Pronunciation instruction

[NewHope]

Has it sounded clearly?

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.ph...post&id=122563
(Only 17KB)

The sound reads the word PRONUNCIATION in AmE.

Need your detailed instruction on the pronunciation. Please point out its deficiency. Thank you.

[Tdol]

It's not a native American speaker, at least not to my BrE ears.

The 'r' is indistinct and the 'a' is rather too long and doesn't quite hit the mark. Let's wait for the Americans to say what they think.

[NewHope]

Would you like to depict how to pronounce "r" loudly and clearly?

[Steven D]

Originally Posted by tdol

It's not a native American speaker, at least not to my BrE ears.

The 'r' is indistinct and the 'a' is rather too long and doesn't quite hit the mark. Let's wait for the Americans to say what they think.

I agree. It does not sound at all like a sample of someone whose first language is English.

Here's an example from Answers.com. It's definitely an American English voice, but the "a" vowel sound is given too much stress. It's not an authentic model of how the word is pronounced. It seems to me that this model of pronunciaiton is intended to emphasize where the stress goes. It's not, however, quite like how the word would normally be spoken. It would be misleading to someone looking for an authentic model, unfortunately.

http://www.answers.com/pronunciation...6.171&method=3


pro·nun·ci·a·tion (prə-nŭn'sē-ā'shən) http://www.answers.com/main/content/img/pron.gif


Unfortunately, the same thing occurs with Merriam-Webster as well.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-b...?pronunciation

[NewHope]

Thank you, thank you very much X Mode.

[Steven D]

You're welcome.

The rest of the pronunciation of "pronunciation" from Answers.com is fine, however.

I have something else to say in addition to what tdol said about your sound file. The last syllable "tion" is too strong. The intonation should be lower, and there's too much of a vowel sound. The last syllable is a schwa vowel sound. The speaker on that sound file doesn't make the schwa sound well enough.

[Steven D]

Originally Posted by NewHope

Would you like to depict how to pronounce "r" loudly and clearly?

The tongue sits at the bottom of the mouth below the teeth. It's curled downward. Think of a growling sound. There should be a vibration in your throat when you make a growling sound. That's how I would describe the "r" sound. It's a very quick growl, however. Don't stay on it. It goes by quickly. Thinking about how "R" growls and where the tongue is located is a good way to practice it. This is a description I've given for "R" to students that have difficulty with it, and it seems to work. The tough part is remembering it when you speak. It takes practice.

The "L" sound is the opposite of the "R" sound. The tongue is at the top of the mouth and behind the top row of teeth. The "L" sound doesn't growl like the "R" sound.