English pronunciation practice for Swedish speakers

Swedish language backgrounds

See also my article on the teaching of English Pronunciation to Swedes.

23 common English pronunciation problems

1. /ɪ/ as in "sit"

Fix problem Relax the mouth and keep sound short.

English sound /ɪ/

Example "sit"

Common error /i:/ — "seat"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or /i:/ practice

2. /æ/ as in "man"

Fix problem Move tongue to a lower front position.

English sound /æ/

Example "man"

Common error /e/ — "men"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice

3. /ʌ/ as in "cup"

Fix problem Tongue low central. Lips relaxed.

English sound /ʌ/

Example "cup"

Common error No common error specified.

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice

4. /ʊ/ as in "full"

Fix problem Back of tongue high. Lips rounded but relaxed. Short.

English sound /ʊ/

Example "full"

Common error /u:/ — "fool"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ʊ/ or /u:/ practice

5. /ə/ as in "the" (schwa)

Fix problem Weak endings: e.g. "London" "England"

English sound /ə/

Example "the" (schwa)

Common error No common error specified.

Practice materials
Practise the neutral vowel /ə/ using spoken dialogues

6. /u:/ as in "fool"

Fix problem Back of tongue high. Lips tightly rounded. Long.

English sound /u:/

Example "fool"

Common error No common error specified.

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ʊ/ or /u:/ practice

7. /ɜ:/ as in "bird"

Fix problem Fix tongue in central position. Long.

English sound /ɜ:/

Example "bird"

Common error No common error specified.

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜ:/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice
Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /ɜ:/ practice

8. /eɪ/ as in "late"

Fix problem Tongue moves from front centre to front high.

English sound /eɪ/

Example "late"

Common error /e/ — "let"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /e/ or /eɪ/ practice

9. /aɪ/ as in "buy"

Fix problem Start with tongue low front.

English sound /aɪ/

Example "buy"

Common error No common error specified.

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /eɪ/ or /aɪ/ practice

10. /ɔɪ/ as in "boy"

Fix problem Don't make last part too strong.

English sound /ɔɪ/

Example "boy"

Common error No common error specified.

11. /əʊ/ as in "note"

Fix problem Tongue central. Then tightly round lips.

English sound /əʊ/

Example "note"

Common error /ɔ/ — "not"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ or /ɔ/ practice

12. /ɪə/ as in "beer"

Fix problem Tongue high and front. Move to centre.

English sound /ɪə/

Example "beer"

Common error /eə/ — "bear"

13. /eə/ as in "bear"

Fix problem Tongue from centre front. Draw back to centre.

English sound /eə/

Example "bear"

Common error No common error specified.

14. /ʊə/ as in "tour"

Fix problem Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround.

English sound /ʊə/

Example "tour"

Common error No common error specified.

15. /θ/ as in "thin"

Fix problem Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.

English sound /θ/

Example "thin"

Common error No common error specified.

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /ð/ practice
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /t/ practice
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /d/ practice
Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice

16. /ð/ as in "they"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.

English sound /ð/

Example "they"

Common error /d/ — "day"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /d/ practice

17. /ð/ as in "clothe"

Fix problem Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.

English sound /ð/

Example "clothe"

Common error /z/ — "close" /z/

18. /z/ as in "rise"

Fix problem Voiced: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction.

English sound /z/

Example "rise"

Common error /s/ — "rice"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /s/ or /z/ practice

19. /ʒ/ as in "measure"

Fix problem Voiced: Front of tongue to palate. Friction.

English sound /ʒ/

Example "measure"

Common error /j/

20. /tʃ/ as in "cherry"

Fix problem Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.

English sound /tʃ/

Example "cherry"

Common error /ʃ/ — "sherry"

21. Silent "r" as in "survivor"

Fix problem British "r" is weaker & usually silent unless followed by a vowel.

English sound silent

Example "survivor"

Common error /r/ — "Sir Ivor"

22. /dʒ/ as in "job"

Fix problem Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate.

English sound /dʒ/

Example "job"

Common error /j/ — "yob"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /dʒ/ or /j/ practice

23. /w/ as in "west"

Fix problem Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide.

English sound /w/

Example "west"

Common error /v/ — "vest"

Practice materials
Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice

External links
Non-native pronunciations of English: Swedish L1
Swenglish and Finglish
Consonant clusters in Swedish - phonological development