Questions tagged [pronunciation]
Questions about the sounds, intonation, and stress of how words are uttered or produced. When asking questions about learning or teaching the pronunciation of a specific language, pleased add a language-specific tag.
96
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How can I pronounce the Arabic Dad?
I seem to have managed to properly pronounce the other letters, but [ɮˤ] still stumps me.
I move my tongue to the top-left back teeth where I make a sound which somewhat resembles a drowned out [d͡z]. ...
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1
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Having trouble with English vowels
Being Turkish, I think my command of English phonology suffers from L1 transfer.
Consonants seem to be fine, in that I can produce them on command, and can transcribe others' production of them more ...
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0
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How are words divided to into syllables?
My question is more about the pronunciation of words like arbitrary, oblivion and experience. The way theses words are divided into syllables make them harder for me to pronounce them due to the lack ...
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how to acquire a certain sound which lack in my mother tongue?
In my mother language, there is a lack of the N sound as an initial consonant. Every time when I say English words like nature, new, it will naturally or unconsciously be pronounced as lature, lew.
...
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Is this a good way to learn English?
In the anime Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai, there's such a scene of a notebook.
As you can see in the picture, it's almost barely a list of vocabulary, I mean, there's no example sentence. Besides, ...
user13474
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2
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118
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What is the most efficient set of languages needed to easily become proficient in any language?
I’m not familiar with the terminology to ask this question properly, so I’ll do my best in laymen’s terms.
I’m a native English speaker, so I find certain elements of other languages particularly ...
- 117
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21
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Tongue positioning for Serbian ć and č [closed]
I know that ć and č are different sounds as ć is softer than č, but do not know how the tongue should be positioned to pronounce them.
Is ć pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the back of ...
- 21
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0
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92
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Google translate: Hebrew, why no pronunciation? Why some languages have it and others not?
If I put in a word in English and translate it to Arabic, we get Arabic spelling as well an how to pronounce the word. But not for Hebrew -- we only get the word in Hebrew letters. Yiddish also gives ...
- 111
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1
answer
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How can I learn to hear differences in pronunciation between UK and the US English?
The word "run" has the same phonemes in the UK and US but, when I heard their pronunciations from the Cambridge dictionary, I heard a difference between both of them.
https://dictionary....
- 121
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Where to find computer aided tools to improve French pronunciation?
I have heard of Elsaspeak which is an AI software to correct English pronunciation. Does something like this exist for French as well? If not, what would be a good computer based method to improve ...
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Seeking a resource to explain the Origins and rules governing words pronounced as if they contained an "R", but not spelled as such?
There are words that, when pronounced with an British English accent, appear to contain the letter "R", but which are not written as containing one.
Bath and path, for example.
In contrast ...
- 111
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1
answer
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Minimal pairs for Danish u and ø?
I'm trying to learn Danish [ø] myself. Is there an example of minimal pairs for the Danish vowels [ø] and [u]? By minimal pairs I mean, for example, "beat" and "bit" which exhibit ...
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What age group should a 17-year-old man imitate to acquire a General American Accent?
I am a 17-year-old male.
I want to learn to speak a general American accent by imitating native speakers with this accent.
What age group should I be imitating, so I don't sound weird? Should I ...
0
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2
answers
572
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Pronunciation of "ll" in the Romance languages [closed]
I have noticed that all the Romance languages (Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, and French) usually pronounce the "ll" like the "y" in "yacht". ...
4
votes
2
answers
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Why is the Greek alphabet pronounced wrong all the time?
I've noticed that the Greek alphabet is systemically mispronounced in the English speaking world. What is the main reason for that?
Examples and remarks
I've never heard anyone pronounce the letters β,...
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3
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How to understand German when listening to a native German person?
I'm learning German on Duolingo also watching Learn German on YouTube, and I've completed the 1st phase (the basics). There are probably 6-7 phases of total in the app. But I don't wanted to depend on ...
user13359
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2
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What languages have words which you can pronounce reliably purely based on the way they are written? [closed]
It appears that Spanish and Chinese (Pinyin) are languages which you can accurately derive the pronunciation of the words purely from their spelling. Whereas English is definitely not that type of ...
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1
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What are some effective methods for improving one's accent?
I am a non-native English speaker. I've started learning the language roughly ten years ago, and have been practicing it ever since, be it through exposure to English-spoken content (movies, music, ...
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0
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The correct pronunciation of ᙯ (q) in Inuktitut? [closed]
According to Wikipedia and various internet source the consonant of ᙯ (written "q" in Latin script) is pronounced [q] (IPA notation), but when I hear it spoken in songs or videos (for ...
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2
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Problems teaching the 'gn' and 'gh' to an English learner
I'm teaching a French girl English (I'm not a qualified teacher, I'm more of a language assistant, I'm an English native, I'm at university at the moment).
She is having trouble with pronouncing words ...
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2
answers
780
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Should I learn Japanese pitch accent right from the start?
I just started learning Japanese regularly, and I was wondering if it's worth it to work on pitch accent while learning grammar and vocab or forget it for now and start working on it when I can speak ...
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2
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Why learn on purpose 'foreign accents' in English?
Today I upgraded to the 'new Microsoft Edge' browser. Fine and dandy, and there are functions for improving the user's reading or listening to texts.
In the 'read aloud' function, you can hear ENGLISH ...
user9297
4
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2
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Why Is Pronunciation Not Mastered First?
Almost all of the language teachers I've seen place perfect, native-level pronunciation pretty low on the priority list, yet this is the most straightforward thing to learn and will save someone a lot ...
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votes
1
answer
137
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French pronunciation
I'm looking for a guide to master my French pronunciation.
Ideally, pictures with proper tongue positioning inside the mouth.
For now, after 10 years of living in a French-speaking country, I ...
- 43
2
votes
2
answers
184
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How can I learn the pharyngeal ע pronunciation?
The Hebrew letter Ayin (ע) was traditionally a voiced pharyngeal fricative, but has mutated to a glottal stop in Modern Hebrew, merging it with the letter Aleph (א).
How can I learn the pharyngeal ...
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Is there a browser extension to pronounce the words?
I might be missing some cool tools: Are there browser extensions to pronounce the words in some/several languages?
I know I can select a word, right-click, search, get dictionary result, and click on ...
2
votes
0
answers
36
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Source for physical instructions to pronounce Danish vowels and consonants?
I am trying to learn Danish, and I cannot find any instructions on the physical movements necessary to make Danish vowels and consonants. I can find plenty of sources that say this or that letter ...
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46
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Is there evidence that tongue twisters help with listening and pronunciation?
The motivation for this question is a Chinese.SE answer:
Have you tried practicing with tongue twisters (绕口令)? ... They can help with both listening and pronunciation. Repetition is really the only ...
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How important is IPA to learn pronunciation for learners with non-roman alphabet
I think there is general agreement that IPA is crucial for learning pronunciation of a language like English, because there are no strict rules of pronunciation, and plenty of exceptions.
IPA is ...
3
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0
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Are there any languages in the world that contain no sounds foreign to English?
Are there any languages in the world that contain no sounds foreign to English? It need not contain all or even most of the sounds in English. Just no additional ones that native English speakers ...
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2
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145
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How can I avoid the huge gap between paper and oral skills?
I learned four foreign languages but all of them have one thing in common; reading is the best and writing follows it, and then after the huge gap come listening and speaking. My reading and speaking ...
- 1,248
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0
answers
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Should I mix different dialects on minimal pairs deck?
After posting this question, I investigated why I don't understand the sound difference, and I found out that one of the reasons must be the different dialects that exist in the deck. I installed the ...
- 1,248
5
votes
0
answers
44
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Are there any software tools which can deeply analyse pronunciation errors?
I have only ever seen pronunciation taught in terms of body mechanics, that is, "In language X, the "I" sound is produced with the lips more rounded than the English "I"", for example. There are apps ...
- 229
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0
answers
23
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Rolling the r's that end syllables [duplicate]
I think that I am ok, but not amazing, at rolling rs if they begin a syllable (onset). (For example maybe "red".)
However if the r is what ends a syllable (coda) (for example maybe "emperor or ...
- 111
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votes
1
answer
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How can I make sure my pronunciation based on IPA is correct?
I have read this question and answers titled "How can I learn IPA?" and now start to (finally) learn IPA and phonetics.
However, while the question asks about the way to learn the IPA, which focuses ...
- 1,248
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1
answer
63
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Digital dictionaries with sound for French learners
I had been using Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on a computer app. It was a great experience working with a dictionary that gives you pronunciations, examples with sound, thesaurus, and ...
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1
answer
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How to be in constant contact with the IPA to improve one's pronunciation of a language?
Recently I've been consulting a few words in the dictionary and after seeing their phonemic transcription I realized how my pronunciation differed from that of natives. The dictionary may then seem ...
4
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0
answers
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Tongue exercises relaxation (Flap T/D)
I have a question about pronunciation. I've been studying English practically for my whole life, but for some reason I have such a hard time pronouncing the FLAP T. I do know how to make it perfectly, ...
11
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1
answer
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How to start hearing the difference between similar sounds
The question I have is something that every student of a second language should have. That is about not being able to hear the difference between similar sounds, because of the first language. For ...
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1
answer
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Is passive learning effective for learning pronunciation?
Background
I am currently trying to learn new languages.
Question
I've heard of this method calling passive learning for language learning. However, there are many articles that say it's useless (...
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votes
1
answer
257
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The "gaps" between words in English
I am currently learning a language that does not have "gaps" in between words (Telugu).
What is a "gap"?
Many Telugu speakers, and Spanish or Italian speakers, perceive gaps or stops in between the ...
user4982
10
votes
1
answer
103
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How to speak a language that makes phonemic distinctions between /a/ and /aː/ if you're having trouble with /a/ and /aː/?
Title says it all. I'm talking specifically about Central Yiddish אַ = /a/ vs. ײַ = /aː/. My native language is American English.
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2
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Is shadowing really a technique for interpreter trainees?
Shadowing is a technique for improving pronunciation popularised by the polyglot Alexander Arguelles. There are many YouTube videos about the technique; most of them don't demonstrate shadowing in the ...
- 19.5k
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Spanish audio or video resources to practise shadowing
I am looking for audio and/or video resources in Spanish (as spoken in Spain, not Latin America) to practise shadowing. Shadowing is a technique that involves listening to audio and simultaneously ...
- 19.5k
4
votes
2
answers
257
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How can I improve my accent?
I can hear that I have some sort of non-native accent, but I just can't identify what's making me sound different. Is it the intonation and word stress? Are there certain words or sounds that I'm not ...
- 43
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votes
1
answer
255
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Modern Hebrew alphabet pronunciation of י, ד, and ק?
Most letters in the Hebrew alphabet have only one pronunciation, but there are a few with two potential pronunciations. I know that both are acceptable, but how are Israeli kids taught to pronounce ...
- 5,036
6
votes
1
answer
64
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Learning Tahitian, having issues with comprehension
I'm taking a class at my school in Tahitian, it is the beginning level. However, I am having trouble with understanding and memorizing the words. I am a native English speaker and know Mandarin to a ...
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1
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What is the impact of the new CEFR descriptors on learning the pronunciation of a foreign language?
Earlier this year, the Council of Europe publsihed an update to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or CEFR, more specifically the CEFR's Companion Volume. There was even a ...
- 19.5k
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1
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Which Konkani script is most similar to pronunciation?
The Konkani language is one of the official languages of India and is written in 5 different scripts, which are (in alphabetical order) Devanagari, Kannada, Latin, Malayalam, and Persian.
For someone ...
- 5,036
3
votes
0
answers
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Which romanization system is closest to native pronunciation of Standard Mandarin?
The most commonly used Mandarin romanization systems are Hanyu Pinyin (most common by far), Gwoyeu Romatzyh (GR), and Wade-Giles (more common in Taiwan than China). Based on your experience, and ...
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