More help on how to develop your English pronunciation systems

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

Today’s blog is aimed primarily at those among you who are still seeking to develop your target language phonological expertise.

Most, if not all, of you are aware that practicing strings of sounds and/or words that are too short results in little, if any, improvement. And you also know why this is so: short gestures fall through the multi-tiered latticework that constitues your developing allophonome. They pass through the system without becoming a part of it, and therefore cannot contribute to its cohesiveness.

For purposes of analysis, however, short gestures DO have merit. In the gesture “NEEDS NURSING” from Jingle B, analyzing the speech motor skills needed for each speed (slowly and carefully versus normal) and each mode (TRAINING versus regular) in minute detail and practicing them not in isolation but as part of the entire 27-syllable long gesture (depending on the speed of the utterance), is of great benefit to clients.

In summary, then, it is okay to analyze even single-sound gestures. But when you actually practice these short gestures, you must practice them along with the “surrounding tissue” to which they contribute -- and from which they are derived.

Only by doing this, can you hope to attain nativelike cohesiveness in your English pronunciation.

Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

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