no sympathy for the devil

[krisfromgermany]

Please tell me what you think about my pronunciation. What can I improve? Apart from my German accent, does it sound like standard English?
It's a quote from one of my favorite books, "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson.

https://clyp.it/5vx0tugr

 

[probus]

That "apart" is a hell of a big word. How can one separate accent from pronunciation? I certainly have no answer.

 

[krisfromgermany]

I mean, I know especially my fluency needs improvement. But are the words itselves pronounced correctly or at least understandable?
(Sorry for the crappy sound quality, had to use the internal mic of my laptop.)

 

[teechar]

I mean, I know especially my fluency needs improvement. But are the words [STRIKE]itselves[/STRIKE] themselves pronounced correctly or at least understandably?
(Sorry for the crappy sound quality; I had to use the internal mic of my laptop.)

I actually think the sound quality is very important and relevant to this kind of exercise. Can you, perhaps, use a better mic?

 

[Tdol]

Speaking naturally is always better then reading written text, which is unnatural, no matter how much someone loves an author.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Actually, your pronunciation sounds fine to me. I didn't hear any mistakes. Yes, you have a strong German accent - but you're German!

Your accent will smooth out over time if you keep working on it. You might seek out someone to coach you on your accent. Or you can get English-language audio books and use them for practice.

And remember that there's nothing wrong with an accent as long as the content is correct.

 

[Eckaslike]

I found the only word which really stood out with an unusual pronunciation was "occasionally". Listen to the way that it is pronounced on the link below, and focus on the sound of the first "a".

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/occasionally

 

[krisfromgermany]

Thanks for the feedback. I try to improve my pronunciation by often watching CNN, which sadly is the only American channel receivable here via satellite for free.
I'm considering searching some international students at the university here in my city to meet and talk with them, maybe that will help better.
If someone's reading this and wants to chat on facebook, please leave me a message. Of course I could help others improve their German if wanted, too.

 

[emsr2d2]

Forvo is a great resource for pronunciation help. It has hundreds of thousands of recordings of words and phrases by real people from all over the world. Try to stick to pronunciations made by native speakers. Choose English from the list of languages, then put the word you want to hear into the Search box. You should get a list of recordings to listen to.
Here's the link for "occasionally" (I see I've put a recording on there!)

 

[probus]

Thanks for the feedback. I try to improve my pronunciation by often watching CNN, which sadly is the only American channel receivable here via satellite for free.
I'm considering searching some international students at the university here in my city to meet and talk with them, maybe that will help better.
If someone's reading this and wants to chat on facebook, please leave me a message. Of course I could help others improve their German if wanted, too.

Don't say sadly. Listening to CNN will help you learn the most regionally neutral accent of AmE.