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Simplified English Pronunciation

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32 messages over 4 pages: 1 2 3
tarvos
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 Message 25 of 32
16 September 2013 at 6:07pm | IP Logged 
If you have to, use t/d - it's the Irish sound.
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Via Diva
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 Message 26 of 32
16 September 2013 at 6:18pm | IP Logged 
tarvos, I would've been glad to do it, but if teacher herself saying that we're better to use s/z... Of course, there will be three people during exam, but our teacher will be there amongst them. And she's always saying that everybody adore pronunciation of her students, that they're the best in reading... I'm afraid to let her down with my tricky pronunciation, and when I got some hope to make it sound better, she suggest the other way.
I even know how that'll end: I will be practicing original th during all New Year winter holidays. Nearly two weeks with th and I'll have an excuse to fail physical and analytical chemistry exams :)
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beano
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 Message 27 of 32
16 September 2013 at 7:03pm | IP Logged 
I've heard peope say that in RP, door and poor sound the same. In Scottish English, they have completely
different vowel sounds. I would pronounce poor the same as lose. Maybe some aspects of RP are actually
already simplified? At the end of the day, it's just an arbitrary choice of some Victorian professor to adopt one
variety as standard.

The southern English even have a soft consonant thing going on with lure, which they voice as l-yure. With
me it comes out sounding the same as poor.
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LaughingChimp
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 Message 28 of 32
16 September 2013 at 9:20pm | IP Logged 
That is true. Horse/hoarse also sound the same and there is a tendency to merge peer/pear and tower/tire.
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Richard Burton
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 Message 29 of 32
14 October 2013 at 1:35pm | IP Logged 
There is absolutely no chance to change the phonological system of a language by sort of a popular initiative. Languages have a phonological system; actually, in my opinion, are close to be a phonological system, I mean, what system they use is probably the most defining feature of what they are. It is not like they are there, and then a phonological system can be decided for them.

I admit though they can be influenced by language planning decisions and, particularly, the writing system, but only partially and over long stretches of time. The idea of completely refurbishing the system by a conscious collective decision (supposing that would be possible in the first place) is daft I am sorry :) But good try. A lot of foreign learners would be eternally grateful. The indigestibility of the English phonological system, in any incarnation -useless to try to find a better version-, has and will continue to harm millions of people. Funny enough, those few of us savvy on phonology, coming from the Germanic family, or maybe just talented, who can reproduce it well, become as attached to it as native speakers, very much as in the case of the chaotic writing system. English is a disgrace really. Should be banned!!! :)

A different issue would be: a mass of users as second or foreign language are so numerous, and fail to reproduce the original phonological system so consistently, that they bring to life a new variety of English; this is official and they call it Indian, etc English. Then some could come and say, let this be the model for English as a foreign language. But everybody consistently choose to look to the original core of speakers, unwilling to create a fundamental gap with the very source whence the force of the language emanates.

A better solution would be having a statistically more average phon. system for the language used as lingua franca, in other words, another language, but this was a case of historical development or whatever and no way to revert it voluntarily by now. It is English and it has a statistically not too common phonological system (more in the case of vowels and rythm, consonants is not too bad). Humanity sucks, what can anyone do. Patience.

Thank you for the "Irish th", it is the first time in my life that I hear explicitly talking about it, while I observed it on my own, first time, many years ago, when listening to the beautiful song by Cranberries "Twenty One", where I clearly heard

"I dont TTTink is going to happen anymore
you took my TToughts from me..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKjOQzwzEIM

after that, the most surprising thing in the whole Anglosphere for me is a terribly closed /e:/ that in my opinion New Zealanders use, sounds exactly for my like German extremely closed /e:/, in "bed", "head", etc, sounds almost like some "beed", "heed"...but you get used to these speakers quickly.

The cup sound mentioned above really should not be difficult if clearly explained: is just a open o with labialization withdrawn, it is very easy to relax the lips in a opened o. It is a very comfortable and natural sound, statistically not too rare. No need to hate it :)

Edited by Richard Burton on 14 October 2013 at 2:09pm

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tarvos
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 Message 30 of 32
14 October 2013 at 2:00pm | IP Logged 
Via Diva wrote:
tarvos, I would've been glad to do it, but if teacher herself
saying that we're better to use s/z... Of course, there will be three people during
exam, but our teacher will be there amongst them. And she's always saying that
everybody adore pronunciation of her students, that they're the best in reading... I'm
afraid to let her down with my tricky pronunciation, and when I got some hope to make
it sound better, she suggest the other way.
I even know how that'll end: I will be practicing original th during all New
Year winter holidays. Nearly two weeks with th and I'll have an excuse to fail
physical and analytical chemistry exams :)


Your teacher is wrong. You either pronounce /th/ properly, or you use a variant which
is accepted in some sub-form (in this case Hiberno-English). I wouldn't accept a
substitute if (more like when) I taught English either. T/d seems to be most common in
the Netherlands, but I have heard f/v too and sometimes s/z.

Edited by tarvos on 14 October 2013 at 2:07pm

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schoenewaelder
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 Message 31 of 32
15 October 2013 at 1:29pm | IP Logged 
Richard Burton wrote:
daft


Probably true, but I wasn't suggesting the natives should change their pronunciation,
just that there are probably simpler, standard ways to pronounce certain things, that
would still be clearly understandable by the natives, and hopefully even sound quite
neutral

Richard Burton wrote:
The cup sound mentioned above really should not be difficult if
clearly explained: is just a open o with labialization withdrawn, it is very easy to
relax the lips in a opened o. It is a very comfortable and natural sound, statistically
not too rare. No need to hate it :)


It is a very relaxed sound, but the tongue is further forward than for "o". I suspect a
delabalised "o" could end up sounding a bit "a"-ish.
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HMS
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 Message 32 of 32
17 October 2013 at 6:37am | IP Logged 
I think RP English should be placed in the same category as MSA Arabic.
Except RP is now archaic. Nobody speaks like that and if they did they would get funny looks. Easily understood though.


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