Hi ! . I have been thinking lately about what would it be the best way to approach English Mastering. What would guys try to achieve first Fluency or a good accent ?.
Fluency or Accent ?
Making yourself understandable should be a very high priority. If you cannot be understood, you cannot communicate. Sounding exactly like a native speaker, however, can be a much lower priority.
For example, I'm a native English speaker studying Spanish. So my priorities in Spanish pronunciation are like this:
* Be sure to pronounce every vowel clearly and distinctly. For instance, don't pronounce "señor" too similarly to "siñor".
* Pronounce the letter "r" by tapping the tongue on the roof of the mouth, not like an English "r".
* The letter "j" should be aspirated.
* The letter "d" sounds softer and is pronounced with the tongue closer to the bottom of the teeth.
* The letters "b" and "v" make the same sound, which is like a very soft "v".
...and so on. Just knowing how every sound is pronounced will help you even if you don't really practice it, and I am fairly confident that if I say something to a native speaker, I will be understood. Unfortunately, it's more difficult to do this with English because you can't necessarily tell how a word will be pronounced just by knowing how it is spelled.
What you'll need to practice depends on what your native language is (and possibly your accent in that language), but here are some general things to practice:
* The English "r" sound. Although many languages have a letter represented by an "r", few languages have the English "r" sound.
* The "th" sound. Be aware that sometimes it is unvoiced and sometimes it is voiced, and these are usually not interchangeable.
* The schwa sound.
* Any other sound your language might not have, like "sh".
* English has some consonant clusters that other languages don't, or it has them in unfamiliar positions. For instance, a Spanish-speaking person might have trouble pronouncing a word like "state", because Spanish words never start with "st". German words can begin with "st", but German pronounces such words differently than English does. Be aware of little differences like that.
When studying the written language, observe how changes in spelling can change pronunciation. For instance, the "o" in "hoping" is different from the "o" in "hopping". This change happens in many (but not all!) words where "o" is followed by a doubled consonant.
- Kef
For example, I'm a native English speaker studying Spanish. So my priorities in Spanish pronunciation are like this:
* Be sure to pronounce every vowel clearly and distinctly. For instance, don't pronounce "señor" too similarly to "siñor".
* Pronounce the letter "r" by tapping the tongue on the roof of the mouth, not like an English "r".
* The letter "j" should be aspirated.
* The letter "d" sounds softer and is pronounced with the tongue closer to the bottom of the teeth.
* The letters "b" and "v" make the same sound, which is like a very soft "v".
...and so on. Just knowing how every sound is pronounced will help you even if you don't really practice it, and I am fairly confident that if I say something to a native speaker, I will be understood. Unfortunately, it's more difficult to do this with English because you can't necessarily tell how a word will be pronounced just by knowing how it is spelled.
What you'll need to practice depends on what your native language is (and possibly your accent in that language), but here are some general things to practice:
* The English "r" sound. Although many languages have a letter represented by an "r", few languages have the English "r" sound.
* The "th" sound. Be aware that sometimes it is unvoiced and sometimes it is voiced, and these are usually not interchangeable.
* The schwa sound.
* Any other sound your language might not have, like "sh".
* English has some consonant clusters that other languages don't, or it has them in unfamiliar positions. For instance, a Spanish-speaking person might have trouble pronouncing a word like "state", because Spanish words never start with "st". German words can begin with "st", but German pronounces such words differently than English does. Be aware of little differences like that.
When studying the written language, observe how changes in spelling can change pronunciation. For instance, the "o" in "hoping" is different from the "o" in "hopping". This change happens in many (but not all!) words where "o" is followed by a doubled consonant.
- Kef
I would say that fluency is more important than a good accent, overall. Of course, a certain familiarity with the sounds of English is necessary, and as Kef said, you should know what you're aiming for and how far you are from it. After you've mastered the basics of pronunciation though, grammar and vocabulary are much more important. You can have flawless pronunciation, but if you don't know any words, it won't help you much. Conversely, even if you're pronunciation isn't very good, as long as your vocabulary and grammar are alright, English speakers should be able to figure out what you're saying.
I think fluency is most important, and here's my personal opinion regarding accents:
I don't care at all. It is not a goal of mine to reach native like accent. I want to be easily understandable of course and speak naturally, but I don't care if people can tell what country I'm from, because it's not like I'm ashamed or something.
I don't care at all. It is not a goal of mine to reach native like accent. I want to be easily understandable of course and speak naturally, but I don't care if people can tell what country I'm from, because it's not like I'm ashamed or something.
Fluency is imo much more important than having the right accents. It is pleasant when locals think you're a native (happened to me several times on my visits to England) but it also doesn't make it easier understanding them because they will start talking to you in their dialects and expecting you understand them (I can ensure you, not any local can understand some of their dialects ;))
Also, what accent you want to go with? Personally I have something between an American and an English accent ... just try to make yourself understandeable to the English speaking part of the world is the most important, and if it's with an Asian, Russian, French or British accent, who cares :)
Also, what accent you want to go with? Personally I have something between an American and an English accent ... just try to make yourself understandeable to the English speaking part of the world is the most important, and if it's with an Asian, Russian, French or British accent, who cares :)
Here it is my take: If your accent is bad people will keep asking you to repeat yourself which is very annoying. It happens to me all the time whenever I talk with Americans. Communication is not about be able to figure out if your vocabulary andgrammar are alright. Good communication means that there are no obstacles in the way on both sides of speakers. Effortless flow of thoughts means just that and having a bad accent hinders that aspect of communication. Put it simply, both fluency and accent are important. They are equally important on the scale. You should work on both aspects of the language, when you are learning a language, putting yout time and efforts, why not go that extra mile and master the language.
I didn't say that accent isn't important; obviously you want to master the language if you can. What I meant was that grammar and vocabulary are more important at first; only once you have a firm grasp of those should you try to perfect your pronunciation. You can have a fairly thick accent and still communicate effectively, but without grammar and vocabulary, you can't say anything.
When kids talk, it is not their advanced grammar and sophisticated vocabulary level that make them a good speaker of the language but it is just their accent that does the job. Anyway, there is no point of saying anything when you are asked to repeat yourself after every second sentence. You don't build a building on a weak foundation otherwise it will fall down. Everything needs to be treated step by step- it is great to spend most of your time on accumulating vocab and perfecting grammar structures but it is equally great to spend some time on learning the sounds of the language and reducing your native accent. Having effortless communication should be the main goal that every learner should aim for.