Talk:Non-native pronunciations of English

Brazilian Portuguese

Here are some of the changes which commonly occur when a native Brazilian Portuguese speaker attempt to pronounce English:

• /h/ is pronounced as the guttural R used by the speaker (see Guttural R#Portuguese). This can be [ʀ], [x], [χ], [r] or [h], depending on the dialect.
• Due to the absence of the dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ in Portuguese, the first is commonly pronounced as [f] or [t], while the second is usually pronounced as [d].
• Word-final "e" is commonly pronounced as [i]. Example: space [isˈpeɪ̯si].
• In syllable coda, /l/ is usually pronounced as [w] in many dialects. Example: all [ɔw].
• Word-initial /s/ followed by a consonant does not occur in Portuguese. Thus, an [i] is usually inserted before it. If followed by a voiced consonant, the /s/ is voiced. Examples: space [isˈpeɪ̯si], small [izˈmɔw].
• Some speakers retain the alveolar approximant pronunciation of /ɹ/ even if they lack this sound in their dialects, but other speakers pronounce it as either of the pronunciations of the letter "r" in Portuguese. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.72.56.253 (talk • contribs)
• Due to the lack of lax vowels in Portuguese, changes include: /æ/ → /ɛ/, /ɪ/ → /i/ and /ʊ/ → /u/. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.89.139.239 (talk) 15:39, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Okay, but we can't put this in the article without sourcing. — Ƶ§œš¹ _{[aɪm ˈfɹ̠ˤʷɛ̃ɾ̃ˡi]} 14:44, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

I think those policies of sourcing should change. It will be difficult to find any source. I wrote this list after the changes I hear people doing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.72.56.253 (talk) 14:53, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

I don't think we should change change our polices simply because you find it difficult to go beyond what we call original research. However, if you do want to make a case for changing such policies, I suggest you go to WP:V or WP:RS and do so there. — Ƶ§œš¹ _{[aɪm ˈfɹ̠ˤʷɛ̃ɾ̃ˡi]} 16:37, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

In the external links, there is "A site collecting recordings of people from different areas reading the same paragraph". This site includes recordings from Brazilian Portuguese people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.89.139.239 (talk) 15:36, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

There are a number of problems with using this site, the most damning IMHO is that most of these recordings provide no analysis. — Ƶ§œš¹ _{[aɪm ˈfɹ̠ˤʷɛ̃ɾ̃ˡi]} 18:55, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

German - need sources

I copy pasted some reverted edits, which need sources. Help to find some and paste them into the article. A good source might be Systematische Aussprachefehler deutscher Muttersprachler im Englischen, which can be found on the internet --93.193.116.122 (talk) 18:57, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

• Word-final voiced consonants /b d g v z/ are devoiced to sound like [p t k f s]. (This is the most typical symptom of a German accent.)
• /dʒ/ as in jam may be devoiced (especially by speakers from southern Germany), being pronounced [tʃ].
• German does not have dental fricatives ([θ] and [ð]). Speakers may pronounce them [s] and [z], or less commonly [f] and [v] / [d].
• /s/ is sometimes pronounced [z] or vice versa. In German, both sounds are widely interchangeable; some dialects even lack one of these phones completely.
• The vowels [æ] and [e] are not distinguished: thus bed and bad sound the same.
• The ending -er in words like finger is usually pronounced [ɐ] instead of [ə].
• Speakers mostly do not velarize /l/ in coda positions as native speakers do.
• The German rhotic consonant varies from region to region so speakers from different areas will pronounce the English /ɹ/ differently:
  • Many German dialects, including most varieties of standard German, have a uvular fricative [ʁ] (or [χ] in devoiced pronounciation). These are pronounced at the back of the throat and may seem harsh or grating to native speakers of English.
  • German speakers may use an alveolar trill [r] as in Italian or Scottish.
  • Few German dialects use the same [ɹ] as native English speakers.
• German speakers may pronounce /w/ as [v]. Speakers may find it difficult to distinguish between /w/ and /v/, and may often substitute one for the other.
• Speakers have a difficulty in correctly stressing words derived from Latin. (German, as much as English, tends to stress the first syllable of a word. In Latin words with many syllables, however, it usually stresses the second last syllable, while English stresses the third last. Speakers therefore may say [kɔnsiˈkwɛnsi] for consequency, instead of [kɔnˈsiːkwənsi].)
• Tendency to replace [ŋɡ] with /ŋ/
• Yod-dropping even graver than in American English.
• Glottal Stop [ʔ] may be pronounced eratically before word-inital vowels by speakers of northern varieties of German.