Comments on: In Quest of a Standard American Pronunciation

By: Eric Berman

Eric Berman — Sat, 28 May 2011 20:13:45 +0000

There is a sort of “rasp” in the phrases spoken especially by girls, and women who were girls within the last 15 years. It is caricatured in what was called “Valley Speak,” but it has made its grating way into advertisements, radio commentators and more and seems headed to become the standard. Any sentence amounts to a transition from a more or less routinely vocalized opening but trails off into a sort of unvocalized gargle. I thought perhaps it had always been there and I had been lucky enough to miss it, but if you listen to recordings from as recently as 20 years ago and on back, or movie soundtracks, or speak with women who came of age in the 1970s and before, it is not there. Some others use the mannerism which is what it seems to be. Along with this–often the same speaker, but not necessarily–is an ennui-filled style, and flat tone ending in a hard “r” almost in the style of a pirate! What’s going on?

By: Thu

Thu — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:47:01 +0000

Dear All
My nam is Thu, ESL student at USA . I would like you send me Basic English Grammar Daily Writting Tips please. That one you offer for free.
Thank very much for your kind
Thu

By: Thu

Thu — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:36:28 +0000

Dear All

I’m a ESL student . I like to have a Basic English Grammar. That is the one you offer for free.
Thank for your kind
THU

By: Bradley Berthold

Bradley Berthold — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:43:08 +0000

I’ve also noticed, with no little annoyance, the “drift” towards saying “hous iz” instead of “houz is.”

It grates on my ear, rightly or wrongly makes me think the speaker is ignorant.

Another big drift is towards the use of “no problem” as a substitute for “you’re welcome.”

We’re “dumbing down” at a frightening rate!

By: J. Smith

J. Smith — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:55:15 +0000

God, I could not imagine anything more boring than if we all tried to talk like Tom Brokaw.

As an English language teacher, I take an active stand against standard pronunciation. Things are much more interesting –not just charming– with the regional variety. In fact, I highly discourage my students who, in misguided attempts at conforming, try to lose or disguise their accents.

Furthermore, any attempt at artificial standardization is not only likely to fail, but also result in the silliness that all too often afflicts grammar classrooms today as a result of the last attempt to standardize the language, e.g. the myth of split infinitives as poor grammar.

It is much better just to allow these things to evolve naturally, as the Great Vowel Shift did, and sit back and enjoy the spectacle.