Now that you better understand air mechanics in the context of speech, it’s time to learn the skill of “Pressure Parsing”.
This skill is related to the “Syllable Segmenting” skill covered in Level 1. Similar to Syllable Segmenting, Pressure Parsing involves breaking speech down into component units.
When learning to perform any complex motor sequence, it’s important to break the sequence down into its component units so as not to overload the mind.
But when we did Segmenting before, we didn’t account for air mechanics, which is an integral part of the motor sequence. Therefore, we weren’t truly practicing the full pronunciation.
The Pressure Parsing technique allows us to practice the full pronunciation by conserving air mechanics.
It can be a bit awkward to learn at first, but once you get it, it is an extremely powerful tool for language learning.
Watch the video below to understand more. And be sure to mimic whenever I pressure parse so you can feel the technique.
In the next video, I demonstrate the power of Pressure Parsing (which I refer to in video by its old name of “pressure segmenting”) in the context of European Portuguese.
First, I play a short clip of a Portuguese woman speaking at normal speed. Unless you are fluent, you will probably have a difficult time parsing the sounds you hear.
Next, I go through the same clip, pressure parsing each phrase so that you can hear it more clearly. Try to mimic what I do to feel the pressure parsing in your own body.
Finally, I replay the same clip at normal speed. You should notice a difference between how the speech sounds to you. You won’t know what it means still, but you should be able to process the sounds more fluently, as a result of going through the pressure parsing with me.
As you practice pressure parsing for your own language, you will notice the same clarification of speech, making it easier for you to process, understand and mimic native speakers.
Below, we take the audio clips from the Level 1 program and Pressure Parse each of them on video.
First, listen to the audio at fast and slow speed, then watch the pressure parsing video. Watch it again and reconcile what you see with the transcription.
Once you’ve reconciled everything, practice mimicking the pressure parsing, and don’t move on to the next sentence until you feel like you’ve mastered the pressure parsing of that phrase.
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Once you’ve practiced pressure parsing all the sentences of your language, post about the experience to
#completions for credit. This concludes week 2 lessons. Return to the table of contents and review the assessment.