English Pronunciation for Mandarin Speakers
Areas of Difficulty for Mandarin Speakers
Consonants:
I. /p/, /t/, and /k/ in word-final position
Pronounce the final sound in these words carefully:
Carp snap flop flap flip strap strip shrimp
Flat beat taught caught might right fight blight
Back smack Jack stack milk flick flak rack
II. /b/, /d/, /g/ vs. /p/, /t/, /k/ in word-final position:
Pay special attention to the final sound in the
following minimal pairs as you pronounce them:
Cab/cap nab/nap gab/gap rib/rip nib/nip
Mad /mat wed/wet sad/sat said/set made/mate
Bag/back rag/rack wig/wick wag/whack lag/lack
As you pronounce the following
words, make sure you pronounce the voiced consonants clearly:
vent vote love video vile rave vexation river
these them breathe bathe clothe thereby fathom
zoo lose rose rise size buzz amaze
beige negligee lingerie garage mirage barrage
smudge badge cage rage judge ridge
IV. /l/ vs. /n/ in word-initial position
Practice distinguishing between /l/ and /n/ in the
following word combinations:
Light/night slow/snow slide/snide lame/name
lead/need
V. /l/ vs. /w/ in word-final position
Pronounce the dark /l/ in word final position, and
distinguish between the dark /l/ and /w/:
Mole call fall fail mail nail coal ball small
Mole/mow goal/go veal/view feel/few old/owed
VI. / / and //\
Distinguish between the two sounds in the following pairs:
breath/breathe bath/bathe cloth/clothe with/wither
Now try this tongue twister:
Those three thieves threw thirteen things in the thicket of thorn trees.
VII. /r/ vs. /w/ in word-initial position
Distinguish between the following word-initial consonants:
rail/wail rate/weight rind/wind rain/wane
VIII. /w/ vs. /v/ in word-initial position
Make the distinction between /w/ and /v/ using minimal pairs such as those below:
West/vest wine/vine went/vent wail/veil wend/vend
IX. /y/ in word-initial position
Practice pronouncing the word-initial /y/ in the following words:
east/yeast ear/year eel/yield early/yearly
X. /m/, /n/, and // in word-final position
Pronounce the following word-final nasal consonants clearly:
seem gleam bam rim wham
seen glean bane rain wane
sing fling bang ring wing
XI. Consonant Clusters
Consonant clusters do not exist in Mandarin in word-initial or word-final position. As a result, Mandarin speakers of English, tend to delete one of the consonants from the cluster. Practice pronouncing these clusters in word initial and word final position.
Pleasure pleasant Plymouth
plight plenty
Present prudent pregnant prayer pride
Blatant blame blither bland bloom
Brew brisk brawl
brainy brink
Treasure trash trawl trekker trim
Twister twins tweak tweeter tweed
Drain dream dreadful drudgery dragnet
Clean clump clasp cloud climb
Cream crammer Creole crispy crowd
Queen quail quaint quality quirky
Gleam glaze glistening glamour glitz
Grammar grail grilled grotesque grasp
Flame flask flipping flap flout
Frame frisk frown frivolous freed
Thrash three thriller through throw
Slither slowly slide slaughter slimy
Spittoon special spangled
sprinkle spend
Stone stumble studious stinging steam
School scholastic scholar schematic schema
Smoldering smiling smudge smelting smut
Snort snowing snack snicker snuck
Sphere sphinx
Shriek shrink shrouded shrimp shred
Splice splinter split spleen
Spring sprain sprayer
sprout spring
String strainer strumming stream striker
Screw scrawny scream scrooge scrub
Squint squirt squeak squeeze
Stump bump clump hump dump
Rant grant pant scant mint
Hand grand brand bland blind
Tense fragrance commence competence fence
Tenth plinth fifteenth sixteenth ninth
Wrench stench bench brunch lunch
Strange arrange derange
scrounge lounge
Think blink sink brink stink
Help kelp yelp
Welt smelt kilt knelt belt
Old gold cold child wild
Milk silk sulk bulk bilk
Harp carp slurp burp warp
Art smart start fart cart
Cord gourd afford board ford
Serve nerve starve horse d’oeuvre
Earth hearth birth mirth firth
Course force remorse hoarse Morse
Arch starch birch march lurch
Barge surge merge splurge forge
Arm farm squirm firm worm
Barn fern stern burn worn
Vowels:
I. /I/ vs. /i:/
Make the distinction between the short and long
vowels in the following minimal pairs:
Hit fit sit fill live sill pill skit
Heat feet seat feel leave seal peel skeet
II. /e/ vs. /ei/
Distinguish between the short and long vowels in the following minimal pairs:
Met red led fed wed med set fret
Mate raid laid fade wade made sate freight
III. /U/ vs. /u:/
Pronounce the short and long vowels in the following word pairs carefully:
Full foot should book pull
Fool food shoot boot pool
IV. /e/ vs. //
Distinguish between these two vowels in the
following words:
Ten bend men send lend fret bet blend
Tan band man sand land frat bat bland
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