English Pronunciation for Turkish Speakers

Areas of Difficulty for Turkish Speakers
Consonants:
I.  /t/ & /d/:
When Turkish speakers of English pronounce these alveolar consonants, they touch the back of their upper teeth with the tip of their tongue. Instead, try to form a constriction by touching your alveolar ridge (the area behind your upper teeth) with the tip of your tongue. Pronounce these sounds in different phonological environments such as word-initial, medial, and final position and in consonant clusters.

tiresome     little     brat      staple   burst    crest                 totalitarianism

automatic   trickster           cattle    dental   tirade   tardy    training

technique   tangle   terminal           trinket terse                 temptation

tutelage      tile       battle    crate     biting   fighting            might

daredevil    ladle     broad   build    dollar   crude   building           greed

                              dangle        divide  domain            domineer         diligence          deed

                              fielding      bidding            hiding  biding  loading            boarding

                              bread         dread               hoard   afford              ballad   broad

                              drainage     drill                  dwindle           emerged           bowled

II.  /v/ vs. /w/:

/v/ is a labiodental consonant whereas /w/ is an approximant. Learn to discriminate between the two sounds in the following minimal pairs. Make sure that your upper teeth make contact with the lower lip when you pronounce /v/. Keep in mind that this does not happen when you pronounce /w/.

veil            vein                 vile      vest                  vend                vent

                              wail           wane                wile     west                 wend               went

III.  /v/ vs. /f/:

Turkish speakers often devoice the /v/ in word final position. Practice pronouncing the final sound in the following minimal pairs, making a distinction between the /v/ and /f/.

Live           rive      wave                five      save     Reeve              leave

Life            rife       waif                 fife       safe      reef                  leaf

IV. /s/ vs/ th/

Make the distinction between these sounds in the following minimal pairs:

Sigh            sink                 sin                   sick                  sank

Thigh          think                thin                  thick                thank

V. /r/

Turkish speakers pronounce the English /r/ as the trill. As you pronounce this sound, be sure not to touch the alveolar ridge with the tip of your tongue. Raise the tip of your tongue toward the alveolar ridge, but do not touch it. Press the sides of your tongue against the upper teeth. Roll the tongue slightly back without touching the roof of your mouth. Pronounce the English /r/ without shaking your tongue. Practice the following /r/ tokens in different phonological environments:

ramble       rumble             rumple rancor     rancid  rabble 

correct       bereave            curtail                  myrtle  fertile    surround

appear        smear               fear                  steer     clear         revere

                              present       precinct            pristine            frown  grown        strewn 

Vowels:

I.  /^/

Turkish speakers often tend to lengthen this vowel. As a result, their pronunciation of this vowel sounds like that of the long vowel /a:/. This mispronunciation confuses native speakers of English. Pronounce this vowel in the first syllable without opening your mouth wide.

Country    culture             customer          another            other

Nurture     further             brother             mother             hurdle

II. /e/ vs. /ae/

Make the distinction between the short vowel and the diphthong in the following minimal pairs:          

Met           med     led       fed       said      bed      lend     send

Mat           mad     lad       fad       sad       bad      land     sand

III. /^/ vs. /a:/

Make the distinction between the mid vowel and the low vowel in the following minimal pairs:

                              

                              Herd          hurt      bird      curd     curt      burn     firm     worm

                              Hard          heart    bard     card     cart      barn     farm     warm

                       

IV.      /o / vs. /Ou/

Distinguish between these vowels as you pronounce the following minimal pairs:

Robe          lobe     boat     coat      note     flows   code     node

Rob           lob       bought caught  naught floss     cod      nod

V. /^/ vs. /ou/

Distinguish between these vowels as you pronounce the following minimal pairs:

Purr           fur       herd     bird      curt      surd     dull      mull

Pour          four     hoard   board   court    soared  dole     mole

VI. /u:/ vs. /U/ 

Distinguish between the short vowel and the long vowel in the following pair of words:

Foot           pull                  full       should             book    hood   

Food          pool                 fool      shoot               boot     hoot