Accent Training & Phonetics:British, American, Australian and then Indian Accent, however, something which is understood globally is known as a ‘Neutral Accent’. So let’s try our best to work on this!! And remember “Practice Pays” !! Accent is important not only for clarity of expression but also to ensure you leave a lasting impression. Your listeners will definitely admire the way you speak IF your choice of words, pronunciation style and accent are reflective. Not only can you be confident while giving interviews but also, you’ll end up developing your personality. Now, we’ll head on in our path to succeed for our speech enhancement STEP-by-STEP. But you’ll have to make a promise to me and most importantly to yourself… That you will ONLY go ahead from one lesson to another WHEN you are completely satisfied and convinced by your results. This session covers:Neutral Accent – learning sounds for mouth exercisesVowel sounds and exercisesPronunciation of wordsSeven Important PassagesCan A Person Learn New Accent?Yes, obviously……we can change the accent.Indian Scenario:The following are some of the difficulties to be overcome by the Indian speakers.Presence of harder sounds (t, d, p)In distinctive b, v. w sounds and not fully articulated T, R, O, L, I soundsDifficulty in changing pitch (because Americans raise the pitch on the beat but Indians drop their pitch on the beat)Regressive Vocalization of final consonantsArticulation of sounds in Indian Languages is frontal and through rounded lipsFaster Speed – 220 words per minuteWeak word emphasis, intonation and pronunciation on English words and phrases. This could be due to faster rate of speech and there being no stress in languages here in IndiaLong sentences and words usedDifferences of syllable emphasis Suggestions to the Trainee:Before you begin to work on speaking English more clearly, here are some hints to help you get started:1) Set your goals and establish your priorities:2) Practice Faithfully3) Focus on Good Listening4) Relax, relax!An open, relaxed posture in the back of the mouth and throat is essential for achieving the proper sound for English speech.5) Record Your Own Speech Frequently6) Take Every Opportunity to Converse in EnglishPhonetics and Phonemes - An IntroductionPhonetics is referred to as the study of sounds produced by us while speaking. John C Wells was the first person to popularize the concepts of Phonetics.Every language has its own set of sounds to be followed. Likewise, English has a set of 25 Consonant and 19 Vowel sounds, represented by phonemes, which are sub-classified into different types.Constant revising is the key to getting the pronunciation right. So, go ahead and have a nice time improving your spoken English.Consonants:A consonant is a sound that causes two points of your mouth to come in contact in three locations -–lips, tip of the tongue and the throat. A consonant is of two types: Voiced (spoken) and Voiceless or Unvoiced (whispered), which can appear at the beginning, middle or end of the word.Pronunciation of consonant sounds:Voiceless/ Unvoiced Voiced[ s ] - Samaritan, sensitive, place[ z ] - Zulu, bozo, pose[ t ] - touch, patent, parent[ d ] - Desktop, medal, bland[ ] - Thorough, ethernet, Beth[ δ ] - they, whether, leather[ ∫ ] - Shell, option, fish[ ] - composure, provision, azure [ p ] - provider, suppose, trip[ b ] - boot, inbox, hub[ t∫ ] - challenge, change, research[ ] - Jason, pager, page[ k ] - Kilo, socket, track[ g ] - Google, gangway, bug[ f ] - frequent, file, follow[ v ] - Victor, vivacious, wave[ h ] - height, hollow, hundred[ j ] - yellow, yonder, yacht[ w ] - windows, await, now[ l ] - length, click, Braille[ m ] - master, mouse, memory[ n ] - network, manage, shun[ r ] - router, separate, spareIntroduction to English Vowels:A vowel is the sound that connects consonants together to create speech. There are two basic vowel typesThe Simple Vowels are produced with the tongue, the jaw and the lips in position.The diphthongs are produced with the tongue, the jaw, and the lips gliding from one position to anotherA key to pronouncing the vowels of English:[ ]illustrate, unity, sufficient, miss, listen, genuine,[ ]easy, receive, busy, belief, machine, even, agreement[ ]bend, else, next, ahead, plenty, event[ ]plan, valuable, land, salad, happy, act, acquisition[ ]cook, bullet, could, pudding[ ]food, truth, glue, stew, cools[ ]must, done, lucky, enough, hunch[ ]market, park, car, farther, start, bizarre[ ]always, also, August, fault, normal[ ]top, option, continent, positive, shop, offering[ ]America, magnificent, amaze, pizza, ability, account[ ] Saturday, teacher, flower, hour, manager, future[ ]poor, sure, your, tour, doer[ ]clear, tear, cheer, fierce, Korean[ ]care, stair, share, swear, there, bearer[ ]cloister, oyster, foil, enjoy, appoint[ ]eloquent, shoulder, loan, home, provoke[ ]house, thousand, sounds, count, tower[ ]bait, raise, straight, April, negate, equation, maintenance[ ]bite, high, July, nine, delight, iron, mythology, private, timeJaw Exercises:Before we start pronouncing words and framing sentences, it’s very important for us to understand some basics of correct pronunciation. Indians have a very fast rate of speech, because of which we tend to keep our mouth openings very minute..and quickly want to proceed or jump to the next word. In order to apply an impact, it is very important to speak clear and with proper word stress. For this our mouth needs it’s warm-up exercises. Let’s start: and make this a daily routine…especially before starting this program every time. Practice these sounds, feel the complete muscular movement for each sound. Pronounce them more than you would in ordinary speech. OOKT, OHKT, AWKT, AHKT, AYKT, EEKT, OOGD, OHGD, AWGD, AHGD, AYGD, EEGD, OOPT, OHPT, AWPT, AHPT, AYPT, EEPT, OOBD, OHBD, AWBD, AHBD, AYBD, EEBD, OOMD, OHMD, AWMD, AHMD, AYMD, EEMD, OOLT, OHLT, AWLT, AHLT, AYLT, EELT, OOLD, OHLD, AWLD, AHLD, AYLD, EELD, OOLZ, OHLZ, AWLZ, AHLZ, AYLZ, EELZ Vowel Sounds Practice:Vowel Sounds The English language has 26 letters in the alphabet series out of which there are 21 consonants and 5 vowels. These 5 vowels constitute 12 different sounds, which are essential for proper pronunciation. For example, there are many things that are essential about English Whereas, it should be: There are many things that are essential about English Vowel Sound AY:The combination of these two sounds is the American “A” sound. For example, Take, Make, Bake, Cake, Fake, Lake, Sake, Table, Plate, Late, Faith, Fate, Great, Mate Please take me to the doctor… Can you make me a sandwich? Do you know how to bake potatoes? Have you tried a Strawberry cake? Some people are so fake. Let’s go down to the lake… For God’s sake, don’t take that step! Put the coffee on the table. Can you pass the plate? Never be late for your first day of work. I’m sure you have faith in me. No one can determine your fate. That sounds just great. In Australia, a friend is known as a mate. Vowel Sound AH Sound:When your upper jaw as well as your lower jaw expand apart. Which means your upper jaw goes up, and your lower jaw goes down…you make an AAH sound. Keeping in mind that your cheek muscles need to remain straight, and your mouth will form a shape of an oval. For example, Car, Far, Bar, Jar, Mars, Darts, Lava, Garnish, Garden, Pardon, Party, Hard, Guard, Cards, I bought a new Car. How far is the market? I saw two guys sitting at the Bar. In the cupboard there is a jar of jam. Aliens come from Mars. Have you ever played a game of darts? A volcano erupts lava. We still need to garnish the potatoes. I beg your pardon, could you please repeat yourself? Get ready soon, we need to go to a party. I’ve always found math to be so hard. You should always have a security guard. There’s one thing that we can do, why don’t we play cards? Vowel Sound AI: When ONLY your lower jaw (chin) stretches down, you then produce an AI sound. For example, Man, Can, Van, Tan, Ran, Fan, Hand, Massive, Traffic, Jam, Pan, Vanish, Slavish, Lavish, Pass, Track, Hack, Lapse, Tap, Grab, Chance, He’s a Man of great words. Would you like to drink a can of Pepsi? I’ve heard he’s just bought a new Van. Lying on the beach I developed a Tan. While playing football, he Ran like the wind. It’s getting hot! Can you please turn on the Fan. I think I’ve hurt my Hand. In the morning today there was a Massive traffic jam. There must be a frying pan in the kitchen. The burglar had to vanish behind the bushes. Even after so much of hard work, he was Slavish in his behavior. In order to maintain his image, he had to be Lavish in his expenditure. Can you please Pass the salt. Did you know our school has a national-size race Track. At an early age he was referred to as a ‘computer whiz’, and could Hack computers. In his professional career this was the biggest ever Lapse he saw. The Water Tap seems to be broken. You must always Grab your opportunities, if given a Chance. Vowel Sound AW: When your lips form a circular formation, however, a bit of more opening than anexact O. For example, All, Fall, Call, Tall, Hall, Squash, Ball, Wall, Contract, Caught, Bought, Thought, Fought, Long, Taught, War, Brawl, Solve, Crawl, Walk, Posture All the kids ran to the playground in their break time. She looked down and was afraid that she might Fall. The Call Center industry is at a booming stage. The city was full of extremely Tall buildings. For the marriage we must book a banquet Hall. In the game of Squash the Ball has to hit the Wall. Can I have your Contact number? The police Caught him red handed. I think he bought a second-hand car. Before signing the papers give it a complete Thought. I think they both Fought all night long. I must’ve Taught you how to ride a bike when you were young. America and Iraq were on War for so many years. You’ll always find a Brawl happening near a Bar. Who can actually Solve this question of mine? Babies first Crawl before they can actually Walk. It’s important to keep a straight Posture while Walking. Vowel Sound OH: When your lips form a circular formation, and your lips stretch away from your mouth forming an exact O. It’s as if you’re blowing on a candle. For example, Cold, Told, Roll, Bold, Fold, Mould, Hold, Gold, Poultry, Lower, Blower, Chorus, Torn, Born, Horn, Thorn, These winters were very cold this time. Haven’t I Told you the rules already? In Bowling you need to roll the ball. Always be Bold and brave! Can you please fold your clothes properly. Pottery needs to be moulded accurately. You Hold my hand, I’ll Hold yours. These days every one is in search of Gold. I’ve heard there’s a lot of money in Poultry farming. Can you please Lower your window. Is the Blower on? I think it is. Let’s all try singing in a Chorus. You know what? I was Torn inside when you Told me the truth. Some people are very lucky to be Born on the 1st of January. I think I just stepped on a Thorn, it really hurts! Vowel Sound OO: Similar to that of an ‘OH’ mouth formation… however, this time with less of an opening to stretch the “ooo” sound. For example, Tool, Pool, Cruel, Truth, Ruthless, Loop, Cool, Poor, Rule, Mute, Mood, Rude, Crude, Food, Fruit.A projector is a training tool for most organizations. In India the trend of playing Pool is increasing day by day. Grown-ups can sometimes be so Cruel! A child is always told to tell the truth. Some consider eating chickens a ruthless act. Poor people sleep on the streets in such cool wind. Managers should always keep a Thumbrule. All Television sets have a mute function. It mostly depends on your Mood for where you would like to go. I hope I wasn’t Rude in my statement. Racialist behavior involves being crude. ‘Food for thought’…that’s what I would say. Mostly all citrus fruits have vitamins. U Similar to that of an ‘OO’ mouth formation… however, this time without any stretch of the ‘ooo’ sound. For example, Book, Look, Took, Shook, Hook, Crook, Rook, Put, Foot Have you seen the Book I was reading yesterday? Hey, did you have a Look outside this morning? I Took everything. Now, I’m here to take you. He Shook my hand and went away forever. Captain Hook was my favorite cartoon character. You better not trust him, I find him to be a Crook. In the game of chess, the Rook is a very important piece. Can you please Put him down, he might get hurt. I need to go to the doctor, I think I’ve hurt my Foot. Vowel Sound EE: When an E sounds like an E, this is a stretch of an E sound. For example, Sleep, Weep, Deep, Feet, Heap, Teeth, Cheap, Peep, Leap, Fleet, Queer, Read, Greed, Treat, Wheat, Petite I’m really tired, can I please go to Sleep. I saw him that day, he was very upset. It was as if he was about to Weep. Their was a water drilling going on in my backyard. You should’ve been there… it was very Deep. If a singular form is foot, then plural should be Feet. It was such a childish argument between the two, but still it created a Heap. I told my son that brushing Teeth should be a regular habit. I wanted to fly to Singapore, but the tickets were quite expensive. I was looking for something Cheap. The kids were so curious to know, that they started to Peep inside the keyhole. I felt that joining my new organization; it was a big Leap in my career. Proper Fleet management for airlines is very important. He said something in the meeting, which was very strange and Queer. You know, we should always try to read newspapers. We can gain a lot of knowledge. Being selfish is also to have Greed for things. Chocolates for kids are a great Treat. Farmers depend on their household income by the amount of Wheat they are able to produce. In French, things that are small in size are called Petite.