Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? Here is some excellent information from Ann Cook about how to improve your American English pronunciation using linking or liaisons. If you use liaisons like native speakers do your speech will sound smoother and less choppy to American listeners.
Liaisons in American English
Here is a [...]
Posts under ‘chinese speakers’
American English Pronunciation: Linking and Liasons
Syllable Stress Patterns: Compound Words
Those of you who read my blog frequently know that using syllable stress correctly is one of the very best ways to improve your comprehensibility when you speak English. That said, here are a few syllable stress patterns for compound words that you may find useful.
Compound nouns are stressed on the first word in the [...]
Syllable & Sentence Stress in American English
One of the most notable features of spoken English is its rhythm. Native English speakers alternate between using stressed and unstressed syllables in words and sentences. They do not pronounce all words and syllables with the same emphasis.
One way that non-native English speakers can improve their accent is to learn to use the rhythms of [...]
When O is Pronounced With the /ɑ/ Sound
There are many English words spelled with the letter o in which the o is pronounced like /ɑ/ as in the word father.
To make the /ɑ/ sound relax your lips and your tongue. Your tongue should be low in your mouth when you articulate this sound. Here is a list of words in which the letter [...]
American English:The Sounds of ed
Several of the students that I am coaching have trouble hearing the ed that comes at the end of past tense verbs. One reason why they are having this problems is that ed does not always sound like /ed/. Sometimes ed sounds like /d/ and sometimes it sounds like /t/.
The other reason the word final [...]
American English Pronunciation:The Voiced & Voiceless Th Sounds
In spoken American English the letter combination TH makes two different sounds. One of these sounds is voiced and the other is voiceless.
The IPA symbol for the voiced th sound looks like this /ð/.
The IPA symbol for the voiceless th sound looks like this /θ/.
While both of these sounds cause problems for non native speakers [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for Chinese Speakers
Many Chinese speakers have problems pronouncing the /r/ sound in American English. Some of my Chinese students don’t say the /r/ sound at the end of words at all and that really contributes to their accent!
Sometimes they say the /r/ sound too softly when it comes before another consonant as in the words; forward, learn and [...]
Pronunciation Problems for Chinese Speakers
One American English pronunciation problem that is common for speakers of Mandarin Chinese is pronouncing voiced final consonant sounds.
In American English the voiced consonant sounds are: /b/,/d/, /g/, /ð/,/z/, /ʒ/ & /dʒ/.
One reason that voicing consonants is so important is that when a word ends with a voiced consonant sound the preceding vowel sound is lengthened.
Here are [...]
How to Pronounce the L in American English
In American English the /l/ is referred to as a “liquid” sound. That’s because when you articulate this sound the tip of your tongue touches the ridge behind your upper teeth and the air flows through the sides of your tongue.
When /l/ comes after certain vowel sounds American English speakers will insert a schwa sound [...]
Chinglish
As a lingua franca English has always taken on characteristics of other languages. Maybe you’ve heard of Spanglish and Singlish but have you heard of Chinglish? I just read an interesting article in Wired magazine that discusses whether spoken English will sound increasingly like Chinese in the near future. If you enjoy [...]
