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One American English pronunciation problem that is common for speakers of Mandarin Chinese is pronouncing voiced final consonant sounds.
In American English the voiced consonant sounds are: /b/,/d/, /g/, /ð/,/z/, /ʒ/ & /dʒ/.
One reason that voicing consonants is so important is that 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.
Vowel lengthening before voiced consonants will make your words much easier for American listeners to understand.
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