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[Raoul F. Duke]

Thanks I guess to a big heart and an even bigger mouth, I seem to be on the hook to do some accent-reduction work with Father John Choorackunnel, Chaplain at one of our big Cat'lic hospitals. He hails originally from India, learned English from school (not in his home), and has been many years in the USA.

His English USAGE (grammar, vocab, syntax and other such fripperies) is flawless; no doubt probably better than that of many Tulsa locals.

His English PRONUNCIATION, however, is almost completely impenetrable. It's very hard to understand much of what he's saying. He pinch-hits our Masses when our resident priests are called away, and it's quite possible I made this offer out of self-defense hoping to never sit through another of his garbled yet full-length sermons.

So...he doesn't need to learn English, he just needs to learn to say it better. I think this has been something of a long-term problem for him and his career, because he fairly leapt at the offer when I discreetly extended it. I suspect it may also kind of keep him isolated from interacting much wit de homeys.

Anyone done work like this? I think I have some ideas on how to approach it, but would love ideas and suggestions if anyone knows how this is done.

Thanks!
(I hope, anyway, ya ungrateful heathen bastards ya. )

[old34]

My students find this website useful for practicing pronunciation:

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#

[Raoul F. Duke]

Thanks as always, Lao San!
That site is cool. I can sure see Chinese students loving it!
One thing I suspect after hearing Fr. John tonight...I think his problem may be more accenture than pronunciation of sounds...

[George]

My Fair Lady! Follow the instructions............yer might even straighten out your own accent.

[fullricebowl]

My students find this website useful for practicing pronunciation:

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#

Really nice website. My students will definitely appreciate this

[AMonk]

One thing I suspect after hearing Fr. John tonight...I think his problem may be more accenture than pronunciation of sounds...

I agree.  The difficulty with many Eastern folk - Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, etc - that I hear is where they place the emphasis in the words that they speak.  If they were talking in their native tongues, it would sound right, but English is usually different.

What if you initially worked on one of his sermons with your good Father?  Go over it and help him to deliver it in an English-listener-friendly fashion?

[Raoul F. Duke]

Thanks, Bunny.

If they were talking in their native tongues, it would sound right, but English is usually different.

Makes sense. We probably ALL tend to do that with foreign languages.

I'm considering things like letting him read sentences I say, and mark the accents on the paper as I read.

Then, start giving him sentences with no read-aloud, and let him marks where he thinks the emphases should be.

At the same time, I want to have us both record sentences, then play them back and try to help him learn to hear the differences.

I guess these sound OK, but have to admit I'm talking out my ass here. I know nothing really about how to do this, beyond the pronunciation stuff like what I did in China. He'p me please!



Och, nae, I'll nayd ta craik like Groonskipper Wullie aroon' 'im frae noo on...

[AMonk]

At the same time, I want to have us both record sentences, then play them back and try to help him learn to hear the differences.

That may work.  But do beware - my British friend's son had a Southern US teacher who couldn't understand why he was talking about Math (sym/metry) in a Social Studies class discussion on burial rites and cem/etries. She genuinely could not distinguish the difference!

[Calach Pfeffer]

The Linguist List - Accent

Aside from pointing out some of the (actually really interesting) motivation issues in changing an accent, they also suggest what seems like an interesting method, suitable for use with a teacher or alone as an interested and computer-literate priest:

Here is what is recommended as a method by one of our panelists, Suzette Hayden Elgin. If you do this, it is best to choose recordings of someone of your own gender.:

I suggest the following procedure, which has worked very well for many people:
1. Get a cassette tape of someone who speaks English with the accent that you would like to have, at least twenty minutes long.
2. Listen to the entire tape all the way through once or twice, just to become familiar with its content. Don't write it down or try to memorize it.
3. Listen to a brief sequence -- just a sentence or two. Rewind the tape to the beginning of that sentence.
4. Say the sentence aloud _with_ the tape. Don't repeat it after the tape as is done in traditional foreign language courses -- speak with the speaker. Don't worry about making mistakes, just do your best to speak simultaneously with the speaker.
5. Rewind to the beginning of the sentence and do this again, several times. (Ten times is not too many.)
6. Move to the next sentence and do the same thing.
7. Continue until you've worked your way through the whole tape speaking with your chosen model speaker.
The amount of time it takes for this to yield good results varies from one individual to another, depending on many factors. I'd suggest working in at least fifteen minute sessions and at least three days each week. When you become so familiar with the tape that you know it by heart or you're so bored with it that you can't stand it, choose a different tape that uses the same accent and repeat the process. Be careful not to work with any one tape so long that you start sounding as if you were trying to do an impersonation of the speaker.

(it's easier to read at the link)

[Raoul F. Duke]

AM...Yes, I know. It's why I only went as far as "try." I encountered the problem many times in China.

CP... Thanks, good stuff. I need to pick up a cheapo microphone and then I can record sound files for him. Don't forget, I am The Living Avatar of World Standard English^TM, so I can't imagine that he wouldn't want to talk like me.

[Calach Pfeffer]

AM...Yes, I know. It's why I only went as far as "try." I encountered the problem many times in China.

CP... Thanks, good stuff. I need to pick up a cheapo microphone and then I can record sound files for him. Don't forget, I am The Living Avatar of World Standard English^TM, so I can't imagine that he wouldn't want to talk like me.

In a pinch you could record sound on a cell phone and transfer it to a computer or ipod.

Audio books might be interesting too.

Song of Ice and Fire and Beyond Good and Evil.

Entertaining and educational.

[xwarrior]

From an amateur standing on the sidelines:

1. An eminent philo.. something once said something like, 'If you sound the 'finals' (final sound) of every word I will be able to understand you, even if you have a strong accent and mispronounce words. If you do not sound the finals I will not be able to understand anything.'
It makes a huge difference and it does not take long for my Chinese students to get the idea.

2. Most Indian speakers I have come across speak at 100mph and this sure does not help the listener. Get them to slow down - right down - so they get a chance to enunciate some of the words. I have not tried it, but I think getting them to read slowly to a metronome might help.

3. We are not used to the high pitch of many Indian speakers and I wonder if this leads to the sing-song effect of many. Maybe getting them to drop an octave (?) could lead to a more flattened diction.

4. I do not think teaching 'stress' of words in isolation is the way to go; too many exceptions to too many rules. Making them aware of the way we stress (and stretch) some words, and use pauses, should help. Getting them to read aloud using those 2 effects should lead to some improvement.     

5. Many have a rising inflection at the end of sentences that would shame a NZ female. Eliminating this would get them nearer to the goal.

I found it impossible to understand an Indian businessman living in our town until I realised that every second word he uttered was a swear word.

     
   

[George]

How about singing lessons? Have you noticed that many Non- native English speakers can sing perfectly well, but revert to their accents when they speak? ABBA springs to mind. Their songs are in perfect English, but they all speak with heavy accents.

I am The Living Avatar of World Standard EnglishTM, so I can't imagine that he wouldn't want to talk like me.

  chortle....smirk...snigger

[Raoul F. Duke]

I am The Living Avatar of World Standard EnglishTM, so I can't imagine that he wouldn't want to talk like me.

  chortle....smirk...snigger

Yeah, I know. You're chuffed because I thought to claim the title first.

[George]

chuffed

?? I think yer using chuffed in the wrong context Cheef, so you can't be The Living Avatar. Yer a fake!!