Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jctgf]

sorry!!!

I speak Portuguese and I am quite tired of trying to understand some situations in English!!!

how can you learn a language in which there are no pronunciation rules?!
by the way, "pronunciation rules" or "rules of pronunciation" ?

why does the sound of “EA” change completely in “DEAF” and “LEAF” ? and what about “BEARD” and “FEATHER”?

why does the sound of the letter “I” change completely in “IRAN” and “IRAQ” ? and what about “PROMISE” and “COMPROMISE” ?

I can mention thousands and thousands of examples!

thanks!

[bud]

Yes, I imagine that it can be maddening. Just wait until you realize all the different sounds that "-ough" makes. But of the letter combinations that have more than one sound, usually it's only two or three. Probably the more experience you get, the less they will be a problem to you.

By the way, either "pronunciation rules" or "rules of pronunciation" is fine.

One last thing: many times people of the same dialect pronounce Iran/Iraq very differently than others. But for any individual, they are usually pronounced consistently, I'd think. For example, one person might say "EE-rock" and "EE-ron" while another would say "EYE-rack" and "EYE-ran."

[jctgf]

hey, thank you a lot!!

i don't know where did all that strange characteres come from! just to clarify, the text i posted should have looked like this:

why does the sound of ''EA'' change completely in ''DEAF'' and ''LEAF''? and what about ''BEARD'' and ''FEATHER''?

why does the sound of the letter ''I'' change completely in ''IRAN'' and ''IRAQ''? and what about ''PROMISE'' and ''COMPROMISE'' ?

by the way, are there any books from which i could learn more about
the English pronunciation rules?

thanks again!!!

[Corey]

Sorry, there really are very few good pronunciation rules in English. This is because there are so many different languages that have had words incorporated (French, German, Latin, Celtic, etc....)

The only real way to go at it is just to practice, practice, practice.......

Regards,

Corey
[url]wwwabcingles.net[/url]
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[wolfstone]

Hi jctgf,

As far as I know, there is no easy method to pronounce well English words. As a Spanish-speaking person, perhaps there might have been the most difficult part in my learning process, and I did only get to acquire an understandable pronunciation after spending several months in the UK. My advise is that you shouldn't be anxious if you make mistakes in pronunciation. If you cannot live in an English speaking country, try to watch English or American TV as much as possible, and if you enjoy listening to music, then try singing along. Perhaps it sounds to you ridiculous, but it helped me out a lot, since I had a lot of problems to find native speakers I can talk to

Above all, speak clearly and slowly. Don't try to speak as fast as you do in your mother tongue, because I did that and it has occasioned me problems to be understood many times!

Well, I hope it helps you.

See you later

[unewolke]

Don't fret - even native speakers get the pronunciation wrong sometimes. Besides, the most important thing is that you can be understood, because many times, there are different ways of pronouncing even one word, depending on the variety and regional accent among other things. If you think about it, isn't that great? No one can say it's wrong!

[moon]

please start English pronunciation with Phonics.
It will be a help at the beginning.
As you read and listen continuously English, you will get over
the problem gradually.
English has been made through long history and many different languages.
It' why the pronunciations are various.

Good luck!

Moon from Korea

[moon]

please start English pronunciation with Phonics.
It will be a help at the beginning.
As you read and listen continuously English, you will get over
the problem gradually.
English has been made through long history and many different languages.
It' why the pronunciations are various.

Good luck!

Moon from Korea

[coffeedecafe]

if you try to say something and you get that puzzled look response, you can always tel them ' you had your tongue tangled around your eye-teeth, and you could not see what you were saying'.
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coffeedecafe