# General > The Literature Network >  English Pronunciation Database Project

## Sitaram

Sitaram says: I christen thee - EPRODAP
Now go forth and be a light unto all nations....
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A student in China asks: When I'm reading an English language novel, those place names are hard to pronounce, and I cant find them in the dictionary. Can you tell me what can I do?


Sitaram says:

Well, I suppose, if I had a microphone.... or find an english speaking person with microphone,... and then they could pronounce such words or make wav files or au files.... and send them, with recordings


Student: Then how do you know how to pronounce them if you havent looked them up in a dictionary


We just hear people in media pronounce.... I know how to say Godel, the mathematician... because I once heard it...

It is a German umlaut... like Goethe....

If you hear me, then you will know...



Student: ok, then no way for me 



Well, if I got a microphone, and you had speakers...
then, it is easy


Student: But there are too many such names, I cant ask you every one of them 

Well, you could try, and I could try to answer.. you could make a list, email me... it takes several seconds to pronounce each new word
If you think you are interested... I will look into getting a microphone...


All Chinese students of English could create a database of pronunciation... and volunteers around the world of native English speaking people could email wav files... and thereby, many students of English would hear how words are pronounced


Student: A lot of my classmates are confused with thse proper name pronuncation.


Well... tell them of my idea... to organize on the internet a cooperative between English native speakers and Chinese students of English.... to build a database of pronunciation using wav files ....

then... we write up and post on literary forum.... and ask advice... even the person Admin, who runs this forum... may have ideas on how to implement such a project



Each student submits via email a list of words to pronounce.... a program checks the list to see what words are not in database.... and posts words to be pronounced... and then english native speaker volunteers,... pronunce words in wav... and then email wav to someplace where a program adds to wav database

Then, students of English all over world have access to difficult words... to hear them pronounced by native speakers.

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## Logos

It's a great idea, but already been done  :Wink:  


*MSN Encarta* dictionary already provides free audio files to listen to words and does include lots of placenames. 

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/featur...onaryhome.aspx



*Bartleby.com* dictionary also provides free audio files: 

http://www.bartleby.com/61/

for example, this one is for pronunciation of Goethe:

http://www.bartleby.com/61/64/G0176400.html



Dictionary.com provides them to Premium/subscribing members. 
http://dictionary.reference.com/



I think understanding the basics of syllables and _stress_ when seeing a dictionary's definition and break down, is also helpful in interpreting the pronunciation of a word.

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## IWilKikU

Way to crap on Sitaram's parade  :Biggrin:

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## Sitaram

I just want to help my internet acquaintences in China.... I do not have the need that they do to hear correct pronunciation.

The easiest thing is just to post the chat... and Logos seems to be giving them just what they need...

Another BIG need, in China and other countries, is to make TECHNICAL/SCHOLARLY texts available electronically... I think people should write to Bill Gates, and former President Carter, and anyone with connections, to get big business and government and charitable organizations to fund a project similar to guterburg.org (or is it gutenberg.org) except for scholarly works to aid foreign students in countries such as China to do work in advanced English, like masters/phd level... my friends in China tell me there is such a need... one fellow went through every shop in Beijing and found only a few novels in English....

Think how this would contribute to world peace and unity, globalizaton... all that sort of thing

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## IWilKikU

not to mention the hegemony of the English language and the destruction of local culture, and another step towards true world government  :Wink:

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## Jack_Aubrey

How about ph-o-n-e-ti-cs?

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## vango

Thanks you all. It's very helpful for us English students

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## frozenlight

maybe chinese students should watch more cable tv  :Rolleyes:

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## Jay

A little impractical if you're looking for the right pronunciation of 'pronunciation' (for example). Try sitting around waiting for someone to say 'pronunciation' on the TV... and if you succeed by any chance... get them to repeat it for you because when they say it on TV there's a lot more talking going around you can't really remember how they said it and if they even said what you think they said.
Just an opinion of a non-native speaker  :Rolleyes:

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## Koa

> maybe chinese students should watch more cable tv


it's not like cable tv is the most common item in the world... 
I've been having satellite for a couple of years now but the only english peaking channel i get is BBC world...

anyway some disctionaries do explain the pronounciations...and yes there is phonetics, langauges students might be acquainted with it...

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## Jay

Don't remind me  :Biggrin:

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## frozenlight

well, i'm a non-native speaker too, and i dare say that i've learned a lot by just watching films and, at the begining, even cartoons (long live cartoon network  :Biggrin:  ). i'm not talking about the pronounciation of particular words, but about pronounciation in general. of course, i agree it's not enough, but it's really useful.
and you don't need to have cable tv, all the films on tv are subtitled (at least in my country they are, dunno about others), which is quite helpful if you want to improve your speaking.
phonetics... it's never helped me. ok, maybe i was just a tiny, little bit too lazy to learn those creepy signs  :Tongue:  , but anyway, i think hearing spoken english (or french, italian, spanish etc. etc) is the best way to learn it's pronounciation.

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## Koa

> well, i'm a non-native speaker too, and i dare say that i've learned a lot by just watching films and, at the begining, even cartoons (long live cartoon network  ). i'm not talking about the pronounciation of particular words, but about pronounciation in general. of course, i agree it's not enough, but it's really useful.
> and you don't need to have cable tv, all the films on tv are subtitled (at least in my country they are, dunno about others), which is quite helpful if you want to improve your speaking.


Here I wanted you.  :Wink:  In my primitive country we think we are so cool cos we have dubbing. Now I can see movies in English if I want just by renting a dvd, but I think I can count on my hands' fingers the number of movies in English I've seen... I was pitied by my Norwegian flatmate for not knowing how Johnny Depp's voice sounds like... 

As for phonetics, I thougth mine was a rare case...the phonetic alphabet is totally beyond me...but good studetns usually have a clue of it...

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## frozenlight

> I was pitied by my Norwegian flatmate for not knowing how Johnny Depp's voice sounds like...


i pity you too  :Frown:  not necessarily bout depp, but...

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## frida_kahlo

> It's a great idea, but already been done 
> 
> 
> MSN Encarta dictionary already provides free audio files to listen to words and does include lots of placenames.


yes, it is very useful thanks for informing us :Smile:  you can find a selection of latin phareses along with English words and I have just learned how to pronounce "casus belli", I generally confuse its pronounciation because "casus belli" is also Turkish  :Yawnb:  "casus" means "spy" and "belli" means "it is evident". I can not avoid pronouncing it in Turkish  :Biggrin:

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