Feedback on my accent and pronunciation

[Pasquale Esposito]

Hello everyone, I am a native Italian-speaking English teacher and have been teaching and testing for many years.

I am trying to perfect my English pronunciation by getting rid of those flaws that are characteristic of native Italian speakers.

Below, is a link to an audio I created for my fellow teachers who also aspire to work as examiners:

In your opinion, what are the elements of my English diction that I need to work on to try to get closer to standard pronunciation? Moreover, do you think it would be easier for me to acquire British pronunciation or American pronunciation?

Thanks in advance.

 

[probus]

Hello Pasquale and welcome to the forum. I have moved your thread from Ask a Teacher to Pronunciation and Phonetics.

 

[jutfrank]

I think you sound absolutely fine as you are, Pasquale. From what I've heard, there's nothing wrong with your pronunciation. Spend your precious energy elsewhere.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

I think you sound absolutely fine as you are, Pasquale. From what I've heard, there's nothing wrong with your pronunciation. Spend your precious energy elsewhere.

Thank you very much for your feedback. Anyway, listening to myself again, I realized that I pronounced some words in the American way (e.g. "leisure") and others in the British way (e.g. "neither"). So, I probably need to be more consistent when it comes to choosing between British pronunciation and American pronunciation.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, consistency is good, but to be honest people will barely notice anyway, so I woundn't worry about it.

By the way, which British way of saying 'neither' do you have in mind? We use both.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

Yes, consistency is good, but to be honest people will barely notice anyway, so I woundn't worry about it.

By the way, which British way of saying 'neither' do you have in mind? We use both.

Isn't the diphthong "ei" in "neither" (or "either") pronunced just like the diphthong "ie" in the word "field" in American English and like the vowel "i" in the word "nine" in British English? That's what I learned from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong:

 

[5jj]

In his Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, John Wells says that 87% of speakers of BrE use the 'nine' vowel.

My edition was published fifteen years ago, but I imagine the situation today is similar.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

In his Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, John Wells says that 87% of speakers of BrE use the 'nine' vowel.

My edition was published fifteen years ago, but I imagine the situation today is similar.

Thanks for sharing. So, 13% of British people pronounce "neither" in the American way.

 

[5jj]

Yes.

 

[jutfrank]

I'd guess it's quite a bit more than 13% these days, and I don't think it's simply regional. Talking about myself, for instance, I've noticed that I use both, depending on how fast I'm speaking.

 

[emsr2d2]

I use both pronunciations. I don't think there's a pattern or context that determines which one my brain chooses at any given moment.

 

[Pasquale Esposito]

It's interesting to know that some English native speakers use both pronunciations. This makes me understand there's a certain level of flexibility in English pronunciation.