Why changing pronunciation feels so hard

10 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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Hadar Shemesh explains why changing how you pronounce words is so hard: your mouth has muscle memory. When you try to move your tongue or lips differently, like for the TH or R sound, fluency drops because your body resists the unfamiliar movement.

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Yeah, so hard to change everything, and I don't know why. Because it's hard, because it's hard to change everything and keep your fluency. You're not supposed to. Changing pronunciation habits is like, it's a physical habit. When you think of changing a habit, it's not something that you just decide and then it, you know, you happen to do it, 'cause your body wants to keep doing what it is familiar with. So your tongue is always going to want to stay inside for the TH. Your lips are not gonna want to round for the R. Why? Because you've never done it, and now you're changing it.