10 pronunciation mistakes RUSSIAN SPEAKERS make | Как улучшить произношение на английском

Hey, what's up? It's hadar. And this is the accent's way. Today we're going to talk about the top 10 pronunciation mistakes Russian speakers make. We're going to talk about why you make those mistakes and also how you can improve. So let's begin. The first is mispronunciation of the. As in cat, the sound is an open front vowel. So first of all, you have to open your mouth quite wide, which is something that Russian speakers don't always like because it doesn't happen in Russian. So. So the tendency is to open the mouth a little less, and the result is that the a sound becomes. And then a word like bad may sound like bed or cat, may sound like ket happy instead of happy, or you just turn it into an ah sound. The ah that exists in Russian, especially when it's at the beginning, like in the words after or accent instead of after and accent. To make the a sound, you want to make sure that your mouth is open, but also that your tongue is pushed forward. The front part of the tongue is low and flat, but the back is high. It's like when you. When something is disgusting and you're like, make sure it doesn't stay on the E sound. You can start with an e and then gradually open it to an happy, last, not lost, last, and cat. One of the most important things in English is the primary stress of the word that means the one syllable that stands sticks out the most in the word. So, for example, in the word table, the primary stress is on tay. Table. If I were to say something like table, it would be completely unclear, especially in context. When I use it in context, like put it on the table. Right? What did I just say? Now, table is a simple example, and no one says table. However, when we get to words with three syllables, four syllables, and more, not all Russian speakers, but many speakers tend to misplace the stress. So, for example, you may hear someone saying engineer instead of engineer, catastrophe instead of catastrophe. The primary stress is probably the most important thing when pronouncing words, you have to listen closely to English, especially long words that you use quite often, and try to detect what is the primary stress, which syllable, which unit is pronounced with the most emphasis? Right. Usually the primary stress is higher in pitch and longer. Okay? So do not take anything for granted. Always look for the primary stress. Try to detect what is the one syllable that is stressed the most, that is higher in pitch, that is longer. And if you can't tell, go to pronunciation dictionaries and usually you'll see it in bold, or if you read it in ipa, you'll see that the primary stress is marked by an apostrophe to the left of the syllable that is stressed. So in the word engineer, it's going to be right before the last syllable, near and not at the beginning. Okay? So you got to practice it, you got to listen to it closely, and then you'll be able to pronounce words with the right stress. In English, there is the O as in go sound. It is a diphthong, a changing sound from one vowel to another. O as in go. As you can see, I'm starting open and then I'm closing my lips gradually as I'm pronouncing the sound go low. A lot of Russian speakers say substitute this O sound that doesn't exist in Russian with a similar sound that is the neutral O sound in Russian. And then instead of go, you may hear something like go instead of low. You can even hear it more clearly when the O appears at the beginning of a word or before another syllable, like only instead of only, or goal instead of go. Okay? So make sure that when you have the O as in go, you round your lips at the end as if you're actually adding a W sound. Go, go. Won't, won't, don't, not don't, don't. Okay, so add the W for the O as in go sound. Now, speaking of W's, Russian doesn't have a W sound. So a lot of speakers actually substitute the W sound with the closest sound that does exist in Russian, which is the V sound. However, most Russian speakers are aware that there is a W sound and they know how to pronounce it. But then sometimes they over apply it. So instead of just using W's when needed, sometimes they also use a W when there is a V sound. Weary instead of very and even instead of even. The hardest phrase for Russian speakers I think is very well where you have a V sound and a W right after. Try it with me. Very well. There's also Rs and Ls, so it's a big party of sounds. Very well. In order to improve, you want to make sure that when there is a W sound, and mind you, it's small, not always, when you see the letter W, sometimes you hear a W sound when there isn't a W. For example, queen, right here we also have a W sound. So when there is a W sound, you want to make sure that the bottom lip does not touch the top teeth. W for the W. Sound the lips round as if you're rounding them for a kiss. W. And nothing touches here. The lips are not too close. Then it's going to sound like a very soft V. And also the back of the tongue goes up a bit. W for a V. The bottom lip touches the top teeth, creating this friction sound. And that is the V. Very well, very well. The next thing is the H sound, as in high or ahead. When Russian speakers pronounce the H, they bring the back of the tongue high up, creating this tense sound. It sounds something like this instead of an open, free sound, like you're breathing out. And then the word hello is going to sound like hello, and hope becomes hope. Hope. You do want to relax the back of the tongue, lower it, and create this free, open sound as if you're just breathing out after a long workout. Hi. Hi. Hello. Hadar and hope. The American L is often mispronounced by Russian speakers. In Russian, there are two different Ls. There is the dark L and there is the really light L. I hope I'm pronouncing it correctly. I gotta learn Russian anyway. So there is this really ultralight L. You know how it sounds? I don't want to. I don't want to butcher it. And there is the dark L sound that is more frequent, more common, because that really light L only happens before certain vowels, before front vowels. Now, in American English, there are also two different kinds of Ls. So there is the dark L, the very same L as in Russian, but it only occurs at the end of words. So that L sound is great when it's at the end of the word or before a consonant, like, well, right. So go for it. Go as dark as you want. Feel milk. But try not to apply this really dark L when the L is at the beginning of a word or in the middle of the word. Light. Hello. Right. You don't want it to be too heavy, so you want to reduce the tension in the back of the tongue. Actually, what you want to do is bring the tip of the tongue to touch the upper palate. And that's about it. La. Listen, maybe you want to create a little bit of tension here so it's not ultralight like, but light. Listen. Hello. Okay, so soften it out a little bit so it's not too heavy. The next thing is the merge of the tense E as in sheep, and the relaxed as in ship. They both merge into the same sound that exists in Russian. I. Sheep, Sheep, Sheep and ship. Okay, so first of all, understand that There are two different E sounds in American English, and there is no E. British English as well, not just American, all English dialects. So it's not just one E sound that doesn't exist in English. The first one is a high E sound. The tongue is actually higher. The body of the tongue. The tongue rolls forward, right? Until you feel this really tense sound. We see feet. Imagine as if you're adding a Y sound after the E. Feet. But keep the tongue forward and pushed against the sides of the teeth. And don't relax it in the middle so it doesn't sound like feet. Feet. And you know what I'm talking about. Feet. Okay? Keep it tight until you reach the next consonant. That's the high E. The relaxed E is somewhere between E and E, Right? Sit, kid. So you want to think as if you're saying the E sound, but you want to drop your jaw, relax your lips, create space between the top and bottom teeth. I. Kid. List. Finish. The relaxed is usually spelled with the letter I, but that's not always the case, so don't trust the spelling. Start categorizing the words, understanding that there are these two sounds. And that's it. The tense E and the relaxed I. Sheep and ship. Leave and live. Not leave and leave. Beach. And so it's. It's important to practice this vowel pair. Another vowel pair that is often confused by Russian speakers is the pull, pull vowel pair here as well. A lot of Russians pronounce these two different vowels as the same vowel. Pull and pull. Now, it's the same thing. Here we have a tense U sound. So it's longer. It's actually double the length of the Russian U sound. So room to U. So it's as if I'm adding a W sound at the end. Two. Room. Fool. Okay. That's the tense oo. The relaxed U is somewhere between U and o and ah. Cook. Not cook. Cook. Look, imagine like you have a hot potato in the back of your mouth. Foot. Push. Look. Book. Facebook. Not Facebook. Face. Buck, Buck. Push. Luck. And then we have some pairs like Pool. Pull. Luke. Luck. Food. Foot. The Russian R is different from the American R stand sound. So in Russian, you bring the tip of the tongue up to trill against the upper palate. It's called a trilled R. It's so much fun to pronounce this R. Do it with me. Now, in English, when you pronounce the R, there is no contact between the tip of the tongue and the upper palate. In fact, the R is this state where the tongue just stretches in the middle of the mouth, creating this tension. And as a result, you hear this sound. So the sides of the tongue touch the sides of the teeth. There is contact, but only on the sides of the tongue. The back of the tongue goes up a little bit, and the tip of the tongue can either be up or down, usually up, but not touching anything. You also don't want it to be too close because then you'll hear these vibrations. It's kind of like you want to pronounce the Russian R, but you're not really pronouncing it. But also, it's not really the American R, it's this hybrid R right there in between. Right, right. So bring the tongue in, but not too far back, because then it's going to sound hollow. Right. So make sure you round your lips a little here and you create that contact between the sides of the tongue and the sides of the teeth here. Car where there is no th sound in Russian, but unfortunately for some people, there is in English. For the th sound, the tongue has to come out, as in think or as in they. Because it's difficult and weird to stick the tongue out. A lot of Russian speakers keep it inside, and then it sounds something like an sink theater or sie, as in z. If it's the voiced th, sometimes people substitute it with a t, thanks instead of thanks. So you want to make sure that the tip of the tongue comes out and that it's soft enough to allow the air to pass. And believe me, I know. It feels weird and weird. Is good. And artificial and strange and fake. Is good at the beginning when you practice it, because it's something that you're super uncomfortable doing. You don't do it in your native tongue, so why would it feel comfortable? Be okay with that, but do it over and over again until you make it your own, and then you get comfortable with it, and then it sounds natural and effortless. Stick the tongue out and drill it in words. Okay, that's it. Thank you so much for watching. Please share it with your friends and consider subscribing if you like this video because there is more coming. Have a wonderful week and I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.