There\u2019s more to language than a common set of words that everyone in their native country uses to communicate. The way you talk \u2013 your dialect and accent actually identify you as belonging to a specific region within the country you call home.
\nThe trouble is that English, no matter whether it is South African, Australian, or British English, does not match up well with other countries\u2019 languages.
\nEnglish is not a language spoken mainly from the back of the throat (guttural), nor is it entirely tonal and English is not particularly melodious, like Spanish or Hindi.
\nYet, you too can speak English more clearly alongside your native language; all you have to do is follow these few tips.<\/p>\n
Even though the English language is not musical, it does have a rhythm to it. This rhythm is the result of syllable stress; stress that helps give meaning to the words. For many people learning English as a second language, how to pronounce words is sometimes confusing.\u00a0 In this respect, you are quite fortunate: the English language has rules in place for syllable stress.<\/p>\n As with every rule, there are exceptions to these. For instance, the two-syllable \u2018answer\u2019 is stressed the same way whether it is used as a verb or a noun: an<\/strong>-swer.<\/p>\n Throughout this article, we\u2019ve talked a lot about syllables and their usage in learning how to master a proper English \u2018accent\u2019 – namely, that lets you sound more like a native English speaker.
\nLet\u2019s find the rhythm of this sentence: she put the bowl of apples on the table.
\nThe three most important words are \u2018put\u2019, \u2018apples\u2019, and \u2018table\u2019. Speaking this sentence with proper stress would make it sound like this: \u2018She put<\/strong> the bowl of ap<\/strong>ples on the ta<\/strong>ble.
\nYou can try it: with each bold<\/strong> syllable, you might clap, tap your foot or move your hand down, as a music conductor would. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTo identify the most important words in any sentence, you should think about what is happening, what the action is happening to (or on), and the object of the preposition.
\nSee if you can master these sentences:
\nI never knew<\/strong> that Rome<\/strong> could be so beau<\/strong>tiful!
\nBill loves<\/strong> to play crick<\/strong>et.
\nLast night\u2019s din<\/strong>ner was not<\/strong> very good<\/strong>.
\nLet<\/strong>\u2019s<\/strong> go for a walk<\/strong>, shall we?
\nHas Em<\/strong>ma written you a letter<\/strong> yet?<\/p>\nProper Syllable Stress<\/h2>\n
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The Smallest Units of Sound<\/h2>\n
\nSo, what is a syllable, exactly?
\nIt is the smallest unit of sound, generally made up of at least one vowel and one consonant. However, some syllables are made up only of a single vowel, like the \u2018o\u2019 in \u2018geography\u2019.
\nOn the other hand, other syllables might have two or even three consonants, such as in the word \u2018an-swer\u2019.
\nMany common words in English are \u2018sight-words<\/a>\u2019. These are words you can recognize on sight because they are used very often.
\nSight-words make learning English vocabulary easy but there are only 220 such words; how are you supposed to learn words that are not \u2018sight\u2019?
\nSchoolchildren in English-speaking countries \u2018sound\u2019 new words out by reading individual syllables and then stringing them together and applying syllable stress to say the whole word correctly.
\nIf small children can do it, so can you!
\nBeing able to recognize syllables is a crucial part of learning English vocabulary.
\nSounding new words out syllable by syllable works so much better than merely imitating the sounds your teacher or talking dictionary makes.
\nFurthermore, adopting the rhythm of the language will help greatly with your accent reduction<\/a> so that, soon, you too will speak English rhythmically and fluently.
\nPlease be advised that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the author of his\/her sources and do not necessarily reflect those of English Forward. This includes, but is not limited to, third-party content contained on or accessible through the English Forward websites and web pages or sites displayed as search results or contained within a directory of links on the English Forward network.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"