When my coaching client, Virginia, a Spanish speaker, asked me, “How do I know where to place emphasis on words?” I immediately thought of Ida and Dactyl.
Ida is an asteroid. Dactyl is her very own moon. On Aug. 28, 1993, the Galileo spacecraft, on its way to Jupiter, took photographs of the first asteroid ever discovered to have its own little moon. They named Asteroid 243 and her little friend, “Ida and Dactyl” and took dozens of photographs of the pair's magnificent journey across the galaxy. Some scientist must have known Greek mythology because there is nothing more perfect than naming an asteroid and her little sidekick “Ida and Dactyl."
I melted with emotion, because I once lived on the island of Crete, and I know the story of Ida and Dactyl. The story goes that Zeus was born in a cave on Crete's Mt. Ida. When Rhea gave birth to Zeus, she dug her ten fingers into the ground, and Gaia, Earth mother sprang forth ten little spirits called Dactyls. They were short guys, little benevolent spirits who protected women. They guarded and protected Rhea and Zeus and soon, Mt. Ida was full of Dactyls.
How did I find this delightful information about an asteroid by accident? I was doing a Goggle search for "dactyls" – not the sweet little spirits, (although I could use a few) but for special words for my poetry. I needed "dactyls" and "double dactyls" to achieve a certain rhythm.
"Dactyl" is also a word in Greek that means finger. (Aha! That's why those spirits were called Dactyls!) If you look at your finger, you have one long bone, and then two small ones, just like dactyl words!
When Virginia asked me that question, it occurred to me that you can steal some of the tricks of poets and great speakers to learn the right stress and emphasis in English. To find the right stress patterns, you can practice with a list of dactyls, anapests and amphibracs.
Stress Patterns in Words
The sound and emphasis in English makes words and groups of words pleasant and intrinsically delightful (musical, actually). In order to improve your pronunciation, focus on pronouncing the stressed syllable clearly. If this one is clear, it should improve your pronunciation of the entire word! Take some tips from the poets:
* Dactyls are three-syllable words with the emphasis on the first syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. Their stress pattern goes DA-da-da... Words like Canada, manager, dangerous, turpitude, menopause, sentiment and aspirin are dactyls.
* Double dactyls are six-syllable words with the emphasis on the first and fourth syllables. Their stress pattern goes "DA-da-da DA-da-da.” Mediterranean, gubernatorial, meteorologist, alphanumerically, ultramagnificient, and archaeological are double dactyls.
* Anapests are sometimes called “anti dactyls” because the stress pattern is the opposite of dactyl’s. The pattern goes da-da-DA. Words such as cavalier, tambourine, Marianne, seventeen, interrupt and disappear and groups of words such as “in your EAR” qualify as anapestic feet. This is a speedy and propulsive rhythm. (Dr. Seuss loved anapests: "I don't LIKE green eggs and HAM, Sam I AM, Sam I AM!")
* Amphibrachs - the stress pattern goes da-DA-da. Words like remember, Virginia, important, amazing and abundant are amphibrachs.Stress Patterns in Sentences English has a musical quality that has a unique melody and rhythm. What makes English beautiful is that we put stress patterns in our words too. If we leave out the music of English, we often mispronounce words and send monotone messages which are boring. To stop sounding jumbled, monotone or unclear, let certain words jump and poke out of your sentence! Many of my Spanish speaking, French speaking and Russian speaking clients often place emphasis on the wrong words. Also many Spanish speakers and Chinese speakers speak in monotone sentences that make English dull and difficult to understand. Many native English speakers face a monotone voice from bad habits in childhood. Maybe they grew up speaking softly because they lived in a condo and wanted to prevent complaints from neighbors! Whatever your voice problems, you can begin to fix them.
* Amphibrachs - the stress pattern goes da-DA-da. Words like remember, Virginia, important, amazing and abundant are amphibrachs.Stress Patterns in Sentences English has a musical quality that has a unique melody and rhythm. What makes English beautiful is that we put stress patterns in our words too. If we leave out the music of English, we often mispronounce words and send monotone messages which are boring. To stop sounding jumbled, monotone or unclear, let certain words jump and poke out of your sentence! Many of my Spanish speaking, French speaking and Russian speaking clients often place emphasis on the wrong words. Also many Spanish speakers and Chinese speakers speak in monotone sentences that make English dull and difficult to understand. Many native English speakers face a monotone voice from bad habits in childhood. Maybe they grew up speaking softly because they lived in a condo and wanted to prevent complaints from neighbors! Whatever your voice problems, you can begin to fix them.
There are three components to speak English clearly And Help Reduce Your Accent:
* Sounds - Vowels and consonants
* Rhythm - stressed and unstressed words
* Intonation - the high-low pitch in a sentence
Anyone can improve the way they sound by improving the stress patterns, creating vocal variety. If you are in sales, you want to make your voice pleasant, especially on the telephone. The secret it to first isolate the words and practice working them into your speech. Attend a full day workshop at Florida International University Kovens Conference Center and learn to speak clearer by building good habits!
The lively and interactive workshop will help you:
- Identify and correct articulation deficiencies
- Address concerns regarding speaking too fast, pitch, loudness, and accent reduction
- Feel less anxious about interviews, public speaking- Develop speech tools that could prepare you for better jobs and sales
Saturday Workshops, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Courses offered:
May 17, May 24, June 14, June 21, July 12 and July 19
Cost: $175
FIU Kovens Conference Center, 3000 NE 151 Street, North Miami - Free Parking on-siteTo register and for more info: http://www.crossingborderscommunication.com/
email: info@crossingborderscommunication.com or Tel. (305) 479-8337
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