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Happy lingering…pausing…and being still...
on this, the darkest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.
"The word “solstice” derives from the Latin sol (meaning sun) and statum (stand still) …for two or three days, the sun seems to linger for several minutes in its passage across the sky, before beginning to double back."
--from the beautiful essay by Richard Cohen, "There Goes the Sun"
/ɑ:k ˈtoʊ bər/
the first "o" is shorter and more open: /ɑ/
the second "o" is longer and more closed: /oʊ/
foggy
ˈfɑ: ɡi
foamy
'foʊ mi
astronomy
ə 'strɑ: nə mi
astrophysics
'æs troʊ ˈfɪz ɪks
solitude
ˈsɑ: lɪ tud
solo
ˈsoʊ loʊ
hot chocolate
hɑ:t ˈtʃɑ:k lət
avocado toast
æ və ˈkɑ: doʊ toʊst
robot
roʊ bɑ:t
I hope you have fun playing around with these! Happy October 🍂🍁🕯
In Southern California in the early summer, we often experience what is called ‘June Gloom’.
“The gray, dreary skies you’re waking up to these days are a Southern California phenomenon known as ‘June gloom’. Geography, ocean currents and weather patterns conspire at this time of the year to cause overcast mornings and occasional coastal drizzle.
It’s all part of living with a marine climate. The condition is mostly confined to late spring and early summer. When the phenomenon occurs early, we call it ‘May gray.’ ”
Both of these words are pronounced with the long /u/ sound.
Similar words:
June: cute, tune, use, confuse
Gloom: boot, bloom, soon, room
Wishing you much happiness in 2023!
🧡💕 Elizabeth
Happy Winter Solstice!
Here is a wonderful poem about the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the longest night.
Reading poetry aloud is a great way to practice your speaking: it is slightly more exaggerated and theatrical than every day speech, which stretches us to be more expressive. Listen to the way the actor reads the poem...then, perhaps, try reading a few lines aloud yourself.
"The Shortest Day"
So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen,
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing, behind us — listen!
All the long echoes sing the same delight
This shortest day
As promise wakens in the sleeping land.
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends, and hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year, and every year.
Welcome Yule!
-- Susan Cooper
Where is the stress in the word "Thanksgiving"?
Here's an interesting thing: the primary stress is in the middle of the word on 'give' (not at the beginning), and the secondary stress is at the beginning, on 'thanks'.
So...we say
Wishing you and yours a beautiful Thanksgiving day!
Elizabeth
I often recommend singing songs as a way to practice. There are 3 reasons that this song is particularly great for practicing English speech patterns:
It is spoken!
The language is fun and exaggerated, so you can really lean into the shape and feel of it.
It has a strong rhythm and lots of rhymes (night & sight, lab & slab, rise & surprise, mash, smash & flash…).
Listen to it once, and then try speaking it aloud :) Have fun! 🎃
I was working in the lab, late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab, began to rise
And suddenly to my surpriseHe did the monster mash
(The monster mash) It was a graveyard smash
(He did the mash) It caught on in a flash
(He did the mash) He did the monster mashFrom my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodesThey did the monster mash
(The monster mash) It was a graveyard smash
(They did the mash) It caught on in a flash
(They did the mash) They did the monster mashThe zombies were having fun (Wa hoo, tennis shoe)
The party had just begun (Wa hoo, tennis shoe)
The guests included Wolfman, Dracula and his son
The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, 'The Crypt-Kicker Five'They did the monster mash
(The monster mash) It was a graveyard smash
(They did the mash) It caught on in a flash
(They did the mash) They did the monster mashOut from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist and said
"Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?It's now the monster mash
(The monster mash) And it's a graveyard smash
(It's now the mash) It's caught on in a flash
(It's now the mash) It's now the monster mashNow everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my Monster Mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent youThen you can monster mash
(The monster mash) And do my graveyard smash
(Then you can mash) You'll catch on in a flash
(Then you can mash) Then you can monster mash
Do you know how to correctly pronounce the word labor? Let's take it apart:
How many syllables are there?
There are 2 syllables: LA - BOR
Which syllable is stressed?
LA is the stressed syllable
Can you break it into separate sounds?
1st sound: LAY
2nd sound: BRR
Then put it back together:
First, practice the 2 parts of the word separately a few times:
LAY - brr
Then, say the word slowly:
LAbor
Try it in a sentence:
We went camping over Labor Day weekend.
Remember that 'bor' is reduced to the sound 'brrr' when it's unstressed.
Compare:
Stressed: BORN, BORing, BORed
Unstressed: LAbor, DOCtor, SENator
sailor
SAY ler
flavor
FLAY ver
mirror
MIH rer
Hi everyone,
I hope you're having a lovely summer!
I came across a couple of fun videos of Trevor Noah (comedian, Daily Show host and master of many accents) talking about his favorite accents to do, and shortcuts he recommends when learning a language (he speaks 8!).
I wanted to share them with you because I love his advice and totally agree with it.
Enjoy 🌞
"If you want to learn languages, there are 2 things you have to understand. One, language is mostly about rhythm... and two, you have to be willing to be an idiot to learn a new language."
(from 0:43)
Funny exchange between Trevor and a French member of the audience re "work" vs. "walk" (from 10:40).
Did you work there, or did you walk there? 😜
In the word solstice, the first syllable SOL
is pronounced like
soul
or
sole
The final L sound is what is sometimes called a 'syllabic L'
The syllabic L sounds like this: /əl/
It is formed by gliding from the schwa sound /ə/ to /l/
Practice saying the whole word slowly, like this:
'so əl · stəs
The word solstice comes from the Latin words for sun (sol) and to stand (sistere), because at the solstices, the Sun's declination appears to "stand still"; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.
In this phrase, the main stress is on the second word:
Happy new year!
It’s a beautiful fall day…
Take your time, and linger on each stressed vowel (beau, all, ay)
Let your intonation be higher on 'beautiful', then let it gradually go down a little more on 'fall', and then land on 'day'. Give some tone and time to the last word 'day', so we really feel the end of the phrase there.
The word quarantine can be a little confusing to say.
The dominant stress is on the first syllable, and the secondary stress is on the last syllable. Not everyone says it in exactly the same way, but this is the general pattern:
ˈkwɔɹ ən ̩tin
or
ˈkwor un ̩teen
say the first syllable like “quarter”
say the last syllable like ‘thirteen’
Historical Tidbit
The word quarantine comes from the Italian "quaranta giorni", meaning "forty days". During the Black Death plague epidemic in the 14th-15th centuries, all ships arriving in Venice were required to be isolated for 40 days before anyone could go ashore.
ˈsoʊʃəli ˈdɪstənt
pʌmpkɪn pætʃ ˈpɪkɪŋ
'hɔːrər muːvi 'draɪv-ɪns
hɔntɪd 'kɑr wɑʃ
ˌaʊtˈdɔr vɪkˈtɔriən ˈmɔrnɪŋ fer
Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do
“Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called ‘Yellow’
So, then, I took my turn
Oh, what a thing to’ve done
And it was all yellow
Your skin
Oh, yeah, your skin and bones
Turn it into something beautiful
And you know
You know I love you so
You know I love you so
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh, what a thing to do
Cause you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh, what a thing to do
And it was all yellow”
Many of my clients are fast talkers. If you naturally speak quickly, it can be hard to slow down.
"But people ask me to repeat myself--I hate that!"
Let's look at 3 easy tools that will help you to slow down strategically and be understood no matter what, without losing any of your personality or flair.
1. Use more tone on stressed syllables
2. Stretch word endings at the end of phrases
“Ah, It feels so good to stretch...”
3. Pause between thought groups
A cup of black coffee / a bowl of fresh fruit / and a warm croissant. // Perfect breakfast!
clothes = kloʊz
Say it the same way you would say "Close the door".
Please close the door while I try on these clothes.
I love this kid's clothes!
(The sounds /ɑ/ and /ɔ/ are pronounced the same in the West Coast variety of American English).
thought
/thɔt/
He thought about it all afternoon.
brought
/brɔt/
She brought watermelon to the picnic.
fought
/fɔt/
Princess Leia fought valiantly.
