Monthly Archives: September 2019

• Reduce!

  American English uses lots of reduced sounds — sounds that are more relaxed. These sounds are pronounced less fully, or not pronounced at all. One of the most common is the schwa sound, pronounced “uh”. Most syllables that are not stressed are pronounced with this vowel sound. So practice relaxed and lazy speech to sound […]

• Sing and stretch!

  The intonation of American English sounds somewhat like a song, with ups and downs. The stressed syllables are not only higher, but longer. Using enough contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables will help you sound more like a native speaker. So stretch the stressed syllables and say them higher to make the stressed syllables stand […]