How Can I Sound American?
2020-05-30
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1Today on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Igor in Russia.
2He writes,
3Question: I'd like to speak with an American accent. Could you give me advice on how to improve it? Thank you so much.
4Yours sincerely,
5Igor, Russia
6Dear Igor,
7An accent is more than simply the way one says individual words.
8It is also the way speakers use three things: intonation, pacing and stress.
9Intonation is the rise and fall in one's voice when speaking.
10Pacing is how fast you are speaking.
11And stress is the word or words you play up, or emphasize, when you talk.
12If you want to sound more like an American when you speak, there are a few sounds that experts say make up the American accent.
13The thing most people notice is that many Americans pronounce the "r" sound at the end of words, like "butter."
14And, in American English, the "t" in the middle of a word is often said like the letter "d."
15Try making the "r" sound in these three words: better, door, poor.
16Another of these sounds is the short "a" sound you hear in words like "cat."
17To make this sound, pull your lips back as if you are smiling, but keep your mouth open.
18Try making this short "a" sound in these words: dad, map, tag.
19Another sound you should watch for is the short "o," as heard in the words "bot" and "cod."
20Your lips do not need to be round to produce this "o" sound.
21Try saying this sound in mom, got, and pop.
22The most important way to improve your accent is to keep on speaking and listening to American English.
23Try to hear the rhythm, or "music," of the language as you listen to Americans.
24The pace, or speed, should be slower than other accents.
25And it is not necessary to sound exactly like a native speaker.
26As long as you speak clearly enough to be understood, most Americans enjoy hearing a foreign accent.
27It makes you sound a little mysterious!
28Our website has several Education Tips stories on pronunciation, as well as the new video series "How to Pronounce."
29To learn more, see Keep Your Identity While Changing Your Accent, our story about a program that helps students change their accents.
30What question do you have about English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
31And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.
32I'm Jill Robbins.
1Today on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Igor in Russia. He writes, 2Question: I'd like to speak with an American accent. Could you give me advice on how to improve it? Thank you so much. 3Yours sincerely, 4Igor, Russia 5Answer: 6Dear Igor, 7An accent is more than simply the way one says individual words. It is also the way speakers use three things: intonation, pacing and stress. Intonation is the rise and fall in one's voice when speaking. Pacing is how fast you are speaking. And stress is the word or words you play up, or emphasize, when you talk. 8If you want to sound more like an American when you speak, there are a few sounds that experts say make up the American accent. 9American sounds 10The thing most people notice is that many Americans pronounce the "r" sound at the end of words, like "butter." And, in American English, the "t" in the middle of a word is often said like the letter "d." 11Try making the "r" sound in these three words: better, door, poor. 12Another of these sounds is the short "a" sound you hear in words like "cat." To make this sound, pull your lips back as if you are smiling, but keep your mouth open. 13Try making this short "a" sound in these words: dad, map, tag. 14Another sound you should watch for is the short "o," as heard in the words "bot" and "cod." Your lips do not need to be round to produce this "o" sound. 15Try saying this sound in mom, got, and pop. 16Practice makes perfect 17The most important way to improve your accent is to keep on speaking and listening to American English. Try to hear the rhythm, or "music," of the language as you listen to Americans. The pace, or speed, should be slower than other accents. And it is not necessary to sound exactly like a native speaker. As long as you speak clearly enough to be understood, most Americans enjoy hearing a foreign accent. It makes you sound a little mysterious! 18Our website has several Education Tips stories on pronunciation, as well as the new video series "How to Pronounce." To learn more, see Keep Your Identity While Changing Your Accent, our story about a program that helps students change their accents. 19Your questions 20What question do you have about English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 21And that's Ask a Teacher for this week. 22I'm Jill Robbins. 23Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 24______________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26accent - n. a way of saying the words of a given language 27emphasize - v. to give special attention to when speaking or writing 28lips - n. (pl) the two soft parts that surround the mouth 29Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.