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Originally Posted by tdol With many Chinese speakers, vowels are a major problem, while the perception is that it is certain consonants. |
Do you mean particular vowel sounds? Those need work, too, of course.
Or would you mean making sure that vowel sounds receive enough stress?
Or do you mean both?
I think overall stress with regards to vowel sounds is just as important as producing the individual sounds correctly. At times this would have different implications where American English and British English are concerned. I hear remnants of BE in some students' pronunciation from time to time.
Sometimes French speakers say "cut" when they mean "cat".
BE - caht or cart
AE - caet - American short /a/ sound
Oftentimes vowel sounds are too short. This can make one's speech sound somewhat abrupt at times and "choppy". I would also say "staccato". Staccato sounds should be made more legato. Also, linking words contributes to less abrupt and less "choppy" sounding pronunciation.