Enunciation is the act of speaking clearly and concisely. The opposite of enunciation is mumbling or slurring. Slurring ones spoken words is the improper enunciation of either starting or ending vowels, often leaving them out completely, and/or resulting in words that seemed combined, and flowing sentences that seem to have no breaks between words. ...
Enunciation coupled with slow speech is often used as an insult. For example "Can-you-un-der-stand-the-words-com-ing-out-of-my-mouth?" spoken slowly, clipped and each word clearly emphasized in response to the person not understanding. The insult is a slight towards the person's ability to understand the language or 'basic' ideas.
Enunciation plays an important role in the English language (when spoken in its purest form). Unfortunately, recent Americanisation of the British media has caused the adoption of a "lazy" accent by the youth of the cities and the South.
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