American English Pronunciation Blog » chinese speakers

American English Pronunciation: Linking and Liasons

susan — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:00:38 +0000

Linking happens in every English sentence. We connect two words together when the first word ends in a vowel sound and the next word begins with the same vowel sound.
that table sounds like thattable
next time sounds like nexttime

We also connect words when the first word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound.
about it sounds like aboudit
passed out sounds like passdout

If you use liaisons like native speakers do your speech will sound smoother and less choppy to American listeners.

Ann Cook’s book American Accent Training does an excellent job of teaching you to use linking to improve your accent.

Here is some more information about how to improve your American English pronunciation using linking or liaisons.
Liaisons in American English

American English Audio Lesson: The 2 Sounds of TH

susan — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 22:00:47 +0000

One problem that many or most non-native English speakers face in speaking American English is how to make the two sounds of ‘th’.

Here is a link to a lesson on these two very common sounds. At the end of the lesson is an audio practice activity for you to use.
American English Audio Lesson-The TH Sounds

If you like the lesson, be sure to sign up for my free four week accent reduction course on the page. This is a free introductory course with no obligations!

Syllable Stress Patterns: Compound Words

susan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:31:07 +0000

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 compound.

bedroom
someone

Compound verbs are stressed on the second word in the compound.

outsmart
overdue

In compound adjectives the stress is on the second part of the compound.

bad-tempered
old-fashioned

Hyphenated compound words often have short words in the middle. Some of these are stressed on the first part of the compound such as:

mother-in-law
free-for-all

Click here to read more about syllable stress in American English.

American English Pronunciation Tip-Don’t Drop Word Final Sounds!

susan — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:44:33 +0000

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 word boys the s has a /z/ sound. In the word washes the s has a /ez/ sound. In the word stops the s has a regular /s/ sound.

Click here to see a nice chart on the rules and sounds of word final S.

Linking within Words for Smoother Speech

susan — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:00:15 +0000

If you are an advanced student of American English pronunciation you have probably learned about linking (or liaisons). Linking refers to the connections between words. Ann Cook, author of American Accent Training, says that these connections “allow us to speak in sound groups” instead of word by word.

Spoken English has linking between words and also within words.

Word internal linking occurs when there are 2 vowel sounds inside a word. When this happens native English speakers will insert a /y/ or /w/ glide to connect the sounds.

The /y/ insertion is very common. This is sometimes referred to as the invisible /y/. Here are a few examples:

reunion sounds like reyunion
client sounds like cliyent
diet sounds like diyet

You will also hear a /w/ insertion is some words:
cooperate sounds like cowoperate
graduate sounds like graduwate
coersion sounds like cowersion

Click on the LINKING category to your right to learn more about the importance of linking in American English!

American English Pronunciation: How to Make the /n/ & /l/ Sounds

susan — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:00:26 +0000

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)

American English Pronunciation: Don’t Drop ED!

susan — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:00:13 +0000

Many non-native English speakers do not articulate word final consonant sounds such as the past tense ed. Failing to pronounce the ed will definitely contribute to your accent!

Most of my students understand that American spoken English has 3 sounds for the past tense ed but they need to practice these sounds to make them more automatic.

Eva Easton has a nice page on her website that you can use to learn the rules andd practice the 3 sounds of ed. Don’t forget to take the quiz at the end!

American English ed sounds

You can learn the rules for how to pronounce ed endings and much more with the book Mastering the American Accent with Audio CDs

American English Pronunciation: The R & L Sounds

susan — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:00:07 +0000

In spoken American English both the /r/ & /l/ sounds are called “liquids”. That’s because the air stream moves around the tongue in an unobstructed manner. Both the /r/ & /l/ sounds are voiced so you should feel a vibration in your throat when you say them.

When you make the light /l/ sound, the tongue touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth. This is the /l/ sound that you hear in the words: light, listen and only.

When you make the dark /ɫ/ sound the tongue is more bunched up and the back of the tongue is raised. This is the /ɫ/ sound you hear in the words: bell, call and fall.

To make the /r/, start with your tongue in the relaxed position of the schwa sound (say “uh”), then bunch your tongue up and back and say “red”. Do not let your tongue touch the roof or any other part of your mouth when you make this sound!

You can try to round your lips and push them forward when you make the /r/ sound. This will help.

Try using the contrast drills below to pronounce the sounds of /l/ and /r/.

These word pairs contrast the light /l/ sound with the /r/ sound. Say each word slowly to feel the tongue position for the /l/ and /r/.

lake/rake
Eileen/Irene
led/red
light/right
list/wrist
long/wrong
pilot/pirate

These word pairs contrast the dark /ɫ/ sound with the /r/ sound.

call/car
fall/far

Ann Cook does a wonderful job explaining the sounds of /r/ & /l/ in he book, American Accent Training. You can take a look at this book by clicking on the link below.

American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition)

American English Pronunciation: R Colored Vowels

susan — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:00:41 +0000

The American English r is a very difficult sound for many non-native speakers to articulate correctly!

The American English r sounds like /ɚ/. The sound is made by bunching the middle of the tongue high in the back of the mouth and rounding the lips. The tip of the tongue curls up a bit, but it never touches the roof of the mouth.

When a vowel is followed by an r, the vowel sound changes. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels. Here are some of the phonemes you will hear.

The letters ar can sound like /ɑɚ/ as in: car, guitar & star.

The letters ear can sound like /iɚ/ as in: near, fear & beard.

The letters or usually sound like /ɔɚ/ as in: or, more & course.

The letters ir, er and ur, sound like /ɚ/ as in: bird, were, & fur.

Since the sounds of r-colored vowels are so complicated, many pronunciation books and courses simplify these. One great resource is the American English Pronunciation exercises from the Kelly brothers at Many Things.

The best book that I know of for learning the r-colored vowel sounds is Ann Cook’s American Accent Training. You can see the book by clicking on the link below.

American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition)

American English Pronunciation: Phrasal Verbs

susan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:15:15 +0000

This week in class one of my students said that he needed to catch up on his work. Uh, oh….
When I showed him this picture he understood his mistake.

In order to improve your American English pronunciation you must know how to use syllable stress and word stress. One pattern that you must follow is this: in phrasal verbs the stress is on the participle or second part of the verb.

Here are a few examples:
put down, not put down, that’s like an insult
stand up, not stand up, that’s a type of comedy
turn on, not turn on, that’s a sexual term
turn over, not turn over, that’s type of pastry
catch up, not catch up, (ketchup) that’s for french fries

We use many phrasal verbs in English. To read more about phrasal verbs check out the Longman Pocket Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. This great little resource is only $6.00 and it’s easy to carry around with you.
Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary