Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet? Non-native English speakers think that they should pronounce each word, sound and syllable clearly and distinctly but that’s not how spoken English works.
Americans use reduced vowels and speech when they talk. They do not say every sound and syllable clearly and distinctly.
Look at the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘learn american accent’
American English- Using Reduced Speech
Learn the Intonation of English with American Accent Training
This week on the blog there have been a lot of you looking for information on American English intonation patterns.
One of the best books for learning and practicing the rhythms and intonations of spoken American English is Ann Cook’s American Accent Training.
American Accent Training includes a book plus 5 CDs that you can use to [...]
American English Intonation Patterns
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 to use audio or books to practice this skill.
One of the [...]
Accent Reduction Techniques for Spanish Speakers
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 typically end in a consonant clusters but English words frequently do. [...]
The Schwa + /r/ Sound
The schwa + r sound /ɚ/ is frequently a confusing feature of American English pronunciation.
In many situations when a vowel is followed by an /r/, only the /r/ sound is heard. The vowel sound isn’t really heard at all! This is called the schwa + r /ɚ/.
The letter combinations or, er, ur [...]
Improve Your English Pronunciation with Popular Songs
Using songs is an effective and fun way to improve your spoken English. This is a fun and energizing way to improve both listening and pronunciation.
One thing that I like to do in my American English pronunciation classes is sing popular songs with the students. This helps them with English rhythm, linking and intonation.
Carolyn Graham’s [...]
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 [...]
Pronunciation of the Vowel Combination ou
Continuing on my theme of American English vowels I’m going to write briefly on the pronunciation of the vowel combination ou.
This vowel combination can be pronounced 3 ways in American English. Here are some examples.
ou can be pronounced like /oʊ/
shoulder
soul
though
doughnut
although
ou can be pronounced like schwa /ə/
cousin
enough
country
tough
couple
ou can be pronounced like /aʊ/
loud
sound
south
found
house
If you want to learn [...]
English Audio Lesson: Reduced Speech
Several of my students tell me that they have trouble understanding the spoken English of native speakers. This is not at all unusual.
One reason that native English speakers are difficult to understand is because they often use reduced speech. When native speakers use reduced speech the words seem to run together and this can make [...]
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 [...]
