Little verses for little folk

[Madman1981]

Hello,

Teddy
On the floor lies Tiny Teddy,
Half a paw is gone already.
He is tattered, torn, and lame,
Yet I love him just the same.

Little verses for little folk by A. Barto (Translated from the Russian)

Please comment on my pronunciation in the following clip.

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[emsr2d2]

The pronunciation is good. The only word I'd suggest you work on is "just". It sounds too much like "juzz". If you can't manage the full "st" at the end, use a sibilant "s". You need to work on where the stress comes, though. It's a rhyming poem, so it should have a very clear rhythm. I've marked in bold below where each stress should be:

On the floor lies Tiny Teddy
Half a paw is gone already
He is tattered, torn and lame
Yet I love him just the same.

Try to make each syllable the same length when you say them. There should be a break the same length as a single syllable after "lame".

 

[jutfrank]

I just want to point out that the 't' sound in 'just' (/t/) actually shouldn't be attempted, because of the following consonant (/ð/). It should sound like 'jus'.

 

[Madman1981]

The pronunciation is good. The only word I'd suggest you work on is "just". It sounds too much like "juzz". If you can't manage the full "st" at the end, use a sibilant "s". You need to work on where the stress comes, though. It's a rhyming poem, so it should have a very clear rhythm. I've marked in bold below where each stress should be:

On the floor lies Tiny Teddy
Half a paw is gone already
He is tattered, torn and lame
Yet I love him just the same.

Try to make each syllable the same length when you say them. There should be a break the same length as a single syllable after "lame".

I just want to point out that the 't' sound in 'just' (/t/) actually shouldn't be attempted, because of the following consonant (/ð/). It should sound like 'jus'.

I really appreciate your time and guidance.I’ve just recorded another clip.

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[jutfrank]

I’ve just recorded another clip.

I think your first attempt was better. The stress and rhythm, especially of lines 1 and 3, is not as good here.

For example, you overstress 'floor' and it's much too long. Keep each syllable the same length and with equal stress. Try again.

Here's a suggestion: Get a good AI (if you can't find a native speaker) to read the poem for you and try your best to copy the rhythm. If you're not sure whether the AI you use is a decent model, post it here and we'll evaluate it for you.

 

[Madman1981]

I think your first attempt was better. The stress and rhythm, especially of lines 1 and 3, is not as good here.

For example, you overstress 'floor' and it's much too long. Keep each syllable the same length and with equal stress. Try again.

Here's a suggestion: Get a good AI (if you can't find a native speaker) to read the poem for you and try your best to copy the rhythm. If you're not sure whether the AI you use is a decent model, post it here and we'll evaluate it for you.

I usually use Google-Text-to-Speech. Do you know any better TTS AI tool ? I often look up the pronunciation of individual words on YouTube, Wiktionary, and other places as well.

I've recorded a new clip.

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[emsr2d2]

I usually use Google-Text-to-Speech. Do you know any better TTS AI tool?

I don't, I'm afraid. I don't use TTS tools.
Remember that we don't put a space before a question mark.

I often look up the pronunciation of individual words on YouTube, Wiktionary, and other places as well.

My favourite pronunciation website is Forvo. Choose the language you want, then enter the word you want to hear. You'll then be presented with various recordings in different variants of English, all recorded by native English speakers.

 

[emsr2d2]

I've recorded a new clip.

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Unfortunately, that link leads to an error page.