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Archive for American English Pronunciation

Accent Reduction Tips for Spanish Speakers

Image via Wikipedia One of the most problematic American English vowel sounds for Spanish speakers is the /ı/ sound. I call this sound /ı/ as in Silver. The /ı/ is a relaxed sound. That means that you need to relax your facial muscles in order to say the sound correctly. Spanish speakers often over pronounce

Do I need to know the IPA to improve my American English pronunciation?

I receive lots of questions from people about the IPA symbols used for American English vowel and consonant sounds. Here is some basic information. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system that was developed to represent the sounds of spoken languages. The system uses characters from the Latin and Greek alphabets. IPA symbols include

American English Pronunciation: The Best Pronunciation Dictionary

Each week I receive lots of questions from people asking about the best online dictionary for American English pronunciation. I usually use Merriam Webster, but I don’t love it.☹ The dictionary’s audio voice articulates the sounds at the ends of words too strongly. There are also LOTS of advertisements….but it’s free so we can’t complain.

American English Pronunciation for Technology Professionals

In my accent reduction coaching program I’ve worked with 100+ professionals who work in the field of IT. ✔ Many of these “IT guys” (and a few women) were in the process of MOVING UP from a programmer position … to a sales, managerial or other more interactive position. ✫ They understood that improving their spoken English

3 Ways to Practice Your Pronunciation

My blog readers are people from all over the world who are working hard to improve their pronunciation and speak English with a more American accent.☝ Many of you have asked me for ideas on how you can practice. Here are three suggestions. 1. Get an American Accent audio course These courses are very affordable.

A Difficult American English Vowel: the /ae/ Sound

One American English vowel sound that many of my accent reduction coaching clients have problems pronouncing is the /ae/ as in Black sound. This is the stressed vowel sound in the words: expand, command & manage. Here are 3 tips to articulate the /ae/ as in Black sound correctly~ Your tongue should be flat &

How to Ask Questions Correctly

Many of my accent reduction clients have told me that their colleagues don’t always respond right away when they ask questions. That’s because they never learned the correct intonation patterns to use when asking questions in English. If you don’t know these rules…don’t worry….I’ll explain them now.✔ We use two different intonation patterns when questions

How to Pronounce Can & Can’t

My accent reduction coaching clients often tell me that people don’t understand them when they say the words can & can’t. Just so you know…☝ This happens with both native and non native speakers.✔ Here are 3 TIPS that will help you pronounce these words correctly. 1. When CAN occurs at the end of

Medical English Pronunciation Lesson-Visiting the Doctor

The doctors who I work in my Skype accent reduction coaching program need to communicate clearly both with their colleagues and with their patients.☆ When I teach them to communicate more clearly with their patients, we work on two areas~ The first is the correct pronunciation of medical terms.☝ However,… we also work on speaking

4 Rules for Pronouncing Numbers Clearly

I work with international professionals from multinational companies in my Skype accent reduction coaching program. Several of my clients are in finance. This means that they MUST pronounce numbers correctly when dealing with Americans. Here are 4 rules that I teach them for pronouncing numbers clearly. 1. Tens numbers have major stress on the first