How to pronounce English words correctly?

All the people of the world have the same structure of the organs of speech, that is, everyone has the opportunity to learn how to speak in perfection in any foreign language. However, it is known that even people who live abroad for a long time in most cases speak with an accent. Pure speech in a non-native language causes sincere admiration, because it is not such a frequent occurrence among those who began to learn a foreign language, being already an adult. It seems that only people with special abilities can learn to speak perfectly. But phonetic skills can be trained just like a musical ear.

For pure pronunciation, one time is not enough of this answer to the question of how to pronounce English words correctly. Need systematic training. In this article we will touch upon several interesting aspects of pronunciation, each of which will need to be given special attention.

Consonants

Most students do not consider English consonant letters as difficult. But in vain. Especially those sounds that seem to have analogues in the Russian language are especially affected, for example, [n, l, t, d] - [н, л, т, д,]. But if you listen, they sound different! The English sounds n, l, t, z, t, d, s, d (they are also called closed or closed-slit) are pronounced softer and more tender. Try to say Russian sound [q], and then move the tip of the tongue slightly back and up to the alveoli (the place where the hidden parts of the teeth are located) and again try to pronounce the same sound - you will get an English version of this sound. How correctly to pronounce English words with these sounds? Try to make a pair of words (English word - Russian word) in which there seem to be similar sounds, for example, diet - diet.

Watch the sound of familiar words in the songs. This is difficult, but it gives many answers to the question of how to pronounce English words correctly. For example, the word "body", which is very common in popular songs, sounds almost like "bars". Why is the sound "d" so similar to "p"? Precisely because when it is correctly pronounced it does not sound like the Russian "d", but when fast speech it becomes especially noticeable. Young children are taught to pronounce the sound "p", repeating quickly "dd". The language of these sounds sounds very similar.

Another important point: in Russian, voiced consonants at the end are stunned, try to avoid such in English, because with the change of sound, the meaning of the word will change. For example, lamb - lamb, lamp - lamp.

Particular attention should be paid to the letter h, that is, to the sound [h], which Russian-speaking students famously replace Russian [x], not suspecting that they make a gross error. The Russian sound is brighter, coarser, juicier, it involves the tension of the tongue and is pronounced very intensely. English h is a very gentle, subtle sound, light as breathing. Try to speak first Russian [x], and then do the same, completely relaxing the language.

Vowel sounds

In the Russian language there are no long and short sounds, so it is worth paying special attention to them - the incorrect longitude of the vowel sound can change the meaning of the word. For example, ship (short i) is a ship, sheep (long i) is a sheep. In Russian, too, one vowel sounds can be long, others - short, but the meaning of words will not affect it. How to pronounce English words with long and short sounds? Do not specifically pull or swallow them. Remember the simple rule: a long sound should be expressive. It is pronounced, as if accentuating attention on it. A short sound seems to suppress the surrounding sounds - they sound brighter.

How correctly to speak in English

There is such a thing - "speech mask". This is what the facial expression we are talking about, how the organs of speech work during the pronunciation of words. Russian is more expressive than English. We say, actively working the lips, giving the sound of our speech stiffness and sonority. And now try to smile gently, slightly stretching your lips in the sides - that's what the English looks like. Most of the sounds of English should be pronounced with "flat" lips. Especially this difference is noticeable between the Russian "u" and the English "u". Say the first sound, and then relax, smile and try to say the same thing - you will get an English "u". The sound seems to go inside.

How to correctly read a word in English

Alas, it is impossible to learn to read well in English, knowing only the rules of reading. That's why on any courses first get acquainted with the phonetics and only then - with the rules of reading. Which is very grieving for many, because books - here they are, at hand, and before real conversations are still so far away. That's why many people treat neglect of phonetics, and when they get acquainted with transcription rules they are frankly bored. Try to begin to read not through transcription, but with the help of sound. Write the words and keep them in front of your eyes, then turn on the recording and listen carefully to the word, while getting acquainted with its writing. Thus, you will be able to realize the connection "sound - letter", bypassing the intermediate stage - transcription.

How to pronounce English words intonationally?

On the existence and essence of intonation, many guess, starting to engage in rhythm. It turns out that any phrase, even pronounced without music, has its own rhythm and melody. And these musical properties of speech in different languages are different. Sounds and phrases in our speech alternate in height (decrease - increase), shock-impact, longitude-short, in strength (we can pronounce one sound strongly, others weakly), speed, timbre, presence / absence Logical stresses. English is not Chinese (that's where you need to be a musician), but, nevertheless, it has intonational differences from Russian. The ascending tone, indicating incompleteness, uncertainty (with it pronounced clauses, words of farewell, certain kinds of questions, etc.) in English is formed differently than in Russian, although it is used in the same situations. The same goes for the downward tone. In Russian, at the end of the shock words, the tone of the voice increases, although there is a decrease in tone in the general phrase. Everything happens smoothly and quite gently. English "descent" sounds brighter. Each subsequent stressed syllable sounds less intense than the previous one, and at the end of the phrase the tone falls quite sharply.

This is by no means all the curious features of the pronunciation of English words, but I hope that this article will arouse interest in this amazing field of linguistic knowledge and will allow us to move on our own without boredom and cramming.