Why is English Pronunciation SO DANG Challenging?
What makes English pronunciation a challenging skill for people?
It is definitely a hard and confusing language to learn but there's always this vague something about it that makes it hard.
I remember when I first started to teach English pronunciation, that I'd be blown away by the inconsistencies and challenges of the English language but I couldn't explain WHY.
So, I took an ESL teacher program to learn how ESL teachers teach English. What were the grammar rules that I learned innately being a native English speaker that a non-native English had to learn later on i life. It was super confusing and frustrating to learn of all the exceptions to rules and it became a source of empathy for anyone learning English.
And in this no-nonsense list, I’ll show you exactly how to start thinking about English and approaching English language learning to avoid those pitfalls in order to learn English faster and more efficiently.
1. Contrasting English Sounds With Your Native Language
Languages are like sports. Some skills are transferrable while some are not. Golf and hockey both involve a stick hitting a small object - just the object is different. American football and rugby both involve running with a ball and throwing a ball - except the pace and rules of engagement are different.
By comparing the individual speech sounds of each language to see which speech sounds each language uses, you can figure out what is in common and what is not. Then you can focus on what is not in common to predict what you need to learn specifically for English.
Let's compare the English sound inventory to the Spanish sound inventory for example. ASHA (The American Speech Language Hearing Association) has compiled a great list of many languages' speech sound inventories for you to compare. Check it out here to do the same comparison with your own native language.
For this example, we're comparing English and Spanish. If you open both pdfs up, you can see a table with many different symbols. This table represents the CONSONANT sounds that Spanish has versus the CONSONANT sounds that English has. I want you to compare the symbols within the chart.
After you take a moment, you will notice that Spanish is missing the following consonant sounds.
v θ ð z dʒ ʃ ʒ ɹ ŋ h
These are the sounds that do not exist in standard Spanish and so naturally, these would be good sounds to start practicing and confirming you can make in order to properly access commonly used sounds occurring in English.
Interestingly, English does not have the following consonant sounds:
ɲ, r, x
If an English speaker was learning Spanish, this would be a good starting point as well to practice pronunciation (but we're talking about learning English today).
What To Do About It?
Take 30 minutes and figure out your native language's sound inventory - the actual sound list that your language uses. Compare that to English and figure out what sounds your first language is missing that English has.
Once you figure out the specific symbols, spend 1 week to learn 1 symbol. Wikipedia can help you to find the specific sound, and how to make it. I'll also be covering each sound in more detail in the future so you can always check back here for more information too!
2. Inconsistency
The written English alphabet and the produced sound are not consistent.
This is something that you NEED to understand.
The written letter A does not always make the 'A' sound.
There are rules that help dictate what exactly is pronounced, but a famous reference that communicates the point is the word 'GHOTI'
The word GHOTI can be pronounced as FISH if:
GH - pronounced like enough or tough
O - pronounced like women
TI - pronounced like nation and motion
Now, I admit, there are rules that stop this example from being true. For example, gh can only resemble f when following the letters ou or au at the end of certain words. However, this another example of why it can be hard for non-native English speakers to learn - because there are exceptions. GH at the beginning of a word ("ghost") and GH at the end of a word ("laugh") make two very different sounds.
On top of consonants having varying degrees of inconsistency, don't get me started on vowels either. They are much more inconsistent in pronunciation as well. Consider the following letters and words.
a - bad, bay, ant, atop
e - eel, bed
i - hi, hill, tile
o - go, how, clock
u - up, mute
Even though the vowel is the same, the pronunciation is different.
What To Do About It?
What you need to do as an English language learner is start prioritizing and paying close attention to the sound produced rather than which letters are used to spell the word. You need to start remembering words based on how they sound, not just how they are spelled - otherwise, you will rely on their spelling.
Get comfortable with rhyming because rhyming requires an understanding or recognition of vowel sounds. If it rhymes, the vowel is the same.
So...
PAN and MAN rhyme. But HUMAN doesn't. So even though HUMAN has 'MAN' in it, the vowel pronounced isn't the same.
ME, SEE, INDUSTRY, and CONFETTI all rhyme. So even though the vowel is different, the vowel pronounced is the same.
3. Influence from Other Languages
English is a lingua franca - a language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages. What this means is that people will try to speak English as the common language. It's kinda like the default when-in-doubt option. Plus, the colonization of the world by English-speaking civilizations makes English a pretty safe bet in the modern world.
What is also means is that English adopted a lot of words from other languages.
These loanwords were incorporated into English vocabulary, but also through a process of naturalization and assimilation, these words are anglicanized or reshaped so they are easier to say in English.
Dictionary.com has a list of example words here, but just a few to list include:
tortilla, quiche, muse, yacht
They are weird words that don't necessarily follow typical English rules. Instead, some rules from other languages are layered on top of English rules of pronunciation and you'r supposed to just know.
So sure, a Spanish speaker might be more informed that in tortilla, the double-L sound is not produced as a L-sound but that wouldn't be apparent to a Korean-speaker learning English. Then, to learn the language, The Korean-speaker might try to say follow without pronouncing the double-L sound.
What To Do About It?
The best way to avoid those errors is by exposure. Pay attention to how other English speakers say the word and if it differs from the spelling of the word, make a mental note.
This is exactly how English speakers learn too! It isn't just a practice for non-native English speakers. The only difference is that native English speakers made these mistakes earlier in their lives in most instances. For me, I learned the correct pronunciation of the word omnipotent in elementary school. I pronounced it as omni-potent but when my friend said it as omNIpotent*,* I quickly made a mental note and from the embarrassment I felt after realizing my error, I learned the proper pronunciation.
4. Strong and Weak Forms Of Pronunciation
In English, there are strong and weak forms of pronunciation for many function words (e.g. the, an, and, for, or, is). Strong forms of pronunciation emphasize or draw attention to a word and weak forms de-emphasize them. The de-emphasized form exists primarily to ensure the grammaticality of the sentence.
For example:
The dog is black
In this sentence, typically, either dog or black is the most important and therefore stressed part of the word.
But, sometimes, the or is can be the most important.
Those dogs are black?
No, the dog is black.
The dog isn't black?
No, the dog is black.
In each sentence, the emphasis is on the misheard grammatical function word. The added strong form pronunciation stresses the correct and intended word to support accurate comprehension and clarification.
Many times, students and English language learners are not explicitly educated about strong and weak forms, nor are they reviewed explicitly for the sake of rhythm, pronunciation and clarification.
What To Do About It?
Start here. Become educated on what can be de-stressed or pronounced in a weak form. Ask why? Notice the impact of weak forms on your sentence pacing and rhythm when compared against a strong form (use your voice recording app to compare and contrast).
5. Slang And Colloquial Pronunciations
Slang and colloquial pronunciations can be very specific to a region. What this means is that I am writing to you from Vancouver/Toronto, Canada and the slang I use means something to me in Vancouver/Toronto but may mean absolutely nothing to you if you don't live in those places.
What it also means, is that there is no resource guide or cheatsheet that is specially tailored for your needs. You will slowly learn the slang if you are comfortable asking people when you hear it and it also means that slang can change if new words are being used or culturally-relevant.
It also means that the slang pronunciation can differ from the spelling and typical pronunciation, so you have absolutely no way of knowing, until you hear someone local to that area say it.
For example, in Toronto, Canada, people say "Tch'rono" or "Turrono" instead of Toronto.
There is no English rule that says it is okay to not pronounce the second T. In fact, people who do not live in Toronto typically will pronounce the second T. It is perfectly acceptable to pronounce the second T and many Americans will pronounce it.
But, the majority of Torontonians will not.
As an English language learner, this will be frustrating. There is no secret way to figure it out beforehand.
What To Do About It?
Rely on google. Search your city name and "slang". See what pops up. Then, listen closely and observe other people speak. It can happen quickly and you may not even notice it at first, but you need to be observant of other people, what words they use, and you will notice the slang more intently. Make a list of your newfound vocabulary. Intentionally practice using it - make sure you used it properly and in context. Make sure you understood the slang correctly and used it correctly. Rinse and repeat until it becomes more comfortable.
Surprise. It's A Straightforward Path to Learning. But It's Tedious.
Unfortunately, there isn't a quick and easy solution. It is a lot of work and it can be tedious but it can also be a fulfilling and awe-inspiring journey of discovery to learn, understand, implement and successfully communicate, similar to learning the English language in the first place. It's an amazing feat to be multilingual and it is an equally amazing feat to be interested and inquisitive enough to learn the culture and nuance of the communication dance that English speakers do.
I want to know what you’ve done to improve your pronunciation intentionally. Did any of these steps help the most or unlock an aspect of English communication you didn’t know about before? Let me know in the comments below!
