@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Better than Rachel's way too long and complicated video. But Rachel did give video examples of foreigners trying to speak American English. But, San Diego, you talk about a "relaxed" voice, but then you purposely talk slowly. I've heard that trying to talk more slowly and distinctly for foreigners really does them a disservice. They need to hear "real" English. And for native speakers, your slow stilted diction is a real turn off. Relax your "relaxed" voice. You can do that while still having clear enunciation.
@@timanon1368 Hi tim anon - Thanks for your comment! I appreciate your opinion about my "relaxed" voice. Speaking to an audience that is comprised of "The Internet" is always a delicate balance of clear and natural. I'm always working my hardest to provide that to my viewers, but I'll take your suggestion into account for my future videos.
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent :-). As a French second language person, I find some French accents easier to understand than others. There's one guy from Loire region as I recall who does French instruction TH-cam videos. His accent is so clear that I understand almost everything that he says in his natural voice. San Diego, to this American, your natural voice sounds clear enough for most learners. Maybe I'm just biased, but I think that standard Midwest/Northern American and some Irish and Scottish accents are so mild and easy to get. Yeah, it used to be the case that the educated in England had little accent compared to Americans, but they seem to have doubled down on regionalism.
@@timanon1368 Thanks for your perspective on this topic. It's always interesting to learn how other people perceive different accents and speaking styles :)
Thanks for the video, One quick question I have for you is what happens when you use a singing voice for an American accent. I feel like my voice rises up instead of goes down to resonate in my chest as mentioned in the video. This usually happens when I raise my pitch. What can I do to raise my pitch but still maintain a more chest resonated sound? Thanks again
Hi Simo - Thanks so much for your question! Your resonance will naturally move from lower to higher as you move through your pitch range, but if you are able to maintain a relaxed and open throat (and a relaxed mouth/tongue), you should still be able to maintain a deeper, fuller resonance to your voice, even in the higher pitches. Incorporate some negative practice into your singing so that your body can feel the difference between relaxed muscles and tense muscles: Practice singing up and down your pitch range with added tension in your mouth, tongue, and throat (but stop if it's uncomfortable or painful), and purposely try to make your voice sound high, small, tense, tight. Then relax all facial/throat muscles and sing up and down your pitch range. By adding in tension on purpose, you should be able to feel a huge contrast once you relax your muscles. I hope this helps! :)
Guys very use information. I struggled with placement a lot until I discovered this one trick: When practicing shadowing/imitation place your hand gently on the Chest and lower your pitch and feel the vibration. It automatically fixes your focus on chest (lower placement) Please try it. I wish you all the best❤
Hi! Thanks for your comment! I'm so glad that my video was helpful :)
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As a non native speaker I can say that this is so important.. I have been leaning english for years but my accent never improved too much.. A few days ago i found a few more videos about pitch level and I already can make an American accent ( not perfect ofc) I can see a result just because of the voice pich level. I always thought the problem was in the voice not in the pitch level.. Very well explained
Hi Cucoș - Thanks for your comment! Yes, placement can make a huge difference in your accent, and I'm so happy to hear that you feel like your accent has already improved! That's awesome! :)
You should have a lot more views than most other teachers that waste our time with endless tongue exercises, keep it up! And please make a video on American resonance specifically, things like pharyngeal resonance, supporting the voice, etc
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent I can't wait to see your approach to the pharyngeal resonance subject. Especially the upper part of the pharynx - nasopharynx that's activated with CORRECT NG sound (incorrect NG is nasal but has no nasal resonance). There's more and more scientific studies coming out that debunk the old technique. For a decade we've been told that all vowels are pure oral sounds - no air should be escaping through the nose - that is the biggest lie in the voice teaching world. As soon as you close off the nasal cavities by lifting the soft palate too high you activate the pharyngeal constrictors that are involved in the swallowing mechanism. Most people can't find their balanced resonance and just continue practicing pronunciation with a constricted throat. Best Italian singers figured this out a hundred years ago yet we're still getting the wrong information because new speech coaches think they can just start coaching and then figure out the rest as they go with no anatomy knowledge. There's a simple trick to it - if you feel your head resonating when you speak that means the entire pharynx is resonating and the throat is open, people should never try to "place" the accent in the middle of the mouth as dialect coaches say - proper resonant American Accent is ARTICULATED in the middle of the mouth but any voice should be originating in the pharyngeal cavities, people should stop learning pronunciation until they have a free and open throat. I'm looking forward to seeing your more detailed videos and whenever I'm in San Diego I would definitely take a lesson with you. Your way of giving information is by far the most accurate I've seen on the internet, just wish it was a little more technical, not everyone can simply imagine stuff and make their brain place the voice and release all the tension.
That's amazing. I simply love your videos and it's been helping me find a better placement and create this "voice awareness" to pronunciation and rhytm of the American English. I'd love to see more videos on intonation where you can replace the words to Da-da... it's so helpful but sometimes I feel a little confused to work like this. Thanks again for the incredible content!
Hi! Thank you for your comment. I can definitely make more videos about how to practice a low/open/relaxed sound - I'll add it to my list of "to-do" videos!
Yes, diaphragmatic breathing certainly does help with the overall quality of the voice! This type of breathing will give your voice the most amount of breath support, which helps your voice to sound stronger, louder, and more relaxed. Thanks for the comment! :)
... making you to understand the placement of your voice and the existence and use of the 'schwa' makes all the difference when it comes to speaking English ... !!!
Wow, I'm 22 year-olds Vietnamese and I have been studying English since 8 year-olds at school. But just like every Vietnamese students, we did not learn how to pronounce nethier American nor British English, we just tought all about grammaries and vocabularies for the English exams at school. Thus I can't speak English well depiste of 16 years learning it. Thank for this helpful video lesson, this changes my enter mindset about how to learn English. I'll comeback and praticing everyday. For those who have been struggling to learn American English like me, may you also want to check out Rachel's English and Sounds American. I bet with all this channels, with my (your) demonstration to pratice the American English pronounciation and thank to all enthusiam English teacher, we will improve everyday and achieve our life goals. Trust the progress. 🤗
Hi Avril - Thanks for your comment :) I'm so glad that this video was helpful! If you're interested in learning more about placement and American English pronunciation, I teach weekly, live lessons on the American accent at Julie's Conversation Club. Here's where you can learn more information about it: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club. I'd be happy to listen to your pronunciation and give you feedback! I hope you can join us :)
Hi @princevladd - Thanks so much for your comment! Yes, I can see where you're coming from, and American English does have a higher placement than Romanian in some ways. :)
I always thought Americans were born with powerful built in speakers. So the sound comes from the lower throat. when I try to do it, it sounds quite tense and forced. I'm doing something wrong. awesome video!!
Hi Ed! Thanks for your comment :) If you feel like your voice is tense or forced, then you are most likely squeezing your throat muscles incorrectly. This is your body telling you that something isn't right, so if you feel any discomfort when you try to lower the placement of your voice, stop! It shouldn't feel tense or forced; instead, it should feel easy and relaxed. Try this tip: instead of focusing on "lowering" your placement, focus on adding more airflow to your voice. Relax your throat by doing a few humming exercises (say "hmmmm" as you glide down in pitch), and focus on allowing lots of air to travel through your throat and out of your nose. Put your finger under your nose to feel for the airflow - you want a lot of warm air to come out of your nose as you hum. Then keep this relaxed, open throat posture as you say words like "hi", "who", "he" as you glide down in your pitch range. So focus on 1) relaxed, open throat; 2) relaxed, open jaw; 3) airflow. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions :)
I've been studying English for a long time mostly on TH-cam. Almost all the channels that I'm subscribed to are about English pronunciation and I had never seen yours, in fact I didn't find it by TH-cam I find it by google when I was looking for the pronunciation of the "t" and came across your website. Too bad TH-cam focuses more on recommending basic gramar channels than pronunciation channels, which are also important, well anyway, I got another good English channel, thanks
Hi Richard - Thanks so much for your comment! It's great to hear that my channel has been helpful. And maybe one day I'll figure out how to crack the TH-cam algorithm! :)
this is great video but aisans espeially koreans it takes several year's of practice to have that American English lower relaxed voice. that is because speaking Korean does not require to open the whole muscles of face, nasal, mouth or throat parts... Therefore Korean voice placement is locted in front part of the mouth which means alll of the vocal muslces are kind of contracted, tensed and unrelaxed...
Hi Zhenqiao - Thank you so much for your comment! I really appreciate learning more about the placement of other languages, and your perspective is especially valuable here. I hope this video was helpful! :)
I have a question, could you explain the voice placement in chest mean? Is vocal fry because your placement is too low? Even I got vocal fry, I didn't feel voice coming from my chest. It's just coming from the very bottom of my throat. Thank you!
Hi Bo - Thanks for your question :) The topic of placement is very difficult to describe in writing - it's much easier if I answer your question in real-time and demonstrate what different types of placements sound like. If you join my live English class at Julie's Conversation Club (courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club), I can answer your question during the class! I hope to see you there :)
There is another good vocal placement video! This explains why Asians don't sound like native speakers. Our voice is placed in a higher position without keeping the air in the stomach by characteristics of languages. So It happens to have nasal and sharp sounds. It proves when Americans try to speak the Asain language, they make sounds differently. You would probably see some Asians when they try to speak English fast, it sounds like they running out of their breath. Because they didn't aware of voice placement. One of the good ways to learn voice placement to make rich sounds is by getting a vocal lesson. You will learn how to place your vocal cord, keep the air and avoid the nasal sound. Basically, you can learn how to control your voice. I have been thinking about this idea for so long and I glad to watch your video. Thank you for sharing (It could have been awesome if I was able to learn English from you when I was in San Diego!)
Hi Byeonggil - Thanks so much for your comment! I think that is an excellent idea to use the concepts you've learned in a vocal lesson to help you with your speaking voice - this can definitely help you to improve the placement of your voice! And I'm glad to hear that my video was helpful :) I see clients online now, so if you're ever interested in working on your English again, let me know!
After many years of speaking English, now I understand that I was speaking it with the mouth placement for Spanish, which is my native language. As you mentioned in the beginning of your video, I have worked on pronunciation, intonation, linking, and other parts of spoken English, but never on this. Thank you so much for posting this wonderful video. It’s gonna help me a lot !!! Greetings from Seattle. (By the way, I am from Tijuana, Mexico)
Great video. Very helpful, thanks! At 8:00, why did you change the vowel sound, when you switched between nasal, front mouth, back mouth, and chest placement?
Hi @js_guyman - Thanks for your comment! My intention was to pronounce the same vowel sound but with different placements. As I shifted my placement, the vowel does change in resonance, but it should be recognized as the same vowel sound. I hope this helps! :)
But some of the consonants are nasal in American English. What about them? My other question is that do we breathe through belly and diaphragm in American voice placement?
Thanks for your questions! Yes, we breathe through the belly and diaphragm for American voice placement :) And yes, American English does have nasal consonants, and those naturally will have lots of nasal resonance. :)
@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you for the answer. So, The American have more of an authoritative quality in their voice, but I mean that I feel it is not a really natural process for the nasal sounds in American English than my mother tongue. I feel like the American contract the muscles of the mouth more when pronouncing the nasal sounds.
Hi, The more I watch your video, the more I think you speak very clearly and articulately. And you have a beautiful voice. Of course, you are an accent teacher. :-) I was originally from Taiwan, and I have been helping my friends/coworkers/Toastmaster members to improve their English accents. I do not think Taiwanese/Chinese people have a higher placement. What do you think? Best, Albert from SF
H! Thank you so much for your comment! That's great you also help people to improve their English accents - it's a very fun and rewarding profession :) I think Toastmasters is a great organization, too! Regarding the voice placement of Taiwanese/Chinese people, I've worked with clients who have had a similar voice placement as mine - low, back of the throat or upper chest - and I've also worked with clients who have had a higher oral placement. I think it depends on where that person is from, but I agree with you that some native speakers of Mandarin or Cantonese can have a similar voice placement as a native American English speaker. Thank you again for your comments!
Hmm...this is an interesting question! Yes, if the voice resonates in the upper chest it might feel "heavy" - but it's not uncomfortable or painful. It's a low, relaxed, comfortable feeling. Your voice should still have its full pitch range and ability to show emotion and intonation - so make sure your voice doesn't feel restricted. You don't want to force your voice to be low - it needs to feel comfortable :) I hope this helps!
Hi Sam - Thanks for your question :) I need to listen to this particular accent a little more before I can answer. Do you have a link to a video or audio recording of a person speaking with the "Southern Standard British" and/or "Modern RP" accents? Thanks! :)
I am a native English speaker, California accent. I've always known that my voice sounds different speaking Spanish and French, but I never knew why until now. I can actually feel myself speaking higher up in the throat in these languages, and lower in English, now that I understand this difference. I imagine that people who teach Romance languages to Americans could improve their students' pronunciation by showing them this video or at least explaining the differences in placement between the one and the other. Thanks for this video.
Hi Chris - Thanks so much for your comment! That's awesome you've been automatically adjusting the placement of your voice when speaking English, Spanish, and French - in my experience, not many people know how to do that! And I agree that it would be super helpful if language teachers would at least address the issue of placement with their students - the earlier someone becomes aware of the concept of placement, the better their pronunciation will be in the long run. I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)
@@johnny5941 Hi. I was not referring to pitch, but to where the sound comes from in the throat. In English, it comes from the chest, while in the Romance languages, it comes from high in the throat. At the same time, I do think that a deep voice, particularly in men, is more respected. That is why radio announcers and newscasters often have lower voices than the rest of us -- and yes, my voice is higher than I would like. Next life, maybe.
@@johnny5941 Yes, I think higher voices are penalized and ridiculed more than deeper voices. Comedians Stan Laurel and Don Knotts, among others, made themselves more ridiculous when they spoke in high-pitched voices.
Hi Himanshu - Thanks for your comment! The average pitch range for men is somewhere between 110 - 155 Hz, so you are within that range. Are you happy with the pitch of your voice, or does it seem to be too low or too high for you? Thanks!
Hi Saaid - thanks for your question! I typically pronounce it like the unstressed ER vowel, so the first syllable sounds like "sir". I hope this helps! :)
@@albertmo1722 Hi! Thank you for the video suggestion :) I think that's a great idea to do a follow-up video that discusses more in-depth topics like formants and how they impact the perception of voice placement. I'll add it to my to-do list of Voice videos!
Haha its unbelieveble perfect. I achived my native language needs to voice come from higher. I drop my voice lower and the result is just perfect to do American accent. Haha I imperessed.
As a Canadian actor, I've had extensive voice training so my performance voice is low and relaxed. I also understand that a standard American accent is spoken from the back of the mouth. But I don't understand how I get to correct standard American pronunciation from there. I suppose I'm at a disadvantage as I'm already a native English speaker. ESL speakers here learn to use Canadian pronunciation leaving them with a Canadian accent.
Hi Katherine -Thanks so much for your insightful comment :) Placement is definitely a tricky subject to learn...and to teach. I understand how you may be feeling frustrated with the process of achieving proper American English placement while at the same time using the standard American pronunciation! I'd be happy to work with you and help you with this - just let me know if that's something you're interested in: julie@sandiegovoiceandaccent.com. Best of luck! :)
Thank you for the question! My tongue tip was down and touching the back of my lower front teeth when I said both of the Dark Ls in "will" and "help". It seems like when I say the word "will" by itself (not in a sentence), my tongue tip usually comes up for the Dark L. But when I say "help" by itself (not in a sentence), my tongue tip usually goes down and touches the back of my lower front teeth. And when I say those words together in a sentence, "will help", my tongue tip is down for both of the words! It's easier to keep the tongue tip down for the dark L sound when you say the words together in a sentence because that helps to link the words together and smooth out your speech.
Hi Akshat - Thanks for your question :) It would be easiest if I could answer this question during one of my live English classes, rather than here in a comment. It would be great if you joined my next class and asked this question at that time. Here's the link to join: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club. I hope to see you there!
Hey, I was wondering about the American voice placement. A lot of people seem to think that there is something weird about Aziz Ansari's(An American Comedian) voice. I seem to think although there is nothing wrong with the way he pronounces stuff but that something's up with his voice placement. Is it because of too much nasality (hypo-hyper?)? Please can you give your assessment on this? I've been trying to figure this out. Thanks very much!
Hi! Thank you for this interesting question! I think that Aziz Ansari has a very unique-sounding voice, and I think it fits with his personality and character! He's a comedian, and his voice sounds "funny" to me - it makes me laugh :) To me, it sounds like his head is squashed down into his neck (I don't know how else to describe it), and his voice sounds like it is coming out from the top of his head. It is definitely his voice placement - his articulation of the sounds of American English is perfectly fine (he's a native speaker), but his voice has a much higher resonance to it. I wouldn't describe it as "hypernasal", meaning I don't perceive extra airflow coming out of his nose when he speaks. But his voice DOES sound like it is placed higher - like maybe he is habitually squeezing the back of his throat to give him a higher resonance - this probably adds to his comedic effect. Also, he's a smaller person, so his smaller throat anatomy probably factors into why his voice sounds the way it does. I hope this helped!
Hi professor Thank you so much for your priceless advice and interesting guidance. I love your way of teaching and excellent explication. I really appreciate your job. I wish you peace and happiness under the sky of prosperity.
How come I can kind of identify a person's ethnicity just the sound of their voice, even though they are native? I can tell apart native speakers of different ethnicities that were born and raised in the same region in the United States. Are there differences between the vocal cords of different races? For example, African American voices sound very distinct from White American voices, even if the former doesn't speak ebonics.
Hi Philip - Thanks for your question! From what I understand, the reason for the differences in people's voices is too complex to describe it just by one factor, like race, gender, age, health, or voice use. All of those factors play a part and interact with each other. So I don't know if there is a firm answer to your question. If you do a quick internet search, I bet you'll find a few articles about this very thing. :)
This is definitely a topic that students struggle with. I see this especially with Chinese students and the letter /n/, as well as for longer vowels like the long i for Romance language speakers
Hi, You are right. In Mandarin, there is only ONE [i] vowel; there is no long [i:] vowel nor short [i] vowel. This difference makes it very challenging for many Chinese-speaking English learners. Best, Albert from SF.
I have been watching your videos for the past month rigth now. I wish I had come accross them much earlier. I noticed profound improvement in my speech and accent.
Awesome - thanks so much for your comment, Google User! :) I'd be happy to review high pitch/low placement with you during my live English class at Julie's Conversation Club (courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club). I hope to see you at the next class! :)
omfg i haven't finished this video but i wanna say it's so useful and it do help to improve one's sound quality. so you know, the best english teacher ive met
Thanks, Jerry! That's so wonderful to hear! Hey - if you found this video valuable and you like my teaching style, it would be super helpful if you left my business a Google Review: g.page/r/CRKVA27p84i0EAg/review. This would help to spread the word! Thanks!
To me this is more useful in singing. In my native language most people have high placement that I noticed when they sang they didn’t sound like the way American people sing. I learned from that and trained to lower my placement so now when I sing my friends say I sound like an American singer. The technique makes my voice sound deeper and thicker.
Hi! Thank you for your comment! I agree with you completely - lowering the placement of your singing voice may be more helpful (and possibly easier) than lowering the placement of your speaking voice. I'm so glad you were able to discover this technique on your own - that's great! :)
Hi! Thank you for your comment! I'm from northern California, so my accent is considered to be the Western American accent (which is almost the same as the General American accent).
Hi Mike! I used an app called "Tuner - Pitched". I think this link should take you to it in the Google Play store: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stonekick.tuner
Hi! Thank you for your question. The answer might depend on who you ask! But here's what I think about contractions and reductions. A contraction is a word or phrase that has been shortened by dropping one or more letters. In written English, you'll see an apostrophe (') in the place of the missing letters. Common contractions in American English include: don't (do not), she's (she is, she has), I'm (I am), and many more. A reduction is when a the vowel of an unstressed word or syllable changes to a more neutralized vowel, usually the schwa /ə/. Sometimes a consonant is also changed as well (usually dropped). And sometimes, a word that is a contraction can also be a reduction. I'll give you some examples. Reduced word with a change in the vowel: The word "can"/kæn/ is usually reduced to "kun" /kən/ or "k'n" /kn/ when it is unstressed in a sentence. In this example, the vowel AA /æ/ is reduced to the schwa UH /ə/ or it is dropped completely. This type of reduction really only happens in unstressed syllables and words. If a native speaker wanted to stress the word "can", for example, they would almost always use the full pronunciation /kæn/. Reduced words with a change in the vowel and consonant: In spoken English, the words "going to" are often reduced to "gonna". In this example, the vowels changed to the schwa UH /ə/, and some of the consonants were dropped. Another example is with words "what are you", which reduce to "whatcha". I consider "gonna" and "whatcha" to be reductions, not contractions, since they don't use an apostrophe in place of the missing letters. Some people might call these "informal contractions". I don't think it matters much what you call them as long as you understand how to use them! Contraction with a reduction: The words "could have" can be contracted to "could've", and this can be reduced even further to "coulda". Most likely you'd see the contraction "could've" in the written form, and then when spoken out loud, the speaker might pronounce it as "coulda". The biggest difference between contractions and reductions is with the stress. A contraction, like "don't", "I'm", "she's", etc., can be stressed or unstressed, depending on the context. But words that are reduced, like "kun" or "k'n" for "can" , or "whatcha" for "what are you", are almost always unstressed. I hope this helped!
I've been searching about American English placement and I have a little doubt: it was also claimed that the placement is in the mouth, now I'm confused
Hi Annalisa - Thank you for your question :) American English has both chest and mouth resonance - it really is a balance of both. If you try to speak with too much chest resonance, there's a chance that you might be accidentally straining your throat muscles (or squeezing too much in your throat) in order to force your voice to say low, and that isn't good for the voice! So you want to relax the sound and allow it to feel balanced between the chest and the back of the mouth. Whenever you work on your voice placement, it should feel comfortable. You should never feel pain or discomfort in your throat or mouth, and your voice should feel relaxed. If you feel any pain in your throat, or you start to get a sore throat, then I recommend that you stop the exercise! That's a sign that you're squeezing the throat muscles incorrectly. Voicing should always feel easy and relaxed. I hope this was helpful, but let me know if you have any other questions! :)
Hi Nahla - Thanks for your comment! I'm so glad that the video has been helpful :) If you want to improve your speaking skills, the best thing to do is to practice speaking with a native speaker! I'm not sure if you'd be interested, but I have weekly live English classes at Julie's Conversation Club (learn more about it here: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club). I give a brief English lesson during the class, and then participants are able to practice their English pronunciation with me and receive live feedback on how they sound. It would be great if you'd join the Club! I hope to see you there :)
Thanks very much I have a question for you Is the word focussing Is it with double s or only with just s And is focussing with double .. s.... is it american or british way to say it
@@nahlaesmail3469 Hi Nahla - It's difficult for me to give a full answer in a comment! It's much more effective if you can hear my pronunciation as I answer your question about "focussing". I'd love it if you could join a live class at my Conversation Club! I'm sure other people have the same question as yours, and it would be super beneficial for others to hear the answer! You can learn more about my Conversation Club here: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club.
Hi Ahmed - Thanks for your question! The final "s" in "visas" is a voiced /z/ consonant, though sometimes in fast speech the voicing is reduced depending on what word comes next. You can actually pronounce the middle "s" sound two different ways, however. One is with a voiced /z/ sound in the middle: /ˈvi.zəz/. And the other is with the voiceless /s/ in the middle: ˈvi.səz. I've heard native speakers use both pronunciations. I hope this was helpful! :)
Hi Pratha - I don't know if I understand your question completely. I think you're asking if this placement video applies to every native speaker of American English? No - not every single native speaker of American English will have the same placement as me (or any other speaker). The way your voice sounds depends on many factors - age, gender, social use of the language, voice use, health, etc. - so people will sound different from each other, and that may include different voice placements. But in general, native speakers who speak with a General American English accent will sound similar and have similar voice placements, especially if they are the same age, gender, have similar vocal habits and usage, etc. I hope I was able to answer your question! :)
Hi, I think if you could produce a video showing the placement differences between people from the UK and the US and presenting them side-by-side? It would be very interesting! Best, Albert from SF
Hi! I agree - that definitely would be interesting! I love comparing the different sounds of English from native and non-native speakers. I'll have to find a person who speaks UK English who'd be willing to be in a video :) Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi Pratha - Thanks for your question! I'm not sure if I fully understand what you're asking - but it's important to remember that speaking English should feel comfortable, so if you feel any discomfort or pain, then you might be tensing your muscles in a way that is unnatural and possibly harmful. Try to use a mouth angle that feels comfortable. I hope I was able to answer your question! :) Let me know if you have additional questions.
Pretty clear Tutorial, Bette than some other video who talk about low placement as well. The way how they explain is pretty confused:) like yours more:)
So underrated channel.
You should have many subscribers.
Thnks a lot for helping me.
Hi Muhammad - Thanks for your comment! I'm so glad my videos are helpful :) And I hope to have more subscribers one day, too :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Yeah, of course you will.
@@muhammadjunaid3684 Thanks - I appreciate your support! :)
What a great video! Finally someone as good as "Rachel's English" on this topic! Thank you!
Hi! Thank you for your comment! I'm glad you liked the video! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Better than Rachel's way too long and complicated video. But Rachel did give video examples of foreigners trying to speak American English. But, San Diego, you talk about a "relaxed" voice, but then you purposely talk slowly. I've heard that trying to talk more slowly and distinctly for foreigners really does them a disservice. They need to hear "real" English. And for native speakers, your slow stilted diction is a real turn off. Relax your "relaxed" voice. You can do that while still having clear enunciation.
@@timanon1368 Hi tim anon - Thanks for your comment! I appreciate your opinion about my "relaxed" voice. Speaking to an audience that is comprised of "The Internet" is always a delicate balance of clear and natural. I'm always working my hardest to provide that to my viewers, but I'll take your suggestion into account for my future videos.
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent :-). As a French second language person, I find some French accents easier to understand than others. There's one guy from Loire region as I recall who does French instruction TH-cam videos. His accent is so clear that I understand almost everything that he says in his natural voice. San Diego, to this American, your natural voice sounds clear enough for most learners. Maybe I'm just biased, but I think that standard Midwest/Northern American and some Irish and Scottish accents are so mild and easy to get. Yeah, it used to be the case that the educated in England had little accent compared to Americans, but they seem to have doubled down on regionalism.
@@timanon1368 Thanks for your perspective on this topic. It's always interesting to learn how other people perceive different accents and speaking styles :)
Thank you for the video Julie! its very helpful :) Can you also make one about how to reduce nasality?
Thanks for your comment, Erika! I'm glad the video was helpful :) I'll add your video suggestion to my to-do list!
I found best video on American placements 💕
HI Daily Lyrics Hub - Thanks so much for your comment! I'm glad you liked the video! :)
Thanks for the video,
One quick question I have for you is what happens when you use a singing voice for an American accent. I feel like my voice rises up instead of goes down to resonate in my chest as mentioned in the video. This usually happens when I raise my pitch. What can I do to raise my pitch but still maintain a more chest resonated sound?
Thanks again
Hi Simo - Thanks so much for your question! Your resonance will naturally move from lower to higher as you move through your pitch range, but if you are able to maintain a relaxed and open throat (and a relaxed mouth/tongue), you should still be able to maintain a deeper, fuller resonance to your voice, even in the higher pitches. Incorporate some negative practice into your singing so that your body can feel the difference between relaxed muscles and tense muscles: Practice singing up and down your pitch range with added tension in your mouth, tongue, and throat (but stop if it's uncomfortable or painful), and purposely try to make your voice sound high, small, tense, tight. Then relax all facial/throat muscles and sing up and down your pitch range. By adding in tension on purpose, you should be able to feel a huge contrast once you relax your muscles.
I hope this helps! :)
Is there two placements in American english? at the Back of the throat and down in the chest area, or just one? Thanks
I think my voice get thicker when I speak this way haha
Hi Douglas - Yes, this can happen! I feel it, too! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent that's awesome! New languages, new voice!
@@douglasmarinho3653 Definitely!! :)
Guys very use information. I struggled with placement a lot until I discovered this one trick: When practicing shadowing/imitation place your hand gently on the Chest and lower your pitch and feel the vibration. It automatically fixes your focus on chest (lower placement)
Please try it. I wish you all the best❤
Great technique, Yash! Thanks for sharing! :)
One of the best teachers I have ever seen in my life. Thank you for the clarification.
Thank you! I'm so glad you liked the video :)
This is an EXTREMELY important lesson. Thank you very much.
Hi! Thanks for your comment! I'm so glad that my video was helpful :)
As a non native speaker I can say that this is so important.. I have been leaning english for years but my accent never improved too much.. A few days ago i found a few more videos about pitch level and I already can make an American accent ( not perfect ofc) I can see a result just because of the voice pich level. I always thought the problem was in the voice not in the pitch level.. Very well explained
Hi Cucoș - Thanks for your comment! Yes, placement can make a huge difference in your accent, and I'm so happy to hear that you feel like your accent has already improved! That's awesome! :)
omg finally someone explains the vocal tract w/ diagram. helpful vid.
Hi! Thank you for your comment - I'm so glad that the video was helpful! :)
You should have a lot more views than most other teachers that waste our time with endless tongue exercises, keep it up! And please make a video on American resonance specifically, things like pharyngeal resonance, supporting the voice, etc
Thank you for your comments! I will add pharyngeal resonance and supporting the voice to my To-Do list :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent I can't wait to see your approach to the pharyngeal resonance subject. Especially the upper part of the pharynx - nasopharynx that's activated with CORRECT NG sound (incorrect NG is nasal but has no nasal resonance). There's more and more scientific studies coming out that debunk the old technique. For a decade we've been told that all vowels are pure oral sounds - no air should be escaping through the nose - that is the biggest lie in the voice teaching world. As soon as you close off the nasal cavities by lifting the soft palate too high you activate the pharyngeal constrictors that are involved in the swallowing mechanism. Most people can't find their balanced resonance and just continue practicing pronunciation with a constricted throat. Best Italian singers figured this out a hundred years ago yet we're still getting the wrong information because new speech coaches think they can just start coaching and then figure out the rest as they go with no anatomy knowledge. There's a simple trick to it - if you feel your head resonating when you speak that means the entire pharynx is resonating and the throat is open, people should never try to "place" the accent in the middle of the mouth as dialect coaches say - proper resonant American Accent is ARTICULATED in the middle of the mouth but any voice should be originating in the pharyngeal cavities, people should stop learning pronunciation until they have a free and open throat. I'm looking forward to seeing your more detailed videos and whenever I'm in San Diego I would definitely take a lesson with you. Your way of giving information is by far the most accurate I've seen on the internet, just wish it was a little more technical, not everyone can simply imagine stuff and make their brain place the voice and release all the tension.
That's amazing. I simply love your videos and it's been helping me find a better placement and create this "voice awareness" to pronunciation and rhytm of the American English. I'd love to see more videos on intonation where you can replace the words to Da-da... it's so helpful but sometimes I feel a little confused to work like this. Thanks again for the incredible content!
Hi Rafaela - Awesome! I'm so glad this video has helped you :) Thanks for the video suggestion - I appreciate it! :)
Your video is excellent, hope I can find these tips earlier. Do you mind making some other videos about the practice of a low open relaxed sound ?
Hi! Thank you for your comment. I can definitely make more videos about how to practice a low/open/relaxed sound - I'll add it to my list of "to-do" videos!
I think Americans in English depend on diaphragmatic breathing.
Yes, diaphragmatic breathing certainly does help with the overall quality of the voice! This type of breathing will give your voice the most amount of breath support, which helps your voice to sound stronger, louder, and more relaxed.
Thanks for the comment! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you.
... making you to understand the placement of your voice and the existence and use of the 'schwa' makes all the difference when it comes to speaking English ... !!!
Much agreed, Banto! Thank you for your comment :)
Wow, I'm 22 year-olds Vietnamese and I have been studying English since 8 year-olds at school. But just like every Vietnamese students, we did not learn how to pronounce nethier American nor British English, we just tought all about grammaries and vocabularies for the English exams at school. Thus I can't speak English well depiste of 16 years learning it. Thank for this helpful video lesson, this changes my enter mindset about how to learn English. I'll comeback and praticing everyday.
For those who have been struggling to learn American English like me, may you also want to check out Rachel's English and Sounds American.
I bet with all this channels, with my (your) demonstration to pratice the American English pronounciation and thank to all enthusiam English teacher, we will improve everyday and achieve our life goals. Trust the progress. 🤗
Hi Avril - Thanks for your comment :) I'm so glad that this video was helpful! If you're interested in learning more about placement and American English pronunciation, I teach weekly, live lessons on the American accent at Julie's Conversation Club. Here's where you can learn more information about it: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club. I'd be happy to listen to your pronunciation and give you feedback! I hope you can join us :)
I feel that being a Romanian, i have to think about American English as a more high pitched emission ; as we tend to be very low and dark in sounds
Hi @princevladd - Thanks so much for your comment! Yes, I can see where you're coming from, and American English does have a higher placement than Romanian in some ways. :)
Thank you very much...i finally did it..i found my voice 🎉❤..if you can "sigh" than you are so close to the american accent
Exactly! The "sigh" technique is great for finding a lower voice placement :) Thanks for the comment, @inner_zen_peace!
I always thought Americans were born with powerful built in speakers. So the sound comes from the lower throat. when I try to do it, it sounds quite tense and forced. I'm doing something wrong. awesome video!!
Hi Ed! Thanks for your comment :) If you feel like your voice is tense or forced, then you are most likely squeezing your throat muscles incorrectly. This is your body telling you that something isn't right, so if you feel any discomfort when you try to lower the placement of your voice, stop! It shouldn't feel tense or forced; instead, it should feel easy and relaxed. Try this tip: instead of focusing on "lowering" your placement, focus on adding more airflow to your voice. Relax your throat by doing a few humming exercises (say "hmmmm" as you glide down in pitch), and focus on allowing lots of air to travel through your throat and out of your nose. Put your finger under your nose to feel for the airflow - you want a lot of warm air to come out of your nose as you hum. Then keep this relaxed, open throat posture as you say words like "hi", "who", "he" as you glide down in your pitch range.
So focus on 1) relaxed, open throat; 2) relaxed, open jaw; 3) airflow.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question!!
@@edflam7555 You're very welcome!
8:50 exercises
Thanks!
I've been studying English for a long time mostly on TH-cam. Almost all the channels that I'm subscribed to are about English pronunciation and I had never seen yours, in fact I didn't find it by TH-cam I find it by google when I was looking for the pronunciation of the "t" and came across your website. Too bad TH-cam focuses more on recommending basic gramar channels than pronunciation channels, which are also important, well anyway, I got another good English channel, thanks
Hi Richard - Thanks so much for your comment! It's great to hear that my channel has been helpful. And maybe one day I'll figure out how to crack the TH-cam algorithm! :)
British actor, 35 years working as a pro
You are an excellent teacher
Wow, @jerrycornelius3466 - Thank you so much for your comment! It really made my day to hear that :) I appreciate it!
this is great video but aisans espeially koreans it takes several year's of practice to have that American English lower relaxed voice.
that is because speaking Korean does not require to open the whole muscles of face, nasal, mouth or throat parts...
Therefore Korean voice placement is locted in front part of the mouth which means alll of the vocal muslces are kind of contracted, tensed and unrelaxed...
Hi Zhenqiao - Thank you so much for your comment! I really appreciate learning more about the placement of other languages, and your perspective is especially valuable here. I hope this video was helpful! :)
I have a question, could you explain the voice placement in chest mean? Is vocal fry because your placement is too low? Even I got vocal fry, I didn't feel voice coming from my chest. It's just coming from the very bottom of my throat. Thank you!
Hi Bo - Thanks for your question :) The topic of placement is very difficult to describe in writing - it's much easier if I answer your question in real-time and demonstrate what different types of placements sound like. If you join my live English class at Julie's Conversation Club (courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club), I can answer your question during the class! I hope to see you there :)
There is another good vocal placement video! This explains why Asians don't sound like native speakers. Our voice is placed in a higher position without keeping the air in the stomach by characteristics of languages. So It happens to have nasal and sharp sounds. It proves when Americans try to speak the Asain language, they make sounds differently. You would probably see some Asians when they try to speak English fast, it sounds like they running out of their breath. Because they didn't aware of voice placement. One of the good ways to learn voice placement to make rich sounds is by getting a vocal lesson. You will learn how to place your vocal cord, keep the air and avoid the nasal sound. Basically, you can learn how to control your voice. I have been thinking about this idea for so long and I glad to watch your video. Thank you for sharing (It could have been awesome if I was able to learn English from you when I was in San Diego!)
Hi Byeonggil - Thanks so much for your comment! I think that is an excellent idea to use the concepts you've learned in a vocal lesson to help you with your speaking voice - this can definitely help you to improve the placement of your voice! And I'm glad to hear that my video was helpful :) I see clients online now, so if you're ever interested in working on your English again, let me know!
After many years of speaking English, now I understand that I was speaking it with the mouth placement for Spanish, which is my native language. As you mentioned in the beginning of your video, I have worked on pronunciation, intonation, linking, and other parts of spoken English, but never on this. Thank you so much for posting this wonderful video. It’s gonna help me a lot !!! Greetings from Seattle. (By the way, I am from Tijuana, Mexico)
Thanks for your comment, Miguel! I'm so glad that my video was helpful! :)
Great video. Very helpful, thanks! At 8:00, why did you change the vowel sound, when you switched between nasal, front mouth, back mouth, and chest placement?
Hi @js_guyman - Thanks for your comment! My intention was to pronounce the same vowel sound but with different placements. As I shifted my placement, the vowel does change in resonance, but it should be recognized as the same vowel sound. I hope this helps! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent thanks, yes it does!
@@js_guyman Great, glad I could help!
But some of the consonants are nasal in American English. What about them?
My other question is that do we breathe through belly and diaphragm in American voice placement?
Thanks for your questions! Yes, we breathe through the belly and diaphragm for American voice placement :) And yes, American English does have nasal consonants, and those naturally will have lots of nasal resonance. :)
@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you for the answer. So, The American have more of an authoritative quality in their voice, but I mean that I feel it is not a really natural process for the nasal sounds in American English than my mother tongue. I feel like the American contract the muscles of the mouth more when pronouncing the nasal sounds.
This is a must watch and foundation.
Awesome, Apply IT! Thank you for your comment - I'm so happy that this video was helpful! :)
Hi, The more I watch your video, the more I think you speak very clearly and articulately. And you have a beautiful voice. Of course, you are an accent teacher. :-) I was originally from Taiwan, and I have been helping my friends/coworkers/Toastmaster members to improve their English accents. I do not think Taiwanese/Chinese people have a higher placement. What do you think? Best, Albert from SF
H! Thank you so much for your comment! That's great you also help people to improve their English accents - it's a very fun and rewarding profession :) I think Toastmasters is a great organization, too!
Regarding the voice placement of Taiwanese/Chinese people, I've worked with clients who have had a similar voice placement as mine - low, back of the throat or upper chest - and I've also worked with clients who have had a higher oral placement. I think it depends on where that person is from, but I agree with you that some native speakers of Mandarin or Cantonese can have a similar voice placement as a native American English speaker.
Thank you again for your comments!
if the voice resonates in upper chest than voice will be heavy right?
Hmm...this is an interesting question! Yes, if the voice resonates in the upper chest it might feel "heavy" - but it's not uncomfortable or painful. It's a low, relaxed, comfortable feeling. Your voice should still have its full pitch range and ability to show emotion and intonation - so make sure your voice doesn't feel restricted. You don't want to force your voice to be low - it needs to feel comfortable :) I hope this helps!
I see more than 1M subscribers after 2 years from now :)
Thanks alot
Hi Abdellah - Thanks! That's very cool of you to say :) We'll see what happens!!
So the American accent's placement is on the upper chest?
Hi Andre - Thanks for your question! I feel that it's balanced between the upper chest and center of the mouth.
I think southern standard british or Modern RP is also relaxed, low but sounds smoother than american. What do you think about this accent?
Hi Sam - Thanks for your question :) I need to listen to this particular accent a little more before I can answer. Do you have a link to a video or audio recording of a person speaking with the "Southern Standard British" and/or "Modern RP" accents? Thanks! :)
Here are some SSB accents of few speakers
1. th-cam.com/video/BuS_Zu2K58M/w-d-xo.html
2. th-cam.com/video/xPNeBJJWxpY/w-d-xo.html
video starts at 6:14
I am a native English speaker, California accent. I've always known that my voice sounds different speaking Spanish and French, but I never knew why until now. I can actually feel myself speaking higher up in the throat in these languages, and lower in English, now that I understand this difference. I imagine that people who teach Romance languages to Americans could improve their students' pronunciation by showing them this video or at least explaining the differences in placement between the one and the other. Thanks for this video.
Hi Chris - Thanks so much for your comment! That's awesome you've been automatically adjusting the placement of your voice when speaking English, Spanish, and French - in my experience, not many people know how to do that! And I agree that it would be super helpful if language teachers would at least address the issue of placement with their students - the earlier someone becomes aware of the concept of placement, the better their pronunciation will be in the long run. I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)
@@johnny5941 Hi. I was not referring to pitch, but to where the sound comes from in the throat. In English, it comes from the chest, while in the Romance languages, it comes from high in the throat.
At the same time, I do think that a deep voice, particularly in men, is more respected. That is why radio announcers and newscasters often have lower voices than the rest of us -- and yes, my voice is higher than I would like. Next life, maybe.
@@johnny5941 Yes, I think higher voices are penalized and ridiculed more than deeper voices. Comedians Stan Laurel and Don Knotts, among others, made themselves more ridiculous when they spoke in high-pitched voices.
I really like your illustration. It is very helpful
Hi Meng - Awesome! I'm so glad it helped! :)
Is there any app to test the correct sound when we speak
Hi pk - Thanks for your question :) I'm not aware of any app that can do this reliably, yet! I'm sure that will come very soon, though.
That was some valuable information. Thank you!
You're welcome - I'm glad you liked it!
Ma'am my pitch is between 115-135 Hz. What is Your take on ?
Hi Himanshu - Thanks for your comment! The average pitch range for men is somewhere between 110 - 155 Hz, so you are within that range. Are you happy with the pitch of your voice, or does it seem to be too low or too high for you? Thanks!
👍you rock...
Hi
وصايا - Thank you! I'm so glad you liked this video! :)
Your channel is absolutely top-notch. Subscribed!
Hi David - Thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad that my channel is helpful, and thanks for subscribing! I'll be publishing new content soon :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Looking forward to it.
How do you pronounce the letter u in surround and surrender?
Hi Saaid - thanks for your question! I typically pronounce it like the unstressed ER vowel, so the first syllable sounds like "sir". I hope this helps! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent thanks a lot.
Hi, This is one of the BEST videos I have watched about "American Placement". Keep up the great work! Best, Albert from San Francisco
Hi! Thank you so much for your comment :) I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Hi, You are welcome! Could you please make another video about Formant and how it is different from Placement? Thanks, Albert from SF
@@albertmo1722 Hi! Thank you for the video suggestion :) I think that's a great idea to do a follow-up video that discusses more in-depth topics like formants and how they impact the perception of voice placement. I'll add it to my to-do list of Voice videos!
Haha its unbelieveble perfect. I achived my native language needs to voice come from higher. I drop my voice lower and the result is just perfect to do American accent. Haha I imperessed.
That's awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this with me :) I'm glad it was helpful!
did you do the exercises she recommends or did you add more and if so where did you find the extra practice ?
After searching 7 years, I found the answer from this video. Thank you for this amazing video about American Accent. Heyyyy.
Hi Detective Syam - Awesome! Thanks so much for your comment - I'm glad this video was helpful!! :)
Same here
damn she's hight
Hi HAZEWANNAWORLD - Haha! Thanks for the comment! :)
As a Canadian actor, I've had extensive voice training so my performance voice is low and relaxed. I also understand that a standard American accent is spoken from the back of the mouth. But I don't understand how I get to correct standard American pronunciation from there. I suppose I'm at a disadvantage as I'm already a native English speaker. ESL speakers here learn to use Canadian pronunciation leaving them with a Canadian accent.
Hi Katherine -Thanks so much for your insightful comment :) Placement is definitely a tricky subject to learn...and to teach. I understand how you may be feeling frustrated with the process of achieving proper American English placement while at the same time using the standard American pronunciation! I'd be happy to work with you and help you with this - just let me know if that's something you're interested in: julie@sandiegovoiceandaccent.com. Best of luck! :)
6:52 you said ( will help ) is both tongue touch you lower back teeth or not, it seems down. Thank you for amazing video.
Thank you for the question! My tongue tip was down and touching the back of my lower front teeth when I said both of the Dark Ls in "will" and "help".
It seems like when I say the word "will" by itself (not in a sentence), my tongue tip usually comes up for the Dark L. But when I say "help" by itself (not in a sentence), my tongue tip usually goes down and touches the back of my lower front teeth. And when I say those words together in a sentence, "will help", my tongue tip is down for both of the words! It's easier to keep the tongue tip down for the dark L sound when you say the words together in a sentence because that helps to link the words together and smooth out your speech.
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Great answer, Thank you, Thank you so much.
Hello, please reply:" I am not talking about what I am not Comfortable talking about." Is this sentence grammatically correct?
Hi Akshat - Thanks for your question :) It would be easiest if I could answer this question during one of my live English classes, rather than here in a comment. It would be great if you joined my next class and asked this question at that time. Here's the link to join: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club. I hope to see you there!
This is by far the best video of placement I've come across. after watching this video my speaking sounds way better
Awesome! That's great to hear! :)
Rare information.
Though this video could've been 2min long.
Hi Max G - Thanks so much for your comment! I appreciate it! :)
Happy 2021 Julie
Thank you Geraldo! Happy 2021 to you, too :)
Hey, I was wondering about the American voice placement. A lot of people seem to think that there is something weird about Aziz Ansari's(An American Comedian) voice. I seem to think although there is nothing wrong with the way he pronounces stuff but that something's up with his voice placement. Is it because of too much nasality (hypo-hyper?)? Please can you give your assessment on this? I've been trying to figure this out. Thanks very much!
Hi! Thank you for this interesting question! I think that Aziz Ansari has a very unique-sounding voice, and I think it fits with his personality and character! He's a comedian, and his voice sounds "funny" to me - it makes me laugh :)
To me, it sounds like his head is squashed down into his neck (I don't know how else to describe it), and his voice sounds like it is coming out from the top of his head. It is definitely his voice placement - his articulation of the sounds of American English is perfectly fine (he's a native speaker), but his voice has a much higher resonance to it. I wouldn't describe it as "hypernasal", meaning I don't perceive extra airflow coming out of his nose when he speaks. But his voice DOES sound like it is placed higher - like maybe he is habitually squeezing the back of his throat to give him a higher resonance - this probably adds to his comedic effect. Also, he's a smaller person, so his smaller throat anatomy probably factors into why his voice sounds the way it does.
I hope this helped!
Hi professor
Thank you so much for your priceless advice and interesting guidance. I love your way of teaching and excellent explication.
I really appreciate your job.
I wish you peace and happiness under the sky of prosperity.
Hi Said - Thank you for your comment! I appreciate your kind words :)
How come I can kind of identify a person's ethnicity just the sound of their voice, even though they are native? I can tell apart native speakers of different ethnicities that were born and raised in the same region in the United States. Are there differences between the vocal cords of different races?
For example, African American voices sound very distinct from White American voices, even if the former doesn't speak ebonics.
Hi Philip - Thanks for your question! From what I understand, the reason for the differences in people's voices is too complex to describe it just by one factor, like race, gender, age, health, or voice use. All of those factors play a part and interact with each other. So I don't know if there is a firm answer to your question. If you do a quick internet search, I bet you'll find a few articles about this very thing. :)
This is definitely a topic that students struggle with. I see this especially with Chinese students and the letter /n/, as well as for longer vowels like the long i for Romance language speakers
Yes - I agree! Thank you for your comment :)
Hi, You are right. In Mandarin, there is only ONE [i] vowel; there is no long [i:] vowel nor short [i] vowel. This difference makes it very challenging for many Chinese-speaking English learners. Best, Albert from SF.
I have been watching your videos for the past month rigth now. I wish I had come accross them much earlier. I noticed profound improvement in my speech and accent.
Hi kollington - Thank you so much for your comment :) It really means a lot to know that my videos and my channel have been so helpful for you! :)
It was the best video to understand the placement! Can you cover the examples of talking with high pitch but a low placement?
Awesome - thanks so much for your comment, Google User! :) I'd be happy to review high pitch/low placement with you during my live English class at Julie's Conversation Club (courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club). I hope to see you at the next class! :)
Bravo! This should be the first video for any beginner lol
Awesome - that's so great to hear! Please share this video with anyone you think would benefit! :)
omfg i haven't finished this video but i wanna say it's so useful and it do help to improve one's sound quality.
so you know, the best english teacher ive met
Thanks, Jerry! That's so wonderful to hear! Hey - if you found this video valuable and you like my teaching style, it would be super helpful if you left my business a Google Review: g.page/r/CRKVA27p84i0EAg/review. This would help to spread the word! Thanks!
Nice video !
Thank you! I was just about to email you the link to this video, so I'm glad you found it!
To me this is more useful in singing. In my native language most people have high placement that I noticed when they sang they didn’t sound like the way American people sing. I learned from that and trained to lower my placement so now when I sing my friends say I sound like an American singer. The technique makes my voice sound deeper and thicker.
Hi! Thank you for your comment! I agree with you completely - lowering the placement of your singing voice may be more helpful (and possibly easier) than lowering the placement of your speaking voice. I'm so glad you were able to discover this technique on your own - that's great! :)
Thanks for sharing this video. subscribed to your channel.
Awesome - thank you so much for your support! :)
Hi I'm a fan of your accent. Which regional accent is it?
Hi! Thank you for your comment! I'm from northern California, so my accent is considered to be the Western American accent (which is almost the same as the General American accent).
this is the best video I’ve ever found about american accent
Hi Nhi - Thanks so much for your comment :) I'm so glad my video was helpful!
Hi, what is the name of the software to monitor your pitch? Thank you
Hi Mike! I used an app called "Tuner - Pitched". I think this link should take you to it in the Google Play store: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stonekick.tuner
11:13 with the tongue lower and the jaw and throat relaxed !!
Hi Himani - Thanks for your comment! Let me know if you have a specific question - I'd be happy to answer it for you :)
The nasal placement is hilarious.
Haha - I agree! :)
Very helpful, thank you for sharing
Thanks for your comment, Federico! I'm glad the video was helpful! :)
what is the difference between contractions and reduction.
Hi! Thank you for your question. The answer might depend on who you ask! But here's what I think about contractions and reductions.
A contraction is a word or phrase that has been shortened by dropping one or more letters. In written English, you'll see an apostrophe (') in the place of the missing letters. Common contractions in American English include: don't (do not), she's (she is, she has), I'm (I am), and many more.
A reduction is when a the vowel of an unstressed word or syllable changes to a more neutralized vowel, usually the schwa /ə/. Sometimes a consonant is also changed as well (usually dropped). And sometimes, a word that is a contraction can also be a reduction. I'll give you some examples.
Reduced word with a change in the vowel: The word "can"/kæn/ is usually reduced to "kun" /kən/ or "k'n" /kn/ when it is unstressed in a sentence. In this example, the vowel AA /æ/ is reduced to the schwa UH /ə/ or it is dropped completely. This type of reduction really only happens in unstressed syllables and words. If a native speaker wanted to stress the word "can", for example, they would almost always use the full pronunciation /kæn/.
Reduced words with a change in the vowel and consonant: In spoken English, the words "going to" are often reduced to "gonna". In this example, the vowels changed to the schwa UH /ə/, and some of the consonants were dropped. Another example is with words "what are you", which reduce to "whatcha". I consider "gonna" and "whatcha" to be reductions, not contractions, since they don't use an apostrophe in place of the missing letters. Some people might call these "informal contractions". I don't think it matters much what you call them as long as you understand how to use them!
Contraction with a reduction: The words "could have" can be contracted to "could've", and this can be reduced even further to "coulda". Most likely you'd see the contraction "could've" in the written form, and then when spoken out loud, the speaker might pronounce it as "coulda".
The biggest difference between contractions and reductions is with the stress. A contraction, like "don't", "I'm", "she's", etc., can be stressed or unstressed, depending on the context. But words that are reduced, like "kun" or "k'n" for "can" , or "whatcha" for "what are you", are almost always unstressed.
I hope this helped!
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent This is the best answer i got, this answer will be a great video, really wow.
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent This the best answer i got, this answer will be a great video, really wow.
@@ramzy-6566 You're welcome! I'm happy that I was able to help :) And I agree - this would be a good topic for a video. I'll add it to the list :)
Big help
Great! I'm glad the video was helpful! :)
I've been searching about American English placement and I have a little doubt: it was also claimed that the placement is in the mouth, now I'm confused
Hi Annalisa - Thank you for your question :) American English has both chest and mouth resonance - it really is a balance of both. If you try to speak with too much chest resonance, there's a chance that you might be accidentally straining your throat muscles (or squeezing too much in your throat) in order to force your voice to say low, and that isn't good for the voice! So you want to relax the sound and allow it to feel balanced between the chest and the back of the mouth.
Whenever you work on your voice placement, it should feel comfortable. You should never feel pain or discomfort in your throat or mouth, and your voice should feel relaxed. If you feel any pain in your throat, or you start to get a sore throat, then I recommend that you stop the exercise! That's a sign that you're squeezing the throat muscles incorrectly. Voicing should always feel easy and relaxed.
I hope this was helpful, but let me know if you have any other questions! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent thank you so much!
@@annalisafusi9717 Happy to help! :)
Wonderful , ls there any site to improve speaking skills
Hi Nahla - Thanks for your comment! I'm so glad that the video has been helpful :) If you want to improve your speaking skills, the best thing to do is to practice speaking with a native speaker! I'm not sure if you'd be interested, but I have weekly live English classes at Julie's Conversation Club (learn more about it here: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club). I give a brief English lesson during the class, and then participants are able to practice their English pronunciation with me and receive live feedback on how they sound. It would be great if you'd join the Club! I hope to see you there :)
Thanks very much
I have a question for you
Is the word focussing
Is it with double s or only with just s
And is focussing with double .. s.... is it american or british way to say it
@@nahlaesmail3469 Hi Nahla - It's difficult for me to give a full answer in a comment! It's much more effective if you can hear my pronunciation as I answer your question about "focussing". I'd love it if you could join a live class at my Conversation Club! I'm sure other people have the same question as yours, and it would be super beneficial for others to hear the answer! You can learn more about my Conversation Club here: courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club.
this is great
Awesome, Maahad! Glad you liked the video! :)
Visas /ˈvēzəs/ or / ˈvēzəz/ ?
Hi Ahmed - Thanks for your question! The final "s" in "visas" is a voiced /z/ consonant, though sometimes in fast speech the voicing is reduced depending on what word comes next. You can actually pronounce the middle "s" sound two different ways, however. One is with a voiced /z/ sound in the middle: /ˈvi.zəz/. And the other is with the voiceless /s/ in the middle: ˈvi.səz. I've heard native speakers use both pronunciations.
I hope this was helpful! :)
Love your channel
Hi Alexander - Awesome! Thanks so much - I'm glad my videos are helpful! :)
Thank you 😊😊😊!
You're welcome, Monica! Glad you liked it! :)
It's Rather helpful
Thanks for your comment - I'm so glad it was helpful! :)
Thanks so much
Hi Bobo - thanks for your comment! I'm glad the video was helpful :)
Any American??
Hi Pratha - I don't know if I understand your question completely. I think you're asking if this placement video applies to every native speaker of American English? No - not every single native speaker of American English will have the same placement as me (or any other speaker). The way your voice sounds depends on many factors - age, gender, social use of the language, voice use, health, etc. - so people will sound different from each other, and that may include different voice placements. But in general, native speakers who speak with a General American English accent will sound similar and have similar voice placements, especially if they are the same age, gender, have similar vocal habits and usage, etc.
I hope I was able to answer your question! :)
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent mam this one is not for you
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent but mam which sound should i make while speaking American English mam do you have any Instagram page...
@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent mam i just love your way of speaking and i wanna speak like you.....
@@Lexikaa14 Thanks Pratha - that's very sweet of you to say :)
This is the "KEY".
Hi Hui - I agree! Thanks for your comment :)
Very nice
Hi Diet Mode - Thanks for your comment! Glad you liked the video! :)
Thank you so much!!!
Hi Kristen - You're very welcome! Thank you for your comment :)
Very helpful!
Hi Joseph - Thank you for your comment! I'm so glad you liked the video! :)
Great content creator !!!
Thank you Castro! I'm glad my channel is helpful! :)
Excellent! Thanks
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! :)
Hola 👋👋
Hi Theooo - Hello to you! :)
Thanks!!!
You're very welcome! I'm glad you liked the video :)
Hi, I think if you could produce a video showing the placement differences between people from the UK and the US and presenting them side-by-side? It would be very interesting! Best, Albert from SF
Hi! I agree - that definitely would be interesting! I love comparing the different sounds of English from native and non-native speakers. I'll have to find a person who speaks UK English who'd be willing to be in a video :) Thanks for the suggestion!
Which type of mouth angle should we make while speaking American english??
Hi Pratha - Thanks for your question! I'm not sure if I fully understand what you're asking - but it's important to remember that speaking English should feel comfortable, so if you feel any discomfort or pain, then you might be tensing your muscles in a way that is unnatural and possibly harmful. Try to use a mouth angle that feels comfortable.
I hope I was able to answer your question! :) Let me know if you have additional questions.
Pretty clear Tutorial, Bette than some other video who talk about low placement as well. The way how they explain is pretty confused:) like yours more:)
Hi Sean - Thanks for your comment! I'm happy that my video was helpful!! :)