Something that many people who have English as a second language often have difficulty with when it comes to speaking and listening to American English is the abundance of similar but different sounds it has. Thus, it is very important for English language learners to become familiar with all of these different sounds and to be able to distinguish them from each other in the way they are spoken as well as heard. R vs L People often get confused between the American L and the American R because they can sound very similar to each other to a non-native speaker’s ears. This is especially true if your native language does not make any distinction between the two sounds, such as in Japanese. Of course, it could also be the complete opposite and your language might have several sounds that are also pretty similar to R and L. In any case, when it comes to American English, these two sounds are actually pretty distinct from each other. One way that you can familiarize yourself with the differences between the two is to imagine how the tongue is used for each of these different sounds. For the American R, the tongue is actually kept in a neutral position without touching any part of the tongue. Go past the American R and raise the tongue up to your palate or even touching the front of your tongue and you get the American L. This is the biggest difference between the two sounds. bfv B, F and V These three vowel sounds can also seem quite similar and this is because the mouth is used in almost the same way in order to produce all three distinct sounds. There are, of course, some differences between the three of them as follows: B – The B sound is typically made by vibrating the vocal chords while holding your lips together and without the use of your teeth. V – The American V is similar the B sound in that it’s also a voiced sound using your vocal chords, but you bite your lower lip with your upper front teeth instead of holding your lips together. F – Take out the voice and simply push air out of your lips while holding them in the same position as you would for the American V and you get the American F. If you found this article interesting/useful, you can find more in-depth lessons on similar sounds in American English in The American Accent Course.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:23:35 +0000
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