Goals for Students of English Pronunciation
Underlying Pronunciation Goals of English Speakers
Things to Remember
When you are studying English pronunciation, it is important to remember the typical underlying goals of English speakers. That is, to be:
→ clear
→ efficient
If you as an English language student and speaker can remember that being clear and efficient are behind all of the rules of English pronunciation, this will help you to understand why English speakers do what they do.
1) Clear
In English conversations, it is not the job of the listener to make a strong effort to understand the speaker.
The burden is on the speaker to be clear.
This is why we
stress our content words
and
when we speak.
The listener can clearly hear the content words that express the meaning of the communication.
Example
If a baby or young child says to his mother,
“Mommy! Thirsty!”
Mommy doesn’t need to hear the full sentence “I am thirsty” or “I want a glass of water” because the adjective “thirsty” was all that was needed to get the message across.
2) Efficient
“Efficient” means that English speakers don’t waste time. They say the most they can in the shortest amount of time, while remaining clear.
English speakers de-stress their function words, because function words don’t need to be said very clearly for the message to get across to the listener (as explained above).
So, the English speaker can say more in a shorter amount without losing the ability to express the message clearly.
Reminder
Remember, when you seek to improve your pronunciation and when you learn pronunciation rules as taught on Elemental English, your goal should never be to sound like a perfect, native English speaker. Elemental English pronunciation lessons seek to help you speak with:
→ clarity
→ confidence
And to help you improve your English listening skills.
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