Transcription
Hello lovely students and welcome to your pronunciation training session. Today, I am very excited to help you pronounce 100 everyday words in my modern received pronunciation accent.
Now, I'm not just going to read a list of words to you. To make this really fun, productive, and efficient for you, I've divided the words into 10 categories, each focusing on a specific specific feature of my accent or British everyday vocabulary. I promise you that by the end of this pronunciation training session, you will notice a marked difference in your pronunciation. Here is the plan: Step one, I'll model each word for you, first slowly and then faster. Repeat after me to practice. And then step two, we'll practice the words together in full sentences. When I say "together," I mean that I'd like you to speak along with me at the same time. Why? Well, this technique, often called shadowing, will help you to build fluency, practice your English rhythm, and gain confidence in your beautifully accurate pronunciation. It's a win-win-win. It'll also help you to notice how someone's words change slightly when they're connected to other words.
I also want to remind you that you do not have to copy my accent to speak beautiful, clear English. The modern RP accent is just one example of British pronunciation. This lesson is going to help you understand its key features while refining your own style and finding your own unique voice. It is no secret that English pronunciation can be hard. It can be really difficult to know where your strengths and weaknesses are and what steps you need to take to improve. For this exact reason, I have created an in-depth, free, emphasis on free, pronunciation level test. It's totally online, totally free. It includes 45 questions which will take you through from beginner to advanced. Once you complete the test, I will send your result to you via EMA email. It's a fantastic way for you to discover just how clear and accurate your pronunciation is and identify any areas that would benefit from a bit of work. How can I take this test, I hear you ask? Well, I've put the link in the description box, and you can also scan that QR code there. Once you've completed the test, you'll get an email with your results.
Okay, let's get started. We're going to focus first on one key feature of my and many other British accents. I don't pronounce the letter R at the end of a word or before consonant sounds. So, the letters E at the end of words usually sound like uh uh. This sound is called the schwa sound, and it's the most common sound in English. In most American accents, these letters would sound more like er. Can you hear the difference? Uh uh. Let's practice with 10 common words with uh or E at the end. Remember to repeat after me. I'll go slow first, then fast.
One, weather. Weather.
Two, shower. Shower.
Three, shopper. Shopper.
Four, driver. Driver.
Five, logger. Logger.
Six, natter. Natter.
Seven, quieter. Quieter.
Eight, whisper. Whisper.
Nine, deliver. Deliver.
And 10, offer. Offer.
How did you find that? Here's something interesting. I do usually pronounce the letter R when it comes before a vowel sound. Listen and compare: The weather was awful. The weather is awful. Did you hear the difference there? Let's practice some of these words in full sentences. Shadow me. I'll mark where I pronounced the R sound to help you.
The weather was awful, so the shopper asked the taxi driver to take her to the pub for a logger while she was having a natter on the phone. The room suddenly grew quieter, and some people began to whisper about the heavy snow shower that was forecast.
Pause and replay that if you want to practice again.
The next sound we will focus on is in the final word of our last list, offer. Offer. O o. So, pull your tongue to the back of your mouth, open the jaw slightly, and round the lips. O o. In many North American accents, this short O sounds more like a long O, or a, or OR. So, if you want to speak with modern RP, keep this sound as a short burst. O o. Offer. Here are 10 everyday words with this sound. Repeat after me.
Often. Often. Remember, you can also say often.
October. October.
Opportunity. Opportunity.
What. Want.
Stop. Stop.
Clock. Clock.
Knowledge. Knowledge.
Hospital. Hospital.
Impossible. Impossible.
And apology. Apology.
Let's practice the sound in some full sentences. Shadow me now.
In October, she had the opportunity to fix the broken clock, but said it was impossible without the right knowledge. Instead, she stopped and offered her apologies.
Rewind and replay that if you'd like to practice again. If not, let's move on to our next sound, which is super, super British. Can you guess what it is? It's the glottal stop. We make this sound by quickly closing the throat and then releasing the air. It's like a tiny, light cough. It often replaces the T sound in the middle and at the end of a word, but it can also appear in place of some other consonant sounds too. We can represent this sound with this symbol.
Now, the use of the glottal stop is really irregular. I don't tend to use it in the middle of words. This is more a feature of other accents, but there are a few where I do use it. Let's practice 10 glottal words. Repeat these words after me.
But. But.
About. About.
Football. Football.
Scotland. Scotland.
Hot. Hot.
Backpack. Backpack.
Seatbelt. Seatbelt.
Unfortunately. Unfortunately.
Flight. Flight.
And might. Might.
Now, in most of these words, I would only use the glottal stop in fast, informal speech. Let's practice with a short text now. Shadow me.
Unfortunately, the flight was hot, but I might make it to the football game. I actually inserted another glottal stop there in "it." I might make it. Again, I just just want to reiterate, this is very relaxed, casual speech with my friends. There is so much more to say about the glottal stop and when we use it in modern RP. Let me know if you'd like another video on that. I could go into a lot of detail.
Now, let's look at Y as in yes. In British English, we often insert a soft Y sound before the "oo" vowel sound in words like "new." Many speakers from North America and other British dialects drop this "yes" sound, so "mu" sounds more like "new." We can hear another important difference when the sounds T and Y appear together, as they can combine to make a "ch" sound. So, Tuesday becomes Tuesday. Tuesday. Similarly, when D and Y combine, they can become "j" as in "june."
Let's practice some daily words with "oo," "ch," and "j." Repeat after me.
The tube. The tube.
Stupid. Stupid.
Student. Student.
Duty. Duty.
News. News.
Enthusiastic. Enthusiastic.
Assume. Assume.
Costume. Costume.
And attitude. Attitude.
And now, shadow me as I say some of these words in full sentences.
The enthusiastic student waited for the next tube, feeling a bit stupid in his Halloween costume. He'd heard on the news of possible delays due to upgrade works, but felt a duty to keep a positive attitude.
Now, let's look at another sound which changes a lot depending on the region you're from. It's it's "O" as in "home." If you want to pronounce this sound like I do, start with the schwa sound, uh uh, the one we practiced at the beginning of the lesson. Then smoothly glide to an "uh" sound as in "good." Uh o. O o. When I make the O sound, I often round my lip slightly at the end. O o. Home.
Let's practice "O" in 10 common words. We have:
Snow. Snow.
Hope. Hope.
Gross. Gross.
Photo. Photo.
Two. There.
Alone. Alone.
Suppose. Suppose.
Remote. Remote.
Shadow. Shadow.
Borrow. Borrow.
And although. Although.
Shadow me now.
Although she usually enjoyed working remotely, I suppose the winter shadows and snow made her feel more alone.
Okay, we're halfway through our 100 words, and next we're going to practice the "a" sound as in "car." Now, I use this sound a lot, but it's less common in the north of England and North America. And that's because many words which have the R sound and aren't spelled with the letter R can be pronounced with a short "a" as in "apple" instead. For example, "plant." Plant. Do you know which one you tend to use?
Let's practice 10 words that I pronounce with the long "a" sound, but you might often hear with the short "a" sound. We have:
Task. Task.
Laugh. Laugh.
After. After.
Nasty. Nasty.
Charm. Chance.
Answer. Answer.
Example. Example.
Advantage. Advantage.
Master. Master.
Contrast. Contrast.
Ready to shadow me?
It was not by chance that they mastered the task quickly. She laughed. In contrast, it was mastered after carefully examining answers and examples.
Let's move on to the next section. Shortening a word by dropping a syllable is common in many accents, but here are 10 words that the Brits would tend to shorten, which many North Americans might not. Repeat after me.
Ordinary. Ordinary.
Presents. Preps.
Restaurant. Restaurant.
Library. Library.
Secretary. Secretary.
Secondary. Secondary.
Police. Police.
Medicine. Medicine.
Cemetery. Cemetery.
And category. Category.
Now, note, I'm not saying that we always shorten these words. I'm saying that we sometimes do, especially in fast speech. Call the police. Call the police. I could say either. Now, because it's more common to drop syllables in full sentences when speaking very fast, I'm going to read the next text a little bit faster to practice. See if you can shadow me. You might need to rewind and try a couple of times.
The library is between the secondary school and the police station, opposite the Indian restaurant. Perhaps they'll have a section on ordinary medicine.
Okay, our next section gets really tricky. We're going to focus on some of the most commonly mispronounced words. Again, I'm going to model these in my modern RP accent. First, we have:
Half. Half.
Receipt. Receipt.
Biscuit. Biscuit.
Colleague. Colleague.
Wednesday. Wednesday.
Suit. Suit.
Queue. Queue.
Crisps. Crisps.
Village. Village.
And draw. Draw.
Just one syllable there. Let's practice in a mini text. Shadow me now.
I found the receipt for the suit, biscuits, and crisps I bought in the village in a drawer in the kitchen. I went with a colleague to return them all on Wednesday, but we had to wait in a massive queue for half an hour.
Okay, for our penultimate category, let's have a go at some words which we often shorten when chatting to friends and family. We have:
Halls. Halls.
Footy. Footy.
Copper. Copper.
Loo. Loo.
Pray. Prey.
Telly. Telly.
Brey. Brey.
Yee. Yee.
Agro. Agro.
And defo. Defo.
Now, they are pretty slang. Do you want to try in some full sentences? Shadow me.
I love watching the footy on the telly with a copper. My uni mates think I'm boring, but they defo love it too.
And we're going to finish today's lesson with 10 words that can sound very different in my British accent and North American English. For this final category, I've enlisted the help of one of my fabulous teachers, Joel, who speaks English with a general American accent. He speaks beautifully. I always try to get Joel to record things for our courses. So, I'll say the word first, and then you'll hear Joel's very different pronunciation. We have:
Route. Route.
Vase. Vase.
Privacy. Privacy.
Data. Data.
Vitamin. Vitamin.
Leisure. Leisure.
Yogurt. Yogurt.
Premier. Premiere.
Hostile. Hostile.
And inquiry. Inquiry.
Okay, shadow me now.
On route to the film premiere, we discovered that our data had been shared and our privacy intruded upon. The inquiry concluded it was a hostile act.
Shall we hear Joel?
Route to the film premiere, we discovered that our data had been shared and our privacy intruded upon. The inquiry concluded it was a hostile act.
Fantastic. Okay, that brings us to the end of today's lesson. Were there any big surprises for you? Which were your favorite and least favorite words to pronounce? Let me know in the comments. Also, if you're really interested in improving your pronunciation and want to know where you are with your current level, don't forget about my new free online pronunciation level test. The link is in the description box, and you can scan the QR code there. I really hope you enjoyed today's lesson. I'll see you in the next one.
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