How to Repair Communication Breakdown & Limit Frustration caused by English Vowel Sound

Limit your Frustration with Speech

There is an English speech vowel sound that causes frustration and communication breakdown. We’re going to suggest ways to repair this breakdown.  You probably encounter this breakdown whether you speak English as a second language or whether you speak English as your first language and communicate with people who speak English as a second language.

Roughly half of the people in the world speak  English as a second language according to WolframAlpha. Why is this important?  Just because a non-native English speaker (person who speaks English as a second language) and a native English speaker both speak English to one another doesn’t mean that they won’t encounter communication barriers.  Most of the time, a fluent non-native English speaker who speaks English can understand the native English speaker.  It is usually not true in the opposite scenario.  When a non-native speaker of English uses English to communicate with a native English speaker, often, the accent of the non-native English speaker interferes.

Identify which Sounds to Focus on

Not to worry:  The science of accent modification, or accent reduction clearly identifies which sounds will likely cause communication barriers.  When both the native English speaker and the non-native English speaker become familiar with these sounds, they can communicate much more clearly and efficiently, with less frustration and wasted time.  Rather, the focus becomes the MESSAGE ITSELF; not HOW the message is being said.

Let’s focus on one of the most commonly challenging sounds that causes communication barriers between people who speak English as a second language and people who speak English as their first language.  This is an English speech vowel sound that causes frustration and communication breakdown: for both the non-native English speaker as well as the native English speaker who is listening to and communicating with the non-native speaker speaking English.  We’re going to suggest ways to repair this breakdown.

Short Vowel “a”

This sound is the short vowel “a”.  This vowel sound is represented by the middle sound in words such as: had, sad, can, Dad, fad, and pad.  It is in the beginning sounds of the following words: after, and, as, am.  The reason this short vowel sound “a” challenges the person speaking English as a second language to a person who speaks English as their first language is because this sound either doesn’t exist in many non-English languages, or it is confused with other English speech sounds.  For example, if you speak the following languages or if you communicate with people who speak the following languages, you’ll most likely experience trouble communicating: Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, West African.

What you can do

As a person who speaks English as a second language, what can you do if you are experiencing difficulty, frustration, and communication barriers with this sound? Consult an accent reduction specialist (accent modification specialist/accent coach/accent trainer).  An accent reduction trainer will equip you with the tools to master the pronunciation of this speech sound. For strategies to help you find an accent reduction specialist who’s right for you, check out: 3 Sure-Fire Questions to Help Connect You with an Accent Specialist who’s Right for You.  Also see additional articles listed at the end of this blog.

Help Repair Communication Breakdown

If you are a native English speaker who communicates with people who speak English as a second language, be aware that when communicating with people who speak English as a second language, they may inaccurately pronounce this “short a” sound in their speech.  You can help them to repair the communication breakdown by becoming more aware of words that contain this short vowel “a.”  When you listen to these speakers, you can then perhaps ask them if they meant to say which ever word it was that had the short vowel “a” that you heard them mispronounce.  Let them know you understand that pronouncing the sound is challenging; and you want to do your part to bridge the gap in English communication since they are doing their part by speaking the English language in the first place.

Helpful Resources

If you enjoyed and benefited from this article, and now know which English speech vowel sound causes frustration and communication breakdown and how to repair it, you may want to check out:

3 Steps to Finding your Challenge Sounds

Partnership Between Accented Professionals and their Consumers

7 Ways to Tactfully Suggest Accent Reduction to a Professional

When Traditional Communication Strategies aren’t Enough: Part 1

When Traditional Communication Strategies aren’t Engough: Part 2

Share your Experiences, Comment, or Ask Questions

We hope this blog was valuable to you.  Click on the comments section at the end of this article, scroll to the bottom, and leave a comment and/or question.  We’ll be happy to respond.  It is Master Your Accent’s mission to bridge the communication gap between native English speakers and non-native English speakers.  We all play a part.  Our efforts result in us being able to fully express our skills, talents, personalities, and spirits!

Happy expressing to you!

Cher