5 Bad Words

Looking around the internet for some marketing insight I came across this great article  by Ivana Taylor, a marketing expert.  I felt that it wasn't just great for me, but also for my accent reduction clients.  As ESL speakers there is a tendency to stick with tried and true vocabulary words, the "safe bet".  It maybe time to take a look at some of these habitual phrases and words to consider their impact on your image, mindset and meaning.

Do you recognize certain catch phrases or words popping up in your speech often?  Do you say "awesome" automatically for any good news?  How about "excellent".  Could you shake it up a bit?  This can be especially necessary if you find yourself using trendy slang words like "dude", "bummer", "what the"  These phrases can definitely downgrade your image in the workplace.

Perhaps you need to consider the words that Ivana brings to light, such as "try", "should", "want to".  You will set up that meeting or make that call, you won't "try to".  It sets up a wishy washy image and sends your own subconscious the message  that it has wiggle room to get out of it. You will do what you say, you will not merely "try to" .

What are your 5 bad words?

Lynn Founder of Accent Master

What's in a Name

I came across this interesting article at the website Freakanomics here.  All in all it says that in 5 independent studies the easier one's name is to pronounce the greater success a person experiences.  This article did not imply that unfamiliar or foreign names were necessarily a problem, the name it seems just must be easy for people to say.

It is an interesting concept. Do you feel that presenting with an "Americanized" version of your given name is a good idea or do you think it misrepresents you?   Would you find an American living in your country  who  gives a name easier for the people of your country to understand or pronounce as being considerate or dishonest?

Additionally do you think it is the responsibility of the people in America to try a bit harder to understand and pronounce a greater variety of names, or is the responsibility to the new American to fit in by choosing a variety of their name that American's can pronounce easily?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Lynn founder of Accent Master

Rhythym of Spoken English

Linking

The third feature of rhythm that we teach at Accent Master is linking.  This is how words flow together so that you don’t have a halting sound to your speech.  Many words can be linked together not just making you sound smoother but saving even more time in pronouncing words that are unstressed, an important skill for the ESL speaker

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Let’s get started with our first example of linking:

 When saying: “An easy test” you will actually say

“aneasy test” It may sound like “akneesE test”

We don’t’ say “An   Easy   Test” This can sound stiff and formal.

In this example “It’s like ashes”

Do you hear cashes when you flow the words together?

These are examples of a final consonant sound (not letter) linking to the word following that begins with the vowel.

Say these phrases using smooth linking between the consonants and the vowels

 
Try these:

  The speaker’s attitude
  To check in
   Some other ones 
   Homework assignments
  Writing essays
   One example
   In October

You can also link a final vowel to a word that begins with a vowel. Sometimes this requires that you insert a w or y sound between

Try these:
  As in    
 Go on 
  Carry out
Two algorithms    
Knew about it
 Now it’s over
Three offices

 

Another situation in which linking works is when a word ends with a stop consonant ( stop consonant is one that is made by stopping the airflow and then releasing it as in /p/,/d/, /t/, /k/, /g/, and  /b/) and the next word begins with a stop.  In these cases we stop the airflow and change the place of articulation without releasing the air in between

 For example: “Like music”

Don’t release the air after the /k/ just flow right into music “likmusic”

Try these:
  A hard night
 A good memory 
 The right moment
Stick together
Keep notes
Stop trying
 Pop quiz

 

So the three rules for linking are:

1. Final consonant sound (not letter)  linking to the word following that begins with the vowel

2. Final vowel to a word that begins with a vowel. Sometimes this requires that you insert a w or y sound between

3. A word ending with a stop and the next word begins with a stop. 

It is a lot of rules our Accent Master’s software has great videos, lessons and practice so you can really master this part of the American Accent.

Lynn founder of

Accent Master