Diction lesson

The Problem

We’ve probably all misheard song lyrics at one time or another. Among the most famous are “There’s a bathroom on the right” for “There’s a bad moon on the rise” from Bad Moon Rising and “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy” for “'Scuse me while I kiss the sky.” from Purple Haze.

It’s funny when it happens in a song or a poem, but when it’s not so funny when it happens in audio drama, because the listeners may not be able to tell what is happening in the scene. Sound effects can help a lot, but it is the words that carry most of the information. That means that you must make sure that your words are clear.

Listen to the first lyric mentioned above and see if you recognize the problem.
There’s a bad moon on the rise
Did you hear it? The last sound of the phrase is not clear, is it? Combine that with the unusual phrase, “bad moon” and you can probably tell why people hear it incorrectly.

The problem with the second lyric is a bit different.
‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky
This time, the problem is slurring the last two words together. If you know the lyric, it is reasonable easy to hear it correctly, but if you don't, the mistake is an obvious one.

The technical term for a misheard lyric is a mondegreen, a term coined by Sylvia Wright in relating her own misheard lyric from a poem her mother used to read to her, which began, as she heard it:

Ye highlands and ye lowlands Oh, where hae ye been? They hae slain the Earl O’ Moray, And Lady Mondegreen.

In fact, only one person died here. The verse actually ends:

They hae slain the Earl O’ Moray, And laid him on the green.

You should have noticed when I read the correct lyrics, that they were relatively clear. You must strive for this claity when you voice act.

Using Good Diction

It is very easily in casual speech to slur words, and when you do, the listener fills in the details from his own imagination. To prevent this, you must make certain that every consonant is understandable on its own. If you were Italian, you might separate consecutive consonants by adding a vowel. You could easily distinguish "kiss-a the sky" from "kiss-a this-a guy." We don't do that in English, of course, so we need some other strategies:

1. Note that consonants play two different roles in speech: they begin syllables and they end them. Consonants at the beginning of a syllable are easy - you just go right into the following vowel. Consonants at the end of a syllable require more work. You need to make a definite stop before you start the next syllable. Many people don't do this, and that's how “laid him on” becomes “Lady Mon…” Note when I say "Lady Mon…" that the sound never stops - It just flows from one word to the next. To say, "Laid him on" I have to make a definite stop after each word.
2. Before an initial consonant, you sometimes have to add a bit extra to start the sound. Listen to the difference between “wut” and “what” - in the latter case, I am actually starting with an h sound to make it easier to hear the w.
3. Add a semivowel between the letters of a consonant blend, such as the bl in blend. Note how this allows both sounds to be heard.
4. Look at yourself in the mirror as you speak. If you are enunciating, you will see your mouth move a lot. A lot of sloppy speech involves speaking without moving your mouth very much - you can do it, but it won't be as easy to understand.
5. Most sentences (that are not questions) end with a downward sound, and lowered energy. It is very easy to drop the last consonant sound - be aware and make sure to finish properly.

Practice

Practice recording yourself saying the following phrases and play them back:

1. “White-winged dove” - does it sound like “wide window” when you play it back?
2. “Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will lay me down” - does it sound like, “britchover”?
3. “Life is but a dream” - make sure it doesn't sound like, “butter dream.”
4. “Here comes the bride, all dressed in white” - be careful, it can very easily sound like, "all dressed and wide.”
5. “Out of harm’s way” - do you actually hear the “h” when you play it back, or did you seem to say, “out of arm’s way”?