I know that many readers of my blog are Brazilians who want to improve their American English pronunciation. I am pleased that so many of you visit here!
Here are two common problems encountered by Brazilian Portuguese speakers who are trying to improve their pronunciation of American English.
1. The schwa sound /ə/
Brazilian Portuguese does not have a reduced vowel sound such as the schwa that is so prevalent in spoken English. That means that Brazilian Portuguese speakers often pronounce the vowels in reduced syllables fully when these vowels should have a schwa vowel sound.
2. Consonant clusters that begin with S
In Portuguese there is usually a vowel in front of an /s/ sound or s consonant cluster. Because of that Brazilian Portuguese speakers tend to insert a vowel sound before s clusters when they speak English. That means that they pronounce the word school like eschool, the word study like estudy and the word special like especial.
While American English speakers may still understand you if you make these mistakes, these types of errors will contribute to your accent.
Read more about the schwa sound in American English.
Tags: Accent Reduction Techniques, American English Pronunciation, american english vowels, brazilian portuguese speakers, learn american accent, schwa sound
