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Sibilants

August 14th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

Sibilants are made by obstructing, not stopping, the air by bringing the blade of your tongue close to the roof of the mouth and making a hissing sound. These sounds are called fricatives or affricates. Affricates are a stop followed by a fricative. The following table has pairs, the first in the pair is unvoiced, the second voiced.

Following the table are sections on how the sounds are made with practice sentences and audio.

IPA	Phonetic	Beginning of Word	Middle of Word	End of Word
/s/	‘s’	“Sue” /su/	beaSt /bi:st/	“nooSe” /nus/
/z/	‘z’	‘Zoo’ /zu/	“teaSed” /ti:zd/	“cauSE” /kɑz/
/ʃ/	‘sh’	‘SHoe’ /ʃu/	“cuSHy” /kʊʃi/	“diSH” /dɪʃ/
/ʒ/	‘zh’	–	“meaSUre” /mɛʒɚ/	“beiGE” /beɪʒ/
/t͡ʃ/	‘ch’	‘CHew’ /t͡ʃu/	“catCHing” /kɑt͡ʃɪŋ/	“patCH” /pæt͡ʃ/
/d͡ʒ/	‘j’	‘Jew’ /d͡ʒu/	“maJor” /meɪd͡ʒɚ/	“dodGE” /dɑd͡ʒ/

Aeolvelar Fricitive

Aeolvelar Affricate

Velar Fricitive

The velum is also called the soft pallet and is at the back of the roof of your mouth. There are two fricatives that are made by restricting air at that place, ‘sh,’ /ʃ/ as in “shake” /ʃeɪk/ and ‘zh’ as “measure” /meIʒɚ/. They are formed in the same place in your mouth but /ʃ/ is unvoiced and /ʒ/ is voiced.

The ‘sh’ /ʃ/ sound is common and can appear in any part of a word. At the beginning: “shake” /ʃeɪk/, at the end: “wish” /wɪʃ/; both beginning and end: “swish” /ʃwɪʃ/, and in the middle: “passion” /pɑʃ̩n̩/. The ‘zh’ sound is less common and doesn’t happen at the beginning fo words it happens in the middle as in “treasure” /tɹeɪʒɚ/, or at the end as in “beige” /beiʒ/.

Velar Affricate

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Altogether Alone – Hirth Martinez – Be The Voice

February 16th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

This is a song I have always lked by Hirth Martinez. Martinez was from East Los Angeles, and never got too well known in the U.S. He had stellar references, Bob Dylan introduced him to Robbie Robertson of The Band, who appears with othe members of the Band on his albums.

I don’t know much about Be the Voice. They a Japanese band that is doing this song. I like their version and I appreciaate that they sing it with not too much accent in most places. It still comes through, but she has mastered sounds that are difficult for Japanese.

Altogether Alone

Hirth Martinez

It came
It came like a thief, in the night
I happened to be looking
Out through the window
I swear it was brighter than hell
Man, I saw a light, through the window
It was hovering above
The house next door
I froze
I froze like a stone
All alone
I swear my hair stood up
And I said a prayer to end all prayers
I reached for the phone
But the phone was dead
Next the glowing ball turned red
And a voice inside my head
Said, “Boss(Fred), go on back to bed
From now on
You are gonna be able to see
From now on you are gonna be
All at once with peace and harmony
In rhyme and reason altogether alone”
It came
It came like a song
In the day, the way I play
When I get off on a feeling
Of wheeling and soaring through space
Like the word what flows
Like the lover as it explodes
Kicking off the start of time
Rhyme and reason altogether alone(repeat)

This is the original to compare. Try to sing it.

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Cool Hand Luke

February 15th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

This is the movie from which the famous like, “What we have here is a failure to communicate” comes from. As with all of the movies, watch it and try to understand it. Use the script for parts you can’t understand. Find parts of the movie you can talk along with, and if possible, record yourself and compare to the movie.

Cool Hand Luke — Full movie

Cool Hand Luke Script

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R/L Word Pairs

February 14th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

The flies that are linked on this pater are word pairs that exchange ‘r’ and ‘l’ sounds. They are organized into separate files per word pair and the name of the file is the word pair.

Download the files (more keep coming) and put them on your phone, ipod, or other device you used to listen to music. Listen to them randomly and see if you can identify the word pairs. Practice saying the back. Many devices give you the ability to slow the audio down, so you should try that to help you make the sounds.

Donald Steiny Reading the Word List

There is a PDF file at the end of this page that is the list of words.

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The Wizard of Oz

February 12th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

The Wizard of Oz has been loved by many generations, first in movie theaters, and then as a Christmas special on TV for many decades. I watched it when I was growing up and have probably seen it 10 times. Rarely does a week go by when I don’t find myself singing one of the songs. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead, was being posted on social media when Trump lost. When Carly Fiorina got fired from HP, the employees of the company burst into the song.

It is referred to in countless other movies, and many phrases and scenes are the basis for idioms. For instance, when someone talks about “the man behind the curtain,” they mean that someone is manipulating things from behind the scenes.

The song that is most associated with it is Somewhere Over the Rainbow, sung by the star, Judy Garland. It is considered to one of, if not the best, the song of the 20th Century in the US. There are countless other renditions, my favorite is by Eva Cassidy.

I include the movie script, so you can learn to make out parts that are hard to understand. In some places, they use distortion that makes the English hard for even native speakers to understand.

Try to sing along when you can. I am going to include some other versions of Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the songs section of this material.

The Wizard of Oz full movie here.

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Movies

February 12th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

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English Study Resources

February 12th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

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The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe

February 11th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—

Only this and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

“’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—

This it is and nothing more.”

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—

Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—

’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;

Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as “Nevermore.”

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—

Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”

Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee

Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—

“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted—nevermore!

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The Cremation of Sam McGee — Robert Service

February 11th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

This poem is by Robert W. Service, who became famous and wealthy through his light-hearted poetry and fiction. His biography is fascinating.

When I was a child, my dad read this poem to me many times.

I linked to two readings of the poem, the first is meant to be close to Standard American English. The second I included as a listening exercise. It is by the beloved country-western singer, Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash was born and raised in Arkansas, which has a Southern accent associated with people that live in the hills. Though the term is out-of-favor, they have been referred to as “Hillbillies.” Cash’s popularity extends far beyond country-western music He has written hit songs in popular music as well. He has acted in many movies. He is often referred to as “The Man in Black,” because of his signature black clothing. It is useful for your ear to beable to recognize variations in English, and this is a lighthearted way to practice.

Listen to both versions until you can recognize all the words. Pay close attention to where the speakers get louder or softer; when they slow down or speed up, and which syllables they accent.

Then try to read it yourself. You can record yourself to check yourself and try using Google text-to-speech to see how you are doing on pronouncation.

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold;

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,

But the queerest they ever did see

Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge

I cremated Sam McGee.

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.

Why he left his home in the South to roam ’round the Pole, God only knows.

He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;

Though he’d often say in his homely way that “he’d sooner live in hell.”

On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.

Talk of your cold! through the parka’s fold it stabbed like a driven nail.

If our eyes we’d close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn’t see;

It wasn’t much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.

And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,

And the dogs were fed, and the stars o’erhead were dancing heel and toe,

He turned to me, and “Cap,” says he, “I’ll cash in this trip, I guess;

And if I do, I’m asking that you won’t refuse my last request.”

Well, he seemed so low that I couldn’t say no; then he says with a sort of moan:

“It’s the cursèd cold, and it’s got right hold till I’m chilled clean through to the bone.

Yet ’tain’t being dead—it’s my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;

So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you’ll cremate my last remains.”

A pal’s last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;

And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.

He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;

And before nightfall, a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.

There wasn’t a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,

With a corpse half hid that I couldn’t get rid, because of a promise given;

It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say: “You may tax your brawn and brains,

But you promised true, and it’s up to you to cremate those last remains.”

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.

In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.

In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,

Howled out their woes to the homeless snows— O God! how I loathed the thing.

And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;

And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;

The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;

And I’d often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.

Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;

It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the “Alice May.”

And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;

Then “Here,” said I, with a sudden cry, “is my cre-ma-tor-eum.”

Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;

Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;

The flames just soared, and the furnace roared—such a blaze you seldom see;

And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.

Then I made a hike, for I didn’t like to hear him sizzle so;

And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.

It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don’t know why;

And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.

I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;

But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;

I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: “I’ll just take a peep inside.

I guess he’s cooked, and it’s time I looked”; … then the door I opened wide.

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;

And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: “Please close that door.

It’s fine in here, but I greatly fear you’ll let in the cold and storm—

Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it’s the first time I’ve been warm.”

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold;

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,

But the queerest they ever did see

Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge

I cremated Sam McGee.

The Creamation of Sam McGee, read by ML Cohen.

The Cremation of Sam McGee, read by Johnny Cash

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Songs

February 11th, 2021 by Donald Steiny

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