Mouth manglers are magic , many mouth manglers make
me memorize my sounds !
Help ! Help ! It's just too much for me !!!!!!!
I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish ,
but if you wish the wish the witch wishes ,
I won't wish the wish which you wish to wish .
"I wish I could speak proper English !" How many times have I heard this said ? More often than I would like to remember . However it's not the frequency which is the problem ; everyone can speak English reasonably well if only they practice .
Even English people themselves try to correct regional accents which as seen in My Fair Lady ,the 1964 cinema adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play entitled Pygmalion , could pinpoint ones social class as well .
In this play the rather eccentric professor Higgins , who spends his time listening to his fellow countrymen talking and studying their language phonetically speaking , meets a Cockney flower seller whom he wants to turn into a lady . In order to do this he must teach her how to speak English correctly !
Watch the following extracts from My Fair Lady in order to understand the situation . In the first extract you will see the meeting between Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle . Compare this to the second in which she , physically, looks like a lady , goes to Ascot , the famous yearly horseraces but carried away with excitement , forgets herself and shouts out like a common gutter snipe !
The First Meeting
At Ascot
So that is why in this holiday period it is worth reminding you all of the problems bad pronuciation can bring . The following video could be a bit offensive for ' prudish ears ' so if you don't like vulgar language please refrain from listening . I myself am a bit of an old fashioned prude but I find it rather funny , so laugh on !
I would like to add that I have nothing against Italians , they are lovely people but when some of them open their mouths to speak English , it hurts so much , just like finger nails scraping down the blackboard !!!!!!
Or like some of you on one of your bad days !
Enjoy !
An Italian on holiday in Malta
This is definitely proof that your pronunciation must be very good if you don't want to be misunderstood abroad ! Fortunately you can all avoid such an embarrassing situation by listening carefully to your teacher and practicing regularly . Here are some activities to do in order to avoid being misunderstood
Log into the following site in which you will find some tongue twisters or mouth manglers , spoken as well as written :
">Link http://www.esl-resources.com/
Try repeating them , in front of a mirror and see how you look ! If you are saying them properly you should look 'silly' !!!! Don't worry about it though , as the saying goes "one must suffer to be perfect !"
Finally , let's get down to something a bit more serious . Why don't you scroll down to the bottom of the blog into Useful Links and try out those on pronunciation . You'll find a load of interesting things around ' sounds' in general but before doing so look once again at Eliza Doolittle practicing her vowel sounds ! As the saying goes " practice makes perfect " . If she can do it , you can so after listening you know what you have to do !
The Rain in Spain ...
Now you try !
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain
Again
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain
I think she's got it , I think she's got it
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain
By George she's got it , by George she's got it
Now once again , where does it rain ?
On the plain , on the plain
And where's that soggy plain ?
In Spain , in Spain
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain
Bravo !
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain .
In Hartford , Hereford and Hampshire
Hurricanes hardly ever happen .
......................................................................
A noise annoys an oyster , but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more .
She sells seashells on the seashore ,
and the shells that she sells are seashells I'm sure .
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers .
Round the rugged rock , the ragged rascal ran .
