Eavesdrop on authentic conversations like if you were in a café, on the streets, or any other place in a Spanish-speaking country.

Thank you for listening!

Español Práctico 

Welcome to the American English Pronunciation Guide. My name is Trevor Kafka, and I am your host.

There are many different varieties of American English. I was born and raised in New York, which has given me General American English pronunciation. The English that I speak has 15 vowel sounds. 

Please view the transcript for help while listening.

Today, we will talk about the vowel sound number 2 of 15: /eɪ/ grey day. This vowel is what we call a diphthong, meaning that it’s really two vowel sounds smooshed together as one. The mouth begins very open when the sound begins, but then turns into a smile as the teeth come together.

Listen to me saying this sound and repeat: /eɪ/, /eɪ/, /eɪ/

Listen to and repeat the following single-syllable words:
gray
day
pain
whale
waste
straight
tail
wait
shade

Listen to and repeat the following multiple-syllable words:
chamber
embrace
greatest
labor
vacation
translate
Canadian
information

Listen to and repeat the following sentences:
The way you say “gray” makes my day quite okay.
I embrace the shade to stay out of the sun’s rays.
The greatest of Canadian vacations have no space for rain.

I would like to thank Shirley Thompson and Karen Taylor for their work in developing the set of key phrases that I use with each vowel, such as /æ/ black cat, /eɪ/ grey day, etc. 

📢 American English Pronunciation Guide

Episode 2 - Vowels: /eɪ/ gray day (2 of 15)

This story uses words from '2000 Most Common Words in English'. 

It’s five in the evening and the sun is slowly going down. The sky is a warm yellow colour. 

John is a bundle of pasta. He is held together by a paper band. He is sitting on his roof with his 
acoustic guitar on his lap. In front of him is a pen and notepad. 

Ah yes, thinks John. I’ll use an A chord here. That will make the melody so beautiful. 

The bundle of pasta is writing a love song for his dear wife Karren. She is a bowl of Pho. 

John plays his composition and imagines his wife crying because his song is so touching. He sings about the day he met Karren, about how they fell in love, about how they complete each other. 

Suddenly, John stops playing. He takes his notepad, crosses out some words and scribbles some notes. He has a great idea.
 
The day you found me
I was flying blind
Now I see the light
I’m willing to fight
For you

John is happy with his new lyrics. He takes his guitar again and plays his love song from the 
beginning. Then, he hears a beautiful sound. But it’s not coming from his guitar. It’s coming from inside the house. It’s his amazing, lovely wife calling his name. 

Being a Cloud

John the Bowl of Pasta

Vidéo avec les sous-titres et les images ici: 
https://youtu.be/FmC5jQ3QBUQ?si=YoBhui7TXrd9ZNb1

French Stories For All

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In this podcast you will know some differences between Argentine and Colombian Spanish.

- Vieja 

- Regalar 

- Palomitas de maíz

- Pelado 

- Tinto 

Remember that I teach Spanish on italki, you can book a class for more information you can look at it on my profile :)

Colombia

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How an unfortunate event leads henry to death 

Enjoy our journey and Speaking English

The Unfortunate Tale of Henry King 

La Patasola es una leyenda popular en las regiones montañosas y selváticas de Colombia. Se dice que era una mujer hermosa que, en vida, fue muy infiel y malvada, y por su comportamiento, fue castigada. En su condena, perdió una pierna y fue transformada en una criatura aterradora, con una sola pierna deformada y afilada como un gancho.

La Patasola vive en los bosques y selvas, y es conocida por atraer a los hombres que se alejan del campamento o del camino, seduciéndolos con su belleza. Primero, se aparece como una mujer joven y encantadora, pero cuando logra que sus víctimas se acerquen, revela su verdadera forma monstruosa, con colmillos afilados y su pierna mutilada, y ataca sin piedad.

A veces, La Patasola es considerada una especie de vengadora de los hombres infieles o malvados. Para protegerse de ella, se dice que es necesario no andar solo en la selva y evitar cualquier figura misteriosa que aparezca en la distancia.