Are some English sounds difficult for you?
Making small pronunciation mistakes is not usually a problem in communication. But sometimes mistaking just one sound can completely change a word’s meaning. This can affect communication and even be embarrassing for the speaker.
But, don’t worry, making mistakes is an important part of improving pronunciation. Sometimes we just have to laugh and learn from them 😀
Below are four embarrassing pronunciation mistakes I often hear (the mistakes are in bold).
You can find more about how to correctly make the sounds from the Similar Sounds link at the bottom of the post.
- I went to a city park.
Mistake: I went to a shitty park.
What’s the problem?
A mistake with the first sound (phoneme) of ‘city’ changes the word to ‘shitty’ meaning very bad or unpleasant. Be careful, ‘shitty’ is a slang word. Sometimes the letter ‘c’ can be pronounced as / ʃ / (eg. ocean), but in ‘city’ it’s always pronounced /s/. To change the / ʃ / to a /s/ sound, move your tongue more to the front of your mouth just behind your top teeth.
| Similar words | city | shitty |
| Correct pronunciation | /ˈsɪti/ | /ˈʃɪti/ |
| Meaning | a large and important town | very bad; unpleasant |
Continued below
2. The earth is beautiful.
Mistake: The arse is beautiful.
What’s the problem?
Mistakes with the first and final sounds of ‘earth’ change the word to ‘arse’ meaning the body part you sit on. Be careful, ‘arse’ is also a slang word (more often used in British English). The key sound here is the final /θ/ (pronounced in the same way as the ‘th’ sound in ‘bath’). To make sure your /θ/ doesn’t sound like a /s/, the key point to is to block the gap between your top and bottom teeth with your tongue.
| Similar words | earth | arse |
| Correct pronunciation | /ɜːrθ/ | /ɑːrs/ |
| Meaning | the planet we live on | the body part you sit on; your bottom |
3. Would you like some rice?
Mistake: Would you like some lice?
What’s the problem?
A mistake with the first sound of rice changes the word to ‘lice’ meaning a small insect. The /r/ sound is very common in English but it is also one of the most difficult sounds to pronounce. When making the /r/ sound, if your tongue touches the top of your mouth, it will sound like an /l/.
| Similar words | rice | lice |
| Correct pronunciation | /raɪs/ | /laɪs/ |
| Meaning | a common food that is eaten in many countries | a small insect that lives on the bodies of humans and animals |
4. I love travel.
Mistake: I love trouble.
What’s the problem?
Mistakes with the middle and final sounds of ‘travel’ change the word to ‘trouble’ meaning making problems. The key sound here is the middle /v/ (pronounced in the same way as the ‘v’ sound in ‘very’). To make sure your /v/ doesn’t sound like a /b/, your bottom lip needs to be touching your top teeth (not your top lip).
| Similar words | travel | trouble |
| Correct pronunciation | /ˈtrævl/ | /ˈtrʌbl/ |
| Meaning | the action of traveling | have or make problems |
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Extra tip!: It can be fun using a smartphone to check your pronunciation. Ask your smartphone to make a note from your voice saying the difficult sentence or word. For example (iPhone), say, ‘Hey Siri, make a note: The earth is beautiful.’ Then check if the correct words appear on your screen (you may need to change your phone setting to English). |
Related links:
Speech quality tip 4: Watch out for similar sounds (10min video)
