subject: American English Pronunciation Problems for Indians [print this page] American English Pronunciation Problems for Indians
Many Indians from South Asia speak English very quickly. This makes it very difficult for others to understand what they are saying!
Often times their fast speech is simply a carryover from the way they speak their native language. Sometimes they speak quickly because they feel nervous speaking with American English speakers.
Speaking English too quickly forces your listeners to work harder to understand you. Pronunciation errors are more likely to occur when you speak fast because you are not taking enough time to articulate the correct sounds and stress patterns.
Here are a couple of things that Indian language speakers can do to slow down when speaking English.
Pay Attention to Thought Groups
When American English speakers talk they divide long sentences into smaller phrases called thought groups. At the end of each thought group there is a short pause. This pause gives listeners some time to process what was just said.
Learn to Stress Syllables & Words
One of the most notable features of spoken American English is its rhythm. Native speakers alternate between using stressed and unstressed syllables in words and sentences. They do not pronounce all words and syllables with the same emphasis.
In additon, they emphasize some words (called content & focus words) and reduce others. These stress patterns slow down your speech and create a melody or rhythm that is pleasing for Americans to listen to.
Stressing syllables and words correctly is often an area of great difficulty for Indian speakers of English. These patttens can be learned and practiced in any good accent reduction class.
Difficult Consonant Sounds for Indians
Here are a couple of American English consonant sounds that are troublesome for speakers of South Asian languages.
Indians often use a /v/ sound instead of a /w/ sound in words such as; we, will, went & what.
Indians often use a /d/ sound instead of the voiced th sound in words such as; the, they, mother & brother.
American English speakers will probably still understand you if you say these sounds incorrectly. However, learning to articulate these sounds correctly will really help modify your accent.
The best way to solve your pronuncation problems and reduce your accent is to take an accent reduction class. There are many classes available online. These classes are taught by native English speaking professionals who want to help you improve.
Maybe it's time for you to check out some of these accent reduction classes.
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
