Death To False Idols!

Look at this one: 

Having destroyed the palace as being a monument to 'false idols', the ISIS extremists then proceed to tweet a selfie of themselves standing in front of the ruins to their 'fans'. Where’s the irony here?

Cartoon by Morten Morland from The Times.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

How to Pronounce 'to the' in a Sentence.

These two words will be very low in pitch and connected. They should be said very fast. In fact, when said correctly, you can articulate these two words without moving the lips or jaw!

In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to talk about how to reduce and link the word 'to' and 'the' together, in a sentence, like this: to the.

I've spent quite a bit of time in my videos talking about reduction and linking. And today, I want to take the specific case of linking the words 'to' and 'the', and talk about how to simplify the mouth movement when we're reducing these words, linking them, and making them very, very fast.

The first thing I want to point out, is that there doesn't have to be any movement in the lips or the jaw: we can articulate this with just the tongue. To the. So, what are we doing here? The word 'to' will reduce to either the true T-schwa sound, or the flap T-schwa sound. But for both of them, the tongue position will be the same. So the tongue tip is up at the roof of the mouth, tt, tt, tt, with the jaw quite closed and the teeth pretty much together: tt, tt, dd, dd. And I can make that sound just by moving the tongue, the jaw doesn't have to move: tt, dd, tt, dd. Now, to make the TH for the word 'the'. I do not need to bring the tongue all the way through the teeth. I can just bring it down, so it's touching just behind, where the teeth come together. To the. Let's look at this up close and in slow motion.

The word T-H-E is pronounced with the EE vowel when the next word begins with a vowel or diphthong. For example, to the other side, to the east. In these cases as well, all the articulation will happen with the tongue.

It will probably take a good bit of time and drilling to get this new way of saying 'to the' into your habit. But it is worth doing. Because when we simplify the mouth movement, it means it's going to be easier to say it quickly in speech. And when we reduce and pronounce these unstressed words very quickly like this, it provides a nice contrast for the stressed words, which are much longer, and have a lot more shape. As you drill these two words, put them into sentence fragments, and eventually sentences. To the. To the store. To the restaurant. I'm going to the restaurant. It will really help you to integrate that into your everyday speech.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

WHEN YOU ARE OLD (by William Butler Yeats)

The poem "When you are old" by William Butler Yeats, read by Emma Fielding with a Music for Strings in c#-minor op.429trio and a Painting by Jakob Schikaneder.

WHEN YOU ARE OLD

By William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

A DRINKING SONG (BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS)

A DRINKING SONG

(BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS)

Wine comes in at the mouth

And love comes in at the eye;

That’s all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth,

I look at you, and I sigh.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

OPEN SEMINAR: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários.

O PPGI convida a todos para comparecerem ao Open Seminar do Prof. Walcir Cardoso sobre ensino de pronúncia. Mais informações se encontram no cartaz abaixo.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

CREATING YOUR OWN UNIVERSE: THE WEATHER.

Having created your character, you may want to talk about the places where he (or she) lives, right?

Is it a pretty safe bet to say that the place where the story happens is as important as the story itself. Therefore, I suppose you will do your best to make your reader familiar with the atmosphere, environment, etc. of your narrative.

However, how can you create the place where your characters will live their adventures?

Start with:

The weather!

Is it a cold place? Is it a hot place? Describe how the climate is in your imaginary world. Let people feel the place. Tell them things like the smell. Go closer. Tell us what you can hear there. Is it a nice place? Is it spooky?

Here we go again: BORROW or STEAL from another idea. There’s nothing wrong with it! As you keep writing your story, you will realize that you will occasionally need to add it or change it. This is part of the process!

Let me know what you have written, okay?

See you next time!

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

CREATING THE CHARACTERS OF YOUR BOOK (OR STORY)

That’s undoubtedly one of the most important things in your book. You must create some characters (or at least one).

Let’s see what we can do. Once again, don’t feel afraid of stealing or borrowing from your favorite writer’s characters or some favorite actor’s traits.

First things first: Is your character an animal, human or something else? You don’t have to make sense in a literal way, remember?

Is your character a woman? 

How does she look like? 

LET ME ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS:

Is she blonde or brunette?

Does she have short hair?

What does she do? Is she a cop?

Does she have superpowers?

Where does she live? Does she live under the water; in an alternative world?

Or does she live in a normal neighborhood? 

Does she run like a crazy woman? 

Okay, maybe she runs with a white dog in her arms? 

Does the dog have superpowers? Lol

No, wait. Does she live in outer space? Is she connected to someone? (maybe George Clooney?) Lol

Oh, no. she is a gorgeous woman! She dresses like a modern lady:

… but maybe she puts her makeup and scares people in the evening. Maybe just for fun… lol or maybe she fights crime. Yes, she wants to save the whole world. 

No. wait. I know it. She is a very traditional woman. she's an ordinary girl. She wears long dresses...  

…or she walks completely naked around the city.

Or maybe, she’s just a cowgirl.

Or Batman’s mother.        

Or she’s just like Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, who starts as a man and finishes as a woman.

 Let’s forget about the jokes (at least for a while), but once you have decided who your main character is, you will have to give them (or her) life.

Next thing is: what places does she visit? Where does she live? What kind of dreams does she have? What tools does she use?

Use your imagination: Include everything you would like her to do as if it has already happened (in real life, for instance). Take the qualities of your favorite people, friends, relatives, or even your enemies. Yes, enemies! Why not?

Most important things: when you are writing a story, you should actually try to let your readers know who your main character is in his world.

List things they do: hobbies, qualities, obsessions, etc.

I hope you liked it. See you next time! 

“You should never hesitate to trade your cow for a handful of magic beans.” ― Tom Robbins

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page: