README

DialectX 1.1 - README

Cause of accent

There are three basic linguistic issues: grammar (including vocabulary), voice tone and what he calls "articulation" -- the actual pronunciation of individual words and sounds. At first learners should speak slowly and clearly. (This of course requires a knowledge of phonetics.) Many learners speak quickly and unclearly (maybe they're trying to emulate native speakers), and the results are often very unsatisfactory. FIRST learn to speak clearly. THEN you can try to emulate native speakers' speed and fluency. Once you have thoroughly studied intonation and word connections, you can begin to address pronunciation. The three most important sounds are [æ], [ä], and [uh], also called the schwa . Check out www.americanaccent.com for more information on the subject.

Specific things to watch for

1. incorrect vowel and consonant pronunciation

2. improper intonation and rhythm

3. inaccurate syllable stress

4. grammatical errors (correct usage of articles, verb tenses, etc)

5. sentence construction

6. voice clarity

7. voice pitch

8. rapid or slow speech

A few notes specific to English language

Voicing

Voiced sounds will make the throat vibrate. For example, /g/ is a voiced sound while /k/ is not, even though the mouth is in the same position for both sounds. Touch your throat while pronouncing voiced and voiceless sounds. You should feel vibration with the voiced sounds only.

Aspiration

Aspiration refers to a puff of air when a sound is produced. Many languages have far fewer aspirated sounds than English, and you may have trouble hearing the aspiration. The English /p/, /t/, /k/, and /ch/ are some of the more commonly aspirated sounds. Although these are not always aspirated, at the beginning of a word they usually are. To illustrate aspiration hold up a piece of facial tissue a few inches away from you mouth and push it with a puff of air while pronouncing a word containing the target sound.

Intonation

Word or sentence intonation can be mimicked with a kazoo, or alternatively by humming. This will take the attention off of the meaning of a word or sentence and help you focus on the intonation.

Linking

We pronounce phrases and even whole sentences as one smooth sound instead of a series of separate words. 'Will Amy go away,' is rendered 'Willaymeegowaway.' To help learners link words, try starting at the end of a sentence and repeat a phrase, adding more of the sentence as you master it. For example, 'gowaway,' then 'aymeegowaway,' and finally 'Willaymeegowaway' without any pauses between words.

Vowel Length

To demonstrate varying vowel lengths within a word try stretching rubber bands on the longer vowels and letting them contract on shorter ones. For example, the word 'fifteen' would have the rubber band stretched for the 'ee' vowel, but the word 'fifty' would not have the band stretched because both of its vowels are spoken quickly.

Syllables

Count syllables in a word and hold up the correct number of fingers, or place objects on table to represent each syllable. Acknowledge syllable stress by clapping softly and loudly corresponding to the syllables of a word. For example, the word 'beautiful' would be loud-soft-soft. Practice with short lists of words with the same syllabic stress pattern ('beautiful,' 'telephone,' 'Florida') and then see if you can list other words with that pattern.

Specific Sounds

Minimal pairs, or words such as 'bit/bat' that differ by only one sound, are useful for distinguishing similar sounds. They can be used to illustrate voicing ('curl/girl') or commonly confused sounds ('play/pray'). Remember that it's the sound and not the spelling you are focusing on. The Sounds of English, American Accent Training, and EnglishClub.com websites offer guidelines for describing how to produce various English sounds. You can find representative practice words for every English sound on the English is Soup site.

Tongue twisters

Tongue-twister: "A sequence of words, often alliterative, difficult to articulate quickly." (Oxford English Dictionary) Tongue twisters are useful for practicing specific target sounds, plus they're fun. Make sure the vocabulary isn't too difficult. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8136/tonguetwisters.html

http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/

Credits:

My father, Yury A. Lebedev for this great idea

Michael C. Thornburgh for the MTCoreAudio framework