Is there a difference between RP /ai/ and regional /ai/?

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LordJenkins

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Hi guys, ive been trying to neutralise my accent over the last year or so. I am almost there, but some vowel sounds are just not working for me.

I am from Manchester in England, and as most of you will know, we speak flat vowels, and this is hindering me quite a bit.

If I were to say the word Sky, it would sound like SkEYE. Very common. Flat sounding, no diphthong /ai/. If i were to use this diphthong, it would sound like skAHH-EYE, right?

Ive watched old films, where RP was the norm, and the /ai/ vowel, was very crisp, and clear. Do you guys know what I mean lol?


Basically I want to pronounce /ai/ the RP way, and I would like to know how I would articulate it. Mouth shape, tongue position etc...


I am also struggling with tripthongs. I need some help on how to articulate words like Fire, hour etc...


One last thing im struggling with, and thats /ae/. I want to pronounce it the correct RP way. As you can imagine, up North, we use /a/ not /ae/, so words like Cat, sound very common, Can you help me with articlating this vowel too?


Thank you :)

Jay
 
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LordJenkins

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
Europe
Current Location
UK
Status
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