Hi!
Yesterday you learned about words with similar sounds in the English language.
Today’s tip is ALWAYS to pay attention to the “music” of English.
What’s the “music” of English?
It is the rhythm of stress (“strong” syllables and “weak” syllables) in words and sentences.
You probably already know that individual English words have a strong syllable:
- Eng lish – stress on the first syllable
- im prove – stress on the second syllable
- pro nun ci a tion – stress on the fourth syllable
If you get the word stress wrong, the word can sound completely different and the other person might not understand you! This is why it’s very important to use correct stress.
Also, for some English words, their meaning changes when the stress is different:
- ob ject (noun) = a thing, an item
- ob ject (verb) = to disagree, to speak up against an idea
Now… did you know that complete sentences ALSO have stress?
We don’t say each word in the sentence equally, like a robot!
Consider this sentence:
- “Last Saturday, I went to a party on the beach with my friends.“
When spoken naturally, the stress is on the words Saturday, went, party, beach, & friends.
In the American English Pronunciation Course, I teach you how to identify the strong syllables and words – with lots and lots of practice exercises.
When you join right now, you can get a 50% discount. (No discount code needed… the price is already set to be 50% off!)
Tomorrow’s tip, if you put it in action, will help you speak faster and more continuously. Don’t miss it 🙂
