English Pronunciation
The main reasons why speaking English is so hard (is it...?)
This special pronunciation section will explain to you why English is hard to speak correctly and give you some help on improving your pronunciation. These are the main reasons why English is so hard. There is a lesson for each one.
Note that the pronunciation examples are in American English accent. In the last lesson you will find American and British English examples.
§ Many sounds in English are not in your native language. For example, the 'th' sound and the 'r' sound are difficult for many speakers.
§ Combinations of sounds can be hard to pronounce. These include 'consonant clusters'.
§ Syllable structure can vary a lot. In many languages the structure is a lot simpler, for example: Consonant Vowel Consonant Vowel ...
§ Words are not pronounced the way they are spelt.
§ You must get the stress on the correct syllable in a word or it will not sound correct.
§ Pitch and loudness change the meaning of sentences.
§ Words change their pronunciation when in a sentence.
§ American and British accents are different but both considered correct
These lessons are sponsored by: EyeSpeak English
Lesson One: Many Sounds In English Are Not In Your Native Language
The main reasons why speaking English is so hard
This special pronunciation section will explain to you why English is hard to speak correctly and give you some help on improving your pronunciation. These are the main reasons why English is so hard. There is a lesson for each one.
Note that the pronunciation examples are in American English accent. In the last lesson you will find American and British English examples.
It is likely that some of the sounds that are common in English are not used in your native language. The most common ones are 'r' as in 'right', 'l' as in 'light' and the 'th' sound as in 'thing'. The 'th' sound, where your tongue is between your teeth is uncommon in other languages.
The other sounds that you will most likely find difficult are the 'moving vowel' sounds or "diphthongs".
Pronouncing Dipthongs
Here are some examples of diphtongs:
hi 
price eye by
The vowel sound in these words changes as you say them, it starts off as 'a' and becomes 'e' Here is a picture showing the starting and finishing mouth positions:
It is very common for students learning English to have difficulty making both sounds. Many students pronounce just one one of these sounds, either the starting 'a' sound or the finishing 'I' sound. To speak well and be understood, you need to make both sounds.
Here is another example of a diphthong:
This is the sound in words like
'boat' 'goat' and 'coat'
Your tongue needs to start off near the middle of your mouth, with your mouth open. Then your tongue needs to move back and up slightly at the same time as you close your lips. Your lips also need to be 'rounded' slightly.
Here is a technique you can use to feel the difference in different mouth shapes:
1. Start by putting your finger on your lips like you are saying 'shhhhh' and telling someone to be quiet. (Perhaps you don't make this gesture in your culture, or it is rude to do so. Actually, it can be a little rude in European cultures also, so you need to use it with care. You're most likely to see it among audiences at live shows, at the movie theatre, or in the library if someone is rudely talking.)
2. Hold your finger still - don't move it when your lips move. Now make an 'ee' sound. You should feel your lips come back to be flat against your teeth. Your finger should now not be touching your lips.
3. Now make an 'au' sound sticking your lips out. You should feel your finger be pushed out, away from your mouth. This is what 'rounding' your lips means.
4. Now say the word 'goat' with your finger touching your lips, and check that your lips become rounded at the end of the vowel sound.
5. Well done! You are probably making the vowel sound correctly now.
As you know, the 'th' sound can also be difficult. Here is how you need to make the 'th' sound:
Can you see how your tongue needs to between your teeth so that someone watching you can actually see the tip of it? Many people find this strange to do, but if you do not "poke your tongue out" a little in this way, you will not pronounce the sound correctly.
Pronouncing The "th" Sound In English.
The 'th' sound is quite common in English and found wherever the letters 'th' are found together. Here are two common examples for you:
Mouth Thumb
Usually, It's Better To Order "Rice" Than "Lice".
The Difference Between The "r" And "l" Sounds.
The R and L Tongue Positions
The images above illustrate the difficulty in distinguishing the two tongue positions; however there are important differences:
For 'r':
§ Your tongue curls up around the edges, and you blow air through the middle of your tongue.
§ The top part of your tongue does not touch the top of your mouth.
§ Your lips should be slightly rounded.
For 'l':
§ The top of your tongue should touch the top of your mouth.
§ Your lips should not be rounded
Lesson Two: Combinations Of Sounds That Are Not In Your Native Language
You most likely know how to say these sounds: 'm' 'p', 's' and 'd'. However do you know how to say them when they are together? For example have you ever had to say a word like 'glimpsed'
There are FOUR consonants in a row at the end of this word, 'mpsd'. The 'e' is not a vowel. Even though 'glimpsed' has seven sounds in it, it is only ONE syllable!
Here are some common consonant clusters and examples:
| Cluster | Examples | |||||
| br | bridge |
| abrupt |
| bright |
|
| bd | absorbed |
| bribed |
| disturbed |
|
| fs | cliffs |
| beliefs |
| ||
| ft | craft |
| shaft |
| left |
|
| mp | bump |
| lump |
| camp |
|
| pt | egypt |
| except |
| suspect |
|
| ths | baths |
| maths |
| paths |
|
| nth | month |
| tenth |
| seventh |
|
| nd | friend |
| land |
| hand |
|
| sp | sponge |
| clasp |
| lisp |
|
| st | start |
| last |
| sting |
|
| lmd | filmed |
| ||||
| lk | milk |
| silk |
| ||
| str | strength |
| destroy |
| strip |
|
| vs | behaves |
| waves |
| valves |
|
You need to know that when you are saying words with consonant clusters in them it is very important that you say all the consonants as one syllable. A mistake often made by Asian speakers among others is to put them into extra syllables. For example:
'glimpsed' could become 'glimp sid'
or 'bribed' could become 'brib id'
This does not sound correct.
Finally here is an exercise to let you know when you have really mastered this. Try saying the following:
'The sixth twisty crisp'
Lesson Three: Syllable Structure Can Vary A Lot
Another reason English is so hard to pronounce correctly is because of its 'syllable structure'. In many languages, especially Asian languages such as Japanese and Chinese, syllables very often go:
Consonant - Vowel - Consonant - Vowel
This means that English words are often said this way.
For example, the word 'hot dog'
Has structure:
consonant vowel consonant consonant vowel consonant
This is shown here, with C standing for consonant and V standing for vowel
| Hot | | dog |
| CVC | | CVC |
Now this can often be said wrong:
| Ho | ta | | do | ga |
| CV | CV | | CV | CV |
Notice how there are now four vowels instead of two.
This often happens with English words that end in a special type of consonant called a 'stop' consonant. 'stop' consonants are sounds like b, d, g, p, t, k and here are some words that end in them:
Bed cab bag cat cap brick
It is important that you do not put an extra vowel at the end, for example some people will say 'bed' like 'bed a' however this is wrong.
Syllable structure can get quite difficult in English, for example:
'conscientious' has this structure
| Con | sci | en | tious |
| CVC | CV | VC | CVC |
And 'glimpsed' like before, is like this:
| Glimpsed |
| C C V C C C C |
This has two consonants, then one vowel, then four consonants in a row.
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