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Short Summary
I have heard these lines so often from friends and business associates.
“I speak English but people don’t understand me.”
“I have taken English classes but I am unsure of my pronunciation.”
“I am often misunderstood and I am embarrassed about my accent.”
“I am not sure that my English client understands what I am saying.”
Correct English pronunciation is essential in the borderless world that we live in. It is essential in business. It is often critical that you can put forward your viewpoint clearly and effectively with correct English pronunciation.
Why this is important to me.
Over the years there have been many many people who have patiently corrected my pronunciation of their language when I have clumsily tried to communicate. I have little proficiency in learning other languages so their patience and kindness has been invaluable.
I hope that this app will give something back to those who are trying to correct their pronunciation of my native language. English.
Your contribution could help people worldwide when they communicate in business, academia or in daily life.
The Budget that I Need.
I need funds to contract a developer to design the software for this phone application.
I will contract a graphic artist to design the logo and artwork for the website and the app.
Then I have to fund the server, which will be a significant cost, so that the users can quickly access the thousands of sound files of the words in the archive.
The International voice will be paid an agreed fee for his recording time and for the continued use of his voice. I expect that it will take a week or more to record the correct pronunciation of all the words. These individual recordings will then have to be named and catalogued.
I will put up a website that explains how SayYouSay works.
I will obviously continue to put in a large amount of unpaid effort and time to make all this happen.
The budget is for cash outlays only. There is no provision for time spent.
Design and testing of software US$8,800
Graphic design for app and website & logo: US$4,000
Server capacity for one year: US$6,000
Design website: US$2,000
International Broadcast voice. Record English words: US$8,000
Total Budget US$28,800.
As an independent film producer I am very accustomed to working with limited budgets and I am very confident that with this budget I will be able to develop and to offer for free a very practical and popular tool to help people to correct their English pronunciation.
Your help in funding this enterprise is most appreciated.
If you can contribute then that is great.
If you feel that you cannot contribute but you like the project and think that it is worthwhile, then it would be great if you could pass the details to your friends and maybe they would like to contribute.
Thank you for your time
Keith
Key people:
Keith Hawke is a New Zealander who has owned and managed Film and Video production companies in Asia and New Zealand for more than twenty years.
He has produced many TV series and Marketing Videos and he has an extensive knowledge of film and television production.
“I have employed and socialised with many many people who spoke English with an accent.
Very often their English is technically correct but their accent makes communication with native English speakers difficult.
It is primarily an accent and pronunciation problem.
English is spoken with many different accents but there is a ‘Mid Atlantic’ accent that is neutral and universally understood.
In setting up Say You Say I have offered to my friends a tool where they can hear English spoken correctly and where they can compare their own accents with that of a professional broadcaster.”
He can be found at: www.hawkefilms.com
Craig McLeod – International Broadcast Voice.
An expert in elocution, pronunciation and voice production, Craig trained at the Hollywood Actor’s Studio in Los Angeles under the renowned teacher Eric Stone who described him as “a major talent”.
He has voiced major documentaries for National Geographic and TV channels all over the world. He has been the Station ID and promo voice for most of the cable networks in Asia, including National Geographic, ESPN, MGM, AXN as well as Singapore’s Channel 5.
Craig McLeod one of South East Asia’s best known voices, having recorded hundreds of voice-overs for documentaries, radio and TV commercials and station IDs.
He is the voice of Singapore Airlines, Lux, Sony, Phillips, Toyota, Singtel, Organics, City Developments, Motorola, Carrier, Wella, OUB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Tiger Beer, Guinness, Ministry of Education, Singapore Armed Forces, Mercedes Benz, DHL, Pizza Hut, KFC to name but a few.
Craig has won the Singapore Ear Awards for best radio commercial three years in a row.
