Your job is to listen to your own language's accent, and post a few sentences in a comment to this post, on my page. I hope the sound on the website works well for you. Wear headphones. If you can, also record and listen to your own voice at home. Finish this before the end of this week.
Turkish
Arabic
Korean
Japanese
Note that the 'generalizations' at the bottom of each speaker's page gives the technical vocabulary for the accent that the speaker has. You do not have to use this vocabulary, but if you research it you will understand better.
You may want to listen to native English accents for comparison:
Toronto (similar to Mr. S.)
London (similar to Ms. Snooke, though not exactly)
New York (similar to Ms. Frances, though not precisely)
Answer these questions in your comment:
- What do you think about your language's accent in English?
- Do you think you make any of the same errors in English?
- Which of these errors cause most difficulty for people to understand your English?
- How do you think you can improve?
The pronounciation of each countries are similer with each students english pronounciation. I think New York English is similer with Ms.Ameade's, and London English is similer with you.
ReplyDeleteActually, although that is interesting, I want you to comment about the accent from your own country: Korean in your case.
DeleteBy the way, my accent should sound like the man from Toronto; Ms. Meade's is almost the same as mine. London would be closer to Ms. Snooke than to Mr. Bevin: both from the UK.
Umm... I think Seoul,Korean's speaks are similar with me.
DeleteAnd I think Korean is hard to pronounce like rolling the tongue, or maybe just for me...
DeleteI think it's similer with my Korean English teacher. She's maybe older then 50. Strong
ReplyDeleteaccent and sound like Korean English.
We call it Konglish and it's interested in Korea maybe.
There is nothing wrong with an accent, except if people cannot understand you. Koreans should focus on the 'l' and 'r', but most of all make a more open and rounder mouth when speaking English.
Deletewe Arabs we have our own accent so we don't say the R perfectly, but some of Arabs can say it.
ReplyDeletei had this problem when i started learning English but i use to it because of the British
accent, if you listened to the British accent you will like it. I tried in London to speak British and i did learned how to speak British but it was really hard. The British people they don't pronounce the R and that really good i liked it.
You are exactly correct. You might notice that North Americans do have more 'r' than British. Both are fine accents. Choose one to try to emulate.
DeleteI think the Saudi accent in english is not very perfect but some of the Saudis speaks english very well. And some of the Saudis don't pronounce the R very good. And some of us pronouce the P (B). But these days the Saudis being better at english accent.
ReplyDeleteYes, many do speak well. Your accent is not strong, for example. You were very lucky to have spent two years as a child in America!
Deletei have problem with P and R .I think Saudi’s problem, when they speaks, they sometimes stop between each word and saying aaaa, and that’s my problem too, sometimes. I think Saudi can Pronounce the R perfect and that's depends on where he or she studied.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about what you should work on. You are improving already. The important thing is to notice what to work on, and you have done that. The next thing is to listen carefully to native speakers using those sounds. The last thing is to be careful to make those sounds yourself. Good luck!
DeleteKorea prounounce is different in each citry and I usually hard to division L and R sound.I think London prounounce S sound strongly.I want to study more other country prounounce and I want to prounouce London prounonuce because I think they speak R and S sound clear and It's easy to under stand
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I hadn't thought of the 's' at all in English, as 's' is a sound I have heard in many languages, including Korean. 'L' and 'r' are not only different between languages, but even between accents in English. 'R' is much more guttural (in the throat) in North American English than in my father's North English, and even that's more than in London English. It also varies by education, as do accents in all languages.
DeleteI think that the accent is the same even if Japanese English is different in a city. Japanese can't say T, and Japanese pronunciation is too bad.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, Japanese English is so funny to foreigner.
Please do not be embarrassed about your accent. It is quite clear. Besides, we all have accents in our second languages, including me in Japanese, and in French. Even someone like Dave Spector on Japanese TV, who speaks Japanese far better than I ever will, still has an accent I can hear, and I am sure you do.
DeleteMy brother once made fun of my wife's Japanese accent, so I made fun of him: "You don't have an accent in another language, because you can't speak any other language!" I also made him read a speech in Japanese at my wedding!
When i listened Turkish Accent, i said,'Turkish accent is normal and turkish people can speak english easily' but then, i listened toronto accent and turkish accent is different than toronto accent and the other accents. I think Turks can't say same as Arabs.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. Our own accent sounds completely normal to us, until we compare it to another accent. I used to think I had no accent in Japanese. Ha! Not true.
DeleteAnyway, your accent is completely understandable, and that is what matters most. Also, you are younger than I was when I started Japanese. Your accent may disappear completely, but even if it doesn't, it doesn't matter. The world is more interesting for variety, I think.
I think Korean 'Th' pronounce has problem. Also Korean 'R' and 'L' sounds are same. So some foreign can't understand. But some Korean people pronounce are same to America.
ReplyDeleteGood job noticing the 'th': this is a sound that is missing in every language I have studied: French, Latin, Chinese and Japanese. Also missing in Korean? I think German has it, and English is related to German, more than a thousand years ago.
DeleteJapanese are all stuck in "r" and "l" words and it is hard to say. I realized that some Japanese will skip or troublesome of little grammar. Those two problems make my English Social grade low.
ReplyDeleteYour accent is not strong, in fact. It is present, but it doesn't make it hard to understand you. Japanese ESL speakers skip articles and subjects the most, and that can confuse English native listeners.
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