All people of 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 non-native language is sincerely admired, because it is not such a frequent occurrence among those who began to learn a foreign language as an adult. It seems that only people with special abilities can learn to speak perfectly. But phonetic skills can be trained just like an ear for music.
For a clear pronunciation, it is not enough to give an answer once to the question of how to pronounce English words correctly. We need systematic training. 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 don't find English consonants difficult. But in vain. Particularly affected are those sounds that seem to have analogues in Russian, for example, [n, l, t, d] - [n, l, t, d,]. But if you listen closely, they sound different! English sounds n, l, t, z, t, d, s, d (they are also called occlusive or occlusive-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 higher, to the alveoli (the place where the hidden parts of the teeth are) and try to pronounce the same sound again - you will get the English version of this sound. How to pronounce English words with these sounds correctly? Try to make pairs of words (English word - Russian word) in which there are seemingly similar sounds, for example, diet - diet.
Watch how familiar words sound in songs. It is difficult, but it gives many answers to the question of how to pronounce English words correctly. For example, the word “body”, which is very common in popular songs, sounds almost like “bari”. Why is the "d" sound so similar to the "r"? Precisely because, with the correct pronunciation, it does not sound like the Russian “d”, and with fast speech this becomes especially noticeable. Young children are taught to pronounce the sound “r” by repeating “d-d-d” quickly. The tongue works very similarly when pronouncing these sounds.
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 is a lamb, lamp is a lamp.
Particular attention should be paid to the letter h, that is, the sound [h], which Russian-speaking studentsfamously replace the 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. The English h is a very gentle subtle sound, as light as breathing. Try pronouncing the Russian [x] first, and then do the same, completely relaxing your tongue.
Vowels
There are no long and short sounds in Russian, so you should pay special attention to them - the wrong longitude of a 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, while others can be 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. It is pronounced as if focusing attention on it. The short sound seems to be suppressed by surrounding sounds - they sound brighter.
How to speak English correctly
There is such a thing - "speech mask". This is the facial expression with which we speak, how the organs of speech work during the pronunciation of words. Russian is more expressive than English. We speak, actively working with our lips, giving the sound of our speech harshness and sonority. Now try to smile softly, slightly stretching your lips to the sides - this is what English looks like. Most of the sounds of the English language should be pronounced with "flat" lips. This difference is especially noticeable between the Russian "y" and the English "u". Say the first sound, and then relax, smile and try to say the same thing - you get the English "u". The sound seems to go inside.
How to pronounce a word in English
Alas, it is impossible to learn to read well in English, knowing only the rules of reading. That is why in any course they first get acquainted with phonetics and only then with the rules of reading. Which upsets a lot of people, because books are here, at hand, and real conversations are still so far away. That is why many people treat phonetics with disdain, and when they get acquainted with the rules of transcription, they are frankly bored. Try to start reading not with the help of transcription, but with the help of sound accompaniment. Write the words and keep them in front of your eyes, then turn on the recording and listen carefully to the word while you become familiar with its spelling. Thus, you will be able to realize the connection "sound - letter", bypassing the intermediate stage - transcription.
How to pronounce English words correctly?
Many guess about the existence and essence of intonation, starting to study rhythm. It turns out that any phrase, even spoken without music, has its own rhythm and melody. And these musical properties of speech differ in different languages. Sounds and phrases in our speech alternate in height (fall down - rise), in stress-unstressedness, longitude-briefness, in strength (we can pronounce some sounds strongly and others weakly), according tospeed, timbre, presence/absence of logical stresses. English is not Chinese (that's where you need to be a musician), but, nevertheless, it has intonational differences from Russian. The rising tone, indicating incompleteness, uncertainty (subordinate clauses, words of farewell, some types 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 applies to the descending tone. In Russian, at the end of stressed words, the tone of the voice rises, although there is a decrease in tone in the common phrase. Everything happens smoothly and quite gently. 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.
This is not all the curious features of the pronunciation of English words, but I hope that this article will arouse interest in this amazing field of linguistic knowledge and allow you to move on on your own without boredom and cramming.
