American spoken English frequently causes problems for English speakers in the Philippines. Specific pronunciation problems include the schwa vowel sound, and voiced and voiceless sounds such as the /s/ & /z/ sounds, the /p/ & /b/ sounds and the /f/ & /v/ sounds. Here is an article from the Manila Bulletin that explains more about
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One of the most effective ways to improve your American English pronunciation is to use syllable stress correctly. The problem is that many students of spoken English don’t know the syllable stress patterns. Here is a general rule that will help you- Most two syllable nouns are stressed on the first syllable. Other two syllable
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I know that many readers of my blog are Brazilians who want to improve their American English pronunciation. I am pleased that so many of you visit here! Here are two common problems encountered by Brazilian Portuguese speakers who are trying to improve their pronunciation of American English. 1. The schwa sound /ə/ Brazilian Portuguese
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One of my students this week had a breakthrough moment when she realized that American English speakers do not pronounce every word clearly and distinctly and that using relaxed speech or “weak forms” is absolutely OK! In this text and audio from Voice of America Special English, Nina Weinstein, the author of a very popular
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Many of you have been asking me about the schwa vowel sound. Here is a brief description. The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound in North American English. The schwa sounds like “uh”. It is pronounced with the mouth very relaxed. The IPA symbol for schwa is /ə/. Below are some common words
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When you take a pronunciation or accent reduction class your instructor will teach you lots of new vocabulary to explain the pronunciation features that you must learn. Here is a mini pronunciation glossary with words that I taught the students in my accent reduction classes this month. 1. Reduced speech-The relaxed pronunciation of commonly used words and phrases
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