Our catch phrase is on its way.

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

Today I would like to talk to you about a “problem” that pales next to the current Ebola epidemic, the horrific situation in the Middle East, the destruction of the natural environment, global warming, or the unbridled surge in the number of humans being born…

One of my Jingles clients – a native speaker of Japanese – has been extremely concerned about whether she should aim for “England English” (since her boss is English) or “American English” (since her father is American). In her session with me yesterday, she was almost neurotic as she explained to me how she does not know how to sound.

The key to solving this young woman’s dilemma lies in an understanding of the fact that native speakers of Japanese attach much more importance to vowels than they do to consonants. As a result of this, their ears are much more attuned to vowel quality than to consonant quality. Since the dialects of English spoken in Australia, New Zealand, England, the Falkland Islands, Canada, and the United States have fairly similar consonants, native speakers of these varieties of English have no qualms about the huge varieties in the way they say their vowels. Thus, when vowel sensitive native speakers of Japanese encounter England English and American English, they perceive two very different languages.

By practicing “The Jingles”, native speakers of any non-English language gain the ability to both produce and recognize the speech motor skills employment techniques necessary for the production and reception of clear, accurate nativelike English pronunciation. With a little extra work, such learners can even master the speech motor skills of any or all varieties of the above mentioned dialects.

There is no need to get into any deep psychological or philosophical questions about this. To modify the pronouncement of the late British statesman Winston Churchill (“Give us the tools and we will finish the job!”):

“Give her the means and she will resolve the dilemma by herself, on a case-by-case basis.”

My client yesterday left her session smiling broadly.

Steve Walker,

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.