How to Improve Your British Accent in 20 Minutes! (Standard English Accent)
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Laura introduces viewers to the nuances of the Standard English Received Pronunciation (RP) accent, highlighting common pronunciation pitfalls such as the glottal T and providing tips to correct them. She emphasizes the importance of imitation and exposure to British media for mastering the accent, suggesting tools like NordVPN for accessing content. Laura also covers specific sounds that are challenging for learners, such as 'oh', 'thinking', 'schwa', TH, and 'ah', and offers techniques for practicing these sounds effectively. Additionally, she touches on the rhythm and intonation of speech, the importance of diction, and the value of mouth movement in clear articulation, encouraging viewers to practice diligently to achieve a native-like accent.
Takeaways
- 🎤 Subscribe to Smashing English for more videos on accents.
- 🗣️ Laura teaches a standard English accent with hints of the West Midlands.
- 📚 Received Pronunciation (RP) is a clear and precise way of speaking.
- ❌ Avoid the glottal stop in inappropriate places, such as 'be' ter' or 'wa' ter.'
- 📼 Imitation of native speakers is a key technique for mastering accents.
- 🌐 Use NordVPN to access British content for accent practice.
- 🎵 Practice specific sounds: 'oh,' 'uh,' the schwa, and TH sounds.
- 📖 Follow the figure-of-eight pattern for natural intonation and rhythm.
- 👄 Ensure clear diction by moving the mouth and practicing tongue twisters.
- 🤓 Practice makes perfect, and flexibility in mouth movements is crucial.
Q & A
What is the accent Laura uses in the video?
-Laura uses a standard English accent with some hints of the West Midlands, which is essentially Received Pronunciation (RP).
Why is it important to pronounce T's clearly in Received Pronunciation?
-Pronouncing T's clearly helps to make speech sound much clearer and more understandable to anyone listening.
What is a glottal stop and how is it misused by English learners?
-A glottal stop is a pronunciation technique where the air is stopped in the throat instead of with the teeth. English learners often misuse it by placing glottal stops where they're not needed or by combining them with T's, which is incorrect.
What is the advice for using glottal stops in Received Pronunciation?
-Glottal stops should only be used in the correct places, typically replacing T's, and should not be overused.
How can one access British content that might be blocked in their country?
-One can use a VPN service like NordVPN to virtually change their location and access content that was previously blocked.
What is the significance of the 'oh' sound in Received Pronunciation and how should it be pronounced?
-The 'oh' sound is a diphthong that transitions from an open 'uh' sound to an 'oo' sound. It should not be pronounced too tightly or as 'ee'.
Why is the 'thinking' sound difficult for many people and how should it be pronounced?
-The 'thinking' sound is difficult because it often involves an R sound that is not pronounced in Received Pronunciation. It should be pronounced with a dropped jaw and without tightening the lips.
What is a schwa and why is it important in Received Pronunciation?
-A schwa is a neutral vowel sound represented by 'uh'. It is important because it is the most common vowel sound in Received Pronunciation and should be pronounced clearly and confidently.
How should the TH sound be practiced to improve Received Pronunciation?
-The TH sound should be practiced by speaking in 'TH-speak', making the TH sounds 3 seconds long, and gradually reducing the duration until the correct pronunciation is achieved.
What is the correct way to pronounce the word 'what' in Received Pronunciation?
-In Received Pronunciation, 'what' should be pronounced with an 'ah' sound, not as 'wat'.
How does the intonation pattern in Received Pronunciation contribute to a more natural accent?
-The intonation pattern in Received Pronunciation follows a figure-eight shape, with a natural rise and fall of the voice, which contributes to a more natural and flowing speech pattern.
Why is diction important for mastering Received Pronunciation and how can it be improved?
-Diction is important because it ensures that the sounds are clear and understandable. It can be improved by practicing tongue twisters and other diction exercises that require exaggerated mouth movements.
Outlines
😀 Introduction to Smashing English and Accent Teaching
The video script begins with a warm welcome and an invitation to subscribe to Smashing English for regular content. Laura, the instructor, introduces herself and explains that she teaches a standard English accent with a West Midlands influence, which she identifies as Received Pronunciation (RP). She clarifies that RP is a clear and heightened form of speech and provides examples of its pronunciation特点, emphasizing the correct use of 'T's and other sounds. The paragraph also outlines common issues that English learners face when trying to adopt this accent, setting the stage for the instructional content to follow.
📚 Addressing the Glottal Stop and Imitation Techniques
This paragraph delves into the issue of the glottal stop, a common mispronunciation where 'T's are omitted or replaced with a throat stop. Laura provides examples of incorrect usage and advises against overusing the glottal stop, especially in places where it's not standard. She then transitions into the topic of accent mastery through imitation, suggesting that learners should consume大量British content and even use VPN services like NordVPN to access region-restricted material. The paragraph highlights the importance of listening to and mimicking native speakers to internalize the accent effectively.
🎯 Mastering Key English Sounds for a Standard Accent
Laura focuses on the importance of mastering specific sounds to achieve a Standard English accent. She discusses the correct pronunciation of 'oh' as a diphthong, the 'thinking' sound without rolling the 'R,' and the neutral 'schwa' sound. Each sound is accompanied by instructions and examples to help learners avoid common pitfalls. The paragraph emphasizes the need for practice and confidence in producing these sounds to ensure a more authentic accent.
🔍 Refining Pronunciation with TH Sounds and Intonation
The script continues with a detailed examination of the TH sound, distinguishing between voiced and unvoiced variants, and offering a unique 'TH-speak' exercise to help learners practice. Laura also addresses the pronunciation of 'good' and 'what,' clarifying the correct mouth movements and sounds. She then introduces the concept of intonation, suggesting that the English accent has a natural rhythm resembling a figure of eight, and recommends using a physical gesture to help internalize the speech pattern.
🗣️ Enhancing Clarity Through Diction and Mouth Movement
In the final paragraph, Laura emphasizes the importance of diction for clarity in speech. She points out that even with correct pronunciation, a lack of mouth movement can hinder understanding. She encourages the use of tongue twisters and other diction exercises to improve mouth flexibility and articulation. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to practice and a prompt for viewers to engage with the channel for further lessons and support.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Received Pronunciation (RP)
💡Glottal Stop
💡Imitation
💡NordVPN
💡Diphthong
💡Non-rhotic
💡Schwa
💡TH Sound
💡Intonation
💡Diction
Highlights
Introduction to the video and the importance of subscribing for regular updates.
Laura's introduction and her role as an English accent teacher.
Description of Laura's accent as Standard English Received Pronunciation (RP) with West Midlands hints.
Explanation of Received Pronunciation and its clarity compared to other accents.
Common issues encountered while teaching the standard English accent.
Discussion on the glottal T or glottal stop and its misuse by learners.
Advice on pronouncing T's clearly for better understanding.
Importance of using the glottal stop correctly and not overusing it.
Recommendation to record oneself to monitor glottal stop usage.
Emphasis on imitation as a method to master an accent, citing dialect coach Sammy Grant.
Suggestion to consume British content for accent acquisition, with a mention of NordVPN for accessing blocked content.
Tips for mastering specific sounds crucial for the standard English accent.
Instructions on the correct pronunciation of the 'oh' diphthong.
Clarification on the non-rhotic nature of the standard English accent and the pronunciation of 'nurse'.
Explanation of the schwa sound and its prevalence in the standard English accent.
Guidance on the voiced and unvoiced TH sounds and the importance of practicing them.
Advice on the pronunciation of the word 'what' and its distinction from other vowel sounds.
Discussion on the correct pronunciation of the 'ah' sound in words like 'pot' and 'what'.
Recommendation of the book 'How to Do Standard English Accents' for mastering intonation patterns.
Description of the figure-eight intonation pattern characteristic of the standard English accent.
Advice on using physical gestures to practice the accent's natural rhythm and flow.
Importance of diction and mouth movement for clear speech in the standard English accent.
Suggestion to practice tongue twisters for improving diction and mouth flexibility.
Encouragement to keep practicing and exploring more accent videos on the channel.
Invitation for viewers to leave questions in the comments and access links for English lessons and social media.
Transcripts
Hello! Do you want to sound a little bit like me when you speak English? Keep watching.
[Music]
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Welcome to Smashing English! Before
we start this video, be sure to subscribe because we make new videos all the time,
and I don't want you to miss any. So, with that said, let's get on with the video.
Hello, my name is Laura. Lovely to meet you! Hi! I teach people
how to do this accent almost every day. Now, what is this accent I'm using? So,
I would say that I have a standard English accent with some hints of the West Midlands,
but for all intents and purposes, my voice is standard English Received Pronunciation (RP).
You might have heard this term before. Received Pronunciation is a little bit more heightened,
so if I were to talk in RP, everything would be a lot clearer. I would say all of my T's,
I would say "butter" and "better," and I would say, "look over there at that lovely cat."
Like I said, I teach this accent to English learners a lot,
and I have made a list of the common issues that keep coming up when I am
teaching this accent. So, these are the most common problems I hear and how to fix them.
Now, the first problem I encounter a lot is this guy: the glottal T or the glottal stop. So,
first of all, what is it? You will often hear people doing an impression of a British person,
they might say something like, "bottle of water, bottle of water," and they don't say the
T's. Instead of "bottle," they say "bo'le." What they're doing there is called a glottal stop. So,
instead of stopping the air with their teeth and going "b-t," they're stopping the air in
their throat; they're going "bo' - stop the air - le," and then they release it. So,
try doing that. Try stopping the air and then releasing it. Go "a' a' a',"
that's a glottal stop. And yes, British people use it a lot. I just did it there.
British people use it a lot. I said "use it" instead of "use it," so it is really common.
But what I hear is my students put glottal stops where they don't need one, or they will
do a glottal stop and a T. So, let me give you an example of that. The word "better." I have heard
my students do "be' ter," so they are glottal stopping and then doing a T: "be' ter" or "wa'
ter." That's not correct. Okay? We either do a glottal stop or we do a T. We can't do both. So,
the best thing to do for clarity is to try to pronounce as many T's as you can because it
just helps everything sound much clearer and anyone can understand you. So, when you have
this word "better," "better," "water," "water," however, if you do need to do a glottal stop,
let's say that's the kind of voice you want, make sure it's in the right place. I've heard a student
before say "thin' king," and he's putting a glottal stop in there, but there's no T;
he's doing it before a K sound. So, make sure you're reserving it for T's and don't overdo it.
If you have a sentence like this: "I thought about it," try not to go,
"I thought about it." Don't put too many in there, okay? So just be careful with
the glottal stop. Don't overuse it, and don't use it where it's not supposed to be there. So,
try recording yourself, listen back, and see if you are doing too many glottal stops.
Okay, on to the next tip. Many experts believe that the best way to master an accent is through
imitation. Like dialect coach Sammy Grant says when talking to voices.com, the only true way to
learn a new accent is by speaking with that accent. Sometimes the best way to start is
by doing an extreme impression of someone. Find someone who has the accent you want. Find multiple
people and then consume so much content from them that you could easily do an impression of them.
Now, in order to do this for this accent, you're going to have to consume a lot of British content,
maybe even British media that is blocked in your country because you're outside of the UK. Now,
how can we get past that? Oh, I know! By using NordVPN. NordVPN has a huge network of servers.
When you connect to one of these servers, you can virtually change your location, making it
appear as if you're browsing from another part of the world. That means you can access content
previously blocked in your country. So, if you've decided that you really want to sound like Tom
Hiddleston, you can access all the interviews, TV shows, and films he's done and really work on
that imitation. And if you've downloaded NordVPN for this reason, you are also going to benefit
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My next tip to ensure you have the most perfect Standard English accent is to master these sounds.
Okay, so I have written down the most common sounds that people seem to struggle with,
and I'm going to teach them to you now. So, if you can do these sounds perfectly,
you are very close to having a lovely, consistent accent.
The first one is "oh." Now, the problem that people have with this sound is they don't start
it correctly. They tend to go too tight, so they will say "ee." So, they will say "no," and they
go too tight. So, "oh" is a diphthong, which means it's made of two sounds that go one to the other.
It goes "oh," it kind of changes. So, the first sound we have is open: "uh." I want you to make an
"uh" sound, make a completely neutral sound, "uh." Now hold that for me. We sound a bit stupid, so
you're going to do a very stupid sound, okay? Then I want you to slowly close your lips to an "oo,"
so it's going to go like this: "uh-oo." Okay, do it slowly. Ready? "Uh-oo." That's the sound.
It's not "n-oo," it's "n-uh-oo." Can you hear the difference? It starts on an "uh." So, let's look
at some words. So, we've got "no," "no," "no." Or we've got "show," "show," "show." Okay? So,
the trick with that sound is the start of it. Make sure you are confident on how to start that sound.
Okay, let's move on to the next sound: the "thinking" sound. Everyone finds it so difficult
because it feels so unnatural for so many people. So, this is the sound that goes like this: "uh,
uh, uh." So, let's imagine you're thinking of what to order: "uh, uh, can I have a,
can I have a coffee and uh, a muffin?" It's that thinking sound, okay? Now, the reason why
people get confused with this is because often there's an R here. So, if you think about the
word "nurse" or "her," people see that R and they go, "I need to tighten something. I need to go
'nurse.' I need to make it tight to pronounce that R, right?" No, we don't like R's. Okay,
if you know anything about this accent, you will know that in standard English, it is a non-rhotic
accent. That means that we only pronounce an R if it comes before a vowel, like "road" or "red" or
"really." But in this word, it's not before a vowel. So, we've got "nurse," no R. Okay? So,
try making that sound and try dropping your jaw a little bit. So, we're going to go "uh, uh, uh."
So, the jaw drops. Try to fight the temptation to do anything with your lips. I know you probably
want to go "oh," but don't do it. If it helps, try this: okay, so make sure your hands are clean.
"Uh, uh, uh." Can you see that I don't need my lips to make this sound? That's because I'm not
pronouncing the R. It's just an open, dropped jaw: "uh, uh, uh." So, practice that sound.
Make sure you're 100% confident on it because that is always the sound that people have issues with.
The next sound that my students struggle with is the "schwa." The schwa is a completely neutral
sound. There are no lips, there are no teeth, there's nothing. It's just "uh, uh, uh, uh."
You don't have to do the shoulders, but I like it. "Uh, uh." So, this happens a lot in this accent.
It's actually probably the most common vowel sound in this accent, so you need to be confident with
it and really throw this sound away. When you have a word like "mother," the second syllable is "uh":
"mother, mother." Some people don't want to fully commit to that schwa because it feels odd, so they
say "mother, mother," and it's too much like an E sound. Really drop it: "mother, mother, uh, uh,
uh." Another example of where you will hear "uh" is in this word. We don't say "a," we say "uh":
"a pen, a dog, a cat." Can you hear how I'm literally just doing "uh"? "A dog, a pen, a cat."
The next sound people find tricky is, of course, the dreaded TH. Everybody hates TH because it's so
hard. So, a quick reminder: we have two different types of TH. We have a voiced TH (ding) and an
unvoiced TH (ding, ding). A voiced TH has voice on it. So, if you do this for me, "ah," feel your
throat, you should feel vibrations: "ah, ah." Do it now. Can you feel the vibrations? Now do this:
just breathe, "ah." Do this, "ah." No vibrations. So, when your throat vibrates, that means you are
using your voice. If it's not vibrating, you're not using your voice. So, a voiced TH sounds like
this: "the, the, the." Feel that buzz? An unvoiced TH sounds like this: "think, think, think." No
voice. Okay? You have to be confident with these two. So, practice them, practice them,
practice them every day because what often happens is my student will have a great accent,
but then they say something like this: "I saw the cat, I saw the cat," and they turn it into a D,
but it needs to be "I saw the cat." That would be voiced: "I saw the cat, the cat." So,
the best way to practice your TH is you can watch my video. I've got a whole video on the TH sound.
I will link it down below, but the best thing to do is learn how to speak in TH-speak. So,
that means you speak normally, but you make your TH's about 3 seconds long. So, maybe
find a book or something you can read, and every time you come across a TH, I want you to make it
3 seconds long. So, for example, "I saw the cat and it was sat on the wall, and I thought it was
strange because I usually think about cats sitting on the wall." Stretch it out because
if you do it for longer, it gives your mouth more time to find the position and get confident with
the position. Once you can do it for 3 seconds, you can shorten it to 2 seconds, then 1 second,
and then you've got it. But don't give up on the TH. I know it's hard, but don't give up.
On to the next sound: how do you think we say this word in a standard English
accent? How do you think? If you said "good," not quite. If you said "good," you got it. So,
the tendency is my students like to go "ooh" when they see two O's; they go "ooh." But that's
not always correct. A lot of the time, our lips need to do this, like that. So, one lip goes up,
the other lip goes down, like that. You see it? It's a very attractive face, like that.
If you look at the symbol for this sound, it even looks like your lips. It looks like it's got your
top lip doing that and your bottom lip doing that. So, try to remember that symbol: "uh,
uh, uh." See the difference? "Uh, ooh." Can you see my lips coming out every time? "Uh,
uh, uh." So, practice that one and make sure you know that it's different from an "ooh."
And the final sound that my students struggle with is "ah." "Ah" seems simple, but people
really struggle with it. So, take a word like "pot, pot." We want to make the sound "ah."
So, it's very different from "oh," it's very different from "a," it's "ah." Now, weirdly,
we also have this sound in the word "what." Even though it's spelled with an A, we don't say
"what," we go "what, what." So, get that "what" perfect because we use the word "what" all the
time. So, if you can say that perfectly, it'll help you a lot in your everyday conversation.
Okay, those are the sounds I want you to focus on if you want to have a perfect accent because they
are usually the ones that most people struggle with. Okay, moving on to the next tip. If you
watched my video on intonation, you will know that I love the book "How to Do Standard English
Accents" by Edda Sharpe and Jan Haydn Rowles. In that book, they give a great tip on how to sound
more natural with this accent. So, let's say that you know all of the sounds. You can do TH,
you can do "nurse," you can do "pot," but it still doesn't sound quite right. That's probably because
you are missing the right rhythm and groove. So, with this accent, we tend to follow this pattern,
like a figure of eight, and they talk about this in the book and it's really interesting. So,
the example they give is: "There was once a young rat named Arthur." So, we would say it like this:
"There was once a young rat named Arthur. There was once a young rat named Arthur." So,
see how my voice goes up when it's here, it goes down when it's here, it goes up when it's here,
it goes down when it's here. Let's think of another example: "I work as a teacher,
but I would love to be a head teacher." So, the key there is we always end down. It always ends
on that down, and there's just this general idea of rising and falling. We like to go
up, and then we like to go down. We like to go up, and then we like to go down.
Now, if you've been speaking English in quite a straight, monotonous way,
this might feel really strange for you, but it's going to be really useful for you. So,
try to physically take your finger and make that shape, and speak about something, and see if you
can follow the rising and falling of the shape. So, you could say, "I've never played golf,
but I'd like to try because I think it's really useful to be involved in a sport, and it does a
lot of good things for your brain and for your social life and for everything like that." So,
try, just try it. See what happens. Now, you don't have to follow that religiously; you don't
have to always be doing exactly that, but it's a lovely little energy that you can give your
speech to help it sound more natural and flowing, and a lot more like a native speaker. So, try it.
Let's say you've tried everything. You know all of the sounds, you've practiced, you can do a TH,
you can do this shape, but something still just doesn't feel right. You still don't think that
your accent is close to sounding like a native. You still feel that something's not quite right.
That might be down to diction. So, a lot of the time, I teach students and they sound great;
they have a great accent, but it's being trapped inside of a mouth that's not moving enough. So,
sometimes I teach people and their mouth is very tight here; they don't move,
it kind of stays in one place. Now, if you look at how I speak, my mouth is
always making completely different shapes. You can see my lips moving, my mouth opens,
and that's because Standard English is quite a flexible accent. We jump from
these different types of sounds very quickly, and it's very pronounced, it's very clear. So,
that's why you need a flexible mouth. You need to be able to get your mouth around these words,
especially because it's your second, third, or fourth language. You might be fighting against
an accent or maybe habits that make you a little bit harder to understand. So, you have to work
even harder to speak clearly so that people can understand everything that you're saying.
So, try some diction exercises, things like tongue twisters, like "Peter Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers." Now, with a tongue twister, don't just read it: "Peter Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers." That's not going to help you at all. Try to read it like you are reading
to someone who can't hear you. Imagine you are talking to someone and they've got headphones in,
they're like this, and you're trying to talk to them: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers." You should look crazy; you shouldn't look good. This isn't about looking good,
this isn't about looking cool; this is about looking crazy.
I hope all that was useful for you. I have lots of videos on this accent on my channel, so have a
look. Keep practicing, practice makes perfect. Of course it does. Thank you so much for watching. If
you have any questions, leave them in the comments down below. If you would like an English lesson
with me or my partner Bez, the link for that is down below. If you want to follow us on Instagram,
you can do so there. Thank you so much for watching, and we will see you next time. Ta ta!
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