Last week I had a great conversation with a Bulgarian friend who shared with me that sometimes native speakers didn’t understand what she was saying. One time, for example, she asked someone “Where is Andy?” and she couldn’t understand why the woman she was talking to was so confused. When I told her that the way she was pronouncing “Andy” (American pronunciation: /ændi/) sounded more like “undie” /ʌndi/, which some people use as short for underwear, she was astonished. This happens because the “a” sound in Bulgarian resembles more the cup sound /ʌ/ in English. This is the sound that comes in words like luck /lʌk/, cup /kʌp/, son /sʌn/, etc.
The truth is that even if a word is mispronounced, many people will still understand the intended meaning based on context. But sometimes folks who haven’t met many nonnative speakers struggle. Also, if several words in a row are mispronounced, the listener’s brain works harder to catch up.
Key sounds in English that are important for your clarity
In order to be understood in English, it’s not necessary to lose your accent, but you need to have a clear pronunciation. Below are several aspects of pronunciation that you should pay attention to.
Vowels
English has a larger number of vowels than many other languages. For example, the vowels in words like apple /æpəl/ and father /fɑðɚ/ are different, but many nonnative speakers put them in the same category because they see the letter “a.”
When it comes to vowels, there are two things to pay attention to – vowel quality and vowel length.
Vowel quality
The quality of the vowel you are trying to produce is determined by the position of your tongue, lips, and jaw. There are open and closed vowels. These are determined by how much your jaw is open. There are also front and back vowels that depend on how your tongue moves within the mouth. For example, the first vowel /æ/ in the word “apple” /æpəl/ is an open front vowel because the jaw has to drop low and the back of the tongue pushes forward. The first vowel /ɑ/ in “father” /fɑðɚ/ on the other hand is an open back vowel because, although the mouth still needs to be quite open, the tongue pulls backwards.
There are many words in English that might confuse people if a vowel is mispronounced. For example, many nonnative speakers who only have one “i” vowel in their native language might make words like live /lɪv/ and leave /liːv/ sound the same. This can also happen with words like full /fʊl/ and fool /fuːl/ because many languages only have one “u” vowel.
Vowel length
Vowel length is the duration of the vowel. Unlike in some other languages, vowel length doesn’t change the meaning of words, but it might make some words a little more clear. A vowel before a voiced consonant is always slightly longer than one that comes before a voiceless consonant. For example, the quality of the vowel in the words “bad” /bæd/ and “bat” /bæt/ is identical, but the “a” /æ/ in “bad” is slightly longer because it’s followed by a voiced consonant “d” /d/ vs. voiceless consonant “t” /t/. This is useful for those who tend to devoice final consonants, like speakers of some Slavic languages, for example. Even if the final “d” in “bad” is devoiced, by somewhat elongating the vowel before it, the word is going to be clear.
Consonants
Believe it or not, the infamous “th” sound (voiced /ð/ and voiceless /θ/) is not as important (most of the times) when it comes to clarity. There are other consonants, however, that can introduce confusion if mispronounced. For example, some Spanish speakers find it challenging to differentiate between “sh” /ʃ/ that appears in “shopping” /ʃɑpɪŋ/ and “tch” /tʃ/ that is in “chopping” /tʃɑpɪŋ/. So if you want to say that you like shopping, but instead you say that you like chopping, the listener might be confused.
Some speakers also confuse “v” /v/ with “b” /b/ or “w” /w/. Spanish speakers, for example, might say berry /bɛɹi/ instead of very /vɛɹi/ while some Russian and Hungarian speakers might say west /wɛst/ instead of vest /vɛst/ and vice versa. “r” /ɹ/ is another consonant to be aware of because if the tongue is not engaged enough, it might sound like “w” /w/.
But one of the most important things to remember when it comes to consonants is not to drop them. Some speakers whose native languages don’t have consonants at the end of words tend to not pronounce them. If this is you, pay extra attention to this.
Connected speech
Connected speech in English is merging vowels and consonants together in a way that there is no clear distinction between words. Understanding connected speech is more important for your listening and comprehension than for speaking. Even if you don’t link sounds the way native speakers do, you will still be understood.
Word stress
In English there is primary stress, secondary stress, and weak stress. Not every word has a secondary or weak stress, but every word has a primary stress. Single syllable words only have one stress – on the vowel. But longer words might be a bit more challenging. For example, the word “develop” /dɪvɛləp/ has three syllables. The primary stress falls on the second syllable “vel” /vɛl/ while the first “de” /dɪ/ and third “lop” /ləp/ syllables have a weak stress. But many nonnative speakers put the primary stress of this word on the first syllable, making it sound like DE-ve-lop (incorrect) instead of de-VE-lop (correct).
If your native language has a fixed stress (like Polish or French), you might have a more challenging time noticing and remembering the primary stress in different English words. If this is an issue for you, just try not to speak too fast. Many people incorrectly think that speaking fast is a sign of fluency. But speaking in a clear way is the most important component of effective communication.
Sounds that are less important for clarity
There are certain sounds in American English that would not compromise clarity if pronounced differently. Some of these sounds are the flap “t” /ɾ/ – the “t” that appears between two vowels, like in the word “water” /wɔɾɚ/, “ing” /ɪŋ/ at the end of words, and the “th” sound /ð/ or /θ/ to some extent.
Flap “t”
The truth is that many nonnative speakers want to sound more American and are so hung up on the flap “t” /ɾ/ that are sometimes compromising more important sounds. This sound sounds more like a really quick trill in the form of “r” or “d” that many other languages have. If mastering this sound is extremely important to you, go for it. Just know that even if you produce a pure “t” sound /t/, you will be understood.
“ng”
Words like thinking /θɪŋkɪŋ/, writing /ɹaɪtɪŋ/, speaking /spiːkɪŋ/, etc., end with the nasal sound “ng” /ŋ/. However, because this is an exotic sound for many nonnative speakers – especially at the end of words –they tend to convert “ing” /ɪŋ/ to “ink” /ɪnk/. To be honest, it took me a while to master this sound as well. If you still can’t produce it, you just need time and practice. Know, however, that you will be perfectly understood even if you say “thinkink” “/θɪŋkɪnk/” instead of “thinking” /θɪŋkɪŋ/.
“th”
The “th” sound /ð/ or /θ/ gives the chills to many nonnative speakers. Because this sound is lacking in many other languages, people tend to find the closest one from their native language that resembles it and substitute with it. “th” /ð/ or /θ/ is usually replaced by s /s/ and z /z/, or t /t/ and d /d/; sometimes the voiceless “th” /θ/ can be even substituted by “f” /f/. Even though mastering this sound helps in the area of self-confidence, it’s not the most important one when it comes to clarity. There are certain words that, if mispronounced, might confuse the listener (sought /sɔt/ or fought /fɔt/ vs. thought /θɔt/), but there aren’t many of them.
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Clear pronunciation is super important not only for clarity, but also for the way others perceive you as a communicator. Unfortunately, there is still bias against certain nonnative accents. But the number of people who speak English as a second language is increasing and with it tolerance for different accents will rise as well. So clear pronunciation will be more appreciated than striving to get rid of your accent.
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How do you feel about your pronunciation in English? Let me know in the comment section or send me an email. Remember, sharing your experience might help someone else.
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Daniela,
I like the way how you sum up this information. It is clear, simple and well-organized. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks very much for elaborating the sounds. It will really be very helpful in understanding and speaking the here’s accent.
once again thanks. Hoping for more guidance and implement in your esteemed group.
Poonam Gupta