When you take a pronunciation or accent reduction class your instructor will teach you lots of new vocabulary to explain the pronunciation features that you must learn. Here is a mini pronunciation glossary with words that I taught the students in my accent reduction classes this month.
1. Reduced speech-The relaxed pronunciation of commonly used words and phrases that American English speakers use when talking to each other.
2. Schwa- A reduced vowel sound that sounds like “uh”. The schwa sound is used to represent the vowel sounds in many unstressed syllables. The IPA symbol for schwa is /ə/.
3. Thought Groups-Groups of words that go together to express an idea or thought. English speakers use pauses and a low pitch at the end of a thought group.
4. Voiced sounds-Sounds made with the vocal chords vibrating such as /d/ & /z/.
5. Voiceless sounds-Sounds made without the vibration of the vocal chords such as /t/ & /s/.
If you want to know more about the terms used in accent reduction and pronunciation classes heck out this nice pronunciation glossary from English Club.
Tags: Accent Reduction Classes, american accent, online accent reduction, online american english pronunciation, pronunciation glossary, schwa sound, thought groups
