The American accent: pronunciation of vowels

The English voice SOUNDS

Many English learners have a different accent, why speak English with vowels of their language. They make this mistake because the English vowels are "something like" the voice of their native language, but are not the same thing!

Not just listen to the radio and TV. Most people only hear the sounds of their native language and learn to pronounce the different sounds of a new language such as English.

And 'useful to a course with the recordings of the language they are learning. A good - and economic - can be found at http://www.bookslibros.com/charlesieENGLISH.htm. A more extensive list of resopurces can be found at: http://www.goodaccent.com/accentbooks.htm

Let's look at "pure" vowels that are present in many languages. They are called pure because they have established sound, like a note of well-tuned musical instrument. These vowels are formed without any interference by the lips, teeth or tongue. It 'important to remember that when we speak of the vowels a, e, i, o, u, we are talking of vowel sounds, not letters of the alphabet. This is very important to remember in English, because the same letter often represents different sounds in English spelling. Entered in parentheses denote the sounds: / a /, / e /, / i /, / o /, / u /, and letters in quotes: "A", "E", "i", "O" " u ".

In the next section, you can get a quick look at the English voice that sounds "something like" the vowel sounds represented by letters "A", "E", "i", "O", "u" in many languages. In the rest of the book, we'll see more detail and there will also be able to listen to their pronunciation. (For the book, but available only in Spanish see: http://www.bookslibros.com/TuCD.htm) There will also be looking at other English vowel sounds that are peculiar to English and are not found in most other languages.

The following sounds of English are similar (not the same!) To the sounds / a /, / e /, / i /, / o /, / u / in your tongue.

• The voice of the English word pot is pronounced like the letter "A" in many languages. Learn once and for all in some words the letter "O" is pronounced like the "A" in your language! That's right. If you do not like, will not change the language. It 'best to work your case from the beginning.

• The "Italian and" in the words of May.
· The Italian "i" word in the feet.
· The Italian "or" target word.
· The Italian "u" in the word moon

We will begin with the five vowel sounds as represented by the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as / a /, / e /, / i /, / o /, / u /. These are the pure vowel sounds that are present in English as in many other languages.

The first vowel sound in English (represented by the letter "A" in most languages) is represented by the letter "O" in English. We repeat: just get used to this. For example, the English word is pronounced lot like lats in other languages.

You open your mouth when you make this sound. This sound appears in the words father, car, top plate, and the same sound as the words of a Spanish man, Chariot, tapa, PATA, or German Vater, Achtung, Machen, etc.

This sound is a form of English vowel sound / o / (the "short O") and not / a /. Consequently, the letter "O" stands for this sound more often "to". To avoid confusion it is good to use a dictionary that has the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA.

Sure, it's always better to hear a native speaker, but sometimes it does not have one around. For example, when searching for a word in the dictionary you know how to pronounce, whether in the dictionary of the IPA symbols.

Get a good dictionary using IPA as the "Basic Longmans Dictionary of American English" or the excellent "Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for advanced learners," by cutting the appropriate length and paste the following URL into your browser:

For Longmans: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0582332516/ref=ase_launionbookslibr

For Collins http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0007102011/ref=ase_launionbookslibr

For more information about this topic, see: http://www.inglesparalatinos.com

Let the other vowels / e /, / i /, / o /, / U / or sounds better in English that are represented by these letters.

These sounds in English are not "pure", as in many other languages, because almost always end with another sound. They end with a slight "i" or "u vowel sound by which it is. We will see this in more detail. Some teachers say they have a small" tail "at the end.

If you pronounce the s / sound in English without the little "tail" at the end, it will pronounce this sound properly.

In the musical My Fair Lady, the professor tries to teach pronunciation of English / e / with the phrase, "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."

Your mouth is stretched on the sides when making the / i / sound. Remember this / i / sound is rarely written with the letter "i" in English.

There is very little "tail" after the sound of / i / in English in words like walk, pea. However, the / i / is slightly longer than in other languages. This should exaggerate and be almost right.

If the vowel is pronounced / or phone / word (phone) sounds the same child or ton in many languages (without the "tail") will be speaking with a marked accent. I / O / sound in English is not pure. You must finish the voice with the "tail" a bit '/ u / sound.

You feel your lips move as pronounced in English / o /. They do not remain as in other languages. After "or" sound your lips make a round shape, as if you give her a kiss.

Like the / i / sounds, there is very little "tail", after English / u / sound.
You can have a pretty good case alone lengthening the vowel.

Your lips are rounded when you make the / u / sound.

Summary of vowels in English

The five basic vowel sounds of many languages are in English, but with the following observations:

1. The voice is represented by the letter "A" in many languages, most often occurs in words with "O". This sound is pronounced in English without change. However, other vowels, / e /, / i /, / o /, / u /, all are especially pronounced in English. / E / e / or / marked the "cross". The s / ends in an / i / sound. And / or / ends with a / u / sound. The / i / / u / do not have tails, but are stretched.

2. English spelling has little to do with the sounds they represent. Or to put it another way, English is not pronounced as it is written.

The / a / vowel sound is the sound of the English word pot.
The s / (again with the "tail") can be written many ways sound: can weigh, they.

The sound / s / (a bit 'long) is used in many different ways: walking, pea, field, receive.

The sound / o / (with its / u / tail) is represented in the following ways: loan, the enemy, but, suddenly, I have to.

The sound / u / (a bit 'stretched) shows in unexpected ways under English words moon and everything.

Strange spelling in English! Right? But the spelling in another question! We will get to it. For the moment, only focus on pronunciation.

One way to remember is to think of how you form your moth when English is spoken. Imagine that you smile when you finish a word ending with / i / sound. At the end of May word tend lips.

Similarly, make the effort to think of giving a kiss when you finish a word that ends with the / u / sound. Have completed the sound of / o / in the word go puckering his lips as if you were going to put out a candle or give a kiss.

Do not forget! We discussed the vowel sounds, not letters of 'alphabet that sometimes represent them. The tip has the same word / / or sound like the words go, flow, however, and Beau. We will see some spelling 'as elsewhere in the book, "Leer Es Poder" en http://www.bookslibros.com/ muestra / muestra_index.htm.

In the meantime, if you read Spanish you can find pages on spelling and Pronunciación in http:/www.inglesparalatinos.com. You can also get our Spanish Boletín going to: http://www.eListas.net/lista/leerespoder/alta