Korean
As a native speaker of Korean, there are several aspects of English accent learning that you may find challenging. In sessions with English Accent Tutor, your instructor will complete an assessment to design an individualized treatment plan. You will focus first and foremost on targeting sounds and aspects of natural speech, such as vowel production and syllable rhythm. This will have the biggest impact on the ability for other people to understand you clearly. Provided below are some examples of targets you are likely to work on in your sessions with English Accent Tutor.
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The targets mentioned are common for native Korean speakers due to the nature of the differences between English and Korean. However, it is important to remember that your sessions will be based on your specific needs and may differ slightly from the information provided below.
Common Sound Goals
Vowel Sounds |
Korean and General American English (GAE) contain a similar number of vowel sounds. Korean has 17 vowel sounds and GAE has 16. However, very few of the vowel sounds overlap.
Can you determine which vowel sounds exist in Korean and which are new? In sessions with English Accent Tutor, you will work on contrasting different vowel sounds as this method is proven to effectively improve vowel production.2 |
Consonant Sounds |
Single Consonant Sounds:
Some consonant sounds are common in English, but do not exist in many Korean dialects. Examples are
The two consonants listed below exist in Korean, but are frequently omitted in English words.
You may find that you can pronounce these sounds when they are in the beginning of words, but have more trouble when they are in the middle. Other consonant sounds exist in both Korean and English, but, while they can be used interchangeably in Korean, they have two distinct meanings in English. This can be an especially difficult challenge for English language learners to master. The first step in coaching sessions is to hear and distinguish between the sounds. From there, you will work on producing each sound in the correct contexts. Sounds that differentiate words in English include
Just like the sounds mentioned above, some sounds in English are distinguished by voicing. When we pronounce /b/ in “bit” and /p/ in “pit,” we produce the two sounds in the exact same area of our mouths. The only difference is the vibration in our throats. But in English, that voicing indicates that we are saying two distinct words and is, therefore, required to be correctly understood. The three pairs of sounds listed below are voiced and voiceless minimal pairs. At English Accent Tutor, we will help you differentiate between the voiced and voiceless sounds and produce them correctly. Try looking in the mirror while you pronounce the sounds below. Do they look the same on your face? Have you made your throat vibrate to produce any of them?
Consonant Clusters: When two or more consonants are paired together without a vowel sound in between, it is called a “consonant cluster.” Examples include
It is important to remember that the sounds listed above are generally common targets for native Korean speakers. Your accent program will be individualized based on your needs. Sessions will include auditory discrimination, tactile and visual cues, and minimal pairs to target your particular speech sound objectives. |
Rhythm and Timing in Natural Speech
Syllable Timing vs. Stress Timing |
Korean is considered a “syllable timed” language. In other words, the length of each syllable is the same throughout a word. For instance, the three syllables in “자동차 (car) or 도시락 (lunchbox)”, will have equal length and be pronounced, “ja-dong-cha or do-sih-rak.” English, however, is a “stress timed” language. Different syllables have different lengths and are produced at differing volumes, with stressed syllables produced both more loudly and for a longer amount of time. For example, the word “article” is pronounced AR-ti-cle. The emphasis is on the first syllable and this syllable is held slightly longer than the others. In coaching sessions, we will develop your understanding of the various types of stress patterns in English. You will then practice producing syllables with varying lengths and at varying volumes so that you feel confident pronouncing multisyllabic words and sentences with stress timing.
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References:
1 Franklin, A.D, & Stoel-Gammon, C. (2014). Using multiple measures to document change in English vowels produced by Japanese, Korean, and Spanish speakers: The case for goodness and intelligibility. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 23, 625-640.
2 (Lee, S.A.S., & Sancibrian, S. (2013). Effectiveness of two different approaches to accent modification services for non-native English speakers of Korean background. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and LInguistically Diverse Populations, 20(3):127. doi:10.1044/cds20.3.127 )
3 Cho, J., & Park, H-K.. (2006) A comparative analysis of Korean-English phonological structures and processes for pronunciation pedagogy in interpretation training. Meta, 51(2), 229–246. doi:10.7202/013253ar
1 Franklin, A.D, & Stoel-Gammon, C. (2014). Using multiple measures to document change in English vowels produced by Japanese, Korean, and Spanish speakers: The case for goodness and intelligibility. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 23, 625-640.
2 (Lee, S.A.S., & Sancibrian, S. (2013). Effectiveness of two different approaches to accent modification services for non-native English speakers of Korean background. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and LInguistically Diverse Populations, 20(3):127. doi:10.1044/cds20.3.127 )
3 Cho, J., & Park, H-K.. (2006) A comparative analysis of Korean-English phonological structures and processes for pronunciation pedagogy in interpretation training. Meta, 51(2), 229–246. doi:10.7202/013253ar