American Accent Trainning
Second Edition: Ann Cook
Read This First
Tense Vowels? Lax Vowels?
A tense vowel requires you to use a lot of facial muscles to produce it.
If you say [ē], you must stretch your lips back; for [ū] you must round your lips forward; for [ä] you drop your jaw down;for [æ] you will drop your jaw far down and back; for [ā] bring your lips back and drop your jaw a bit; for [ī] drop your jaw for the ah part of the sound and pull it back up for the ee part; and for [ō] round the lips, drop the jaw and pull back up into [ū]. An American [ō] is really [ōū].
A lax vowel, you don't need to move your face at all. You only need to move the back of your tongue and your throat.
Under Lax Vowels, there are four reduced vowel sounds, starting with the Greek letter epsilon [ε], pronounced eh; [i] pronounced ih, and [ü] pronounced ü, which is a combination of ih and uh, and the schwa, [ə], pronounced uh—the softest, most reduced, most relaxed sound that we can produce. It is also the most common sound in English. The semivowels are the American R (pronounced er, which is the schwa plus R) and the American L (which is the schwa plus L).
Chapter 1 American Intonation
American Intonation Do's and Don'ts
- Do Not Speak Word by Word
- Connect Words to Form Sound Groups
- Use Staircase Intonation
What Exactly Is Staircase Intonation?
Americans tend to stretch out their sounds longer than you may think is natural. So to lengthen your vowel sounds, put them on two stairsteps instead of just one.
We
///// 're
///// ///// he
///// ///// ///// re.
///// ///// ///// /////
No
///// ou
///// /////
Standard American
When you have a word ending in an unvoiced consonant—one that you "whisper" (t, k, s, x, f, sh)—you will notice that the preceding vowel is said
quite quickly, and on a single stairstep. When a word ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant—one that you "say" (b, d, g, z, v, zh, j), the
preceding vowel is said more slowly, and on a double stairstep.
seat
//////
Unvoiced
see
///// eed
///// /////
Voiced
Statement Intonation with Nouns
Intonation or pitch change is primarily used to introduce new information. This means that when you are making a statement for the first time, you will stress the nouns.
Dogs bones
///// eat /////
///// ///// /////
Statement Intonation with Pronouns
When you replace the nouns with pronouns (i.e.,old information), stress the verb.
eat
They ///// them
///// ///// /////
As we have seen, nouns are new information; pronouns are old information. In a nutshell, these are the two basic intonation patterns:
Dogs bones.
eat
They them.
Statement Versus Question Intonation
You may have learned at some point that questions have a rising intonation. They do, but usually a question will step upward until the very end,
where it takes one quick little downward step. A question rises a little higher than a statement with the same intonation pattern.
"Here is my car."
Here cä
///// is ///// är?
///// ///// my ///// /////
///// ///// ///// ///// /////
"Where is my car?"
cä
///// är?
Where ///// /////
///// is ///// /////
///// //// my ///// /////
///// //// ///// ///// /////
Emotional or Rhetorical Question Intonation
If you know that your car is parked outside, however, and someone doesn't see it and asks you where it is, you might think that it has been stolen
and your emotion will show in your intonation as you repeat the question. As your feelings rise in an emotional situation, your intonation rises up
along with them.
"Where is my car?"
är?
cä /////
Where ///// /////
///// Is ///// /////
///// //// my ///// /////
///// //// ///// ///// /////
"Why? Is it gone?"
än?
Gä /////
Why? ///// /////
///// Is ///// /////
///// ///// it ///// /////
///// ///// /// ///// /////
Four Main Reasons for Intonation
1. New Information
It sounds like rain.
V Make rain very musical and put it on two notes: ray-ayn. Duh-duh-duh ray-ayn / It sounds like ray-ayn.
2. Opinion
It sounds like rain, but I don't think it is.
In this case, intonation makes the meaning the opposite of what the words say: *It looks like a diamond, but I think it's a zircon. It smells like
Chanel, but at that price, it's a knock-off. It feels like... It tastes like...* These examples all give the impression that you mean the opposite
of what your senses tell you.
V Practice the intonation difference between new information and opinion:
It sounds like rain. (It's rain.) It sounds like rain, (but it's not.)
3. Contrast
He likes rain, but he hates snow.
Like and hate are contrasted and are the stronger words in the sentence.
4. Can't
It can't rain when there're no clouds.
Chapter 2. Word Connections
Words are connected in four main situations:
Liaison Rule 1 : Consonant / Vowel
Words are connected when a word ends in a consonant sound and the next word starts with a vowel sound, including the semivowels W, Y, and R.
My name is... [my nay●miz]
because I've [b'k'zäiv]
pick up on the American intonation [pi●kə pän the(y)əmer'kə ninətənashən]
Liaison Rule 2: Consonant / Consonant
Words are connected when a word ends in a consonant sound and the next word starts with a consonant that is in a similar position.
I just didn't get the chance. [I·jusdidn't·ge(t)the·chance.]
I've been late twice. [I'vbinla(t)twice.]
Liaison Rule 3: Vowel / Vowel
When a word ending in a vowel sound is next to one beginning with a vowel sound, they are connected with a glide between the two vowels. A glide
is either a slight [y] sound or a slight [w] sound. How do you know which one to use? This will take care of itself—the position your lips are
in will dictate either [y] or [w].
Go away. Go(w)away.
I also need the other one. I(y)also need thee(y)other one.
Liaison Rule 4: T, D, S, or Z + Y
When the letter or sound of T, D, S, or Z is followed by a word that starts with Y, or its sound, both sounds are connected. These letters and sounds
connect not only with Y, but they do so as well with the initial unwritten [y].
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