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Pronunciation is defined in the dictionary as "the act or result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress and intonation, often with reference to some standard of correctness or acceptability". Correct pronunciation is a problem for some using the English language in the United States, as I am sure that it is for some using other languages in other countries throughout the world. One of the major factors contributing to the problem is the lack of proper education or limited education. Another factor is the lack of desire or concern to speak or pronounce words properly. This often results in what may be termed or classified as sloven or sloppy pronunciation. In alphabetic languages like English, proper pronunciation requires using the right sound for each letter or combination of letters. When consistent rules for pronunciation in the English language are followed, correct speech including correct pronunciation results. Conversely, when rules for correct pronunciation are not followed, incorrect and often sloppy pronunciation results. In English as with other alphabetic languages, words are made up of syllables. Therefore to correctly pronounce a word, the proper stress must be placed on the proper syllable. Languages like English using such structure, often have a fairly regular pattern of oral stress. Where there are exceptions to that pattern, an accent mark may be part of the written word. This helps to make proper pronunciation relatively easy. However, if as stated earlier, due to lack of education of lack of care and concern, a person, be it a student trying to learn English or someone with English as their native language fails to be aware of the patterns or the accent marks, their pronunciation will suffer. Dealing with this problem successfully, requires effort in the form of education and then memorization. Another factor which creates a problem with proper pronunciation in the English language is failure to recognize and consider the use of diacritical marks. Diacritics are marks shown above or below certain letters of the English alphabet which affect the pronunciation of words. Being unaware of these marks affects whether words are properly pronounced or not. Another problem with pronunciation in the English language that needs to be avoided is going to extremes when it comes to pronunciation. One extreme, as mentioned earlier using sloven speech and pronunciation. The opposite extreme is being overly precise in speech and pronunciation, This can give the impression of affectation, even snobbishness. Another problem with pronunciation of the English language in the United States is that acceptable pronunciation of certain words can sometimes differ in one part of the country from another part of it. For example, the northern part of the United States and the southern part of the United States. Therefore if a person desires to improve in his or her pronunciation of the English language or someone trying to learn English as a second language may do well to listen carefully to those that they know who speak the language well and pattern their pronunciation after theirs. It might be said that proper pronunciation is to good speech what a good melody is to good music! If we put forth diligent effort it in our daily speech, we will sound more appealing to others.
