pronunciation post #2

Hello everybody! I am back with pronunciation blog post #2.
This time, I went a bit more into details when practicing my pronunciation. I watched a couple of videos from different youtube channels, such as videos from Amy Walker and Rachel's English (although in my opinion, Rachel's videos are a bit too theoretical and I am not sure if completely analyzing every sentence or word I am saying works for me) and I read through various websites regarding any pronunciation tips and tricks.

First of all I need to tell you that I am aiming for an AMERICAN ACCENT. Although I think the British accent sounds very cute too, I would prefer myself having an American accent.

Well, the first thing I came across on every single page I looked at was the "schwa" sound (pronounced like "uh"). It is said that this sound is the most common sound in the English language and a main characteristic of the American accent. I found a very helpful intruction on how to make the schwa sound:
"Put your hand on your diaphragm and push until a grunt escapes. Don't move your jaw, tongue or lips; just allow the sound to flow past your vocal cords. It should sound like uh, not ah."

A good word to practice this sound is: photography ("phuh-tah-gruh-fee"). Other words where the schwa sound occurs are: love, was, today (today for example was a word I totally pronounced wrong all the time - I didn't say tAday but tUday), forever, money, because, wonder, etc. (schwa sound in bold letters).

Another sound which I have to work on is the "th" sound. Although I know how to pronounce both of the th sounds, I am always a bit too sloppy and imprecise when I am speaking or reading words with the th sounds.

Well, there is the voiced th sound and the unvoiced th sound. When I was looking them up on the internet I came across this definition:
"In general, the voiced th sound occurs in far fewer words than the unvoiced th. However, the voiced th sound is more common in function words (such as articles, pronouns, and demonstratives). For example, the function words the, that, them, these, they, their (and more), are pronounced with a voiced th".

If you do not know the difference between voiced and unvoiced, just remember: if you make a voiced sound you can feel vibrations in your throat and on your lips.

To make the voiced th sound just put your tongue between your theeth and blow/press the air out. Words which contain the voiced th are: thought, thanks, math, with, therapy, mouth, etc.
To master your th pronunciation try to say these sentences:
"Think about this thing, that thing and those things".
Think and thing are pronounced with an unvoiced th sound whereas this, that and those are pronounced with a voiced th.

Or: "I will eat anything healthy with my teeth".

I realized that I find it very difficult to say "these things" in one sentence. So I will have to work on that!

More sounds that are hard to distinguish are the "ch" and the "sh" as well as the "s" and the "z".

To practice the "ch" and "sh" sounds try to say this sentence:
"Those sheep are cheap". (and hey, there is even a th sound in this sentence ;) )

Regarding the "z" and the "s" you need to know that the "z" is voiced and the "s" is unvoiced.

Try to say: sip - zip, bus - buzz
"Because it's sunny and he's fair skinned he has to wear sunscreen".

Well, after practicing the right pronunciation, it's important to know another main characteristic of the English language: melody or intonation. This means, if someone wants to acquire an English accent it is important to say everything with a nice little melody.

So let's work on our English accent! ;)