auf DeutschLesson Two: Combinations Of Sounds That Are Not In Your Native Language
Language Guide German + Dictionary for iPhone and iPod-Touch (made by ego4u)
The main reasons why speaking English is so hard
This special pronunciation section will explain to you why English is hard to speak correctly and give you some help on improving your pronunciation. These are the main reasons why English is so hard. There is a lesson for each one.
Note that the pronunciation examples are in American English accent. In the last lesson you will find American and British English examples.
You most likely know how to say these sounds: 'm' 'p', 's' and 'd'. However do you know how to say them when they are together? For example have you ever had to say a word like 'glimpsed'
There are FOUR consonants in a row at the end of this word, 'mpsd'. The 'e' is not a vowel. Even though 'glimpsed' has seven sounds in it, it is only ONE syllable!
Here are some common consonant clusters and examples:
| Cluster | Examples | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| br | bridge | abrupt | bright | ||||
| bd | absorbed | bribed | disturbed | ||||
| fs | cliffs | beliefs | |||||
| ft | craft | shaft | left | ||||
| mp | bump | lump | camp | ||||
| pt | egypt | except | suspect | ||||
| ths | baths | maths | paths | ||||
| nth | month | tenth | seventh | ||||
| nd | friend | land | hand | ||||
| sp | sponge | clasp | lisp | ||||
| st | start | last | sting | ||||
| lmd | filmed | ||||||
| lk | milk | silk | |||||
| str | strength | destroy | strip | ||||
| vs | behaves | waves | valves | ||||
You need to know that when you are saying words with consonant clusters in them it is very important that you say all the consonants as one syllable. A mistake often made by Asian speakers among others is to put them into extra syllables. For example:
'glimpsed' could become 'glimp sid'
or 'bribed' could become 'brib id'
This does not sound correct.
Finally here is an exercise to let you know when you have really mastered this.
Try saying the following:
'The sixth twisty crisp'
How To Test, See And Hear Your Pronunciation On Your Computer
Do you want to quickly and easily perfect your English pronunciation?
These lessons are a good start, but if you really want to learn how to speak english perfectly then you'll need a little more help. EyeSpeak English have an amazing system that can listen to your pronunciation, analyze it and then instantly teach you how to improve. It's a really great idea.
We've put together a special package with EyeSpeak for Ego4U visitors:
- Hear 2,000 words in American and British accents.
- Test your English speech and see where you're going wrong, and how to quickly fix your accent. The EyeSpeak software can actually listen to you and shows you how to improve quickly.
- It's not just words. EyeSpeak can also analyze over 700 useful English phrases and sentences.
- There are 45 interactive English conversations to practice with.
- As well as 2,000 spelling games.
Plus three special bonuses worth over US$100 and a 15 % discount off the regular price.
The special Ego4you EyeSpeak English package for people who want to quickly reduce their accent and improve their English pronunciation is only available at this link:
Changed: 10th Dec 2010 19:35
URL: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/pronunciation/non-native-combination-sounds