Places and Idioms American English Pronunciation
In this American English pronunciation video,
we’re going to talk about places.
In this video, we’re talking about trips we’ve
taken recently. Notice how we use phrases
like ‘for work’, ‘for fun’, ‘for school’ when
talking about a trip. ‘For’ is one of those
words that’s often reduced (to ‘fer’). You’ll
also hear several idioms.
So Annie is our dear, dear friend visiting
from Denver. Denver. Now, my voice went up,
Denver, because I was making a pause but not
done with my thought. But normally, that word
would be said ‘Denver’. Stress is on the first
syllable, and the -er ending, unstressed,
as always, must be very short: -ver, -ver,
-ver. Denver.
Now, where were you before you came here?
Um, I was in Boston.
Boston. Another two syllable city name with
stress on the first syllable. So the second
syllable, unstressed, must be short to contrast
the length and shape of the first syllable. Boston.
Annie, now, where were you before you came
here?
Um, I was in Boston.
For work?
Yes, indeed.
Umm-hmm.
There was a minor hiccup with a situation
with a badge where I was not allowed access.
Wait, hold on, I love your use of the word
‘hiccup’ here. Now, can you explain it? What
do you mean by hiccup?
Um, there was a situation which was not
ideal, it was a bump in the road.
Bump in the road. Now that’s a—that’s
also an idiom. Could you explain that?
It was really what I would call a hurdle
that I had to jump.
A hurdle.
We’re laughing because sometimes it’s hard
to explain an idiom without using another
idiom. A hiccup. A bump in the road. A hurdle
to jump. So a hiccup or a bump in the road
is something that comes up that was not planned.
So, during her new job orientation, there
was a hiccup. A hurdle to jump, meaning there
were some unforeseen difficulties that she
had to deal with. Listen again to this string
of idioms.
There was a minor hiccup with a situation
with a badge where I was not allowed access.
What do you mean by hiccup?
Um, there was a situation which was not
ideal, it was a bump in the road.
Bump in the road. Now that’s a—that’s
also an idiom. Could you explain that?
It was really what I would call a hurdle
that I had to jump.
A hurdle.
And you were—you had this hiccup in your
new job orientation.
Yes.
How excited are you though for your new
job?
I’m excited. Um, it’s a great opportunity,
um, just such an amazing experience to meet
some new people. This is all very genuine.
Um, um yeah.
I may or may not be putting you on the
spot.
To be put on the spot, or, to put somebody
on the spot. This is an idiom that means to
ask somebody to do something or make a decision
without preparation, and maybe in front of
other people. In this case, I’m putting Annie
on the spot because I’m asking her to talk
about something in front of the video camera
with no preparation. Here the T in ‘put’ is
a flap T, or a D sound, because it comes between
two vowels when we link the words together.
Put on the spot.
Putting you on the spot. Could you explain
that idiom?
Um, that means that you are the focal point.
You are really—there is a certain amount
of pressure.
And there was no preparation, maybe.
Hot seat. Hot seat. No preparation. It’s
spontaneous, it’s, um…
You didn’t know you were going to be asked
to speak.
Yes.
Now, the other idiom you came up with
was ‘hot seat’.
Yes it was.
Can you make up a sentence with ‘hot seat’?
Man. I hate being in the hot seat when
topic turns to something I am not quite comfortable
answering.
Yeah. Shall I take you off the hot seat?
Please do, Rachel.
Now Katherine, you were saying earlier
that you’ve been on a trip recently.
Yes, I went to Baltimore.
I thought you went to DC?
I went to DC too.
Two more place names. Baltimore. Stress is
on the first syllable, so that should be the
longest. After the stressed syllable, the
voice will come down in volume and pitch.
So the last syllable: -more, -more, -more,
will be quick, low in pitch, and low in volume.
Baltimore. With DC, it’s just the opposite.
Stress is on the last syllable.
Any time you’re naming
something by a list of letters, like DC or
HBO or MLK, stress is always on the last letter.
So that letter will be the longest and have
the most shape. DC, C, DC.
So, tell me a little bit about that trip.
To DC?
Well, either one.
Um, well, I went to a college in DC. Um,
and I looked at a fashion show, and looked
at portfolios, and … um…
So this was for work.
This was for work.
Well thanks for telling me about your trips
to Baltimore and DC.
We were just talking, I went to India.
Oh you did? Recently?
About four years ago.
Was that for work or for fun?
For fun.
What did you do there?
I studied Buddhism and Tibetan community
politics.
That sounds like it’s for school.
It was for school, but it was, ah, I took
a semester off from college to go.
Renee, and, I hear that you took a trip
last weekend.
I did.
Where did you go?
I went to upstate New York.
Nice.
Town called Hudson, on the Hudson River.
It was actually—are you interested in why
it was founded?
Yes.
It was founded by whalers who originally
whaled in Nantucket. But they decided to move
their families up the Hudson River to another
place that would still be on the water.
Why did they want to move their families
away from Nantucket?
I don’t remember that part of the story.
Sara, where were you last weekend?
I went to visit my sister’s family in Virginia.
Virginia. That’s a fun state name.
It’s a great state.
Where did you go?
I went to Florida.
Florida. Is that where you’re from?
That’s where I’m from!
I know, but you’re from further north,
and I’m from further south.
I know. What did you do there?
Spend time with my family at my parent’s
house. Went in the pool. I went to the beach
a bit, walked at sunset. And that’s about it.
That sounds lovely. Guys, thank you, everybody,
for telling me about the places that you’ve
recently been.
Absolutely.
Oh, we were so happy to share.
Really appreciate it.
Katherine.
Yes?
If you were going to work on your American
English pronunciation—let’s say you already
know some of the concepts, you’ve seen some
videos, but you want to really work it, to
get it into your habit. What would you do
to do that?
I would take the Rachel’s English video
class.
Do you mean the Rachel’s English online
course in July and August?
I’d take the Rachel’s English …
Ok, who can keep a straight face in here?
Because she can’t, and she can’t.
To keep a straight face is to be able to do
something without laughing. Something my friends
clearly have a difficult time doing, which
is why we have so much fun together. Take
two.
Katherine.
Yes.
If you felt like you wanted to work on
your American English pronunciation this summer,
what would you do?
I would take the Rachel’s English course
in July and August.
That sounds like a very smart woman. If
you didn’t know, I am giving an online course
in July and August of 2012. Check out my website
for more details.
That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s
English.
Don’t stop there. Have fun with my real-life
English videos. Or get more comfortable with
the IPA in this play list. Learn about the
online courses I offer, or check out my latest
video.