Feedback on my accent

Hey,

I've been working on my accent to make it sound more like neutral Mid West dialect. If you're a native speaker, I'd love some straight forward feedback on how I'm doing? Appreciate anything you can say ;) Thanks!


http://www.mediafire.com/?2z50ndzmghm

I'm reading this paragraph

Well, here's a story for you: Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo in a deserted district of the territory, so she was very happy to start a new job at a superb private practice in North Square near the Duke Street Tower. That area was much nearer for her and more to her liking. Even so, on her first morning, she felt stressed. She ate a bowl of porridge, checked herself in the mirror and washed her face in a hurry. Then she put on a plain yellow dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit and headed for work.

You immediately sound foreign because you don't aspirate your stressed /p/'s, /k/'s and /t/'s. (Perry, Territory, etc). That is, you don't add the little "h" sound.
English requires aspiration.

Fuck you bob, like anyone gives a shit what you think.

Ok, fake-Andy.

Hey bob, thanks for the tip. :)

Let me know if anything else stands out

Very strong accent. You're pronuncing "i" wrong (as "ee" e.g. "meeerror"), that's a common mistake made by lots of foreigners. You need to form that sound differently.

You're also pronouncing "t" wrong. "t" sounds as if your tongue lies flat on the palate. It's supposed to touch the area behind the teeth very slightly with a *tip* not the whole tongue.

The intonation is very monotone and doesn't follow the American staircase (start high -> go down toward the end).

In general, for all sounds, let the tongue be farther back in the mouth. The average position of your tongue is too forward, kinda like in Russian or Spanish. Move it back and try to talk like that... work on diversifying your intonation, with sharper highs.

Hey ESB, thanks for taking a listen and your feedback :)

However, I'd say you're not a native speaker, judging by your comments on my "i" sound and the intonation.

I'd love to hear more feedback from natives