Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? Spanish speakers frequently drop the consonant sounds at the ends of words. This can cause your speech to sound both accented and grammatically incorrect.
If you are a Spanish speaker, here is one technique you can use to reduce your accent.
Words in Spanish do not [...]
Posts Tagged ‘American English Consonant Sounds’
Accent Reduction Techniques for Spanish Speakers
American English Pronunciation Tip-Don’t Drop Word Final Sounds!
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 [...]
EyeSpeak English Pronunciation Software
Lots of people write to ask me about English pronunciation software. One that has recently come to my attention is called EyeSpeak English.
This program teaches English pronunciation through carefully designed content. Words build to sentences using common everyday themes that contain the language you need to know to speak English effectively with friends and in [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for Speakers of Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole speakers and French speakers have some of the same problems with spoken English.
One of these is the tendency to delete the /h/ sound at the beginning of words. Word initial /h/ is almost always pronounced in American English. That means that the /h/ must be articulated clearly in words such as: hat, here, [...]
American English Pronunciation: How to Make the /n/ & /l/ Sounds
Chinese speakers from some dialects tend to confuse word medial and word final /l/ & /n/ sounds when they are speaking English. This causes communication problems and contributes to your accent.
The /n/ & /l/ sounds are articulated in almost the same manner as the tongue touches behind the tooth ridge. The tongue is a bit [...]
American English Pronunciation: The Sounds of X
The letter X has two pronunciations in American English. Here is the first one. When X is followed by a stressed vowel it is pronounced like /gz/.
Here are a few examples:
1. exAct→egzact
2. exActly→egzactly
3. exAmple→egzample
4. exAm→egzam
5. exAmine→egzamine
When an X is followed by a consonant sound it is pronounced like /ks/.
1. exTreme→ekstreme
2. exTinguish→ekstinguish
3. exPect→ekspect
4. contexT-contekst
5. nexT→nekst
When the letter X is at the end of a [...]
American English Pronunciation: The R & L Sounds
In spoken American English both the /r/ & /l/ sounds are called “liquids”. That’s because the air stream moves around the tongue in an unobstructed manner. Both the /r/ & /l/ sounds are voiced so you should feel a vibration in your throat when you say them.
When you make the light /l/ sound, the tongue [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for Chinese Speakers
Many Chinese speakers have problems pronouncing the /r/ sound in American English. Some of my Chinese students don’t say the /r/ sound at the end of words at all and that really contributes to their accent!
Sometimes they say the /r/ sound too softly when it comes before another consonant as in the words; forward, learn and [...]
American English Pronunciation Videos
One of the teachers at the school where I teach here in Washington, DC just told me about a website with some good American English pronunciation videos. The website is called ugoeigo.com (you go I go) and it features videos that teach you how to make these English sounds: /p/ & /b/, /f/ & /v/, [...]
American English Pronunciation Problems for French Speakers
Like many people I love the sound of the French language and I wish that I could speak it better!
One difference between American English pronunciation and French pronunciation is that in English we always pronounce s at the end of a word. French students learning English often forget to say that sound.
You must pronounce word [...]
