pronunciation: LAW

[andi harper]

Hello friends.

I'd be most grateful if native speakers could listen to this recording http://vocaroo.com/i/s1GMabhmmTIw of me saying the following:

"law enforcement"
"break the law"
"in a court of law"
"the letter of the law"
"lawsuit"
"lawful"

What do you think of my pronunciation of the word LAW? (Note that I'm only aiming for American English).

 

[GoesStation]

It's very good.

 

[andi harper]

It's very good.

Hi, GoesStation.
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to hear that. I just want to say that I'm in the process of changing my pronunciation, so this is really important to me. In the recording, I pronounced all the LAWs with the Ah vowel sound as in FATHER and I'm planning on always pronouncing the word LAW like that. Would it be acceptable to do that in American English?

 

[GoesStation]

Hi, GoesStation.
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to hear that. I just want to say that I'm in the process of changing my pronunciation, so this is really important to me. In the recording, I pronounced all the LAWs with the Ah vowel sound as in FATHER and I'm planning on always pronouncing the word LAW like that. Would it be acceptable to do that in American English?

Actually you're doing better than that: you're pronouncing law with the same vowel as caught or dawn -- in my pronunciation, anyway. Many Americans use the same vowel in caught, cot, law, lot, and father, but I don't. Those who merge those vowels don't use the one you're producing; they use a vowel with less-rounded lips for both sets of words.

I don't think merging the two will impede understanding. This distinction is much less important than the difficult one (for Russophones, anyway) between the vowels in ship and sheep.

 

[andi harper]

Actually you're doing better than that: you're pronouncing law with the same vowel as caught or dawn

Just to clarify. You're saying that the way I pronounced all the LAWs in the recording sounded to you like I pronounced them with this vowel [ ɔ ], the one that people who do not have the caught-cot merger pronounce "caught" with?

 

[GoesStation]

Just to clarify. You're saying that the way I pronounced all the LAWs in the recording sounded to you like I pronounced them with this vowel [ ɔ ], the one that people who do not have the caught-cot merger pronounce "caught" with?

Yes. I couldn't find the IPA symbol in a form I could paste in here.

 

[andi harper]

If you don't mind listening to another recording of me saying the same words but this time I'm pronouncing them with what I consider to be this vowel sound [ ɔ ]. Please tell me what you think of it. http://vocaroo.com/i/s1GLCRv7lvmv

 

[GoesStation]

You're pronouncing the sound very well. Congratulations.

 

[andi harper]

You're pronouncing the sound very well. Congratulations.

Thank you very you much.

But did you hear any difference in the pronunciation of the word LAW between the first and the second recordings?

 

[GoesStation]

Thank you very you much.

But did you hear any difference in the pronunciation of the word LAW between the first and the second recordings?

The second is even better than the first. You have a little trouble with law enforcement. It's probably harder to get the vowel right when the following word begins with a vowel. Try putting a very brief pause between the words.

 

[andi harper]

I'm just curious. In the first recording, you told me that it sounded to you like I pronounced the LAWs with this vowel sound [ ɔ ].

Then what vowel sound did you hear in the second recording?

 

[GoesStation]

I'm just curious. In the first recording, you told me that it sounded to you like I pronounced the LAWs with this vowel sound [ ɔ ].

Then what vowel sound did you hear in the second recording?

The same. It's just a little more open in the second.

 

[Tdol]

What do you think of my pronunciation of the word LAW? (Note that I'm only aiming for American English).

The sound is fine, but you seem to be overemphasising the word, though this is probably a consequence of the recording.

 

[andi harper]

The same. It's just a little more open in the second.

Would you say that I pronounce the LAWs in the first recording with a sound that is something in between [ɑː] as in FATHER and [ ɔ ]?

 

[GoesStation]

Would you say that I pronounce the LAWs in the first recording with a sound that is something in between [ɑː] as in FATHER and [ ɔ ]?

Yes, perhaps. Honestly though, you pronounce the vowel well enough in both samples that you'll be easily understood, except maybe in law enforcement.

 

[andi harper]

Yes, perhaps. Honestly though, you pronounce the vowel well enough in both samples that you'll be easily understood, except maybe in law enforcement.

Thank you for replying. The thing is that I don't want to be simply understood, I want to sound like a native American speaker.
Could you please tell me if I sound like one in the first recording?

 

[GoesStation]

Adult learners can hardly ever sound like native speakers, no matter how hard they try. I appreciate the ambition, but I think your efforts will be better placed on gaining fluency, learning natural usage, and having as mild an accent as possible.

Your accent is very good in both recordings except for law enforcement. Your letter of the law is the closest to native; you've mastered the American pronunciation of letter and the unstressed of the following it. Remember that Americans pronounce the vowel in suit like the one in boot and don't usually fully articulate a final t.

 

[andi harper]

Adult learners can hardly ever sound like native speakers, no matter how hard they try. I appreciate the ambition, but I think your efforts will be better placed on gaining fluency, learning natural usage, and having as mild an accent as possible.

Your accent is very good in both recordings except for law enforcement. Your letter of the law is the closest to native; you've mastered the American pronunciation of letter and the unstressed of the following it.

I very much appreciate your comments, GoesStation. It really means a lot to me. I'll keep your advice in mind but I will still try my best to sound as closest to a native speaker as possible.:-D

I just want to say that even though you said that my pronunciation of the sound was better in the second recording, to be honest, I don't feel very comfortable pronouncing the word LAW with this sound [ ɔ ] and I'm leaning towards the first kind of pronunciation which is close to this one [ɑː].

So could you please tell me if I sound like a native American speaker in the first recording?

 

[GoesStation]

I very much appreciate your comments, GoesStation. It really means a lot to me. I'll keep your advice in mind but I will still try my best to sound as closest to a native speaker as possible.:-D

I just want to say that even though you said that my pronunciation of the sound was better in the second recording, to be honest, I don't feel very comfortable pronouncing the word LAW with this sound [ ɔ ] and I'm leaning towards the first kind of pronunciation which is close to this one [ɑː].

So could you please tell me if I sound like a native American speaker in the first recording?

No, you don't. You sound like a Russian speaking English with a pretty good accent that's closer to an American than an English one.

You pronounce the vowel in law closer to a typical American pronunciation in the second recording, except in law enforcement.

Not all Americans pronounce law the same, so you don't have to hit one precise pronunciation.

 

[andi harper]

You sound like a Russian speaking English with a pretty good accent that's closer to an American than an English one.

Sorry, just to clarify, here you're talking about the first recording, right?