http://www.speechcom.com/index.htmlPlay the contest for a chance to win free Speechcom Software!enshaybre@mac.comCopyright 2007 Speechcom, Inc.2008-06-01T09:30:45-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:32:54 -0400shaybre@mac.comContest2008-06-01T09:30:45-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/contest.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.speechcom.com/contest/contest.html#unique-entry-id-15Carol Ezovski of San Jose, CA – Congratulations!

Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your fingers to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “summer” “su”-1, “mmer”-2. Two, right? If you tap just the way you say it, you will notice that the first tap is louder/longer than the second or third—that means the first syllable is stressed: “SU-mmer.”

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which words below have two syllables with stress on the first syllable?
Careful, don’t let the spelling mislead you . . .

business
chocolate
history
open
umbrella
vacation

To submit, fill type in your email address and answer, then hit the submit button!

Your E-Mail Address:


Your Answer:

Please tell us how you found Speechcom:
please select
search engine
advertisement
from a friend
fowarded email
other

Submit your answer by June 30th, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.



All correct entries are entered in our drawing. Please, just one entry per person . . .

Visit us in July for the next contest!

]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2008-05-01T08:28:01-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/may-2008#unique-entry-id-14http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/may-2008#unique-entry-id-14Carol Ezovski of San Jose, CA – Congratulations!

Many English words have more than one accepted pronunciation.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Are these words acceptable when pronounced more than one way?

often—with a T and without a T sound
either—with an EE (as in grEEn) and with an AI (as in whIte)
exit—with a KS and with a GZ
February—with an R and without an R sound
Internet—with a T sound in the middle and without a T sound in the middle


]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2008-04-01T20:23:53-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/apr-2008#unique-entry-id-13http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/apr-2008#unique-entry-id-13Carol Ezovski of San Jose, CA – Congratulations!

It’s April! "April" is pronounced with the AY, or "long a" vowel sound, as in "gray." This sound may be spelled many different ways. It may be spelled with:
-a, as in lazy
-ai, as in main
-au, as in gauge
-ea, as in great
-eigh, as in weigh
-ey, as in hey
-et, as in ballet

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which word(s) are pronounced with the AY sound, as is in "May"?

okay
favorite
aunt
sweat
valet
eight
keys

]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2008-03-01T09:00:00-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/mar-2008#unique-entry-id-12http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/mar-2008#unique-entry-id-12The January contest winner is Elena Mendoza of Mexico City – Congratulations!

March ends with a CH sound. However, not all words that are spelled with the letters CH are pronounced with this CH sound. Some are pronounced SH, as in "chef"; some are pronounced K, as in "character."

Now, Here’s the Contest!

How many of these words has this CH sound?

mustache
Chevrolet
choose
child
echo
]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2008-02-01T09:39:00-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/feb-2008#unique-entry-id-11http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/feb-2008#unique-entry-id-11The January contest winner is Elena Mendoza of Mexico City – Congratulations!

The letters TH are usually pronounced with one of two TH sounds. One is voiced as in “this”; the other is unvoiced as in “think.” However, a few words in English that are spelled with TH are pronounced with T.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which of these TH words are pronounced with a T sound?

Thailand
Thanksgiving
than
there
thermometer
these
Thomas
thousand
throat

]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2008-01-02T08:58:00-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/jan-2008#unique-entry-id-10http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/jan-2008#unique-entry-id-10October's contest was Rita Alarcon of Westminster, CA – Congratulations!

Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your hand to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “January.” Four, right? “jan-u-a-ry.” Again, tap your fingers when you say “January.” You’ll notice that the first tap is louder and longer than the others. That means the first syllable is stressed: JAN-u-a-ry.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

It’s the beginning of a new year. Count one point for each syllable in these words relating to beginnings. Then add the number of the stressed syllable in the word. For example, “begin” has 2 syllables and the second syllable is stressed so it has 4 points. Find the word with the highest points.

beginning
commencement
inaugurate
initiate
originate
pioneering


]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-12-01T09:08:45-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/dec-2007#unique-entry-id-9http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/dec-2007#unique-entry-id-9 – Congratulations!

Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your hand to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “December.” Three, right? “de-cem-ber.” Again, tap your fingers when you say “December.” You’ll notice that the second tap is louder and longer than the others. That means the second syllable is stressed: de CEM ber.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

It’s the end of the year. Count one point for each syllable in these words. Then add the number of the stressed syllable in the word. For example, “final” has 2 syllables and the first syllable is stressed so it has 3 points. (2+1=3). Find two words with the same number of points.

conclusion
complete
completion
culmination
deadline
expiration
finish
termination

]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-10-01T10:26:48-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/oct-2007#unique-entry-id-8http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/oct-2007#unique-entry-id-8In casual conversation, we sometimes don’t pronounce all the sounds in words that you see when the words are written. It’s sometimes called “relaxed speech.” For example, “I want to” often sounds like “I wanna.” You can’t hear a T sound in “want” and the U sound in the word “to” may sound like UH.

Now, Here’s the Contest!

What letters/sounds might be dropped in these expressions?

Ask her.
See them.
Now or later?


]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-09-01T14:29:35-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/sep-2007#unique-entry-id-7http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/sep-2007#unique-entry-id-7Words have syllables (beats of energy) that can be counted. Use your fingers to tap each time you hear a syllable when you say the word “September”: “Sep”-1, “tem”-2 “ber”-3. Three syllables, right? Again, tap your fingers in the same way when you say it. You’ll notice that the second tap is louder/longer than the others—that means the second syllable is stressed: “sep-TEM-ber.”

Now, Here’s the Contest!

It’s return-to-school month in many places, so these words are related to school. Find two words on this list that have three syllables with stress on the second syllable:

admission
assignments
classes
credits
homework
notebooks
professors
registration
students
]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-08-01T06:08:11-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/aug-2007#unique-entry-id-6http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/aug-2007#unique-entry-id-6The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

Some words have "silent" consonants. That means the sound is not pronounced. For example, we don’t pronounce the B in "thumb" or the L in "should."

Now, Here’s the Contest!

Each of these words has a silent letter. What 4-letter word results from these
four silent letters?

mortgage
answer
business
hymn
]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-07-01T08:00:56-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/jul-2007#unique-entry-id-5http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/jul-2007#unique-entry-id-5The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

In the natural flow of speech, sounds link together; we don’t speak word by word. When one word begins with the same sound that the previous word ends with, we usually link those two sounds together. Try saying "I heard the same message." Notice how "same-message" links together with the result of one slightly longer M sound.

Now, here’s the contest. Most of these words are examples of linking because only one sound is made when you the two words. One pair, however, almost always has 2 sounds pronounced separately—one at the end of the first word and one at the beginning of the second word. Which pair is it?

1. what-time (What-time is it?)
2. nineteen-ninety (I moved in nineteen-ninety.)
3. bus-stop (The bus-stop is crowded.)
4. finish-shopping (We will finish-shopping early.0
5. orange-juice (Would you like some orange-juice?)
6. will-later (Yes, I will-later.)
]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-05-01T14:23:34-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/may-2007#unique-entry-id-3http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/may-2007#unique-entry-id-3The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

Some words have "silent" consonants. That means the sound is not pronounced. For example, we don’t pronounce the D in "Wednesday" or the S in "island."


Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which words have a silent sound?

column
debt
receipt
scene
talk
psychology
buffet

]]>shaybre@mac.comMonthly Contests2007-04-01T08:06:26-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/apr-2007#unique-entry-id-2http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/apr-2007#unique-entry-id-2The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

It’s April and many of our clients have trouble pronouncing "April." They sometimes pronounce the first syllable AY (as in dAY) correctly but try to pronounce the second syllable "ril," as if it rhymes with "will." Listen carefully to a native speaker--the vowel sound is shorter, more relaxed, so it sounds more like "dull."


Now, Here’s the Contest!

English spelling can be misleading. Which 7 words have the same relaxed UHL ending in American English?

local
total
call
model
well
label
people
trouble
missile
mile

To submit, fill type in your email address and answer, then hit the submit button!

Your E-Mail Address:


Your Answer:

Please tell us how you found Speechcom:
please select
search engine
advertisement
from a friend
fowarded email
other

Submit your answer by April 30th, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.



All correct entries are entered in our drawing. Please, just one entry per person . . .

Visit us in May for the next contest!

]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-03-01T08:00:14-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/mar-2007#unique-entry-id-1http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/mar-2007#unique-entry-id-1Vowel sounds can be especially challenging to pronounce for non-native speakers. The letters AR may be pronounced as AR in “far” and “March.” However, sometimes they are pronounced in other ways.


Now, Here’s the Contest!

Which 4 words below are pronounced with the same sound as in March?

card
carrots
dark
fare
garage
married
parking
sharper
vary
vineyard
war

]]>shaybre@mac.comContest2007-01-01T09:00:43-04:00http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/jan-2007#unique-entry-id-0http://www.speechcom.com/contest/files/jan-2007#unique-entry-id-0The December Contest winner is Robert Beauchamp of Vancouver, WA -- Congratulations!

Each American English vowel sound can be spelled many different ways. If you listen carefully to how a word is pronounced and not depend on the spelling to know how to pronounce it, you’ll have better pronunciation.


Now, Here’s the Contest!

Many people have been traveling recently for holidays and school breaks, so we have chosen words relating to travel for this month’s contest. By matching the vowel sound in the person’s name to the vowel sound in the name of the vehicle, pair each of these names to the way each person travels. (Example: Angela drives a van.)

1. Erica ............ a. bus
2. Jon ............... b. airplane
3. Sunny .......... c. train
4. Jake ............. d. car



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