Welcome to the Pronunciation Center
The Pronunciation Center is designed to help you:
Click any sound to view Expert Help videos, start Practice Sessions or view your Progress.
Diagnosis
Every time you speak videos at EnglishCentral, our system 'listens' for a variety of sounds. The more you speak, the clearer EnglishCentral can identify your personal sound challenges, helping you focus on the sounds for which you could benefit the most from some improvement.
Each video you speak contributes to your sound challenge assessment. If you'd like to help EnglishCentral diagnose a particular sound, then practice a Pronunciation Cliplist for that sound. When you are diagnosed as weak or average on a sound, we suggest you review our Expert Help videos to assist you with improving your pronunciation of that sound.
Expert Help
- Watch Basic Sound Formation videos for help with the first steps toward correct pronunciation.
- Watch Advanced Tips & Tricks videos for more help as well as special tools that you can use to enhance your practice and accelerate your progress.
- Related pronunciation videos can help you with Vowels, Consonants, Voiced and Voiceless TH, and the Geography of the Mouth.
Expert Help videos and pages will help you with:
- The parts of the mouth involved in forming sounds
- The best way to say vowels and consonants correctly
- Pairs of words with contrasting sounds you can practice
- Expert tips and tricks for forming difficult sounds
Our expert advice will help you as you start your journey at EnglishCentral, and we'll support you along the way. Come back often to get help with new sounds!
Practice
Click on Start Practice for any sound to watch a series of video clips that are custom-designed to give you concentrated practice on that sound. You can see, hear, and speak these sounds in the context of interesting, authentic EnglishCentral videos. Speak lines to get feedback on your speech as you are presented with multiple chances to work on your target sound - we'll keep track of how you're doing!Progress
Check out the View Progress link to see a chart with your progress on individual sounds over time or number of sounds spoken. As you speak more videos and Practice sessions, you'll get more information on your progress. Keep practicing to see your sound tiles change color as we assess your speech.About Me
Hi, I'm Pamela Prather and I've been working with actors, executives and curious humans for over 15 years to help them with their voices.
It's great to be part of the EnglishCentral team and I'm happy to hear from you if you have ideas that can help you achieve your pronunciation goals. My colleagues and I can be reached at pronunciation@englishcentral.com.
Many people have helped me shape the way I teach
English pronunciation. Meg Wilber (UCLA), Catherine Fitizmaurice, Dudley Knight, and Beth McGuire (Yale School of Drama) are among the teachers and colleagues who have inspired me over the years and I thank them for that. If you'd like to find out more about my work, please go to www.pamelaprather.com.
English Spelling vs. Pronunciation
When you are pronouncing words in English, it's important to remember that there can be many ways to spell the same sound. For example, the words 'date', 'may', and 'weigh' all contain the same vowel sound, even though it is spelled differently in each word.
It is also possible to have words with similar spellings that have different pronunciations. 'Food' (/fud/) and 'book' (/bʊk/) have middle vowels that look alike, but don't sound alike.
Pay close attention to how the speaker in the video says the word. Remember that you can click on any word to hear its pronunciation when you're watching a video.
Sound Symbols FAQ
Here at EnglishCentral, we represent sounds with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). You'll see these symbols used in various places on the site, so it would be helpful for you to become familiar with them. Roll over the speaker icon next to any tile to hear the sound it represents.
Key to IPA Pronunciation
| AA | = ɒ | talk, saw, lost |
| AE | = æ | apple, lad, brand |
| AH | = ə | above, carrot, problem |
| AO | = ɑ | arm, father, |
| AW | = aʊ | hour, towel, cow |
| AY | = aɪ | ice, hide, deny |
| B | = b | big, table, crab |
| CH | = tʃ | chip, church, lunch |
| D | = d | dog, paddle, mad |
| DH | = ð | this, mother, breathe |
| EH | = ɛ | ever, head, get |
| ER | = ɝ | earth, world, bird |
| EY | = eɪ | eight, faith, pay |
| F | = f | from, coffee, enough |
| G | = g | golf, blogger, flag |
| HH | = h | help, ahead |
| IH | = ɪ | if, dish, flip |
| IY | = i | eat, need, see |
| JH | = dʒ | jump, budget, age |
| K | = k | cat, speaker, crack |
| L | = l | left, balance, wall |
| M | = m | mouse, hammer, slim |
| N | = n | nose, cannon, fan |
| NG | = ŋ | singer, think, long |
| OW | = oʊ | open, foam, know |
| OY | = ɔɪ | oil, choice, toy |
| P | = p | pill, apple, cup |
| R | = ɹ | run, very, poor |
| S | = s | city, passing, cats |
| SH | = ʃ | she, ashes, fish |
| T | = t | top, matter, flat |
| TH | = θ | thin, anything, path |
| UH | = ʊ | book, good, put |
| UW | = u | ooze, mood, true |
| V | = v | very, travel, cave |
| W | = w | wide, with, twin |
| Y | = j | you, yellow, onion |
| Z | = z | zoo, easy, buzz |
| ZH | = ʒ | measure, television, beige |
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