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Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

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Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#161

Post by stouset »

anadalakra wrote: post #155
Dfiesl wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A word of note: In British English "color" is spelt "colour"

I'm based in the US, where it's spelled without the "u". Quite a few examples of this spelling difference - humo(u)r, behavio(u)r etc. Oh and "spelt" is "spelled". Isn't English fun! :)

Even weirder, as a Native American English speaker, I would have spelt that word this way in only this context, but in other contexts it’s spelled this way.

Maybe this is my own idiosyncrasy though and not what others would do. I’ve never even thought about it until just now.

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#162

Post by Gabriel54 »

anadalakra wrote: post #119

As a non-native English speaker, the "randomness" of English pronunciation has been a source of frustration for me for many years. I realized there are two types of issues: 1. Some sounds in English don't exist in other languages and you have to learn them "from scratch". For example the "flap T" in butter. Or the particular American "r" (constrast it to the Spanish rolled r for instance). 2. Certain sounds I DID kno…

Or, if you are from New York / New Jersey, the correct pronunciation is 'budder'. :)

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#163

Post by guu »

anadalakra wrote: post #148
woobar wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't find any pricing information on your website. Even FAQ tab labeled "Pricing" has zero info. Do I have to signup to find out? [1] https://www.boldvoice.com/frequently-asked-questions

Hey, thanks for your interest in checking out the app :) Weird that you don't see the Pricing info on that page - did you tap "Pricing" at the top bar, and then tap the first question "How much does BoldVoice cost?" Either way, the app costs $150/year or $25/month (or your local equivalent). We have a free 7-day trial so you can try it before you commit.

There's a bug on the page. If your screen width is wider than portrait tablet size the first question is not rendered.

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#164

Post by ehnto »

bafe wrote: post #100
tarkin2 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In fact, I find it strange when Germans, for example, have a 'perfect British accent'. Even I would say it's perfect. Problem is, no one speaks like that... except the Germans. It also goes with grammatical accuracy as well. If any German, or Nordic etc, says "With whom were you speaking" it marks them as a foreigner instantly.

There's something slightly irritating about German or Dutch people trying very hard to have that perfect British accent. I can't really tell why, but it always seems affected and pretentious. I much prefer the "wooden" (Holzern in German) accent of the Swiss

Your opinion is common in language learning it seems, as most people praise a perfect accent but some get very offended by it.

I couldn't tell you why, maybe it's a feeling of lack of authenticity?

I find it impressive when someone has acquired a good accent personally since it's quite difficult to do.

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#165

Post by modeless »

throwaway447 wrote: post #137
modeless wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BoldVoice looks cool, are you planning other languages? Personally I'm learning Mandarin.

https://www.viki.com/categories/country/mainland-china/genre...

Haha there's one about a "genius programmer", maybe not a terrible idea for listening practice.

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#166

Post by markdown »

idoubtit wrote: post #96
inanutshellus wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

aaand that reminds me of "Torpenhow Hill". > When the Saxons arrived and asked the Welsh the name of that hill, the Welsh said “pen” which means "hill" in Welsh. So the Saxons used their word for hill, “tor,” and called it Torpen (hill hill). > > Then the Norse arrived and the same process added the their world for hill “Haugr”. So now it was Torpen Haugr (Hill Hill Hill). > > Later, the English called it Torpenhow H…

This is a fun hoax that was invented 70 years ago, in 1953. It was debunked at least 20 years ago, but it's still more popular than facts. There is a Tarpenhow place in the UK, but it has no hill. So Tarpenhow hill does not exist . No mention of Norse either in the Oxford Concise Dictionary which describes the word as "Torr pen", top of the hill, from the Welsh "pen", and Old English "hoh", ridge.

I really enjoyed that, so will you kindly cease and desist from ruining a wonderful story with facts.

How am I supposed to delight my friends by telling the tale of the Hill Hill Hill Hill if people insist on ruining it by correcting me?

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#167

Post by anadalakra »

Gabriel54 wrote: post #162
anadalakra wrote: post #119

As a non-native English speaker, the "randomness" of English pronunciation has been a source of frustration for me for many years. I realized there are two types of issues: 1. Some sounds in English don't exist in other languages and you have to learn them "from scratch". For example the "flap T" in butter. Or the particular American "r" (constrast it to the Spanish rolled r for instance). 2. Certain sounds I DID kno…

Or, if you are from New York / New Jersey, the correct pronunciation is 'budder'. :)

Yep, exactly! That's called a "flap T/D" in linguistics.

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#168

Post by anadalakra »

technothrasher wrote: post #159
anadalakra wrote: post #119

As a non-native English speaker, the "randomness" of English pronunciation has been a source of frustration for me for many years. I realized there are two types of issues: 1. Some sounds in English don't exist in other languages and you have to learn them "from scratch". For example the "flap T" in butter. Or the particular American "r" (constrast it to the Spanish rolled r for instance). 2. Certain sounds I DID kno…

> Or the particular American "r" I'm a native English speaker and I also have trouble with the American ah. I grew up near Boston.

Haha, you'd be surprised how many Bostonians we have on our app exactly for this, although we made this for ESL speakers...

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#169

Post by Swizec »

bsimpson wrote: post #46
narag wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not an English name. It's the name of a spanish river. Wad is river in Arabic. They pronounce it correctly. It's common that foreign words are adopted and adapted to the host language, but sometimes, specially if they're names, the original pronounciation lingers.

San Francisco is famously a hodgepodge of Spanish-looking names with canonical hybrid pronunciations. - Divisadero: duh viz uh derro - Arguello: are goo-ell o - San Rafael: san ruff ell - Tomales: tuh mal es - Gough: gawff (not Spanish, but still surprising)

Gough is pronounced like cough. Not that surprising, just a very old way of spelling

Re: Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation

#170

Post by anadalakra »

guu wrote: post #163
anadalakra wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, thanks for your interest in checking out the app :) Weird that you don't see the Pricing info on that page - did you tap "Pricing" at the top bar, and then tap the first question "How much does BoldVoice cost?" Either way, the app costs $150/year or $25/month (or your local equivalent). We have a free 7-day trial so you can try it before you commit.

There's a bug on the page. If your screen width is wider than portrait tablet size the first question is not rendered.

Oh, you're right! Fixed it, thanks!
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