A question for everyone out there...
...What should you do if your pronunciation is really, really bad?
I don't mean, just, you know, a few slips here and there, but really atrocious? See, I have no big problem with grammar, spelling mistakes are easily fixed with that lovely thing called a spell check, and I love my reading to death.
But I cannot pronounce words for the life of me.
I've always had problems pronouncing things ever since I first came to Canada. Obviously, I sucked in English when I first arrived, but that's no big iffy right now. I have a pretty good vocabulary from reading and memorizing the dictionary when I was little, my spelling has greatly improved from practice, as well as my writing skills are a heck lot better than before, once again, due to hours of practice.
But I can't practice pronunciation.
I mean, I would, if I knew what words I was pronouncing wrong, but I don't unless someone tells me or pronounces it the proper way in conversation. For instance, I didn't know I was pronouncing the word "geology" wrong until two years ago. I've always pronounced it "GEE-O logee" until my friend oh-so-nicely told me to stop pronouncing it like that or else she'd throttle me.
It gets me really angry because people keep on making fun of me for it. I mean, if it was something like math, or writing, I could just practice to improve it, but I can't seem to improve this. It drives me crazy. It just gets under my skin because people have always made fun of my English ever since I first came to Canada, and I've improved a lot since I was little and I'm really proud of my English as of now as well as my English mark, but people keep on making fun of my pronunciation.
I mean, my friends do it, one of my friend's family does it, and I'm just sick of it!
And today, my friend kindly told me that she didn't see how I deserved to be in English honors because I pronounced the word "miscellaneous" wrong. Excuse me miss perfect. I'm sorry my linguistic skills aren't up to scratch. Would you like me to drop out of school for you?
Majority of the TV I watch only use pretty simple language (such as the words I use to type my blog) and I don't pronounce those wrong, and hardly anyone uses the sometimes weird words I use in normal conversation. Also, I mess up really bad when I'm learning new words by reading. Like for example, the word "overture". That's not going to pop up in any conversations around me, I can tell you that much. I've got a vague idea how to pronounce it, but I'm pretty it's wrong. XD;;
So. *sighs* Any suggestions on how to improve?
I don't mean, just, you know, a few slips here and there, but really atrocious? See, I have no big problem with grammar, spelling mistakes are easily fixed with that lovely thing called a spell check, and I love my reading to death.
But I cannot pronounce words for the life of me.
I've always had problems pronouncing things ever since I first came to Canada. Obviously, I sucked in English when I first arrived, but that's no big iffy right now. I have a pretty good vocabulary from reading and memorizing the dictionary when I was little, my spelling has greatly improved from practice, as well as my writing skills are a heck lot better than before, once again, due to hours of practice.
But I can't practice pronunciation.
I mean, I would, if I knew what words I was pronouncing wrong, but I don't unless someone tells me or pronounces it the proper way in conversation. For instance, I didn't know I was pronouncing the word "geology" wrong until two years ago. I've always pronounced it "GEE-O logee" until my friend oh-so-nicely told me to stop pronouncing it like that or else she'd throttle me.
It gets me really angry because people keep on making fun of me for it. I mean, if it was something like math, or writing, I could just practice to improve it, but I can't seem to improve this. It drives me crazy. It just gets under my skin because people have always made fun of my English ever since I first came to Canada, and I've improved a lot since I was little and I'm really proud of my English as of now as well as my English mark, but people keep on making fun of my pronunciation.
I mean, my friends do it, one of my friend's family does it, and I'm just sick of it!
And today, my friend kindly told me that she didn't see how I deserved to be in English honors because I pronounced the word "miscellaneous" wrong. Excuse me miss perfect. I'm sorry my linguistic skills aren't up to scratch. Would you like me to drop out of school for you?
Majority of the TV I watch only use pretty simple language (such as the words I use to type my blog) and I don't pronounce those wrong, and hardly anyone uses the sometimes weird words I use in normal conversation. Also, I mess up really bad when I'm learning new words by reading. Like for example, the word "overture". That's not going to pop up in any conversations around me, I can tell you that much. I've got a vague idea how to pronounce it, but I'm pretty it's wrong. XD;;
So. *sighs* Any suggestions on how to improve?