When learning English, pronunciation is likely the first skill you should acquire. Doing so will enable you to speak clearly and reduce your accent.
When pronouncing “wold,” many factors come into play such as linguistic context (words before and after), geographical and cultural background, social context (formality of situation, urgency level, who is listening), environmental elements and personal features.
Vowels
Vowels are the sounds produced when air passes through the vocal tract without obstruction. Depending on the language, vowels may differ in length and quality.
Some languages, such as Japanese, Hungarian, Latin and Mixe, feature a two-way contrast between short and long vowels. Others, like Finnish and Arabic, feature a three-way distinction.
There is also a distinct phonetic difference between rounded and unrounded vowels in terms of sound. Rounded vowels tend to be front-central in formant space, while unrounded vowels are back-central.
This is why the IPA vowel chart displays rounded vowels to the right of unrounded ones; this is a reflection of their position within formant space.
Consonants
Consonants in English are sounds produced from the mouth and cause a vibration of the throat when spoken. They come in various forms, from soft-palatalised /t/ and /d/ to hard-palatalised /k/ and /s/.
The TH sounds (IPA symbols: th and d) are the only pair of English sounds that take on the same shape when spoken aloud. Additionally, these sounds can be voiced or unvoiced.
Non-native speakers often struggle with pronouncing certain consonant clusters. This is known as a consonant cluster articulation problem, and occurs because these clusters don’t occur in their native tongue.
Some of the most challenging consonant blends or clusters for non-native English speakers include /ths/ in months/mnths/ and /thr/ in three syllables:/.
If you have difficulty pronouncing certain consonant clusters or blends, it may be due to poor pronunciation. To correct your errors, pay closer attention to how each sound is said in each cluster and identify when you are not making the right mouth movements.
Phonology
Phonology is the study of how language sounds fit together. It’s an integral component of mastering English pronunciation as it helps you distinguish different sounds.
Phonology is the study of sound, categorizing it into meaningful units called phonemes. Every language has its own phonology, but many share some common sounds.
We can use sound categories to construct words, which are composed of syllables and/or consonants with specific functions in language. For instance, the word through is composed of three phonemes: an initial “th” sound, an “r” sound, and a vowel sound.
Language phonology can be intricate, making it challenging to comprehend the subtle distinctions between them. For instance, in English, a non-native speaker of another language may find it challenging to decipher accents and stress patterns used by an English native.
Accents
An accent is the emphasis placed on a particular vowel sound in a syllable. This technique can be an excellent teaching tool to ensure students correctly pronounce words.
When speaking English, there are various accents. One popular variant is Received Pronunciation, also referred to as “Queen’s English.”
RP (pronounced Rp) is an upper-class accent popularized by the British Establishment and stuffy BBC broadcasts. Although some still use it today, its usage is not as widespread as it once was.
Other accents include General British, Broad Southern and AAVE accents. All are very similar to RP, but differ in several important ways.
For example, some /t/s in GA are realized as taps [r], but RP speakers never use this allophone. Instead they often employ glottal stops [?] in words like butter, settle and city along with phrases like put it on and at a glance.
