AmericanAccentBook PDF

CD 1 CORFF STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM CD I
SECTION I Track 18 Consonants T, D, L and N CONSONANT CHART

DICTIONARY SYMBOLS SOUND INTʼL PHO
(AMERICAN HERITAGE) SAMPLE SYMBOL ALPHABET
S see, tops, psalm, max, lace s s

Track 1 Intro Track 19 The S and the Z
Track 2 Section I Track 20 Tongue on the Hard Palate J, Zh, Sh, Ch
t taste, faxed t t
Basic Rule # 1 Placement Track 21 Consonants around Lip Area M,P,B,F,V
v voice, of v v
Track 3 Basic Rule #2 Melody Track 22 The “Th” voiced and unvoiced
w/wh water / why w w/hw

Track 23 The W
Track 4 Basic Rule #3 Pronunciation
Track 24 Consonants where the soft palate comes
y yes, use y j
Vowels A-E-I-O-U
together with the back of the tongue:
Track 5 The Three basic elements &
z zoo, cabs, as z z
K, (C), G, NG, NK
Placement (In Depth) Track 25 The R: The tip of the tongue curls back
ch charm, mature ch tS
Track 6 Review of Placement and the air flows unobstructed
ng singing ng
Track 7 Melody (In Depth) over the tongue. Also Y H Q
N
nk thank nk
Track 8 Pronunciation Track 26 Wrap up of the beginners Daily workout
and the secret to success
sh shine, lotion sh
Track 9 “In A Perfect World”
Track 10 Wrap Up To Section One S
th the (voiced) TH
SECTION II Intermediate Daily Workout Tracks 27-31
SECTION II The Beginners Daily Workout Tracks 11-26 Track 27 Melody Exercise using the Days of the Week
th thing (unvoiced) th
Track 11 Welcome & Preparation for Section II
T
Another Melody exercise with the alphabet
†
zh pleasure, beige, vision zh
Track 12 Standard American Melody Exercise One Track 28 A placement exercise to open up the back
Track 13 Placement Exercise of the throat Z
Track 29 Introduction to the vowel phrases with
Track 14 Standard American Melody Exercise Two
Melody Exercises
Track 15 American Vowel Sound Exercises
Track 30 Vowel Phrases with Melody Exercises
Track 16 The “R” Track 31 Consonant Exercises using short phrases
Track 17 Standard American Consonant Exercises T D L N S and Z
2 79
www.AbetPublishing.com
Congratulations:
CONSONANT CHART By using the Accent Reduction (Standard American
b bubble b b
Accent) program you’re about to make an important, positive
change in your life.
d divided d d
The more you listen and use the program, the faster and
f for, rough, phone f f

better your results will be.
g giggle g g
For optimum results, you will need a tape recorder to record
h hi, whose h h
your voice so you can hear your accent change over time. You
J just, edge, george j dZ

also need a dictionary (We recommend the American
Heritage) to help you familiarize yourself with pronunciation,
K lick, fix, cat, ask, choir K K
stresses, and meanings of words.
L love, all L L
However you use this training, our goal is to put you on the
M mom, lamb M M
path toward a Standard American accent you can use your
N nice, knew N N
whole life. After years of working with thousands of dedicated
P puppy P P
people, we know this technique works!
We’re excited to be your guide and proud to be a part of
Q queen KW —
your journey.
R river r r All Our Best,
Bob & Claire Corff
78 3
THE STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM: SECTION ONE
VOWEL CHART
TRACK ONE: Introduction
TRACK TWO: The first Basic Rule — PLACEMENT
SAMPLE
(AMERICAN HERITAGE) SYMBOL ALPHABET
oo you, knew, true, to, too, two UU u

—
AMERICAN PLACEMENT
a day, ape, train AE ei

• BACK AND OPEN —
FRENCH PLACEMENT GERMAN PLACEMENT
• LIPS FLAT TO TEETH
i kind, my, guy, tie IE ai

FORWARD BACK AND CLOSED —
• SOFT PALATE UP
LIPS FORWARD
o so, sew, coat OU o

• TONGUE FLAT AND FORWARD —
oi boy, coin OYE i

c
a hair, care, bear Air r
i year, beer Ear r
ur/ r* girls, learn, fur / father* er ¨r

e
(* unstressed)
VOCAL ENERGY VOCAL ENERGY VOCAL ENERGY
4 77
VOWEL CHART
SAMPLE
U
a cat, and, laugh, man aeh æ GUM RIDGE HARD PALATE
U
e get, said, men eh ¨
U SOFT PALATE
i it, been, give, women ih I
BLADE OF TONGUE
e me, tea, baby, police EE i BACK OF TONGUE
-
U TIP OF TONGUE
o/ä got / car ah a
o all, for, dawn, caught aw

c
U
u/ * young, fun, love / uh *
e
america*, family*, another*
e v
VOCAL CHORDS
ou cow, house ow au
U LARYNX
oo good, would, put, women ugh
76 5
TRACK THREE: The second Basic Element or Rule: MELODY
WALKING
DOWN UP 1
STAIRS DOWN 2
TRACK FOUR: The third Basic Element: The following vowel chart and consonant
Dictionary PRONUNCIATION / VOWELS & CONSONANTS chart has dictionary symbols,

Symbols
aa
a a ee international alphabet, and sound symbols.
e
ee
Use whichever one works best for you.
e e ee
e This will be very helpful,
i i i
i e
e e as you become more advanced.

o oou
o u u

u uuu
oo u u

6 75
TRACK FIVE: The three basic elements
Acknowledgements
1. Placement (see illustration on page 4)
We want to acknowledge the assistance and brilliance of:
• Lips Close to teeth
Brad Blaisdell, for his help in getting us started;
• Vibration in the back of the throat
Milton Katselas, our masterful teacher;
Gary Grossman for his energetic contribution; • Tongue Flat and FORWARD
Dalai Pee Feet McGoo for her precise proofreading; • Soft palate raised
Cate Cohen for all her help and computer wizardry; • Relax Jaw and Throat
Jessie Buchanan for brilliant artistic design;
2. Melody
and Eric Fahlborg for his great engineering ears.
Music by Paul Ventimiglia.
3. Pronunciation
Thanks to all our teachers and friends,

and special thanks to all our students
– past, present, and future.
Finger up to lips “BOOK” Shake Stomach “GOOD”
74 7
TRACK SIX: Placement Rules
2. Watch good standard American accent newscasters and most
1. Vibration in the back of your throat American movie stars. Mimic their sound and speech patterns.
2. Lips Close to teeth 3. Learn the stresses of words you speak with more than one sylla-
ble. Look them up in your American dictionary.
3. Tongue is flat and forward. The soft palate is raised, so there
Examples: creative (kre - a t i v )
is an unobstructed air passage over the tongue into a big
yawny space in the back of the throat. successful
e
(s k-ses f l)
e
e
passionate (pash e-nit)
This will help your Standard American Melody.
4. If you’re able to, find a private teacher with experience in

accents to help you monitor your progress.
5. See how quickly you can fool people into thinking you
were born and raised in the U.S.A., or have no regional dialect.
It can be a lot of fun.
4. Relax the jaw and throat.
8 73
I 2 3
TIPS & SUGGESTIONS that will help your progress TRACK SEVEN: Melody
USING STEPS FOR THE
Incorrect Still Not Correct Correct
STANDARD AMERICAN MELODY
You Hi Hi
Hi
1
Please (up)
How How
Come (down)
Are
Are
Are
2
over (down) How
You
here (furthest down)

You
3
I 2 3
1. Use cellophane tape to help with placement. Put the tape on
your upper lip from ear to ear. It helps keep your lips close to your Hi
You
Hi
4
Hi
teeth, making it easier for the tongue to stay forward, and allow- Are
How
ing the space in the back of your throat to be larger. This helps to How How
Are
reinforce the placement of the Standard American Sound. Are
You Put a weight on the
bottom of the word.
Place the tape on your lip during any of the exercises, and you’ll
Wa Bo
feel your lips wanting to come forward. The tape is a great moni- l ok
l
tor so you can be aware of what your mouth and cheeks are Case
doing. Keep your lips close to your teeth, and you’ll feel and hear You
your sound change.
Incorrect SStill Not Correct Correct

72 9
TRACK SEVEN (Cont.) MELODY Asking Questions Track TWENTY-FIVE
1. Will 2. you 3. Will re turn
Will As we get to the conclusion of the Standard American Accent reduction
you re you program, I want to tell you how much I respect you and appreciate the
the
return turn effort you have put into making a change in yourself. You have made a
book?
the the decision that this will be of benefit to you in your life, and it will.
book? book? What I’ve learned after many years of teaching is that anyone who’s into
mastery doesn’t quit or give up when it gets difficult or boring or any neg-
After you jump up, you start the downward pattern
ative thing that could come up.
again. Tape recording yourself can be an effective tool
to hear how you’re progressing. When we hear our- They press through. They don’t stop. They keep working until they win. And
selves on tape, we hear what we really sound like, not if you do that, you will win. Be a master.
how we think we sound. Good luck and enjoy.
A good complement to this program is the Bob Corff Speakers Voice

TRACK EIGHT: Pronunciation Method. It’s great for Standard American placement and melody. And
Vowels & Consonants for anyone that wants to speak well.
This and the Corff’s Singers Voice program are available at

TRACK NINE: In a Perfect World www.corffvoice.com
You wouldn’t need a standard American accent. This is the third in a series of programs dedicated to your highest vocal
potential.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world.
10 71
I enjoy practicing at least five days a week one hour a day. I know these good TRACK TEN
study habits are my key to success.
1. Review of Placement, Melody, and Pronunciation.
I have the excitement and wonder of a child, as I discover and acquire this new
2. Instructions on how to use the daily workout program.
way of communicating. I have the courage to go out and talk with a minimum
of three people a day, using the Standard American placement, melody, and 3. A reminder of your original goal.
pronunciation, to the very best of my ability.
I sense and hear myself improving each day. This achievement makes me feel THE STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM: SECTION TWO
good about myself, because it reminds me of just what I can accomplish when
I put my mind, body, spirit and complete intention into it. TRACK ELEVEN: Welcome
The Daily Workout recommendations
I visualize myself having the exact Standard American accent, that I want, and I Use these exercises a minimum of 5 days a week, 20
know that I will have it. minutes at a time or more. The harder you work the
faster the Standard American Accent will be yours.
Don’t worry about the end results now. Do the work
fully and you will get the end results you want.
70 11
TRACK TWELVE: Beginners Daily Workout Track TWENTY-FOUR Success Proclamation
1. PLACEMENT
Tongue is forward with the back of the tongue down. As a student of the Standard American Accent, I am committed to mastering every new
2. MELODY: UP DOWN sound. Practicing, slowly at first, I realize this different way of placing my lips and tongue
Use your hand as a visual cue. for each vowel and consonant, needs time to become comfortable and to be absorbed
deeply into my muscle memory.
1 3 5 7 9 11
My communication is getting stronger and clearer and it’s a pleasure for me to become
2 4 6 8 10 12
an expert in the Standard American Melody. The melody is up, down, down, furthest
13 15 17 19
down. I also remember to keep my upper lip close to my teeth and relax my jaw. My
14 16 18 20 tongue stays forward in the front and down in the back, which raises the soft palate and
gives me the round, deep, full, yawny Standard American placement.
TRACK THIRTEEN: A Placement Exercise
My words link together smoothly and I finish every word. I write down words in a notebook
This exercise helps open up the back of the throat
that I’m not sure of and I look them up in an American dictionary, noting how to pro-
for the standard American sound.
nounce them, what they mean and which syllables to stress.
1. Open the throat as if you are yawning.
2. Drop jaw, front of tongue forward. I always use the appropriate sections of this program and stay with each one till I am
3. Back of tongue down. completely clear on the rules and can employ them skillfully. Sometimes I go back to an
vah vah vah (2 times) earlier section to drill it again and again.
kah kah kah (2 times)
12 69
Track TWENTY-THREE TRACK FOURTEEN: The Standard American Melody
Intro to Success Proclamation Like Walking Down Stairs
1 4 7 10
On this exercise, the Success Proclamation, there are several ways you 2 5 8 11
3 6 9 12
can work with it.
13 16 19
First you can read along with us. Listening and working to duplicate our 14 17 20
15 18 21
sounds and inflections.
Second, you can listen to us say ‘a thought section’ or sentence, then TRACK FIFTEEN Standard American Vowel Sounds
pause the program. Now you reproduce what you just heard. Go back,
This is how the mouth, lips and tongue are formed.
listen again and move to the next ‘ thought section’ or sentence.
Again, remember the placement is in back of the
The third idea is to memorize one paragraph at a time until you know throat and the melody is:
the complete Success Proclamation, because it has every Standard Up, Down, Down, Furthest down.
American vowel and consonant.
We will use our sound symbols and the American
Say it aloud two to three times a day, and you will master the knowledge
Dictionary symbols (which will be in parenthesis.) See
and skills of this technique.
chart in back of book.
68 13
U
TRACK FIFTEEN (Vowels Continued) Track TWENTY-TWO
front mouth position There are two sounds in Standard American that really stand out and if
We’ll start with aeh* as in “cat” ( a ):
they’re missing, they’re very noticeable. The R and the long ( e ) EE .
Lower your jaw and move your tongue The ( e ) EE , especially at the end of words.
forward behind lower teeth, mouth fairly
U)
wide open with a slight smile: Practice ‘R’. Repeat:
cat back sat that and
U
aeh (our sound symbol) ( a (dictionary symbol)
The truck driver drove through three fierce rain storms.
Grow more trees for cleaner air.
eh as in “let” ( e ): A more closed mouth Ranchers string barbed wire around their ranches.
and shorter form of “aeh.“ Tongue is up Ruth pre-registered to insure herself better courses.
Is Mr. Marr aware of our radio?
in back and forward in front.
U
let egg get when pen Practice ( e ) EE
U eh ( e )
Many cities are busy.
ih as in “it” ( i ): The back of the tongue Billy is simply silly.
touches the upper back teeth. The He seems healthy and happy.
front is forward and up.
Practice Rs and (e ) EEs
U
it give if this him
Barry’s hairy beard is really curly.
ih ( i )
* The first set of bold letters in this section are our sound symbols; the
She’s very, very pretty and friendly.
Creepy, crawly, stringy, slimy worms.
second, in parenthesis, are the dictionary symbols.
14 67
EE as in “eat” ( e ):
Practice words and sentences. Repeat after me: Tense the back sides of your tongue and
raise them to your upper back teeth. Tip of
was not wasn’t did not didn’t could not couldn’t the tongue is down and touching the back
would not wouldn’t should not shouldn’t side of the lower teeth. Your lips are in a
slight smile. This sound is voiced longer in
I didn’t eat all the candy. Standard American than other languages. EE ( e )
I couldn’t and I wouldn’t.
U
Well, maybe I did but I shouldn’t have. eat key team baby please
Other glottal examples that aren’t contractions: ah as in “on” ( o/ä ): Drop your jaw lower for
this vowel than for any other. Press the back
of your tongue down, front of your tongue
U
mountain certain curtain latin listen
forward, touching your lower teeth, your lips
Repeat these sentences: are relaxed. ah (o/ä)
I wasn’t certain I could see the mountain if I opened the curtain, on box what lot car
and I couldn’t.
aw as in “raw”( o ): Round your lips and
I didn’t and wouldn’t listen to my latin lesson. lower your jaw slightly. Keep your lips close
to your teeth. Hold your tongue down and
forward.
aw ( o )
raw all law dog dawn
66 15
U e
uh as in “cup”( u / ) : TRACK TWENTY-ONE Contraction exercises
The shortest and most frequently used vowel The shortening of a word by the omission of one or more letters or sounds.
sound in Standard American. The uh, known
Example: For ‘I am’ we simply take out ‘a’ in ‘am’ and put the ‘I’ and ‘m’
as the “schwa,” can be either stressed or
together forming ‘I’m’. Follow along in the workbook to see the letters we
unstressed. The lips are relaxed and the back
U
of the tongue is pushed slightly forward. take out and how it changes the sound to a contraction. Repeat after
U
cup the love fun young e me:
uh (u/ )
I am I’m I’m learning how to say a contraction.
ugh as in “book” ( oo ) : Your jaw is high and
you are you’re You’re getting better and better.
your lips are slightly rounded. Keep your lips
they are they’re They’re going to understand me now.
close to your teeth and tongue forward. It’s
she is she’s I saw her. She’s really smart.
like the sound of being punched in the stom-
he is he’s He’s okay with me.
ach. Ugh. This sound is in the back of the
U
we will we’ll We’ll be home in no time.
throat.
it is it’s If it’s noon, it must be lunch time.
book good put should look ugh ( oo ) are not aren’t Why aren’t you happy?
uu as in “you” ( oo ): This is a diphthong which could have could’ve
is two vowel sounds joined to form one should have should’ve She could’ve and should’ve done her work.
speech sound. Your jaw is high and lips are
slightly rounded. Keep your lips close to your Now here are some contractions and other words that use the glottal
teeth. The second part of the sound you stop, which is a voiced sound produced by the closure and release of
make by lowering you larynx. In the Standard the glottis which is the vocal cords closing and opening. (This is a sound
American, this sound is in the back of the Americans make that often mystifies others.)
throat. uu ( oo )
With these examples the tongue lingers in the ‘n’ position and the vocal
you new too blue through
cords close voicing nn-nn-nn.
16 65
TRACK TWENTY Casual Speech Using the dictionary symbol “ ”
e
IE as in “my” ( i ) :
There are a few words that Americans unstress to make natural sounding (Diphthong) Begin with your jaw and
e
conversation. The unstressed sound usually sounds like ‘ /uh’. Here’s tongue down. As you begin the sound,
U
some of the words we sometimes unstress: gradually raise your jaw and smile slightly,
ah ( o/ä )
U back teeth. The sound
to - t
e
you - y
e
your/you’re - y r
e
can - c n
e
and -
e
nd tensing the back sides of your tongue
begins with ah (o/ä) and moves to EE ( e).

an -
e
n a -
e
for - f r
e
or -
e
r
toward your upper
becomes
Usually, if these words are at the end of a sentence or thought section, EE ( e )
Always keeping your tongue forward.
we stress them fully. Repeat after me:
my kind I by dime
1. Do we have to? 2. If we can 3. Who’s this gift for? 4. It’s for you.
U for-
AE as in “may”( a ) : (Diphthong) Open
U
We use the word fully stressed when we: ‘want to make a point’.
e e
As opposed to: ‘Wann make point’. We use it to change attitude and meaning. your mouth slightly, with tongue slightly
ward beginning with the sound eh ( e) as in
Practicing unstressed words: Repeat after us: eh ( e )
egg. Raise your jaw and tense the back sides
e
t :
e
I’m going t the store. becomes
of your tongue into your upper back teeth,
e e EE ( e )
y , wanna: Do y wanna go? smile slightly and the sound becomes EE ( e ).
e e e e
y ,f r : No, but c n y pick something up f r me.
e
may say brain day gate
e e
c n: Sure. What c n I get you?
ow as in “house” ( ou ) : (Diphthong) Lower
U
e e e e
n, nd: I need n orange juice nd a dozen eggs.
your jaw, open your mouth fairly wide with a
U
e e
Haft , (have to): Do we haft have orange juice again? slight smile. Begin the sound, gradually raising
Godd , (got to): I’ve godd have my vitamin C.
e e
your jaw and rounding your lips. This sound aeh ( a )
e e e e becomes
y r, r: O.K. – Should I take y r car r mine? begins like aeh ( a ), and moves to uu (oo).
e e
c n, y
e
You c n take my car if y want.
e house now found proud loud uu ( oo )
64 17
OU as in “no” ( o ): TRACK NINETEEN
(Diphthong) Begin with your jaw and Clusters
tongue low and forward. Your lips are
rounded and close to your teeth. (O) Begin Two consonants sounding together at the same time.
the sound, gradually raising your jaw and Example: place – instead of puh-lace.
oh ( o )
tensing your tongue. The second part of
becomes
this becomes uu (oo) . In the Standard
uu ( oo ) pl: please apply plenty
American, this sound resonates in the back
of the throat. bl: blue blossoms blooming
no coat go those so fl: butterflies fluttering beautifully
cl: disclosing clever clues
oye as in “oil” ( oi ): (Diphthong) Begins oh ( o ) gl: glorious glimmering glamour
with your lips rounded and your jaw down. becomes sl: sliding slippery slopes
This sound begins like ( o ) ou. Gradually
uu ( oo ) pr: practicing proper protocol
raise your jaw and smile slightly, tensing, the
back of your tongue up and the front of br: brothers breaking bread
becomes
your tongue down. EE (e). fr: refreshing frosty fruit
oil boy soil broil joy EE ( e )
cr: crispy creamy crepe
gr: greater growing grounds
scr: scribes scrolling scripts
str: stretching strong string
18 63
TRACK SIXTEEN The “R”
Repeat after me:
Now, to one of the most important and rec-
1. We sat around and had a great evening. (WEEsaehduhrOWnd ognizable sounds in the Standard
–little pause- aehndhaeduhgrAEdEEvnihng.) American Accent. The R. The Standard
American R is retro-flexed; meaning the
2. A rabbit hopped out of that airfield.
back of the tongue stays down and the
(uhraehbihdhahpdOWduhvTHaehdAirfEEld.)
R Illustration
front of the tongue curls up without touch-
3. I picked a soft orange. (IEEpihKduhsahfdawrnj.) ing the dental ridge. The soft palate raises
allowing a clear air flow over the tongue.
U
Connecting ending T’s and Ds with consonants, particularly the TH/th. Watch your tongue in the mirror. Purse your lips close to teeth.
For the TH/th, the tongue pauses at the teeth for a millisecond (:) and
then thrusts out of the mouth and flicks back in. Only the TH/th is a
Air as in “care” ( ) : The first sound is eh ( e ) as in egg. Tongue is
heard. Example: Did This ( Di:THis) down. Then er . Tongue curls up and back.
air care fair hair where share
Repeat after me:
Ear as in “dear” ( i ): The first sound is EE ( e ) as in eat. Tongue is
1. Why didn’t that fit there? (WIEdihn:THaeh:fi:THAir.) down. Then r . Tongue curls up and back
2. Dad thought it through. (Daeh:thawdih:thrUU.) ear dear tear beer hear rear
3. Did Larry get back last night? (Dih:LAirEEgeh:baehKlaehs:nIEt?) e
er as in “her” ( ur / r ) : The tip of your tongue is already curling up.
4. Let this be at the top. (Leh:THihsbEEaeh:THuhtahp.)
Prepare the sound by lifting the roof of your mouth as in a yawn. Let
5. Mark did the right thing. (MahrKdih:THuhrIE:thihng.) the air be unobstructed as it flows over your tongue. Purse your lips
6. This and that and those. (THihsaehn:THaehdaehn:THOUZ.) close to your teeth.
her search nurse girls grammar
62 19
TRACK SEVENTEEN: Consonants Without the e (EE) or w, this sentence: The old shy owl flew away
Would sound like: Thuh uhld shuh uhl fluh uh eh.
PLOSIVES: Such as B K T D P G So you can hear how important it is to finish each sound (diphthong)
in order to connect it. First – we’ll say the underlined sounds.
FRICATIVES: Such as F S J Z Z H S H CH V TH Th
Repeat after me:
VOICED
1. How is Joe enjoying his new wagon?
CONSONANTS: Such as B D G Z L N J Z H
(HOWihzJOUehnjOYEihnghihznUUwaehguhn?)
M V TH W ng V Y
2. Sammy ate my only apple. (SaehmEEAEtmIEOUnlEEaepuhl.)
UNVOICED CONSONANTS: Such as T S K P Sh Ch F Th H
3. My only other joy is you. (MIEOUnlEEuhTHerjOYEihzyUU.)
Consonants are what hinder, deflect or interrupt the 4. The new airplane flew over the ocean.
flow of vowels. (ThuhnUUairplAEnflUUOUverTHEEOUshun.)
Connecting Ending t’s with Vowels

NOTE: Don’t let the consonant throw off the shape of the Example: ‘I sat around’. We don’t put much energy into the ‘T’. It
sounds more like a ‘d’ (I sadaround). (In the parenthesis, we’ve
Standard American Vowel, or it’ll change the sound.
underlined the beginning of each word.)
20 61
TRACK EIGHTEEN: Connecting Words together smoothly TRACK EIGHTEEN: T D L N
It’s Important to follow along in your workbook so you can see Let’s begin with the consonants that are sounded when the
how we do it. upper tip area of the tongue comes together with the upper gum
ridge or hard palate. We’ll use the simple vowel system A E I O U
Connecting Same Sounds (a, e, i, o, oo ) along with the consonants. Not all of these sounds
Example: Some more
are words. Placement: Back. Lips close to the teeth.
The beginning sound of each word takes precedence. First we’ll sound
the beginning of each word, then we’ll say the phrase. (In parenthesis, T as in Tom : tay tea tie toe too
we’re using sound symbols.) Plosive, unvoiced ate eat iet oat uut
(t’s at the end )
1. I have four ripe bananas. (IEhaehfourIEbuhnaehnuhz.) D as in Dad : day dee dye dough do
T - D
Plosive, voiced aid eed I’d ode uud
2. Did Tammy eat dinner? (DihtaehmEEEEdihner?)
3. Your road tore up Byron’s sneakers. (YUUrOUtOUruhpBIEruhnsnEEKerz.) L as in Lili:
Even air flow,voiced. lay lee lie low lou
4. Tomorrow we’ll learn nine new words. (TuhmahrOUWEElernIEnUUwerdz.)
Mouth is nearly ale eel I’ll ole uul
Connecting Diphthongs closed.
All of these vowels [diphthongs: a (AE), e (EE), i (IE), o (OU), oo (UU), ou N as in Nice : nay nee nye no new
Nasal, voiced ain een ien own uun
L- N
(OW), ôi (OYE)] have two sounds that either end in long e (EE) or w.
60 21
TRACK NINETEEN: S Z TRACK 17: How the Standard American accent is spoken in
ideas and thoughts.
Now for the S and the Z which are hissing sounds
(SSSS ZZZZZ) called fricatives.
Let’s talk briefly about the way the Standard American Accent is spo-
S as in Said: say see sigh so sue ken. It is spoken in ideas or thought sections. You need to keep asking
Fricative, unvoiced ace ees ice ohs uus yourself questions that finally add up.
Z as in Zebra: zay zee zie zo zoo I’m going to use as an example an upcoming exercise, "The Success
Fricative, voiced aze ease eyes owes ooze Proclamation". I’m going to show the questions I ask myself and how
that affects the structure of the sentence and the melody.
SUCCESS PROCLAMATION
As a (what?) student of the ( what?) Standard American Accent, I am
S - Z
(what?) committed to (to what?) mastering (what)? every new sound.
Practicing, (how?) slowly (when?) at first, I realize (what?) this different
way of (of what?) placing my (what?) lips and tongue for (for what?)
NOTE: For the few of you who are having a each vowel and consonant, needs (what?) time to become (what?)
hard time bringing the tongue up to the comfortable and to be (what?) absorbed (where?) deeply into my
upper gum ridge for the S and Z. Try placing (what?) muscle memory.
the tongue down behind your lower teeth.
Think about these ideas and thought sections as you speak and read.
But never on or between the teeth.
22 59
‘ Z’ ‘S’
has asked Rumor has it that Craig has asked Cate TRACK TWENTY: J Zh Sh Ch
on a hot date.
his hiss His hiss in the theatre was rude. Now tongue on the hard palate.
implausible impossible It’s implausible, if not impossible,
that I’ll visit Mars.
liaison lesson The lesson for the liaison is to
communicate.
lose loose Elmer’s shoestrings are loose. He may lose
J - Zh - Sh - Ch
his shoes.
miser miso You mustn’t be a miser if you want the
best miso soup.
observe absurd Aunt Bunny feels it would be absurd to just
J as in Joy: jaygee jie joe juu
observe life.
Fricative, voiced age eej iej ohj uuj
physical fiscal Don’t get physical when I bring up your
fiscal year.
muse mousse Chocolate mousse must be some zh as in Asia: zhay zhee zhie zho zhu
people’s muse. Fricative, voiced aezh eezh iezh ohzh uuzh
news noose The news of the noose was scary.
reserve resurgence Is there a resurgence in reserved behavior? sh as in Shine: shay she shy show shoe
those this This one is better than those. Fricative, unvoiced aesh eesh iesh ohsh uush
close (v.) close (adj.) Close the door before the bear gets too close.
Ms. Miss When women are single, they’re Ms. or ch as in Choice: chay chee chy cho chew
Miss. When married, Ms. or Mrs. Fricative, unvoiced aech each iech ohch uuch
58 23
TRACK TWENTY-ONE: M P B F V Comparing S & Z Sounds
Consonants centered around
the lip area. Upper lip close Middle ‘S’ The truth is there are so many rules and exceptions to the middle ‘S’,
M - B - P
to teeth. Sound back. that the best way to determine if an ‘S’ is voiced or unvoiced is by listening to
good speakers and looking in an American dictionary, where it will show you if the
M as in Money: may me my moe moo word has a ‘S’ or ‘Z’ sound.
Nasal, voiced lips aim eem I’m ome uum
come together and hum. Here are lists of words with both voiced and unvoiced ‘S’s to practice:
Touch your voice box so you can feel the vibration in the voiced ‘S’.
P as in Positive: pay pea pie poe poo
Plosive, unvoiced ape eep iep ope uup
lips come together
‘ Z’ ‘S’
build up air & explode
as ask Ask him as you would your equal.
B as in Beautiful: bay be bye bow boo baptism Baptists Baptists believe in baptism by water.
Plosive, voiced abe eeb ieb ohb uub Caesar cease Julius Caesar ceased ruling Rome in 44 B.C.
lips come together, cheese cheats Dolly cheats on her diet with a little cheese.
build up air and explode composed compost A good compost is composed of organic matter.
basil bison Do wild bison graze on wild basil?
F as in Friend: fay fee fie foe fuu
closet closest Our closest coat closet is in the hall.
Fricative, unvoiced aef eef ief oaf uuf
upper teeth lightly easing increasing Sally suggests easing your stress by
biting the lower lip and blowing increasing your shopping.
refuses fuss Jessie refuses to fuss over silly things.
F - V
goes ghost The ghost goes "Boo" in cartoons.
V as in Victory: vay vee vie voe vuu eyes ice Where’s the best place to direct one’s eyes
Fricative, voiced aev eve I’ve ohv uuv when ice skating?
Upper teeth lightly
biting lower lip with vibration
24 57
TRACK SIXTEEN: Ss The added S TRACK TWENTY-TWO: TH/th
The Added ‘S’ at ends of words
TH FRICATIVE Both voiced and unvoiced.
As we now know, the American ‘S’ often sounds like a Z zzzzz. But how do
Thrust your tongue forward and then
we know which S sound is used and when? Here’s some rules for words
that end in ‘S’. i.e. (Ending ‘S’ – Including plurals, present tense, and 3rd per- back through your front teeth. Make
TH - th
son singular.) the TH sound as you pull your tongue
The general rule: If the sound before the ‘S’ is voiced, as in the “d” in hand, back through your teeth.
the ending ‘S’ is also voiced, handz. If the sound before the ‘S’ is unvoiced,
as the t in cat, the ending sound is also unvoiced – cats.
(We’ve darkened all the Z sounds to make it easier to practice.) TH as in The: THey THee THy THough THuu
Repeat after me: Voiced aeTH eeTH ieTH ohTH uuTH
Unvoiced Voiced
S Z th as in Thought: thay thee thigh thow thuu
1. laughs loves He laughs a lot and she loves it.
Unvoiced aeth eeth ieth oath uuth
2. docks dogs Our dogs enjoy their walks near the fishing docks.
3. breaths breathes One breathes easier if one takes long, deep
breaths.
4. caps cubs New baseball caps were bought for the cubs.
5. foots foods Who foots the bill for these exotic foods?
56 25
TRACK TWENTY-THREE TRACK FIFTEEN THE VOWEL/ MELODY EXERCISE
Here is an advanced exercise that has gotten really great results. Follow
W: Sounds a little like a dog’s bark. along in the workbook.
From the back of the throat, mouth I’ll say only the vowels with the melody - ‘IE- IE- U- ER’- You then say the full
is round but close to the teeth. sentence, ‘I like to learn’, duplicating my vowels and melody.
Then, I’ll say the sentence and you can compare yourself.
Make sure your upper lip is lower than
your upper teeth. If not, your W may like Don’t car
1. I to 7. park your in the
sound like a V. learn dark
earth mo- fa-
2. The is 8. My ther and ther were
W as in Wish: way we why woe woo round here
Voiced Both charm-
3. hands on the 9. She’s a ing per-
wheel son
sought
4. They it ba- so
out 10. Your by is cute
few make dog
5. A good 11. I can the
men play
go- be great law- looked

6. It’s ing to a 12. The yer like he
year cared
26 55
TRACK FOURTEEN: Comparing the sounds Y J & Ch J Sh Zh TRACK TWENTY-FOUR
Y J
CONSONANTS
yam jam I’ve heard of yellow jello but never of yam jam.
Where the soft palate comes together
yellow jello
yawning John Last year John was jeering the ball players. This with the back of the tongue. Keep front
year jeering year John is yawning. of the tongue forward.
K as in Keep:
CH J (DZ) SH ZH Posive, unvoiced kay key kie co coo
sometimes looks like ache eek ike oak uuk
lecture jurors pressure pleasure It was a pleasure not a “c”
to be pressured with
a lecture when I was a juror.
Hard G as in Great: gay ghee guy go goo
catch agitated cash casual I’m agitated when I catch
Plosive, voiced aeg eeg ieg ohg uug
myself being too casual
with cash. ng as in Singing: aing ing ieng ong uung
changed Jade shades beige Jen changed her kitchen Nasal, voiced
shades from beige to jade.
nk as in Think: aink eenk ienk onk oonk
mattress manager make measures Make sure the manager of
sure the furniture store measures
Nasal, voiced
the mattress. and unvoiced
54 27
TRACK TWENTY-FIVE TRACK THIRTEEN: Comparing Th /TH with T and D
R FLOWING AIR VOICED
The front of the tongue curls back and the air flows unobstruct- Compare Voiced TH and D
edly over the tongue. The soft palate lifts up, making sure the (and T’s that sound more like D’s)
tongue doesn’t hit the hard palate. [Listen and feel that the (th) (d)
tongue is curling back far enough, but not too far.] Keep the back
of the tongue down. See R Y H and Q illustrations on next page. weather wetter The weather today was wetter than the weather
yesterday.
R As in Rose ray ree rye row rue those does The deer are hiding those darling baby
air ear ire ore oor does over there.
Y as in Yes: yay yee yie yo you
Fricative, voiced Compare Unvoiced th and t
Tip of the tongue is down
behind lower teeth, pushing
theme team Todd’s team has three themes: Thorough, Tireless,
H as in Happy: hay he hi ho who and Victorious.
A little push of
air from a very open
thought taught I thought Matt taught math, not athletics.
unobstructed throat
and mouth. Unvoiced
Q K and W together: kway kwee kwy kwo kwu

K unvoiced
W voiced KW
As in Quick
28 53
Compare v (voiced)/ w (voiced)
visor wiser The wiser vacationers wore visors in the sun.
vain Wayne Wayne was a very vain man.
vow wow I vow to make this show a wow!
Compare Nasal Sounds M - N - NG - NK

name main The main thing I think is to remember her name. R Y
things thinks Naomi thinks most humans have too many things.
bang bank People in my bank ran when they heard the loud bang.
sang same These men were singing the same song as those women.
Compare Voiced G and Unvoiced K

crows grows Green corn grows golden with the help of scarecrows.
could good Could a good cook become a great cook?
aches eggs Greg aches for eggs and pancakes for breakfast.
H Q
TRACK TWENTY-SIX
Wrap up of the beginners daily workout

and
the secret to success!
52 29
TRACK TWENTY-SEVEN TRACK TWELVE: Comparing Consonants
Compare: R/L (both voiced)

right light Please take a right at the red light.
Intermediate Daily Workout car call I’ll call for my car from the hotel room.
sorry saw Lee When I saw Lee I told him I was sorry for being late.
MELODY EXERCISE Compare: b (voiced)/ p (unvoiced)

This is a variation on the Standard American Melody, using the days big pig The big blue ribbon was placed on Pepper, the pretty pig.
of the week. bump pump Betty felt the bump as she backed into the brown gas
pump.
Wednesday Monday cab cap The cab driver kept his cap on his lap.
Monday Saturday
Thursday — Tuesday When an "m" precedes a "b", the "b" is always silent.
Tuesday Sunday
Friday Wednesday Examples: womb, comb, numb, climb
(This does not apply when the “m” and “b” are separated within the word as
in de-cem-ber, hum-ble. Check your American Dictionary.)
Saturday Thursday
Thursday Tuesday When "m" precedes a "p", the "p" is always heard. Camp, dump, lump.
Sunday — Friday
Friday Wednesday
Monday Saturday Repeat after me:
lamb lamp The laboring sheep bore the lamb by lamp light.
Tuesday Compare v (voiced)/ f (unvoiced)

Sunday view few Very few people have a view of the beautiful valley.
Wednesday
Monday have half I’ll have half of your fries if you have half of my vegetables.
Thursday ever effort Have you ever made this fervent an effort?
30 51
TRACK ELEVEN: Ending "ed" Voiced (ed) or Unvoiced (t) Another variation on the standard american melody, using the alphabet
The general rule: If the sound before the "ed" is voiced, as in the letter "L" in D I N
A F K
sample, the ending "ed" is also voiced: sampld. If the sound is unvoiced,
B — G — L
as in "K" in like, the ending ed is also unvoiced: likt. Practice:
C H M
E J O
Voiced (ed) Unvoiced (t sound)
1. rubbed (bd) 1. laughed (ft)
2. tamed (md) 2. crunched (cht) S X
P U
3. crowded (did) 3. popped (pt)
Q — V Y
4. groaned (nd) 4. asked (kt)
R W
T Z
Here’s some sentences. Repeat after me.
(did) (bd)
It was so crowded, I rubbed elbows with everyone.
TRACK TWENTY-EIGHT A PLACEMENT EXERCISE
(sht) (cht)
There was so much pushing, I felt mashed and crunched. This exercise opens up the back of your throat. By doing these
exercises, you may discover it also gives you a deeper, richer,
(ld) (nd) (vd) (ft) lower and more resonant voice. This is a positive byproduct that
I was jostled so hard I groaned, but I still loved the excitement and laughed.
everyone is happily surprised by.
Hung-Ah (repeat three times)
50 31
TRACK TWENTY-NINE TRACK TEN: Unvoiced T and Voiced D
Introduction to Vowel phrases with Melody Exercises.
See illustration on page 21
1. Say it with us the first time, pulling each word down.
2. This time more naturally, but keep in mind the weight on the t/d
bottom of each word. Repeat the phrase after us. Imitate our
placement and pronunciation as much as you can. You can even Todd dot Todd was told to dot his i’s and cross his t’s.
exaggerate and make fun of us. This sometimes really helps get
you into the Standard American sound. can’t canned I can’t find the canned food we bought.
set said Tate said your dental date is set.
TRACK THIRTY
Sound Dictionary
Symbols Symbols
T’s in the middle of words are often very soft as in:
(a) The lad with the hat sat on the fat mat.
batter (badder), letter (ledder), waiting (waiding),
aeh
Example: Th la wi th ha sa on th fa ma getting (gedding), Saturday (Sadurday), matter (madder),
e d th e t t e t t (anchor each word)
water (wader).
The lad with sat on fat
(remember melody)
the the
hat mat
eh (e) Check the hen’s nest for eggs.
ih ( i ) His list is filled with big gifts for the kids.
32 49
TRACK NINE: Examples of how we stress words EE ( e ) Everybody says the puppy is very pretty.
(ä•o) Todd shot at rocks, logs and bottles.

This is how the Standard American Accent is used most often when using a
description and then the object. It’s like our melody exercise.
ah
( o) All the law students were caught yawning at dawn.

Big Up Lighter
A Down Heavier
Tree aw
uh (a •u) The big lug felt as snug in the rug as a bug.

Exercises: e
pretty
ugh (oo) The woman took the wolf into the brook.
She’s a girl—Describe her – She’s a girl.
wooden
(oo) You and the moon and the music.

There is a pole – what kind of pole? – A pole.
uu
rich fine Lester’s
We had and at birth- IE ( i ) Kindly wipe the child’s crying eyes.
( a) Kate ate baked cakes with grape glaze.

chocolate wine day.
AE
(ou) Our cat was out of our house for an hour.

sun’s pretty cute water
Because of the the with the carried the bot- ow
o ) No nose knows roast pork like Poe’s nose knows roast pork.
heat, girl dog tle.
ou (
oi ) The spoiled boy destroyed the toy.

south our beautiful
The of has flow-
side house ers. oye (
48 33
TRACK THIRTY-ONE 10. ( o/ä ) ah / ( i ) IE
lock like I don’t like to lock my keys in the car.
CONSONANT EXERCISES using short phrases.
father fighter My father was once a prize fighter.
Sounds when the tongue comes together with the upper gum bond bind The love we share is the bond that binds us
ridge. T D L N. See illustration on page 21. together.
T (Build up air and explode.) 11. ( o ) OU / ( ô) aw

loan lawn Could you loan me your lawn mower?
Initial T’s: Tell Tommy to take Timmy. hole haul Haul the dirt and dump it in the hole.
Tasty, tangy tamales. old all All of us should grow old with health and
Ending T’s: Pat bought eight fruit plates. happiness.
Let the cat eat the treat. 12. ( o ) OU / ( ôi ) OYE
Middle T’s: That pretty lady’s getting water bottles. toe toy The child dropped the toy on my toe.
Sound like Ds Patty settled plenty of battles. nose noise When Joe blows his nose, he makes a lot of noise.
chose choice Phil chose Libby as his choice.
D (Same position and explosion as T, but Voiced.)
D (Duh) Did DIck dare to date Debbie?
13. ( â ) Air / ( i ) Ear
Hand Dad the cold salad mold. air ear Don’t blow air in my ear.
chair cheer They stood on their chairs to cheer.
L (You must use air to make this sound properly. The blade of the fair fear There’s no reason to fear fair weather.
tongue is flat against the gum ridge. Mouth is nearly closed.) e
14. ( ûr/ r ) er / ( r ) r
L. (Luh) Sally falls in love a lot. worm warm The worms will come out of the ground when it’s
Let’s learn our lessons well. warm.
her hair Her hair was brown and her skin was fair.
I’ll call all of Paul’s pals.
were war Were you in World War One?
34 47
5.( ô ) aw / ( o/ä ) ah N (Nasal. Blade of tongue touching the gum ridge.)
caught cot Paul was caught sitting on his cot.
dawn Don Don loves the early dawn. N (Nuh) The plane landed in the sand.
taught tot The tot was taught to read. Rainy Sunday afternoon.
6. ( u / ) uh / ( o/ä) ah
e
of (uv) off Get off of it. S/Z For most people, the tip of the tongue is pointed towards
love loft We fell in love in his loft. the upper gum ridge, behind and away from your teeth. If
brother broth I brought my brother some chicken broth. this seems difficult for you, try pointing your tongue down,
mother father My mother and father are Mary and Homer. but never touch your teeth. See illustration on page 22.
none nonsense The nun would have none of his nonsense.
S (Sound Unvoiced.Sometimes looks like a C)
7. ( a ) aeh / (ou ) ow
at out At what hour do we get out of school? S Let us see this sensational ice skating race.
can’t count You’re a winner. I can’t count you out. Six cats paced slowly across slippery steps.
lad loud The lad was too loud in the library.
S (in the beginning of a word is always unvoiced)
8. (oo) ugh / (oo) uu
should shoot Should I shoot so much pool? S Slimy snails slid silently.
good who’d Who’d have guessed he was so good? Sue sewed several smart slender swim suits.
look Luke Take a look at Luke.
9. ( e ) eh / ( a ) AE Z (with Ss that sound like Zs)
fed fade I start to fade after being fed.
again gain Our baby has gained weight again. Z His music pleased Zoey’s ears.
edge age Let’s hope the world is on the edge of a great Zoo visitors gazed at drowsy zebras.
new age.
46 35
TRACK EIGHT Contrasting Vowel Sounds
CD 2 CORFF STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM CD 2 Follow along in your workbook. Repeat after us on each one. We’ll use only
Continuation of the Intermediate Exercises Track 12 Compare V (Voiced) and F (Unvoiced) Dictionary symbols and sound symbols.
Track 1 Tongue on Hard Palate Compare V (Voiced) and W (Voiced)
Compare Nasal sounds M-N, NG, NK 1. (a) aeh/ (e) eh
Track 2 Consonant Exercises for the letters Compare G (Voiced) and K (Unvoiced) gas guess I guess you need gas in the car.
M P B F V and W (Lips) Track 13 Compare TH and D, Compare TH and T Annie any Has anyone seen Annie lately?
Track 3 Voiced and Unvoiced TH Track 14 Compare Y and J, Compare CH-J-SH and ZH man men It took ten men to find one man.
Track 4 Consonants K G NG NK Track 15 The Vowel/Melody exercise 2. ( e ) eh / ( i ) ih
(Tongue touches upper soft palate) Track 16 Ss, the added S when win When is our team going to win?
Track 5 The R Y H and Q lesson listen Listen well to your lessons.
Track 17 How the S.A.A. is spoken in ideas and thoughts
pen pin The pen’s point was as sharp as the hat pin.
This is the end of the intermediate section Track 18 Connecting words together smoothly, Connecting
Diphthongs, Connecting consonants 3. ( i ) ih / ( e ) EE
Section II Advanced Daily Workout Tracks 6-25
Track 19 Clusters his he’s He’s over his hangover.
Track 6 Placement Exercises. Opening the back Track 20 Casual Speech (unstressed words)
of the throat. been bean Who’s been eating the green beans?
Track 21 Contraction exercises (glottal stop)
Track 7 Melody exercise Common Phrases rich reach She reached her rich sister.
Track 22 The R and the long E, the E especially at the end
Track 8 Contrasting vowel sounds of words. live leave Let’s leave the kitchen and go to the living room.
Track 23 Intro to Success Proclamation visit visa I need my visa to visit that country.
Track 9 Examples of how we stress words
Track 24 Success Proclamation
Track 10 Comparing unvoiced T and Voiced D 4. ( o / ä ) ah/ ( a ) aeh
Ts in the middle of words Track 25 Press through and be a Master. Good Luck & Enjoy!
lost laughed We laughed so hard we lost the game.
Track 11 Ending “ed” Voiced (ed) Unvoiced (T) TIP AND SUGGESTIONS that will help your progress pg. 72
blond bland She looks bland as a blond.
Track 12 Compare R and L Acknowledgements pg 74 odd add It’s odd to add without a calculator.
Compare B (Voiced) and P (Unvoiced) Vowel & Consonant Charts pg 76 - 79
36 45
TRACK ONE Tongue on Hard Palate
time day’s hot
What To- It’s See illustration on page 23.
is the to-
it ? day. night.
J (voiced) Judy judged the fudge.

I My
love (your much Jerry jumped joyously.
real- name How does
ly is that ZH (voiced) Measure the beige garage.
you. name.) cost?
Casual cashmere leisure wear.
phone pretty baby SH (unvoiced) The shepherd washed his sheep.

What’s That’s How’s She was short of cash.
num-
your my my
CH (unvoiced) The child munched chocolate chips.
ber? cat. boy?
Matching church benches.
44 37
TRACK TWO TRACK SEVEN
Consonant exercises for the letters M P B F V and W. Consonants Melody exercise using common phrases
that use the lips.See illustration on page 24.
Up Hel- Thank Good

M (voiced) Mimi Mouse munches mints.
Down lo you bye
Nasal My mom’s from Miami.
P (unvoiced) Prepare purple plum pop-ups. Females in particular often lift up and then down on the last syllable of a
Plosive Pretty pink pampered puppies. thought such as:
H r e ou
B (voiced) Barbie blabbered about Abe. H i a e r a o u
Plosive Big bright beach balls. H i How a y You look g Nice bl s
i. o t. e.
F (unvoiced) Freddie fried fresh fish. u?
Fricative Five friends left after four. You can go up as long as you go down at the ends.
V (voiced) I’ve saved every Valentine. I Come Yes, What’s

love on I your
Fricative Vivian moved over seven ovens.
you. in. can. name?
W/Wh (voiced) Where’s wishy washy Wilfred?

Purse lips, vibrate Why would Willy switch wheels? do quest get fi-
vocal cords You What’s Don’t Where’s
and blow.
See illustration on can your for- the
page 26. it. ion? it. re?
38 43
Advanced Daily Workout TRACK THREE
TRACK SIX Voiced TH, fricative. Thrust your tongue forward and then back
Placement Exercises again between your front teeth, Make the TH sound as you pull
1. Back of the Tongue Pushdowns your tongue back through your teeth. See illustration on page 25.
Use a mirror to watch your tongue.
Tongue down and flat. TH (voiced) Southern mothers gathered together.
Tip of your tongue touching and never leaving your Put that, this, these, and those over
bottom teeth. there with them.
Use the muscles in the back of your tongue.
Push the back of your tongue down creating a big
open space.
Unvoiced th, fricative, Just a thrust of the tongue through the
Down (5 times or more) teeth and back with no vocal cord vibration, just the sound of
2. Gug air, as the tongue pulls back.
Don’t worry about singing our how you sound.
Think of speaking. th (unvoiced) Think healthy, thankful thoughts.
Big yawny throat, stepping down,
Thirty three thousand things.
GUG GUG GUG (3 times)
3. Big Dopey Throat
A E I O U Big open round connecting vowels.
Tongue forward down and flat. Big dopey sound.
A E I O U (3 Times). Use a mirror to watch your tongue.
(You can go back over these exercises as many times as you need)
42 39
TRACK FOUR TRACK FIVE The R Y H Q (See illustration on page 29)
R Voiced. Relax the tip of the tongue curl the front of your tongue
Consonants where the back of the tongue touches the upper up and back, keeping the back of the tongue down so there is a
clear, unobstructed air flow over the tongue.
soft palate. Make sure the tongue is forward, touching the bot-
tom teeth. K G NG NK. See illustration on page 27. R (voiced) More trees for cleaner air.
Stronger armies require harder armor.
K (unvoiced) Coconut covered cake. Far, far from northern shores.
Racers roared around rugged rocky roads.
Sometimes Kim kept kicking Kevin’s back pack.
looks like a C Y (voiced) Yesterday, youngsters were yo-yoing in
your back yard.
You used to yell “Yeah”, now you yell “Yes!”
G (voiced) Gary goes golfing.
H explodes unobstructed air from the back of the throat.
Greg forgave Maggie’s dog.
H (unvoiced) Handsome Harry held his head high.
NG (voiced) Singing loving songs. Hundreds of hives holding harmless honey.
Buying gongs in Hong Kong. Q (K unvoiced) Quick quiet quacks, quacking quietly.
(W voiced. Qw) The queen quit inquirers from questioning.
NK The drunk sunk the trunk.
(N voiced The stinking skunk stunk.
This is the end of the Intermediate section. Spend time working
(K unvoiced) on this and the Beginners Sections before you move on to the
Advanced section. You’re on your way! Keep Going!
40 41
TRACK FOUR TRACK FIVE The R Y H Q (See illustration on page 29)
R Voiced. Relax the tip of the tongue curl the front of your tongue
Consonants where the back of the tongue touches the upper up and back, keeping the back of the tongue down so there is a
clear, unobstructed air flow over the tongue.
soft palate. Make sure the tongue is forward, touching the bot-
tom teeth. K G NG NK. See illustration on page 27. R (voiced) More trees for cleaner air.
Stronger armies require harder armor.
K (unvoiced) Coconut covered cake. Far, far from northern shores.
Racers roared around rugged rocky roads.
Sometimes Kim kept kicking Kevin’s back pack.
looks like a C Y (voiced) Yesterday, youngsters were yo-yoing in
your back yard.
You used to yell “Yeah”, now you yell “Yes!”
G (voiced) Gary goes golfing.
H explodes unobstructed air from the back of the throat.
Greg forgave Maggie’s dog.
H (unvoiced) Handsome Harry held his head high.
NG (voiced) Singing loving songs. Hundreds of hives holding harmless honey.
Buying gongs in Hong Kong. Q (K unvoiced) Quick quiet quacks, quacking quietly.
(W voiced. Qw) The queen quit inquirers from questioning.
NK The drunk sunk the trunk.
(N voiced The stinking skunk stunk.
This is the end of the Intermediate section. Spend time working
(K unvoiced) on this and the Beginners Sections before you move on to the
Advanced section. You’re on your way! Keep Going!
40 41
Advanced Daily Workout TRACK THREE
TRACK SIX Voiced TH, fricative. Thrust your tongue forward and then back
Placement Exercises again between your front teeth, Make the TH sound as you pull
1. Back of the Tongue Pushdowns your tongue back through your teeth. See illustration on page 25.
Use a mirror to watch your tongue.
Tongue down and flat. TH (voiced) Southern mothers gathered together.
Tip of your tongue touching and never leaving your Put that, this, these, and those over
bottom teeth. there with them.
Use the muscles in the back of your tongue.
Push the back of your tongue down creating a big
open space.
Unvoiced th, fricative, Just a thrust of the tongue through the
Down (5 times or more) teeth and back with no vocal cord vibration, just the sound of
2. Gug air, as the tongue pulls back.
Don’t worry about singing our how you sound.
Think of speaking. th (unvoiced) Think healthy, thankful thoughts.
Big yawny throat, stepping down,
Thirty three thousand things.
GUG GUG GUG (3 times)
3. Big Dopey Throat
A E I O U Big open round connecting vowels.
Tongue forward down and flat. Big dopey sound.
A E I O U (3 Times). Use a mirror to watch your tongue.
(You can go back over these exercises as many times as you need)
42 39
TRACK TWO TRACK SEVEN
Consonant exercises for the letters M P B F V and W. Consonants Melody exercise using common phrases
that use the lips.See illustration on page 24.
Up Hel- Thank Good

M (voiced) Mimi Mouse munches mints.
Down lo you bye
Nasal My mom’s from Miami.
P (unvoiced) Prepare purple plum pop-ups. Females in particular often lift up and then down on the last syllable of a
Plosive Pretty pink pampered puppies. thought such as:
H r e ou
B (voiced) Barbie blabbered about Abe. H i a e r a o u
Plosive Big bright beach balls. H i How a y You look g Nice bl s
i. o t. e.
F (unvoiced) Freddie fried fresh fish. u?
Fricative Five friends left after four. You can go up as long as you go down at the ends.
V (voiced) I’ve saved every Valentine. I Come Yes, What’s

love on I your
Fricative Vivian moved over seven ovens.
you. in. can. name?
W/Wh (voiced) Where’s wishy washy Wilfred?

Purse lips, vibrate Why would Willy switch wheels? do quest get fi-
vocal cords You What’s Don’t Where’s
and blow.
See illustration on can your for- the
page 26. it. ion? it. re?
38 43
TRACK ONE Tongue on Hard Palate
time day’s hot
What To- It’s See illustration on page 23.
is the to-
it ? day. night.
J (voiced) Judy judged the fudge.

I My
love (your much Jerry jumped joyously.
real- name How does
ly is that ZH (voiced) Measure the beige garage.
you. name.) cost?
Casual cashmere leisure wear.
phone pretty baby SH (unvoiced) The shepherd washed his sheep.

What’s That’s How’s She was short of cash.
num-
your my my
CH (unvoiced) The child munched chocolate chips.
ber? cat. boy?
Matching church benches.
44 37
TRACK EIGHT Contrasting Vowel Sounds
CD 2 CORFF STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM CD 2 Follow along in your workbook. Repeat after us on each one. We’ll use only
Continuation of the Intermediate Exercises Track 12 Compare V (Voiced) and F (Unvoiced) Dictionary symbols and sound symbols.
Track 1 Tongue on Hard Palate Compare V (Voiced) and W (Voiced)
Compare Nasal sounds M-N, NG, NK 1. (a) aeh/ (e) eh
Track 2 Consonant Exercises for the letters Compare G (Voiced) and K (Unvoiced) gas guess I guess you need gas in the car.
M P B F V and W (Lips) Track 13 Compare TH and D, Compare TH and T Annie any Has anyone seen Annie lately?
Track 3 Voiced and Unvoiced TH Track 14 Compare Y and J, Compare CH-J-SH and ZH man men It took ten men to find one man.
Track 4 Consonants K G NG NK Track 15 The Vowel/Melody exercise 2. ( e ) eh / ( i ) ih
(Tongue touches upper soft palate) Track 16 Ss, the added S when win When is our team going to win?
Track 5 The R Y H and Q lesson listen Listen well to your lessons.
Track 17 How the S.A.A. is spoken in ideas and thoughts
pen pin The pen’s point was as sharp as the hat pin.
This is the end of the intermediate section Track 18 Connecting words together smoothly, Connecting
Diphthongs, Connecting consonants 3. ( i ) ih / ( e ) EE
Section II Advanced Daily Workout Tracks 6-25
Track 19 Clusters his he’s He’s over his hangover.
Track 6 Placement Exercises. Opening the back Track 20 Casual Speech (unstressed words)
of the throat. been bean Who’s been eating the green beans?
Track 21 Contraction exercises (glottal stop)
Track 7 Melody exercise Common Phrases rich reach She reached her rich sister.
Track 22 The R and the long E, the E especially at the end
Track 8 Contrasting vowel sounds of words. live leave Let’s leave the kitchen and go to the living room.
Track 23 Intro to Success Proclamation visit visa I need my visa to visit that country.
Track 9 Examples of how we stress words
Track 24 Success Proclamation
Track 10 Comparing unvoiced T and Voiced D 4. ( o / ä ) ah/ ( a ) aeh
Ts in the middle of words Track 25 Press through and be a Master. Good Luck & Enjoy!
lost laughed We laughed so hard we lost the game.
Track 11 Ending “ed” Voiced (ed) Unvoiced (T) TIP AND SUGGESTIONS that will help your progress pg. 72
blond bland She looks bland as a blond.
Track 12 Compare R and L Acknowledgements pg 74 odd add It’s odd to add without a calculator.
Compare B (Voiced) and P (Unvoiced) Vowel & Consonant Charts pg 76 - 79
36 45
5.( ô ) aw / ( o/ä ) ah N (Nasal. Blade of tongue touching the gum ridge.)
caught cot Paul was caught sitting on his cot.
dawn Don Don loves the early dawn. N (Nuh) The plane landed in the sand.
taught tot The tot was taught to read. Rainy Sunday afternoon.
6. ( u / ) uh / ( o/ä) ah
e
of (uv) off Get off of it. S/Z For most people, the tip of the tongue is pointed towards
love loft We fell in love in his loft. the upper gum ridge, behind and away from your teeth. If
brother broth I brought my brother some chicken broth. this seems difficult for you, try pointing your tongue down,
mother father My mother and father are Mary and Homer. but never touch your teeth. See illustration on page 22.
none nonsense The nun would have none of his nonsense.
S (Sound Unvoiced.Sometimes looks like a C)
7. ( a ) aeh / (ou ) ow
at out At what hour do we get out of school? S Let us see this sensational ice skating race.
can’t count You’re a winner. I can’t count you out. Six cats paced slowly across slippery steps.
lad loud The lad was too loud in the library.
S (in the beginning of a word is always unvoiced)
8. (oo) ugh / (oo) uu
should shoot Should I shoot so much pool? S Slimy snails slid silently.
good who’d Who’d have guessed he was so good? Sue sewed several smart slender swim suits.
look Luke Take a look at Luke.
9. ( e ) eh / ( a ) AE Z (with Ss that sound like Zs)
fed fade I start to fade after being fed.
again gain Our baby has gained weight again. Z His music pleased Zoey’s ears.
edge age Let’s hope the world is on the edge of a great Zoo visitors gazed at drowsy zebras.
new age.
46 35
TRACK THIRTY-ONE 10. ( o/ä ) ah / ( i ) IE
lock like I don’t like to lock my keys in the car.
CONSONANT EXERCISES using short phrases.
father fighter My father was once a prize fighter.
Sounds when the tongue comes together with the upper gum bond bind The love we share is the bond that binds us
ridge. T D L N. See illustration on page 21. together.
T (Build up air and explode.) 11. ( o ) OU / ( ô) aw

loan lawn Could you loan me your lawn mower?
Initial T’s: Tell Tommy to take Timmy. hole haul Haul the dirt and dump it in the hole.
Tasty, tangy tamales. old all All of us should grow old with health and
Ending T’s: Pat bought eight fruit plates. happiness.
Let the cat eat the treat. 12. ( o ) OU / ( ôi ) OYE
Middle T’s: That pretty lady’s getting water bottles. toe toy The child dropped the toy on my toe.
Sound like Ds Patty settled plenty of battles. nose noise When Joe blows his nose, he makes a lot of noise.
chose choice Phil chose Libby as his choice.
D (Same position and explosion as T, but Voiced.)
D (Duh) Did DIck dare to date Debbie?
13. ( â ) Air / ( i ) Ear
Hand Dad the cold salad mold. air ear Don’t blow air in my ear.
chair cheer They stood on their chairs to cheer.
L (You must use air to make this sound properly. The blade of the fair fear There’s no reason to fear fair weather.
tongue is flat against the gum ridge. Mouth is nearly closed.) e
14. ( ûr/ r ) er / ( r ) r
L. (Luh) Sally falls in love a lot. worm warm The worms will come out of the ground when it’s
Let’s learn our lessons well. warm.
her hair Her hair was brown and her skin was fair.
I’ll call all of Paul’s pals.
were war Were you in World War One?
34 47
TRACK NINE: Examples of how we stress words EE ( e ) Everybody says the puppy is very pretty.
(ä•o) Todd shot at rocks, logs and bottles.

This is how the Standard American Accent is used most often when using a
description and then the object. It’s like our melody exercise.
ah
( o) All the law students were caught yawning at dawn.

Big Up Lighter
A Down Heavier
Tree aw
uh (a •u) The big lug felt as snug in the rug as a bug.

Exercises: e
pretty
ugh (oo) The woman took the wolf into the brook.
She’s a girl—Describe her – She’s a girl.
wooden
(oo) You and the moon and the music.

There is a pole – what kind of pole? – A pole.
uu
rich fine Lester’s
We had and at birth- IE ( i ) Kindly wipe the child’s crying eyes.
( a) Kate ate baked cakes with grape glaze.

chocolate wine day.
AE
(ou) Our cat was out of our house for an hour.

sun’s pretty cute water
Because of the the with the carried the bot- ow
o ) No nose knows roast pork like Poe’s nose knows roast pork.
heat, girl dog tle.
ou (
oi ) The spoiled boy destroyed the toy.

south our beautiful
The of has flow-
side house ers. oye (
48 33
TRACK TWENTY-NINE TRACK TEN: Unvoiced T and Voiced D
Introduction to Vowel phrases with Melody Exercises.
See illustration on page 21
1. Say it with us the first time, pulling each word down.
2. This time more naturally, but keep in mind the weight on the t/d
bottom of each word. Repeat the phrase after us. Imitate our
placement and pronunciation as much as you can. You can even Todd dot Todd was told to dot his i’s and cross his t’s.
exaggerate and make fun of us. This sometimes really helps get
you into the Standard American sound. can’t canned I can’t find the canned food we bought.
set said Tate said your dental date is set.
TRACK THIRTY
Sound Dictionary
Symbols Symbols
T’s in the middle of words are often very soft as in:
(a) The lad with the hat sat on the fat mat.
batter (badder), letter (ledder), waiting (waiding),
aeh
Example: Th la wi th ha sa on th fa ma getting (gedding), Saturday (Sadurday), matter (madder),
e d th e t t e t t (anchor each word)
water (wader).
The lad with sat on fat
(remember melody)
the the
hat mat
eh (e) Check the hen’s nest for eggs.
ih ( i ) His list is filled with big gifts for the kids.
32 49
TRACK ELEVEN: Ending "ed" Voiced (ed) or Unvoiced (t) Another variation on the standard american melody, using the alphabet
The general rule: If the sound before the "ed" is voiced, as in the letter "L" in D I N
A F K
sample, the ending "ed" is also voiced: sampld. If the sound is unvoiced,
B — G — L
as in "K" in like, the ending ed is also unvoiced: likt. Practice:
C H M
E J O
Voiced (ed) Unvoiced (t sound)
1. rubbed (bd) 1. laughed (ft)
2. tamed (md) 2. crunched (cht) S X
P U
3. crowded (did) 3. popped (pt)
Q — V Y
4. groaned (nd) 4. asked (kt)
R W
T Z
Here’s some sentences. Repeat after me.
(did) (bd)
It was so crowded, I rubbed elbows with everyone.
TRACK TWENTY-EIGHT A PLACEMENT EXERCISE
(sht) (cht)
There was so much pushing, I felt mashed and crunched. This exercise opens up the back of your throat. By doing these
exercises, you may discover it also gives you a deeper, richer,
(ld) (nd) (vd) (ft) lower and more resonant voice. This is a positive byproduct that
I was jostled so hard I groaned, but I still loved the excitement and laughed.
everyone is happily surprised by.
Hung-Ah (repeat three times)
50 31
TRACK TWENTY-SEVEN TRACK TWELVE: Comparing Consonants
Compare: R/L (both voiced)

right light Please take a right at the red light.
Intermediate Daily Workout car call I’ll call for my car from the hotel room.
sorry saw Lee When I saw Lee I told him I was sorry for being late.
MELODY EXERCISE Compare: b (voiced)/ p (unvoiced)

This is a variation on the Standard American Melody, using the days big pig The big blue ribbon was placed on Pepper, the pretty pig.
of the week. bump pump Betty felt the bump as she backed into the brown gas
pump.
Wednesday Monday cab cap The cab driver kept his cap on his lap.
Monday Saturday
Thursday — Tuesday When an "m" precedes a "b", the "b" is always silent.
Tuesday Sunday
Friday Wednesday Examples: womb, comb, numb, climb
(This does not apply when the “m” and “b” are separated within the word as
in de-cem-ber, hum-ble. Check your American Dictionary.)
Saturday Thursday
Thursday Tuesday When "m" precedes a "p", the "p" is always heard. Camp, dump, lump.
Sunday — Friday
Friday Wednesday
Monday Saturday Repeat after me:
lamb lamp The laboring sheep bore the lamb by lamp light.
Tuesday Compare v (voiced)/ f (unvoiced)

Sunday view few Very few people have a view of the beautiful valley.
Wednesday
Monday have half I’ll have half of your fries if you have half of my vegetables.
Thursday ever effort Have you ever made this fervent an effort?
30 51
Compare v (voiced)/ w (voiced)
visor wiser The wiser vacationers wore visors in the sun.
vain Wayne Wayne was a very vain man.
vow wow I vow to make this show a wow!
Compare Nasal Sounds M - N - NG - NK

name main The main thing I think is to remember her name. R Y
things thinks Naomi thinks most humans have too many things.
bang bank People in my bank ran when they heard the loud bang.
sang same These men were singing the same song as those women.
Compare Voiced G and Unvoiced K

crows grows Green corn grows golden with the help of scarecrows.
could good Could a good cook become a great cook?
aches eggs Greg aches for eggs and pancakes for breakfast.
H Q
TRACK TWENTY-SIX
Wrap up of the beginners daily workout

and
the secret to success!
52 29
TRACK TWENTY-FIVE TRACK THIRTEEN: Comparing Th /TH with T and D
R FLOWING AIR VOICED
The front of the tongue curls back and the air flows unobstruct- Compare Voiced TH and D
edly over the tongue. The soft palate lifts up, making sure the (and T’s that sound more like D’s)
tongue doesn’t hit the hard palate. [Listen and feel that the (th) (d)
tongue is curling back far enough, but not too far.] Keep the back
of the tongue down. See R Y H and Q illustrations on next page. weather wetter The weather today was wetter than the weather
yesterday.
R As in Rose ray ree rye row rue those does The deer are hiding those darling baby
air ear ire ore oor does over there.
Y as in Yes: yay yee yie yo you
Fricative, voiced Compare Unvoiced th and t
Tip of the tongue is down
behind lower teeth, pushing
theme team Todd’s team has three themes: Thorough, Tireless,
H as in Happy: hay he hi ho who and Victorious.
A little push of
air from a very open
thought taught I thought Matt taught math, not athletics.
unobstructed throat
and mouth. Unvoiced
Q K and W together: kway kwee kwy kwo kwu

K unvoiced
W voiced KW
As in Quick
28 53
TRACK FOURTEEN: Comparing the sounds Y J & Ch J Sh Zh TRACK TWENTY-FOUR
Y J
CONSONANTS
yam jam I’ve heard of yellow jello but never of yam jam.
Where the soft palate comes together
yellow jello
yawning John Last year John was jeering the ball players. This with the back of the tongue. Keep front
year jeering year John is yawning. of the tongue forward.
K as in Keep:
CH J (DZ) SH ZH Posive, unvoiced kay key kie co coo
sometimes looks like ache eek ike oak uuk
lecture jurors pressure pleasure It was a pleasure not a “c”
to be pressured with
a lecture when I was a juror.
Hard G as in Great: gay ghee guy go goo
catch agitated cash casual I’m agitated when I catch
Plosive, voiced aeg eeg ieg ohg uug
myself being too casual
with cash. ng as in Singing: aing ing ieng ong uung
changed Jade shades beige Jen changed her kitchen Nasal, voiced
shades from beige to jade.
nk as in Think: aink eenk ienk onk oonk
mattress manager make measures Make sure the manager of
sure the furniture store measures
Nasal, voiced
the mattress. and unvoiced
54 27
TRACK TWENTY-THREE TRACK FIFTEEN THE VOWEL/ MELODY EXERCISE
Here is an advanced exercise that has gotten really great results. Follow
W: Sounds a little like a dog’s bark. along in the workbook.
From the back of the throat, mouth I’ll say only the vowels with the melody - ‘IE- IE- U- ER’- You then say the full
is round but close to the teeth. sentence, ‘I like to learn’, duplicating my vowels and melody.
Then, I’ll say the sentence and you can compare yourself.
Make sure your upper lip is lower than
your upper teeth. If not, your W may like Don’t car
1. I to 7. park your in the
sound like a V. learn dark
earth mo- fa-
2. The is 8. My ther and ther were
W as in Wish: way we why woe woo round here
Voiced Both charm-
3. hands on the 9. She’s a ing per-
wheel son
sought
4. They it ba- so
out 10. Your by is cute
few make dog
5. A good 11. I can the
men play
go- be great law- looked

6. It’s ing to a 12. The yer like he
year cared
26 55
TRACK SIXTEEN: Ss The added S TRACK TWENTY-TWO: TH/th
The Added ‘S’ at ends of words
TH FRICATIVE Both voiced and unvoiced.
As we now know, the American ‘S’ often sounds like a Z zzzzz. But how do
Thrust your tongue forward and then
we know which S sound is used and when? Here’s some rules for words
that end in ‘S’. i.e. (Ending ‘S’ – Including plurals, present tense, and 3rd per- back through your front teeth. Make
TH - th
son singular.) the TH sound as you pull your tongue
The general rule: If the sound before the ‘S’ is voiced, as in the “d” in hand, back through your teeth.
the ending ‘S’ is also voiced, handz. If the sound before the ‘S’ is unvoiced,
as the t in cat, the ending sound is also unvoiced – cats.
(We’ve darkened all the Z sounds to make it easier to practice.) TH as in The: THey THee THy THough THuu
Repeat after me: Voiced aeTH eeTH ieTH ohTH uuTH
Unvoiced Voiced
S Z th as in Thought: thay thee thigh thow thuu
1. laughs loves He laughs a lot and she loves it.
Unvoiced aeth eeth ieth oath uuth
2. docks dogs Our dogs enjoy their walks near the fishing docks.
3. breaths breathes One breathes easier if one takes long, deep
breaths.
4. caps cubs New baseball caps were bought for the cubs.
5. foots foods Who foots the bill for these exotic foods?
56 25
TRACK TWENTY-ONE: M P B F V Comparing S & Z Sounds
Consonants centered around
the lip area. Upper lip close Middle ‘S’ The truth is there are so many rules and exceptions to the middle ‘S’,
M - B - P
to teeth. Sound back. that the best way to determine if an ‘S’ is voiced or unvoiced is by listening to
good speakers and looking in an American dictionary, where it will show you if the
M as in Money: may me my moe moo word has a ‘S’ or ‘Z’ sound.
Nasal, voiced lips aim eem I’m ome uum
come together and hum. Here are lists of words with both voiced and unvoiced ‘S’s to practice:
Touch your voice box so you can feel the vibration in the voiced ‘S’.
P as in Positive: pay pea pie poe poo
Plosive, unvoiced ape eep iep ope uup
lips come together
‘ Z’ ‘S’
build up air & explode
as ask Ask him as you would your equal.
B as in Beautiful: bay be bye bow boo baptism Baptists Baptists believe in baptism by water.
Plosive, voiced abe eeb ieb ohb uub Caesar cease Julius Caesar ceased ruling Rome in 44 B.C.
lips come together, cheese cheats Dolly cheats on her diet with a little cheese.
build up air and explode composed compost A good compost is composed of organic matter.
basil bison Do wild bison graze on wild basil?
F as in Friend: fay fee fie foe fuu
closet closest Our closest coat closet is in the hall.
Fricative, unvoiced aef eef ief oaf uuf
upper teeth lightly easing increasing Sally suggests easing your stress by
biting the lower lip and blowing increasing your shopping.
refuses fuss Jessie refuses to fuss over silly things.
F - V
goes ghost The ghost goes "Boo" in cartoons.
V as in Victory: vay vee vie voe vuu eyes ice Where’s the best place to direct one’s eyes
Fricative, voiced aev eve I’ve ohv uuv when ice skating?
Upper teeth lightly
biting lower lip with vibration
24 57
‘ Z’ ‘S’
has asked Rumor has it that Craig has asked Cate TRACK TWENTY: J Zh Sh Ch
on a hot date.
his hiss His hiss in the theatre was rude. Now tongue on the hard palate.
implausible impossible It’s implausible, if not impossible,
that I’ll visit Mars.
liaison lesson The lesson for the liaison is to
communicate.
lose loose Elmer’s shoestrings are loose. He may lose
J - Zh - Sh - Ch
his shoes.
miser miso You mustn’t be a miser if you want the
best miso soup.
observe absurd Aunt Bunny feels it would be absurd to just
J as in Joy: jaygee jie joe juu
observe life.
Fricative, voiced age eej iej ohj uuj
physical fiscal Don’t get physical when I bring up your
fiscal year.
muse mousse Chocolate mousse must be some zh as in Asia: zhay zhee zhie zho zhu
people’s muse. Fricative, voiced aezh eezh iezh ohzh uuzh
news noose The news of the noose was scary.
reserve resurgence Is there a resurgence in reserved behavior? sh as in Shine: shay she shy show shoe
those this This one is better than those. Fricative, unvoiced aesh eesh iesh ohsh uush
close (v.) close (adj.) Close the door before the bear gets too close.
Ms. Miss When women are single, they’re Ms. or ch as in Choice: chay chee chy cho chew
Miss. When married, Ms. or Mrs. Fricative, unvoiced aech each iech ohch uuch
58 23
TRACK NINETEEN: S Z TRACK 17: How the Standard American accent is spoken in
ideas and thoughts.
Now for the S and the Z which are hissing sounds
(SSSS ZZZZZ) called fricatives.
Let’s talk briefly about the way the Standard American Accent is spo-
S as in Said: say see sigh so sue ken. It is spoken in ideas or thought sections. You need to keep asking
Fricative, unvoiced ace ees ice ohs uus yourself questions that finally add up.
Z as in Zebra: zay zee zie zo zoo I’m going to use as an example an upcoming exercise, "The Success
Fricative, voiced aze ease eyes owes ooze Proclamation". I’m going to show the questions I ask myself and how
that affects the structure of the sentence and the melody.
SUCCESS PROCLAMATION
As a (what?) student of the ( what?) Standard American Accent, I am
S - Z
(what?) committed to (to what?) mastering (what)? every new sound.
Practicing, (how?) slowly (when?) at first, I realize (what?) this different
way of (of what?) placing my (what?) lips and tongue for (for what?)
NOTE: For the few of you who are having a each vowel and consonant, needs (what?) time to become (what?)
hard time bringing the tongue up to the comfortable and to be (what?) absorbed (where?) deeply into my
upper gum ridge for the S and Z. Try placing (what?) muscle memory.
the tongue down behind your lower teeth.
Think about these ideas and thought sections as you speak and read.
But never on or between the teeth.
22 59
TRACK EIGHTEEN: Connecting Words together smoothly TRACK EIGHTEEN: T D L N
It’s Important to follow along in your workbook so you can see Let’s begin with the consonants that are sounded when the
how we do it. upper tip area of the tongue comes together with the upper gum
ridge or hard palate. We’ll use the simple vowel system A E I O U
Connecting Same Sounds (a, e, i, o, oo ) along with the consonants. Not all of these sounds
Example: Some more
are words. Placement: Back. Lips close to the teeth.
The beginning sound of each word takes precedence. First we’ll sound
the beginning of each word, then we’ll say the phrase. (In parenthesis, T as in Tom : tay tea tie toe too
we’re using sound symbols.) Plosive, unvoiced ate eat iet oat uut
(t’s at the end )
1. I have four ripe bananas. (IEhaehfourIEbuhnaehnuhz.) D as in Dad : day dee dye dough do
T - D
Plosive, voiced aid eed I’d ode uud
2. Did Tammy eat dinner? (DihtaehmEEEEdihner?)
3. Your road tore up Byron’s sneakers. (YUUrOUtOUruhpBIEruhnsnEEKerz.) L as in Lili:
Even air flow,voiced. lay lee lie low lou
4. Tomorrow we’ll learn nine new words. (TuhmahrOUWEElernIEnUUwerdz.)
Mouth is nearly ale eel I’ll ole uul
Connecting Diphthongs closed.
All of these vowels [diphthongs: a (AE), e (EE), i (IE), o (OU), oo (UU), ou N as in Nice : nay nee nye no new
Nasal, voiced ain een ien own uun
L- N
(OW), ôi (OYE)] have two sounds that either end in long e (EE) or w.
60 21
TRACK SEVENTEEN: Consonants Without the e (EE) or w, this sentence: The old shy owl flew away
Would sound like: Thuh uhld shuh uhl fluh uh eh.
PLOSIVES: Such as B K T D P G So you can hear how important it is to finish each sound (diphthong)
in order to connect it. First – we’ll say the underlined sounds.
FRICATIVES: Such as F S J Z Z H S H CH V TH Th
Repeat after me:
VOICED
1. How is Joe enjoying his new wagon?
CONSONANTS: Such as B D G Z L N J Z H
(HOWihzJOUehnjOYEihnghihznUUwaehguhn?)
M V TH W ng V Y
2. Sammy ate my only apple. (SaehmEEAEtmIEOUnlEEaepuhl.)
UNVOICED CONSONANTS: Such as T S K P Sh Ch F Th H
3. My only other joy is you. (MIEOUnlEEuhTHerjOYEihzyUU.)
Consonants are what hinder, deflect or interrupt the 4. The new airplane flew over the ocean.
flow of vowels. (ThuhnUUairplAEnflUUOUverTHEEOUshun.)
Connecting Ending t’s with Vowels

NOTE: Don’t let the consonant throw off the shape of the Example: ‘I sat around’. We don’t put much energy into the ‘T’. It
sounds more like a ‘d’ (I sadaround). (In the parenthesis, we’ve
Standard American Vowel, or it’ll change the sound.
underlined the beginning of each word.)
20 61
TRACK SIXTEEN The “R”
Repeat after me:
Now, to one of the most important and rec-
1. We sat around and had a great evening. (WEEsaehduhrOWnd ognizable sounds in the Standard
–little pause- aehndhaeduhgrAEdEEvnihng.) American Accent. The R. The Standard
American R is retro-flexed; meaning the
2. A rabbit hopped out of that airfield.
back of the tongue stays down and the
(uhraehbihdhahpdOWduhvTHaehdAirfEEld.)
R Illustration
front of the tongue curls up without touch-
3. I picked a soft orange. (IEEpihKduhsahfdawrnj.) ing the dental ridge. The soft palate raises
allowing a clear air flow over the tongue.
U
Connecting ending T’s and Ds with consonants, particularly the TH/th. Watch your tongue in the mirror. Purse your lips close to teeth.
For the TH/th, the tongue pauses at the teeth for a millisecond (:) and
then thrusts out of the mouth and flicks back in. Only the TH/th is a
Air as in “care” ( ) : The first sound is eh ( e ) as in egg. Tongue is
heard. Example: Did This ( Di:THis) down. Then er . Tongue curls up and back.
air care fair hair where share
Repeat after me:
Ear as in “dear” ( i ): The first sound is EE ( e ) as in eat. Tongue is
1. Why didn’t that fit there? (WIEdihn:THaeh:fi:THAir.) down. Then r . Tongue curls up and back
2. Dad thought it through. (Daeh:thawdih:thrUU.) ear dear tear beer hear rear
3. Did Larry get back last night? (Dih:LAirEEgeh:baehKlaehs:nIEt?) e
er as in “her” ( ur / r ) : The tip of your tongue is already curling up.
4. Let this be at the top. (Leh:THihsbEEaeh:THuhtahp.)
Prepare the sound by lifting the roof of your mouth as in a yawn. Let
5. Mark did the right thing. (MahrKdih:THuhrIE:thihng.) the air be unobstructed as it flows over your tongue. Purse your lips
6. This and that and those. (THihsaehn:THaehdaehn:THOUZ.) close to your teeth.
her search nurse girls grammar
62 19
OU as in “no” ( o ): TRACK NINETEEN
(Diphthong) Begin with your jaw and Clusters
tongue low and forward. Your lips are
rounded and close to your teeth. (O) Begin Two consonants sounding together at the same time.
the sound, gradually raising your jaw and Example: place – instead of puh-lace.
oh ( o )
tensing your tongue. The second part of
becomes
this becomes uu (oo) . In the Standard
uu ( oo ) pl: please apply plenty
American, this sound resonates in the back
of the throat. bl: blue blossoms blooming
no coat go those so fl: butterflies fluttering beautifully
cl: disclosing clever clues
oye as in “oil” ( oi ): (Diphthong) Begins oh ( o ) gl: glorious glimmering glamour
with your lips rounded and your jaw down. becomes sl: sliding slippery slopes
This sound begins like ( o ) ou. Gradually
uu ( oo ) pr: practicing proper protocol
raise your jaw and smile slightly, tensing, the
back of your tongue up and the front of br: brothers breaking bread
becomes
your tongue down. EE (e). fr: refreshing frosty fruit
oil boy soil broil joy EE ( e )
cr: crispy creamy crepe
gr: greater growing grounds
scr: scribes scrolling scripts
str: stretching strong string
18 63
TRACK TWENTY Casual Speech Using the dictionary symbol “ ”
e
IE as in “my” ( i ) :
There are a few words that Americans unstress to make natural sounding (Diphthong) Begin with your jaw and
e
conversation. The unstressed sound usually sounds like ‘ /uh’. Here’s tongue down. As you begin the sound,
U
some of the words we sometimes unstress: gradually raise your jaw and smile slightly,
ah ( o/ä )
U back teeth. The sound
to - t
e
you - y
e
your/you’re - y r
e
can - c n
e
and -
e
nd tensing the back sides of your tongue
begins with ah (o/ä) and moves to EE ( e).

an -
e
n a -
e
for - f r
e
or -
e
r
toward your upper
becomes
Usually, if these words are at the end of a sentence or thought section, EE ( e )
Always keeping your tongue forward.
we stress them fully. Repeat after me:
my kind I by dime
1. Do we have to? 2. If we can 3. Who’s this gift for? 4. It’s for you.
U for-
AE as in “may”( a ) : (Diphthong) Open
U
We use the word fully stressed when we: ‘want to make a point’.
e e
As opposed to: ‘Wann make point’. We use it to change attitude and meaning. your mouth slightly, with tongue slightly
ward beginning with the sound eh ( e) as in
Practicing unstressed words: Repeat after us: eh ( e )
egg. Raise your jaw and tense the back sides
e
t :
e
I’m going t the store. becomes
of your tongue into your upper back teeth,
e e EE ( e )
y , wanna: Do y wanna go? smile slightly and the sound becomes EE ( e ).
e e e e
y ,f r : No, but c n y pick something up f r me.
e
may say brain day gate
e e
c n: Sure. What c n I get you?
ow as in “house” ( ou ) : (Diphthong) Lower
U
e e e e
n, nd: I need n orange juice nd a dozen eggs.
your jaw, open your mouth fairly wide with a
U
e e
Haft , (have to): Do we haft have orange juice again? slight smile. Begin the sound, gradually raising
Godd , (got to): I’ve godd have my vitamin C.
e e
your jaw and rounding your lips. This sound aeh ( a )
e e e e becomes
y r, r: O.K. – Should I take y r car r mine? begins like aeh ( a ), and moves to uu (oo).
e e
c n, y
e
You c n take my car if y want.
e house now found proud loud uu ( oo )
64 17
U e
uh as in “cup”( u / ) : TRACK TWENTY-ONE Contraction exercises
The shortest and most frequently used vowel The shortening of a word by the omission of one or more letters or sounds.
sound in Standard American. The uh, known
Example: For ‘I am’ we simply take out ‘a’ in ‘am’ and put the ‘I’ and ‘m’
as the “schwa,” can be either stressed or
together forming ‘I’m’. Follow along in the workbook to see the letters we
unstressed. The lips are relaxed and the back
U
of the tongue is pushed slightly forward. take out and how it changes the sound to a contraction. Repeat after
U
cup the love fun young e me:
uh (u/ )
I am I’m I’m learning how to say a contraction.
ugh as in “book” ( oo ) : Your jaw is high and
you are you’re You’re getting better and better.
your lips are slightly rounded. Keep your lips
they are they’re They’re going to understand me now.
close to your teeth and tongue forward. It’s
she is she’s I saw her. She’s really smart.
like the sound of being punched in the stom-
he is he’s He’s okay with me.
ach. Ugh. This sound is in the back of the
U
we will we’ll We’ll be home in no time.
throat.
it is it’s If it’s noon, it must be lunch time.
book good put should look ugh ( oo ) are not aren’t Why aren’t you happy?
uu as in “you” ( oo ): This is a diphthong which could have could’ve
is two vowel sounds joined to form one should have should’ve She could’ve and should’ve done her work.
speech sound. Your jaw is high and lips are
slightly rounded. Keep your lips close to your Now here are some contractions and other words that use the glottal
teeth. The second part of the sound you stop, which is a voiced sound produced by the closure and release of
make by lowering you larynx. In the Standard the glottis which is the vocal cords closing and opening. (This is a sound
American, this sound is in the back of the Americans make that often mystifies others.)
throat. uu ( oo )
With these examples the tongue lingers in the ‘n’ position and the vocal
you new too blue through
cords close voicing nn-nn-nn.
16 65
EE as in “eat” ( e ):
Practice words and sentences. Repeat after me: Tense the back sides of your tongue and
raise them to your upper back teeth. Tip of
was not wasn’t did not didn’t could not couldn’t the tongue is down and touching the back
would not wouldn’t should not shouldn’t side of the lower teeth. Your lips are in a
slight smile. This sound is voiced longer in
I didn’t eat all the candy. Standard American than other languages. EE ( e )
I couldn’t and I wouldn’t.
U
Well, maybe I did but I shouldn’t have. eat key team baby please
Other glottal examples that aren’t contractions: ah as in “on” ( o/ä ): Drop your jaw lower for
this vowel than for any other. Press the back
of your tongue down, front of your tongue
U
mountain certain curtain latin listen
forward, touching your lower teeth, your lips
Repeat these sentences: are relaxed. ah (o/ä)
I wasn’t certain I could see the mountain if I opened the curtain, on box what lot car
and I couldn’t.
aw as in “raw”( o ): Round your lips and
I didn’t and wouldn’t listen to my latin lesson. lower your jaw slightly. Keep your lips close
to your teeth. Hold your tongue down and
forward.
aw ( o )
raw all law dog dawn
66 15
U
TRACK FIFTEEN (Vowels Continued) Track TWENTY-TWO
front mouth position There are two sounds in Standard American that really stand out and if
We’ll start with aeh* as in “cat” ( a ):
they’re missing, they’re very noticeable. The R and the long ( e ) EE .
Lower your jaw and move your tongue The ( e ) EE , especially at the end of words.
forward behind lower teeth, mouth fairly
U)
wide open with a slight smile: Practice ‘R’. Repeat:
cat back sat that and
U
aeh (our sound symbol) ( a (dictionary symbol)
The truck driver drove through three fierce rain storms.
Grow more trees for cleaner air.
eh as in “let” ( e ): A more closed mouth Ranchers string barbed wire around their ranches.
and shorter form of “aeh.“ Tongue is up Ruth pre-registered to insure herself better courses.
Is Mr. Marr aware of our radio?
in back and forward in front.
U
let egg get when pen Practice ( e ) EE
U eh ( e )
Many cities are busy.
ih as in “it” ( i ): The back of the tongue Billy is simply silly.
touches the upper back teeth. The He seems healthy and happy.
front is forward and up.
Practice Rs and (e ) EEs
U
it give if this him
Barry’s hairy beard is really curly.
ih ( i )
* The first set of bold letters in this section are our sound symbols; the
She’s very, very pretty and friendly.
Creepy, crawly, stringy, slimy worms.
second, in parenthesis, are the dictionary symbols.
14 67
Track TWENTY-THREE TRACK FOURTEEN: The Standard American Melody
Intro to Success Proclamation Like Walking Down Stairs
1 4 7 10
On this exercise, the Success Proclamation, there are several ways you 2 5 8 11
3 6 9 12
can work with it.
13 16 19
First you can read along with us. Listening and working to duplicate our 14 17 20
15 18 21
sounds and inflections.
Second, you can listen to us say ‘a thought section’ or sentence, then TRACK FIFTEEN Standard American Vowel Sounds
pause the program. Now you reproduce what you just heard. Go back,
This is how the mouth, lips and tongue are formed.
listen again and move to the next ‘ thought section’ or sentence.
Again, remember the placement is in back of the
The third idea is to memorize one paragraph at a time until you know throat and the melody is:
the complete Success Proclamation, because it has every Standard Up, Down, Down, Furthest down.
American vowel and consonant.
We will use our sound symbols and the American
Say it aloud two to three times a day, and you will master the knowledge
Dictionary symbols (which will be in parenthesis.) See
and skills of this technique.
chart in back of book.
68 13
TRACK TWELVE: Beginners Daily Workout Track TWENTY-FOUR Success Proclamation
1. PLACEMENT
Tongue is forward with the back of the tongue down. As a student of the Standard American Accent, I am committed to mastering every new
2. MELODY: UP DOWN sound. Practicing, slowly at first, I realize this different way of placing my lips and tongue
Use your hand as a visual cue. for each vowel and consonant, needs time to become comfortable and to be absorbed
deeply into my muscle memory.
1 3 5 7 9 11
My communication is getting stronger and clearer and it’s a pleasure for me to become
2 4 6 8 10 12
an expert in the Standard American Melody. The melody is up, down, down, furthest
13 15 17 19
down. I also remember to keep my upper lip close to my teeth and relax my jaw. My
14 16 18 20 tongue stays forward in the front and down in the back, which raises the soft palate and
gives me the round, deep, full, yawny Standard American placement.
TRACK THIRTEEN: A Placement Exercise
My words link together smoothly and I finish every word. I write down words in a notebook
This exercise helps open up the back of the throat
that I’m not sure of and I look them up in an American dictionary, noting how to pro-
for the standard American sound.
nounce them, what they mean and which syllables to stress.
1. Open the throat as if you are yawning.
2. Drop jaw, front of tongue forward. I always use the appropriate sections of this program and stay with each one till I am
3. Back of tongue down. completely clear on the rules and can employ them skillfully. Sometimes I go back to an
vah vah vah (2 times) earlier section to drill it again and again.
kah kah kah (2 times)
12 69
I enjoy practicing at least five days a week one hour a day. I know these good TRACK TEN
study habits are my key to success.
1. Review of Placement, Melody, and Pronunciation.
I have the excitement and wonder of a child, as I discover and acquire this new
2. Instructions on how to use the daily workout program.
way of communicating. I have the courage to go out and talk with a minimum
of three people a day, using the Standard American placement, melody, and 3. A reminder of your original goal.
pronunciation, to the very best of my ability.
I sense and hear myself improving each day. This achievement makes me feel THE STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM: SECTION TWO
good about myself, because it reminds me of just what I can accomplish when
I put my mind, body, spirit and complete intention into it. TRACK ELEVEN: Welcome
The Daily Workout recommendations
I visualize myself having the exact Standard American accent, that I want, and I Use these exercises a minimum of 5 days a week, 20
know that I will have it. minutes at a time or more. The harder you work the
faster the Standard American Accent will be yours.
Don’t worry about the end results now. Do the work
fully and you will get the end results you want.
70 11
TRACK SEVEN (Cont.) MELODY Asking Questions Track TWENTY-FIVE
1. Will 2. you 3. Will re turn
Will As we get to the conclusion of the Standard American Accent reduction
you re you program, I want to tell you how much I respect you and appreciate the
the
return turn effort you have put into making a change in yourself. You have made a
book?
the the decision that this will be of benefit to you in your life, and it will.
book? book? What I’ve learned after many years of teaching is that anyone who’s into
mastery doesn’t quit or give up when it gets difficult or boring or any neg-
After you jump up, you start the downward pattern
ative thing that could come up.
again. Tape recording yourself can be an effective tool
to hear how you’re progressing. When we hear our- They press through. They don’t stop. They keep working until they win. And
selves on tape, we hear what we really sound like, not if you do that, you will win. Be a master.
how we think we sound. Good luck and enjoy.
A good complement to this program is the Bob Corff Speakers Voice

TRACK EIGHT: Pronunciation Method. It’s great for Standard American placement and melody. And
Vowels & Consonants for anyone that wants to speak well.
This and the Corff’s Singers Voice program are available at

TRACK NINE: In a Perfect World www.corffvoice.com
You wouldn’t need a standard American accent. This is the third in a series of programs dedicated to your highest vocal
potential.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world.
10 71
I 2 3
TIPS & SUGGESTIONS that will help your progress TRACK SEVEN: Melody
USING STEPS FOR THE
Incorrect Still Not Correct Correct
STANDARD AMERICAN MELODY
You Hi Hi
Hi
1
Please (up)
How How
Come (down)
Are
Are
Are
2
over (down) How
You
here (furthest down)

You
3
I 2 3
1. Use cellophane tape to help with placement. Put the tape on
your upper lip from ear to ear. It helps keep your lips close to your Hi
You
Hi
4
Hi
teeth, making it easier for the tongue to stay forward, and allow- Are
How
ing the space in the back of your throat to be larger. This helps to How How
Are
reinforce the placement of the Standard American Sound. Are
You Put a weight on the
bottom of the word.
Place the tape on your lip during any of the exercises, and you’ll
Wa Bo
feel your lips wanting to come forward. The tape is a great moni- l ok
l
tor so you can be aware of what your mouth and cheeks are Case
doing. Keep your lips close to your teeth, and you’ll feel and hear You
your sound change.
Incorrect SStill Not Correct Correct

72 9
TRACK SIX: Placement Rules
2. Watch good standard American accent newscasters and most
1. Vibration in the back of your throat American movie stars. Mimic their sound and speech patterns.
2. Lips Close to teeth 3. Learn the stresses of words you speak with more than one sylla-
ble. Look them up in your American dictionary.
3. Tongue is flat and forward. The soft palate is raised, so there
Examples: creative (kre - a t i v )
is an unobstructed air passage over the tongue into a big
yawny space in the back of the throat. successful
e
(s k-ses f l)
e
e
passionate (pash e-nit)
This will help your Standard American Melody.
4. If you’re able to, find a private teacher with experience in

accents to help you monitor your progress.
5. See how quickly you can fool people into thinking you
were born and raised in the U.S.A., or have no regional dialect.
It can be a lot of fun.
4. Relax the jaw and throat.
8 73
TRACK FIVE: The three basic elements
Acknowledgements
1. Placement (see illustration on page 4)
We want to acknowledge the assistance and brilliance of:
• Lips Close to teeth
Brad Blaisdell, for his help in getting us started;
• Vibration in the back of the throat
Milton Katselas, our masterful teacher;
Gary Grossman for his energetic contribution; • Tongue Flat and FORWARD
Dalai Pee Feet McGoo for her precise proofreading; • Soft palate raised
Cate Cohen for all her help and computer wizardry; • Relax Jaw and Throat
Jessie Buchanan for brilliant artistic design;
2. Melody
and Eric Fahlborg for his great engineering ears.
Music by Paul Ventimiglia.
3. Pronunciation
Thanks to all our teachers and friends,

and special thanks to all our students
– past, present, and future.
Finger up to lips “BOOK” Shake Stomach “GOOD”
74 7
TRACK THREE: The second Basic Element or Rule: MELODY
WALKING
DOWN UP 1
STAIRS DOWN 2
TRACK FOUR: The third Basic Element: The following vowel chart and consonant
Dictionary PRONUNCIATION / VOWELS & CONSONANTS chart has dictionary symbols,

Symbols
aa
a a ee international alphabet, and sound symbols.
e
ee
Use whichever one works best for you.
e e ee
e This will be very helpful,
i i i
i e
e e as you become more advanced.

o oou
o u u

u uuu
oo u u

6 75
VOWEL CHART
SAMPLE
U
a cat, and, laugh, man aeh æ GUM RIDGE HARD PALATE
U
e get, said, men eh ¨
U SOFT PALATE
i it, been, give, women ih I
BLADE OF TONGUE
e me, tea, baby, police EE i BACK OF TONGUE
-
U TIP OF TONGUE
o/ä got / car ah a
o all, for, dawn, caught aw

c
U
u/ * young, fun, love / uh *
e
america*, family*, another*
e v
VOCAL CHORDS
ou cow, house ow au
U LARYNX
oo good, would, put, women ugh
76 5
THE STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM: SECTION ONE
VOWEL CHART
TRACK ONE: Introduction
TRACK TWO: The first Basic Rule — PLACEMENT
SAMPLE
oo you, knew, true, to, too, two UU u

—
AMERICAN PLACEMENT
a day, ape, train AE ei

• BACK AND OPEN —
FRENCH PLACEMENT GERMAN PLACEMENT
• LIPS FLAT TO TEETH
i kind, my, guy, tie IE ai

FORWARD BACK AND CLOSED —
• SOFT PALATE UP
LIPS FORWARD
o so, sew, coat OU o

• TONGUE FLAT AND FORWARD —
oi boy, coin OYE i

c
a hair, care, bear Air r
i year, beer Ear r
ur/ r* girls, learn, fur / father* er ¨r

e
(* unstressed)
VOCAL ENERGY VOCAL ENERGY VOCAL ENERGY
4 77
Congratulations:
CONSONANT CHART By using the Accent Reduction (Standard American
b bubble b b
Accent) program you’re about to make an important, positive
change in your life.
d divided d d
The more you listen and use the program, the faster and
f for, rough, phone f f

better your results will be.
g giggle g g
For optimum results, you will need a tape recorder to record
h hi, whose h h
your voice so you can hear your accent change over time. You
J just, edge, george j dZ

also need a dictionary (We recommend the American
Heritage) to help you familiarize yourself with pronunciation,
K lick, fix, cat, ask, choir K K
stresses, and meanings of words.
L love, all L L
However you use this training, our goal is to put you on the
M mom, lamb M M
path toward a Standard American accent you can use your
N nice, knew N N
whole life. After years of working with thousands of dedicated
P puppy P P
people, we know this technique works!
We’re excited to be your guide and proud to be a part of
Q queen KW —
your journey.
R river r r All Our Best,
Bob & Claire Corff
78 3
CD 1 CORFF STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM CD I
SECTION I Track 18 Consonants T, D, L and N CONSONANT CHART
S see, tops, psalm, max, lace s s

Track 1 Intro Track 19 The S and the Z
Track 2 Section I Track 20 Tongue on the Hard Palate J, Zh, Sh, Ch
t taste, faxed t t
Basic Rule # 1 Placement Track 21 Consonants around Lip Area M,P,B,F,V
v voice, of v v
Track 3 Basic Rule #2 Melody Track 22 The “Th” voiced and unvoiced
w/wh water / why w w/hw

Track 23 The W
Track 4 Basic Rule #3 Pronunciation
Track 24 Consonants where the soft palate comes
y yes, use y j
Vowels A-E-I-O-U
together with the back of the tongue:
Track 5 The Three basic elements &
z zoo, cabs, as z z
K, (C), G, NG, NK
Placement (In Depth) Track 25 The R: The tip of the tongue curls back
ch charm, mature ch tS
Track 6 Review of Placement and the air flows unobstructed
ng singing ng
Track 7 Melody (In Depth) over the tongue. Also Y H Q
N
nk thank nk
Track 8 Pronunciation Track 26 Wrap up of the beginners Daily workout
and the secret to success
sh shine, lotion sh
Track 9 “In A Perfect World”
Track 10 Wrap Up To Section One S
th the (voiced) TH
SECTION II Intermediate Daily Workout Tracks 27-31
SECTION II The Beginners Daily Workout Tracks 11-26 Track 27 Melody Exercise using the Days of the Week
th thing (unvoiced) th
Track 11 Welcome & Preparation for Section II
T
Another Melody exercise with the alphabet
†
zh pleasure, beige, vision zh
Track 12 Standard American Melody Exercise One Track 28 A placement exercise to open up the back
Track 13 Placement Exercise of the throat Z
Track 29 Introduction to the vowel phrases with
Track 14 Standard American Melody Exercise Two
Melody Exercises
Track 15 American Vowel Sound Exercises
Track 30 Vowel Phrases with Melody Exercises
Track 16 The “R” Track 31 Consonant Exercises using short phrases
Track 17 Standard American Consonant Exercises T D L N S and Z
2 79
COMPANION WORKBOOK
NOTES:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
You can change your Accent,

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
and keep the Essence of you!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Learn the same ACCENT REDUCTION
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
technique as some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Do it simply and easily with
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ACHIEVING
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THE STANDARD
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
AMERICAN ACCENT
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
80

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CD 1 CORFF STANDARD AMERICAN ACCENT PROGRAM CD I

SECTION I Track 18 Consonants T, D, L and N CONSONANT CHART

S see, tops, psalm, max, lace s s

w/wh water / why w w/hw

f for, rough, phone f f

J just, edge, george j dZ

R river r r All Our Best,

Bob & Claire Corff

oo you, knew, true, to, too, two UU u

a day, ape, train AE ei

i kind, my, guy, tie IE ai

o so, sew, coat OU o

oi boy, coin OYE i

a hair, care, bear Air r

i year, beer Ear r

ur/ r* girls, learn, fur / father* er ¨r

VOCAL ENERGY VOCAL ENERGY VOCAL ENERGY

o all, for, dawn, caught aw

Dictionary PRONUNCIATION / VOWELS & CONSONANTS chart has dictionary symbols,

Thanks to all our teachers and friends,

– past, present, and future.

Finger up to lips “BOOK” Shake Stomach “GOOD”

This will help your Standard American Melody.

4. If you’re able to, find a private teacher with experience in

here (furthest down)

Incorrect SStill Not Correct Correct

A good complement to this program is the Bob Corff Speakers Voice

This and the Corff’s Singers Voice program are available at

begins with ah (o/ä) and moves to EE ( e).

Connecting Ending t’s with Vowels

Repeat after me: Voiced aeTH eeTH ieTH ohTH uuTH

go- be great law- looked

Q K and W together: kway kwee kwy kwo kwu

Compare Nasal Sounds M - N - NG - NK

Compare Voiced G and Unvoiced K

Wrap up of the beginners daily workout

Compare: R/L (both voiced)

MELODY EXERCISE Compare: b (voiced)/ p (unvoiced)

Tuesday Compare v (voiced)/ f (unvoiced)

Hung-Ah (repeat three times)

set said Tate said your dental date is set.

eh (e) Check the hen’s nest for eggs.

ih ( i ) His list is filled with big gifts for the kids.

(ä•o) Todd shot at rocks, logs and bottles.

( o) All the law students were caught yawning at dawn.

uh (a •u) The big lug felt as snug in the rug as a bug.

(oo) You and the moon and the music.

( a) Kate ate baked cakes with grape glaze.

(ou) Our cat was out of our house for an hour.

oi ) The spoiled boy destroyed the toy.

T (Build up air and explode.) 11. ( o ) OU / ( ô) aw

J (voiced) Judy judged the fudge.

phone pretty baby SH (unvoiced) The shepherd washed his sheep.

Up Hel- Thank Good

V (voiced) I’ve saved every Valentine. I Come Yes, What’s

W/Wh (voiced) Where’s wishy washy Wilfred?

Up Hel- Thank Good

V (voiced) I’ve saved every Valentine. I Come Yes, What’s

W/Wh (voiced) Where’s wishy washy Wilfred?

J (voiced) Judy judged the fudge.

phone pretty baby SH (unvoiced) The shepherd washed his sheep.

T (Build up air and explode.) 11. ( o ) OU / ( ô) aw

(ä•o) Todd shot at rocks, logs and bottles.