Practicing Pronunciation and Articulation

Today was the third day of our comskills training and the trainor gave us paragraphs that highlight the vowels of the English language. It was given to us so that we can practice and pronounce the vowel sounds. And I would admit that /ä/, as in hot, is my downfall. Anyway, the paragraphs (I think) are nonsense, so don't bother understanding each story. It's the vowel sounds that counts.

The /æ/ sound.

The Tan Man

A fashionably tan man sat casually at the bat stand, lashing a handful of practice bats.

The manager, a crabby old bag of bones, passed by and laughed.

"You're about average, Jack. Can't you lash faster than that?"

Jack had had enough so he clambered to his feet and lashed bats faster than any man had ever lashed bats.

As a matter of fact, he lashed bats so fast that he seemed to dance.

The manager was aghast.

"Jack, you're a master bat lasher!", he gasped.

Satisfied at last, Jack sat back and never lashed another bat.

The /ä/ sound.

(and my downfall >_< huhu)

A Lot of Long Hot Walks in the Garden

John was not sorry when the boss called off the walks in the garden.

Obviously, to him, it was awfully hot, and the walks were far too long.

He had not thought that walking would have caught on the way it did,

And he fought the policy from the onset.

At first, he thought he could talk it over at the law office and have it quashed,

But a small obstacle halted that thought.

The top lawyers always bought coffee at the shop across the lawn.

And they didn't want to stop on John's account.

John's problem was not office politics, but office policy.

He resolved the problem by bombing the garden.

The /ʌ/ sound

What Must the Sun Above Wonder About?

Some pundits proposed that the sun wonders unnecessarily about sundry and assorted conundrums.

One cannot but speculate what can come of their proposal.

It wasn't enough to trouble us,

but it was done so underhandedly that hundreds of sun lovers

rushed to the defense of their beloved sun.

None of this was relevant on Monday however,

when the sun burned up the country.

Those were the vowel sounds that most of us have difficulty in pronouncing. In addition, here is also another practice paragraph. It's somewhat like a tongue twister though. It's for the /th/ sounds, as in they (the voiced /th/) and three (the unvoiced /th/).

The /th/ sound

      The throng of thermometers from the Thuringian Thermometer Folks arrived on Thursday. There were a thousand thirty-three thick thermometers, though, instead of a thousand thirty-six thin thermometers, which was three thermometers fewer than the thousand thirty-six we were expecting, not to mention that they were thick ones rather than thin ones. We thoroughly thought that we had ordered a thousand thirty-six, not a thousand thirty-three thermometer, and asked the Thuringian Thermometer Folks to reship the thermometers; thin, not thick. They apologized for sending only a thousand thirty-three thermometers rather than a thousand thirty-six and promised to replace the thick thermometers with thin thermometers.

There was also a /v/ paragraph but then I was not able to get hold of it. So, I would like to share this famous quote. It's from the movie "V for Vendetta" and was said by Hugo Weaving (you now, the Elrond guy from Lord of the Rings). You can check the qoute on youtube =  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26h-H6CFO-A

     But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona. Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

I would also like to suggest that you visit www.forvo.com. They have good phonetics and some audio for you to listen.

feel free to comment

The Letter

Dear Jan,

  How are you? I hope that you are happy with your life now. I know you are a strong young lady. I know you can overcome the hardships that hinder your way. Do you still remember the day when your Mom had a brain tumor and had to be operated? You were left at home with your younger sister while your dad was taking care of your mother. You were just barely eight and you did the household chores by yourself. You didn't even break a single plate! When your parents came back, your Mom had amnesia. She couldn't remember you.  She only remembers your younger sister. You were heartbroken. But you were patient and kind and strong and you never gave up loving and taking care of your mother. You are you. You are not a noob or a weakling.

  Do you still remember the day you topped the DOST exam? All of your uncles, aunts, and cousins, even your parents, thought that you'd flunk it. They thought you'll be on the lowest section coz you're boyish, you curse a lot and most of your friends were boys. Only I, believed in you. And you really did showed them. You are smart and witty, Jan.

  Do you still remember the day your parents told you that they don't have the money for your college education? You looked for a job to support yourself. You worked hard for your tuition fee and you graduated with good grades. I know you are a hardworking person and it still shows. You got that attitude from your dad.

  Do you still remember the day you knew you were pregnant? You were devastated coz you weren't ready. But you faced it with courage and said goodbye to late night parties and booze and road trips and beach hoppings. All for the sake and the health of your baby. And you never ever thought of abortion. Look at you now, you are a happy mother.

 Do you still remember the day when your dad passed away? You thought that God has forsaken you. You were so down. But you stood up and proved to everyone that you can take care of your family. And that YOU can handle your family's business. You sure did show them.

  I just want to remind you of these beautiful qualities that you possess. You're a fine lady. And I hope you can see that too. You've been into bad times and sad times. You may have some obstacles you're struggling right now, but don't worry. Don't forget to believe in yourself. You can do anything you want.

  Just don't forget to remember that I'll always be with you. Your shadow friend, your conscience, and your guardian angel. I'll always be here to remind you about the goodness in you. Just be you.

Love,

Yourself :)