Fluency Hour 21-9

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 6

What are some "forbidden words" in English?

Be honest, which words do you use from time to time?

Shit

Piss

Cunt

Cocksucker

Fuck

Motherfucker

Tits

Swearing

Some say that learning the swearwords is basically like learning the entire language. 

Swearing is so primal, it comes naturally.

Programme

• Intro - done
• Silent or retroflex
• Practice 1
• Flyting
• Practice 2
• Review and wrap up 

Goals

• Focus on the pronunciation of the /r/  
• Understand the phonetics for English and American variations
• Maintain a tempo when speaking that doesn't break your accent. 

Silent or Retroflex

• Today we're going to discuss the differences between American and English accents. 
• We will focus on the /r/ sound.
• For yourself, decide, are you English or American?

English or American?

English

American

Silent

• In English, the /r/ at the end of a word is silent.
• It is not said. 
• In fact, stress on such a word, slopes down. 
• Car, bar, father, singer, teacher, here
• It is not rolled. 

Retroflex

• In American, the /r/ is pronounced with the tongue pulled back.
• The rest of the words is flat. 
• Car, bar, father, singer, teacher, here
  
• It is not rolled. 

Practice

• You'll be split into 2 breakout rooms. An American one, and an English one. 
• You'll also be given a pdf, with extreme insults.
• For practice, read an insult your group members, one by one, paying attention to your /r/.
• Your group mates listen, and tell you which word you roll, and which you dont.  

Flyting and Fluency

_

Flyting is a 17th century practice. A test of fluency and vocabulary. Players would try to slight and dismiss their opponents with long and creative insults. 

Flyting

• For the next excercise you will do 2 things. 
• First, check out some shakespearan insults. 
• Next, take 3 minutes to prepare a strong tirade.
• Then, try to flyt for as long as possible, without pausing for too long or repeating a word. Your group calls stop when you do. 
• Mind your /r/ 

Examples

Thou mewling beef-witted joithead!

Thou bawdy tallow-faced wagtail!

Thou fawning common-kissing turd!

Thou creeping full-gorged eternal devil!

Adjective - Adjective - Noun

You mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging troglodyte

Wrap up 

• Which /r/ is your /r/?
• How well can you keep up the accent?
• How long can you swear? 

What do you want to practice next time?