Podcast Companion: Why Everything Gets Quieter After the Main Stress
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we talk about finding the point of your sentence, also called the focus word, and especially…
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The Problem Phrase Bank: Build Your Own Pronunciation Practice List
A lot of pronunciation practice is generic. You work through a textbook, complete an app lesson, practice a particular sound, or follow a…
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Didja Hear That? Part 2: Assimilation in Everyday American English
In the previous episode of The Accent Journey, we looked at examples of assimilation and connected speech, such as supposed to → suppose-ta,…
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Y’all, You Guys, and Youse: What Your Choice of “You” Says About American English
Imagine you’re talking to five people and want to say: “Are you ready?” Who exactly does you refer to? Everyone? One particular person?…
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Podcast Companion: Assimilation in American English (Part 1)
In this week’s episode of The Accent Journey Podcast, we explore the first of two episodes on assimilation in connected American English, the…
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The H You Don’t Need: How “Give Him a Call” Becomes “Give ’Im a Call”
Listen to a native American English speaker say: Give him a call. At normal conversational speed, you may hear something closer to: Give…
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The Disappearing D: Why “Supposed To,” “Used To,” and “Have To” Don’t Sound the Way They’re Spelled
If you’ve ever listened to an American say the phrases supposed to, used to, or have to, you may have noticed that the…
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The Vanishing Ending: Not Dropping Final Consonants in English
Every language has its own rules about how syllables are built. English is remarkably flexible in that words can end in a wide…
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Yeah, Right: The Pitch Pattern That Signals Sarcastic Speech
If you’ve ever heard someone respond to bad news with “Oh, great” or react to an obviously terrible idea with “Yeah, right,” you…
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The Reflexive Pronoun Pattern: Stress the “SELF” in “Myself”
Say this sentence naturally: I did it myself. Where did you place the emphasis? Many non-native speakers will instinctively stress the first syllable:…
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