Videos | San Diego Voice and Accent

Jan
15
2020

Linking In Connected Speech

Spoken English sounds like one, long connected word.

Jan
15
2020

Unstressed Syllables and Word Reductions in American English

In spoken English, some syllables are longer, or more stressed, compared to the other syllables in a word.

Jan
08
2020

Syllables and Stress of American English

Clear English pronunciation is not only about pronouncing consonants and vowels correctly.

Nov
20
2019

How to Pronounce the AH /ɑ/ Vowel and the UH /ʌ/ Vowel

Pronouncing the "ah" and "uh" vowels can be difficult for non-native English speakers to pronounce.

Nov
15
2019

How to Pronounce the "n" and "ng" Consonant Sounds

Many of my accent clients have difficulty pronouncing the “ng” /ŋ/ and “n” /n/ consonants, especially my clients who speak Mandarin Chinese.

Oct
16
2019

How to Pronounce the "L" sound: Light L vs. Dark L

There are a few sounds in American English that are consistently tricky for most of my clients, but one that also deserves a spot at the table is the /l/ sound.

Sep
21
2019

I'm a Native American English speaker...With an Accent

There are many, many regional accents throughout the United States. And even within the same region, there are even more specific differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Aug
31
2019

5 Tips to Ease Presentation Anxiety

It happens to the best of us.

Aug
19
2019

Six Vocal Warm-ups Everyone Should Be Doing

Most of us can agree on the importance of warming up our bodies before we start exercising. Without a proper warm-up, our muscles may be stiff and be more susceptible to injury.

Aug
06
2019

What Can a Corporate Speech Trainer Do For You?

How many times during any given day would you guess that you communicate with other people?

Jul
22
2019

How to Improve Your Spoken American English

Many of my clients ask me how they can sound more like a native speaker. Even if you know how to pronounce all of the vowels and consonants of English, you may not sound as natural as a native speaker when you’re talking in a conversation.

Jul
17
2019

What's Voice Got To Do With It?

Consider this scenario: You have to give a speech at your daughter’s wedding. You prepared your speech weeks ago...

Jul
13
2019

Where Do American Accents Come From?

We know that accents are everywhere. We all have one, and depending on where someone has lived and how old they were when they lived there, we may have a combination of many accents in our speaking pattern.

Jul
03
2019

Let's Learn the IPA! American English Vowels

The IPA is a notation system that uses symbols to represent the sounds of spoken language. Each symbol corresponds to a distinct sound, and as long as you know the symbol-to-sound correspondence, you should be able to pronounce any word you encounter. Today I’d like to focus on the IPA symbols of American English Vowels.

Jun
20
2019

The Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English: The “ey-ii” and “eh” vowels

This is Part Five of the Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English.

Jun
18
2019

Let's Learn the IPA! American English Consonants

The International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA, is a notation system that uses symbols to represent the sounds of spoken language.

Jun
09
2019

The Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English: The “eee” and “ih” vowels

This is Part Four of the Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English.

Jun
03
2019

The Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English: The "r" Sound

This is Part Three of the Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English.

May
25
2019

The Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English: The "th" Sound

This is Part Two of the Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English. Based on my experience with accent modification, most people have difficulties with these same 5 sounds, regardless of their native language. So let’s continue with the next sound: The “th” sound.

May
11
2019

The Top 5 Problematic Sounds in American English: The "t" Sound

Based on my experience with accent modification, most people have difficulties with these same 5 sounds, regardless of their native language. I’ll begin this series with the first sound, “t”.

May
08
2019

Exciting news! I've been featured in a newly published book!

I’ve been featured in the book Here's How to Do Accent Modification: A Manual for Speech-Language Pathologists , written by my colleague Robert McKinney!

May
01
2019

American Accent Basics: What is an accent? Why do I have one? How do I reduce my accent to sound like a native American English speaker?

Let's consider the definition of an accent to be: “A distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class.” According to this definition, we all have an accent.