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How to sound American:  Linking consonants to Vowels

10/27/2015

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When we speak English fluently, we often link between words.  There are many types of linking.  We addressed consonant to consonant linking here.  Now we will turn to consonant to vowel linking.
When a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word with a vowel, we often run the words together.  It almost sounds like the consonant jumps to the next word.  For example, when we say “thank you,”  it sounds more like “thang q.”
"Thank you" sounds like thang q.
Listen to the phrases below.  First they are pronounced separately, then linked.  Practice running the words together for a more natural, American-sounding pronunciation.  Special note: when the sound “t” is linked to a vowel, it becomes a “d” sound.  So “it is” sounds more like “ih diz.”
stop it     sounds like stah pit
web ex    sounds like weh bex
it is          sounds like ih diz
hot out    sounds like ha doubt
could I?    sounds like cuh die
pig out     sounds like pih gout
pick a      sounds like pih kuh
if I           sounds like ih fi
have any   sounds like ha veny
with it      sounds like wih thit
guess again  sounds like geh sagain
was it       sounds like wuh zit
wish I       sounds like wih shy
each and  sounds like ee chand
edge of     sounds like eh juv
game of    sounds like gay muv
on every    sounds like ah nevery
feel it         sounds like fee lit
Consonant to vowel linking.  Listen and repeat to practice.
For more practice recordings, consider purchasing a subscription to our full online practice site.
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Learning American Accent:  Linking words, consonant to consonant

10/16/2015

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When we speak English fluently, we often link between words.  There are many types of linking.  We will address consonant to consonant linking first.

When the consonant sound at the end of a word is the same sound that starts the next word, we pronounce the consonant only once if it is a continuant sound.  Continuants can be held, like s can be held out: sssssssss.  Stopped sounds cannot be held, for example p cannot be drawn out to ppppp.

Continuant consonants include f, v, s, z, th, sh, m, n, l and r.
examples: 
    if friends  sounds like  iffriends 

    have very sounds like havvery   

    bus station sounds like busstation  
 
    has zero sounds like hazzero    
  
    with thought sounds like withought  
 
    wish she sounds like wishee       
 
    I’m moving sounds like I’mmoving  

    clean knife sounds like cleannife
  
    feel like sounds like feellike     
  
    or red sounds like orred      
These are not run together as one word so much as there is not a distinct stop to the ending consonant and start of the beginning consonant.

When the ending consonant is a stopped consonant, we also link to the next consonant, but instead of continuing the sound into the next sound, we stop the consonant and don’t release the air.  So when we say the word “stop” by itself, the p has a puff of air following it.  When we say the phrase “stop that,”  we stop our p sound but don’t release the puff of air.  You can listen to the recordings of the examples to hear these phrases unlinked and linked.

Stopped consonants include:  p, b, t, d, k, g
examples:
stop pointing  
    
web browser      

not today     

did do          

like candy       

big game   

For more practice recordings, consider purchasing a subscription to our full online practice site.
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How to Pronounce American English Vowel Sounds

10/9/2015

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One aspect all accents share is a tendency to make errors when pronouncing American English vowels.  The patterns of pronunciation are influenced by the vowel system in your native language.  Vowels are especially difficult due to the fact that the letters we use to represent vowel sounds are inconsistent and do not provide us with a means for describing the sounds.

A useful way to gain understanding of American English vowels is to look at how they are formed in the mouth.  The position of the tongue, both front-to-back and high-to-low, is the primary factor in vowel shaping.  In addition, we use rounded or non-rounded lips, and tense or lax lip and facial muscles.  The chart below shows these elements for each of the vowel sounds.  Click on the symbols to hear the vowel sounds.
Picture
In the top left corner of the chart, we find /i/, or "Vowel ee," as in eat.  This vowel has tense lips, a high front tongue and no lip rounding.  Notice that /ɪ/, "Vowel ɪ," as in it, also has a high front tongue, but is slightly lower and further back than vowel ee.  The lips and face are more relaxed (less of a smile) for this sound.  Because they are made in a similar way and sound similar, many people substitute vowel ee for vowel ɪ.  Their native language may not contain vowel ɪ, and vowel ee is the closest vowel.  You can read more about producing these two sounds here, and watch a video. You can practice words with these sounds using free online audio recordings here.

The diagram above uses IPA symbols to represent the sounds.  This website uses a combination of IPA symbols and our own naming system for the vowel sounds.  Below is a list of the vowels, their IPA symbol and name, and example words and spellings.  Click on the IPA symbol or vowel name to hear the vowel sound and a sample word. For more examples of common words with these vowels and recordings to practice, check out our online courses.
/IPA symbol

/i/

/ɪ/

/eɪ/

/ɛ/

/æ/

/ʌ, ə/

/u/

/ʊ/

/o/

/ɔ/

/ɑ/

/ə˞/
Vowel Name


vowel ee

vowel ɪ

vowel ay

vowel eh


vowel a

vowel schwa

vowel oo

vowel U

vowel o

vowel aw

vowel ah

Vowel er


Spelling


ee, e,ea, y,ey, ie,i, ei, eo

i, o, u, ui, y

a, eigh, aigh, ay, et, ei, au, ea, ey

e, ea, ie, ai, a, eo


a, ai

a, e, i, o, u,  other vowel combinations

oo, ue, u, oe, ough, ui, o, ou

oo, u, ou, o

o, oe, ow, ough, eau, ew

a, aw, au, augh, ough

o, a,

er, or, ur, ear


Sample Words

see, me, seat, baby, key, brief, ski, receive, people

is, women, business, build, hymn

name, eight, straight, may, bouquet, vein, gauge, break, they
met, bread, friend, said, many, leopard

that, plaid

about, below, participate, money, us

spoon, blue, flute, shoe, through, fruit, who, group
good, bush, would, wolf

no, toe, low, although, beau, sew

ball, straw, taut, taught, bought

not, father

her, word, turn, earn


In addition to these single vowel sounds, or monophthongs, we also slide from one vowel to the next in some words.  These 2-vowel slides are called diphthongs, and are represented in the graphic below by the arrows pointing from the first vowel in the slide to the second.  Also included here are words with each of the vowels.  You can listen to these vowels below.
Picture
Single vowel sound words
Diphthongs
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Learning the American Accent:  Common American Expressions and Idioms

10/9/2015

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Picture



Balance the books.
Picture
When you are working on your improving your American English, you may notice that Americans frequently use idioms, or expressions that mean something other than their literal meaning.  Using idioms to express yourself can make your speech sound more naturally American.  Here are some common idioms and their meaning.  You can listen to the recording and practice your pronunciation while you learn some new expressions.
Ball Park:  Give an estimate.  "I'd ball park their net worth at around $10 million."
Bank on it:  Count on it.  "We're banking on the deal going through."
By a long shot: 
By a big difference.  "The estimate was off by a long shot."
Come on too strong: 
To overwhelm by strong language or personality.  "I think he came on too strong in the first meeting."
Take it at face value:  To take something at face value is to not look for a hidden meaning.  "They took the email at face value."
In the red:  To be unprofitable or losing money.  "We've been in the red since the drop in stock prices."
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