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TIPS
for International Speakers of English
PRONUNCIATION TIPS
OUT OF HUNDREDS OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION 'MISTAKES,' EACH INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER IS MAKING ONLY FIVE OR SIX-THE SOUNDS NOT COMMON TO HIS OR HER NATIVE LANGUAGE-HUNDREDS OF TIMES.
Chances are your English is much better than it may sound. Foreign speakers are pronouncing the new sounds as correctly as you hear them and as correctly as the habits of your native language allow. The problem is that your native accent is filtering and distorting the sounds of English in accordance with its own patterns.
Learning English takes years of study. However, correcting pronunciation takes only a few months. Neglecting pronunciation is like going to a lot of trouble to dress appropriately, but walking out the door in your slippers. Correcting pronunciation is a one-time-only task. Soon the new habits become the new you-and it may be a very interesting experience to hear yourself sounding like a native speaker.
The process begins with identifying your particular deviations from standard English. First you need to be able to hear the correct sounds. Then you need to use the muscles of the mouth, tongue and jaw to physically produce the sounds. Since these muscles have not been used in precisely these combinations before, it's very much like doing physical exercise-building strength and developing coordination and rhythm. As with exercise, repetition then helps establish the improvements and integrate them into your natural speech.
ESL schools generally don't include pronunciation training-an odd oversight. Audio-tapes can be helpful in pronunciation correction, but it's more effective to arrange assistance with a native speaker who can provide feedback. Of course, the most efficient method is to work with a trained professional. Improving pronunciation makes communication more successful (especially on the telephone), allows people to get a more accurate impression of your intelligence, abilities and character, and builds self-esteem and confidence.
WHATEVER WAY YOU DO IT, INVESTING TIME AND EFFORT IN CORRECTING PRONUNCIATION WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE USING THE ENGLISH YOU ALREADY KNOW.
CHARACTERISTIC SOUNDS OF ENGLISH
There are some sounds that are virtually unique to English, with which speakers from other language groups have varying degrees of difficulty. Unlike grammar and vocabulary-building, pronunciation is not something that can be practiced without assistance. Arrange to work with a native speaker. Audio tapes can also be very useful.
TH (both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’), as in:
thank / distinct from tank
tank / distinct from sank
than / distinct from Dan
then / distinct from Zen
UH, as in mother, money, lunch, under
AHH, as in pack distinct from peck
V, as in victory (not ‘W’ as in wick or ‘B’ as in bicker)
long ‘E’ distinct from short ‘I’ (the difference between beat and bit)
long ‘O’, as in own, component, San Francisco
Reminder: ‘long’ vowels are pronounced exactly the same the letter itself:
A = as in able
E = as in equal
I = as in ice
O = as in open
U = as in university
(All other pronunciations of these letters are ‘short.’)
THESE ARE THE TOP MOST TYPICAL SOUNDS OF ENGLISH. IF ANY OF THESE SOUNDS IS INCORRECT, IT IS IMMEDIATELY NOTICED. BECAUSE THEY ARE CHARACTERISTIC AND OCCUR SO FREQUENTLY IN ENGLISH, TIME SPENT MASTERING THESE SOUNDS WILL RESULT IN EXPONENTIAL IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH.
ENGLISH SPELLING, CHALLENGED BY ITS ORIGINS IN BOTH GERMAN AND FRENCH AND BY DIALECTICAL VARIATIONS THROUGH REGIONS AND CENTURIES, IS PRESENTLY, IN THE WORDS OF ONE SCHOLAR: "QUITE SERIOUSLY UNRELATED TO PRONUNCIATION."
William Caxton introduced the printing press into England around 1476. Now that spoken English would be rendered in mass-produced 'hard copy,' it was necessary to choose from the several rival dialects of the time. The decision to reproduce the sound of London English was a major contribution to establishing a universal standard for the spelling of the written language. Pronunciation would subsequently change, especially in regard to vowel sounds, but spelling was now (more or less) fixed.
Small dictionaries were produced in the following years, and recommendations concerning spelling continued to be disputed. Then, in 1755, after laboring for nine years, Samuel Johnson finally published a definitive dictionary of the English language containing 40,000 words. However, Johnson himself stated in the preface that attempting to fix language to an unchanging standard was a hopeless task. Subsequently, James Murray was to produce the Oxford English Dictionary (of approximately 500,000 words) and, in the United States, Noah Webster would produce, in 1828, An American Dictionary of the English Language. Webster's dictionary confirmed certain changes in the American spelling of English-our changing to or (as in color), re changing to er (as in theater), ogue changing to og (as in catalog), etc. A steady stream of words introduced from other languages with different spelling conventions has also contributed to variations in English spelling.
Reformulating the spelling of English to conform with local pronunciation may be temporary but nevertheless desirable for cultural reasons. For instance, English in the Caribbean has been impacted by the vicissitudes of African slavery and European colonization, effecting both word order and spelling. For example, with such adjustment, NO RIGHT TURN would be rendered in Jamaican Creole as NO TON RAIT. This may be convenient for present inhabitants, but not for visitors (or future inhabitants)-suggesting that such innovation may be better for poetry than road signs.
THUS IT IS THAT FOREIGN SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH FACE THE DAUNTING TASK OF MASTERING ENGLISH SPELLING. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF WORDS FOLLOW STANDARD CONVENTIONS. AS FOR THE REMAINING ANOMALIES (LIKE GH IN 'RIGHT'), IN TIME, MOST OF THEM WILL ALSO BECOME CLEAR.
WHILE YOU STRUGGLE WITH UNFAMILIAR SPELLINGS THAT CROP UP FROM TIME TO TIME, IT MAY AMUSE YOU TO KEEP IN MIND THAT, THOUGH THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE MAY BE FIXED, SPOKEN ENGLISH WILL CONTINUE TO CHANGE-EVEN SPELLINGS WHICH ACCURATELY REFLECT PRONUNCIATION TODAY MAY NOT IN YEARS TO COME.
SPELLING AS A GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION
With so many inconsistencies and exceptions to the rules, it may seem almost a joke to suggest that spelling can function as a guide to English pronunciation. However, the spelling of English words can sometimes provide helpful clues in regard to how they sound.
Here are a few such hints.
The function of a final ‘e’ in changing the preceding vowel from short to long—
For example:
mop (to wash a floor/a tool for washing floors) is pronounced with a short vowel ‘o’, as in ‘top’)
becomes
mope (to be unhappy or someone who is unhappy) is pronounced with a long vowel ‘o’—like the letter ‘O’ itself, as in ‘hope’)
Similarly:
kit (a set of parts or tools) is pronounced with a short vowel ‘i’, as in ‘sit’)
becomes
kite (a flying sail) is pronounced with a long vowel ‘i’—like the letter ‘I’ itself, as in ‘bite’)
and
fat (a component of animal or vegetable tissue, overweight) is pronounced with a short vowel ‘a’)
becomes
fate (a force believed to determine events) is pronounced with a long vowel ‘a’—like the letter ‘A’ itself, as in ‘date’)
Another hint:
Doubling the final consonant, when adding a suffix, preserves
the preceding short vowel—
For instance:
mop becomes mopping to preserve the short vowel ‘o’; otherwise, the word would be moping (long ‘o’), meaning to be sad.
tap becomes tapping to preserve the short vowel ‘a’; otherwise, the word would be taping (long ‘a’), meaning to tape.
rid (to remove) becomes ridding to preserve the short vowel ‘i’; otherwise, the word would be riding (long ‘i’), meaning to ride.
One more:
The letter ‘y’ at the end of a word typically changes to ‘i’ when a suffix (or final ‘es’) is added—in other words, a final ‘y’ and a medial (middle) ‘i’ are virtually the same letter and are pronounced the same.
For example:
‘portray’ becomes ‘portrait’
‘happy’ becomes ‘happiness’
‘try’ becomes tries
THOUGH THE SCHOLAR WAS RIGHT ABOUT ENGLISH SPELLING BEING “QUITE SERIOUSLY UNRELATED TO PRONUNCIATION,” THESE HINTS CAN NEVERTHELESS BE USEFUL TO INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO NEGOTIATE HOW TO PRONOUNCE ENGLISH WORDS.
DUAL PRONUNCIATION
Due to the complex history of English, and the diversity of regional dialects in the U.S., many words have come to have two ways of being pronounced, both of which are correct.
The following are some of them:
either / neither (long ‘E’ as in ‘feet’)
either / neither (long ‘I’ as in ‘tie’)
often (sounds like ‘off-en’)
often (sounds like ‘off-ten’)
roof (rhymes with ‘spoof’)
roof (rhymes with ‘buff’)
route (rhymes with ‘boot’)
route (rhymes with ‘out’)
gala (short ‘a’ as in ‘cat’)
gala (long ‘A’ as in ‘late’)
apricot (short ‘a’ as in ‘at’)
apricot (long ‘A’ as in ‘ate’)
scenario (short ‘a’ as in ‘cat’)
scenario (short ‘a’ as in ‘father’)
data / datum (short ‘a’ as in ‘cat’)
data / datum (long ‘A’ as in ‘late’)
consortium (sounds like ‘consor-shee-um’)
consortium (sounds like ‘consor-tee-um’)
associate (sounds like ‘asso-shee-ate’)
associate (sounds like ‘asso-see-ate’)
toward / towards (both acceptable)
afterward / afterwards (both acceptable)
backward / backwards (both acceptable)
upward / upwards (both acceptable)
downward / downwards (both acceptable)
You’ll find that with many words with dual pronunciation, one of them is French. For example:
envelope (sounds like ‘N-velope’)
envelope (sounds like ‘AHN-velope’)
en route (sounds like ‘N-route’)
en route (sounds like ‘AHN-route’)
Determining which of the dual pronunciations is the one to use depends on several factors. In conversation, it simplifies things, and is most courteous, to pronounce the word the same way as the person with whom you are speaking—if he or she says ‘apricot’ with a short ‘a’, just do the same. If you say ‘either’ with a long ‘E’, pronounce ‘neither’ with a long ‘E’ also; likewise if using a long ‘I’ for one, use a long ‘I’ for the other. In general, choose the pronunciation that is most comfortable for you, or which sounds best in the sentence. Pronounce the same word the same way throughout the same conversation, presentation or speech.
AS YOUR HEARING OF ENGLISH CONTINUES TO IMPROVE, YOU’LL CATCH THESE PRONUNCIATION CHOICES AND BE ABLE TO USE THEM AS FLEXIBLY AS NATIVE SPEAKERS.
IT MAY SEEM RUDIMENTARY TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VOWELS AND CONSONANTS. YET, SURPRISING AS IT IS, INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS OFTEN LEARN ENGLISH WITHOUT BEING CLEAR ABOUT WHAT VOWELS ARE, OR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LONG AND SHORT VOWEL SOUNDS.
The standard vowels of English are A E I O and U. Simply put, the definition of a vowel, and what these five letters have in common, is that in pronouncing them no friction is produced. In other words, in making these sounds nothing touches-neither lips, tongue nor teeth. Pronouncing the remaining 21 consonants involves some kind of contact.
Vowels are extremely important because they give English words their most prominent characteristic sound.
There are two basic categories of vowel sounds-long and short. 'Long vowels' are pronounced exactly the same as the name of the letter itself: A E I O U. Therefore, there is only one 'long' sound per vowel. Other vowel pronunciations are considered 'short.' Hence, there may be various short sounds per vowel. The correct pronunciation of long and short vowels is crucial to the clarity of spoken English.
For example, the long vowels sounds are:
A = as in able
E = as in equal
I = as in ice
O = as in open
U = as in university
However, there may be more than one short sound per vowel:
A = as in apple, father, care, about
E = as in educate, item, butter
I = as in ill
O = as in opportunity, horse, gallop
U = as in umbrella, urge, circus
Note: in the examples above-about, item, gallop and circus-the a e o and u are all pronounced relatively the same (a weakly stressed vowel sound called a schwa).
There are also vowel combinations (called diphthongs) that have their own distinctive pronunciations, such as:
ai (long 'a' as in rain)
ee (long 'e' as in feet)
ei (long 'a' as in neighbor)
ie (long 'e' as in pier or short 'e' as in friend)
oi (as in noise)
oo ('long' as in moon or 'short' as in took)
ou (as in out)
Keep in mind that regional variations in the pronunciation of English vowels are very common.
Also note that, in order to facilitate clear pronunciation, the articles ‘a’ and ‘the’ (short ‘e’) change to ‘an’ and ‘the’ (long ‘e’), respectively, when the following word begins with a vowel. This being English, however, there are exceptions to this rule (e.g., a university, a euro, an honor). Sharpen your hearing skills to catch the customary patterns.
IT'S OFTEN THE CASE THAT MISTAKES IN PRONUNCIATION INVOLVE THE INCORRECT USE OF SHORT AND LONG VOWELS. DICTIONARIES (ESPECIALLY AUDIO 'SPEAKING' DICTIONARIES) CAN BE HELPFUL IN DETERMINING THE CORRECT SOUND OF VOWELS IN PARTICULAR WORDS. PAYING ATTENTION WHEN LISTENING TO NATIVE SPEAKERS, OR TO THE RADIO, TV OR MOVIES WILL ALSO HELP TRAIN YOUR HEARING TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF VOWELS IN ENGLISH.
THE "TH" SOUND IS CHARACTERISTIC OF ENGLISH AND IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOUNDS TO PRONOUNCE CORRECTLY.
Among the world's major languages, the "TH" sound is virtually unique to English. This makes it something of a problem for international speakers of English, no matter what their native language may be. The "TH" sound occurs very frequently in English in two variations: 'soft' and 'hard'. The 'soft' TH is characterized by a flow of air through the teeth, as in THINK. The 'hard' TH is characterized by a vibration of the tongue against the teeth, as in THAT.
The sound of both the 'soft' and 'hard' TH is structurally made the same way: by placing the tip of the tongue between the teeth. The "TH" sound can be accomplished only in this way. A good method for practicing the "TH" sound is to repeat "I think that . . ." in front of a mirror. You must be able to see the tip of your tongue slightly protruding between the teeth.
THE "TH" SOUND IS CHARACTERISTIC OF ENGLISH. IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK STANDARD ENGLISH, "TH" IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOUNDS TO PRONOUNCE CORRECTLY.
UNLIKE LANGUAGES SUCH AS ITALIAN OR MANDARIN, THE WORDS OF WHICH TYPICALLY END WITH A VOWEL (A-E-I-O-U), ENGLISH WORDS OVERWHELMINGLY END WITH A CONSONANT (ONE OF THE OTHER 21 LETTERS).
Speakers of English whose first language is one in which words typically end in vowels, are used to ending words with an open mouth. Thus, they have a difficult time properly ending their English words. Since it's only natural to carry over the pronunciation habits of one's native language, they usually employ one of two means that result in accented English:
1) beginning the next word without ending the first
2) inserting a vowel (usually 'a') between the final consonant of one word and the beginning consonant of the next
For example, the sentence:
I'll take the next bus.
Chinese speakers with heavy accents, neglecting to articulate the word endings (and omitting the contraction and the article), will typically clip their words, saying something like,
I tay neh bah.
They have no problem beginning the words, but do not end them.
Or, inserting a vowel, saying something like,
"I taka nekesta basa."
Or, for instance, the sentence:
This is Mister Jones.
English speakers with Italian or Chinese backgrounds will typically say:
"This-a is-a Mista Jones-a."
CHECK ANY RANDOM PARAGRAPH OF WRITTEN ENGLISH AND YOU'LL SEE THAT MOST OF THE WORDS END WITH CONSONANTS (EXCEPT FOR SILENT 'E', AS IN 'TAKE'). TO SPEAK ENGLISH WITHOUT AN ACCENT, PRACTICE ARTICULATING THE FINAL SOUNDS OF EVERY WORD—WITHOUT ADDING AN EXTRA VOWEL! A GOOD WAY TO TRAIN IS TO UNDERLINE THE LAST LETTER OF EACH WORD IN YOUR PRACTICE PARAGRAPH. THIS WILL BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO IT AND REMIND YOU TO CAREFULLY PRONOUNCE IT. AS WITH PRONUNCIATION TRAINING IN GENERAL, WITH REPETITION YOU'LL SOON DEVELOP THE CORRECT HABIT.
WORD ENDINGS—PART ONE
International speakers often have a tendency not to articulate the endings of English words, either because words in their native language tend not to end on consonant sounds, and/or because they’ve never heard the final sounds clearly in the first place. However, as previously stated, English tends to pronounce all syllables and most letter sounds, including word endings.
Speakers of Mandarin or Italian, for instance, are used to words ending in open-mouth vowel sounds; speakers of French are used to words ending in silent letters; Russians are used to smooth, slurring connections between the ending of a word and the beginning of the following one. Asian speakers are additionally used to fixed words, and must make special effort to master the changeable word endings of English.
For example, word endings change when:
plural ‘s’ is added to noun
one book—two books; one eye—two eyes
third-person singular ‘s’ is added to verb
You and I dance poorly, but he dances well.
part of speech changes
nation [noun]—national [adjective]
tense changes
I won’t dance tomorrow because I danced yesterday.
These are general patterns and, if you start to pay attention, you’ll see them repeating themselves throughout English usage. Failure to pronounce word endings in English, a language in which the large majority of words have consonantal endings, makes speech sloppy sounding and communication uncertain. Not exaggerating, but nevertheless ‘landing’ on each final consonant will make your English sound much more distinct and cultured.
THE FIRST STEP TO CLEAR PRONUNCIATION OF WORD ENDINGS IS TO BEGIN HEARING THEM.
WORD ENDINGS—PART TWO
Speech is a naturally moving thing, and some people naturally speak faster than others. However, since international speakers of English often have difficulty articulating word endings, it is recommended that you make a special effort to clarify this aspect of your speech, no matter what your pace.
In fact, at least when practicing, you may want to slow down—give yourself time to pay attention, and time to do something you’ve been previously omitting.
Rarely does anyone ever have trouble with consonant sounds at the beginning of a word. This is because beginning sounds require enough force to push the whole word out. By the end of the word, though, speakers are getting ready to ‘push out’ the next word, and final sounds are naturally less forcefully articulated.
However, the physics of producing any given letter-sound is exactly the same regardless of whether the letter is at the beginning, middle or end of the word.
Here’s a trick for training yourself to articulate word endings. Take the word whose ending you want to better pronounce and link it to any word beginning with the targeted sound. Pronounce the combination three times; then, at the fourth time, simply stop when you reach the beginning of the second word.
For example, many international speakers of English have trouble with final ‘L’:
WELL-LOOK
WELL-LOOK
WELL-LOOK
WELL-L
YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO DISCOVER HOW IMMEDIATELY EFFECTIVE THIS TRAINING EXERCISE CAN BE.
MORE ABOUT WORD ENDINGS
International speakers often have a tendency not to articulate the endings of English words, either because words in their native language tend not to end on consonant sounds, and/or because they’ve never heard the final sounds clearly in the first place. However, though ending sounds in English may be light and quick, native speakers pronounce them.
Here are some final sounds that call for particular attention:
M / N
For native speakers of English, there is no confusion between final ‘M’ and final ‘N’—for example in the words ‘sum’ and ‘sun.’ The thing to remember in this case is that the sound of ‘M’ (at the end, just as at the beginning or middle of a word) is produced by the upper and lower lips touching—if they don’t touch, there can be no ‘M’ sound. Conversely, the sound of ‘N’ (at the end, middle or beginning of a word) is produced by the tongue touching the gums where they meet the upper teeth—in the case of ‘N,’ the lips don’t touch at all (if they do, you’ll get an ‘M’).
S—‘soft’ and ‘hard’
Another fine difference in word-ending sounds in English is that between the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ ‘S.’ For instance, the ‘S’ in ‘tacks’ is ‘soft’ like an ordinary ‘S;’ however, the ‘S’ in ‘tags’ is ‘hard’ like a ‘Z.’ Though subtle, this distinction is nevertheless a decisive factor between standard and accented pronunciation.
ed—regular past tense suffix
When ‘ed’ is added to a verb to render it past tense, pronunciation is affected in one of three possible ways. Most commonly, you simply add a ‘D’ (as in ‘joined’). However (and in a way similar to final ‘S’), the sound added is often a ‘T’ (as in ‘talked’ [talkt]). At other times, the suffix ‘ed’ adds a full syllable (as in ‘depended’).
THE FIRST STEP TO CLEAR PRONUNCIATION OF WORD ENDINGS IS TO BEGIN HEARING THEM.
THE PRONUNCIATION OF FINAL ‘S’
Final ‘S’ is especially frequent in English. Many words simply end in ‘S’ and many others add ‘S’ in the plural; also, a final ‘S’ attaches to third-person singular verbs (‘he dances’). However, international speakers often neglect to add these necessary word-endings—partly a grammar problem and partly a pronunciation problem. Furthermore, they are typically unaware that there are two different pronunciations of final ‘S’ in English—‘soft’ and ‘hard’—and that there is a ‘rule’ governing their use.
Native speakers themselves usually don’t even realize they are making this distinction because it’s just come naturally to do so. The rule may be more difficult to remember than simply copying the pronunciation of final ‘S’ sounds as your hearing of English continues to improve. However, the rule demonstrates the logic behind why some final ‘S’ sounds are ‘soft’ (like the ‘S’ in ‘soft’) and some are ‘hard’ (like the ‘Z’ in ‘zoo’).
Although there are the usual exceptions, final ‘S’ is generally ‘hard,’ that is to say it’s pronounced like a ‘Z’ [and represented by ‘z’ below]; and is always pronounced ‘hard’ with words ending in a ‘hard’ (called ‘voiced’) consonant—for example:
cabz
bedz
tagz
glovez
lathez (‘th’ is ‘hard’)
However, with words ending in a ‘soft’ (called ‘voiceless’) consonant, the final ‘S’ is ‘soft’ —for example:
caps
bets
tacks
puffs
fifths (‘th’ is ‘soft’)
Words ending in vowel sounds typically take a ‘hard S’—for instance:
eyez
dayz
Lastly, the pronunciation of some words results in the addition of a final ‘S’ creating an extra syllable; in these cases the final ‘S’ is always ‘hard’—for instance:
dishez
ditchez
In summary, international speakers of English tend to either omit the final ‘S’ or to always pronounce it ‘soft.’ So keep two things in mind:
1) Remember the ‘S’!
2) In general, pronounce final ‘S’ ‘hard,’ like a ‘Z’
THIS SUBTLE DISTINCTION IS NOT JUST A TROUBLESOME IDIOSYNCRASY OF THE LANGUAGE, BUT HAS COME ABOUT NATURALLY AS NATIVE SPEAKERS ALWAYS TEND TO SMOOTH OUT COMMON SOUNDS. ONCE YOU BEGIN APPLYING THE RULE GOVERNING FINAL ‘S,’ YOU’LL DISCOVER THAT IT ACTUALLY MAKES THE SOUND EASIER TO PRONOUNCE!
THE PRONUNCIATION OF FINAL ‘ED’
International speakers of English know that the regular method of making verbs past tense is to add ‘ed,’ but they are often not aware that, in a way similar to final ‘S,’ the ‘ed’ suffix is pronounced in different ways: ‘hard’ (like ‘D’) and ‘soft’ (like ‘T’), and also as a full syllable (like the name ‘Ed’).
As with final ‘S,’ native speakers customarily don’t realize they are making these distinctions because it’s just natural to do so. And, similarly, it may be easier to get the correct sounds of ‘ed’ by improving your hearing of them than by trying to remember pronunciation rules.
In regard to language, there are always exceptions to the rules. However, as a general guideline, you can expect words ending in ‘hard’ (‘voiced’) consonants to take a ‘hard’ ‘ed’ suffix (like ‘D’)—for example:
robbed = robd
pegged = pegd
arrived = arrivd
bathed (‘th’ is ‘hard’) = bathd
However, with words ending in a ‘soft’ (‘voiceless’) consonant, the final ‘ed’ is ‘soft’ like ‘T’ [and represented by ‘t’ below]—for example:
tipped = tipt
poked = pokt
puffed = puft
danced = dançt
Words ending in vowel sounds typically take a ‘hard’ ‘ed’—for instance:
tied
played
Lastly, the pronunciation of some words results in the addition of final ‘ed’ creating an extra syllable; in these cases the final sound is always ‘hard’—like ‘Ed’—for instance:
wanted
dreaded
In a few cases, past tense verbs are actually spelled with a (somewhat poetic) ‘t’—for example:
slept (past tense of sleep)
wept (past tense of weep)
dreamt (alternate past tense of dream)
ONCE AGAIN, THESE SUBTLE DISTINCTIONS HAVE COME ABOUT NATURALLY, AS NATIVE SPEAKERS ALWAYS TAKE THE EASY WAY.
PRONOUNCING FINAL ‘G’ IN ENGLISH
International speakers of English often have trouble with the pronunciation of final ‘G,’ usually either ‘sharpening’ it into a ‘K’ or simply omitting it. The difficulty is compounded when the ‘G’ is preceded by ‘N.’ A great many English words end in ‘G’ and ‘NG’—especially with the frequency of ‘ING’ endings:
present continuous verb (‘He is reading.’)
adjective suffix (‘This is an interesting book.’)
gerund suffix (‘Shopping is fun.’)
The problem is made more difficult if, as often happens, there is also an additional ‘S.’ This can seriously interfere with the clarity and even the understandability of what you are saying.
The sound of ‘G’ has two different pronunciations: a ‘hard G’ as in ‘girl’ and a ‘soft G’ (like a ‘J’) as in ‘gentle’ or ‘strange.’ However, in the final position (not followed by an ‘e’), ‘G’ is always ‘hard.’
The sound of ‘hard G’ and ‘K’ both originate high in the palate. However, with ‘K,’ a puff of air is produced; whereas the nasal passage is relatively closed for the ‘hard G,’ resulting in a ‘thicker’ sound: as in ‘kill’ and ‘gill’ respectively.
Here’s a good exercise for practicing final ‘G.’ Everyone can pronounce ‘G’ at the beginning of the word (as in ‘girl’). By combining a word ending in ‘G’ with a word beginning with ‘G,’ you can ‘trick’ yourself into the correct pronunciation until practice makes perfect.
Repeat the combination three times—then leave off the second word. For example:
LONG-GIRL
LONG-GIRL
LONG-GIRL
LONG-G
Some additional practice words for pronouncing final ‘G’ in English:
ran / rank / ranks / rang
tan / tank / tanks / tang
kin / kink / kinks / king / kings
sin / sink / sinks / sing / sings
ban / bank / banks / bang / bangs
fan / fang / fangs
thin / think / thinks / thing / things
win / wink / winks / wing / wings
lawn / long
pink / ping
Ron / wrong / Ron’s / wrongs
tons / tongues
run / rung / rungs
done / dunk / dunks / dung
stun / stunk / stung
YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO DISCOVER HOW IMMEDIATELY EFFECTIVE THESE TRAINING EXERCISES CAN BE.
ANOTHER TRICKY ENDING-SOUND DISTINCTION: FINAL ‘NT’ / ‘NCE’
As with final ‘S,’ the distinction between ‘NT’ and ‘NCE’ word-ending sounds is partly a grammar issue and partly a pronunciation issue, and can be difficult for international speakers of English to hear and articulate.
The grammar issue, typically, is that between an adjective and a noun. For example:
different is an adjective
The twins have completely different personalities.
difference is a noun
The difference between them is remarkable.
Here are a few more examples of similarly close pairs:
confident / confidence
radiant / radiance
luxuriant / luxuriance
diligent / diligence
coincident / coincidence
fragrant / fragrance
prevalent / prevalence
malevolent / malevolence
beneficent / beneficence
IF YOU START LISTENING FOR THESE DISTINCTIONS IN THE SOUND OF ENGLISH WORD-ENDINGS, YOU’LL BE SURPRISED HOW QUICKLY YOU BEGIN HEARING THEM, AND THEN DUPLICATING THEM IN YOUR OWN SPEECH.
DIPHTHONGIZATION ( . . . WHAT?)
Diphthongs—something few native speakers of English have ever even heard of, but pronounce correctly without being conscious of it.
Basically, a diphthong [pronounced ‘DIF-THONG’ or ‘DIP-THONG’] is a complex vowel sound formed when a vowel is immediately followed by another vowel (e.g., rain, diet, duet). The pronunciation of two vowels in a row, depending on the degree of distinction between them, influences the sound of the apparent number of syllables.
The degree of distinction is called diphthongization, a modulation in sound that can be difficult for international speakers of English to make out and reproduce.
For example:
moon
(not diphthongized: virtually one syllable)
pool
(slightly diphthongized: second part of word ‘dips down,’ creating something like a half syllable)
boil
(greatly diphthongized: second part of word is so distinct as to sound almost like a second syllable)
As with most other pronunciation issues, mastery of diphthongs begins with hearing them more clearly. When you can clearly tell them apart, you will automatically pronounce them more accurately.
Here’s a good test:
duel (as in ‘fight;’ slightly diphthongized)
dual (as in ‘two;’ greatly diphthongized)
WHEN YOUR HEARING GETS GOOD ENOUGH TO DISTINGUISH SUBTLE DIFFERENCES LIKE THIS, YOU’LL NO LONGER NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT DIPHTHONGS!
PRONOUNCING 'OUGH' IN ENGLISH
In English, the sound represented by 'ough' can be pronounced in nine different ways.
The following sentence contains them all:
"A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."
The nine different pronunciations are:
rough: RUF (as in puff)
dough: DOH (as in 'O')
thoughtful: THAWT (as in caught)
ploughman: PLOW (as in cow)
through: THREW (as in few)
Scarborough: UH (as in a [book])
slough: SLEW (as in you)
coughed: KAWF (as in saw[f])
hiccoughed: KUP (as in cup)
REMEMBER WHAT THE SCHOLAR SAID ABOUT ENGLISH SPELLING:
"QUITE SERIOUSLY UNRELATED TO PRONUNCIATION."
NASALITY IS A QUALITY OF SPEAKING IN WHICH THE BREATH ESCAPES THROUGH THE NOSE RATHER THAN THE MOUTH. THIS QUALITY IS NATURAL TO SOME LANGUAGES, BUT CAN SOUND UNNATURAL OR EVEN OBJECTIONABLE IN OTHERS.
A nasal quality is natural to some languages such as French and, to some extent, Cantonese—without it, they would sound flat and clumsy. In English, though, nasality is not desirable.
For example, the ending of the word difference is short in English, sounding virtually like ‘ince.’ But in French, the ending is a long ‘ahnce.’ What is even more distinctive than the pronunciation of the ending, though, is the characteristically nasal sound of French, produced by constricting the passage between the upper throat and the nose.
However, the articulation of English favors an unconstricted open passage between the upper throat and nose. A nasal quality can sound similar to duck-like honking, not considered a very pleasant sound in English.
So, just as a native English speaker must learn to close the passage when speaking French, a French (or Cantonese) speaker must learn to open it when speaking English.
IN ADDITION TO CORRECT PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANT AND VOWEL SOUNDS, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS ALSO TO HAVE THE TONE AND STYLE NATURALLY ASSOCIATED WITH ENGLISH.
VARIETIES OF ENGLISH: AMERICAN, BRITISH, AUSTRALIAN
Disseminated throughout the world by the British empire, English became the native (or second) language of several countries, the most significant of which are the United States, Canada and Australia.
International speakers of English often ask which of the different English accents is the best. Although this is primarily a personal choice, you may want to consider the following:
Due to historical circumstances, British English continues to sound upper-class, but old-fashioned and formal to American ears, while American English sounds popular, modern and casual to British ears.
Australian English is the furthest from orthodox pronunciation of all the major varieties of English. It is often difficult even for Americans and Canadians to understand, and is therefore not recommended, except for those living in Australia (or New Zealand).
Due to proximity and the influence of mass media, such as TV, radio and movies, Canadian English is almost identical to American, with only minor differences in some vowels.
The global distribution of American films and the ubiquity of Americans teaching English as a Second Language around the world has promoted American pronunciation as the current standard for the pronunciation of English worldwide.
If you have already learned English with a particular accent and you feel it suits you, there may be no need to change. However, for professional purposes, many international speakers feel American English pronunciation is the most universal and up to date.
WHEN INTRODUCING YOURSELF, PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME AS CLEARLY AND SLOWLY, YET NATURALLY, AS YOU CAN.
The most important information you communicate to others about yourself is your name.
International speakers of English tend to pronounce their own name in its original sound, and also tend to say it quickly. Especially when introducing yourself, speaking on the telephone or leaving a phone message:
PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME AS CLEARLY AND SLOWLY, YET NATURALLY, AS YOU CAN.
Generally, whether on the phone or in person, you inform others of your name only once. If it is unclear, or if the one to whom you are speaking has to exert himself to make it out, you could have trouble. You may assume you have communicated something when, in fact, you have not. Especially if your name is an unusual one to English-speaking ears, pronounce it clearly so it will be accurately heard-make it easy for others to hear your name and remember it.