http://www.hansencommlab.com<br />http://www.englishpronunciationcourse.com<br /><br />Speak Global English Video Series<br />Part 7:<br />Clarifying Your Consonants <br /><br />In order to be understood by everyone, everywhere, every time you speak, you need to make sure that your consonant sounds are clear.<br /><br />What are consonants? Well, everything other than the vowels! And what are the vowels? A-E-I-O-U (and sometimes Y). So right now we're talking about everything else.<br /><br />Every consonant sound needs to be unique. That means that Rs cannot sound like Ls, Vs cannot sound like Ws, Bs and Ps, Ds and Ts, Gs and Ks -- they all need to have their own sounds.<br /><br />Many consonants sounds get confused because we use our voices incorrectly. It's true! Think about the sounds for P and B. We make them in almost identical ways. The only difference is that we use our voice to make the B sound, whereas we have no voice, but a lot of air, when we make the P sound:<br />/p/ and /b/<br /><br />There are many more pairs like this: T and D, K and G, S and Z, F and V, plus the sounds ZH and SH, J and CH, and the THs DH and TH. <br /><br />So be careful when and how you use your voice, and keep your consonants clear and unique.<br /><br />If you'd like more help clarifying your consonants, sign up for my Free, 8-part pronunciation short course at http://www.EnglishPronunciationCourse.com.
