The French have always had difficulty in pronouncing a few sounds in the English language – the soft “th”, the “h”, the soft “r”, and the short “i”. Note: Read Part 1 first. As you'll see below, words such as "thousands" and "hedgehog" feature letters that are mistakenly omitted by native English and French speakers, [...]
English accent training can be used by native Spanish to refine their pronunciation skills, but they will quickly realize that English has a rhythm of its own. It is natural to look for parallels between English and Spanish in terms of sentence structure, grammar, and pronunciation and attempt to bring the rules that govern one [...]
In April 2015 a language oriented message board thread on the networking website Reddit went viral when a user asked a simple question: "What's the hardest English word to pronounce?" Those who have been in English accent training for any length of time will be heartened to know that both native and non native English [...]
Today's commonly confused word pair, "worse" vs. worth", should be familiar to those in English accent training who are game show fans. Game show announcers relish shouting out the estimated value, or worth, of a Land Rover Evoque that a contestant just won, for example. Furthermore, the entire concept of The Price is Right is [...]
In today's commonly confused words blog post we are showcasing the words "flour" and "floor." Like the other words featured in our commonly confused word pairings series, these words differ from one another by a single vowel. However, those working to refine their speech in English accent training may not be aware that "flour" is [...]
If you started at your present company as an intern, chances are good you heard the words "coffee" and "copy" quite frequently. Most likely in the form of demands. As in, "I'd like you to get me an extra large cup of coffee with 2 shots of espresso and extra cream." Or, "The copy of [...]
The word "live" can be confusing to ESL speakers because the word can potentially be pronounced two different ways and have a multitude of meanings depending on the sentence. As you progress through your English accent training, always be aware of the context in which a difficult word or sound is being presented, as this [...]
English Accent Training: How Slang Terms Can Define Individual Speech One of the reasons our long running idioms series has proven to be so popular is that it helps bridge the gap between the formal English often emphasized in the initial stages of English accent training and specialized slang of the business world. Every profession [...]
English accent Training: Accent Bias in the Workplace In today’s globalized world, there a need for businesspeople to be fluent in a secondary language. English is turning out to be the preferred secondary language in professional settings. Consequently, there has been a massive increase in the number of people that undergo ESL courses and English [...]
In a globalized world, people are finding it easier to talk to each other. However, a heavy foreign accent can be just as big of a hindrance to clear communication as a language barrier. When a foreign English speaker with a heavy accent is speaking with a native English speaker, both parties know they are [...]
English Accent Training: How Stress Impacts the Accent A basic concept introduced in English accent training is the idea that if you are uncertain how to pronounce a particular word, you can minimize the chances that you will mispronounce the word by blending the first syllable of a difficult word with the final syllable of [...]
English Accent Training: How to Neutralize Your Accent at Home As businesses continue to thrive and expand in a global setting, the need for effective communication rises with it. English accent training has become a necessity for foreign business professionals hoping for personal improvement and the ability to close business deals consistently in an intensely [...]
English Accent Training: How Music Can Help With Proper Pronunciation Music exists in different languages, but songs in standard American English can be heard everywhere. Foreign musicians themselves who want to enter in the American scene aim to lessen their accents in order to heighten their accessibility with American audiences and pay homage to their [...]
English Accent Training: How Accents Affect Communication People have a natural preference for their native accent. Because of this, native speakers easily recognize when another person is not a native speaker simply by paying attention to their accent. Although one’s accent does not impede the proper use of grammar and pronunciation skills, English accent training [...]
English Accent Training: The Importance of Intonation When you join any English accent training program, you will notice that there is a great emphasis on intonation. Intonation is the natural rhythm of a language that is created through changes in pitch. Think of intonation as the thing that gives English its musical quality. Every rise [...]
English Accent Training Self-Evaluation: Correct Pronunciation Part of any effective English accent training course is knowing how to pronounce words properly. The essence of a word sometimes disappears when mispronounced, causing misunderstandings between people who are trying to communicate effectively. English Accent Training: The Importance of Correct Pronunciation Correct pronunciation is very important, especially for [...]
English Accent Training: The Disappearing Philadelphia Accent The evolution of a dialect once believed to be strictly regional is usually a slow process, marked by the gradual merging of vowels, where two formally distinct vowel sounds merge into one, such as the case with the A and E vowel sounds in the Philadelphian dialect. [...]
English accent training: Are Pronunciation Programs Necessary with Young Children? Humans are born with the ability to make 40 universal sounds, which are then gradually decoded by the brain and associated with specific words and actions. This allows a child's vocabulary and understanding of a language to grow at a far more rapid pace than [...]
English Accent Training: How Koreans are Adapting It is natural to have some reservations about finally making a commitment to English accent training, especially if this decision has been weighing on your mind for some time or was mandated by an employer. A misconception you may have upon reading through our articles here at AccentPros [...]
English Accent Training The idea, if it was ever pitched to you or dawned on you at any time, that once you undergo your English Accent training would mean changing who you are is completely false. The fact is that having a slight accent is normal especially among Americans, because the United States is historically [...]
