Pronunciation is one of the most complex problems facing non-native speakers of English. It is
the principal obstacle to overcome when trying to achieve fluency. Many
non-native speakers have studied grammar for many years, but are unable to
speak like native speakers due to their incapability to pronounce the sounds of
words correctly.
In point of
fact, your pronunciation
is the first and most important thing native speakers notice during a
conversation. Knowing grammar and vocabulary are important but useless if you
are unable to pronounce those structures or words correctly. Also, native
speakers are more likely to understand you if you make grammatical mistakes, rather
than if you make mistakes in pronunciation. Mispronunciation will keep you from
effectively communicating with native English speakers. Achieving good
pronunciation should be your main goal!
English is a
language that has many different accents which are different from
pronunciation. In fact, pronunciation is the way in which a word is pronounced.
Accent is a series of pronunciation, rhythm and emphasis that is local to a
region or city. It is important to pronounce words correctly so that you are
understandable.
Accent isn’t
necessarily important, you can speak English with a Spanish accent for example
and be totally understandable if you are pronouncing the words correctly. This
accent will tell people that you are from Spain and that your first language is
probably not English.
Realize that the
English spoken in England, Australia or Canada is different than the English
spoken in the United States. Even within these countries there is a wide range
of accents. People from New York speak different English than people from San Francisco. In any case, if your pronunciation is good, you will be
understood anywhere you go!
