Friday 22 June 2012

PRINCIPLES FOR MORE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION FOR NON NATIVE SPEAKERS


Clarity is more important than accent
Non-native English speakers think that in order to be better understood, they need to lose their accent and adopt the accent of the native English speakers around them. This is unnecessary. What is really important is that we speak with clarity so that the listeners understand every word we say. so we engage in clear and effective communication using proper pronunciation techniques without having to resort to artificial accents. Keep in mind that your pronunciation does not have to be exactly the same as that of native speakers, as long as it is clear and easy to understand.

The Music of Language
The Key to Pronunciation and Accent Reduction. “The trick to speaking English with clarity and impact understands the melody and rhythm that is specific to English, but differs in other languages.





Pronunciation Principles
The three main components of pronunciation are sounds, word stress, and intonation.

Sounds
Pronunciation refers to the way you produce individual sounds and combinations of sounds. If you are a non-native English speaker, the way you tend to sound out some consonants and vowels may be different from the way Standard English sounds are pronounced.

Word Stress
The most common error that non-native English speakers commit is to put the emphasis on the wrong syllables or on the wrong words. The syllable that is stressed is said to carry the primary stress. If the word stress pattern is changed, many native English speakers will not understand what is being said. To further complicate matters for non-native speakers of English, the primary stress can change between words derived from the same base.

Intonation
Variation in pitch when speaking is called intonation. Whether the voice rises or falls or remains flat depends upon the meaning, and especially the feeling the speaker wants to convey. For example, there are specific intonation patterns for expressing surprise, boredom, irony, delight, and sadness.

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