RULES of American English: Proper Nouns

Do people misunderstand key information when you are speaking in presentations, meetings, or phone calls?

If you are learning to speak to an American audience, there are several rules of stress and intonation that will help your audience understand you better. If you have spoken American English since birth, you may not even be aware of these rules!

These practical tips can make a significant difference in your communication.

How do we say Proper Nouns?   

First, let’s define proper nouns. They are nouns for specific names of people, places, monuments, teams, streets and roadways, magazines, holidays, etc. We capitalize the first letter of each word (unless it is a preposition or conjunction). For example, United States of America.  If there is more than one word in the proper noun, we need to emphasize the correct part to be understood easily.  

This is particularly noted when saying our names. Depending on our first language, we have a stress pattern and rhythm for first and last names. In American English, we stress the last part. If we use the stress pattern of our native language, people may have difficulty differentiating the first from the last name. Our name is our identity, and we want people to understand it and be able to use it.

My name is Lynda Katz Wilner. When I say it, I stress the last word, Wilner.

I live in Baltimore, Maryland.

I read the article in the Wall Street Journal.

What is the rule?

We stress the last word of proper nouns with a HIGHER PITCH, LOUDER VOLUME, and LONGER VOWEL. For example, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore Ravens, The New York Times, Washington Monument, New Jersey Turnpike, and Easter Sunday, to name a few.

Follow these blogs and learn some of these RULES for American English. Check out the online training platform “Master the American Accent” to learn more practical rules.  HERE

The RULES - Rules for Using Linguistic Elements of Speech book is available with audio MP3 files on our resources page. HERE

Reach out to me with any questions or comments about accents, public speaking, or communication skills at LKWilner@Successfully-Speaking.com.