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Shaquille O'Neal has announced his retirement from the NBA. He says he would have loved to continue for another season, but his damaged Achilles will not allow him to do so. What seemed a routine calf and Achilles injury never fully healed from February through the playoffs. Being 7'1" and 325 pounds, Shaquille O'Neal had automatically joined the league of those who win the genetic lottery, but he was also quick and nimble from his early days. He started with the fledgling team, Orlando Magic, but eventually bolted for the Los Angeles Lakers. |
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| Word |
Sound |
Meaning |
| love (LUV) |
touch the tongue in a moderate way for a first letter L |
"would have loved"--very much wanted |
| league (LEEG) |
touch the tongue moderately |
an association, a group of people |
| lottery (LO-dery) |
touch the tongue moderately |
a gambling game or a happening that appears to be by chance |
| Los Angeles (los AN-jel-is) |
touch the tongue moderately |
L.A.--city in California |
| Shaquille O'Neal (shu-KEEL oh-NEEL) |
can tighten your throat and not use your tongue on a final L sound--or touch your tongue very lightly |
a famous basketball player |
| Achilles (uh-KI-eles) |
use a light L sound on final letter |
"Achilles tendon"--the tendon behind your foot, above your heal; this is a common sports injury |
| allow (uh-LOW) |
use a light L sound on final letter |
to let, to give permission |
| calf (CAF) |
L is silent |
the back of a person's leg below the knee (the same word is used for the baby cow) |
| healed (HEELD) |
do pronounce "d" after L, be careful to pronounce both sounds |
became better |
| automatically (ah-do-MA-ti-klee) |
"-cally" suffix often reduces to "klee" in pronunciation |
occuring without effort or intention |
| eventually (ee-VEN-chul-lee |
in "eventually," "tu" reduces to "ch" from common use |
finally, after some time |
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