Chinese speakers from some dialects tend to confuse word medial and word final /l/ & /n/ sounds when they are speaking English. This causes communication problems and contributes to your accent.
The /n/ & /l/ sounds are articulated in almost the same manner as the tongue touches behind the tooth ridge. The tongue is a bit flatter for the /n/ sound.
However, the /n/ sound is a nasal so you need to force the air through your nose to make this sound. The /l/ sound is a liquid so the air flows along side your tongue and out of your mouth.
Here are a few words with the /n/ & /l/ sounds that may be problematic:
financial, intellectual, international & analysis.
One book that you can use to help you learn these sounds is Ann Cook’s American Accent Training. Ann explains many problems encountered by Chinese speakers in this book and CD set.
American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition)
Tags: Accent Reduction for Chinese Speakers, Accent Reduction Techniques, American English Consonant Sounds, American English Pronunciation, learn american accent
