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Glottal stops in real English

Glottal stops in real English

When I was growing up, I remember being “corrected” and told that the way I spoke was “wrong”. The reason? I used glottal stops. The glottal stop is a common sound in British English and often replaces /t/ between vowels like...
Five Spanish loanwords

Five Spanish loanwords

Many words in English originate from other languages but we no longer think of them as foreign words. Examples include “restaurant” (French origin), “algebra” (Arabic origin) and “bungalow” (Hindi origin). Some words though still look and feel like they are borrowed....
Accent focus: Newcastle accent with Sarah Millican

Accent focus: Newcastle accent with Sarah Millican

The United Kingdom is famous for the range of regional accents we have relative to our size. It’s possible for travel even a few miles and find the accent has completely changed. The Geordie accent is spoken by people in the Newcastle area. Watch this clip with...
Vowel length in sheep /i/ and ship /ɪ/ vowels:

Vowel length in sheep /i/ and ship /ɪ/ vowels:

Lots of learners, whatever their first language, find vowel length difficult especially in words like Ship / sheep Live / leave Rhythm / reason There are two differences between these vowel sounds. The most obvious is length – you can clearly hear that the vowel in...
Do you want to “speak like a native”?

Do you want to “speak like a native”?

How do you feel when you read phrases like: “speak like a native” “improve your accent” “perfect pronunciation” Do they inspire you or do they make you feel second best? If they make you feel like your English isn’t good enough, I completely understand. These phrases...