If you are a Chinese speaker you may have found that Americans don’t always understand your pronunciation. Here is one accent reduction tip you can use to help.
Pronounce your voiced final consonant sounds more clearly.
In American English some of the most common voiced consonant sounds are: /b/,/d/, /g/, /ð/,/z/, /r/, /m/, & /n/. You need to make sure that you pronounce these sounds correctly, especially when they occur at the end of a word.
Pronouncing voiced consonants is so important because when a word ends with a voiced consonant sound the preceding vowel sound is lengthened.
Here are two examples:
The word cap has a short vowel sound. The /æ/ sound is said very quickly. However, in the word cab the vowel sound is lengthened because it precedes the voiced /b/ sound. This word sounds more like caab.
The word pick has a short vowel sound. The /ɪ/ sound is said very quickly. However, in the word pig the vowel sound is lengthened because it precedes the voiced /g/ sound. This word sounds more like piig.
When you lengthen the vowel sounds before voiced consonants your words much easier for American listeners to understand.
Want to learn more? Take action and get yourself an accent reduction book, CD or audio course. You’ll need some help if you really want to reduce your accent and speak so Americans can understand you.
Tags: Accent Reduction Books & CDs, Accent Reduction for Chinese Speakers, Accent Reduction Techniques, learn american accent, voiced consonant sounds
