rhythm or cadence of the language

Guest   Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:22 am GMT
If I have a problem with the rhythm of the language, what tips would you like to give me in order to improve it? BTW, consider these two factors in your mind.

1. I do no live in my target country.So no access to native speakers.
2. I am learning English and wants to adopt a British accent.

Thanks.
Abdul   Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:51 pm GMT
The best thing to do is to read some books (and listen to their accompanying cassettes) on English phonetics. If you want a British accent, then I suggest O'Connor's "Better English Pronunciation" or Roach's "English Phonetics and Phonology". There is also a book by Colin Mortimer (with cassettes) published by Cambridge University Press which can help you to improve your rhythm.
Lo   Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:56 am GMT
While I agree with Abdul that some audiobooks would be great, I would also suggest you watching English TV programs, not only do you get used to their way of speaking but also you get an insight to how English is spoken in real life. Spoken English and literary English are very different one another, audiobooks just expose you to the literary side of English which isn't quite useful in ordinary situations.
Since I'm not English I can't really recommend any TV show you could watch, except for Hex which is the only British program I've ever watched.
Guest   Sat Nov 03, 2007 7:51 am GMT
Thanks for your replies. Yup. Listening to audiobooks is a great idea but they do not reflect real life dialogues. So I need to find british sitcoms or movies. Well, you see, I have seen a lot of american movies and sitcoms on TV. I have listened to 4-5 unabridged audiobooks so far. Still there is a problem with my cadence when I talk to American speakers on the phone. Yesterday I talked to one of them. He told me that I had a problem with the rhythm of the language. I have resources:

audiobooks narrated by British speakers.
Hollywood movies and sitcoms.

So I am exposed to both varities of accents. I can not make up my mind which accent I need to focus on more. Initially, I wanted to adopt an American accent because of enormous resources that I had at my disposal. But now I am rejected by many American speakers. They can not understand me a bit so I am leaning towards adopting a british accent. I have got audiobooks so I can shadow them. I've a serious problem with American "th" and "r" sounds. It seems to me that American accent is hard to master and there are so many quirks involved with its imitation. I have finally decided to adopt a British accent.