Archive for spanish speakers

American English: How to Pronounce Can & Can’t

One common pronunciation problem  for non-native American English speakers is the pronunciation of the words can and can’t. Here are a couple of accent tips that will help you pronounce these words correctly. 1. When you say the word can’t you should give it extra stress or emphasis (like all negative auxiliary verbs). 2. The

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American English:The Sounds of ed

Several of the students that I work with in my accent reduction coaching program have trouble hearing the ed that comes at the end of past tense verbs. One reason why they are having this problems is that ed does not always sound like /ed/. Sometimes ed sounds like /d/ and sometimes it sounds like

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Accent Reduction Tips for Spanish Speakers

Image via Wikipedia One of the most problematic American English vowel sounds for Spanish speakers is the /iy/ sound as in the words cheap, meet & piece. Spanish speakers often pronounce this sound as /ɪ/ so that: cheap sounds like chip meet sounds like mit piece sounds like piss To articulate the /iy/ sound you

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American English Pronunciation-Vowels /iy/ & /I/

In my pronunciation and accent reduction classes I work with many people who speak Spanish and Filipino as their first language. One American English vowel sound that both these groups have trouble pronouncing is the /iy/ sound as in the word “sheep”. They often confuse this sound with the /I/ vowel sound as in the

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