How to Pronounce English Correctly

How to Pronounce English Correctly - Pronunciation is one of important skill in speaking English. It Covers the way we say vowels and consonant, stressing, intonations, and how to say time, dates, prices, even nations’ names in particular way. 
According to Susan Boyer as cited in Ahyadi (2016)" pronunciation is defined as a necessary part of speaking (oral communication) involving three important items such as making correct sounds of a particular language, knowing how the sounds are put together in the flow of speech (not just in isolated words), and understanding how to stress words correctly and how to use intonation appropriately".

So, what kind of pronunciation that we assumed as the best pronunciation ?  British ?  American? Well this is a tricky question since some people  still assume that British is the correct English.

British and American English are kinds of accent. The good pronunciation is depend on whether it is received pronunciation or not. Koesnendar (2010) explained that "Received pronunciation (RP) is a notional standard form of pronunciation. RP is associated with prestige and formal public spoken discourse, such as the law, parliament, education or broadcasting. In some of these it may be in tension with regional variations. RP currently is  a modified form of the accent heard in independent and grammar schools or spoken by newsreader; the accent is largely neutral as regards region...".

Each has their own way in pronunciation, so British is correct as long as the speaker consistent with the British accent rules and so American English.
There are some tips that might help you to pronounce English correctly, particularly for those who use English as foreign language such as people in my country.

• Listen how native speaker speaks and try to repeat them. More often you hear them, more familiar you are with the words. This also help you to train the words' intonation and stress.
• Comprehend the rules and patterns in pronouncing terms. For example in British, ending sound "-ed" in verb is not always pronounced "d". Sometimes it pronounced "t" or "id", depend on what consonant before -ed.
• Understand how to read phonetic transcription and read the dictionary. When you doubt how to pronounce a word , open your dictionary to make it sure. Then, drill that word so that you get used to say it.
• Try to practice using tongue twister. This will help your pronunciation especially insaying similar / paired consonants. For example, sound "sh"  and "s"  can be practiced by saying ; "She sells sea shells on the seashore, and the shells that she sells is seashells, I am sure." 
• Practice by reading aloud a text. This practice will help you to decide what phrase that you need to say by using connected speech or using weak forms.

It is important to be consistent in applying pronunciation rules whether it is British or American English. It will determine who is the speaker. Wrong pronunciation will indicate that the speaker not fully capable to speak in English and worse, it can provide wrong or unclear information which lead to miscommunication. My lecture once joked " It is better to be a missuniverse rather than miscommunication."

Author

Yudhi Suwardhani

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REFERENCE

Ahyadi. 2016. Pronunciation definition according to experts. Taken from http://whatistionexperts.com/pronunciation-definition-according-to-experts/ accessed nov 21st 2016

Koesnandar. 2010. Materi kuliah sociolinguistics.  Taken from koesnandar1964.wordpress.com on monday november 21st 2016

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