Cot vs caught - Short O and AW sounds

Hi Everyone, 


My new book on Crazy English spelling.

A couple of weeks ago I began to introduce the American vowels in pairs. The first pair was Sheep vs ship - Long E (EE) and Short I (IH), the second one was Cattle vs kettle - Short A (AA) and Short E (EH), and then the third one was Suit vs soot – Other OO (OO) and Other U (UH). And now I’m going to speak about the [ɑ] (Short O - AH) and the [ɔ] (AW)  sounds.

 

Tricks of T sound 3 – What happens with T (or D) sound between two consonants

Hi everyone,

After the flap T, and glottal stop  let’s see what can happen with the T (or D) sound between two consonant sounds. Try to pronounce the word “exactly”. Its “official” pronunciation is /ɪgˈzæktli/. It means that the T sound should be pronounced but it’s not so easy, especially in quick everyday speech. So what happens in real everyday conversations, or even in formal situations? I have an easy job now. What I will do is only refer to one of Rachel’s recent videos.

Tricks of American T sound 2. – Glottal stop

In the previous post, I introduced the Flap T with the help of Jennifer’s video channel and I also mentioned Rachel’s and Mandy’s materials. It means that sound T can be pronounced as a soft D sound in specific situations (between vowels – or sound L and R, when it’s not stressed). T can be interesting in other occasions as well. You can hear something interesting when an American says these words: button, written, Clinton, mountain, fountain, sentence. In the dictionaries, you can see the “official” pronunciation of the “-ton”, “-ten” or “-tain” is /- tən/ or /-t^ən/ or /-tn/, but you can hear something else. This is called a glottal stop.

Tricks of American T sound - Flap T

I have a series on American English vowel sounds, but I think it’s important to speak about consonants as well. I would like to begin with the 'T' sound. If you have learned British English the American T sound can be very tricky for you as it can change in several ways. First of all I would like to speak about Flap T.  In American movies you can often hear the 'D' sound rather than the 'T' sound (like in water, or city). It is one of the characteristics of American English and it’s accepted even in formal speeches, however some teachers (even from the States) consider Flap T as lazy speech, but they’re not right at all. You can hear Flap T everywhere.

Today's idiom - Bend over backwards

Hi everyone,

After learning the idioms spill the beans, and pay through the nose  we’re going to speak about the idiom ”bend over backwards”. As I mentioned before, learning the idioms is a great adventure. I can’t show you all the idioms, I can show you some of them, in addition I can recommend some sources that can help you learn them.

Suit vs soot – Other OO and Other U sounds

Hi everyone,

Some weeks ago we began to work on American English sounds in pairs. We learned the difference between ‘sheep and ship’ (Long E – EE – and Short I – IH – Sounds) , and between ‘cattle and kettle’ (Short A – AA – and Short E –EH –sounds) . We also learned that in American English, long vowels are NOT consequently longer than short vowels. Long and short vowels are simply the names that have been used for naming them for ages. 

In this article, we will compare the other OO and other U sounds. I have to add that if you only read my article, it’s probably not enough. If you want to learn this topic entirely, you should visit the materials that I recommend you. Let’s get started.

Today’s Idiom – Pay Through the Nose

Hi everyone,

A couple of weeks ago I began a new series about idioms. The first idiom was “spill the beans”. As I told you, Americans (and other native English speakers) use a great number of idioms. It makes the English language beautiful, varied and alive. If you try to learn them, it is a great adventure. In this series within my blog, I can show only a few idioms, but I’m going to introduce books, websites, and video channels that can help you.

Cattle vs kettle - Short A (AA) and Short E (EH) sounds

Hi,

Earlier in this blog, after the classification of American English vowels, we began to work on the vowels in pairs. In this series, we were speaking about the /i/ (Long E - EE) and /ı/ (Short I – IH)sounds. And now we’re going to learn about the /æ/ (Short A - AA)  and /ɛ/ (Short E – EH) sounds. The methods we will use will be similar. We’re going through some useful materials from Rachel’s website and video channel, and we will talk about Mandy’spronuncian.com and her excellent podcast. There are many good teachers who concentrate on American English pronunciation, but in my opinion Rachel and Mandy are the best.

English Vowel Sounds – Part I. Classification

Hi,

Let’s jump to a serious topic that I’ve had the most difficulties with in my English learning:  the system of the American English vowel sounds. I won't tell you that I haven’t had any problems with consonants, But for now I’d like to concentrate on vowel sounds. This entry will be rather long. Sorry guys, I have to go through it. Hopefully it won’t be as painful as a tooth extraction! First, I must  explain how I will name the American English vowels.  

Today’s idiom – Spill the Beans

Hi everyone,

I'm writing today’s entry because a lot of people have asked me to speak about idioms. What is an idiom? An idiom is “a group of words that have a special meaning that is very different from the ordinary meaning of the separate words” (from the Longman Dictionary of American English). Americans (and other native English speakers) use a great number of idioms. It makes the English language beautiful, varied and alive. However, it also makes the language learner’s life difficult. But believe me, it’s a great adventure. In this series within my blog, I’m going to introduce books, websites, and video channels that can help you. An important notice: I never use other people thoughts as mine. I always indicate the source. I can’t show all the idioms, it’s impossible, but I can show you where you can learn idioms from.

The Challenge of English Pronunciation and Spelling

Hi everyone,

Welcome back. Now let’s begin to work seriously. For this post, I'll write about some methods that show the pronunciation of English words in written form. At the same time, I would like to talk about the wall that was built in my brain as a consequence of my first English teacher. Later, other teachers were able to demolish this hindering wall. I'll try to connect different methods with my personal experiences.

Merry Christmas

Hi everyone,

For today, I’m writing you a short entry. It’s a special Christmas edition! I know that many people don’t celebrate Christmas, but I hope I won’t offend anyone with this post. I’m spending these days with my family. Before going on their winter holiday, Rachel and Mandy published special Christmas videos or podcasts.

Rachel's English

Hi everyone,

Welcome back! I’m very happy that I got some feedback and encouragement on my blog. I was thinking a lot about the second entry since this will be the first one that tries to introduce an issue. For this entry, I’ve chosen to introduce you to “Rachel’s English”. Rachel has a website, a Youtube video channel, and a Facebook page  that introduce you to American English. Her sites are linked together.