One of the most frequently occurring accent error patterns is using and "s" sound at the end of a word when you should be saying a "z" sound. Use the videos below to learn how to correct this error pattern, and how to know when letter s says "s" and when it says "z." Guidelines for pronouncing letter "s" at the ends of words: If you see an s or se at the end of the word, it is usually pronounce /z/. Check the dictionary to be sure. Spelled letters -ss, say /s/ examples: glass, grass, less, guess Spelled letters -ce, say /s/ examples: ice, place, space, face Spelled letter -s, Usually /z/ examples: was, is, goes, his, as, eyes (say "waz, iz, goez, hiz, az, eyez") Spelled letter -s, (sometimes s) examples: yes, us Spelled letters -se, Usually /z/ examples: those, use, these, please (say "thoz, uz, thez, pleaaz") Spelled letters -se, (sometimes s) examples: house, goose, lease
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If you speak Arabic, Indian English, French, Italian, Russian, Vietnamese, Tagalog, German, Dutch, Czech, Hungarian, Ilocano, Indonesian, Portuguese, Urdu, Romanian, Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Polish, Punjabi, Burmese, Bulgarian or Yoruba as your first language, you may have an error pattern when you say words in English that start with the letter P. Speakers from these language backgrounds will say the “p” sound as an unaspirated p, which means it does not release the stopped air. This makes it sound like a ‘b” to the American listener. For example, the word pie sounds more like bye. Try saying the words below. Put your hand in front of your mouth to make sure you release the stopped air. You should feel a puff of air on your hand.
For more recordings and video practice, subscribe to the full online practice site. An important step in being understood and sounding more American is learning to use American intonation. Intonation is the music of speech, the stress patterns or rhythms, the pitch changes, and the vocal tone. Intonation is complex, but there are some simple rules that you can learn which will help you understand and use correct American intonation. Word-Level Intonation For words with more than one syllable, we have an intonation pattern within the word. One syllable will have the main stress. This syllable will have a vowel sound which is held longer, has a higher pitch, and a clear vowel tone. Listen to the examples below. Can you hear which syllable has the stress?
Stress is marked with a small diacritic (a line similar to an apostrophe) before the stressed syllable. For example, on the word together, the stress falls on the second syllable "ge." It is easiest to listen to the word and repeat, following the stress pattern that you hear. For access to thousands of recordings of common words, technical and business words, and words sorted by sound and stress pattern, consider a subscription to our full online practice site. One final note on word stress - you are most likely using it correctly for most words. Error patterns are most likely to occur on words that you learned through reading rather than listening, as well as words that have a different stress pattern in the dialect of English that you first learned. For example, many dialects of English including Indian English and English spoken in many parts of Africa and Europe are influenced by British English, which has some differences from American English. For example, British English will stress the first syllable of French loan words, such as ballet and cafe; whereas American English will stress the second syllable, ballet and cafe.
Some languages have consistent stress patterns on words. For example, in Spanish, the last syllable is always stressed, unless the word ends with an s, n, or vowel, in which case the stress in on the second-to-last syllable. If your native language typically stresses the first syllable of a word, you may be likely to have errors on American English words that have syllable stress on the second or third syllables. You can find words sorted by syllable stress for your practice on our full site. New to this page? You may want to start here. One of the most commonly mispronounced sounds in American English is the "th" sound. This is likely due to the fact that the “th” phonemes are rare sounds, not found in most European and Asian languages. When we do not have a sound in our own language, the natural tendency to substitute a similar sound, such as “z,” “d” or “t.” Unfortunately, this has a big impact on accent, because the “th” sound is found in 20% of the 25 words we say the most in English. The most commonly used word, “the,” begins with this sound. So when we mispronounce “th,” it is very noticeable in everyday speech. Common mispronunciations of this sound involve improper tongue placement. To make the “th” sound, the tip of the tongue needs to rest between the teeth. Try making the “th” sound by itself. First make the “quiet th,” (/θ/), as in the words “think” and “with.” Then add voicing to make voiced “th,” (/ð/), as in “that,” “them” and “those.”
This site contains practice materials for you to improve your pronunciation and intonation in American English. The materials here are a small sample of the materials available on our subscription-based online practice site. Try them out, and if you find them helpful, consider purchasing a subscription to the full site. If you need help knowing what sounds and patterns you need to work on, you can complete a free speech screening here. For a free consultation to learn more about using this site, working with an accent coach, or how to work on your own, simply provide your contact information below. We will call you to arrange a free consultation via telephone or Skype. |
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