Welcome back! Have you checked out my Accent Reduction classes yet?
This is my fourth and final post explaining why you have an accent when you speak American English. Today I am going to write about sound substitution or approximation.
When they are speaking English, non native speakers often substitute a sound they are familiar with from their own language for American English sounds.
For example, Russian speakers often substitute the /v/ for /w/ so that the word wine sounds like vine. French speakers typically substitute a /z/ sound for the voiced th sound so that the word these sounds like zese. People from many languages substitute the /iy/ sound for the /I/ sound so that cheap sounds like chip.
There are many books and audio courses that focus on articulating vowel and consonant sounds correctly. I review the best selling products at my Confident Voice Bookstore.
Tags: Accent Reduction Techniques, American English Pronunciation, Books & CDs
