http://americanspeechsounds.com/index.htmlPlay the contest for a chance to win free Speechcom Software!enwebmaster@americanspeechsounds.comCopyright 2008 Speechcom, Inc.2008-11-01T09:33:47-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:35:53 -0400webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comNone2008-11-01T09:33:47-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/page12.html#unique-entry-id-20http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/page12.html#unique-entry-id-20Congratulations!

Vowel sounds can be especially challenging to pronounce for non-native speakers. The vowel sound YU, as in “cute,” may be considered its own sound or two sounds: Y plus the U sound as in “blue.” The point is—there is a Y sound before the U.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which words below have this YU sound?

beautiful
communicate
contribute
continue
few
menu
usual
view

To submit, fill type in your email address and answer, then hit the submit button!

Your E-Mail Address:


Your Answer:

Please tell us how you found Speechcom:
please select
search engine
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from a friend
fowarded email
other

Submit your answer by November 30th, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.



All correct entries are entered in our drawing. Please, just one entry per person . . .

Visit us in December for the next contest!

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comNone2008-10-01T10:51:16-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/oct-2008#unique-entry-id-19http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/oct-2008#unique-entry-id-19Congratulations!

It's fall! Another word for fall is “autumn”--pronounced AH tuhm. The N is “silent”--there is no ending N sound.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Email us any word that has a silent N. (Hint: Several words, like autumn, ending with the letter -mn have silent N sounds.)



]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comNone2008-09-01T12:36:24-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/sep-2008#unique-entry-id-18http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/sep-2008#unique-entry-id-18Congratulations!

When it comes to pronunciation, English spelling can be misleading. Each vowel sound may be spelled several different ways. Some consonant letters have several different pronunciations. Some letters are “silent”--that is, not pronounced at all.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

What sound do these three words share? (You may want to look at a dictionary.)

people
machine
suite

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comNone2008-08-04T11:06:40-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/aug-2008#unique-entry-id-17http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/aug-2008#unique-entry-id-17Congratulations!

Some words have “silent” consonants. That means the sound is not pronounced. For example, we don’t pronounce the T in “mortgage” or the L in “would.”

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Each of these words has a silent letter. What 3-letter word results from these
three silent letters?

wrist
rose
debt

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comNone2008-07-01T09:16:01-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jul-2008#unique-entry-id-16http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jul-2008#unique-entry-id-16
Each American English vowel sound may be spelled many different ways. That is why it is important to listen carefully to how a word is pronounced and not depend on the spelling to know how to pronounce it.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

With summer here, our thoughts turned to the sports involved. If Kate is a sailor and plays baseball and John plays soccer, by matching the vowel sounds, pair these names of people to their sport.

1. Susie a. swimming and gymnastics
2. Linda b. tennis
3. Issac c. canoeing and scuba diving
4. Ben d. biking and hiking

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2008-06-01T09:30:45-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jun-2008#unique-entry-id-15http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jun-2008#unique-entry-id-15Congratulations!

Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your fingers to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “summer” “su”-1, “mmer”-2. Two, right? If you tap just the way you say it, you will notice that the first tap is louder/longer than the second or third—that means the first syllable is stressed: “SU-mmer.”

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which words below have two syllables with stress on the first syllable?
Careful, don’t let the spelling mislead you . . . ;)

business
chocolate
history
open
umbrella
vacation


]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2008-05-01T08:28:01-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/may-2008#unique-entry-id-14http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/may-2008#unique-entry-id-14Carol Ezovski of San Jose, CA – Congratulations!

Many English words have more than one accepted pronunciation.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Are these words acceptable when pronounced more than one way?

often—with a T and without a T sound
either—with an EE (as in grEEn) and with an AI (as in whIte)
exit—with a KS and with a GZ
February—with an R and without an R sound
Internet—with a T sound in the middle and without a T sound in the middle


]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2008-04-01T20:23:53-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/apr-2008#unique-entry-id-13http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/apr-2008#unique-entry-id-13Carol Ezovski of San Jose, CA – Congratulations!

It’s April! "April" is pronounced with the AY, or "long a" vowel sound, as in "gray." This sound may be spelled many different ways. It may be spelled with:
-a, as in lazy
-ai, as in main
-au, as in gauge
-ea, as in great
-eigh, as in weigh
-ey, as in hey
-et, as in ballet

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which word(s) are pronounced with the AY sound, as is in "May"?

okay
favorite
aunt
sweat
valet
eight
keys

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2008-03-01T09:00:00-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/mar-2008#unique-entry-id-12http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/mar-2008#unique-entry-id-12The January contest winner is Elena Mendoza of Mexico City – Congratulations!

March ends with a CH sound. However, not all words that are spelled with the letters CH are pronounced with this CH sound. Some are pronounced SH, as in "chef"; some are pronounced K, as in "character."

Now, Here’s the Contest!

How many of these words has this CH sound?

mustache
Chevrolet
choose
child
echo
]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2008-02-01T09:39:00-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/feb-2008#unique-entry-id-11http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/feb-2008#unique-entry-id-11The January contest winner is Elena Mendoza of Mexico City – Congratulations!

The letters TH are usually pronounced with one of two TH sounds. One is voiced as in “this”; the other is unvoiced as in “think.” However, a few words in English that are spelled with TH are pronounced with T.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which of these TH words are pronounced with a T sound?

Thailand
Thanksgiving
than
there
thermometer
these
Thomas
thousand
throat

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2008-01-02T08:58:00-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jan-2008#unique-entry-id-10http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jan-2008#unique-entry-id-10October's contest was Rita Alarcon of Westminster, CA – Congratulations!

Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your hand to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “January.” Four, right? “jan-u-a-ry.” Again, tap your fingers when you say “January.” You’ll notice that the first tap is louder and longer than the others. That means the first syllable is stressed: JAN-u-a-ry.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

It’s the beginning of a new year. Count one point for each syllable in these words relating to beginnings. Then add the number of the stressed syllable in the word. For example, “begin” has 2 syllables and the second syllable is stressed so it has 4 points. Find the word with the highest points.

beginning
commencement
inaugurate
initiate
originate
pioneering


]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2007-12-01T09:08:45-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/dec-2007#unique-entry-id-9http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/dec-2007#unique-entry-id-9 – Congratulations!

Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your hand to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “December.” Three, right? “de-cem-ber.” Again, tap your fingers when you say “December.” You’ll notice that the second tap is louder and longer than the others. That means the second syllable is stressed: de CEM ber.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

It’s the end of the year. Count one point for each syllable in these words. Then add the number of the stressed syllable in the word. For example, “final” has 2 syllables and the first syllable is stressed so it has 3 points. (2+1=3). Find two words with the same number of points.

conclusion
complete
completion
culmination
deadline
expiration
finish
termination

]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2007-10-01T10:26:48-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/oct-2007#unique-entry-id-8http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/oct-2007#unique-entry-id-8In casual conversation, we sometimes don’t pronounce all the sounds in words that you see when the words are written. It’s sometimes called “relaxed speech.” For example, “I want to” often sounds like “I wanna.” You can’t hear a T sound in “want” and the U sound in the word “to” may sound like UH.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

What letters/sounds might be dropped in these expressions?

Ask her.
See them.
Now or later?


]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2007-09-01T14:29:35-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/sep-2007#unique-entry-id-7http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/sep-2007#unique-entry-id-7Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your fingers to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “September”: “Sep”-1, “tem”-2 “ber”-3. Three syllables, right? Again, tap your fingers in the same way when you say it. You’ll notice that the second tap is louder/longer than the others—that means the second syllable is stressed: “sep-TEM-ber.”

Now, Here’s the Contest!

It’s return-to-school month in many places, so these words are related to school. Find two words on this list that have three syllables with stress on the second syllable:

admission
assignments
classes
credits
homework
notebooks
professors
registration
students
]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2007-08-01T06:08:11-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/aug-2007#unique-entry-id-6http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/aug-2007#unique-entry-id-6The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

Some words have "silent" consonants. That means the sound is not pronounced. For example, we don’t pronounce the B in "thumb" or the L in "should."

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Each of these words has a silent letter. What 4-letter word results from these
four silent letters?

mortgage
answer
business
hymn
]]>webmaster@americanspeechsounds.comHome2007-07-01T08:00:56-04:00http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jul-2007#unique-entry-id-5http://americanspeechsounds.com/page12/files/jul-2007#unique-entry-id-5The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

In the natural flow of speech, sounds link together; we don’t speak word by word. When one word begins with the same sound that the previous word ends with, we usually link those two sounds together. Try saying "I heard the same message." Notice how "same-message" links together with the result of one slightly longer M sound.

Now, here’s the contest. Most of these words are examples of linking because only one sound is made when you the two words. One pair, however, almost always has 2 sounds pronounced separately—one at the end of the first word and one at the beginning of the second word. Which pair is it?

1. what-time (What-time is it?)
2. nineteen-ninety (I moved in nineteen-ninety.)
3. bus-stop (The bus-stop is crowded.)
4. finish-shopping (We will finish-shopping early.0
5. orange-juice (Would you like some orange-juice?)
6. will-later (Yes, I will-later.)
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