earn the Unique Features of American English
The main feature that separates the American accent from a lot of other naga 4d accents in English is rhotic speech. This means that most Americans pronounce the r in words such as (har-d).
Non-rhotic speakers don’t pronounce the r, and would pronounce the word “hard” like hah-d: hard
There are some exceptions, of course. Some Americans in the New England area of the US use non-rhotic speech.
Other features (properties) of the American accent include:
- The short a sound is used in words such as “man” and “cat.”
- The use of an unrounded (relaxed) vowel in words such as “lot” (pronounced laht).
- Dropping (not saying) words. American English speakers often use shortened sentences, suggesting words without actually saying them. In the UK, this is much less common. For example:Jim: “Are you going to the store on your way home?”
Jan: “I could. What you need?” (I could go to the store. What do you need?)
When making the American English r sound, open your lips slightly and place your tongue right in the middle of your mouth, with the sides of your tongue touching your back teeth. Then, curl the tip of your tongue up toward the top of your mouth.
The trick is to make sure the tip of your tongue doesn’t touch anything, especially not the back of your teeth!
To practice this, try saying the word “ear.” Start with the e sound, then curl up the tip of your tongue. The sound should change from an e to an r like magic!
3. Learn to Pronounce Your Ts and Ds Right
The Letter T
The letter t is another example of a letter that’ll tell you if a person is from the States right away.
The first thing you have to remember about the letter t is that, in the American accent, it sounds like something between a d and an r when it’s between vowel sounds. Or, between a vowel and the letter l. (This is called t-flapping, and the ).