PREPARATORY SOUNDS IN ENGLISH: Initial Set-Up Sounds That Make English Consonants Seem More Natural

In my ESL teaching experience, I have found that certain sounds tend to prefix or precede English words' initial consonant production in some cases. In addition, they appear to be innate to stressed consonant sound formation and production. Breathing and unintended vocalization (movement of the vocal chords during speech or singing) can produce these subconsciously produced lead-ins and make their barely audible sounds audible. I have also found out that English learners deliberately making these inadvertant sounds in a deliberate manner and over-emphasizing them with gusts or gaffes before their words can help sound production. While getting set up and ready to produce the initial sound of a word beginning in a consonant, using this subconscious routine deliberately can make foreign students' sound production seem even more native-like and help their learning experience. Take the initial "r," "f/fl/fr/ph," "v," and "w/wh", for example. If ESL/EFL learners will setup in the “ooh” position before producing words starting with these consonant sounds, using it for guiding the intial-word position, they can produce a legitimate, native-like consonant-heralding sound. These initial sounds don't seem to be mentioned in any functionally linguistic role in the ESL literature. The one I am talking about particularly for introductory purposes here is perhaps the most obvious one to English speakers: It is the "u" or the long "ooh" sound. It is typically made while closing down the lips naturally while leaving a pencil-thin hole in the very center of the lips. It is done by pursing the lips (closing and slightly rolling them open a bit only at their center – their tip). This leaves an opening about the size of a standard No. 2/HB wooden pencil. That’s 1.5 cm tall. When a non-native English speaker closes his lips and says "ooh" a few milliseconds before saying "right," "fine," "vine," or "white" (and they do sometimes), the lips are set automatically in the ideal position to start the stressed or emphasized consonant sound. The sound-production rule remembered by the student is ideal for instantaneous memory and quick reference/correction: It is a sound rather than a visualized image of mouth anatomy to use. It is less mental a construct and more reflexive in character. In my experience, using such word setup sounds results in more natural, native-sounding consonant production. The heard or audio result is "ooh-right," "ooh-fine," "ooh-vine," and "ooh-white." Of course, the “ooh”is produced quietly and during a very short interval of time to appear more native. But the practice in ESL sets up initial consonants extremely well and soon becomes habitual for the ELL (English Language Learner). Visual images don’t offer this facility or utility. Finally in the science of linguistics there is hope. I am amazed at how well this almost doctored, artificially-imposed sound-preset in ESL alters Eastern European sound production, making it more native-like and satisfying for learners of language groups traditionally not used to achieving such satisfying results. It is very hard to change some language groups' pronunciation practices into native-like-sounding words. Take the Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian linguistic group, for example. Their initial-word position “w/wh” and “r” sound has regularly been reported to be very hard to correct in a habitual and classroom practice. There are several reasons for this, but dealing with the causes independently does not seem to help. However, when these students think about producing a word-preceding, setup sound, and habitually add it methodically to their repertoire of initial consonant sounds, their habitual language production really improves. And it is easily and instantly correctable - if that is a word... After overemphasis in preliminary practice, the actual production can be lowered in amplitude and length to make it manageable. Remember - we are training learners' listening and perceptual capacities along with sound production. This type of sound production also gives language learners hope and confidence. Their outer facial reflexes change into more recognizable and teacher-manageable English patterns naturally and not artificially. This is another way of thinking about and going about sound production; not the mere translation of sounds and words, but a much more conscious, natural, realistic sound-making process. There are other initial consonants that can produced in this way: Other initial, setup sound preceding words like "h” and "l" could use "ah." This is because the consonant needs to be pronounced initially with lips stretched wide. "Ah-see," "ah-zoo" and ah-tea" will do this, too. Even more natural is just taking in a loud breath with the lips in the position to make the “ah” preset/sound appear immediately before producing the word. The student doesn't actually have to vocalize the lead-in sound before the consonant/word, though word stress will often do this intuitively in the native. "Ee-yikes" is a commonly known, familiar example. Thus these preset sounds really do occur - at least in stressed native speech. In addition, the nasal-to-rear throat conducted vocalization (throat growl) of "ng" added to the beginning of the initial "c/k," "g," and "j" sound production helps natives at times. Related to this ng sing-song sound is “mm” sound made in the throat and carried into the jaw. It does often precede natives’ production of the "b," "d," "l," "m," and "n" sounds, I have found. Like in all of these word-preceding, initial-position consonant sounds, the activity seems to help speakers get set up or ready for the startup of their consonant production and think in clearer terms for the target language. By contrast, explosive consonants like "h," "p," "t," and "d" need no such leading/preceding sound in either native production or their L2 (second language)-corresponding setup in order to the sounds more natural or like native English. Perhaps this is because they have no lip or jaw involvement at least in an intermediary sounding modulation role. "P" just uses the lips as a gate or pressure-release valve. I hope these notes will help language study and students - especially certain linguistic groups - by offering some practical insights to teachers trying to improve English students’sound production. May it assist language-teaching pedagogy. And may we all “ng-go native”in our English sound production!