3 things native speakers do that you….don’t?

3 TIPS TO SOUND MORE NATIVE IN ENGLISH: 

What do native speakers do in English that non-native speakers have to learn? And are often not taught? I’m going to go through 3 of them right here.

1:  LINKING:  Native speakers almost never speak word for word. We speak in phrases. We link the ending of one word with the start of the next word, especially if they share the same letter. For example, ‘stop pulling Grace’s scarf’ would most likely sound like ‘stopullingracescarf’ if a native speaker were to say it. A native speaker would do that naturally and with ease, but a non-native might separate the words as they are focusing on saying each one clearly and naturally. If you speak word for word, it might make you sound like a robot. Who wants to sound like that? Computer says no. 😉

2:  MUTING: Native speakers often mute the D and the T at the end of a word. For example, a native speaker would say ‘She didn’(t) go to the party las(t)night’. Both the T in ‘didn’t’ and the T in ‘last’ would most likely be muted, and the G in ‘go’ and the N in ‘night’ are pronounced. For phrases like ‘He didn’t know’ or ‘We couldn’t come’, the T is not pronounced in both ‘didn’t’ and ‘couldn’t. This is not taught at school and one of the key differences between native and non-native speech.

3: SILENCE IS GOLDEN: Native speakers know where the silent letters are in words. For example, you say the B in ‘debit’ but you don’t say the B in ‘debt’. Crazy, right?  Why is the H silent for ‘honor’ and ‘hour’ and ‘honest’, but not silent in ‘help’ and ‘hungry’? And what about ‘colonel’ and ‘epitome’? Those are tricky too- we say ‘KER-nil‘ and ‘eh-PIT-o-mee‘.

Yikes!
But don’t worry.
Help is on the way!

These tips are just 3 of the nearly 100 tips and tricks that you will learn, activate, and apply in my new pronunciation course, Rock That Mouth. I’ve spent 3 years putting all my pro tips and tricks from my over 30 years of experience as a personal English coach in this program. I’ve got 24 lesson modules and 24 workbooks waiting for you. That’s over 4 hours of material and 250 pages of worksheets to keep you busy and active, all full of my (com) passion and expertise, coupled with my signature humor (yes, we do have some pretty lame jokes in there, plus a werewolf, and maybe 2 naughty jokes).

There are 3 membership levels, and you can join for just €149. Lifetime access is €249 and VIP members get lifetime access AND a personal feedback session with me for just €349 euros. There are only 53 VIP spots available, so don’t wait to grab your spot!

The Rock That Mouth doors will close this Monday, September 6 until 2022.

Now it’s your time to get confident in English!
Are you ready to join me on a learning journey and speak more naturally?
I say….
Let’s Rock!

Love from me and my favorite taco truck in Brooklyn! (The owner links and blends very well. He also makes a mean enchilada!)

X Buffi

PS: I would not want your mouth to miss out on all the Buffilove waiting for you! Run to rockthatmouth.com to join me before Sunday night, or try again next year….!

More News & Blogs

Shocking news – English people usually don’t speak Dutch. We read text through English eyes. This is often where it goes dramatically wrong – when...
‘Never again.’ This is what she mailed me after her presentation. ‘I can’t speak English. I’m not good at it. And there’s no way I...
Ever feel nervous before giving a presentation? Or get the jitters just before you walk into a job interview? Or…before you go on a rollercoaster?...