English Experts

Trava-Línguas em inglês: todos os sons de vogais da língua inglesa

Hi, this is Jason Bermingham on English Experts. First of all I want to thank all of you who have been reading this blog, and I want to thank you for your nice messages. As many of you know, I’ve been posting a series of tongue-twisters over the past few weeks. These exercises are meant to improve your pronunciation by putting your mouth in extreme-language situations. I doubt you’ll ever have to say anything this hard in real life, like say in a job interview. But that’s the whole point. If you can say this stuff, everything else will be easy.

So sit down if you aren’t already and stretch your jaw and lip muscles, because this week’s tongue-twister is going to be the most difficult of the bunch.

I first heard this tongue-twister performed by a voice-over artist on the audio CD of the book Voiceover: Tales and Tactics for Success. The voice-over (as we call these artists) claimed that this tongue-twister uses every vowel sound and vocal shape in the English language. Now, I don’t know what every vowel sound and vocal shape in the English language are, but I confess that after hearing this tongue-twister, I’m inclined to believe him.

I’m going to read the whole thing all the way through one time for you to get a feel for how it should sound after you’ve learned it. Then I’ll read it sentence by sentence for you to repeat after me and practice.

Now, if you like this sort of thing, learn it and use it. It’s excellent practice and it will sure impress your friends. And one more thing before we get started: don’t worry about understanding the meaning of all of it. Some of the sentence are just plain nonsense. But it sure is fun to say.

Listen

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Here goes:

Eleven benevolent elephants met Lily and Lucy in Philadelphia and went to see Camelot in Unique, New York. With guns and drums and drums and guns which they kept in a bodega, bodega, bodega they walked miles and miles and miles until they saw Manny and Nancy who danced hand in hand in the sand as they sang many a moon, many a moon, many a moon.

They came across brilliant Italian William from Tupica who kept murmuring mommala poppala, mommala poppala, mommala poppala.

They begged him to join them. “Will you William, will you William, will you William? Can’t you, won’t you, don’t you, William? Did you, could you, would you, William?” William simply said, “Lily Lolly Lily Lolly.”

Then round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran to be among culligan and calla lilies to let his tone hum down as easily as a sigh.

There, wasn’t that easy! OK, don’t run off just yet. Give it a try. Repeat after me:

Eleven benevolent elephants

(repeat)

met Lily and Lucy in Philadelphia

(repeat)

and went to see Camelot in Unique, New York.

(repeat)

With guns and drums and drums and guns

(repeat)

which they kept in a bodega, bodega, bodega

(repeat)

they walked miles and miles and miles

(repeat)

until they saw Manny and Nancy

(repeat)

who danced hand in hand in the sand

(repeat)

as they sang many a moon, many a moon, many a moon.

(repeat)

They came across brilliant Italian William from Tupica

(repeat)

who kept murmuring mommala poppala, mommala poppala, mommala poppala.

(repeat)

They begged him to join them.

(repeat)

“Will you William, will you William, will you William?

(repeat)

Can’t you, won’t you, don’t you, William?

(repeat)

Did you, could you, would you, William?”

(repeat)

William simply said, “Lily Lolly Lily Lolly.”

(repeat)

Then round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran

(repeat)

to be among culligan and calla lilies

(repeat)

to let his tone hum down as easily as a sigh.

If you can say that, you can say anything!

This is Jason Bermingham on English Experts.

See you next week.

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Autor: Jason Bermingham já gravou locuções em inglês para a Samsung, Itaú, Banco Real, TV Cultura, MTV International, São Paulo Turismo, Oxford University Press e CNA, entre outros. Ele empresta a sua voz aos tweets diários da revista Speak Up (www.twitter.com/revistaspeakup). Outros textos do autor.