English accent and mispronunciation are two different concepts, and there is a big difference between them. English accent refers to a way of speaking and pronunciation characteristics, which are usually related to the region, culture and mother tongue. Mispronunciation refers to language errors such as incorrect pronunciation or inappropriate word choice. Below I will explain the difference between these two concepts in detail and give specific examples.
English accents are determined by many factors, such as a person's native language, the speech environment, and cultural background. Therefore, even if two people speak the same English word, their accents may be different. For example, the pronunciation of British English and American English is very different. British English pronunciation is clearer and slower, while American English pronunciation is more fluent and natural. Here is a summary of the pronunciation of several common accents:
| Pronunciation characteristics | British Accent | American Accent | Australian accent |
| Vowel Pronunciation | 1. The pronunciation of stressed vowels is fuller and clearer, such as the /ɑː/ in “bath”; 2. The distinction between vowels is more obvious, such as the pronunciation difference between “cot” and “caught” is /ɒ/ and /ɔː/. | 1. The vowels are pronounced relatively flat, such as the /æ/ in "bath"; 2. The distinction between vowels is not very obvious, such as the pronunciation difference between "cot" and "caught". | 1. Some vowel pronunciations are similar to the British accent, but some vowel pronunciations are more colloquial, such as the /eɪ/ in "day" is pronounced like /ai/. |
| Consonant pronunciation | 1. The stressed consonants are pronounced more clearly, such as the /t/ in “time”; 2. Other consonants are pronounced more softly, such as the /t/ in “bottle”. | 1. Consonants are pronounced crisply, for example, the /t/ in “time” is pronounced more strongly; 2. Some consonants are pronounced with accents, for example, the /t/ in “water” is pronounced as /d/. | 1. Consonant pronunciation is relatively clear, but some consonants are weakened, such as the /t/ in "better" is softer. |
| Vowel+r | The retroflex sound of r is not obvious | The retroflex sound of r is obvious | The retroflex sound of r is not obvious |
| er (such as butter, water) | 1. The pronunciation of er is clearer, such as "butter" /ˈbʌtər/; 2. When pronouncing, the er sound is more obvious, such as "water" /ˈwɔːtər/. | 1. The pronunciation of er is relatively postpositioned, such as "butter" /ˈbʌtər/; 2. The pronunciation of er is relatively weak, such as "water" /ˈwɑtər/. | 1. The pronunciation of er is similar to the British accent, such as "butter" /ˈbʌtər/; 2. The pronunciation of er is clearer, such as "water" /ˈwɔːtər/, which is followed by a sound similar to "a" |
On the other hand, mispronunciation refers to the incorrect pronunciation of a word or phrase. For example, some people mistakenly pronounce "library" as "lie-berry", "nuclear" as "nuke-ya-ler", "February" as "Feb-you-ary", etc. These mispronunciations may be caused by personal accents or incorrect habits when learning English.
Here are some English words that Chinese students often mispronounce, along with their incorrect and correct pronunciations:
Wednesday
Wrong pronunciation: wen-ze-day
Correct pronunciation: wenz-dei
clothes
Incorrect pronunciation: clo-th-es
Correct pronunciation: kloz
comfortable
Wrong pronunciation: com-fort-able
Correct pronunciation: kumf-tuh-bul
library
Incorrect pronunciation: lie-berry
Correct pronunciation: laibrer-ri
vegetable
Wrong pronunciation: ve-ge-ta-ble
Correct pronunciation: vedg-tuh-bul
February
Wrong pronunciation: feb-you-ary
Correct pronunciation: feb-roo-ary
often
Wrong pronunciation: off-ten
Correct pronunciation: aw-fuhn
government
Incorrect pronunciation: govern-ment
Correct pronunciation: guv-ern-muhnt
restaurant
Incorrect pronunciation: res-tau-rant
Correct pronunciation: res-truhnt
chocolate
Wrong pronunciation: cho-co-late
Correct pronunciation: chawk-lit
These words are some common English words, but because the pronunciation is different from Chinese, Chinese students often mispronounce them. By learning the correct pronunciation, we can avoid these mistakes and improve our English speaking skills.
It is important to note that the accent of certain regions or groups may differ from standard English but is not necessarily wrong. For example, in Scotland and Ireland, some words may be pronounced differently than in standard English but still be considered an acceptable accent.
In short, English accent and mispronunciation are two different concepts. We should try to reduce the occurrence of mispronunciation and respect different English accents. For English learners, being familiar with different English accents and common mispronunciation is an important step to improve their spoken English.