..

�
Read This First Track 1

Welcome to American Accent Training. This book and audio is designed to get you started on your
American accent. We'll follow the book and go through the 17 lessons and all the exercises step by
step. Everything is explained, and a complete Answer Key is in the back of the text. The audio can be
found at [Link]

WHAT IS ACCENT?
Accent is a combination of four main components: voice quality, intonation (speech music), liaisons
(word connections), and pronunciation (the spoken sounds of vowels, consonants, and combinations).
As you go along, you'll notice that you're being asked to look at accent in a different way. You'll also
realize that the grammar you studied before and this accent you're studying now are completely
different.
Part of the difference is that grammar and vocabulary are systematic and structured-the letter
of the language. Accent, on the other hand, is free form, intuitive, and creative-more the spirit of
the language. So, thinking of music, feeling, and flow, let your mouth relax into the American accent.

CAN I LEARN A NEW ACCENT?

Can a person actually learn a new accent? Many people feel that after a certain age, It's just not pos­
sible. Can classical musicians play jazz? If they practice, of course they can! For your American accent,
it's just a matter of learning and practicing techniques this book will teach you. It is up to you to use
them or not. How well you do depends mainly on how open and willing you are to sounding different
from the way you have sounded all your life.
A very important thing you need to remember is that you can use your accent to say what you
mean and how you mean it. Word stress conveys meaning through tone or feeling, which can be
much more important than the actual words that you use. We'll cover the expression of these feelings
through intonation in the first lesson.
You may have noticed that I talk fast and often run my words together. You've probably heard
enough "English-teacher English" where ... everything ... is . .. pronounced without having to listen
too carefully. We're going to talk just like the native speakers that we are, in a normal conversational
tone.
Native speakers often tell people who are learning English to "slow down" and to "speak clearly."
This is meant with the best of intentions, but it is exactly the opposite of what a student really needs
to do. If you speak fairly quickly, with strong intonation and good voice quality, you will be understood
more easily. To illustrate this point, you will hear a Chinese gentleman first trying to speak slowly and
carefully and then repeating the same two sentences quickly and with clear [Link] difference
makes him sound like a completely different person.

� Please listen. You will hear the same words twice.

Hello, my name is Raymond Choon.

You may have to listen a couple of times to catch everything. To help you, every word is also written
in the book. By seeing and hearing simultaneously, you'll learn to reconcile the differences between
the appearance of English (spelling) and the sound of English (pronunciation and the other aspects
of accent).
The audio leaves a rather short pause for you to repeat into. T he point of this is to get you respond­
ing quickly and without spending too much time thinking about your response.

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American Accent Training

it, stop, continue, and trip over the next rock. This is how the average foreigner speaks English. It is
slow, awkward, and even painful. Now imagine that you are a great river rushing through that same
riverbed-rocks are no problem, are they? You just slide over and around them without ever breaking
your smooth flow. It is this feeling that I want you to capture in English.
Changing your old speech habits is very similar to changing from a stick shift to an automatic
transmission. Yes, you continue to reach for the gearshift for a while, and your foot still tries to find
the clutch pedal, but this soon phases itself out. In the same way, you may still say "telephone call"
(kohl) instead of (kahl) for a while, but this too will soon pass.
You will also have to think about your speech more than you do now. In the same way that you
were very aware and self-conscious when you first learned to drive, you will eventually relax and deal
with the various components simultaneously.
A new accent is an adventure. Be bold! Exaggerate wildly! You may worry that Americans will
laugh at you for putting on an accent, but I guarantee you, they won't even notice. They'll just think
that you've finally learned to "talk right." Good luck with your new accent!

..�
A FEW WORDS ON PRONUNCIATION Track2

I'd like to introduce you to the pronunciation guide outlines in the following chart. There aren't too
many characters that are different from the standard alphabet, but just so you'll be familiar with them,
look at the chart. It shows eight tense vowels and six lax vowels and semivowels.

Tense Vowels? Lax Vowels?

In some books, tense vowels are called long and lax vowels are called short. Since you will be learning
how to lengthen vowels when they come before a voiced consonant, it would be confusing to say
that hen has a long, short vowel. It is more descriptive to say that it has a lax vowel that is doubled
or lengthened.

Tense Vowels

llm!lllll!!lmmlm Example Symbol Example

a Ei take tak E eh get get

e ee eat et ih it it

i ai ice is (j ih+uh took tUk

0 OU hope hop a uh some sam

u ooh smooth smuth

a ah caught kat Semivowels

CE a+E cat kCEt er her

CEO re+o down dreon ul dull

Although this may look like a lot of characters to learn, there are really only four new ones: re, a, a,
and u. Under Tense Vowels, you'll notice that the vowels that say their own name simply have a line
over them: a, e, i, o, u. There are three other tense vowels. First, a is pronounced like the sound you
make when the doctor wants to see your throat, or when you loosen a tight belt and sit down in a soft
chair-aaaaaaaah! Next, you'll find ce, a combination of the tense vowel a and the lax vowel E. It is
similar to the noise that a goat or a lamb makes (half, last, chance). The last one is reo, a combination
of ce and o. This is a very common sound, usually written as ow or ou in words like down or round.
A tense vowel requires you to use a lot of facial muscles to produce it. If you say e, you must stretch
your lips back; for u you must round your lips forward; for a you drop your jaw down; for re you will
drop your jaw far down and back; for a bring your lips back and drop your jaw a bit; for i drop your
jaw for the ah part of the sound and pull it back up for the ee part; and for o round the lips, drop the
jaw, and pull back up into 0. An American o is really ou.

.... Now you try it. Repeat after me. e, 0, a, re, a, i, o.

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 Read This First

A lax vowel, on the other hand, is very reduced. In fact, you don't need to move your face at all. You
only need to move the back of your tongue and your throat. These sounds are very different from
most other languages.
Under Lax Vowels, there are four reduced vowel sounds, starting with the Greek letter epsilon E,
pronounced eh; i pronounced ih, and 0 pronounced ii, which is a combination of ih and uh, and the
schwa, a, pronounced uh-the softest, most reduced, most relaxed sound that we can produce. It is
also the most common sound in English. The semivowels are the American R (pronounced er, which
is the schwa plus R) and the American L (which is the schwa plus L).

Voiced Consonants? Unvoiced Consonants?

A consonant is a sound that causes two points of your mouth to come into contact, in three loca­
tions-the lips, the tip of the tongue, and the throat. A consonant can either be unvoiced (whispered)
or voiced (spoken), and it can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. You'll notice that for
some categories, a particular sound doesn't exist in English.

Whispered Spoken

parry bury apple able mop mob

ferry very afraid awid off of

stew zoo races raises face phase

sheet - pressure pleasure cru sh garage

two do petal pedal not nod

choke joke gaucho gouger rich ridge

think 1hat ether either tooth smooth

come gum biclcer bigger pick pig

- accent eXit tax tags

yes - player day

- wool - shower now

his - ahead - -
late - collect - towel

rate - correct - tower

me - swimmer - same

next - connect - man

- - - finger - ring

Pronunciation Points
In many dictionaries, you may find a character that looks like an upside-down V (/\) and another char­
acter that is an upside-down e (a), the schwa. There is a linguistic distinction between the two, but
they are pronounced exactly the same. Since you can't hear the difference between these two sounds,
we'll just be using the upside-down e to indicate the schwa sound. It is pronounced uh.
The second point is that we do not differentiate between a and ::>. The a is pronounced ah. The
backwards C (::>) is more or less pronounced aw. This aw sound has a "back East" sound to it, and as
it's not common to the entire United States, it won't be included here.
R can be considered a semivowel. One characteristic of a vowel is that nothing in the mouth
touches anything else. R definitely falls into that category. So in the exercises throughout the book it
will be treated not so much as a consonant, but as a vowel.

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American Accent Training

The ow sound is usually indicated by au, which would be ah + ooh. This may have been accurate
at some point in some locations, but the sound is now generally 020. Town is t02on, how is h020, loud
is l02od, and so on.
Besides voiced and unvoiced, there are two words that come up in pronunciation. These are
sibilant and plosive. When you say the s sound, you can feel the air sliding out over the tip of your
tongue-this is a sibilant. When you say the p sound, you can feel the air popping out from between
your lips-this is a plosive. Be aware that there are two sounds that are sometimes mistakenly taught
as sibilants, but are actually plosives: th and v.

For particular points of pronunciation that pertain to your own language, refer to the Nationality
Guides on page 188.

WE DON'T HAVE SOME OF THOSE SOUNDS

IN MY LANGUAGE ...
This is undoubtedly true, but you can see that you only need to pick up a limited number of new
sounds (a, ce, E, a, Li).Given what you've already accomplished in life, this is not a big deal.A Chinese
speaker was once bemoaning how hard it was for him to say the R. When asked if he went to college,
he said "Of course, I have a PhD in physics from Caltech." After a beat, he realized that compared to
that ... the R is not harrrrrrrrd.

Other Characters
If you use one of these character sets, compare it with English.

American
Phonics
a ba icha da ta ga ha ja ka la ma na pa ra sa sha ta tha va wa va za I
Japanese s it �� ff. fJ\ i;; ..; � fJ' � f;J. �t � ...... � Tc. b � �
Chinese � i\ � * � IIj � * -F fil m � ta � tJ> fl!! Di � ffi
Korean o� ti� j:� q 7� t>� At 7� a� 4 .ii} A� Et 2} o�

Vietnamese a ba cha da pha ga ha t ra ca la ma na pa xa sa ta va oa Id da

Arabic 1 ..; .:.I u

y l 0. :.J j (' .., ..,. ..;. w �. '
� I )
>I I
xa �>t<a Ka 11a Ma na
•

Russian a 6a �a Aa ¢a ra Ha ca wa Ta ea yea

•ea 1s much softer than the Amer1C.;11

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 Read This First

Let me give a quick explanation of why we're using these sounds. When you come in through your
own language, you are coming from a place of total and absolute confidence. You know that sound.
So, we're taking something you know and doing a lateral transference to a set of letters in English. If,
on the other hand, you start from scratch, you'll be wondering if you're doing it right, and this will
drain your confidence and your energy.
Now that you've worked hard and successfully imitated the sounds, you're going to go on to the
next step, which is regular spelling.
Throughout this text, we will be using three symbols to indicate three separate actions:
• Indicates a command or a suggestion.
� Indicates the beep tone.
X Indicates that you need to turn the audio on or off, back up, or pause.

VOWEL & CONSONANT OVERVIEW:

NONSENSE SYLLABLES Track4

The first column is a because it's going to be easy for you. I'm going to say that again. Ready? It's
going to be easy for you. Why? Because as far as I can tell, every language on Earth has an ah sound.
Some of the consonants may be a little tricky (TH and R spring to mind), but listen and repeat, repeat,
repeat ... in a deep voice. (Final consonants, diphthongs, and consonant blends such as BL and CR
are covered in later chapters.)

mf0
Track 5

------------
b ba b<e bEh bih ba bu be bo bu ba bi

ch cha chCE ChEh chih cha chu che cho cha cha chi

d da dee dEh dih da du de do do da di

f fa fee foh fih fa fU te to fU ta fi

g ga gee gEh gih ga gu ge go go ga gi

h ha hee hEh hih ha hO he ho hu ha hi

j ja jCE jEh jih ja jO je jo ju ja ji

k ka kee kEh kih ka kO ke ko ku ka ki

la ICE IEh lih la lu le lo lu la IT

m ma mee mEh mih ma mo me mo mu ma mi
n na nee nEh nih na nu ne no nu na ni

p pa pee pEh pih pa pO pe po pu pa pi

r ra r<e rEh rih ra rO re ro ru ra ri

s sa see SEh sih sa so se so su sa si

sh sha shee shEh shih sha shO she sho shu sha shi

t ta tCE tEh tih ta to te to tu ta ti

th tha th<e thEh thih the• thu the tho thu tha thi
v va VCE VEh vih va vu ve vo vu va vi
w wa W<E WEh wih wa WU we WO WU wa wi

y ya yce yEh yih ya yu ye yo yu ya yi

z za zce ZEh zih za zO ze zo zQ za zi

"'Most commonly used word in English

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American Accent Training

As you go through this chart, pronouncing all the sounds, deepen your voice and make the vowels
a little longer than you are inclined to. Some of these will sound like real words, but most of them are
just fragments. Observe that for a, you drop your jaw, for e, you stretch your lips back a bit, and for
u, you round your lips. There are only five new characters: a, re, E, a, U. Listen carefully and repeat
this whole chart at least five times in columns, and five times across. Record yourself, listen back, and
compare.

VOWEL & CONSONANT OVERVIEW: ..�

REAL WORDS Track6

Apply the phonetic sound to the entire column, no matter what the spelling is. Then, read each row
across, making the vowel distinctions.

------------
ought at etch it - um eat oat oops ate I'm

b Bob bat bet been book but beat boat boot bait bite

ch chop chat check chin - chuck cheat choke choose chase child

d Don Dad dead did - done deal don't do day die

f fawn fat fetch fi t foot fun feet phone food fail find

g gone gap get give good gun geese go ghoul gate guy

h hot had head his hood hut he hold who hey hi

j jaw Jack Jeff gin - jump jeans joke jewel jail giant

k call cat Ken kid could come key cold cool cane kite

law laugh left lick look luck lead load lose lay lie

m Mom mad men mix - much me most moon make mine

n not Nan net knit nook none need note new name knife

p pot pat pet pick put putt peak pole pool pay pie

r raw ran red rib rook rub reed row room raise rise

s saw sat said sin soot such see so suit say sigh

sh shawl shack shed shill should shut she show shoe shape shine

t tall tack ten tin took tub tea toe tube take try

th thought that then this - the* these though through they thigh

v Von vat vex vim - vug veal voice voodoo veil vie

w walk wax when with would was we won't woo whales why

y yawn yap yes yip you'll young yie l d yo-yo you Yale yikes

z czar zap zen zig - zug zeal Zoey zoo zany zygote

•Most commonly used word in English

x
 Telephone Tutoring Track 7

PRELIMINARY DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS

This is a speech analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your American accent. If
you are studying American Accent Training on your own, contact toll-free (800) 457-4255 or go to
[Link] for a referral to a qualified telephone analyst. The diagnostic analysis is designed to
evaluate your current speech patterns to let you know where your accent is standard and nonstandard.

Hello, my name is . I'm taking American Accent Training. There's a lot to learn, but I hope to
make it as enjoyable as possible. I should pick up on the American intonation pattern pretty easily,
although the only way to get it is to practice all of the time.

l. walk, all, long, caught S. ice, I'll, sky 9. tuck, fun, medicine, indicate 13. out, house, round
2. cat, matter, laugh 6. tick, fill, will 10. too, fool, wooed 14. loyal, choice, oil
3. take, say, fail 7. teak, feel, wheel 11. took, full, would
4. get, any, says, fell 8. work, first, learn, turn 12. woke, told, so, roll

1. pit 1. bit 1. staple 1. stable 1. cap 1. cab

2. fear 2. veer 2. refers 2. reverse 2. half 2. have

3. sue 3. zoo 3. faces 3. phases 3. race 3. raise

4. sheer - 4. cashew 4. casual 4. rush 4. rouge

5. tin 5. din 5. metal 5. medal 5. hat 5. had

6. chin 6. gin 6. catcher 6. cadger 6. rich 6. ridge

7. thin 7. then 7. ether 7. either 7. bath 7. bathe

8. cut 8. gut 8. bicker 8. bigger 8. tack 8. tag

9. yellow 9. race 9. million 9. correction 9. say 9. sore

10. would 10. breed 10. coward 10. surprise 10. how 10. peeper
11. him 11. man 11. reheat 11. summer 11. soul 11. palm

12. lace 12. name 12. collection 12. runner 12. people 12. can
13. bleed - 13. supplies 13. kingdom 13. sink 13. sing

1. Make him get it. 1. Betty bought a bit of better butter.

2. Let her get your keys.
3. You've got to work on it, don't you? 2. Beddy bada bida bedder budder.

4. Soup or salad?
3. Italian ltalv
4. attack attic
1. Maykim geddit.
5. atomic atom
2. Ledder getcher keez.
6. photography photograph
3. Yoov gadda wr ka nit, doan choo?
4. Super salad? 7. bet bed

xi