Note: This post applies to Ukrainian and Belarusian speakers of English as well.
“I sound like I’m dead.”
“No you don’t!” I cried, doing my best to send good vibes through Zoom. My student in St. Petersburg had just played for me the recording of a work presentation he delivered in English. And, to be honest, he did sound a bit unenthusiastic. He was a personable, funny young man who spoke very good English. And he had a terrific goal: to be a dynamic speaker at work, where English was frequently used. But whenever he listened to a recording of himself, his heart sank. He sounded “dead”. He blamed his accent, and in a way he was correct. Yet, completely losing his accent was neither realistic nor necessary to enliven and elevate his spoken English. Why's that? Read on … Why is English Pronunciation Challenging for Russian Speakers? It’s not. I mean that sincerely. Russian speakers of English are generally quite easy to understand. Once in a while, I help one of my Russian students fine-tune the vowel sound or syllable stress in a particular English word. But that’s about it. What about consonant sounds, such as substituting /w/ for /v/? With context—which the listener almost always has—these substitutions typically don’t impact intelligibility (the ability to understand someone easily.) So, do Russian speakers of English have any pronunciation challenges? Yes. But those challenges are generally not with the pronunciation of individual words. The challenges are with the overall feeling of their spoken English—rhythmic features such as intonation, stress, linking, and pausing. These characteristics comprise the “music” of a language. Which brings us to an unfortunate truth: native Russian speakers can sound unfriendly, bored, or angry when speaking English. This is not a reflection of their personalities. It reflects what can happen when speakers use the music of their first language to speak a second language. Needless to say, it works both ways. Americans who speak another language can often sound too enthusiastic, too friendly, too crazy, even, in that other language. Why? Because we’re importing our happy-go-lucky American English rhythm into a language that has a completely different feeling. It’s like oil and vinegar. They don’t mix well. The “Music” of Russian versus the “Music” of English Let’s start with the good news: Russian and English are both stress-timed languages. In other words, if you listen to someone speaking English or Russian, you will hear contrast: some words are stressed; some words are not. But that contrast is expressed differently in English and Russian, leading to big differences in the feeling, or the personality, of each language. Key Pronunciation Challenges for Russian Speakers of English 1. Syllable Stress Syllable stress—also called word stress—is the emphasis placed on the vowel sound in a specific syllable in a word. Stress has three features: length, volume, and pitch change. Russian speakers of English tend to have two challenges regarding syllable stress: a. Losing the secondary stress in long words Long English words often have secondary stress. For example: exhibition (ex-hi-BI-tion). In this case, the vowel sound in the third syllable /ɪ/ receives the most stress, meaning the most length, volume and pitch change. The vowel in the first syllable /ɛ/ gets the secondary stress; meaning, a bit less stress, but still some. Russian speakers of English tend to lose the secondary stress. Without that secondary stress, the word can sound too rushed or monotone, making it difficult to understand. The problem is doubled with two adjacent long words, such as simultaneous exhibition (si-mul-TA-ne-ous ex-hi-BI-tion). Listen for yourself. At :27, when Garry Kasparov says simultaneous exhibition, the phrase sounds fast and flat, making it challenging to comprehend. That stands in stark contrast to the rest of his spoken English, which is easy to understand.
b. Using volume instead of pitch
Think of vowel sounds as musical notes. When I ask my Russian students to add more stress to the vowel sound in a syllable, they tend to pronounce it louder rather than at a higher pitch. Unfortunately, stress that relies on volume rather than pitch change can make the speaker sound angry or annoyed. 2. Sentence Stress Sentence stress refers to the words in a sentence that get the most emphasis. For Russian speakers of English, identifying those key words is easy. But, as with syllable stress, they typically face two challenges. a. Emphasizing the first word in a question Russian speakers often stress the beginning of a question, rather than the end. For example: Do you speak English? Russian speakers typically emphasize do. This, unfortunately, gives the impression that they are interrogating their listener! In contrast, native speakers will emphasize the final key word: English Do you speak English? By simply shifting the main sentence stress from the beginning to the end, Russian speakers of English can overcome the impression that they are unfriendly or angry. b. Monotone or flat sentences As I was working with one of my Russian clients on his music of English, he remarked: “I feel like I’m singing.” That’s because he was used to speaking English in a much more narrow range, using volume, not pitch, to indicate stress. Spoken English bounces up and down the musical scale. If the key words in your sentences are insufficiently stressed through pitch change, your English can sound monotonous. And monotonous English lacks impact and emotion. It sounds, as my student so bluntly put it, dead. 2. Final Intonation The pitch change at the end of a sentence or phrase is generally referred to as final intonation. The pitch can go up, down, or even stay the same, depending on meaning and feeling. So, incorrect final intonation is not an intelligibility challenge. It is a feeling challenge. Final intonation is a broad topic. Here are two common final intonation mistakes that I hear my Russian students make. 1. Yes/No Questions end with a fall In English, simple yes/no questions should finish with rising intonation. Do you speak English? When you say the word English in this question, your voice should first fall on the first syllable (En) and then, more critically, rise on the second syllable (glish). If instead your voice falls on glish, you can sound rude or harsh. 2. Not rising before falling At the end of declarative sentences, it’s the reverse. The voice should rise before it falls. I speak English. Here, the voice should rise on “En” before it falls on “glish”. Russian speakers don’t rise (or rise enough) before the fall. This, again, gives a flat feeling to their language, as if they are bored. So what should a Russian speaker do to improve their English pronunciation? Step One: Get a Pronunciation Assessment Speak with a professional pronunciation teacher who is familiar with intelligibility research. Ask them to conduct an assessment. This will ensure that you have a realistic and achievable learning plan. Step Two: Work on the “Music” of Your Spoken English I suggest first working on the rhythm, or “music”, of American English. In addition to syllable stress and sentence stress, the “Music of English” includes pausing in logical places. If you pause more frequently, you will slow down your speech in a natural way and allow time to add stress to your English. Step Three: Improve Your Pronunciation of High-Impact Consonants Only As mentioned above, very few consonant substitutions made by Russian speakers of English impact my ability to understand them easily. So don’t work on consonants that have a low impact on your intelligibility. You have better things to do with your free time! Are You Ready to Work on Your English Pronunciation? Well Said Coaching offers all of the above: a pronunciation assessment, a course on the Music of English, and, for those who need it, additional lessons on individual sounds. Interested? Please check out our pronunciation coaching, and then schedule a free consultation. Remember, you don’t need to completely lose your beautiful Russian accent, nor should you. But if the feeling of your spoken English is holding you back from your career, education, or social goals, then consider giving your English a little more lift, and a little more life! Comments are closed.
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AuthorTips and tidbits about speaking English well from Karen Schiff, founder of Well Said Coaching. Archives
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