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Pronunciation problems in Hong KongThere are a number or pronunciation problems Cantonese speakers have when speaking English because of various reasons. This article only covers the common pronunciation problems that I often hear when listening to Cantonese speakers speak English. I have noticed language habits that Cantonese speakers have causing them to mispronounce certain sounds in English. A very common and noticeable habit is to replace /n/ with /l/. Cantonese speakers often carry this habit with them when speaking English. For example, a Cantonese speaker will most likely pronounce Nick as lick. When speaking English, Cantonese speakers may use /r/ and /l/ interchangeably, although this does not happen when they speak Cantonese. Another common problem is with /?/ because there is no such sound in Cantonese. This problem seems to depend on the word being said. Cantonese speakers may be able to pronounce thank correctly, but they may pronounce think as sink. Also, this, that, and those, are often pronounced as dis, dat, and doze. Other words Cantonese speakers may mispronounce are thin and three. Instead, they may say tin and fee. Some Cantonese speakers have trouble pronouncing the sh sound because they do not use this sound when speaking Cantonese. They say see instead of she. Cantonese consonants are voiceless, therefore Cantonese speakers often have problems with voiced consonants in English. Cantonese speakers often replace /b/ with a sound that is in between /b/ and /p/. They do the same with /d/; they replace it with a sound that is in between /d/ and /t/. Another pronunciation problem that is common among Cantonese speakers is consonant sounds at the ends of words. Most Cantonese words do not end with consonants, and if they do then the consonant sounds are voiceless. When speaking English, they will often drop the ending consonant. For example, might may be pronounced as migh. Cantonese speakers often do the same with words that end with -ed and s. So, claimed would be pronounced as claim, and let?s would be pronounced as let. Cantonese does not have consonant clusters, and this causes pronunciation problems in English words that have clusters. They often have trouble pronouncing words that begin with consonants that are followed by /r/, such as try and fry. Cantonese speakers also have problems pronouncing vowels correctly when speaking English. The main reason for this problem is English has ?short? and ?long? vowel sounds but Cantonese speakers tend to produce sounds that are in between short and long (Common Pronunciation Problems for Cantonese Speakers). It is important to correct these common pronunciation mistakes and errors because many times Cantonese speakers are actually saying different words from what they mean to say. This can cause the speaker to be misunderstood and frustration follows. Other times, mispronunciation of certain words change the verb tense. For example, a Cantonese speaker may say I park the car instead of I parked the car. Omitting consonants at the ends of words can also result in grammar errors. For example, he parked the car may be pronounced as he park the car.
