A common misperception is that strong accents are caused by mispronunciation of individual sounds. As we will see in the next secret, the bigger issue is usually rhythm.
Never-the-less most people with strong accents will have a few sounds that need some attention.
Nearly all language groups have difficulties with the ones below:
| Problem Sound | Example | Description |
|
Th |
as in The |
The two Th sounds are probably the trickiest to master. |
|
Th |
as in Thin |
|
|
W |
as in Wish |
W & V have similar vocalisations but are shaped differently at the front of the mouth. |
|
V |
as in Van |
|
|
A, E, I, O, U |
All vowel sounds |
Vowel sounds are often insufficiently differentiated. |
Some nationalities have difficulty with other specific sounds like R and L for Chinese speakers and some sibilants for Latin American Spanish speakers. Typically this is because of the absence of the sounds in the mother tongue.
