"warm" and "worm"

I often get asked how to pronounce these two words. Are they the same or different?

They are different. Here is how to pronounce them:

For "worm" say "were" and then add a "m" sound at the end.

for "warm" say "wore" (past tense of wear) and then add an "m" at the end.

So "warm" actually has an "o" sound in it, but "worm" has an "er" sound like the words "her" or " "bird."

Practicing the American Accent with TV scripts

You can find a lot of different film and TV scripts on line. An excellent way to practice your American Accent is to have the script while you are watching the show/movie. That way, you can underline difficult words and sounds and make various marks for melody and intonation.

Pay close attention to how the actors are speaking. Then try to read the lines the same way.

Warning! Certain types of films have a lot of slang and bad words. Be careful about who you imitate. Is the character a gangster or a lawyer? Of course, the language they use would be very different.

The American Accent Videos Are Here!

The videos are available for purchase finally. Go to AccurateEnglish.com and click on the DVD's link.
The video course is called: "The American Accent Course - 50 Rules You Must Know"

There are 4 different videos:
1. Vowels
2. Consonants
3. Rhythm Stress and Intonation
4. Advanced Section

In total, there is more than 4 hours of instruction - all the rules you need to know to speak English with an American accent!

Of course, all four topics are important elements of learning pronunciation/accent reduction. However, I would say that learning the rules of Video 3, rhythm, stress and intonation, is the quickest way to sound more like a native speaker. These topics are almost never discussed in an English classroom.

Once you learn the correct music or melody of English, your speech will sound so much clearer and native-like.

The American Accent Course DVD's

Thank you all for your patience regarding the release of the American Accent Training videos. There have been a few delays related to the production/uploading on the website etc.

The technical side of things often takes longer than expected.

They should be available for purchase in a week or two!!

Check back on the website: accurateenglish.com Send us an email expressing interest, and we will contact you as soon as the videos are available.


Czech quote about language:

Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.

"You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once."

grammar book I recommend

Paulo from Italy wrote and asked which grammar book I recommend. My favorite advanced book is "Understanding and Using English Grammar." by Azar. When I taught at Santa Monica College I often had students buy that book. I love it. I have never found a better grammar book in all my years of teaching.

Go through all of the exercises in it. Make sure you know all the rules. It's a good review for those of you who have been out of school for a while.

As I said in a previous post, people will sometimes think they hear an accent when you are making grammar mistakes. Something about your speech will sound foreign to them.

Pronunciation of "mirror"

Paolo asked:

hi, i'm italian and i have trouble pronouncing "mirror", any suggestion?
paolo

My answer:

There are some words that are hard to pronounce even by native speakers. "Mirror," "horror" and "murderer" are examples. In my opinion, "mirror" rhymes with the word "nearer," but you will hear variations of that in different parts of the US and also depending on whether someone is speaking carefully and clearly or just rushing through a sentence.

Take a look at the link below. A native speaker asked this same question and a lot of people commented on how they say this word. So you see, even Americans hear variations of this word and they wonder which one is correct.

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1044863

American Accent Video

My new American Accent instructional video will finally be available for sale in about a week. Students have been asking me to make one for years. They want to be able to see the mouth movements rather than just hear them on CD. Well, finally it's been done! I think you will like it.

You will be able to either download it or purchase the actual DVD and have it sent to you.
Please check the website: www.accurateenglish.com. It's coming soon.