vijayjohn wrote:I think I'd say "and" rather than "or" here (unless I'm understanding LifeDeath wrong. LifeDeath, my understanding is that you're talking about situations where people lost opportunities and, as a result, failed at something. Does that sound about right?).
Yes. Maybe it's when "losing opportunities" and "failing at something" is kind of the same thing. For example, you bought a lottert ticket, its number was winning and you won a billion, and on your way to take the prize, you accidentally droped your ticket in a sewage grid when crossing a road. So after a couple of years you can say "I could have had a billion, but in fact, I didn't". So I think this is kind of loosing the opportunity.
vijayjohn wrote: It mostly just sounds like you have a bit of a problem with knowing how to pronounce some of the vowels (which of course is understandable with English )
Well the thing is that I guess that I know how to pronounce vowels properly in English. I think that I can say some simple and casual sentences pretty well (comparing to how I read), especially if I just speak. But when it comes to reading, things change. Maybe it's because I have to read other man's thoughts, and because there are some words that I'm just not familiar with at all. Anyway I will be working on that problem.
vijayjohn wrote:Also, sometimes, it sounds like you're pronouncing your "ng"s like an "n" (e.g. stocking feet), which sounds a bit odd.
Oh, I contrariwisely thought that I overpronounced it, I think it's especially noticeably in "drinking" almost in the end of the text.
vijayjohn wrote:1. Make sure that you're always pronouncing "y" at the ends of words like an "ee," not like "i" or ы. Same with the "ea" in "dream(ing)." For example, at the very beginning of your recording, you pronounced "Wendy" wrong so it sounded more like "when they ran down..." You pronounced it correctly later in this passage, though.
Didn't know about "y", henceforth I will be trying to spell it correctly. But I always tried to pronounce "ea" properly, too bad I didn't succeed.
vijayjohn wrote:2. "Didn't" has an "i," not an "ee."
That is also an obvious thing that I thought I'd never be capable of doing incorrectly. But I managed to, huh. Maybe it's because when you read you try to do your best, and we know what usually happens when one tries to do his best.
vijayjohn wrote:6. The "l" in "half" is silent. "Half" should be pronounced exactly like "haff" (if "haff" were a word). It rhymes with "chaff," "gaffe," and "laugh."
That's interesting, I didn't know about that. I think it's a popular word and I heard it many times and knew how to pronounce it.
vijayjohn wrote:10. The "t" in "uncertainly" should not be voiced. It's pronounced like a "t," not like a "d."
And about that. I think that I've always pronounced it analogically to "certain", where the "t" is pronounced if I'm not mistaken.
vijayjohn wrote:11. Pronounce the "h" in "harmless" (безвредный). Otherwise, it sounds like "armless" (безрукий!).
Well it's also hard to learn where it should be voiced and where not. I am used to that it's not voiced in "honesty". I thought that it would be unvoiced in other word of that type.
So I think that to learn all that I need to practice and listen to native speakers a lot.