The Tricky Vowel sounds of IH vs. EEE Some non-native speakers do not use the IH correctly, and substitute the EEE. It can happen in the production of a lot of common words. Mixing up these sounds can be a bit embarrassing when mispronounced, e.g. “I’d like a PITCH”… oops do you mean “PEACH?” Or […]
The UH and the Unstressed Schwa
The UH and the Unstressed Schwa The “schwa” sound, written phonetically by speech-language pathologists as /ə/, is the most common sound in American English. It sounds like “UH” and it appears in the “unstressed” syllable of a word. If you are trying to improve your American English pronunciation, this sound is very important because at […]
Why are the concepts of Rhythm and Intonation so important to the non-native speaker of English?
Why are the concepts of Rhythm and Intonation so important to the non-native speaker of English? It is so very true that every language has it’s own rhythm, or beat. So when we transfer that familiar rhythm, or beat, to another language we happen to be learning, what the listener expects to hear is unfamiliar […]
Learn the Standard American Accent
Learn the Standard American Accent My non-native students tell me the same thing…Even though the feel they have a good understanding and use of the English language, they lack confidence in communicating with their colleagues, managers, supervisors, and customers in the workforce. Many of my students have been approached by their supervisor or manager to […]