The toughest English words to pronounce II : geography edition

At the beginning of the month, I wrote an entry about the toughest English words to pronounce . Now I'll be writing a similar entry, only this time about geographical words. English cities and villages are usually very difficult to pronounce for Spanish speakers of English, so in this post I did some digging regarding the pronunciation of the most difficult English places. To check the pronunciation, type the place in this webpage and you will hear how it is pronounced. You won't believe your ears. 

1. Norwich [‘nɒrɪʤ]

From : http://www.niyp.org.uk/

2. Greenwich [‘grenɪʤ] : It's not Grin-wuitch. 

From : http://keywordsuggest.org/gallery/222981.html 

3. Dulwich [d˄lɪʤ] : As you can see, there is silent <w> in Norwich, Greenwich and Dulwich ! 

4. Leicester [‘lestə]

5. Edinburgh ['edimbərə]

6. Durham [‘d˄rəm]. As you can hear, the <h> is not pronounced...

7. Derby [da:bi] : Yes, it is pronounced with long 'a' not 'e'. 

8. Buckingham [‘b˄kɪɳgəm] : Contrary to what most Spaniards think, the <h> is not pronounced...

9. Worcestershire [‘wʊstəʃə] : The key here is to say it really fast ! 

10. Thames [temz] : Yap, incredible thought it may sound, this is London's river. It only has one syllable ! 

11. Celtic [‘keltɪk] : Have a look at its first sound. 

Well, as you have seen, geographical words are hard to learn... and pronounce. Anyway, if I forgot any other place surprisingly pronounced, tell me and I'll include it in my list. 

The history of St. Valentine's Day

Dear bloggers,
Here you have a video about the story of St. Valentine. Watch it and try to understand it, then click on the second video and try to answer the questions. Good luck  !

Questions:

1) The Romans conquered Europe and parts of Asia and Africa because:
a) they were strong
b) they were rich
c) they were soldiers

2) The Emperor Claudius II didn't want  their soldiers to get married because:
a) he didn't like families
b) he thought families made soldiers soft and weak
c) families made soldiers lazy

3) St. Valentine:
a) married every soldier in the army
b) was in favour of the Emperor's law
c) helped soldiers in love to get married in secret

4) St. Valentine was sentenced to death because:
a) they didn't prey for him
b) he insisted on marrying soldiers
c) as soon as the emperor discovered his actions, he sentenced him to die

5) The jailer's daughter and St. Valentine fell in love:
a) at first sight
b) after he cured her blindness
c) after they had spent a long time together

6) From 14th February 270:
a) lots of people draw hearts
b) lovers write letters to their girlfriends
c) lovers sign their cards :'from your Valentine'

ANSWERS: 1A 2B 3C 4B, 5C, 6C
If you still feel romantic, you can have a look at my post with different ways to address your lover in English. 
See you around. I hope you have a romantic St. Valentine's Day. 

St. Valentine's Day : different ways to address your partner in English

From : http://bestmessage.info/happy-valentines-day-2017/

Hello,

Next week is deemed to be the most romantic week of the year : bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates, romantic dinners,..Cupid is on the loose with his well-directed arrows. Are you lucky to have a significant other for next Tuesday ?

Well, I thought it might be a good idea to create a post with St. Valentine's vocabulary, you know, just for the sake of learning English. So let's begin :

1. Honey /  hon / hun : This probably makes reference to the sweetness of love or, for others, to the sickeningly sweet love. 

From : http://tumundografico.com/clipart/honey-clip-art.html

2. My other half / my best half 

From : https://theblackestrose.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/my-other-half/

3. My significant other

From : http://www.cafepress.com/+other-half-of-my-rainbow+stickers

4. Sweet pie / sweetie

From : https://www.flickr.com/photos/jelene/3202419693

5. Babe / baby / bae (Before Anyone Else) 

From : https://www.clipartsgram.com/baby-clipart-no-background-230

6. My (teddy) bear 

From : http://www.123greetings.com/events/hug_holiday/hug16.html

7. My (honey) bun

From : http://www.bellybytes.com/recipe/wholegrain/whole-grain33.html#.WJ73gFMrLIU

8. Darling / darl :

From : http://quoteaddicts.com/topic/i-love-you-darling/

9. Love

From : https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-you-my-love-card-gradient-grey-background-vector-illustration-image34888300

10. My soulmate 

From : http://www.krazyinlove.com/love/soulmate/page/29/

11. My everything 

From : https://www.zazzle.es/my+everything+pegatinas

12. Sweetheart

From : http://www.pictures88.com/comments/sweetheart/

13. Dearie :

From : https://memegenerator.net/instance/58774404

14. My true love 

From : http://quoteaddicts.com/topic/you-are-my-true-love/

15. My plus-one

From : http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi05NTlmMTRkZjE0YzE1YzRi

16. My Valentine

From : http://www.talkingballoons.com/trade/pre-printed_balloons.php

Well, at last I finished  this cheesy and lengthy post. How are you gonna spend your St. Valentine's Day  ? Do you use other 'nicknames' to address your partner that you'd like to share with us ? Anyway, if you don't have a partner yet, be patient. If you do, remember you must prove your love daily and not just on one single day. 

Have a nice St. Valentine's Day. 
P.S. If you want to learn the history of St. Valentine while you practise your listening, click on this link. 

The toughest English words to pronounce

I am particularly fond of English phonology. Why ? Well, maybe because I love when things get messy and in the English language pronouncing can get really muddy sometimes. My students say English phonetics have no logic and although that is far from the truth, I sometimes believe they are somehow right. Pronouncing these words will make you sweat given that they defy all kinds of logic. So, I propose you a little game. You go through every word of this post and then you listen to the pronunciation in this wonderful webpage : http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal. It is quite an interesting page for you to continue improving English pronunciation. Let's get started : 

1. Mayor [meə] : A mayor is the person in charge of a city or town. It is not pronounced [‘meɪʤə]. In fact, it only has one syllable, exactly like this [meə]. This word is a homophone with 'mare', the female horse. Surprising, isn't it ? In addition, it is a paronym with major (important), pronounced [‘meɪʤə].

From : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_Quimby

2. Bury ['beri] :When you put someone or something under the ground. It is pronounced ['beri]. So be careful when you say the English word 'very', because it is quite similar ! 

From : http://freakoutnation.com/2010/10/resolving-the-bury-button-quagmire/

3. Busy[‘bɪzi] :It's an adjective that refers to someone who has a lot of things to do, or to a really frequented place. From busy, we have the word 'business' [‘bɪznəs].

From : http://www.redhot.co.nz/a-rant-about-asking-people-if-they-are-busy/

4. Woman : [‘wʊmən]  vs. Women [‘wɪmɪn]. Do you see how it changes from singular to plural ?

From : http://www.clipartkid.com/women-helping-women-cliparts/

5. Minute [‘mɪnɪt] : Who would have said that 'sixty seconds' have two identical vowels ?

From : https://clipartfest.com/categories/view/648f618983be2f6bb06d466822bdd41a412575b2/1-minute-clipart.html

6. Colonel ['k3:nl] : This rank from the army is surprisingly pronounced in two syllables and the vowel 'o' is nowhere present. 

From : https://clipartfest.com/categories/view/b3ca9ae580a4af8b98f42aa22fdc6ad62ae86023/army-colonel-clipart.html

7. Halfpenny [‘heɪpni] : Although it is half a penny, it is pronounced [‘heɪpni].

From : http://www.mossgreen.com.au/m/lot-details/index/catalog/154/lot/66149/HALF-PENNY-1923-Half-Penny-key-date-couple-of-scratches-aVF

8. Hiccough [’hɪk˄p] : The sound you make when your throat produces a spasm. Amazing though it may sound, it is pronounced with a final [p].

From : http://www.e-home-remedies.com/hiccough.html

9. Clerk [kla:k] : A person similar to a secretary that works in an office keeping records, typing,... In British English this word is pronounced with the vowel [a:].

From : http://www.clipartkid.com/office-clerk-cliparts/

10. Gaol [ʤeɪl] : In British English, this is the word used for prison. In American English, they use 'jail'. Both 'gaol' and 'jail' are pronounced exactly in the same way ! 

From : https://adelaidegaol.org.au/booking/

11. Choir [kwaɪə] : Yes, a group of people singing is a particularly strange word in English he he. It has a homophone 'quire' (stacks of paper). 

From : http://www.theprospect.net/the-life-of-a-choir-kid-7822

12. Gauge [geɪʤ] : An instrument for measure. In American English, this word is pronounced in the same way but it is written 'gage'. Much more logical, isn't it ?

From : https://www.targetdashboard.com/blog/56/Ways-to-effectively-implement-Gauges-in-your-Dashboard.aspx

13. Yacht [jɒt] : Yes, the letters <ch> are not pronounced...

From : http://www.clipartguide.com/_pages/0511-0905-2402-3525.html

14. Vase [va:z] : A vase of flowers for the upcoming St. Valentine's Day. What a good idea ! It depends on where you are. If you are in the UK, you will have problems to be understood. However, in American English, the pronunciation of this word is [veɪz], so you won't have any problems. 

From : https://clipartfest.com/categories/view/7ea26b141c8a9701db57967b3973123bfbab2587/vase-clipart-images.html

15. Bass [beɪs] : This instrument is pronounced in the same way as 'base', so be careful and remember this ! You can also remember the song : It's all about that bass...no trouble...

From : http://cliparts.co/jumping-bass-clip-art

Well, enough for today. You have a lot of words whose pronunciation you need to memorise. From now on, try to pay attention and do not mispronounce these words. English is a challenging language and you need to overcome that challenge. Go for it ! 

 P.S. Next week I will continue with some tough geographical words to pronounce, In the meantime, if you want to keep learning about English pronunciation, do not hesitate to have a look at my tips for pronunciation. Stay tuned ! 

Songs in the classroom : I still haven't found what I'm looking for (U2)

The weekend is here, so let's celebrate it by singing. This time you can practise with U2's song : I still haven't found what I'm looking for. You have to fill in the lyrics with the verbs in the box, in the present perfect or the simple past. Are you ready ?

Complete the song  of U2 with the verbs in the box in present perfect or simple past

be (x2)          break              burn              carry              climb              crawl 

feel               not find (x8)    hold     kiss      loose         run(x2)      scale         speak 

I ___________ highest mountain 

I ___________ through the fields 

Only to be with you 

Only to be with you 

I ___________ 

I ___________ 

I ________ these city walls 

These city walls 

Only to be with you 

But I still _______________ what I'm looking for 

But I still ______________ what I'm looking for 

I __________ honey lips 

________ the healing in her fingertips 

It ________ like fire 

This burning desire 

I __________ with the tongue of angels 

I ___________the hand of a devil 

It _______ warm in the night 

I ________  cold as a stone 

But I still ___________ what I'm looking for 

But I still ___________ what I'm looking for 

I believe in the kingdom come 

Then all the colours will bleed into one 

Bleed into one 

Well yes I'm still running 

You _________ the bonds and you 

__________ the chains 

_______ the cross 

Of my shame 

Of my shame 

You know I believed it 

But I still ______________what I'm looking for 

But I still _____________what I'm looking for 

But I still _____________ what I'm looking for 

But I still _____________ what I'm looking for...

Consult your answers in the video 

Did you like this song ! I think is quite a good one ! If you want to continue practising with English songs, you can visit all my other exercises with songs in my blog in this link. In addition, you can learn by yourself in this webpage : Lyrics Training.

See you next week. 

Middle verbs

Long time not write ! 

I've been busy after the Christmas season but now I intend  to resume my habitual writing. This time I'm going to speak about another English quirk, middle verbs. Middle verbs are dual verbs in the sense that they can have an active and passive meaning at the same time, depending on the use. In other words, they are a bit like auto-antonyms : they can refer to two opposite actions. Let see how this works with functioning examples : 

1. Open     I usually open my shop at 10.00
                  My shop usually opens at 10.00   (my shop is opened at 10.00)

2. Close    Can you close the door ?
                   This door closes as soon as some air comes through that window (=is closed).

3. Read      I read your email yesterday.
                  This essay reads very well (=is readable)

4.  Hurt      I hurt my knee while I was climbing that tree.
                   My knee hurts because I climbed a tree yesterday. (=aches)

5. Look      I'm looking at you. 
                   You look horrible today.  (= appearance)

6. Sell         I am a book seller. I sell books.
                   This book is a best-seller. It sells very well. It is a best-selling book. (=is sold)

7. Start        I start my English classes at 10.00.
                     My English classes start at 10.00. (=are started)

8. Finish      Paul finishes his job at 20.00.
                    Paul's job finishes at 20.00.  (=is finished)

9. Break      I broke a glass while I was doing the washing-up.
                     That glass broke while I was doing the washing-up (=was broken).

10. Take       I take at least two hours to study. 
                     Studying takes time. 

11. Feel        I feel really good today because I don't have to work.
                     It feels great not to work today. 

12. Taste      I tasted a delicious chocolate cake.
                     This chocolate cake tastes delicious. 

13. Ring       I always ring my mother when I get back home. (=phone)
                    The phone is ringing. Answer it ! (=make a sound)

14. Sit          I like sitting at that table.
                    That table only sits four people. (=can only be sat by) 

15. Dress     I dress my son every morning.
                    My son dresses casually (=get dressed)

16. Cook      I'm cooking rice.
                     The rice is cooking. 

17. Get (dirty)   I got the floor really dirty when I accidentally dropped a glass of red wine. 
                      The floor got really dirty when I accidentally dropped a glass of red wine                                 (=became). 

18. Make      I made a lot of friends at the party.
                     Joanne and Paul made friends at the party. 

19. Fly          I like flying my kite. 
                     Look ! My kite is flying. 

20. Drive      I like driving a Ferrari.
                     This Ferrari drives very well (=is driven)

Well, isn't English really interesting and illogical at the same time? Verbs that combine both active and passive meaning. Awesome ! What do you think about this English quirk? Personally, I find it amazing. 

See you around.  

New Year Resolutions

Well, I start off with a new fresh entry of the blog in 2017. In this case, I intend to speak about New Year resolutions. I assume that you are familiar with them : New Year resolutions are the promises that you make at the beginning of the year, promises that you're willing to stick to, but, eventually, you usually break them, or do you not ? They are the principles that are going to lead your whole year, the commitments that you are willing to make this New Year but you failed to make last year. 

Here you have some possible structures in English that you can use to enunciate your New Year resolutions : 

This year, I will .../I'll

I intend to... this year

I hope I will ...  this year

I hope to... this year

I'd like to ... this year

I wish I could... this year

I promise I'll ... this year

This year I'll definitely ....

This year I'm going to...

What guidelines are you going to pursue during 2017 ? In my case, I intend to enjoy life a bit more; I wish I could control my temper a bit more this year and I'd like to be even happier. If possible, I hope to read more. Not so interesting resolutions, right ?

Now I'm going to share two videos with one. The first video is an example of some New Year resolutions set out by some people, you know, quit smoking, go to the gym and do exercise...

The second video attempts to answer the question : "do New Year resolutions work ?" from a scientific point of view. 

What are your New Year resolutions ? Please, share them with us : post them in a comment and try to stick to them. Remember, your intention is important. You have 365 opportunities to succeed in this newly born year !