In the last couple of months I’ve had the good fortune to speak with a huge variety of non-native English speakers, both clients of mine at the Lake Tahoe Institute of English and casual acquaintances.  I’ve spoken with native speakers of Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Korean, Vietnamese and Mandarin.  I have noticed two common threads in all of these conversations.

You Speak Better Than You Think

First, most of these people spoke English far better than they thought they did.  They nearly always apologized and seemed embarrassed by their perceived lack of ability.  Of course I know it is intimidating to speak confidently to someone you know teaches the language, but not all of them knew what my profession is.

You probably speak better than you think, too.  So relax a little bit.  Just talk and all will be well.

It is the most unusual English speaker who will be impatient with you.  Most are extremely patient and appreciative of your efforts.  After all, we know that as a rule, we don’t speak any other languages, and as a rule, we are embarrassed by that.  We just appreciate anyone who has succeeded at all in learning our language.

Finish Saying Each Word

Second, and as important, I’ve noticed that the one problem that these non-native English speakers from many different backgrounds have in common is that they don’t finish their English words.  They drop the final letter or two, which leaves the listener often unable to discern which word the speaker is using.  This is probably the single most important factor in making your speech understandable to others.

For example, someone might say “Why you ha so man bo to ree”, instead of “Why do you have so many books to read?” or “I lie to ee mee for dinner” instead of “I like to eat meat for dinner.”  As the listener, in the first sentence, we don’t know if you are saying “ha”, “have”, “has”, “hair”, “ham” or “man”, “many”, “men”, etc.. You get the idea.  It makes it so much more difficult for the listener.  Add in the fact that so many listeners are themselves non-native speakers of English who have an accent of their own, and then you have real trouble.

It seems to me that a very simple but elusive fix to this serious clarity problem is to remember how the word is spelled, and then make sure you say all of it (that is, unless the ending is silent, which it sometimes is in our crazy, irregular English language – you just have to memorize those).

I know, you think you are saying all of it, but I’m telling you, chances are, you are not.  Slow down and finish your words.  I promise, you won’t have to repeat yourself as often.

English is such a difficult language! So many rules, and so many exceptions to every rule. How anyone trying to learn the language could possibly remember even half the rules and exceptions is beyond me. Trying to memorize and master the rules makes learning so tedious and frustrating. Plus, that’s not how to learn a language.

In this second of a series of posts about pronunciation, I will be talking more about pronouncing the sounds of English. I don’t mean, at least at this time, the sounds of the letters, or where you place stress in a word. I mean the basic sound of the entire spoken language. I talked about this in the last post, and want to continue here. I’m talking about the point of articulation and point of resonance that makes the sound of the words.

The Point of Resonance in English

As you may recall from my last post,  in English, the point of articulation and resonance is in the middle of the mouth. English is spoken from a kind of a hollow in the middle of the mouth, the tongue most often bounces off the gums above the front teeth, and the lips, jaws, and corners of the mouth remain relatively relaxed, at least as compared to many other languages. In order to improve your English accent, your mouth must be in the correct position. The best way to learn the correct position is to imitate the English accent of someone speaking your own native language.

Getting Your Mouth In Position

At first, when you get your mouth in the correct position, your jaw, lip and tongue muscles will no doubt feel tight and tired. Keep practicing, though, until it becomes natural and instinctive when speaking English. This is really important. You cannot make the sounds that are exclusive to any language without having your mouth in the right position. An example of this is English speakers trying to roll their r’s. Unless we tense our tongues, lips and corners of the mouth, we cannot speak forward in our mouths enough to make the rolling sound. It just won’t work. Just try to roll an r sound with the point of articulation being in the center of the mouth. That’s why you laugh at us!

German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Polish are among the many frontal, or dental languages. The tongue in these languages is always somewhere around the front teeth, tapping against them. This is not the case in English. English is spoken as if the speaker has a hot potato in the mouth.

Following are a few examples of how the mouth is held in other languages, by way of comparison to English.

It’s All In Your Mouth

In English, the jaw is fairly relaxed, and the mouth is held in a medium open position. The tongue is held in the middle of the mouth, and the corners of the mouth are relaxed. The tongue hits the gums above the front teeth more often than the teeth themselves.

In French, the tongue is kept slightly raised to make a narrow tunnel in the vocal cavity. The muscles at the corner of the mouth are tensed and the lips protrude a bit when speaking. The tongue is always in the vicinity of the front teeth, in a more forward position than it is in English. The point of resonance is high.

Spanish speakers keep their jaws loose, their mouth in a medium open position. The tongue is held slightly raised and forward, always in the vicinity of the front teeth. The lips are relaxed, but the muscles at the corners of the mouth are slightly tensed. The point of articulation is near the front of the mouth.

In German, the jaw is tight, and the mouth is held in a somewhat closed position. The tongue is held slightly raised and forward. The lips are relaxed, but slightly protruded, and the muscles at the corners of the mouth are a bit tensed. The point of articulation is back in the mouth.

Russian speakers keep their jaws loose, with their mouth in a fairly wide open position. The tongue is held raised and slightly back. Lips are relaxed and slightly protruded, and the muscles at the corners of the mouth are relaxed.

Imitate Accents

Practice imitating the various accents of foreign speakers speaking your native language. That is where it is easiest to see how each language requires a different mouth position to speak the language properly. Then, practice speaking your own language with an English accent over and over again, until you can feel the difference between how you would normally hold your mouth to speak, and how you need to hold your mouth to speak English.

You know, it’s one thing to speak another language, and it is entirely another to speak another language so that it can be understood by others. I know that sounds pretty obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don’t pay any attention to speaking clearly and understandably. And that, really, is the most important part of communicating. Well, of course! You can have the largest vocabulary in the world, but if I can’t understand what the heck you are saying, you have wasted your breath.

What really drives me crazy are all those pronunciation diagrams that are out there which supposedly show you where your tongue is supposed to be in your mouth when you are speaking. Maybe it’s just me, but I can never figure out what they’re showing. And even if I could figure it out, how could I put it into action? I can’t see what I am doing and match it to the side-view drawing. And how could I possibly remember that, when I am in the middle of talking, anyway? It’s like learning grammar – fairly useless as a practical exercise to help learn to speak another language.

Mouth Position is Critical

I think the best way to start working on pronunciation is to get your mouth position right. Every language requires its speakers to hold their lips, mouth, tongue, and jaw in a different position. The proper sounds cannot be made unless the mouth is held properly. Mouth position is critical.

So, first notice how you hold your mouth when you speak. Is your jaw relaxed or tense? How about the muscles at the corners of your mouth? Tight or relaxed? Your lips? Are they relaxed against the teeth, or do they push forward a bit when you talk?

And where does it feel like you are making the sound in your mouth, approximately? Forward, middle, high, low, back? Each of these positions makes a big difference in the sounds that are created. This point in your mouth is called the point of articulation, and creates the point of resonance. It is difficult to scientifically analyze these points of articulation and resonance, but, with practice, it is easy to feel them.

Imitate Accents

So, don’t spend time learning exact rules for mouth positions. Pretend you are an actor, learning to do an accent for a film. Imitate the sounds that an actor makes. In your native language, imitate someone who speaks your language with an English accent. Can you feel how you have to hold your mouth to speak with an English accent? That is how you have to hold your mouth when you speak English. Only it won’t be funny when you’re actually speaking English!

Speak From the Middle of the Mouth

In general, American English is spoken from the middle of the mouth. A hollow is almost created with the tongue, which is held in the middle of the mouth. The tongue bounces off the ridge of gums directly above the front teeth, not so much the teeth themselves. The lips are back and relaxed against the teeth. The jaw is fairly relaxed and loose, and the muscles at the corner of the mouth are relaxed.

For now, pay attention when you are speaking to how you hold your mouth. Pay attention when you are watching television to how speakers of your native language hold their mouth as compared to those speaking English. Try to get a feel for what it looks and feels like.

In my next post, I will explore this topic some more, and give some suggestions as to how you can learn to speak with a better American English Accent.