Há muitas formas para melhorar a pronúncia em inglês. Estas são algumas:
- Leia textos em voz alta, grave, ouça e, depois, envie o vídeo ou áudio ao seu professor.
- Cante músicas. Pode usar o https://www.letras.com/ , https://lyricstraining.com/ ou no app do Spotify para celular, clicando na música, no rodapé aparece a barra LETRA. Aí é possível ouvir, ler e cantar junto.
- Estude a transcrição fonética e a pronúncia nos dicionários eletrônicos, como https://forvo.com/ ou https://www.thefreedictionary.com/ .
- Use trava-línguas (tongue-twisters) em voz alta.
Quero explorar o último item da lista: o trava-línguas, que é um conjunto de palavras com sons iguais ou parecidos que carregam um grau de dificuldade para serem faladas em voz alta. Porém, despertam um olhar para as diferenças sonoras entre português e inglês e entre letras que podem ter pronúncias distintas.
Os trava-línguas também são usados por atores, políticos e palestrantes. O objetivo é aquecer a boca, os lábios e a garganta. Assim, eles se sentem mais seguros para articular os sons adequadamente, sem trocar palavras ou engasgar com algum som específico.
Abaixo, fiz uma seleção de trava-línguas e separei as frases de acordo com os sons trabalhados. Quando for praticar, procure exagerar os sons, fazer movimentos expressivos com a boca, lábios e língua, ler devagar nas primeiras vezes e, depois, ler mais rápido. Procure exercitar aqueles sons com os quais você tem mais dificuldade.
Sons da letra S e dos encontros consonantais – SH e CH:
- I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.
- Singing Sammy sung songs on sinking sand.
- She sells seashells by the seashore
- She saw Sherif’s shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure she saw Sherif’s shoes on the sofa?
- I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish.
- I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
- I wish you were a fish in my dish
- If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
- Six shining cities, six shining cities, six shining cities.
- The soldier’s shoulder surely hurts!
- Chester Cheetah chews a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese.
- Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.
Encontros consonantais SL e SN:
- Seven slick slimy snails, slowly sliding southward.
Som do R e H:
- Race horse, race horse.
- A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped.
- A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule.
- The hotel heirs were honored to help host happy hour.
Letras R e L:
- A little critter bit a bigger critter and made the bigger critter bleed red blood.
- Willy’s real rear wheel.
Consoantes M, N e G:
- Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager? Imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.
- The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.
- A noisy noise annoys an oyster.
Letra K:
- A snake sneaks to seek a snack.
Letra B:
- A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose!
- A big black bug bit a big black bear and made the big black bear bleed blood.
- Black background, brown background.
Som da consoante P:
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
- A proper copper coffee pot.
Letra D:
- Drew Dodd’s dad’s dog’s dead.
Letra C:
- Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
- Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.
Som do “TH”:
- He threw three balls.
- I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you.
- Elizabeth’s birthday is on the third Thursday of this month.
- He threw three free throws.
- This is the sixth zebra snoozing thoroughly.
- The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
- They threw three thick thighs into the broth.
Palavras iniciadas com T:
- Two tiny tigers take two taxis to town.
- A tiny tiger tied her tie tighter to tidy her tiny tail.
Som do i curto (i) e i longo (ee, ea):
- Each Easter Eddie eats eighty Easter eggs
- I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.
- How many slips would a slip ship shift if a slip ship could shift slips?
- I eat eel while you peel eel.
- Ship some sheep for neat knitting, slip into the creek for feet dipping.
- I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
- A sailor went to sea to see what he could see.
Som das vogais O, U e encontro vocálico OO:
- How many cookies could a good cook cook If a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Encontro vocálico OU:
- Four furious friends fought for the phone
Terminação “ing”:
- The king would sing, about a ring that would go ding
Escrito por Lígia Crispino e publicado na coluna semanal da Exame.com. Editado para o blog da Companhia de Idiomas.