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 #2 (permalink) Wed Feb 14, 2007 14:19 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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I can, but I am not sure whether you would agree with me after you hear me pronauncing it 
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Ahmadov
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| #3 (permalink) Wed Feb 14, 2007 15:31 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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I think the German word for that animal is much harder to pronounce.  |
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Yankee
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| #5 (permalink) Wed Feb 14, 2007 20:48 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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Hi Jamie (K),
How do these Germans pronounce "the" and "three"?
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Englishuser
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| #6 (permalink) Wed Feb 14, 2007 23:10 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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For "the", they usually say [d@] or [z@], but right now I've got a guy who always pronounces it [di].
They generally pronounce "three" as either [tri] or [sri].
Instead of "another", they usually say "an udder", so it's not unusual for them to say something like, "I have an udder." |
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Jamie (K)
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| #7 (permalink) Thu Feb 15, 2007 13:58 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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Hi,
Jamie (K):
| Quote: |
| For "the", they usually say [d@] |
| Quote: |
| They generally pronounce "three" as either [tri] |
Isn't that how many native Londoners pronounce these words nowadays?
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Englishuser
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| #8 (permalink) Thu Feb 15, 2007 15:01 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
For "the", they usually say [d@] or [z@], but right now I've got a guy who always pronounces it [di].
They generally pronounce "three" as either [tri] or [sri].
Instead of "another", they usually say "an udder", so it's not unusual for them to say something like, "I have an udder." |
Hi Jamie,
That's the way most of students pronounce the words in my neck of the woods.
P.S. Many of my friends pronounce the word 'bluetooth' with [z] at the end. |
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| #10 (permalink) Sun Feb 18, 2007 19:40 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
The Germans at a company where I teach English all think that squirrel is the most difficult word to pronounce. It even seems as if they measure someone's English ability partly based on whether or not they can say "squirrel".
This is kind of funny to me, because most of them also can't pronounce "the" and "three" correctly, but that doesn't seem to bother them. |
Hi Jamie,
I think your Germans are not aware of a couple of things:
- When learning a second language I should be aware that this language can contain sounds that don't exist in your mother tongue.
- It will take some training to produce those new sounds.
- Learning to pronounce new words correctly is a bit like exercising in a gym -- it might involve using muscles you haven't used before and coordinating movements of parts of your mouth.
- If you try to sound close to a native speaker, you show my respect and interest not only for the language you're learning but also for the culture and mentality of its speakers. Ignoring the phonetics of that language means you're rather arrogant and don't care much about the way other people think and live.
It's probably impossible to sound like a native speaker right from the start. You also need some training in order to become a safe driver. But if a native speaker is able to produce certain sounds then with a little training you can do the same. Provided you think that a correct pronunciation is important for you.
By the way, I'm sure you have heard Dieter Zetsche, the chairman of DaimlerChrysler speak English. What do you think of his pronunciation? (I remember you telling me something about a German manager's accent but I'm not sure if it was Zetsche.)
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| #11 (permalink) Sun Feb 18, 2007 19:50 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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Englishuser
I've come to understand that many Londoners (And other English folks) have changed the soft "th" to "f":
three = free
think = fink
etc.
As for how I pronounce squirrel:
Skwerl
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Prezbucky
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| #12 (permalink) Sun Feb 18, 2007 20:05 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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Hi Torsten,
You said:
| Quote: |
| If you try to sound close to a native speaker |
Do you?
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| #13 (permalink) Sun Feb 18, 2007 20:06 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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Hi prezbucky,
You wrote:
| Quote: |
I've come to understand that many Londoners (And other English folks) have changed the soft "th" to "f":
three = free
think = fink
etc. |
You are quite right.
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| #14 (permalink) Sun Feb 18, 2007 20:15 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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cool beans
John Terry and Rio Ferdinand (or is it Reo? crap!) come to mind from the Barclay's English Premier League Preview Show or whatever it is.
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Prezbucky
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| #15 (permalink) Sun Feb 18, 2007 20:36 pm Can you pronounce 'squirrel'? |
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| Englishuser wrote: |
Hi Torsten,
You said:
| Quote: |
| If you try to sound close to a native speaker |
Do you?
Englishuser |
Yes, I do try to pronounce English sounds correctly. This is my definition of 'sounding close to a native speaker'. I'm not saying what native speaker I have in mind -- US, Irish, Australian, British, Scottish, you name it. That's not the point. The point is that you should try to pronounce words like 'three', 'another' or 'squirrel' correctly.
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