Young Writers Society

I've been trying to fix up my speech a bit lately...you know, so I don't sound like a sailor-turned-cowpoke lol. Here are two resources to help you sound professional...and, well-spoken.

http://www.pbs.org/speak/=Do You Speak American?

A nice site, helps identify/blend your accent and has a mispronunciations guide. Even if you're from somplace else, it is definitely a site to check out.

There Is No Zoo in Zoology (And Other Beastly Mispronunciations), by Charles Harrington Elster

Great book. Fun to read, as well...not like you're fighting through it or anything.

Interested in the roots of English? Two books that I have on the subject...

The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way, by Billy Bryson

Another good one. Very funny, informative...the works. Tells about hwo they think the first languages formed up until modern day 'yo, dude' and technology jargon.

The Story Of English, by Robert McCrum, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil

This one was slightly slower, not as good as The Mother Tongue, but still very interesting to read.

I recommend these because if they fit within my attention span and held my interest, they probably will satisfy everyone. lol. Enjoy. (the mother of all oxymorons, you're thinking...har har)

I are not needin' no speekin' help.

lol

im okay at speaking, except i pronounce words, like, weird, and people sometimes make fun of me. Like, in my school, when someone says "girl" they say it like "gir-rul" whereas i say "gurl" (phoenetically, of course) and people say i speak all American and I'm all "what the--"

I have pretty standard speech, compared relatively to the people who live nearby to me.

I do however, drop the 't' in words such as "later" sometimes. So you might hear me say "lait-er" instead of "late-er" with the distinct 't' sound. Er...I also say some words strange...trying to think of examples....anyway the Manchester dialect is broadish and sounds pretty "common" compared to the rest of England (especially the south.)

Dont make a full of the south, its not our faults we talk so posh O.o

I used to talk very posh like, intead of going 'Don't' I went 'Do not' But that was how I was raised, but I have this thing about using long words, and it takes me a while to learn a new one, as I cant say it.. And I do get made fun of alot because I cant say alot of things. That also makes it hard when I read, though I am good at reading in my head.. Its like i can say the word in my head, but not out of my mouth.. O.o

But now Im in scotland so they use different words.. Its funneh I HATE SOUNDING SO DEAD POSH!! argh..

My problem with speaking is mostly when it comes to words ending with ing cuz i'll drop the g sometimes and when I say asked it sounds like I'm saying a**ed. LOL!! I also have a problem with big words. LOL!

I often have the urge to say lol out loud in normal conversations. I think I spend too long on the internet though. It took my brother a while to master aluminium and any words with such ending. This was when he was fifteen in case you pictured me teaching a 2 year old brother longs words.

My father says "boof" when he means "booth"
"birf" when he means "birth"
"earf" when he means "earth" and so on.
And he says "geetar" when he means "guitar."

Firestarter wrote:
I do however, drop the 't' in words such as "later" sometimes. So you might hear me say "lait-er" instead of "late-er" with the distinct 't' sound. Er...I also say some words strange...trying to think of examples....anyway the Manchester dialect is broadish and sounds pretty "common" compared to the rest of England (especially the south.)

Your english you have an excuse! ah well my boyfriend is from Islington, or more he lives there now, so he rubs off on me so I speak kinda wierd after talking with him on the phone, like a hybrid speech of California/Islington speech, its wierd I tell ya.

im in the midlands but my bf says i have a southern accent which sorta makes sense
cause i was born in dorset but then he used to live near manchester so pretty much
everyone has gotta sound southern to him i reckon...

did anyone else have to have speech therapy? i taught myself to read at 3 but i was
still mispronouncing words i.e. lellow instead of yellow etc when i was 7 or 8 i think...

I needed speech therapy. I never really taked much and I repeated stuff others said and I had to have speech therapy at 3 1/2. I'm okay now though.

guess what.. I can't speak or speech normal because they get eaten up by me.. you see, I swallow words ..That's why some always ask me: 'Ki monster ei?' aka 'What monster is that?'
xxx Xia xxx

Robert McCrum

LMAO sorry that is a funny name... "HI I'm bob mccrum!!!"

Anyway I have a lisp, that is it, i slur words that's it and i'm from the south....

i dun need no helping with my englich ya hur?

I am proud of my america speak. I dun got me some lernin up at duh edumacatorium, being a fully valid and understandable sentance, is part of the american language. I speak american, not English.

QiGuaiGongFu wrote:I speak american, not English.

You rock, Qi. That's my phrase.

Jack, I'm sure your accent is cute lol.