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It is not surprising that there are many people who have sound problems other than English pronunciation, such as those who are said to have a "low voice" when speaking in English, and those who are repeatedly asked to speak clearly. Is not it. It is highly possible that these people are pronouncing in a state where the sound is extremely muffled when speaking English and it is difficult for them to communicate with each other.
Therefore, in this article, we will introduce in detail the causes of English pronunciation muffled and specific solutions. If you are worried that "I'm trying to talk properly, but I can't communicate well with the other person ...", please take a look to the end.
3 Causes of Muffled English Pronunciation
Even if you somehow know that your English pronunciation is muffled, it is not easy to find the cause yourself because Japanese and English are so different linguistically.
So, from here, I will explain three main reasons why English pronunciation is muffled. First, check if there is anything that applies to you, know the cause, and take corrective measures.
Cause (1) I try to pronounce it like English
One of the most common characteristics of people who have a muffled English pronunciation is the case where they move their tongue too much and a sound like R is mixed.
People who fall into this state tend to make a sound like [r] by lifting or rolling the tip of their tongue while pronouncing, and the sound tends to be unnecessarily muffled.
Perhaps some people believe in the theory that "English sounds like it if you speak it with a curly tongue", but that is never the case.
Cause (2) I tend to close my lips
Natives speak with their lips turned over and their front teeth visible when talking.
In English, you make various sounds by sticking out your lips or pulling them to the left or right, but since many sounds are pronounced with your teeth visible, you cannot make the correct sound if you close your lips.
People who always talk with a smile can talk while showing their front teeth naturally, so there is no problem, but Japanese people have a very difficult movement of "turning their lips", so the sound sounds muffled as a whole. It is.
Cause (3) I can't exhale before
Not being able to exhale properly when pronouncing is also one of the causes of muffled English pronunciation.
English has more sounds to exhale and pronounce than Japanese.
For example, the pronunciation of [t] and [d], which are pronounced only by flipping the tongue and breathing, will be muffled if the breath is used incorrectly.
Japanese is pronounced only by mouth, so if you speak English in the same way as you speak Japanese, the sound will be muffled.
What is an effective solution to eliminate the situation where pronunciation is muffled?
Even if you understand the cause of the muffled English pronunciation, the movement of the mouth and the use of breath are often ingrained in the body, and many people may find it difficult to improve.
Therefore, from here, we will introduce effective methods for eliminating the state of muffled pronunciation and specific training methods for learning correct tongue movements and how to use breath.
① Fix the tip of the tongue to the back of the lower front teeth
If you've used a lot of curly tongues and often make sounds like [r], first relax your tongue and be aware that the tip of your tongue is behind your lower anterior teeth.
People who have a tongue that floats even if they don't intend to have it rolled up may have weak tongue strength to pronounce English.
If it is difficult to be aware of it, try one of our unique native muscle exercises, " Tongue Patter Exercise " to improve the strength and flexibility of the entire tongue.
Tongue patter exercises
① Open your mouth slightly larger.
② Raise the tip of your tongue and attach it to the back of your upper front teeth.
③ Lower the tip of your tongue and attach it to the back of your lower front teeth.
④ Raise and lower the tip of the tongue 10 times as one set, and do 3 to 5 sets a day.
Make sure your chin does not move when raising or lowering your tongue, and move only the tip of your tongue up and down.
It's a simple exercise, so please give it a try.
Unnecessarily moving the tongue is a phenomenon peculiar to Japanese people, so it may be difficult to do at first.
However, when speaking English, if you always keep the tip of your tongue behind the front teeth of your tongue except for pronunciations such as R and TH, you will not be able to hear unnecessary R-like sounds.
② Turn the upper and lower lips firmly and show your teeth
If you think that speaking English makes you talk to Mogomogo, be aware of flipping your lips.
This can also be overcome with our unique native muscle exercises, " Duck around the mouth " and " Lip ao ".
If you can't speak while showing your front teeth, exercise little by little every day to improve the flexibility of your lips.
When the upper and lower lips are turned over and the shape of the mouth opens naturally, the sound comes out and the muffledness can be eliminated.
③ Practice exhaling your breath and voice
English is a language that makes sounds forward and forward. If you're muffled, be aware that you should open his throat and exhale his breath.
As an exercise to exhale, you can control your breath well by practicing to take a lot of breath from your abdomen like sighing.
It is also recommended to relax your tongue and practice vowels with the tip of your tongue attached to the back of your lower front teeth.
When pronouncing "u" or "o", try to change the sound with your throat instead of purging your lips or moving your mouth as much as in Japanese.
Vowels other than R do not pronounce with the tip of the tongue floating, so it is also a pronunciation practice to prevent the tongue from moving unnecessarily.
Overall, when you speak English, if the gap between your teeth is narrow, you will hear a muffled sound, so open a few millimeters and do not bite your teeth.
Summary: Why is the sound muffled when speaking English?
I introduced the causes of muffled sound when speaking English and how to deal with it. How was it?
There are many differences between English and Japanese in how to use the muscles around the mouth and breath, and it is not possible to improve pronunciation overnight.
First, learn how to pronounce each sound, and practice while looking in the mirror to see if the tip of your tongue is floating or moving unnecessarily, or if you can see your front teeth.
At our school, we will teach you how to speak English without muffled sounds by using various native muscle exercises other than those introduced this time.
We are accepting applications for trial lessons (one-on-one, complete reservation system) from here!
Trial lesson | English pronunciation correction | Learn real pronunciation
In this article, "Why is the sound muffled when speaking English?" I introduced about!
