Some common English pronunciation mistakes here in Singapore are also the most embarrassing. They could possibly cause offence, or just cause the listener to break into laughter…

1. ‘sheet’

Example: “Pass that sheet.”

The vowel ‘ee’ /i:/ in sheet needs to be a long sound, and not short. If kept short you will say the word that means excrement.

Another example: “Singapore has lovely beaches”

2. ‘can’t’

Example: “You can’t”

If the vowel /a:/ sound is not open enough it can sound like a very rude word indeed! Don’t confuse the ‘u’ /ʌ/ sound with the ‘ar’ /a:/ sound

Another example: ‘us’ versus ‘ass’

3. ‘third’

Example: “Richard the third”

The TH sound /θ/ should be made by putting your tongue between your teeth. Unfortunately this sound often sounds like either ‘t’ or ‘d’ sound. 

4. ‘coke’

Example: “Would you like a coke?”

The oh sound /əʊ/ in coke is often kept to a single ‘o’ sound making it more like the vowel in ‘rock’.

5. ‘Fork’

Example: “I need a fork”

Like the example above the ‘or’ sound /ɔ:/ is often kept short. It should be stretched.

Another example: “Pull this cork”

6. ‘crab’

Example: “For me the crab soup’

The voiced sound /b/ is sometimes devoiced and becomes a /p/ sound. Was the soup really that bad?

7 ‘cement’

Example: “Fill this with cement”

Remember to end words with the proper consonant sound. Don’t drop the ‘t’ sound in cement!