My new audio sample, advice is welcome!

Here is my new audio clip
http://www.4shared.com/file/256110350/582e03c1/VN552410.html

I've got a lot of great advice from other users of antimoon ever since I uploaded my audio sample months ago. I'm grateful for their help. I've been trying to improve myself based on their suggestions and I hope I've made some progress in pronunciation and word linking. Can anyone give me some feedback, please?

I find it extremely hard to understand what you're saying. Could you provide a transcript? I can't really tell you what you're mispronouncing because I can't recognize most of the words.

Googled the first few words for the transcript:

Putting sweets and snacks near the checkout is a sales device we are all probably aware of, but what other ingenious tricks are supermarkets using to pry more money from our wallets? A study by the British Consumer Association has revealed a few tactics you may not have heard of:

Next time you walk into a shop, odds are that you will carry on walking for at least three seconds until you adjust to the new surroundings. Canny supermarket operators know about this "decompression zone" and usually leave the entrance area clear of stock.

Three in four customers look right when they walk into a shop. Guess where the best offers are? You guessed it - on the right.

Ever wondered why the fruit and veggies are at the front of the shop as you enter? Annoyingly they have more chance of being crushed in your trolley by the end, but the psychological association with that first impression of freshness and quality boosts sales.

The most profitable shelves are at the end of each aisle. Goodies are harder to pass when they're right in the path of your swinging trolley.

Hi vorbild, thanks a lot for taking time to find the transcript for me. You are such a smart user of Google! I just randomly chose this article from one issue of Reader's Digest.

Thanks for the transcript, schlechtes vorbild.

1. Why the sh-sound in *supermarkets *?
Is it a German feature?
2. No linking R in *we are all *.
3. Why the rising intonation in * from our wallets*?
4. *the* sounds like *de*
5. quality sounds like [`koliti]
6. aisle should be [ail] not [el].

Not too comprehensible, but it can't be assessed as bad, not at all.
(I'm not a native English speaker, I should say).

Thanks vorbli - I should have thought about googling it.

First paragraph:
your "snacks" sounds like "selects"
your "but what" sounds like "bow at"
your "tricks" sounds like "triss"
your "supermarkets" sounds like "shupmarkets"
no need for a glottal stop between "from" and "our"
Use a rising intonation for yes/no questions.
"association" is pronounced "uh-so-shee-AY-shun" or "uh-so-see-AY-shun"
your "few" sounds like "foo" - it should be pronounced /fju/ ("f-you")
the "f" in "of" is always pronounced like a "v"

Second paragraph:
the pause after "odds are that" shouldn't be there: it makes your sentence very hard to understand.
the "L" in "walking" is silent.
you almost completely left out the "you" in "until you adjust"
once again, you pronounced "supermarket" as "shupermarket"

Third paragraph:
your "three" sounds like "sree"
your "you" sounds like "oo", you didn't pronounce the "y" sound
your "it" sounds like "eat"

Fourth paragraph:
No need for all these pauses in the first sentences, it breaks the flow.
the "s" in "as" must be pronounced like a "z".
your "crushed" is hard to make out. It sort of sounds like "kwost"
your "psychological" sounds like "psychoNogical"
your "with" sounds like "wizz"
your "quality" sounds like "kolity"
your "boosts sales" sounds like "boo sales"

Fifth paragraph
your "shelves" sounds like "shelfs". You need to voice those two consonants.
When you said "they're right", it sounded like you added an extra consonant between the two words. It's just a long R.
your "pass" sounded like "path"
your "swinging" sounded like "sweeng". Don't forget the first "g", and the 'i's have to be short.

Overall, your pronunciation needs some work, but the real problem is your intonation and overall flow. I would record the text for you but unfortunately I don't have a microphone at hand.

Correction:

I said : your "pass" sounded like "path"
I meant: your "path" sounded like "pass"

>>>H
Hi, H, thanks a lot for your feedback. I totally agree with your observation.

I do have trouble with the "th" sound, with a tendency to pronounce it as "d" and "s", as pointed out by Mike too. I've watched some youtube videos and learnt that to pronounce th, "you should put the tip of your tongue (just the tip, not too much) between your teeth and then you force air over your tongue and under your top teeth." I know this rule but then I constantly forget it in talk, I really need to practise it hard.

It startled me that I didn't notice those apparent mistakes like pronouncing sh instead of s in "supermarket", and pronouncing "quality" as /koliti/ by missing the w sound. I must have learnt them the wrong way right from the beginning.

But I think I was pronouncing the aisle as /ail/, wonder why it sounds like /el/ to you?

<<mike Sun Apr 04, 2010 9:43 am GMT
Overall, your pronunciation needs some work, but the real problem is your intonation and overall flow. I would record the text for you but unfortunately I don't have a microphone at hand. >>

Hi, mike, thanks a lot for your honestly pointing out all my problems. I totally agree with you that " the real problem is your intonation and overall flow". The intonation is something that I can feel but find it hard to mimic it since I am not a natural mimic. It troubles me the most.

I really want to lend my microphone to you. But the distance is a problem *_* Are you using desk top PC? Is it possible to borrow a microphone from your neighbour? I am eager to hear you read the same text to show me the right way of intonation and words flow.

I really appreciate the great help from H and mike! I try to break down the problems pointed out by them into subcategories. No doubt I have a long way to go.

Problems in pronunciation

(1)Missing consonants:
your "but what" sounds like "bow at" // miss t
your "tricks" sounds like "triss" //miss k
the "L" in "walking" is silent. //miss l
your "crushed" is hard to make out. It sort of sounds like "kwost" //miss sh
your "quality" sounds like "kolity" //miss w
your "boosts sales" sounds like "boo sales" //miss t
your "swinging" sounded like "sweeng". Don't forget the first "g", and the 'i's have to be short. //miss g

(2) problem with /s/
your "supermarkets" sounds like "shupmarkets"
"association" is pronounced "uh-so-shee-AY-shun" or "uh-so-see-AY-shun"
the "s" in "as" must be pronounced like a "z".

(3)mixing up /n/ and /l/
your "snacks" sounds like "selects"
your "psychological" sounds like "psychoNogical"

(4)mixing up /v/ and /f/
the "f" in "of" is always pronounced like a "v"
your "shelves" sounds like "shelfs". You need to voice those two consonants.

(5)Problem with /th/
your "three" sounds like "sree"
your "with" sounds like "wizz"
your "path" sounded like "pass"
*the* sounds like *de*

(6)problem with /ju/ sound
your "few" sounds like "foo" - it should be pronounced /fju/ ("f-you")
you almost completely left out the "you" in "until you adjust"
your "you" sounds like "oo", you didn't pronounce the "y" sound

(7)problem with the /i/ sound
your "it" sounds like "eat"

(8)add extra sound
When you said "they're right", it sounded like you added an extra consonant between the two words. It's just a long R.


Problems in word linking the intonation

(1) linking is missing
No linking R in *we are all *.

(2) unnecessary pause and stop
no need for a glottal stop between "from" and "our"
the pause after "odds are that" shouldn't be there: it makes your sentence very hard to understand.
No need for all these pauses in the first sentences, it breaks the flow.

(3)intonation problems
Use a rising intonation for yes/no questions.
Why the rising intonation in * from our wallets*?

Hi, mike,
I understand most of the problems you've pointed out, except a few. Would you be so kind as to elaborate them a little for me? Thanks!

(1)<<When you said "they're right", it sounded like you added an extra consonant between the two words. It's just a long R. >>
I actually prononunce "they are right", I add the word "are". the extra sound you heard is the /a:/. so native speakers never pronounce the /a:/ sound, there is only a long R?

(2)<<the "L" in "walking" is silent>>
Is there a /L/ sound in “walk”? I don’t find it in the dictionary. Maybe there is a discrepancy between the dictionary and the real English spoken by native speakers?

(3)<<your "few" sounds like "foo" - it should be pronounced /fju/ ("f-you")
your "you" sounds like "oo", you didn't pronounce the "y" sound >>

I am always confused about the /ju/ sound, I tend to think of it as /iu/ sound. since I can’t tell the difference between /ju/ and /iu/, they sound the same to me.

(4)<<Use a rising intonation for yes/no questions.>>
Do you mean rising intonation shall not be used for questions starting with "why", "where", "when", "what", "who" and "how", etc?

<<(1)<<When you said "they're right", it sounded like you added an extra consonant between the two words. It's just a long R. >>
I actually prononunce "they are right", I add the word "are". the extra sound you heard is the /a:/. so native speakers never pronounce the /a:/ sound, there is only a long R? >>

I can't hear that /a:/ at all. To me, it sounds like you tried to say "they're right" but you added an L sound between "re" and "right". They're-l-right (this is 1:17 into the recording)

<<Is there a /L/ sound in “walk”? I don’t find it in the dictionary. Maybe there is a discrepancy between the dictionary and the real English spoken by native speakers? >>

I meant that it SHOULD be silent. I shouldn't have said it like that, because you pronounced the word "walk" just fine. However, I heard an extra "L" sound in the word "walking" (00:28).

<<I am always confused about the /ju/ sound, I tend to think of it as /iu/ sound. since I can’t tell the difference between /ju/ and /iu/, they sound the same to me. >>

You pronounced a flawless /ju/ in "using" (00:12) so I'm not worried - I guess you just have to get used to it.

<<Do you mean rising intonation shall not be used for questions starting with "why", "where", "when", "what", "who" and "how", etc? >>

That's right.
Here's an educational video about English intonation, split into multiple parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bHdXcszJ4

<<Here's an educational video about English intonation, split into multiple parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bHdXcszJ4 >>

Thanks for sharing the video. It is from Jennifer! I've watched her videos before, she is one of the English coaches I love most in YouTube, she is such a graceful lady, and she is hugely popular in YouTube!

A nice video, thanks, Mike.
But I can't see anything especially different from, say, Spanish. The Chinese would find some revelations, I guess, but Europeans - hardly.

It'd be great to have some comparative course for particular languages (at least for French, German and Russian).

I hope to know if I still have problem with the R and L? Someone said before that my L sounds like W because of improper position of tongue. How about my vowel sound? Someone suggested earlier that I shall focus on improving my vowel sound, like the short a and "ih".