Learning the American English Accent-The Importance of Vowels
Learning the American English Accent-The Importance of Vowels
Vowel sounds are important in American English for two reasons: first, they determine how quickly or how slowly we speak and secondly, they are the sounds in words we stress. Knowing how to control your speaking rate is a fundamental skill for speaking American English. Basically, the longer you prolong the vowels, the slower your speaking rate will be, and the faster you say vowels, the quicker you will speak. Stressing, which is another fundamental skill of American English, only occurs on vowels; we never stress consonants. Vowels, then are the most important sounds of American English. Keep these points in mind when you are learning the American accent.