native in need

[-->nicole.]

i'm a native speaker and i have trouble pronouncing "sl" words..such as sleep, slide, slip, the name ashley, etc. it sort of sounds like my mouth is full of spit or something. what is causing this and how can i correct it?

also, ask and asked are difficult to pronounce.

[JMB1122]

Hi Nicole

There are a lot of possible reasons. You should see a speech therapist.

If you can't afford it for some reason, call a local university and see if they have speech therapy available for free or at reduced cost. It is very likely that they will.

[snipper]

Hi there. I'm a speech therapist. It's difficult to give you therapy without seeing and hearing you speak but I'll have a go! You're having difficulty with the "consonant cluster" "sl".

When we are children we often have difficulty with consonant clusters and use "natural processes" to over come them. For example, children who have difficulty with "sp" will say "poon" instead of "spoon". Sometimes children will create an "approximation" of the consonant cluster which persists into adulthood.

When you make an "s" sound your tongue is placed behind your front teeth and the air is squeezed out. When you make a "l" sound your tongue is curled against the roof of your mouth. Make the sounds separately and feel where your tongue is in your mouth. Next try pronouncing "s" slowly and carefully, leave a short gap (in time) and then produce a "l" sound slowly and carefully. When the sounds are coming out clearly decrease the gap (time) between the sounds. When you are able to remove the "gap" the two sound will blend together into "sl". Good Luck

Snipper