Return to course: American Accent Course

American Accent Course

Single Letter Sounds

The 'R', 'V', and 'J' Sounds

'R', 'V', and 'J' Sounds Quiz

Multi-letter Sounds

Consonant Clusters - ‘Th’, ‘Thr’, ‘Sts’, ‘Sks’, and ‘Sps’

The Three ‘Ch’ Sounds - /Tch/, /Sh/, /K/

The Four ‘Ice’ Sounds - /ice/, /is/, /ees/, /ois/

The ‘Tu’, ‘Du’, and ‘Su’ Sounds

Vowel Pronunciation

The Best Vowel Pronunciation Trick

The ‘Ed’ Sound - Pronouncing Past Tense Verbs

Speaking Clearly and Quickly

Stop Consonant Reduction

Silent Letters

Using Stress In Words

American Vocabulary

American Slang

Phrasal Verbs

‘R’, ‘V’, and ‘J’ Sounds Quiz

What does Holding a Sound mean? *

Writing the phonetic letters of a sound on a piece of paper.

Stopping a sound after the first tongue movement.

Continuing a sound for several seconds.

Pronouncing vowels in a sound with extra stress.

Are sounds ever held in American English conversations? *

Yes, but only when creating extra emphasis or stress on a part of a word.

No, only during pronunciation practice.

Do Americans ever pronounce the letter ‘J’ as a silent letter? *

Yes, when they are pronouncing words from specici Spanish or European countries.

No, never, because a silent ‘J’ is not understood by American English speakers.

What is a Voiced Sound? *

A sound that is meant to be pronounced much quieter than other sounds.

An individual letter that is pronounced silently.

A vowel that is surrounded by three consonants.

A sound that creates vibration in the mouth and vocal cords.

Is the letter ‘V’ a Voiced Sound, or Unvoiced Sound? *

Voiced

Unvoiced

What consonant is started by the ‘dge’ in the word “Edge”? *

What is the purpose of Holding a Sound? *

There is no purpose – it is only used for demonstration.

Holding a sound helps you listen to your pronunciation more clearly, and it helps ensure you’re not accidentally creating a stop consonant sound.

Holding a sound allows you to speak like a Southerner, which sounds very nice.

By holding a sound, you are expanding your lungs which will allow you to speak faster and without pauses or periods.

Which of the following is a Stop Consonant? *

Is the letter ‘J’ a Voiced Sound, or Unvoiced Sound? *

Voiced

Unvoiced