Newsletters
This issue of my newsletter will cover the trilled /r/ and stopped final /t/, as well as offering highlights from my website, and updates on my most recent coaching activities.
Trilling the /r/
When I'm teaching Spanish, Russian, Eastern European, Arabic and other dialects, about one in three clients I work with has trouble trilling (or rolling) an /r/, as in the Spanish word "burro." I've usually managed to teach them relatively easily, but found an excellent approach to this skill by linguist Karen Chung on VASTAVOX, the list-server of the Voice and Speech Trainer's Association (of which I am a card-carrying member). In it, Karen responds to a member who's having trouble learning the trilled /r/. I've reprinted it below, and if it fails you, follow the link below to LINGUIST, where you'll find additional tips:
In this issue I offer links to some very interesting websites that deal with Speech and Dialects.
Karen Steffen Chung is a linguist who teaches at National Taiwan University. Her site, http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/ is full of great resources for people who are learning English as a second language, and people interested in dialects. (Click on 'cancel' when the dialogue box opens if you don't want to load the Chinese characters, then scroll down to the bottom or the page to 'Extras' and 'Language and Lingistics.'
Greetings of the New Year. I hope you've enjoyed your holidays, and are well on the way to keeping all of your New Year's resolutions. If these include learning a new dialect or learning the neutral American accent, this issue of my newsletter will help by teaching you how to warm up some the muscles in your face and get them ready for speaking.