Learning American English for Indian English speakers

Your native language background will affect your American English in terms of pronunciation, intonation, grammar and vocabulary.  Whether you first spoke Hindi, Gujarati, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi or another language, what you heard and learned first shapes your phonological development (your sound system for listening and speaking).  Indian English is a dialect of English and it might have been the first English you heard and spoke.  The patterns of Indian English will also affect your American English pronunciation and intonation.

Here are some things you might expect if you are a speaker of Indian English:

Pronunciation: You may have difficulty with the w and v sounds.  Your "th" sounds may sound like t or d.  You may have trouble with the sounds at the ends of words, especially b, d, g, ng, and z.  Your r sounds might be rolled at the beginnings of words and might sound like "uh" in the middle and at the ends of words.  You might use pure vowels "ah, o, oo, ay and ee" and have trouble with American short vowels and diphthongs (gliding from one vowel to another).

Intonation: While you are likely able to understand American Intonation and how different patterns change the meaning of a sentence, you might speak with intonation that is difficult for the American listener to understand.  This could include stressing the incorrect word in a sentence or syllable in a word.

Rate: You might feel that speaking quickly is a more American style, or that you will be perceived as more intelligent if you speak faster.  In reality, speaking too quickly can lead to more pronunciation and intonation errors.  More important than a fast rate is using appropriate suprasegmentals, such as linking, blending and liaisons between words.

Understanding what your accent is comprised of is the first step in making changes to increase how well you are understood when speaking American English.  Take a free screening for information about your accent here.

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