Learning the American Accent: How to pronounce "H."

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.

have    ave
he         E
how    ow
hate    ate
heat    eat
hi           I
his         is
hey        A
hoe       O

hold    old
heel    eel
heart    art
hedge    edge
had    ad
hand    and
has     as
hear    ear
hair       air