Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? Many people have been visiting the blog looking for information on American English intonation patterns. In American English we use different types of intonation or pitch to express meaning and emotion. You can’t learn about intonation without listening to native speakers so you need [...]
Posts Tagged ‘american accent’
American English Pronunciation for Singaporeans
Last week I had many visitors here on the blog from Singapore. Thanks for visiting, I’m happy that you’ve found my site!
Keeping in mind that Singaporeans come from many language backgrounds, here are a few problems that Singaporean English speakers often have when they speak American English.
Syllable Structure and Stress
American English pronunciation patterns are based [...]
American English Pronunciation: Linking and Liasons
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 [...]
Reduced Speech in American Spoken English
I get a lot of questions from people about the reduced speech forms that they hear when they listen to American English conversations. Examples include: gonna, wanna and hafta.
Here is a link to Nina Weinstein’s Voice of America episode on reduced speech. Nina is the author of the book Whaddaya Say. You can see the [...]
When O is Pronounced With the /ɑ/ Sound
There are many English words spelled with the letter o in which the o is pronounced like /ɑ/ as in the word father.
To make the /ɑ/ sound relax your lips and your tongue. Your tongue should be low in your mouth when you articulate this sound. Here is a list of words in which the letter [...]
American English Pronunciation-The /ae/ Sound
One American English vowel sound that many non native speakers have problems with is the /ae/ sound as in the words: cat, bad and man.
To articulate this sound your tongue should be flat and very low in the front of your mouth. Your lips should be open. Many non native American English speakers us the [...]
American English Audio Course
If you are looking for an affordable American English audio course you may want to check out the short course offered by Accent Workshop. The course contains eight mp3 audio lessons with workbooks that you can use to study American English pronunciation at home or on the go.
I have not personally used the course but [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for French Speakers
One key feature of good spoken English is syllable stress. In spoken English one syllable is each word is stressed. The vowel in the stressed syllable is lengthened and pronounced with a higher pitch.
Spoken French does not employ syllable stress in this way. French syllables are evenly stressed until you reach the last syllable in [...]
American English Pronunciation: How to Pronounce Can & Can’t
One common pronunciation feature that is troublesome for non-native American English speakers is the pronunciation of the words can and can’t.
Here are a couple of tips that will help you with the pronunciation of these words.
1. When you say the word can’t you should give it extra stress or emphasis (like all negative auxiliary verbs).
2. [...]
American English Pronunciation-The Tapped T Sound
When you are listening to American English speakers you may have noticed that when the letter “t” is in the middle of a word it often has a /d/ sound. Pronunciation teachers call this sound the flap or the tapped T because when we make this sound we slightly flap or tap our tongues behind [...]
