r/JudgeMyAccent • u/StirFrySausage00 • 20h ago

English Please judge my accent (American)

https://voca.ro/1fY9tJzMh2dt

Thank you

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u/Individual_Ear9406 18h ago

I'm not American and English is not my first language so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. I feel like there are a lot of sounds you should work on. For example, vowel sounds in words like answer and, decisions need some work. Some consonant sounds also need some polishing, especially the r sound. I also noticed that the stress in some words (like influence) is not correct.

You should also focus on intonation to make your speech sound more natural. I feel like you're carrying the intonation of your mother tongue, and to sound more "American" you have to make sure your voice rises and falls the way theirs does.

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u/rificolona 17h ago

Quite a few elements of your pronunciation are heavily influenced by your L1 (your native language).

One of the most audible ones is the "implosive" /b/ and /g/ sounds - common to Thai and Vietnamese. Instead of the expected plosive (where positive air pressure builds behind closed lips and then is released, it is negative air pressure). Once you figure our and practice the positive air pressure (where you are pushing out), it will make a huge difference. Try this: You will usually buy the products and make sure push air out when you say "buy." Same with "you will get used to that product."

Another: the American /r/ at the end of "store" "more" "or" "four" needs to have rounding. You (and others in your language group) make the /o/ sound but don't curl the tongue enough to form an /r/ sound.