Category Archives: Accent reduction

• Move your mouth less

  When Americans speak, most of the vowel sounds in our sentences are made with a relaxed, neutral mouth. American English doesn’t use as much lip rounding as many other languages. So using straighter lips and moving your mouth less can help reduce your accent!

• Smile!

  Have you ever noticed that American speakers seem to smile when they talk? At least, we really don’t use our lips much. American English has less lip rounding than many other languages. So smile when you talk — it does wonders for reducing your accent!  

• Surf the In(t)ernet

  When the “t” sound comes after the “n” sound, it is often not pronounced. It becomes a silent “t”. The word “Internet” is often spoken as “Innernet”. The silent “t” is especially common in phrases (such as “San(t)a Claus”), contractions (such as “didn(‘t) it”), and verbs (such as “wan(t)ed”).

• Ideal situation

  The letter “t” is sometimes a “ch” sound, as in the word “situation”. An ideal situation is a standard that seems very good and that which one seeks to attain. What is an ideal situation for you?

• Mother’s Day

  The word “mother” has a “th” sound. The “th” sound is made with the tongue tip between the teeth. The tongue does not stop the air like the “d” sound. Instead, there is a slight flow of air between the tongue and the teeth. Did you remember your mother on Mother’s Day?