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Caedmon Posted 18 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation
Comments on my pronunciation needed
I have been working on improving my English pronunciation and would be very grateful if some of you would listen to a two-minute clip of my speech and lend me your comments. The clip is 5MB in size and I've uploaded it to this URL: http://www.mediafire.com/?m2vmzzmj2ma . The text is from Richard III.
I would like to hear both your general impressions and any detailed remarks you may have. I am particularly interested in learning precisely what traits in my speech give me away as a second-language speaker, whether there is anything in my speech that would impede communication, and finally (mostly out of curiosity) whether you can guess my native language from my accent. (I have elementary training in grammar and phonetics, so please feel free to use technical terms if you wish.)
I would like to hear both your general impressions and any detailed remarks you may have. I am particularly interested in learning precisely what traits in my speech give me away as a second-language speaker, whether there is anything in my speech that would impede communication, and finally (mostly out of curiosity) whether you can guess my native language from my accent. (I have elementary training in grammar and phonetics, so please feel free to use technical terms if you wish.)
Top answer
WOW!! You're asking SO much. However - one tip I would make is this: you need to speak with someone who can give you tips AS you talk!
- WOW!!
- You're asking SO much.
- However - one tip I would make is this: you need to speak with someone who can give you tips AS you talk!
- A recording can be manipulated and it's often difficult to change after the fact.
- BUT - if you study with someone who is qualified to listen and provide critical and constructive feedback, as you speak - you'll find it much more helpful!
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8 Answers
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WOW!!
You're asking SO much.
However - one tip I would make is this: you need to speak with someone who can give you tips AS you talk!
A recording can be manipulated and it's often difficult to change after the fact. BUT - if you study with someone who is qualified to listen and provide
critical and constructive feedback, as you speak - you'll find it much more helpful
You're asking SO much.
However - one tip I would make is this: you need to speak with someone who can give you tips AS you talk!
A recording can be manipulated and it's often difficult to change after the fact. BUT - if you study with someone who is qualified to listen and provide
critical and constructive feedback, as you speak - you'll find it much more helpful
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Caedmon, don't change anything. You speak English beautifully!
If English is in fact not your first language, my guess is that you're from India... ?
If English is in fact not your first language, my guess is that you're from India... ?
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Samuraifingers:
I'm sorry if I made it seem like I was expecting a professional assessment of my pronunciation. I am really only looking for brief comments such as "this or that vowel has the wrong quality" or "too much aspiration" or "too little aspiration" - things that I suppose will strike a native speaker fairly immediately when he hears me speak. Here are some particular concerns I'
I'm sorry if I made it seem like I was expecting a professional assessment of my pronunciation. I am really only looking for brief comments such as "this or that vowel has the wrong quality" or "too much aspiration" or "too little aspiration" - things that I suppose will strike a native speaker fairly immediately when he hears me speak. Here are some particular concerns I'
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Annvan:
Thank you for the compliment. I'm not from India, but I'm glad that you think so. People from my country have a reputation for having a strong and distinctive foreign accent when they're speaking English, and this is what I really want to avoid.
Thank you for the compliment. I'm not from India, but I'm glad that you think so. People from my country have a reputation for having a strong and distinctive foreign accent when they're speaking English, and this is what I really want to avoid.
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Hi,
I think your pronouciation is fantastic. I think I would assume you were English. Nothing really leapt out at me as 'wrong' but bear in mind there isn't just one English accent, so any tiny variations are usually assumed to regional as long as overall the accent sounds authentic.
At times you sound a little bit stilted/odd intonation but I get the feeling that is because you
I think your pronouciation is fantastic. I think I would assume you were English. Nothing really leapt out at me as 'wrong' but bear in mind there isn't just one English accent, so any tiny variations are usually assumed to regional as long as overall the accent sounds authentic.
At times you sound a little bit stilted/odd intonation but I get the feeling that is because you
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I too think your pronunciation was very good, and it certainly sounds like a more British than American accent. Like nona said, speaking poetry really is different from conversational speaking. Try to find maybe a transcript of a news broadcast by native English speakers.
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Nona and Lakshwadeep:
Thank you both for listening. Regarding the regional variation that Nona mentions, this is in fact what I'm ultimately hoping for, i.e. that native English-speakers will react to my speech as if it was just a dialect with which they happen to be unfamiliar. That's one of the advantages of studying a language that is as widely spoken as English. I doubt the same situa
Thank you both for listening. Regarding the regional variation that Nona mentions, this is in fact what I'm ultimately hoping for, i.e. that native English-speakers will react to my speech as if it was just a dialect with which they happen to be unfamiliar. That's one of the advantages of studying a language that is as widely spoken as English. I doubt the same situa
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But i am very shy when i talk in english with someone.. Becoz i am afraid of making mistakes.. n talking wronge.. 
So i can
So i can
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