The emphasis in on what you’re trying to say

When we speak, we emphasize the words we want to make sure the person or people we’re talking to hear. This can vary depending on the situation.

In general, however, we emphasize nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

For example, here’s a conversation between two co-workers. The one’s who’s worked there for a while, introduces herself to the new one.

Hi, my name’s Cara, what’s yours?

Nice to meet you. I’m Aissata.

Aissata, where are you from?

I’m from Guinea.

Oh. Do you know Oumar Bah? He used to work here too.

Do you mean Alpha Oumar Bah from Koundara?

Yes, I think that’s him.

Of course I do. He’s my brother-in-law! He and my sister got married three years ago.

Gee. It’s a small world!


Which words were emphasized? Why?

Now you try it by repeating the conversation AHEAD of the speaker. See if you can emphasize the word in ALL CAPS.


Hi, my name’s CARA, what’s YOURS?

NICE to meet you. I’m AISSATA.

AISSATA, where are you FROM?

I’m from GUINEA.

Oh. Do you know OUMAR BAH? He used to WORK here too.

Do you mean ALPHA Oumar Bah from KOUNDARA?

Yeah, I THINK that’s him.

Of COURSE I do. He’s my BROTHER-in-law! He and my SISTER got MARRIED three years ago.

GEE. It’s a SMALL world!

Crow like a rooster ER ER ER ER ER!

The letter R can be a difficult consonant to master because it actually makes several different sounds:

Air
Ear
R
Or
Er

The most common sound is what I call the rooster r, the ER. You can practice by starting out your day crowing like a rooster: ER ER ER ER ER! You’ll find this sound at the end of a word as in rooster and in the middle of a word like in word.
Here are some other words with the rooster R

Girl
Number
Dollar
Purse
First
Firm
Further
Word
Work
World
Her
Hurt
Heard
Earth
Mother
Father
Sister
Brother
Surprise
Service
Pleasure
Were
Computer
Learn
Bird
Better
Dirty
Return

As you can see, the rooster R sound can be spelled ar, er, or, ur, and ir. However, it’s still pronounced the same: ER ER ER ER ER!

Here are some sentences to practice the sound.

I’d like you to meet my mother, father, sister, and brother.

The excellent service at the computer outlet was a surprise.

How in the world did you get so dirty!

Look in my purse for a dollar.

Where were you?

Please return these books after work.

We have a number of issues to discuss at work.

You can learn to speak better by practicing everyday.

The Magic of Cards

Few techniques for improving the way you speak are better than the Magic Cards. Magic cards work because they help you improve the words and phrases that you use all the time but know you have difficulty with.

What’s great is that they’re easy to use too.

All you need is a deck of index cards.

Generate a list of words and phrases by asking your teacher, friends, family, etc to tell you words you’re mispronouncing. The words should not be new vocabulary words—they’re pronunciation words.

Next write the word or phrase two times on your card. On the first line, write it normally. On the second line, write the way it is pronounced. Be sure to indicate which syllable is stressed. Use any method that works for you.

Finally, use the word or phrase in a sentence. Try to create a sentence that you would actually say. You may want to create several sentences.

Here’s an example:

Service
SIR vis
The service here is terrible.

Now you can use the deck of cards to train yourself to say these words correctly.

Carry the cards around with you and go through them several times a day. Read the words slowly, enunciating each sound very carefully. Pretend that you’re speaking in slow motion. Then, like a train leaving the station, say the word faster and faster until you’re able to say it at a natural rate yet correctly.

It’s also a good idea to look at yourself in a mirror as you say the words to make sure you’re using your mouth, tongue, lips, and jaw correctly.

Once you feel confident with the individual words, use them in the sentences. Soon the words will roll out of your mouth naturally every time.

It’s like magic!

Common conversations

I bet one of your goals is simply to be able to communicate clearly during every day conversations. Write down some common conversations you have and I can read them onto this blog. That way you can imitate the way I speak.
Here are a couple of examples.

1. A: Excuse me, where's the nearest metro?
B: Oh, it's just down the street on the corner.
C: Great. Thanks a lot.

2. A: What are you doing this weekend?
B: Well, after I do all my homework, I'm planning on going over to a friend's house.
A: Really?
B: Yeah. Ya wanna come?
A: Sure! That would be great.