English Pronunciation Practice - "Discombobulation" Poem & Explanation

Hello everyone Anna here from  englishlikeanative.co.uk.

This is the second in my pronunciation poetry series.

So, we're using poetry to help us to break 

down some of the difficulties  in English pronunciation.

Today we're looking at my poem “Discombobulation”.

First let's have a listen to it.

“Please pronounce pronunciation”

Sense the discombobulation

My grey-matter in a muddle

Retrieving memory is a struggle

What was it Anna taught me

That’ll do the trick surely

To say this with perfection

Requires differentiation

Was it…

Bun bow?

Hun how?

Pun pow?

Sun sow?

Won wow?

NUN NOW!

Nun now Nun now

Nun noun

Switch them around Noun nun

That’s how it’s done ProNOUNce ProNUNc…

Pronounce Pronunciation Pronounce Pronunciation

Sense the exhilaration

As I PRONOUNCE PRONUNCIATION!

Did you enjoy that?

I hope you did.

If you'd like to have your own copy printed out with my signature on then I've put a link

to a downloadable version that you can purchase of this particular poem.

Alright, let's break it down.

“Please pronounce pronunciation”

So, this obviously it's in speech marks, quotation marks.

So, it's as if we are being asked by a teacher to do this pronunciation.

And then this is how I'm feeling “Sense the discombobulation”

Can you feel my sudden confusion like my brain is not working.

“My grey-matter...”

This is a word for brain.

“My grey-matter in a muddle”

‘To be in a muddle’ is to be a little mixed up a little bit confused.

“My grey-matter in a muddle Retrieving memory is a struggle”

To retrieve memory is just to try and get a memory back, to try and remember something.

“Retrieving memory is a struggle”

It's difficult.

“What was it Anna taught me That’ll do the trick surely”

If something does the trick, it means it works.

That will work.

If I remember what Anna taught me.

That will work.

Surely.

“To say this with perfection Requires differentiation”

To differentiate between two things.

That's what we need is we need differentiation, a clear defined difference between, in this

case, two vowel sounds.

So, what were the vowel sounds?

Let's think about the exercises that Anna had taught to differentiate between “bun

and bow”, “hun and how”, “pun and pow”, “sun sow”, “won wow” and then

for these words, pronunciation, we have “NUN” and “NOW”.

And that's it.

We've got it.

“nun now” “nun now”

“nun noun”

Now, we're extending it to sound closer to the word.

“Switch them around Noun nun

That’s how it’s done ProNOUNce ProNUNc…

Pronounce Pronunciation Pronounce Pronunciation”

There’s all this repetition.

Because that's how we improve our pronunciation.

Repetition.

Repetition.

Repetition.

Then “Sense the exhilaration”.

To be exhilarated is to be so happy and excited, overwhelmed with happiness.

“Sense the exhilaration”.

As I PRONOUNCE PRONUNCIATION!

Did you like this one?

There is another poem that I recently did an explanation on, called “Inconsistent”.

If you haven't seen that particular video, then I'll put the links in the description

below.

And if pronunciation is really important to 

you, then why not take part  in my free Pronunciation

Masterclass and learn exactly how I transformed my pronunciation.

Until next time, take care and goodbye