Are you a native Japanese speaker who:
- struggles with pronouncing American English vowels, such as the tense EE /i/ sound in beat and the lax IH /ɪ/ sound in bit?
- has difficulty speaking American English with appropriate fluency, connections, and flow?
- is confused about when to pronounce an English word with an R sound versus an L sound, like in the words light and right?
American English Pronunciation for Japanese Speakers: Top 5 Pronunciation Challenges
If you are a native speaker of Japanese and you struggle with American English pronunciation, then this resource is for you. Here you’ll learn 5 of the most common pronunciation challenges that native speakers of Japanese experience when speaking English, and you’ll learn how to improve your pronunciation of American English.
Read about the top 5 pronunciation areas below, and then watch the free English pronunciation video lessons to learn how to pronounce each sound. Don’t forget to click here to download your free Guidebook to the Sounds of American English, too!
Japanese Challenge #1: Confusing L /l/ and R /ɹ/
In Japanese, L and R represent the same sound. They can be used interchangeably in pronunciation, or they can be pronounced with a different sound called a flap /ɾ/. This means that when native speakers of Japanese speak American English, they may substitute an R for an L, or an L for an R, or they may pronounce either the L or the R like a flap /ɾ/. So a word like light may be pronounced like right and vice versa.
Click here for a downloadable PDF of How to Pronounce the American English R Sound
Click here for a downloadable PDF of How to Pronounce the Light L and Dark L
The flap /ɾ/ also exists in American English; however, it represents a T or a D consonant in certain contexts. For example, the T’s in the word butter are typically pronounced as a flap /ɾ/, not a true T /t/ sound.
Switching L’s and R’s can create a lot of confusion for a native speaker of American English, since this type of pronunciation pattern results in many real-word pairs, such as light/right, or it creates a word that is unintelligible, such as "reary" for really.
How to Pronounce American English L and R Consonants
The tongue placement and shape of the L and R consonants in American English are very different. For the L consonant, the tongue is narrow, the back of the tongue is low in the mouth, and the tip of the tongue may come up to the roof of the mouth. For the R consonant, the tongue is wide, the back of the tongue is high and pulls back, and the tongue tip is neutral (the tongue tip doesn’t touch anything inside the mouth!).
To learn how to pronounce the L and R consonants in American English, watch the pronunciation videos below. Or you can read about their pronunciations by clicking here: How to Pronounce the L /l/ Consonant; How to Pronounce the R /ɹ/ Consonant; Your #1 Go-to Guide to the Dark L.
Japanese Challenge #2: Linking and Word Connections
Japanese syllables typically end with a vowel, but in American English syllables can end with a vowel, a single consonant, or a cluster of consonants. When native speakers of Japanese speak American English and encounter a syllable that ends with a consonant, they may add a vowel sound after the consonant in order to follow the syllable structure that is consistent with Japanese. For example, a native speaker of Japanese may pronounce the phrase get it by adding a quick “oh” sound after the final T consonants in the words get and it: "get-oh it-oh".
There are many ways in which words and syllables connect with each other in spoken American English. You have consonant to consonant links, like in the word KitKat; consonant to vowel links, like in the phrase get it; and vowel to vowel links, like in the word pronunciation. Japanese speakers may struggle with any or all of these forms of linking when speaking American English. When syllables aren’t linked together (i.e., an extra vowel is inserted between them, or the connection is broken by turning off the vocal cord vibration), this results in a disruption of flow, fluency, and rhythm.
How to Pronounce Linking and Word Connections in American English
There are many rules related to linking in American English, so to begin learning about the various forms of linking in connected speech, watch the videos below. Or you can read about linking and word connections in American English by clicking here: Consonant to Consonant Linking; All About the Flap /ɾ/ (aka Flap T); Vowel to Vowel Linking.
Japanese Challenge #3: The EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels
The EE /i/ as in beat and IH /ɪ/ as in bit vowels are very common in American English. The EE /i/ vowel is also found in Japanese, but the IH /ɪ/ vowel is not in Japanese, and this is where native speakers of Japanese tend to have difficulty with pronunciation.
The EE /i/ as in beat vowel is a long, tense vowel in American English. This means there is tension somewhere in the vocal tract when you pronounce it. Say “eee” and place your hand under your chin - do you feel the muscles tensing there when you say “eee”?
Click here to download a PDF of How to Pronounce the EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels
In contrast, the IH /ɪ/ as in bit vowel is a short, lax vowel in American English. This means the muscles in the vocal tract are relaxed as you say it. When you say the IH /ɪ/ vowel, there should not be any tension in the muscles under your chin - IH /ɪ/ should feel very different from EE /i/ in terms of muscle tension.
Native speakers of Japanese tend to pronounce the short, lax IH /ɪ/ vowel like the long, tense EE /i/ vowel, so a word like bit may sound like beat, or a word like similar (sih-mih-ler) may sound like "see-mee-lar".
How to Pronounce the EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels in American English
The biggest difference between the pronunciation of EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ is tongue tension. When you pronounce IH /ɪ/, remember to relax your mouth and tongue. Use a mirror to make sure you are relaxed when you say it. Now contrast that with the tense EE /i/ vowel and add as much tension as possible when you say it. Can you feel the difference in muscle tension?
To learn how to pronounce the EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ vowels, watch the pronunciation videos below. Or you can read about their pronunciations by clicking here: How to Pronounce the EE /i/ Vowel; How to Pronounce the IH /ɪ/ Vowel; EE /i/ and IH /ɪ/ Vowels: Minimal Pairs Listening Test.
Japanese Challenge #4: Final N /n/ and NG /ŋ/ Consonants
In American English, it is very common for words to end in the letters -ion, such as mission, pronunciation, and onion. This -ion ending can be pronounced as “un” /ən/, “in” /ɪn/, or as a syllabic N consonant /n̩/.
Click here to download a PDF of How to Pronounce the N /n/ and NG /ŋ/ Consonants
It is common for native speakers of Japanese to substitute the NG /ŋ/ consonant for the final N /n/ consonant, which results in the word mission sounding like “mish-ong.” While most native speakers of American English will still understand the pronunciation of mission as “mish-ong”, especially within the context of a sentence or a conversation, it may distract the listener from your message and cause them to think, “Where is that person from?”
How to Pronounce the N /n/ and NG /ŋ/ Consonants in American English
The tongue placements of the N /n/ and NG /ŋ/ consonants are nearly opposite in American English. For the N /n/ consonant, the tongue is wide, the front of the tongue makes contact with the interior rim of the front part of the roof of the mouth, and the back of the tongue is down. For the NG /ŋ/ consonant, the front of the tongue is down while the back of the tongue is up and makes contact with the soft palate.
To learn how to pronounce the N /n/ and NG /ŋ/ consonants in American English, watch the videos below. Or you can read about their pronunciations by clicking here: How to Pronounce the N /n/ Consonant; How to Pronounce the NG /ŋ/ Consonant; Linking with Nasals N /n/, M /m/, NG /ŋ/.
Japanese Challenge #5: Changing S/Z and T/D to SH/ZH and CH/J
In Japanese, when the consonants S, Z, T, or D come before the high EE /i/ vowel, the tongue placement shifts to somewhere farther back in the mouth. This results in pronunciations that sound closer to SH /ʃ/, ZH /ʒ/, CH /ʧ/, or J /ʤ/, respectively.
For example, a word like six may be pronounced as “shicks”, or the word position may be pronounced as “puh-zhee-shon”.
This type of pronunciation pattern can create confusion for native speakers of American English since this type of sound substitution can result in real-word pairs, such as seat/sheet, tears/cheers, and dim/gym.
How to Pronounce the S/Z, T/D, SH/ZH, and CH/J consonants in American English
To learn how to pronounce these tricky consonant sounds in American English, watch the pronunciation videos below. Or you can read about their pronunciations by clicking here: How to Pronounce the S /s/ and Z /z/ Consonants; How to Pronounce the T /t/ and D /d/ Consonants; How to Pronounce the SH /ʃ/ and ZH /ʒ/ Consonants; How to Pronounce the CH /ʧ/ and J /ʤ/ Consonants.
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