Pronunciation Nightmare is obviously a pronunciation problem that is very tough to fix.
Pronunciation Nightmare: details
Vowel [ou] or /aʊ/ is called a diphthong because it consists of one vowel and one consonant. It’s very hard for Vietnamese and Thai learners especially when it falls behind /n/. It’s already difficult for Thai and Vietnamese learners of English to pronounce /n/ at the end of the word but it’s twice as hard when it comes after vowel /aʊ/ as in [town] or [down]. That’s why I call this a Pronunciation Nightmare for those learners and wrote this tongue twister below specifically for them. If you practice this tongue twister repeatedly, it will help you tremendously.
You can also use the audio to listen to me read the tongue twister at reasonable speed.
Hound Town
You’re bound to hear an astounding amount of noise and sound in Hound Town, a hell-bound
jɚ baʊntə hirənəstaʊndɪŋ əmaʊnəv nɔɪzən saʊndᵊn haʊnd taʊn, ə hel baʊnd
town I have no idea how and why I wound up walking around, streets with mound of garbage,
taʊnʌɪ hæv noʊwaɪdiə haʊᵊn waɪjaɪ waʊndʌp wɑkənɚaʊnd, striːts wəð maʊndəv gɑːrbədʒ
and decency nowhere to be found! I got pounced on by a clown and another man in a gown
ændiːsənsi noʊɚ t̬ə bi faʊnd. ʌ gɑʔ paʊnstʌn bʌɪjə klaʊn ənənʌðɚ mænənə gaʊn
wearing a crown. Then the clown got trounced by the town’s sheriff who pulled out his gun and
werɪŋə kraʊn. ðenə klaʊn gʌtraʊnst bʌɪ ðə taʊnz ʃerɪf hu pʊldaʊt̬əz gʌnən
fired like a thousand rounds. I do not have enough adjectives or nouns to give you a true account
fʌɪɚd lʌɪkə θaʊzən raʊndz. aɪ du nɑt hævənʌfædʒektɪvzɚ naʊnz tə gɪvjə ə truːwəkaʊnt
of what went down and how scared I was as someone from out of town. I’m from the mountain
əv wʌʔ wen daʊnᵊn haʊ skeɚdʌɪ wɑzəz sʌmwʌn frəmaʊt̬ə taʊn. ʌm frəmðə maʊntᵊn
and not used to noise downtown. I’ll tell ya, I won’t be coming back to hell bound Hound Town.
ənɑʔ juːztə nɔɪz daʊntaʊn. ʌl teljə, aɪ woʊmbi kʌmən bæk tə helbaʊnd haʊntaʊn
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