Quick Tips
Quick and Simple
The long E vs. short I Sound
Really, it's that simple
The Long E and Short I are very common sounds which can be especially difficult for anyone with English as a second language, to distinguish. Understanding the difference between these two vowel sounds is very important, and incorrect pronunciation due to incorrect lip and tongue placement may cause others to misunderstand you.
Very often, words with the Long E sound are mispronounced because many words use this sound but aren’t necessarily spelled the same. Take for example the words “Feet” which is written with a double e, and the word “Leave” which is written with “ea”. Although spelled differently, both words are pronounced the same because they use the Long E.
Listen and practice the different sounds!
- Leave vs. Live 00:00
Leave vs. Live
- Seat vs. Sit 00:00
Seat vs. Sit
- Feet vs. Fit 00:00
Feet vs. Fit
- Heat vs. Hit 00:00
Heat vs. Hit
- Sheep vs. Ship 00:00
Sheep vs. Ship
The 'CH' Sound
Three more sounds
As English is a non-phonetic language, learning spoken English is learning the different sounds.
Take for example the spelling combination CH, which has three different sounds.
- Chair - Check - Chicken - Rich - Much 00:00
Chair - Check - Chicken - Rich - Much
- Character - Echo - School 00:00
Character - Echo - School
- Machine - Chef - Parachute 00:00
Machine - Chef - Parachute
The 'S' Sound
Sometimes it sounds like "Z"
Usually, the alphabet of English doesn’t always narrate the same speech sounds. Some letters in the alphabet have a different sound and therefore learning the pronunciation is a bit tricky.
If we look at the letter S for example, we see that many words which are spelled with S aren’t necessarily pronounced with a SSS sound, but a Z sound instead.
- Hiss vs. His 00:00
Hiss vs. His
- Kiss vs. Keys 00:00
Kiss vs. Keys
- Beast vs. Bees 00:00
Beast vs. Bees
- This vs. These 00:00
This vs. These
So, what is "Schwa"?
You hardly open your mouth to create this sound
Linguistically, the Schwa is an unaccented vowel sound and is the most common sound in the English language. Probably, the best way to understand it is to think of the vowels a, e, i, o, u as “lazy”, weak and quick sounds.
A correct schwa sound, which is represented by an upside-down, rotated “e” >> /ə/ and is often called the “neutral vowel”, makes pronunciation more accurate and natural, especially when singing words with this sound.
Making this sound does not involve a lot of movement in your mouth and lips. In fact, all you need to do is relax your face muscles, allow for natural gravity to takes its’ course, and out it comes >> “uh”.
אז איפה בעצם מוצאים את ה-Schwa באנגלית?
התנועה מופיעה במילים רבות עם שתי הברות ומעלה.
סמל ה-IPA לתנועה הוא /ə/.
-
It is the first syllable in::
amazing
ə-ma-zing
כאן ה-schwa מחליף את ה-a והוא קצר ומהיר. -
ה-schwa באמצע המילה:
today tə-day
כאן ה-schwa מחליף את ה-o ולמעשה מעלים את התנועה לגמרי. -
ה-schwa בסוף המילה:
careful care-fəl
כאן ה-schwa מחליף את ה-u ולמעשה מעלים את התנועה לגמרי. -
ה-schwa בסוף המילה:
system sys-təm
כאן ה-schwa מחליף את ה-e ולמעשה מעלים את התנועה לגמרי.
ə-ma-zing- Away (Schwa) 00:00
- (Today(schwa 00:00
- (Careful (schwa 00:00
- System (Schwa) 00:00
Welcome to Saywhat English Training
Sing fluently in English with Confidence
General Differences
Let's hear them!
As English is not a phonetic language, most non-native English speakers often get confused because words aren’t necessarily pronounced as they are written. Some words have the same spelling but have different sounds, and some are spelled differently, but pronounced the same.
Take for example the words “Where” and “Wear”. Although spelled differently, they are pronounced the same! So, if we don’t know what sounds they use, we would naturally assume that “wear” is pronounced with a long E because it is spelled the same as the word “leave” which also uses “ea”.
- Where vs. Were 00:00
Where vs. Were
- Wear vs. Were 00:00
Wear vs. Were
- Close vs. Clothes 00:00
Close vs. Clothes
- This vs. Thursday 00:00
This vs. Thursday
Common Mistakes
Numbers
Pronouncing numbers in English can be difficult, and common mistakes occur when we want to distinguish between words which are pronounced the same in the first syllable, but different in the second.
Take for example the numbers “13” vs. “30”. If we need to clarify which number we are referring to, the easiest way would be to stress the second syllable >> “thir-teen” and “thir”-ty”.
It helps to do this as you practice, but it is equally important to remember that most of the time, these numbers are pronounced with equally strong syllables.
- Thirty vs. Thirteen 00:00
Thirty vs. Thirteen
- Forty vs. Fourteen 00:00
Forty vs. Fourteen
- Sixty vs. Sixteen 00:00
Sixty vs. Sixteen
The 'TH' Sound
Placing the tongue before the teeth
The two letters “TH” in combination are very common in English. They represent two different sounds, and learning to pronounce them correctly is useful, as they can be found in many English words.
The first sound is the ‘voiced th’ /ð/ which comes from the mouth and vocal cords, while the second is the ‘unvoiced th’ /θ/ which comes only from the mouth.
Apart from being voiced and unvoiced, both sounds are produced in a similar way >> where the tip of the tongue is placed behind the top front teeth while the lips are fairly relaxed.
Listen and practice examples of words with the ‘voiced TH’!
- This vs. Dis 00:00
This vs. Dis
- That vs. Dat 00:00
That vs. Dat
- hose vs. Dose 00:00
Those vs. Dose
- They vs. Dey 00:00
They vs. Dey
Helpful Tips
Use the News
One of the most effective ways to improve your diction in English is by watching and listening to the news. Undeniably, this is a very efficient way to hear how words are pronounced, and to identify and practice word stress.
Mistakes in word stress are a common cause of misunderstanding in English, therefore by hearing words over and over, your spoken English will improve, and you will start speaking and singing with more confidence and comprehensible intonation.
Listen to the Music
Listening to different genres of music is a very good platform for anyone to improve their diction, intonation, word stress, especially singers and performance artists!
Inevitably, listening to music and reading the lyrics can help an artist find a wider range of vocabulary, and at the same time present a great opportunity to work on accent and diction. And more importantly, it is a lot of fun!
It's Movie Night
Watching movie and series in English is an enjoyable experience and is one of the more practical ways to learn how to speak. By watching musicals like “The Sound of Music” or “Rent”, you are exposed to a world of different genres and types of accents, which give you an idea of how to pronounce and enunciate words in English with a melody.
It can also be very beneficial to write down certain phrases and idioms that you hear and are unfamiliar with so that you can expand your knowledge and learn to pronounce them simultaneously.
