The video discusses 10 pronunciation secrets to help improve English speaking skills, specifically to sound more British. The secrets include:
1. Speaking slowly to sound more British.
2. Being generous with vowels and using long vowel sounds.
3. Not pronouncing the "r" sound when it's followed by a consonant.
4. Pronouncing the initial "y" sound like a soft "i" sound.
5. The "s" sound is pronounced differently when it's followed by a consonant.
6. The "h" sound is often silent in British English.
7. The "v" sound is pronounced differently than in Spanish.
8. The "th" sound is often pronounced with the tongue between the teeth.
9. Using a relaxed, "lazy" sound for certain words.
10. Mastering the "lazy sound" (represented by the phonetic symbol ə) to sound more natural.
The video concludes with a challenge to viewers to practice their new pronunciation skills by recording themselves reading a book in English and uploading it to Instagram with a specific hashtag.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The video is about 10 pronunciation secrets to help improve English speaking skills.
2. Speaking more slowly can help sound more British.
3. In British English, the accent is called "Received Pronunciation" and is characterized by being slower and having very marked intonations.
4. There are 12 vowel sounds in English, with 5 of them being long vowels.
5. Long vowels are represented by two little triangles in phonetic transcription.
6. In British English, the letter "r" is not pronounced when it is followed by a consonant.
7. The initial "y" in English is pronounced like a soft "i" sound, similar to the Latin "i" in Spanish.
8. The letter "s" is pronounced as a sharp "s" sound when it appears at the beginning of a word and is followed by a consonant.
9. The letter "h" in English is not pronounced like a sharp "h" sound, but rather as a soft aspiration.
10. The letter "v" in English is pronounced with the upper teeth on the lower lip, creating a vibration.
11. The "th" sound in English is not pronounced like a "z" sound, but rather as a soft "th" sound.
12. The phonetic symbol for the "lazy sound" is a backwards "e" and can appear after any vowel.
13. The "lazy sound" is a very relaxed sound and is known as the "schwa" sound.
14. Instagram only allows videos of up to 1 minute in the feed.
15. The winner of the English Friends Challenge will win a prize, including all English Friends courses and an online class with a native speaker.