Examples of Voicing
and Facial Movements of Americans
I'd like to give you some video examples through
YouTube of
how Americans really talk. No doubt you've heard many many Americans talk
but you may not have been aware of what goes on as they do it.
Let's start with
the well known talk show host, Oprah Winfrey. Of course Oprah is a
professional speaker, but she doesn't deliver her message in the formal way that
newscasters do. She has a strong voice but a kind and natural one.
She really talks to the people.
Notice how much she
uses her mouth. Her lips and jaw have a lot of movement going on.
She really opens her mouth to speak. You can see her teeth and tongue a
lot. Her voice flows from her chest. She speak clearly and deliberately.
She is really a wonderful example of spoken English.
The interesting
thing about Oprah is that she was raised in the south where we often here thick
southern accents and yet she has changed her speaking style to a very northern
dialect.
This video is a political message by John Edwards. Don't
worry too much about his message. Just take a few moments to think about
where his voice is coming from.
Although I'm not sure who this person is, I really liked seeing how much she
used her jaw to speak. Now I realize that she is very excited about what
is going on around her and that seems to give her a higher pitched voice.
But if you'll turn the sound off and just watch her mouth, you'll be amazed.
In this video,
basketball player Rudy Gay invites people to send in videos. You can do
that if you want, but I'd really like to to pay attention to how much his mouth
moves when he talks.
Be observant of how North Americans really
move their lips and jaws, and listen to
where they are bringing their sound from.
Your observations will be the first step
towards making changes in your own English.
