Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? Linguistic research indicates that the most common sound in spoken English is the schwa vowel sound. This is because native English speakers pronounce the vowels in most reduced syllables with the schwa sound. The phonetic symbol for schwa is /ə/.
Here is an example. When I [...]
Posts under ‘french speakers’
The Most Common Sound in Spoken English
American English Audio Lesson: The 2 Sounds of TH
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
American English Pronunciation Tips for French Speakers
Here are a couple of tips for French speakers who want to improve their American English pronunciation.
1. Pronounce S at the end of English words.
Word final s is always pronounced in English. Word final S often has a /z/ sound as in the words: boys, girls & dogs.
The S may also have a /s/ sound [...]
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 French Speakers
One key feature of good spoken English is syllable stress. In spoken English one syllable is each word is stressed. The vowel in the stressed syllable is lengthened and pronounced with a higher pitch.
Spoken French does not employ syllable stress in this way. French syllables are evenly stressed until you reach the last syllable in [...]
American English Syllable Stress Patterns & Schwa
One of the most effective ways to improve your American English pronunciation is to use syllable stress correctly. The problem is that many students of spoken English don’t know the syllable stress patterns. Here is a general rule that will help you-
Most two syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable. Other two syllable words [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for French Speakers
Like many people I love the sound of the French language and I wish that I could speak it better!
One difference between American English pronunciation and French pronunciation is that in English we always pronounce s at the end of a word. French students learning English often forget to say that sound.
You must pronounce word [...]
