word down as in the examples below, starting the word
C/uste~
and non-native English speakers. The tip of the tongue needs to be ::hthe ("ird consonant of the then adding the second and finally the
tightly controlled in the following clusters. first.
s----pring spring
nng pring
spring
I/
Do not change /s/ as in "sing " into / as in "shall" in consonant
s----pread spread
read pread
spread
clusters: "str", "spr", "ser", "spi",
rawl prawl s----prawl sprawl
sprawl
A1
s----pray spray
pray
ray
spray
.
" Exercises for consonant cluster "str" • rai•n praln s----prain sprain
sprain
s----prinkle sprinkle
rinkle prinkle
sprinkle
Practise by breaking the word down as in the examples be/ow, starting the word
with the third consonant of the clusteJ; then adding the second and finally the
first.
A4
street reet " Sentences for consonant cluster "spr"
treet s----treet street
stress ress tress
s----tress stress
strategy rategy Listen and repeat. Read each sentence aloud slowly at first, then
trategy
s----trategy strategy
as you were telling to someone in a natural way.
if it
strange range
trange
s----trange strange
1. With a final sprint, the hurdler won the race but
strong rong trong
s----trong strong
sprained his ankle.
straight raight
traight s----traight straight
2. The hostess served spring greens and brussels
•
sprouts with her roast beef. . . , .
A2
3. The lawn was sprayed with water and sprinkled with fertiliser.
" Sentences for consonant cluster "str"
Listen and repeat. Read each sentence aloud slowly at first, then as If
AS
you were telling it to someone in a natural way.
" Exercises for consonant cluster "scr"
1. Simon reckoned that at a stretch, his strategy
Practise by breaking the word down, as in the examples below, starting the word
would put him streets ahead of his rivals.
with the third consonant of the duster, then adding the second and finally the
2. The strong, Silent stranger stared straight ahead
first.
across the room at the stripper.
3. The strength of feeling showed in the strained
scream ream cream s----cream scream
expressions of the protesters.
screen reen creen s----creen screen
screech reech creetch s----creech screech
s----crap scrap
scrap rap crap
s----cratch scratch
scratch ratch cratch
scramble ramble cramble s----cramble scramble
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12
A6
Task: Read the following idioms and colloquial expressions with
" Sentences for consonant cluster "scr"
examples. Note consonant clusters. Make up your own sentences
using the examples.
Listen and repeat Read each sentence aloud slowly at first, then as you were
If
telling to someone in a natural way.
it
1 To be streets ahead of somebody.
Meaning: To be superior compared to somebody.
1. Screaming and screeching in public is not really done.
2. To have a screw loose.
2. The film director decided to scrap the screenplay and re-write the
or
Meaning: To be irrational mentally unstable.
script.
3. To scrimp and save.
3. Simon scratched his legs as he scrambled through the scrubland.
Meaning: To economise.
4. Split second. . .
Meaning: A very brief penod of time.
A7
5. To start something from scratch. . .
" Exercises for consonant cluster "spl"
Meaning: To start something from the very beginning.
6. To pull a few strings. . '
Practise by breaking the word down as in the examples be/ow, starting the word
Meaning: To use connections for getting a Job, a
with the third consonant of the cluster, then adding the second and finally the
first
promotion, etc.
splash lash plash s----plash splash
split Ii t plit s----plit split
splendid lendid plendid s----plend id splendid
splutter lutter plutter s----plutter splutter
splinter linter plinter s----plinter splinter
sPW-Jrge lurge plurge s----plurge splurge
AS
" Sentences for consonant cluster "spl"
Listen and repeat, Read each sentence a/Dud slowly at first, then as you were
If
telling it to someone in a natural way.
1. On his birthday, Richard splurged on a
splendid meal.
2. The news of the couple's split was splashed
all over the newspapers.
3. The car engine spluttered and then
splattered oil across the road.
14 15
Lesson 2: Voiced and unvoiced endings for All
" Comparison: [s) (z)
and
plurals and third person singular
(z]
lsI
Rule: If the sound before the ending is unvoiced, then the ending will
Verbs
Verbs
be unvoiced too. If the sound before the ending is voiced, then the
brings
breaks
ending will be voiced.
reads
rants
jives
•
Jumps
Unvoiced consonants are made purely with breath, voiced consonants
skids
skips
are made with breath and sound.
gives
gallops
A9 A10
Plurals
Plurals
" Unvoiced Consonants " Voiced Consonants
beds
bits
kegs
cats
I pl - put - I put l I bl - but - I bM I hands
hats
gnomes
I t I - I tu: 1 I dl - I du: 1
two - do - gnats
needs
nuts
I kl - cake - I ·kerk l I gl - go - I gau l
I f I - I frf l Ivl -
f is h - very - I veri l
191 - think - I bl - that - I b<£t l
1 9r~k l A12
lsi Izl
l si - sip - I srp l I zl - zoo - I zu: I ~ Sentences for and
If I - If<£1 1 131 - I me3a l
shall - measure -
Listen and repeat the following sentences/ noting unvoiced and voiced
Itfl - I tf3:tfl I d31 - I dy,d3 1
church - judge -
I hl - I h<£t l
hat - 1. Sticks(s) and stones(z) may break my bones(z) but
I ml - l ·mAni l names(z) will never hurt me.
money -
•
2. Sweet words(z) butter no parsnips(s).
I nl - I nau l
no -
3. The most successful performer acts(s), dances(z)
-
sing -
I ~ I I sr~ 1 and sings(z) to a very high standard.
I II - light - I lart l 4. Among his many tasks(s), the busy chef chops(s),
whisks(s), sieves(z), roasts(s) and grills(z).
I rl - I ·rrval
river -
5. It's been raining cats(s) and dogs(z) in London, all
Ijes l
/j/ - yes -
my clothes(z) are soaking wet.
Iwl - IWDz l
was -
1
Note: All vowels and diphthongs are voiced
17
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