How to Clearly Pronounce Words
Does you speech need a tune-up? The way in which you speak says a lot about you. There are many aspects of speech, language, and voice that personalize your speech. In this blog, we are going to talk about pronunciation and diction. Pronunciation can indicate where you grew up and diction can quickly identify your level of education, personal tastes, and social background. Pronouncing words correctly can make you sound like a polished professional.
The acceptable pronunciation of any word is determined exclusively by its usage in the general population. But a dictionary can be a valuable tool to learn how to pronounce words. Pronunciation in some dictionaries is represented by symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). If you’re not familiar with IPA, it can be confusing.
Each symbol in the IPA stands for one sound. This is different from our regular alphabet in which one symbol stands for many sounds. For instance, the letter /a/ can be produced as in bad, bade, and ball. Mastering the IPA system will assist you in many ways, particularly when you need to look up a word.
Regional accents are notorious for mispronunciations of sounds but a bad habit like omitting or reducing words in running speech is also common.
Here are some common mistakes:
1. Omitting /l/ “Already”=”awready”
2. Substituting /t/ with /d/ “letter”=”ledder” “quantity”=”quanidy”
3.”Our”= ‘r’ “R house is two blocks away.”
4. Reducing words by eliminating sounds. Here is a short list of some commonly shortened words. Sharpen your pronunciation and diction by practicing the correct pronunciation (you may have many others to add):
Almond (amond)–picture (pitcher)–supposedly (supposebly)–temperature (temprature)– laboratory (labratory)–hospitable (hosptable)”Probably”=”Probly”
5. Shortening/changing vowels in running speech. For example:
a. “For”=”fer” “The phone is fer you.”
b. “To”=”tuh” “I’m going tuh the store.”
c. “Just”=”jist” “Jist a minute…”
d. “you”=”ya” “I’ll see ya at the meeting.”
6. Reducing other sounds like, “Going to”=”gonna” “Want to”=”wanna,” “Didn’t:”=”dint,” “wouldn’t”=”wunt”
What can you do to ensure that you are improving your diction? There are a few simple things to try to speak more clearly.
1. Slow your rate of speech.
2. Put endings on words.
3. Lengthen the vowels of stressed words.
4. Over-articulate or exaggerate your words. Watch yourself in the mirror–you should be able to see your teeth while speaking.
4. Practice saying tongue twisters to “warm-up” your “articulators”:
- Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
Greta grabbed Greg’s grater and grated greater green grapes.
Can cotton candy coat clean cold combs?
The wary women wept over the war waifs and weakened widows.
Practice these tongue twisters and gradually increase the speed until every sound and word are precisely pronounced even at a faster rate. As you go faster, notice how exaggerated mouth movements are key to producing the sounds accurately.
A great way to get feedback about your speaking skills is to record your end of a phone conversation. After the conversation, listen to the recording. Listen to your diction and pronunciation of words. Is your speech clear and precise? This can be a humbling experience but it may motivate you to make changes.
It is important to analyze your speech and determine your pronunciation. Errors can be corrected with commitment, determination, and daily practice.
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Tags: diction, how to speak clearly, pronunciation