Accurate English: A Complete Course in Pronunciation

by Rebecca M. Dauer

Book Overview

This pronunciation text helps students achieve a near-native accent. Teaches vowels, consonants, rhythm, stress, and intonation using principles of articulatory phonetics. Provides precise... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0130072532
• ISBN13: 9780130072535
• Release Date: December 1992
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.2" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

very accurate

To my knowledge, the best course on American pronunciation. The title says it all: it is accurate and complete. There are practices with minimal pairs, and it uses the IPA symbols. Sections on fast speech rules, vowel reduction and stress placement will bring advanced speakers to near perfection. Audio tapes are superfluous with a good knowledge of the phonetic alphabet.

Accurate English

Accurate English is a text language consultants who work in pronunciation have been using for more than seven years now and it is still the best in its field for training adults to speak American English. Most of my colleagues use it and are pleased to report that the quality of the linguistic material, the clarity of presentation and the up-to-date dialogues on the accompanying cassette make this package not only useful but pleasant to work with. My clients agree.

Accurate English is a professionally engaging text

This text is what Language Consultants who work in the area of accent reduction have been looking for. Aimed at adults, it contains both a diagnostic speech sample and a helpful "self analysis section". The use of the IPA is clearly and carefully done. The chapter divisions make it easy to move around in the text and focus on what an individual speaker needs. In addition, the audio tape has up-to-date dialogues with natural speech and idioms. Finally, the index and the accompanying teacher's manual make this a text not to be missed.

Not for the Amateur

This is a terrific book for students of: linguistics, accent improvement (with a cerebral view) and speech modification coaches/teachers who are interested in the nitty gritty linguistic explanations of what goes on with pronunciation and intonation. I believe for most anyone who wants to teach pronunciation and intonation with excellence in mind, this book is a must for your reference library. I have used this book in accent achievement coaching in the educational setting,and I found it was too top-heavy with metalinguistics and had to supplement with functional self-made worksheets for students.

One of the very best books ever on American pronunciation

This book is written by a person who is both a scientist in the Speech Sciences, and a teacher of English for speakers of other languages (ESL). With that background, she emphasizes those details of pronunciation which have been found to influence both communication and language acquisition the most: The prosody, i.e. the rhythm and intonation. Moreover, she does that very clearly and easy to understand. "Ordinary" pronunciation of vowels and consonants are not left out, however. This very up-to-date treatment of the task of teaching pronunciation makes the book an absolute "must" for every ESL teacher as well as a wonderful guide for the learners!