This is the first recording for my phonetics course. Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction.

Take in mind that this first record is without instruction or knowledge on phonetics and will be compared with the last recording (which will be this same text). http://soundcloud.com/rodylg/phonetics_recordings-rodrigo_1_7

Text from "Well Said: Pronunciation for Clear Communication, 3rd Edition" by Linda Grant, Cengage Learning. Reproduced with permission.

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_1

This is the second recording for my phonetics course. Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction.

The objective of this exercise is vocabulary pronunciation practice, with the text written by the student.

My text and the word list can be found at: https://docs.google.com/open?id=17O-b8Xi6mYxpZgJJi6BkOOMxiNhJdSIdaXoNqwTkLjk

Note: I'm mighty sorry if I sound a little with a stuffed-up nose. I'm fighting the beginnings of a cold :(

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_2

Sound and Spelling Patterns.

Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction. Check the pronunciation of the following words:

Attention
Future
Individuals
Expressing
Gradual
Temperatures
Glaciers
Rise
Efficient
Drive
Efficient
Pollution
Individuals
Issue
Pollution
Special
Future
Generation
Machine

Text from "Well Said: Pronunciation for Clear Communication, 3rd Edition" by Linda Grant, Cengage Learning. Reproduced with permission.

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_3

Past Tense Narrative.

Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction. Monitor the recording for verbs with -ed and smooth linking.

Text from "Well Said: Pronunciation for Clear Communication, 3rd Edition" by Linda Grant, Cengage Learning. Reproduced with permission.

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_4

Natural Highs - Pacing and fluidity

Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction. Monitor for a natural pronunciation.

Text from "Well Said: Pronunciation for Clear Communication, 3rd Edition" by Linda Grant, Cengage Learning. Reproduced with permission.

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_5

Poetry Declamation

Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction.

Poem is by Pablo Neruda, translation by Il Postino. "La Poesía no es de quien la escribe, es de quien la necesita."

Original Version in Spanish: http://soundcloud.com/rodylg/si-tu-me-olvidas

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_6

"La Poesía no es de quien la escribe, es de quien la necesita."
"Poetry doesn't belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it."

Si Tú Me Olvidas

Final Exam

Native speakers, please help me with your comments marking where I'm not clear or unintelligible, if I'm mispronouncing a word and, if possible, suggest a similar word so I can practice proper diction.

This is to be compared with the first recording: http://soundcloud.com/rodylg/phonetics_recordings-rodrigo_1_1

Text from "Well Said: Pronunciation for Clear Communication, 3rd Edition" by Linda Grant, Cengage Learning. Reproduced with permission.

[Phonetics' Recordings] Rodrigo_1_7

Rusty Star - Smile Song (Acapella)

Hi. My name is Rodrigo but my friends call me Rod or Rai.

I'm 28 years old, believe it or not, and I'm stuck studying the 5th semester of Computer Engineering at the Engineering Faculty (best school ever, lol).

I'm a very geeky person, shy and quiet until I get to know you, because I like to listen and observe. When I have something to say I usually become quite snarky (but don't take it as if I hate you, I'm joking). I also tend to become a motor mouth and talk too much or write big walls of text when something makes me excited.

Speaking of books and writing, I like sci-fi and popular science and I'd like to become a writer someday (my role model is Carl Sagan). I'd like to mix my career, multimedia making, pedagogy/psychology, User Interface design and popular science communication to develop educational software. I'm also very internet savvy (on the social and technical aspects), heavily opposed to its censorship and a believer in Open Source software.

I'm disliking most of the new movies and wary of bad commercial content because most of them has become part of a greedy multimillionaire industry of bad entertainment. I support the Black March movement because, except for some very good movies, they are no longer about artistry and storytelling but of moneymaking and that makes me sick. Still, I have some favorite movies and my number one is Robert Zemeckis' Contact, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and Peter Hyams' 2010 (although I prefer the novels by much). You can tell I like astronomy and I belong to my faculty's club, SAFIR.

I'm also a fan of Japanese anime and animation, specially the 2D old school animation. Secret of NIMH, Balto, Cat's Don't Dance, Oliver & Company, The Lion King, Pokémon, Tottoko Hamutaro, etc. have made me approach to the Furry Fandom (google with caution as there's a lot of prejudice and misconceptions). There's some original amazing new content made by the artists of this group, mostly in the webcomics area (My favorite right now is Housepets! by Rick Griffin). A friend inside the fandom told me about a new cartoon and I was very skeptic but tried it out anyway and it is surprisingly very good. So good that in fact I made a presentation about it in last semester's business course. It's (and don't laugh) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. And I rather leave it for another comment or this will become a huge wall of text.

In music I like a lot of things, except regueton. I don't like banda music but I tolerate it. My favorite group is Japanese rock musicians "the pillows" and my favorite singer is Katy Perry (I LOVE HER!)

I like animals (but don't have a pet due to lack of time and money), surfing the net and meeting people around the world (maybe one day I'll travel a lot and meet them in person), playing video games (the dancing sim videogame "Pump It Up" and Pokémon games are my favorite) I don't care what's on TV (but will watch news just to know what lies and distractions the high powers are spreading) and I love unhealthy food. I think that's all.

Shnap, I made another big wall of text... sorry.

Rodrigo Lerma