Pronunciation Tips for Chinese Speakers

If you are a Chinese English language learner, you may face some common pronunciation errors when you are speaking in English. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes - it takes time to master any skill, especially learning to speak English fluently! Here is a list of the most common mistakes and some ways to correct them.

1. /l/ vs. /r/

One of the most common mistakes that Mandarin speakers make is confusing the sounds of /l/ and /r/. A common example is the word 'rice' which might be pronounced as 'lice'. Be conscious of how you are positioning your tongue. You want to press your tongue to your alveolar ridge for the /l/ sound but open your mouth and round your lips for the /r/ sound.

2. Vowels

Another common problem is making the differences on some of the English vowels. For instance, Mandarin has only five phonetic vowels while English has twelve vowel sounds. Therefore, it may be challenging for Chinese English Language Learners to differentiate the English sounds such as /æ/ and /ʌ/. You may hear words like 'bat' and 'but' mixed up. Be sure to pay attention to your tongue position and mouth shape for each vowel sound.

3. Consonants

Some English consonant sounds do not exist in Mandarin like /v/ and /w/. Learners tend to mix these two sounds and can lead to difficulty in distinguishing between words such as 'when' and 'win'. Remember that /v/ feels more like a light vibration in your bottom lip while /w/ is pronounced by rounding your lips and bringing the top and bottom lip together.

4. Stress and intonation

Mandarin has a fixed tone pattern that does not exist in English. Therefore, learners tend to stress the wrong syllables which can cause a word to be pronounced incorrectly. Stressing the certain parts of a sentence also affect communication and convey different meanings in English, examples such as 'I didn't say he stole the money.' And 'I didn't say he stole the money,' have different meanings. In English, it's important to stress the correct syllable to convey meaning.

5. Silent letters

English has many silent letters, such as the 'k' in 'knee' or the 'b' in 'debt'. Chinese English Language Learners often have trouble remembering how to pronounce words with silent letters. Practicing saying the words properly and making a connection to other words in order to remember may help.

The Takeaway

English pronunciation errors from Chinese language learners are because of differences in phonetics, sound structure, stress, and intonation; however, with practice and patience, these problems can be overcome! Being mindful and deliberate with your tongue position, mouth shape, and pronunciation is the key to mastering English pronunciation.