**The Importance of Natural Pronunciation: A Guide to Mastering American English**
Are you an English learner looking to improve your pronunciation? One of the most common mistakes English learners make is mispronouncing the sounds "uh" and "um." These two sounds are among the most frequently used in American English, and mastering their correct pronunciation is essential for sounding like a native speaker. In this article, we'll explore the concept of placement and how to use it to improve your American English pronunciation.
**The Concept of Placement**
Placement refers to where you project the sound from in your mouth and throat. This concept is crucial in understanding how to pronounce different sounds correctly. Imagine each language as a string on a guitar - just like how different strings produce different pitches, different placements can change the way we pronounce words. For example, the same vowel sound used in "cool" will sound different depending on where you're from and what language you speak. Native American English speakers have a unique placement that sounds natural to their ears, but it's not always easy to replicate.
**Tuning Your Instrument**
To master the correct pronunciation of "uh" and "um," you need to tune your instrument - in this case, your mouth and throat. Start by putting your face in a relaxed neutral position, with your top and bottom teeth barely touching. This is key to feeling the sound coming from a lower position in your throat. Open your lips just a little bit lower and try to project the sound from down here. Don't change your mouth position yet - just focus on the sensation of the sound.
**The Magic of Transitioning**
Once you get comfortable with the "uh" sound, practice transitioning to other sounds from it. Notice how you can easily move from one sound to another once you've got the hang of it. This is where practice comes in - start by repeating the same vowel sound over and over, gradually shifting your placement until you feel like you're getting different sounds. With time and practice, you'll be able to transition seamlessly between different sounds.
**Vowels vs. Consonants**
While practicing vowels can help improve your overall pronunciation, it's essential to watch out for consonants that can hurt your vowel sounds at the ends of words. Letters like "l" or "r" can affect how you pronounce your vowels, so pay close attention to these sounds when practicing. For example, try saying "um" and "uh" with a tense "m" sound - it'll change the way your vowel sound feels.
**Putting It All Together**
Now that we've covered the basics of placement and transitioning, let's put it all together in a practice exercise. Try repeating the sentence "What was done?" five times, paying close attention to how you pronounce each word. Focus on placing the correct sound for each word - if you're struggling with certain sounds, don't be afraid to take your time or ask for feedback. With consistent practice and patience, you'll start to feel more confident in your pronunciation.
**Tips for Improving Your Pronunciation**
* Practice regularly, even if it's just for a few minutes a day.
* Listen to native speakers and try to mimic their sounds.
* Focus on placement and how it affects the way you pronounce words.
* Watch out for consonants that can hurt your vowel sounds at the ends of words.
* Don't get discouraged if you don't sound like a native speaker right away - practice takes time!
By following these tips and practicing regularly, you'll be well on your way to mastering American English pronunciation. Remember to stay relaxed, focused, and patient, and you'll be sounding like a natural in no time!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enever stop it think about something where did i put it what sound do you make in english is probably uh what you may not know is that uh and um are sounds you want to make natural as they can immediately show if you're a native american english speaker or not english learners are often mispronouncing uh or um often doing like ah or um which is unfortunate because um and uh are among the most frequently used sounds in american english whether you use them personally or not it's especially unfortunate because if you're mispronouncing those sounds you're probably mispronouncing practically every other sound in american english too think of it like the strings of a guitar here it is i haven't tuned this in a while imagine each string is a different language they all make sounds right but they each sound different this string here makes higher pitches this string here makes lower pitches no matter what note i play on this first string i can never get as low as this last string it's the same with english and your first language if you pronounce sounds from the same place as your native language and you're trying to speak in english you'll never quite get that natural same sound that you'll hear native american english speakers use in their own speech for a quick comparison listen to how different languages pronounce the ooh sound found in a word like cool cool cool i've tried playing it cool look it's the same vowel for everyone but the american english version just sounds different the concept that causes all of these changes is called placement which basically means where are you projecting the sound from the good news is you can use this thinking sound or the schwa to calibrate or kind of set your body for all the other vowels and consonants in english for many languages you speak with a more closed throat this also includes for our british english friends for natural american english placement though you want to have lots of air move through your throat and you also want to feel the sound coming from a lower position in your throat too making a schwa sound is a lot like tuning an instrument you're trying to get the right sound for your language now if only i could actually find my real tuner to make a natural schwa sound you need to put your face in a relaxed neutral position no smiling no frowning no upset faces you'll know it's neutral if your top and your bottom teeth don't actually touch there's a little bit of space between them also the middle of your tongue will rise but it doesn't actually make contact with the top of your mouth open your lips just a little bit lower your shoulders and try to project the sound from down here don't change your mouth position see if you can now sound like this uh uh the real magic of the uh sound though is that once you get more comfortable with it you can then transition to other sounds from it notice again i'm projecting all those from the same position in fact let's practice that again wait you didn't like how that sounded more practice wouldn't hurt i'm going to save those same vowels the first time of the placement that is too tense and too high in the second time with a lower placement with more air passing through my throat ah ah with practice i think you can get vowels sounding pretty good on their own but be careful for consonants a funny thing can happen that wasn't good suddenly that vowel sound you're keeping low with lots of air becomes much much see for yourself how would you pronounce this did you say or did you say if you say it the first way like um you're keeping your sound very high and your throat may be very closed you can feel the vibration even here my jaw my teeth and my cheeks really feel that shaking from the sound but my throat and chest area i'm not really getting much movement there see instead if you can drag the sound down it's like um hear the difference between where we started and where we ended up the only vibrations i'm feeling are down here this has an even bigger impact when you put the m onto a word especially like after the uh sound compare um and um the first has a tensor m sound and it's actually making your vowel sound tenser and a little bit higher too the second is lower and it's also more open in the throat so more air can go through listen to some other native speakers making this same um sound pay attention to how much air is going through their throat um um you um there are lots of possible consonants that can hurt your vowel sounds at the ends of words but you especially want to watch out for letters like l eagle trouble ends fun done challenge yourself say um and uh with confidence in your next conversation you can even try a practice sentence and try moving the placement around uh what was done uh what was done uh what was done notice that all those words have schwa sounds uh what was done now if you don't sound like a native speaker when you pronounce your schwa sound don't get frustrated let's talk about how you can practice in fact these are some exercises to do over the next seven daysever stop it think about something where did i put it what sound do you make in english is probably uh what you may not know is that uh and um are sounds you want to make natural as they can immediately show if you're a native american english speaker or not english learners are often mispronouncing uh or um often doing like ah or um which is unfortunate because um and uh are among the most frequently used sounds in american english whether you use them personally or not it's especially unfortunate because if you're mispronouncing those sounds you're probably mispronouncing practically every other sound in american english too think of it like the strings of a guitar here it is i haven't tuned this in a while imagine each string is a different language they all make sounds right but they each sound different this string here makes higher pitches this string here makes lower pitches no matter what note i play on this first string i can never get as low as this last string it's the same with english and your first language if you pronounce sounds from the same place as your native language and you're trying to speak in english you'll never quite get that natural same sound that you'll hear native american english speakers use in their own speech for a quick comparison listen to how different languages pronounce the ooh sound found in a word like cool cool cool i've tried playing it cool look it's the same vowel for everyone but the american english version just sounds different the concept that causes all of these changes is called placement which basically means where are you projecting the sound from the good news is you can use this thinking sound or the schwa to calibrate or kind of set your body for all the other vowels and consonants in english for many languages you speak with a more closed throat this also includes for our british english friends for natural american english placement though you want to have lots of air move through your throat and you also want to feel the sound coming from a lower position in your throat too making a schwa sound is a lot like tuning an instrument you're trying to get the right sound for your language now if only i could actually find my real tuner to make a natural schwa sound you need to put your face in a relaxed neutral position no smiling no frowning no upset faces you'll know it's neutral if your top and your bottom teeth don't actually touch there's a little bit of space between them also the middle of your tongue will rise but it doesn't actually make contact with the top of your mouth open your lips just a little bit lower your shoulders and try to project the sound from down here don't change your mouth position see if you can now sound like this uh uh the real magic of the uh sound though is that once you get more comfortable with it you can then transition to other sounds from it notice again i'm projecting all those from the same position in fact let's practice that again wait you didn't like how that sounded more practice wouldn't hurt i'm going to save those same vowels the first time of the placement that is too tense and too high in the second time with a lower placement with more air passing through my throat ah ah with practice i think you can get vowels sounding pretty good on their own but be careful for consonants a funny thing can happen that wasn't good suddenly that vowel sound you're keeping low with lots of air becomes much much see for yourself how would you pronounce this did you say or did you say if you say it the first way like um you're keeping your sound very high and your throat may be very closed you can feel the vibration even here my jaw my teeth and my cheeks really feel that shaking from the sound but my throat and chest area i'm not really getting much movement there see instead if you can drag the sound down it's like um hear the difference between where we started and where we ended up the only vibrations i'm feeling are down here this has an even bigger impact when you put the m onto a word especially like after the uh sound compare um and um the first has a tensor m sound and it's actually making your vowel sound tenser and a little bit higher too the second is lower and it's also more open in the throat so more air can go through listen to some other native speakers making this same um sound pay attention to how much air is going through their throat um um you um there are lots of possible consonants that can hurt your vowel sounds at the ends of words but you especially want to watch out for letters like l eagle trouble ends fun done challenge yourself say um and uh with confidence in your next conversation you can even try a practice sentence and try moving the placement around uh what was done uh what was done uh what was done notice that all those words have schwa sounds uh what was done now if you don't sound like a native speaker when you pronounce your schwa sound don't get frustrated let's talk about how you can practice in fact these are some exercises to do over the next seven days\n"
