American Accent for Indians | American English Pronunciation Blog

Archive for American Accent for Indians

How to practice the /w/ sound

Many of my accent reduction clients from India, Turkey, Germany and Russian speaking countries need some instruction on the American /w/ sound. I teach them that the /w/ sound in American English is articulated with the lips rounded. The teeth do not touch the lips to make this sound! ~ Here’s a short exercise

Quick Tip for Compound Nouns

Here is a quick & easy tip for pronouncing compound nouns correctly. ✔ When you are speaking American English, you need to stress compound nouns on the first syllable. SOFTware WEEKend WORKforce NEWSpaper PRINTout (noun) Many of the Hindi & Telegu speakers who I work with in my accent reduction coaching program don’t stress compound

How Do I Pronounce Abbreviations?

One easy technique that I teach my accent reduction coaching clients is how to pronounce abbreviations. Here is the rule: Abbreviations are stressed on the LAST LETTER. This means that you need to use pitch to RISE UP on the last letter and then FALL down just a bit. Here’s a few examples. The

Should I Speak English Quickly or Slowly?

Many of my clients have been told by their coworkers that they speak English too quickly. They often tell me, “Americans speak quickly, so I think that I should speak quickly too.” ➽ Here are my thoughts on this topic~ Many American born speakers DO speak English quickly. They’re able to do this and be

Why Do I Have an Accent When I Speak American English? Part 2

This week I am writing a series of posts that describe WHY you have an accent when you speak American English. Yesterday I wrote about syllable stress. You should read that post NOW if you missed it yesterday. Today I’ll talk about the importance of lengthening ⇒ certain vowel sounds. There are 2 rules I

What’s a heavy Indian accent?

Many of my accent reduction clients come to me because their boss, manager or coworkers told them that they speak with a “heavy Indian accent”. So what do they mean? What exactly is it that creates what people call a “heavy Indian accent”? Here are some features that contribute to a heavy accent in the ears of

American English Intonation Audio Courses

Many of you have found my blog because you’re trying to improve your American English intonation. ☆ YOU are smart! ☆ That’s because you already understand that clear and fluent American English depends on using the correct intonation patterns.☝ Many people believe that you can achieve a nice American sound by learning to articulate each

Do you drop your word endings?

Everyone who I work with in my accent reduction coaching program is very well educated in English. They have an excellent command of vocabulary (although they avoid saying some words due to concerns about pronunciation). Most of my clients have advanced degrees such as an MD, MS, MBA or PhD. ☆ However, many of these

How Do I Improve My Indian Accent?

Most of my accent reduction clients who came to the US from India have advanced degrees in science, IT and engineering. Since they were educated in English, their reading, writing and vocabulary indicate a high level of success. ✔ Unfortunately their spoken English is not easily comprehensible to American English speakers. Here are 3 common

American Accent iPad Course for Indian English Speakers

My American Accent iPad Course for South Asian English speakers will be released next week. This course teaches Indian English speakers (South Asians) to communicate more clearly in spoken American English. If you’ve never taken an American accent or accent reduction course before, or if you want to practice what you’ve previously learned about the American