Pronúncia Americana (traduzir)

Bat? Bought? But
Once you have thoroughly studied intonation and word connections, you can begin to address pronunciation. The three most important sounds are [æ], [ä], and [uh], also called the schwa. You can see their positions on the vowel chart.

æ
Let's start with the [æ] sound. Although it's not a common sound, [æ] is very distinctive to the ear, and is typically American. In the practice paragraph vowel chart, this sound occurs 5 times. As its phonetic symbol indicates, [æ] is a combination of [ä] + [e]. To pronounce it, drop your jaw down as if you were going to say [ä]; then from that position, try to say eh. The final sound is not two separate vowels, but rather the end result of the combination. It is very close to the sound that a goat makes: ma-a-a-ah!

If you find yourself getting too nasal with [æ], pinch your nose as you say it. Go to the practice paragraph and find the 5 [æ] sounds, including [æu] as in down or out.

ä
The [ä] sound is a more common sound than [æ]; you will find 10 such sounds in the practice paragraph. To pronounce [ä], relax your tongue and drop your jaw as far down as it will go. As a matter of fact, put your hand under your chin and say [mä], [pä], [tä], [sä]. Your hand should be pushed down by your jaw as it opens. Remember, it's the sound that you make when the doctor wants to see your throat.

uh
Last is the schwa, the most common sound in American English. When you work on the practice paragraph, depending on how fast you speak, how smoothly you make liaisons, how strong your intonation is, how much you relax your sounds, you will find from 50 to 75 schwas. Spelling doesn't help identify it, because it can appear as any one of the vowels, or a combination of them. It is a neutral vowel sound, uh. It is usually in an unstressed syllable, though it can be stressed as well.

Whenever you find a vowel that can be crossed out and its absence wouldn't change the pronunciation of the word, you have probably found a schwa: photography [f'tägr'fee] (the two apostrophes show the location of the neutral vowel sounds).

Because it is so common, however, the wrong pronunciation of this one little sound can leave your speech strongly accented, even if you Americanize everything else.

Remember, some dictionaries use two different written characters, the upside down e & [^] for the neutral uh sound, but for simplicity, we are only going to use the first one.

Silent or Neutral?
A schwa is neutral, but it is not silent. By comparison, the silent E at the end of a word is a signal for pronunciation, but it is not pronounced itself: code is [kod]. The E tells you to say an [o]. If you leave the E off, you have cod, [käd]. The schwa, on the other hand, is neutral, but it is an actual sound, uh. For example, you could also write photography as phuh-tah-gruh-fee.

The schwa is a neutral sound, (no distinctive characteristics), but it is the most common sound in the English language. To make the uh sound, put your hand on your diaphragm and push until a grunt escapes. Don't move your jaw, tongue or lips, just allow the sound to flow past your vocal cords. It should sound like uh, not ah.

Once you master the two sounds [æ] and uh, you will have an easier time pronouncing 'can' and 'can't'. In a sentence, the simple positive 'can' sound like [k'n]. The simple negative 'can't' sounds like [kæn(t)].

In the vowel chart that follows, the four corners represent the four most extreme positions of the mouth. The center box represents the least extreme position -- the neutral schwa. For these four positions, only move your lips and jaw. Your tongue should stay in the same place -- with the tip resting behind the bottom teeth.

The American T is influenced very strongly by intonation and its position in a word or phrase. It can be a little tricky if you try to base your pronunciation on spelling alone.

1 Top of the Staircase [T is T]
If the T is at the beginning of a word (or the top of the staircase), it is a strong, clear T sound.

If the T is in the middle of the word, intonation changes the sound to a soft D.
Letter sounds like [ledder].

3 [T is Silent]
T and N are so close in the mouth that the [t] can disappear.

4 Bottom of the Staircase [T is Held]
With -tain, -tten and some TN combinations, the T is held. The "held T" is, strictly speaking, not really a T at all. Remember, [t] and [n] are very close in the mouth. If you have [n] immediately after [t], you don't pop the [t]—the tongue is in the [t] position, but your release the air for the [n] not the [t]. Make sure you don't put a schwa before the [n]. An important point to remember is that you need a sharp upward sliding intonation up to the "held T," then a quick drop for the N.

The American R is like a vowel because it does not touch anywhere in the mouth. In Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Greek and many other languages, the R is a consonant because it touches behind the teeth. The American R is produced deep in the throat. Like the French R and the German R, the American R is in the throat, but unlike those two consonant sounds, it doesn't touch. Let's contrast two similar sounds: [ä] and [r]. Hold your hand out in front of you, with your palm up, like you are holding a tray on it. Slightly drop your hand down, and say ah, like you want the doctor to see your throat. Now, curl your fingers up slightly, and say [r]. Your tongue should feel in about the same position as your hand. The American L

The American L has two different pronunciations in English (of course, otherwise it would be too easy!). In the beginning or middle of a word, the tongue tip touches just behind the teeth — on those hard ridges. In this position, the L shouldn't give you much trouble. The difficulty begins when the L is at the end of a word. Because the letter L has a shorter, sharper pronunciation in other languages, this will carry over into English, where the whole word will just sound too short. At the end of a word, the L is especially noticeable if it is either missing (Chinese) or too short (Spanish). You need to put a little schwa sound before the final L. If you want to say the word ball, [bäl], it will sound too short if you don't say [bä-uhl]. You may even need to add a tiny schwa at the end to finish off the L, [bä-uh-luh].

One way to avoid the pronunciation difficulty of a final L, such as in call, is to make a liaison when the next word begins with a vowel. For example, if you want to say I have to call on my friend, let the liaison do your work for you; say, [I have to kä-län my friend]. Tee Aitch

The most common word in the English language is THE, so after the schwa, [th] would be the sound you would hear most often, which is why it is so important to master it. ([th] also exists in English, Greek and Castillian Spanish.) Besides 'the,' there are several other very common words that start with a voiced [th]:

Just as with most of the other consonants, there are two types— voiced and unvoiced. The voiced TH is like a D, but instead of being in back of the teeth, it's 1/4 inch lower and forward, between the teeth. The unvoiced TH is like an S between the teeth. Most people tend to replace the unvoiced TH with S or T and the voiced one with Z or D. Instead of thing, they say sing, or ting. Instead of that, they say zat or dat.

To pronounce TH correctly, think of a snake's tongue. You don't want to take a big relaxed tongue and push it far between your teeth and just leave it out there. Make only a very quick, sharp little movement. Keep the tip of your tongue very tense. It darts out between your teeth and snaps back very quickly.

These two sounds probably give you a lot of trouble. One reason for this is that most languages don't make a distinction here. Another reason is that there are four ways of saying these two sounds, depending what the final consonant is.

This another place where intonation and pronunciation overlap. When you say the long [e], it is a tense vowel sound. You slightly draw your lips back and raise the back of your tongue. When you say the short [i], it is a lax vowel sound. Don't move your lips AT ALL and open your throat.

If the final consonant is unvoiced (whispered), [t, k, f, p, s, sh, ch], then the middle vowel sound is quick and sharp: [bit] or [beet] If the final consonant is voiced (spoken), [d, g, v, b, z, zh, j] or any vowel, then the middle vowel sound is doubled: [bi-id] or [bee-eed].

American English As It's Spoken
Contractions and shortcuts used in daily speech
last updated 2/14/03

One of the best ways to sound like a foreigner to an American is to fully pronounce everything the way it's written (the formal, textbook pronunciations). However, learning this list of contractions used in daily speech is an extremely good way to sound like a veteran (person with experience) in English, and is helpful when trying to understand other people. When trying to blend in, it is absolutely indispensable. If you have trouble remembering the things on this list, don't worry about it. These are just general ideas. They are speech patterns that people often use when speaking and you will hear them all the time. No one will ever think that you're speaking incorrectly even if you don't read what I have here, but you will speak and understand better if you do read it.

        (The ^ sound is the "schwa" vowel as in given = giv^n.)
        (The | sound is the "glottal stop ". See note at bottom of page.)
        (The ~n sound is what I call a "nasal stop". I have not heard any other name for this sound. See note at bottom of
              page)
           ****Click on any of the links below in order to play the sound file****

	Sound (Standard sound)	Pronunciation (Standard sound is replaced with this)	Example with Sound Sample	Comments
1.	-t-	-d-	later = lad^r better = bedd^r smarter = smard^r at a time = add^ time a tomato = ^t^mado mandatory = mand^tory the way to go = th^ way d^ go	Extremely common. This is always used in the US except in very formal speaking, but never noted in written text. Used when a "t" is between vowels and the "t" begins an unaccented syllable. (vowel + r is considered a vowel here). Generally not used when a "t" begins a word or starts a (heavily or lightly) accented syllable. An exception to this is the word "to".
2.	-ing	-^n	I'm walking all the way back tonight. = I'm walk^n all th^ way back t^nigh\|. (see Rule 5)	This is actually more casual, but still extremely common. It is often not noted in writing, but if it is, it is spelled "-in'". This is usually only used in verbs that end in "-ing". It can also be found in words like "nothing" and "something", but not "everything" or "anything."
3.	-t^n, -nt	-\|n, -n\|	mountain = moun\|^n forgotten = f^rgo\|^n can't =can\| (different from "can") paint = pain\| waiting = wait\|n (See Rule 2)	Extremely common. This is always used in the US except when speaking formally or clearly. Americans do this without even being aware of it, but to avoid this "glottal stop" sounds very stilted. Used at ends of words.
4.	-nt-	-n-	twenty = twenny center = cenn^r printer = prinn^r into = into onto = onto	This is used when "nt" is between vowels and the second vowel is unstressed. It is always used except when speaking clearly. The "t"-sound is actually pronounced very lightly, almost inaudibly (cannot be heard). Not used for "into" nor "onto".
5.	-t	-\| or -\|t	sweet = swee\| late =lay\| lights = ligh\|ts output = ou\|pu\| forget it = f^rgedd ^\| (See Rule 1) recited =r^cid^d	Extremely common and always used except when trying to speak clearly. Never written. Often the "t" may be also pronounced or lightly pronounced. Not used before a vowel. (See Rule 1: "-t-" )
6.	-k	-\|k	break = brea\|k strike = stri\|ke works = w^r\|ks break it = break ^t awaken = ^wak^n	Extremely common and often used except when speaking very clearly. Never written. The glottal stop is spoken right with the "k" with the "k" pronounced lightly. This causes the works "light" and "like" to sound very similar in the US. Generally only at the end of a word and never before a vowel.
7.	-b, -d, -g, -p	-\|b, -\|d, -\|g, -\|p	lab =la\|b red = re\|d bag = ba\|g wipe = wi\|pe	This is always done in American speech except when speaking clearly or emphatically. The final consonant is pronounced lightly after a glottal stop. The mouth ends in that position without pronouncing the consonant fully.
8.	-d^n		golden = gol~n wouldn't = woul~n\| shouldn't = shoul~n\| reading = rea~n ( I'm rea~n a book.) (See Rule 2) Note that combining Rule 8 with Rule 2 is used in more casual speech.	This is the "nasal stop" described below. It is always used except when speaking clearly. If this sound is difficult, don't worry about it, but you will hear it used.
9.	them	^m	I heard ^m yesterday.	Used in more casual speech but extremely common. Either written " 'em" or "them". Can be confused with "^m" (him). (See Rule 10)
10.	him, her his, he	^m, ^r, ^z, ee	I gave ^m the message. I have ^r books. I have ^z books. Maybe ee forgot. Her books.	Extremely common but rarely written. Never used at the beginning of a sentence or phrase.
11.	"of"	^ or ^v	a bunch of stuff = ^ bunch^ stuff. ^ bunch ^v stuff	More casual but extremely common. Either written "o' " or "of".
12.	"and'	^n	fish ^n chips I came ^n I left.	More casual but extremely common. Either written " 'n" or "and".
13.	"you", "you'd"	y^, y^d	How are y^? I saw y^ the other day. Y^d haft^ [have to] be crazy.	This is rather casual but very common. It is written "ya", "ya' ", or "you".
14.	-t + "you", -t + "your"	-tchew or -tch^, -tch^r	I got you a magazine. = I gotchew a magazine. or I gotch^ a magazine. Get your book off the table = Getch^r book off the table.	This is commonly heard in all levels (classes) of speech, but not all of the time. Also see Rules 5 and 13 above.
15.	-d + "you", -d + "your"	-djew or -dj^, -dj^r	I made you a sandwich. = I madejew a sandwich. or I madej^ a sandwich. I read your book. = I redj^r book.	This is commonly heard in all levels (classes) of speech, but not all of the time. Also see Rules 7 and 13 above.
16.	"going to"	gunn^ or g^n^	I'm g^n^ leave. He's g^n^ stay. I'm going to the movies. = I'm *goin' to* the movies.	This is more casual but extremely common. Usually written "gonna" or sometimes "going to." Only used if "going to" + verb.
17.	"want to"	wann^	I wann^ leave. They wann^ stay.	This is more casual but extremely common. Usually written "want to" or sometimes "wanna."
18.	"because"	"kuz" or "k^z"	"because it's important" = "kuz it's impor\|^n\|" "k^z it's impor\|^n\|" (See Rules 3 and 5)	This is used in more casual speech, but is very commonly heard.
19.	Omitting pronouns		"You want to see a movie?" = "Wann^ see a movie?" "I hope you do well." = "Hope you do well."	This is done when the pronoun is already implied. Only use this after gaining some experience in English.
20.	The word "you" is often used used not to specifically mean "you" but to mean "someone", "everyone", or "anyone" in a general sense.		"It is not necessary to be a genius to figure that out." = "You don't have to be a genius to figure that out." "No one ever knows what can happen." = "You never know what can happen." "Someone can find whatever he/she wants in New York." You can find whatever you want in New York."	This is used when the the word "you" is unstressed. This is used in all types of conversations and often in writing. However, it is discouraged in formal writing. Rule 13 may also be used.

The "glottal stop", represented here with a "|", is like a rapid stop in the throat, like rapidly turning your voice off and back on again. It is similar to the hamza sound in Arabic represented with a " ' " as in

mi'a (one hundred.)
It's also the sound you hear if you've ever heard an American say "

uh-oh" or "

uh-uh".

The "nasal stop" is something that is very rare in languages of the world. I do not know of any language besides English that has this sound in it. It is like the glottal stop, but this time the stop is in the nose. Try to pronounce the "d" sound or the "g" sound completely inside the nose.

Here is the sound pronounced slowly.

Also, check out (examine) this website here: Language Miniature No. 71. This article is called "How we think we talk and how we really talk," and it provides a lot of information and observations about the spoken American language--similar to this website. Highly recommended.
But note: even though the main title of the artice is "Jeet Jet?", it would be extremely unrealistic that anyone would ever say "Jeet jet?" instead of "Did you eat yet?". On the other hand, using the rules on this website above (Numbers 5 and 15), it would be very realistic for someone to say,

"Didj^ ee| ye|?"

Another great website I just discovered can be found here: Relaxed Pronunciation. It has much of the information that this website has and a few other details about pronunciation.

You may send any comments, questions, or corrections to Ben Holmberg at bholmber@vt.edu. See ya!

Standard American Pronunciation