In a message dated 4/13/01 12:09:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
caiorossi@t... writes:
caiorossi@t... writes:
<< the vowels in
'beat' and 'bit'. Both of these vowels are made with the front part of the
tongue high in the mouth. They differ in the degree of muscle tension with
which they are produced. you should feel that your facial muscles are more
tense in the pronunciation of 'beat' than in 'bit'. This causes a greater
spreading of the lips in 'beat'." >>
Wow!! Caio, I was dealing with this very contrast yesterday with my Korean
ladies. Heidi (yes, that's her name!) was pronouncing "he" and "his" with
essentially the same vowel. When I watched her mouth as she was saying
"his," her lips were so obviously tensed beyond what they should be, so in
addtion to demonstrating the contrast, I told her to relax more for "his."
This struck her funny.
My contrast / minimal pair pronunciation book (which lists every language one
for which each contrast is an issue) is upstairs right now. When I've the
time, I'll check these contrasts:
<<<<<<'beat' and 'bit' [/iy/ x /I/]
'bait' and 'bet' [ /ey/ x /E/]
'boot' and 'book' [ /uw/ x /U/]"
>>>>>>>>
and I'll bet that all the Romance and the Asian languages are mentioned on
those pages.
Don't you think we need a listserv for singers who are also E.S.L.
teachers??!!
Later .... sooner .... 'te logo .... hugs,
Doris
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