Voice and accent
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This document discusses accent neutralization and provides tips for neutralizing one's accent when speaking English. It explains that accent is influenced by one's region and culture, but that there is no right or wrong accent. It then gives several suggestions for neutralizing an accent, such as listening to movies and music, using a dictionary, recording oneself, pronouncing word endings clearly, and reading aloud. The document also outlines some key elements of communication like volume and clarity, and discusses the articulators and sounds involved in English speech, including vowels and consonants.
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Voice and accent
- 2. • An Overview • Introduction • Consonant Sounds • Vowel Sounds • Intonation • Fluency • Sentence Stress • Syllable Stress • Contrastive Stress • Vowel Reduction • Sound Deletions 2 CONTENTS
- 3. Regional influence or the way we speak a language. Which means the same language spoken differently by people of different regions. WHAT IS ACCENT ?
- 4. Remember, there is no right or wrong accent. It varies from region to region. WHAT IS ACCENT contd.
- 5. WHY ACCENT NEUTRALIZATION? • People from different places and social backgrounds pronounce words differently! • Diverse cultures of the world influence us immensely.
- 6. HOW TO NEUTRALIZE ACCENT?
- 7. TIPS TO NEUTRALIZE ACCENT? • Movies • Music • Use your dictionary • Frequently used words • Record yourself • Pronounce word endings clearly • Read aloud • Be Patient
- 8. It’s Not What You Say But How You say It That Counts
- 9. ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION VOLUME CLARITY
- 10. ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS • VOWELS • CONSONANTS
- 11. ARTICULATORS
Editor's Notes
- The main objective is to communicate in an accent which is free from any regionalism - an accent that can be globally understood.
- Therefore, in order to improve comprehension between English speakers across the globe, it becomes essential to decrease disparity between us, hence neutralization of accent.
- Clear speech includes correct use of vowels, consonants, intonation and pausing. The rhythm and timing of a sentence are just as important as enunciation. Start by determining which sounds need to be changed from our accent, and pay attention to those sounds individually. Practice the sounds, first in words, then in sentences. As we keep adding new sounds to our sound vocabulary, we read longer passages (including monologues and scenes) and eventually we converse in the new accent using 'the new sounds. To Start -- Discuss how each sound is formed -the positions of the articulators (jaw, tongue and lips) The key to learning to speak English clearly and correctly is training and practice Clear and accurate speech comes from "doing.“ Reducing your accent is different than other skills such as grammar and vocabulary. Studying accent reduction is more like studying dance, music, sports or martial arts. It involves the training of muscle groups. Everybody is born with these muscle groups located in our tongue, lips and jaw. All that you need is the desire to change, proper instruction and most of all practice and training! Accent reduction is about "doing.“ Simply observing or knowing how to, is not enough. Awareness and knowledge is important but you have to try it in order to be able to actually do it.
- Movies: Repeat what characters are saying, imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow down your speech. If you speak too quickly with the wrong intonation and rhythm, others will have a hard time understanding you. It is more important that everything you say is understood. Listen to the “music” of English. Don’t use the music of your native language when you are speaking English. Each language has its own way of “singing”. Use your dictionary. Become familiar with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary and look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say. Make a list of frequently used words that are difficult for you to pronounce and ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you. Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Record yourself reading. Compare the sound of your English with that of a native speaker. Listen for pronunciation mistakes. Pronounce the ending of each word. Pay special attention to “s” and “ed” endings of the words. In connected speech, sounds become assimilated but the message must remain clear. Research has shown that it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language. Reading Aloud will also help to consolidate new skills and increase fluency as sounds, intonation etc become increasingly intuitive. Read aloud in English for fifteen to twenty minutes each day. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English. Be patient. You can change the way you speak but it won’t happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.
- What it takes to become a truly extraordinary communicator Your voice is one of your most essential (yet overlooked) tools for generating a positive first impression. You must learn to use your voice to give people positive, gut-level hunches about you. Banish annoying Nonwords from Speech, forever. Spot the annoying "verbal viruses" like "uh," in your speech and eliminate them forever. Practice breathing exercises. Speak With More Energy And Enthusiasm Change your body language and that can give you a better voice. Exercise the plosive consonant sounds. Sit with your back straight, avoid leaning, and take the support of the back of the seat. Adopt a posture or practice adopting a posture, assuming that the person is in front of you. Good vocal hygiene and vocal use are essential for those who depend on their voice to work. Practice Pitch, tone and inflection. Change the sound of your voice on cue. Read poems, practice movie dialogues, change the sound of your voice in the middle of a sentence.
- The ability to speak confidently and effectively is probably the single greatest opportunity any one person can have to inform, persuade and lead others to take action. To develop an effective delivery style, let’s take a look at the elements of communication: > Tone An expression of appropriate emotions. It should be pleasant and courteous, should display interest/concern/empathy, and should be full of energy. Tone also reflects one's attitude, whether negative or positive. > Pitch The highs and lows in our speech bring about better expression and improve communication. Pitch reflects the degree of depth or shrillness in the voice > Volume It is important to speak in a comfortable volume- you should neither sound too loud (that makes you sound aggressive) nor should you be too soft/hardly audible (that makes you sound too passive). Lack of audibility could lead to disinterest and a short attention span. > Clarity- Clarity is vital for communication. To achieve this, you need to Speak correctly, using correct speech sounds Speak slowly, using appropriate ROS Speak fluently, using appropriate pauses, wherever a new thought or a new phrase is being introduced > Rate of Speech- ROS is an extremely important element for good communication. A fast ROS results in confusion, as it causes words to run into each other (word clutter), reduces vowel sounds, softens the consonant sounds and makes the word endings unclear. A slow ROS can be very frustrating and results in impatience and total loss of attention from those around you.
- In the English Language, there are two types of sounds: Vowel Sounds: Vowels are speech sounds that are produced by allowing free passage to air through the vocal tract. Consonant Sounds : To produce the consonant sound , different parts of the mouth such as lips, teeth, tongue and the palate come in contact with each other.