by Heather Chetwynd | Apr 27, 2022 | Accent Modification
Many things influence how what we say is perceived. (See our recent blog post entitled, 3 Things You Probably Haven’t Considered About Clear Communication.) In that post, I focused primarily on interpretation and cultural assumptions. In this post, I want to focus on...
by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 17, 2022 | Accent Modification
This poem has many names and can be found on the internet under a number of titles. I like this one – BRUSH UP YOUR ENGLISH. The author is also in debate but I found one name – T.S Watt – with the date posted as 1954. The relationship between...
by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 11, 2022 | Accent Modification
Pronouncing T varies between languages. For example, where the tongue makes contact with the top of the mouth varies, as does the angle of the tongue and the air expelled. In this poem, the T sounds are primarily made at the beginning of the words. In this case, the T...
by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 11, 2022 | Accent Modification
The letters V and W are often confused because of related lip movements. But they are very different for two reasons: when making a W, the air moves freely and the teeth are not involved, whereas when we make a V, the air is blown between the teeth and lip, creating...
by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 4, 2022 | Accent Modification
One of the more difficult parts of learning English is being able to distinguish where a word starts and where it ends. Why is this? Because in English, we link our words, joining the end of one word with the beginning of the next. Linking (which also happens in other...
by Heather Chetwynd | Jan 8, 2021 | Accent Modification
When I do a pronunciation assessment, I look at three key areas. The first two are the ones that come to mind when most people think about pronunciation. These are the individual sounds – also called “phonemes” or “segmentals” – the vowels and consonants....
