I Was Singing and Sounded So Good for a Seconded Now I Cant Do It Again
Choir Quips 2 – How to Do an American Accent
Afterwards the last instalment of Choir Quips, I asked my fellow choir members whether there was annihilation they would like to know nigh "singing pronunciations". Simon – one of the basses – replied request:
Can y'all do one on how to sing in an American emphasis?
Delphine (one of the sopranos) seconded this request. So let'south observe out….
We'll be looking at v ways to practice an American accent
The Ts
The LOT Vowel
The Bathroom Vowel
The PRICE Vowel
The Rs
(there'south a surprise for you lot here…)
The Ts
You'll notice that Americans tend to pronounce /t/ sounds in the middle of words (when betwixt vowels) more like a short /d/ sound (or like a Spanish "r" sound)
/t/ turns into voiced alveolar tap [ɾ] (sometimes transcribed equally [t̬]) when syllable final later a vowel sound, /l/, /r/, or /n/ – and before an unstressed weak vowel or syllabic /l/. This is a similar sound to the "r" in Spanish caro.
In the choir, we've been singing the delightful Afternoon Delight past Starland Vocal Band (you may recognise it from the film Anchorman). Heed to the following lyrics and pay attention to the /t/ sound in exci t ing:
And the thought of lovin' you is getting and then exciting
Yous'll notice that the final /t/ in thought is also pronounced like a short /d/ sound. This is because there is a vowel after the /t/ at the beginning of the adjacent word.
The /t/ in getting is actually pronounced with a glottal end. This is stylistic here and isn't unremarkably a feature of Standard American.
When there is no vowel sound after a /t/, then it is unreleased (i.e. you can't hear any air being expelled after the /t/). It may also exist glottally reinforced (i.e. a glottal terminate is made at the aforementioned time). Heed to:
Sky rockets in flight . Afternoon delight
The LOT Vowel
Birdhouse in Your Soul Cover from They Might Be Giants (epitome source)
In choir, we've been singing the brilliantly quirky Birdhouse in Your Soul past They May Exist Giants. Mind to the "o" vowel here:
Though I respect that a lot
I'd exist fired if that were my job
The Bathroom Vowel
Cover for Afternoon Please by Starland Vocal Band (epitome source)
The PRICE Vowel
Listen to the vowel in the following words (recordings from the Oxford English Dictionary): I , f i ne, ins i de, tr ie d
Discover that the vowel is really a diphthong (i.e. a glide from one vowel to another). In contemporary British English it may be transcribed as [ɑj] (or /ʌɪ/ in the Oxford Dictionary). It'due south also a diphthong in Standard American (a.k.a. Full general American).
Embrace ofIslands in the Stream sung by Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton (image source)
Withal, popular music does not take its roots in Standard American, only rather in the accents of the South – particularly those of African-Americans. In the 20thursday century (and perhaps today to some extent) there was a tendency to pronounce this vowel as a monophthong [aː] (Basically monophthong is just ane vowel, diphthong is two).
Listen to this vowel in the following lyrics from Islands in the Stream:
I set out to become y'all with a fine -tooth comb, I was soft in side
Tried Betty Sue, Tried Betty Lou, Tried Mary Sue, But I knew it wouldn't exercise
The R
One big divergence between British and American English, equally many of you may know, is when to pronounce the letter of the alphabet "r". In Standard American English, the letter "r" is pronounced all the time, whereas in British English the "r" is but pronounced if in that location is a vowel sound following it.
For instance, hither are examples of Americans saying fou r , ca r , (popular) singe r (listen to the "r" sounds being pronounced)
Here are examples of Brits saying fou r , ca r , singe r (discover there are no "r" sounds)
This pattern of omitting the "r" when there is no vowel audio following is colloquially referred to every bit dropping the "r".
However, in pop American singing you may hear these "r" sounds beingness dropped – like they are in British English language. Why? Well, considering 20th century American popular civilisation came from places where people dropped the "r" like in the South (particularly from African-Americans) and the N East (particularly New York Metropolis). Note that this r-dropping is variable rather than consequent.
Heed to The Beach Boys sing: Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Babara Ann and non Ba r , Ba r , Ba r , Ba r , Barbara Ann
Mind to Madonna sing just like a praye r , yous know I'll take you lot the re . Notice she does not pronounce the final /r/ sounds in prayer or at that place.
For comparing, hither are recordings of those two words from the Merriam Webster American Lexicon. Yous tin actually hear the /r/ sound:
However, in other songs yous volition hear the /r/ beingness pronounced. For instance listen to the lyricsbrand a petty bi r dhouse in y'all r soul fromBirdhouse in Your Soulby They Might Be Giants:
So the /r/ is variable. It may exist more prominent in certain music genres than others.
Notice that some Brits will add a /r/ sound when one isn't in the spelling. For example, while singing vodka and tonic from the vocal Good day Xanthous Brick Route, Elton John adds a /r/ in the middle: vodka R and tonic.
Lots of people in my choir were adding a /r/ while singing – which is fine for this song. However, most Americans volition not to practice this and it should be avoided if aiming towards an American emphasis.
Listen toit'll take you a couple of vodka (r) and tonics:
Simplified Advice: heed to the genre of music to check if the singers are pronouncing or dropping the /r/ sounds.
Of course, in that location are other aspects that should exist adjusted when moving from a British to an American emphasis – one particularly of import feature is twang , which describes a specific vocalization quality. FYI twang is not the same equally nasality and Americans tend not to be nasal (arguably Brits are more nasal than Americans).
Have you noticed whatever interesting features in American accents? Delight comment below!
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6 Comments
Source: https://improveyouraccent.co.uk/how-to-do-an-american-accent/
I need examples of the British accent beingness more nasal than American accent (!) I would say that it is the opposite!
I call back y'all might be mixing-up nasality with twang. Look into these ii concepts and then heed to some speakers.
How do I know when to pronounce the "bath" type?
There are some patterns, simply really you only have to larn them, I'chiliad agape.
Hi! I similar your web log and detect your work very interesting, existence a linguist at heart myself.
What about the departure betwixt British and American English language in words like "go"?
The vowel in this word (chosen the GOAT vowel) varies a lot throughout the UK and the USA. Some speakers pronounce it as a monophthong, others equally a diphthong. The diphthong may particularly fronted in some speakers. You'll find that some United kingdom and USA speakers pronounce this vowel very similarly, and others very differently. It would need its own blog postal service :)