So, you want to improve your pronunciation
check your pronunciation
but you're learning alone
You don't have a teacher or
an English speaking friend to correct you
what can we do?
Well, today's video only really applies if you
have an iPhone, because we're doing the Siri!
So this is super easy super fun, and super effective
to check your pronunciation
just get Siri on your phone
say the word into the phone
and if she writes what you said
then you have good pronunciation
Like this
"Girl" /ɡɜːl/
[Siri; You were saying...]
So I forgot, I have my Siri on American pronunciation
For example
"Girl" /ɡɜːrl/
[Siri; Hmm, I just don't get this whole gender thing]
We need to change her settings
So try with me
Pause this video go to settings Siri
change the voice and language to English
United Kingdom or British whatever it is
It's downloading a...
British Siri.
I've never heard male British Siri
I don't know what that sounds like...
I expect this to sound like James Bond
because...
why wouldn't you?
"Girl" /ɡɜːl/
[Siri; In my realm, anyone can be anything.]
He wrote "Girl" so my pronunciation was good!
That's good!
First, we're going to practice pronunciation together
then you'll going to say to Siri she'll check your pronunciation
or he in this case
will check your pronunciation.
O.K. the first word let's try "Alarm"
Say with me first
"Alarm"
Remember it's non-rhotic
"Alarm"
We don't pronounce the /ɑːr/
It's /ɑː/
"-arm" /-ɑːm/
"Alarm" /əˈlɑːm/
"Alarm"
[Siri; Here are your three alarms]
Did you do that snooze thing in the morning?
We're like "Another ten minutes another ten minutes"
I have three alarms
The next one could be fun let's try "Call"
"Call"
It's a long /ɔː/
Open up the back of the mouth
"Call" /kɔːl/
Let's try that
"Call"
[Siri; Whom shall I help you call?]
Mom
[Hello?]
Hi! Mom!
Love you Mom
[I'm fine]
That works
Next, for some Asian language speakers
the "zzz" sound is quite difficult
so let's trick your pronunciation with that
with "Music" /ˈmjuːzɪk/
"Music"
Remember, it's the same mouth shape as an "S"
so if you can do an "S"
you can make the vibration in the throat
and change an "S" to a
"sss"
"zzz"
"Music" /ˈmjuːzɪk/
"Music"
Let's see if Siri understands you
"Music"
Whiplash soundstrack, brilliant!
Write in the comments and be honest
which song came up first when you said music?
O.K. let's try this phoneme
/ɜː/
Say with me
/ɜː/
"Earth" /ɜːθ/
Let's try with Siri
"Earth"
[Siri; Hi, Aly.]
"Earth"
[Siri; Hello.]
"Earth!"
[Siri; Hi there, Aly.]
O.K. maybe that's not such a good example to practice with Siri.
Let's try a different one
a very common word to use
"Work"
Remember the "R" there's no "Rr"
there's no big "Rr" sound.
"Work"
"-or-" /-ɜː-/
"Work" /wɜːk/
Let's see what Siri things
"Work"
[Siri; I'm not sure I understand]
What's to understand about a word?
"Work"
[Siri; Let me have a look.]
I've got work
um.. a common question you might ask Siri really is...
"What is near here?"
Restaurants, cafés... umm... whatever
Let's have a look
Near /nɪə(r)/
here /hɪə(r)/
"What's...
near...
here?"
"What's near here?"
A bit faster
"What's near here?"
Let's try!
"What's near here?"
[Siri; Here is what I found I the Web what they hear]
Why is my Siri a guy ?
I didn't ask for a guy!
Maybe I did...
So you wanna practice this everyday, right?
Well, why don't you set an alarm, to practice?
Let's try
"Set an alarm"
[Siri; Set the alarm for when today?]
To... uh... tomorrow
[Siri; For what time shall I set your alarm tomorrow?]
Twelve o'clock
[Siri; Your alarm's set for 12 PM.]
Now I have an alarm set for tomorrow
and I can practice my pronunciation
again tomorrow!! With Siri!
If you liked that tip
remember to share this video with your friends
Tell them about the amazing practice you can have
with just Siri. It's super easy it's right in your hands.
And you don't have to pay for a teacher
you don't have to have friends, perfect!
Thanks for watching
if you wanna see more
click here to subscribe
Oh... there's another video right here
but you don't have to watch it that
just if you want...
watch it.