Yet another "How bad is my accent" post

Carter   Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:13 pm GMT
Hi,

I've been reading and hearing English for a long time. But I have never really spoken it. The last time I tried to get better at it. But I still find it hard to speak. I'm afraid of mistakes or to be hard to understand.

So, please hear me reading and tell me what you think. Can you understand it? What are my biggest "issues"? What should I work on? How bad is it generally?

http://77.37.17.71/am/202.mp3

Thank you

Carter


The text is:

"Around 1974 I was playing guitar for a living in Miami Beach. I was twenty-two years old and thought I was really something. In the parlance of musicians, I felt I had some "serious chops." Nights I played clubs, hotels, and private parties. For a few months I worked in a lounge band on a cruise ship. I even landed a day gig playing acoustic solo stuff at a coffee house in South Beach. That was where a professor from the University of Miami saw me play, dug what I was doing, and invited me to audit his jazz guitar class at the university. I happily accepted, thinking I might be able to teach the kids a thing or two. I still remember the first class, me sitting in the back proudly holding my beat-up '64 Fender Strat, while the college students all cradled expensive Gibsons. Of course, this only made me feel more smug. I was a working musician. These were rich kids in a rich school with instruments that daddy bought 'em. But then something happened that would change my life forever. A painfully shy, sixteen year old boy walked into the room. He could barely speak nor make eye contact with anyone, seemed dwarfed by his big jazz guitar, and was ludicrously introduced as a visiting professor to the university. His name was Pat Metheny. I'll never forget how I felt when he began to play. It was an imploding feeling, like the kind you get when your ego is being demolished like an old Vegas casino. Thankfully, the feeling was accompanied by a soft, reassuring voice in my head that whispered, "Find work in television, nobody's a prodigy there." Thirteen years later I listened to that voice (I may have been deluded, but I was no quitter). Oh, and Pat, if you happen to read this... thank you."
cnalbumin   Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:48 pm GMT
A very pleasant (but obviously not native) accent. I especially like the guttural or missing Rs, and the 'z' sound in "university". In some ways, this accent sounds more elegant or cultured than a native American accent.
Phil   Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:20 am GMT
Pretty good overall. You still have a slight accent - maybe German/Dutch? Not strong enough to make a big deal out of it.

Vowel sounds are maybe a little short and your intonation often goes up and down when a general english accent may be using falling intonation for general phrases. it's hard to describe accent or correct it and I would suggest that you either choose an accent you want and imitate as much as possible or stop worrying about your accent as it's generally fine to understand.

If there was one thing I really have to point out in your accent is your tongue position - it sounds like it's a little lazy or too far forward. Try saying "WORK on moving YOUR tongue a LITTLE MORE to the FRONT and REAR, top and bottom of YOUR mouth." The capitalized words may be the ones you have most trouble with as it requires moving the tongue for a clear R or L pronunciation.

Some people may emphasise the 'schwa' instead of rolling their R/tongue but I prefer not to teach that way. I say let the speaker work harder so that the listener can understand more easily.
Cooltoad   Sun Jun 21, 2009 6:05 pm GMT
Pretty good accent.

The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they won't say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don't talk at all. Don't do this. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it again and again until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Practice a lot and you will become a master soon.

"Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all." - Winston Churchill
www.vocabularybuilding.org
American   Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:53 pm GMT
I think that is a German accent.
Carter   Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:10 pm GMT
American:

Yes, you are right. I am from Germany.

Thank you all for your answers.