Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? People often ask me, “Why does the ‘t’ sound different in the middle of American English words?”
Here is the answer…
In American English a ‘t’ in the middle of a word often sounds more like a quick /d/. This quick /d/ sound is called a [...]
Posts under ‘American English Consonant Sounds’
Why does the ‘t’ sound different in the middle of American English words?
American English Audio Lesson: The 2 Sounds of TH
Most non-native English speakers have problems articulating the two ‘th’ sounds that we use so frequently in in spoken American English.
Here is a link to a lesson on the 2 ‘th’ sounds. At the end of the lesson is an audio practice activity that you can use to practice.
American English Audio Lesson-The TH Sounds
If you [...]
Accent Reduction Techniques for Spanish Speakers
Spanish speakers frequently drop the consonant sounds at the ends of words. This can cause your speech to sound both accented and grammatically incorrect.
If you are a Spanish speaker, here is one technique you can use to reduce your accent.
Words in Spanish do not typically end in a consonant clusters but English words frequently do. [...]
American English Spelling & Pronunciation
Do you ever feel like the English spelling system does not match the sounds of spoken American English? It seems that way doesn’t it?
English spelling is the way that words are written using the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet. Since English is not a phonetic language there is not always a one-on-one relationship [...]
American English Consonant Sounds
Did you know that there are 24 different consonant sounds in American English?
When you make these consonant sounds your mouth narrows and the air flow is obstructed by your tongue, teeth and lips. There is a lot of action happening in your mouth when you pronounce consonants so let’s talk more about this.
When you [...]
American English Pronunciation Tip-Don’t Drop Word Final Sounds!
Many non-native English speakers tend to drop word final consonants such as the S sounds in words such as: boys, washes and stops.
When you do this it contributes to your accent and it creates grammatical errors that will confuse your listeners.
Keep in mind that word final S has 3 sounds in spoken English. In the [...]
EyeSpeak English Pronunciation Software
Lots of people write to ask me about English pronunciation software. One that has recently come to my attention is called EyeSpeak English.
This program teaches English pronunciation through carefully designed content. Words build to sentences using common everyday themes that contain the language you need to know to speak English effectively with friends and in [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for Speakers of Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole speakers and French speakers have some of the same problems with spoken English.
One of these is the tendency to delete the /h/ sound at the beginning of words. Word initial /h/ is almost always pronounced in American English. That means that the /h/ must be articulated clearly in words such as: hat, here, [...]
American English Pronunciation: How to Make the /n/ & /l/ Sounds
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 [...]
American English Pronunciation: The Sounds of X
The letter X has two pronunciations in American English. Here is the first one. When X is followed by a stressed vowel it is pronounced like /gz/.
Here are a few examples:
1. exAct→egzact
2. exActly→egzactly
3. exAmple→egzample
4. exAm→egzam
5. exAmine→egzamine
When an X is followed by a consonant sound it is pronounced like /ks/.
1. exTreme→ekstreme
2. exTinguish→ekstinguish
3. exPect→ekspect
4. contexT-contekst
5. nexT→nekst
When the letter X is at the end of a [...]
