How-is-it-going?

What-do-you-think?

I-don't-know.

These are a few conversational phrases you hear frequently in American English.

Yet, when you hear a native speaker use these phrases, they don't quite sound the way you might expect, based on looking at the written words.

What...

Responsibility. Availability. Reliability.

These are some tricky words!

But did you know there's a pattern in pronouncing words like this- words with the -ITY ending?

And did you know the pronunciation of this suffix is different in the American accent vs. the British accent?

When you...

Do these two words sounds the same in spoken English?

TO vs. TOO

Seems like they should, right?

But surprise surprise- "to" and "too" actually do not sound the same.

In this latest Clear English lesson, we're playing with the difference between these words.

Because sometimes...

"Is there a 'g' sound at the end of the word WRONG?"

This question came from one of my stellar Clear English Academy students in a practice session the other day.

It's tricky, right? We see the letter G, but there is actually no /g/ sound in this word!

Many of my students unintentionally add a...

It's a mistake to think that learning and practicing pronunciation is less important than developing your vocabulary and grammar.

In fact, I'd argue that it's more important.

I know, I know. I'm a pronunciation nerd.  It's my thing so of course I think it's...

Did you know there is a rhythmic pattern to pronouncing words like HR, DMV, and CST?

These are called initialisms. Initialisms are abbreviations where you speak the first letter of each word in the name of something. 

HR- Human Resources

DMV- Department of Motor Vehicles

CST- Central...

Do you every think "I want my English to sound more natural..."

Then wonder, but how the heck do I do that? What does that even mean?

You feel like something sounds a bit "off" in your speech but you're not sure exactly what that is and you're completely clueless as to how to fix it.

Well...

I am easily overwhelmed. 

I have always been this way. I can remember, growing up, when big projects would be looming for school, I would make myself almost sick with thoughts and feelings of “I have to get this done” and “how am I going to get this done?”

The result...

I absolutely love this time of year- the decorations, the gatherings, the traditions and the excitement in the air.

It’s a special time for many and I enjoy hearing about different holiday celebrations. 

I don’t know about you, but there are several “tiny traditions”...

Consider this sentence:

Terror gripped her heart as she peered into the mirror- the horror of the days events apparent in her reflection.

Do you feel an inkling of terror at the thought of speaking this sentence out loud?

This sentence is heavy on the R sounds and these sounds are challenging for...