If you learned to speak English in India, your pronunciation of American English will be affected by both your native language(s) and the Indian English Dialect. Whether you first spoke Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali or another language, it is likely that you have some of the following pronunciation patterns that contribute to your accent when speaking English.
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Want more help with your accent? Try our Online Course designed for Indian English speakers. Learn everything you need to improve your professional and personal communication in American English. Get a free trial today!
The pronunciation targets you can work on to improve your American Accent are listed below. You can purchase this module on the Subscriptions button or in our store.
Use the links to go to the video and practice materials for each sound. Practice in the order listed, as the most important patterns are listed first. You will need to purchase this module to access these links.
Step 1: W
can sound like v at the start of words
why sounds like vie
Step 2: V
can sound like W at the start of words
very sounds like wary
can sound like F at the ends of words
leave sounds like leaf
can sound like v at the start of words
why sounds like vie
Step 2: V
can sound like W at the start of words
very sounds like wary
can sound like F at the ends of words
leave sounds like leaf
Step 3: Z
can sound like s at the ends of words
was /wʌz/ sounds like wass
Step 4: D
can sound like “t” at the ends of words,
or be left off the ends of words
code sounds like coat,
or we’d sounds like we
Step 5: /ɪ/ “vowel ɪ”
can sound like vowel ee /i/
it sounds like eat
Step 6: TH /θ/ (as in “think, with”)
can sound like t at the start or ends of words
thing sounds like ting
with sounds like wit
Step 7: TH /ð/ (as in those, breathe)
can sound like d at the start or ends of words
those sounds like dose
breathe sounds like breed
Step 8: /ɹ, ɚ/ "vowel er"
can sound like vowel schwa /ə/
bird sounds like bud
Step 9: R
can be rolled
Step 10: P
can sound like “b” at the start of words
pay sounds like bay
Step 11: T
can sound like "d" at the start of words
to sounds like do
Step 12: ng
can have an extra g or k sound
thing sounds like think
Step 12: Consonant Clusters
can have sounds left off,
or the same error patterns as above
lived sounds like lift or live,
want sounds like wan,
words sounds like word or worts
Step 13: /e/ “vowel ay”
can sound like vowel eh /ɛ/
wait sounds like wet
Step 14: /æ/ “vowel a”
can sound like vowel ah /a/
cat sounds like cot
Step 15: /a/ “vowel ah”
can sound like vowel o /o/
not sounds like note
Step 16: /ʊ/ “vowel U”
can sound like vowel oo /u/
look sounds like Luke
Step 17: /ə/ “vowel schwa”
can sound like written letter rather than the American "uh" sound
between sounds like bee-tween
above sounds like ay-bove
Step 18: G
can sound like K at the ends of words
pig sounds like pick
Step 19: SH
can sound like S at the start of words
she sounds like see
Step 20: J
can sound like ch or zh at the ends of words
ridge sounds like rich or rizh
can sound like s at the ends of words
was /wʌz/ sounds like wass
Step 4: D
can sound like “t” at the ends of words,
or be left off the ends of words
code sounds like coat,
or we’d sounds like we
Step 5: /ɪ/ “vowel ɪ”
can sound like vowel ee /i/
it sounds like eat
Step 6: TH /θ/ (as in “think, with”)
can sound like t at the start or ends of words
thing sounds like ting
with sounds like wit
Step 7: TH /ð/ (as in those, breathe)
can sound like d at the start or ends of words
those sounds like dose
breathe sounds like breed
Step 8: /ɹ, ɚ/ "vowel er"
can sound like vowel schwa /ə/
bird sounds like bud
Step 9: R
can be rolled
Step 10: P
can sound like “b” at the start of words
pay sounds like bay
Step 11: T
can sound like "d" at the start of words
to sounds like do
Step 12: ng
can have an extra g or k sound
thing sounds like think
Step 12: Consonant Clusters
can have sounds left off,
or the same error patterns as above
lived sounds like lift or live,
want sounds like wan,
words sounds like word or worts
Step 13: /e/ “vowel ay”
can sound like vowel eh /ɛ/
wait sounds like wet
Step 14: /æ/ “vowel a”
can sound like vowel ah /a/
cat sounds like cot
Step 15: /a/ “vowel ah”
can sound like vowel o /o/
not sounds like note
Step 16: /ʊ/ “vowel U”
can sound like vowel oo /u/
look sounds like Luke
Step 17: /ə/ “vowel schwa”
can sound like written letter rather than the American "uh" sound
between sounds like bee-tween
above sounds like ay-bove
Step 18: G
can sound like K at the ends of words
pig sounds like pick
Step 19: SH
can sound like S at the start of words
she sounds like see
Step 20: J
can sound like ch or zh at the ends of words
ridge sounds like rich or rizh
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