Category Archives: Accent reduction

• The colors of fall

  Autumn brings colorful leaves. In American English, the letter “o” is often not an “o” sound. In the word color, the letter “o” is a schwa sound, pronounced “uh”, in both syllables. Color is pronounced “cuh-ler”. 

• At last!

  The “ae” sound in American English is used in some common words that are pronounced with an “ah” sound in British English, such as “last”. The “ae” sound is the sound in the word “cat” and is made with the corners of the lips pulled back towards the ears, as if smiling. The expression “at […]

• Labor Day

  Labor Day is a federal holiday on the first Monday of September every year. Because the last syllable is unstressed, it’s pronounced with a reduced vowel sound. Although it’s spelled “or”, it’s pronounced exactly the same as “er”, as in “teacher”.

• Stretch!

  Have you ever heard someone with an accent speak your language but you didn’t understand anything said? It may be because the intonation, or rhythm, was different. Imitating the rhythm of the language can make all the difference! In American English, stressed words and syllables are higher and longer. Using enough contrast between stressed and […]

• That’s great!

  A contraction is when two words are put together to form one new word. That is becomes that’s, as in “that’s great!”. Contractions are very commonly used in American English, especially in speech. Use of contractions will make your speech sound more natural and more like a native speaker.