ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

English pronunciation can be tricky indeed—but there are numerous ways to practice and numerous resources to help guide you. Many of the resources are free, online, and right at your fingertips and specialize in those learning the language pronunciation for the first time with English as a second language.

ESL pronunciation can be even more confusing when the English words have the same letters as another language but an entirely different way to combine them and an entirely different sound. One glaring example is with French, where the word for dog is chien. “Chien” is pronounced with a soft beginning sound, a diphthong vowel sound in the middle and only a hint of a nasal n at the end. French speakers would therefore say something like “shee-yehn.”

Switch that same word, chien, to an English pronunciation and it ends up with a harder initial sound, like in chuck, and a prominent final n. This would give you something like “chi-enn.”

There are also many words that have the same vowel pronunciation but use different combinations of vowels to produce those sounds. A few examples of those include reign, in which the “ei” sounds like “ay,” plane, where the “a” sounds like “ay,” and maim, where the “ai” sounds like “ay.” Yes, English pronunciation can be complicated.

But do not fret. Learning English pronunciation can be achieved through a lot of practice and a lot of listening. If possible, get recordings of books and read along while you look at the text. Mark any words that give you trouble as you move along. Listen to newscasts, radio broadcasts and TV to grasp more of the sounds.

Myriad websites offer different types of lessons some that include written, oral and listening drills. Flashcards are another good way to learn English pronunciation, as long as you practice with someone who pronounces things correctly.

Once you get used to the general rules, you’ll be able to pronounce words you’ve never heard before—unless they fall into the pronunciation exceptions. In that case, you’ll want more flashcards.

Note: Even though you know the vocabulary and the endless grammar rules, you still find it difficult to pronounce English words correctly, this struggle with language can make communicating with native English speakers a frustrating experience for both you and them

Accent Reduction and English Pronunciation

A

Nation                Station                               Examination                   Relation

Pat                        Cat                                        Rat                                        Flat                                       Mat

Call                        Mall                                     Small                                    Tall                                        Fall

Far                         Car

War                      Wardrobe

1.       The rain in Spain stays mainly in plain.

2.       Waiter, wait at the station for the nation.

3.       I have no relaxation, no information, no examination, no exaggeration and even no relation

4.       I say, hey! The ray of dismay came late to stay and play in the tray with clay but pray to delay it as you may.

5.       They came late, waited at the gate to take a train to main lane in the rain.

6.       I played all the day, today but if you may stay at the station to wait for the train with waiter in the waiting room.

7.       She came to say sorry to the waiters

8.       Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, are working days but Saturday and Sunday is a holiday.

B

Book                                    Bat                                        But                                        Bamboo

Bribe                                    Bird                                      Balcony

Bubble                                Bluff                                    Brown

C

Come                                   Cat                                        Cut                                        Couple

Computer                         Coconut                             Cucumber

Cry                                        Cook                                    Contain                              Curtain

Place                                    Trace                                    Face                                      Race

1.       Can you come to cut the cake in the camp of my cousin?

2.       Come on! Catch the cat to catch the mouse.

3.       I can’t cross the canal with coins and camera, carefully.

4.       Call Carl, Carl’s cousin and Carl’s companions.

5.       Cut the coffee cake cousin in the car of Canadian Capital’s Councilor

6.       Captain, Call the cat to carry the kittens in the corner of the café.

7.       Can you com to the café to collect cream cold coffee with coffee cake?

8.       Come count the coins then cut the cake in the camp of captain’s curious cousin

9.       Customer calls coincidentally, to communication carefully, calmly and continuously.

10.     Coins, cameras, cases and containers can come behind the colorful curtain

CH

Change                               Chalk                                   Charge

Chocolate                         Chamber                           China

Chine                                   Challenge                         Cheat

Chemistry                         Chemical

1.       China with Charles changes the choice of chocolate.

2.       Challenge the champion to choose the Chinese Chargers.

3.       China chooses charcoal to charge the charger in Chinese Chancellor’s Chamber.

D

Dead                                    Dog                                       Design                                 Decorate

Decide                                 Drive                                    Destroy                              Delay

Digital                                 Duration                            Direction                           Day

E

Electronic                         Elephant                            Escape

Envelope                           Echo                                     Electricity

Enable                                 Equal                                   Equality

F G H I J

Fan                                        Fun                                       For

Gang                                    Gun                                       Ghost                                  Grand

House                                  Honest                                Hour                                     Host

Islam                                    Ink                                         Intel                                     Insect

Jack                                      Jet                                         Just                                       Journalist

K

King                                      Kind                                      Kilo                                       Kashmir

Karachi                               Kabul                                   Kurd                                     Kilometer

Know                                   Knowledge                      Knight

1.       Kind king kills the kind kangaroo keepers.

2.       Kindly, come with the key book and key notes.

3.       Kin can’t kill the kind king at one kilometer from the kingdom of the kind king.

L M N O

Lion                                      Loyal                                    Library                                Low

Most                                    Must                                    Music                                  Miss

No                                         Not                                       Nest                                     Name

Orange                               Onion                                  Oops!                                   Oil

1.       Oh no!  Go slowly, because the oil is low.

2.       No, I know no magic to flow the water slowly.

3.       Slow, slow, slow, something is below.

4.       You know, no? But, I know what is below the window.

P

Pakistan                            Play                                      Police                                  Put

Personal                            People                                Pupil                                    Pot

Principal                            Place                                    Pin                                         Pink

1.       People play Ping-Pong in the porch of their palace.

2.       Please put pen, pencil and packet in your personal purse.

3.       Paul and prince purchase a pistol to prove their power to the poor people.

4.       Pick-pocket picks the pocket of a person whose purse is full of pennies.

5.       Pink panther picks a packet from the post office in public to please the post man and people.

6.       Police put the people in prison to prevent the people from the people.

7.       People feel the patient’s pain in the park with the patient’s pals.

8.       Please, be punctual, polite, prosperous and pious person.

Q R S

Question                           Quality                               Quit                                      Quarter

Rabbit                                 Race                                     Range                                 Rest

Suggestion                      Stage                                   Say                                        Sorry

1.       Unqualified Quack Questions the Quality of Quilt Quietly.

2.       Queue of Qualified doctors quits the Questions.

3.       Equality of quality queues up the quantity quietly.

T

Total                                    Titanic                                 Trust                                    Tolerate

Toy                                        Tonic                                    Train                                    Test

Touch                                  Taste                                    Table                                    Tub

1.       Tell tom and ted to take a ticket from the ticket-window.

2.       Me too, will come at two to two. (01:58)

3.       Train with transformers turns turtle on the top of the Tower of Tobacco Company.

4.       I will try to take the train of two to two (1:58) at the train station

5.       Today, ten trains will turn to Taiwan at 2:00

6.       Tom tries to take the training from the talk trainers in Tokyo

7.       The trained trainers train the talent of new trainers to transform the fate of the trainers in Tibet.

TH

Thin                                      Think                                   Nothing                            Thank

There                                   The                                       Therefore                         Then

Tooth                                  Truth                                   Forth                                   North

1.       I think thin smith can thank you for telling the truth.

2.       Thin people of north and south think of the toothache.

3.       Then, their think tank thought to do nothing in north and south themselves.

U V W X

Union                                  Use                                       United                                Unit

Volcano                             Various                               Very                                      Vast

Work                                   Waste                                 West                                    When

X-Ray                                   Xenophobe

Y Z

Yellow                                Young                                 Yell                                        Yes

Cry                                        Fry                                         My                                         Buy

Zebra                                   Zest                                      Zoo                                       Zurich

That’s All Folks!