One of the most common errors for those learning the American accent is the vowel in the words it and him, referred to on this site as “Vowel I" or /ɪ/. This sound is frequently confused with the vowel in the words eat and seem, “Vowel ee or /i/.” These two sounds are similar, but Vowel ee /i/ has a more exaggerated smile posture for the lips, and the front of the tongue is slightly higher in the mouth. Vowel ee /i/ is a tense vowel, meaning that the muscles in the face are engaged. Vowel I /ɪ/ is a lax vowel, meaning the lips and face need to be relaxed. Practice going from one sound to the next to feel the different postures for your lips and tongue. Use the video to help you. One way to solidify the distinction is to practice with minimal pairs, or words that differ only by this vowel sound. Listen to the following sets of words, and practice making a clear contrast between vowel ee /i/ and vowel ɪ. For even more practice, use these short phrases which contrast the ee and I vowel sounds.
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Some English speakers leave off the “h” sound at the beginnings of words. This is typical of some British English accents, Nigerian English, speakers in Australia and New Zealand, Caribbean English and some Indian English accents. The American accent almost always pronounces the “h” sound, with a puff of air. You can hold your hand in front of your mouth to feel whether the air is flowing if you’re not sure whether you’re making this sound or not. One way to practice adding this sound to your words if your accent tends to leave it off is to say pairs of words with and without initial h. Listen to the words below. Say each pair, making a clear distinction between the word with the “h” and the word without. Then try the rest of the list for extra practice.
When the letters “ng” are together at the ends of words, they sound different than when they are in the middle of the word. In the middle of the word, they are usually pronouncing with the “ng” sound, plus a hard “g” to start the next syllable. For example, the words hunger and finger can be broken into two syllables: hung+ger and fing+ger. At the ends of words, however, the “ng” combination only makes the single sound “ng.” A common accent error in American English is to add an extra sound to the end of ng, similar to ng in the middle of words. This makes words sound like thingk or doingg, and is a noticeable error. To change this accent pattern, try listening to the following pairs of words. Notice how the ng words do not have a stopped k or g sound at the end. Next, try saying the words, making a distinct difference between the nk word and the ng word.
Many words in English begin with an “s-blend,” which is when the letter s is followed by another consonant. For example, the words state, space, school, and special all begin with s-blends. Some non-native speakers of English have difficulty with combining consonants because they don’t use this construction in their native language. In Spanish, words with these sounds begin with an “e,” such as especial, escuela, and estado. Consequently, a common accent pattern in English is to add an additional “e” sound before s-blend words. Listen to the following pairs of words. Note that the words are similar, but the Spanish word has and "es" and the English word has only "s."
To avoid this problem, start by practicing s-blend words alone. Then slowly add words before your s-blend word, being careful to start your target word with an “s,” not an “es.” It might help you to draw out the “s” sound a little longer. After saying s-blend words by themselves, slowly add more words to your phrase until you are able to say the s-blend word correctly in a sentences. For example, use the recording below to try this exercise:
special special service provide special service we will provide special service Words that end in “n” and “ng” can be difficult for some people to differentiate, especially those whose native language is Mandarin. Both sounds are made by closing off the path of the air in the mouth. The difference is that the "n" sound is made with the tip and blade of the tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth at the ridge behind the teeth (see illustrations below) and the "ng" sound is made with the back of the tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth in the middle back of the palate. Try saying "t" and then "n" to feel the location of the tongue in the front of the mouth. Now try saying "k" and then "ng" to feel the tongue in the back of the mouth. Listen to the recording below, and try saying the words with contrasting sounds at the end. Want to see more video tips? Subscribe to our free online practice.
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