I have to admit though, that we don’t all speak like this here.  God forbid!  It depends on what type of Irish accent you want to emulate.  Contrary to common belief, there is more than one Ulster accent and the funny youtube clip is of a Belfast one.  If you travel around the country you will find that Coleraine people have a different accent and some Larne people sound almost Scottish.  People even joke about being a “Ballymena Scotsman,” since many of the people of the province of Ulster came from Scotland originally during what is known as The Plantation of Ulster in 1620-1630, when land was allocated to people by the British government to colonise the country.  This is part of the root of the Northern Irish “troubles.”  The Ulster Scots were mainly in County Antrim, the Ards Peninsula and County Down.  Half of my own roots are Scottish as my paternal great grandfather came from the Isle of Glass in Scotland and my maternal grandfather came from Kettle in Fifeshire, Scotland.

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1. Speak with a foreign accent 

Find out what makes them focus more pleasure to your partner and then learn to imitate it. Men really are attracted to foreign accent. Next time you’re in bed, trying to talk with that accent that excites him. Azta e seczi, no? 

2. Visual stimulus 

With the current economic crisis can be quite expensive to go out to have dinner in town or go to the movies. If you are forced to stay home, the TV is the cheapest way of entertainment. But it could be also the hottest.There must have subscription Clannel Adult particular, it is enough to give on MTV and you will find many girls who fight in bikinis, ready to both eyes and your lover. 

3. How about a cup? 

Hey, I said novel methods, right? Book one night a week when you stay home and drink enough for you to find each other attractive again. Maybe a wild drinking game is exactly what you need to begin again to feel butterflies in your stomach for one another, and next time you will not need alcohol.

The Harris Poll study involved 2,331 adult Americans who were asked about their thoughts on native accents used or heard in the US. With the given answers of the participants, a general picture of how people perceive “niceness” in accents is revealed. It appears that people in the US generally associate accents to how kind a person is.

The following is the top four basic accents and how “nice” they are perceived.

1.       Southern accent – 49%

2.       Midwest accent – 40%

3.       British accent – 19%

4.       New York accent – 7%

It’s strange how people in the US see other people with different accents. It’s typical, even understandable how the participating adults awarded the accent in their own locale with positive qualities. But it shows a trend in perception, which is likely influenced by stereotypes, that appears to be a countrywide phenomenon. This may explain why some people tend to make an attempt to mask their accent when applying for a job or speaking in public.

It’s interesting to note the answers of the participants when asked which accent will get a hypothetical job being applied for by four people with different accents. Thirty nine percent say it’s the Midwestern accent that will get the job. But consider that 63% of Midwesterners said this compared to some 31% (mid range) of participants from the other regions who do agree. So there is the existence of bias.

But what use are the results of this research? Well, there appears to be a pattern somewhere which people can make use of depending on the situation. Moviemakers have known this for a long time and have given characters accents that suit their personality and how people would perceive them. The famous fictional character of Forrest Gump was made into a Southerner with a thick accent and he’s immediately loved by audiences, and even the actor himself, Tom Hanks said people often looked at him and see he’s all good, when in fact he’s just like any other regular guy.

What do you think of actor Danny Trejo’s Mexican accent in the movie Machete?

For example, I was brought up in downstate New York, pronounced by the natives as “Noo Yawk”.  As I got older and had the opportunity to travel, however, I tried as hard as I could to “lose” that accent and adapt the standard American ”television newscaster” accent.  I think I am successful most of the time, as I now attempt to pronounce my “R’s” when speaking.  However, people still catch me occasionally, and they ask me if I am from New York.  I hate it!

Noo Yawkas tawk funny.  In fact, some of the people from Brooklyn and parts of Long Island say “terlet” instead of “toilet” and “erl” instead of “oil”.  They say “fawt” instead of “fart”.  “Butta” instead of “butter”.  I am allowed to make fun of them, because I am from Noo Yawk.

In the South, they have a distinct language all their own.  For example, the word ”dog” is pronounced ‘doge”.  The word “want” is pronounced “wont”.  The word “I” is pronounced “Ah”.  ”Why” is pronounced Wha”.  “Pie is pronounced “Pah”.  ”Get” is either pronounced “git” or ”geit”.  The same with the word “sheeeeit” or “beeeich”.

People in New Orleans have the coolest accent, and I can’t even try to imitate it, so I won’t try.

In Florida, for most American-born folks, there is a mix of Southern and downstate New York accents, with a few northern and mid-western accents thrown in for good measure.

The Northern accent in the central northern U.S. and parts of Canada is an interesting one.  “Out and about” is pronounced “oat and aboat”.  “Want” is pronounced “whaaant”.  “Florida” is pronounced “Floorida”. 

In New England, they “faht” in the “cah” or in the ”yahd”.  It’s like a Noo Yawk accent on steroids.

The midwestern accent, in my opinion, is a mixture of a northern and southern accent.  It’s what I call a country accent.  It’s down-home, friendly and non-pretentious.

My favorite accent is not an accent at all, in my opinion.  It’s the Californian accent.  Well, with the exception of the valley girls and surfer dudes, that is.  It is where I learned to speak normally, you know, in that television newscaster dialect.

Foreigners in this country probably don’t recognize our accents as much as we do here in the United States, just like we usually don’t pick up the different dialects of French, for example, until we really learn the language.  But, until we learn the proper “queen’s english”, we ALL have funny accents, myself included.  Either that, or until we all learn to speak like the voice on directory assistance or on those 1-800 number voice prompts!

Speak about the things that create emotion within you or the things that you like and genuinely believe in. There is no point speaking about something you can’t relate to or something that you don’t really care about because that will just make you seem mechanical and emotionless. If you find the topic boring, the audience will mirror that emotion too. Also, if you speak about something you are passionate about, even if you slip up, you can redeem yourself by saying something about that topic based on what you truly think of it. Plan your speech very carefully by writing it down and make sure you are saying what is important and what should be covered in your speech.

2) Short is sweet

No one likes waffle. Keep your speech sweet and short and never start by saying “I’ll keep this short…” If you keep your speech short, you are conveying all of the points you initially had in mind without deviating. The more you deviate from the topic, the more boring the audience will find you. To stay on topic, the best way to go about it is a short speech. Also, a short talk means that the audience’s attention stays fixed on you. A really long one will result in the audience’s attention span wearing off.

3) Tone and language is crucial

Any one can talk, but what sets you right at the top, is the ability to speak with eloquence and use different but beautiful language. The skill of learning to vary the tone of your voice from situation to situation will keep your audience engaged throughout. Use good vocabulary and suit your tone to the topic you are talking about. If you are talking about something serious, use a tone that is formal and use vocabulary that is exceptionally good. If you are talking to an audience of teenagers or young adults, keep the tone casual and the vocabulary decent because that way, the audience can understand you better. Use different accents, if your angry, make your voice sound like its angry, if you are happy, make yourself sound it.

4) Body language is your judge

When you speak, the audience scrutinises your every move. Feel free on the stage. Move about a bit and keep yourself composed and relaxed. The audience watches your eye movement and hand movements. Keep them going. Actions like stroking your hair or playing with jewellery or watches while you speak means that you are distracted and the audience will pick up on it. Also, the chances of losing track of what you are saying are higher if you distract yourself with those actions. Keep your hands free and leave them by your side or move them about to illustrate with your speech. Never clasp your hands because that looks like an action caused by desperation because it looks like a plea to the audience. Keep your head free and look at the audience in a ‘Z’ shape. Start from the top left, moving to the top right, down to the bottom left and then the bottom right. This way you cover most of the audience and they feel involved. Transfixing your gaze on one person will only scare them away.

5) A prompt is always good

For any major speech or a slightly longer speech, it is alright to have a prompt. Write down a set of key words in bullet points that will trigger your memory and keep you going. Don’t memorise a speech because that only seems mechanical and robotic but then don’t even come to the speech unprepared and hope you’ll get away with the prompt. The prompt should only be used when you forget things. Constant glancing at your prompt is distracting and the audience won’t pay attention to you. Don’t write down your entire speech on the prompt because if you lose track, you’ll end up wasting time searching for the bit you missed out in your prompt filled with your speech.

6) Jokes are good – but don’t become a joke

A joke is always good because it eases your nerves and those of the audience. It is a mechanism to keep yourself relaxed so starting with it immediately conveys to the audience that you are relaxed so they can relax with you. If the audience doesn’t laugh at your jokes, it doesn’t matter, you have to move on! Not everyone has a funny bone in them and you can’t expect a roar of laughter every time. If they do find it funny, don’t laugh so much that you lose track of what you are going to say. Buy that extra laughter time to run through the next point you are going to say. But a word of caution, don’t overdo the jokes or you will become a joke and the audience won’t take you seriously. For formal speeches or other important serious events a small gag at the start is acceptable provided it is in relation to the theme or the point of the formal meeting. A totally unrelated gag that leaves you in peals of laughter will only make you look silly.

7) Don’t get too passionate

If you are making a serious speech about something you believe in, there is a possibility you will get too passionate. Don’t let that happen! Getting really passionate will scare your audience away. The speech will become more focused on you as opposed to the audience (which should be your prime focus). People will start losing interest in listening to you if you ramble on about how you feel about a certain issue because, bear in mind, there will be people who don’t agree with you on any issues that you are talking about.

Nerves should be beaten down

The ‘N’ word is horrible and you must do everything at your disposal to destroy them. Just before you go on to the stage, have a glass of water and take a few deep breaths. The point of this is to increase the oxygen to your brain, allowing you to concentrate better and focus on your speech and the audience. When you go on that stage, you must own it because it is like your place. You must compose yourself because when you go onto the stage, you are being watched and the only way you can get away with it is by being cool, calm and composed. If you feel confident, you can be confident!

9) The audience rule

There’s a certain audience rule that I made up which I find very useful every time I have to make a speech. Most of the times, nerves and the fear of public speaking only crops up when you are scared of the audience. Let that not be the case here. The audience rule dictates that whatever the audience might be, you don’t have to be nervous. If the audience is your friends and family, they won’t boo you or insult you in any way because they will know that you are nervous and they will empathise with you for speaking in front of many people. If the audience is a bunch of strangers who you have never seen in your life before, even if they dislike you, it doesn’t matter! These strangers are the people you will never see ever again. By keeping your speech interesting and fresh, you will win over any people who aren’t your fans in the throng.

10) Practice makes perfect

 There is no getting away from the fact that practice will make you the ultimate public speaking master or mistress. Practice in front of a mirror. This way, you will be aware of yourself and you can see what you are doing wrong. Speak in front of a trusted member of family or a friend and ask them for feedback. Those who are near and dear to you will give you an unbiased opinion and if there is something that you need to work on, they will tell you. Disappointment will come sometimes but you can only conquer it by practicing and working on your faults. Remember, no one is perfect and you must try if you want to get anywhere near it.

For further detials or any other tips for public speaking, a good site to refer to is http://www.toastmasters.org/

The most frustrating thing for anyone learning a language is to be presented with something for which there appears to be no rule. Take English spelling, for instance. Try to negotiate the phonetics of English; for those who have learnt it from a very young age, it may come naturally, but for those who try to write it as they learn it as a new language, they will definitely experience its idiosyncracies.

So it may be with French; or is it? Even though some may doubt it, French is more of a phonetic language than English. Letters, or sets of letters have given sounds and generally never change. But what appears to trouble many learners is where to put the accents on the “e”. From my study and experience, I believe that I can give some answers to this problem.

The Two Dots and The Hat

Let us start with the less troublesome ones. These are “ë” and “ê”. Consider first of all “ë”. Sometimes two vowels are put next to each other to convey a particular sound (example, “ai” as in said “oi” as “wah”, “oe” as “eh”). However, when we wish to pronounce a vowel apart from the one preceeding it, we use the two dots (trema or diaeresis) on the second vowel. Therefore, in order for the word Noel (Christmas) to have two vowel sounds, that is, two syllables, then the “e” must be written as “ë”, as in “Noël”. Otherwise, it will simply sound as “nel”.

The circumflex accent (“ê”) usually represents a lost “s” after the vowel. The older form of the word would have had an “s” after the vowel but this would have been assimilated into that vowel. The best thing in this case is to learn the word as it is written. Examples include “fête” (feast, notice the “s”), “prêtre” (priest) and “enquête” (inquest).

The above rules do not only apply to “e” but other vowels as well.

Three Simple Rules

Now that we have explained a way the simpler accents, we shall now focus on the other two accents on the “e”, namely the “accent aigu (é)” and the “accent grave (è)”. As we have been doing, we shall continue to focus on the pronounciation of words and then attempt to write the word as it is pronounced.

The French “e” is either voiced (sounded) or unvoiced (silent). At this point we must look at words not as whole units, but being made up of syllables. And here I believe that what follows is very important:

Rule 1. All “e’s” which are at the end of a syllable are silent; they are voiced if at the beginning or in the middle.

Examples of silent “e”: le (the) and de (of). Words of more than one syllable: ar/bre (tree) and ap/pe/ler (to call).

Examples of voiced “e”: les (the) and des (of the). Words of more than one syllable: es/prit (mind) and mar/cher (to walk).

Rule 2. In order to turn a silent “e” into a voiced “e”, then an “accent aigu” must be placed on the “e”.

Examples include the words: pré (meadow), clé (key), mar/ché (market), é/co/le (school) pé/né/trer (to penetrate).

Rule 3. However, if the syllable with the voiced “e” at the end (as above), is followed by a syllable which contains a silent “e”, then the “accent aigu” is replaced by the “accent grave”.

Examples: pè/re (father), mè/re (mother), j’ap/pè/le (I call), bo/hè/me (bohemian), é/lè/ve (pupil), cé/lè/bre (famous).

Sometimes accents are just used to disinguish the spelling of one word from another, for example, des (of the) and dès (from).

Perhaps an exception is the word “près” with its prefixes.

But three simple rules solve one insurmountable (but not now) problem. Now everyone can get their French accents right.