American English Pronunciation Blog » Spanish & Portuguese Speakers

American English Pronunciation: The /iy/ and /I/ Sounds

susan — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:00:47 +0000

One of the American English vowel sounds that non-native speakers frequently mispronounce is the /iy/ sound as in the word sheep.

They frequently shorten this sound so that it sounds more like the /I/ sound as in the word ship.

This means that when non-native speakers (especially Spanish & Portuguese speakers) say the word cheap, it sounds like chip. When they say the word seat, it sounds like sit. When they say the word seek, it sounds like sick. When they say the word beach, it sounds like…….well, you know!

Here is an exercise you can use to practice listening to and pronouncing these confusing sounds.

The /iy/ and /I/ sounds.

Good luck!

The Most Common Sound in Spoken English

susan — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:09:17 +0000

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 say my name, Susan, the first syllable is stressed so the vowel has a long high sound. The second syllable is reduced so the vowel has a schwa (uh) sound. Spelling using phonetic symbols my name would look like: ‘su:-zən.

The most commonly spoken English word is the and it is frequently mispronounced by non-native speakers because it starts with the troublesome voiced th sound. The phonetic symbol for the voiced th is /ð/. Using phonetic symbols it would look like ðə.

You simply must learn to use the schwa vowel sound in order to reduce your accent!

One accent training book that provides lots of lessons on the schwa vowel sound is Mastering the American Accent. You can see the details and reviews at this link.
Mastering the American Accent with Audio CDs

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.

Arizona to remove teachers with heavy accents

susan — Sat, 01 May 2010 10:39:20 +0000

News sources in the US have been filled with this story about the fate of teachers in the state of Arizona who speak English with heavy accents.

Many of Arizona’s teachers are native Spanish speakers who tend to mispronounce the voiced and voiceless th sounds, the /v/ sound and leave off word endings such as ed and s.

Officials say that pronunciation errors such as these make it difficult for students to understand. Teachers with heavy accents who can’t change may lose their jobs.

Here is a version of the story from the Washington Post.
Arizona teachers and accents.

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: 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

Linking in Spoken English

susan — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:04:57 +0000

When Americans speak they link many words together, especially function words. Linking creates smooth transitions between words in a phrase or sentence and give your speech a smooth sound.

Here are 3 rules for linking words when you are speaking English.

1. When the same consonant sound is found at the end of the first word and the beginning of the next word pronounce them as one long sound (Consonant +Consonant). For example:

team mate sounds like teammate
that time sounds like thattime
bus stop sounds like busstop

2. When a consonant sound ends one word and is followed by a vowel sound make the consonant sound part of the second word (Consonant +Vowel). For example:

save it sounds like savit
called up sounds like calledup
turn around sounds like turnaround

3. When a vowel sound is at the end of one word and the beginning of the next word add a /y/ or a /w/ sound between them (Vowel + Vowel). For example:

sounds like do/w/ it
sounds like see /y/it
sounds like I/y/ am

Here is some more information on linking and liaisons in spoken English.