All people in the world have the same structure of the organs of speech, that is, everyone has the opportunity to learn to speak perfectly in any foreign language. However, it is known that even people living abroad for a long time in most cases speak with an accent. Pure speech in a foreign language is sincerely admired, because it is not such a frequent occurrence among those who began to learn a foreign language when they were already adults. It seems that only people with special abilities can learn to speak perfectly. But phonetic skills can be trained in the same way as ear for music.
For a pure pronunciation, this answer to the question of how to pronounce English words correctly is not enough once. We need systematic classes. In this article, we will touch on several interesting aspects of pronunciation, each of which will need to be given special attention.
Consonants
Most students do not find English consonants to be difficult. But in vain. Those sounds that seem to have analogues in the Russian language, for example, [n, l, t, d] - [n, l, t, d,], are especially affected. But if you listen carefully, they sound different! English sounds n, l, t, z, t, d, s, d (they are also called occlusal or occlusal-slit) are pronounced softer and more tender. Try to say the Russian sound [d], and then move the tip of the tongue a little back and up to the alveoli (the place where the hidden parts of the teeth are) and again try to make the same sound - you will get an English version of this sound. How to pronounce English words with these sounds? Try to make a couple of words (English word - Russian word) in which there seem to be similar sounds, for example, diet - diet.
Watch how familiar words sound in songs. This is difficult, but gives many answers to the question of how to pronounce English words correctly. For example, the word “body” very often found in popular songs almost sounds like “bari”. Why is the sound “d” so similar to “p”? Precisely because with the correct pronunciation, it does not sound like the Russian “d,” but with fast speech it becomes especially noticeable. Young children are taught to pronounce the sound "p", repeating quickly "d-d-d". The pronunciation of these sounds works very similarly.
Another important point: in Russian, voiced consonants are stunned at the end, try to avoid this in English, because with a change in sound the meaning of the word will also change. For example, lamb - lamb, lamp - lamp.
Particular attention should be paid to the letter h, that is, the sound [h], which Russian-speaking students famously replace with Russian [x], not suspecting that they are making a gross mistake. The Russian sound is brighter, rougher, juicier, it suggests the tension of the tongue and is pronounced very intensely. English h is a very gentle, subtle sound, as light as breathing. Try to pronounce Russian [x] first, and then do the same, completely relaxing the language.
Vowel sounds
There are no long and short sounds in the Russian language, so you should pay special attention to them - the incorrect longitude of the vowel sound can change the meaning of the word. For example, ship (short i) is a ship, sheep (long i) is a sheep. In Russian, too, some vowel sounds can be long and others short, but this will not affect the meaning of the words. How to pronounce English words with long and short sounds? No need to specifically pull or swallow them. Remember a simple rule: a long sound should be expressive. They pronounce it, as if focusing on it. Surrounding sounds seem to suppress a brief sound - they sound brighter.
How to speak English
There is such a thing - “speech mask”. This is what kind of facial expression we are talking about, how the organs of speech work during the pronunciation of words. Russian is more expressive than English. We speak, actively working our lips, giving the sound of our speech rigidity and sonorousness. And now try to smile softly, slightly stretching your lips to the sides - this is exactly what the English language looks like. Most English sounds need to be pronounced with “flat” lips. This difference is especially noticeable between the Russian “u” and the English “u”. Say the first sound, and then relax, smile and try to say the same thing - you will get an English “u”. The sound goes inside.
How to read the word in English
Alas, it is impossible to learn to read well in English, knowing only the rules of reading. That is why at any courses they first get acquainted with phonetics and only then with reading rules. Which upsets a lot of people, because books are here at hand, but it is still so far from real conversations. That is why many people disregard phonetics, and when they get acquainted with the rules of transcription, they are frankly bored. For starters, try not to read using transcription, but using audio. Write the words and keep them in front of your eyes, then turn on the recording and listen carefully to the word, while getting acquainted with its spelling. Thus, you will be able to realize the connection “sound - letter”, bypassing the intermediate stage - transcription.
How to pronounce English words intonationally?
Many guess about the existence and essence of intonation, starting to engage in rhythm. It turns out that any phrase, even pronounced without music, has its own rhythm and melody. And these musical properties of speech in different languages ​​are different. Sounds and phrases in our speech alternate in height (lower - increase), in terms of shock-shocklessness, longitude-shortness, in strength (we can pronounce some sounds strongly and others - weakly), speed, timbre, presence / absence logical stresses. English is not Chinese (this is where you need to be a musician), but, nevertheless, it has intonational differences from Russian. The rising tone, indicating incompleteness, uncertainty (pronunciations, farewell words, some kinds of questions, etc. are pronounced with it) in English is formed differently than in Russian, although it is used in the same situations. The same goes for the downward tone. In Russian, at the end of stressed words, the tone of the voice rises, although there is a decrease in tone in the general phrase. Everything happens smoothly and quite softly. The English “descent” sounds brighter. Each subsequent stressed syllable sounds less intense than the previous one, and at the end of the phrase the tone drops quite sharply.
These are not all the curious features of the pronunciation of English words, but I hope that this article will arouse interest in this amazing area of ​​linguistic knowledge and allow you to move on independently without boredom and cramming.