Meet my best buddy, Mr. Mouth. Creepy? Yes. Useful? Couldn’t possibly live without him. You can probably tell that this mouth is well loved. I didn’t quite realize how ragged he looked until I took a picture of him to send to a friend. What makes...
I have given little teasers about the /i/ sound in other posts, but today the tense /i/ is the star of the show. Let’s talk about the tense /i/ sound at the ends of words. Spelling: “y” Endings A final “y” can sometimes say /aɪ/ as in “like” or...
While the “-ate” ending certainly looks like it should be pronounced the same as the word “ate” (e.g. “I ate a delicious doughnut.”) this is not always the case. There are many different words with this ending, such as “accurate,” “educate,” “graduate,” and “estimate.” Some “-ate”...
Many of you may be inadvertently leaving out an essential component (or two) in the word “January.” One thing that’s interesting about this word is that almost every one of my students has difficulty with it, no matter where the student is from. Approximately 99% of...
Here is another American English thematic blog post for you centered around Christmas vocabulary. These words may not seem to be extremely specific to Christmas-time, but that is the beauty of the list… These words come up over and over again in regular conversation, but even...
October begins the parade of heavily “themed” holidays in the United States. First we celebrate Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and finally Christmas. I am dedicating this post to 10 of the highest frequency Halloween-themed words that you are likely to use this month, especially if you...
“Of” and “off.” Similar spellings, different pronunciations. Did you know that the words “of” and “off” have different vowels? Also, though both are spelled with an “f,” only word contains a /f/ sound. Two things make these “of” and “off” different. Vowel sound Do you remember the difference...
Have you ever had to repeat yourself when saying “fourteen” or “forty,” “seventeen” or “seventy”? Here are some pointers that may help people understand these numbers more easily when you speak. The differences… Stress (sometimes) When you pronounce the word “forty,” primary stress, or emphasis, is placed...
“X” is for “xylophone.” That’s what all the kids learn, anyway. For adults who are learning American English pronunciation, “x” is for /ks/ or /gz/. Two Consonants The letter “x” typically represents TWO sounds, either /ks/ or /gz/. For non-native speakers, it can be tricky to produce...
In your throat, you have a set of vocal folds (or vocal chords). These folds can either be pulled apart or pushed together when producing speech sounds. If you pronounce a sound with your vocal folds pulled apart, the sound will be voiceless. If you...