View source for Non-native pronunciations of English

{{Short description|Overview of English-learners' pronunciation}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2019}}
{{IPA notice}}
[[File:Japanese mistake in English caused by perceptions of R and L sounds at gift shop in Otaru.jpg|thumb|This gift shop in Japan spells the English word "decoration" as ''decolation'', as a result of the [[Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers|well-attested difficulty of Japanese speakers in distinguishing English {{angbr|l}} and {{angbr|r}} sounds]].]]
'''Non-native pronunciations of English''' result from the common [[linguistics|linguistic]] phenomenon in which [[Second language|non-native speakers of any language]] tend to transfer the [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]], [[phonology|phonological]] processes and [[pronunciation]] rules of their [[first language]] into their English speech. They may also create innovative pronunciations not found in the speaker's native language.

==Overview==
[[English as a second or foreign language|Non-native English speakers]] may pronounce words differently than native speakers either because they apply the [[Phonology|speech rules]] of their mother tongue to English ("interference") or through implementing strategies similar to those used in [[first language acquisition]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harvcoltxt|MacDonald|1989|p=224}}</ref> They may also create innovative pronunciations for English sounds not found in the speaker's first language.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The extent to which native speakers can identify a non-native accent is linked to the age at which individuals begin to immerse themselves in a language. Scholars disagree on the precise nature of this link, which might be influenced by a combination of factors, including: [[neuroplasticity|neurological plasticity]], [[cognitive development]], motivation, [[social psychology|psychosocial states]], formal instruction, language learning aptitude, and the usage of their first (L1) and second (L2) languages.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Munro|Mann|2005|p=311}}</ref>

English is unusual in that speakers rarely produce an audible release between [[consonant cluster]]s and often overlap constriction times.  Speaking English with a timing pattern that is dramatically different may lead to speech that is difficult to understand.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Zsiga|2003|pp=400–401}}</ref>

Phonological differences between a speaker's native language and English often lead to neutralization of distinctions in their English.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Harvcoltxt|Jeffers|Lehiste|1979|p=140}}</ref> Moreover, differences in sound inventory or distribution can result in difficult English sounds being substituted or dropped entirely.<ref name="Goldstein 2005 203">{{Harvcoltxt|Goldstein|Fabiano|Washington|2005|p=203}}</ref> This is more common when the distinction is subtle between English sounds or between a sound of English and of a speaker's native language. While there is no evidence to suggest that a simple absence of a sound or sequence in one language's phonological inventory makes it difficult to learn,<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|MacDonald|1989|p=223}}</ref> several theoretical models have presumed that non-native speech perceptions reflect both the abstract phonological properties and phonetic details of the native language.<ref>See the overview at {{Harvcoltxt|Hallé|Best|Levitt|1999|p=283}}</ref>

Non-native speech patterns can be passed on to the children of learners, who will then exhibit some of the same characteristics despite being native speakers themselves.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|MacDonald|1989|p=215}}</ref> For example, this process has resulted in many of the distinctive qualities of [[Irish English]] and [[Highland English]] which were heavily influenced by a [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] [[substratum (linguistics)|substratum]].<ref name=McEwan>{{cite web|last1=McEwan-Fujita|first1=Emily|title=Gaelic and English|url=http://www.celticlifeintl.com/gaelic-and-english/|website=Experience an Emerald Adventure|date=8 November 2016 }}</ref>

==Examples from [[Indo-European|Indo-European languages]]==
{{Expand section|More words examples for people who doesn't know IPA would make the text much clearer|date=June 2024}}

=== [[Germanic languages]] ===
====Dutch====
{{see also|Dutch phonology}}

;Consonants
* Speakers have difficulty with dental fricatives, often pronouncing {{IPA|/ð/}} as {{IPA|[d]}} (failing to contrast ''then'' and ''den''){{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=11, 286}} or {{IPA|[s]}} (especially between vowels).{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=286}} Similarly, the dental fricative {{IPA|/θ/}} is replaced by {{IPA|[s]}} or {{IPA|[t]}}, though Belgian speakers may pronounce both {{IPA|/θ/}} and {{IPA|/ð/}} as {{IPA|[f]}} in word-final position.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=286}}
* The voiced stops and fricatives undergo [[terminal devoicing]], especially in stressed syllables, causing ''feed'' and ''feet'' to be pronounced as the latter. Similarly, Dutch voicing assimilation patterns may be applied to English utterances so that, for example, ''iceberg'' is pronounced as {{IPA|[aɪzbɜːɹk]}}, and ''if I'' as {{IPA|[ɪv aɪ]}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=285–286}}
* Speakers have difficulty with the glottalization of {{IPA|/p t k/}}, either not pronouncing it or applying it in the wrong contexts so that ''good morning'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ɡʊʔ ˈmɔːnɪŋ]}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=285}}
* The voiceless stops {{IPA|/p t k/}} lack [[aspirated consonant|aspiration]] in stressed syllable-initial context.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=285}}
* Medial {{IPA|/t/}} is replaced by {{IPA|/d/}} such that ''better'' is pronounced as {{IPA|[bɛdə]}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=285}}
* The postalveolar sibilants {{IPA|/tʃ dʒ ʃ ʒ/}} tend to be pronounced as their [[alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal]] equivalents in Dutch: {{IPA|[tɕ dʑ ɕ ʑ]}}; beginners may pronounce them as alveolar (and voiceless) {{IPA|[ts]}} or {{IPA|[s]}} in syllable-final positions, leading to ''wish'' being pronounced as {{IPA|[wɪs]}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=286}}
* {{IPA|/ɡ/}} may be confused with {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/v/}} with {{IPA|/f/}} in initial position.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=285-286}}
* {{IPA|/l/}} may be strongly [[pharyngealization|pharyngealized]], even in contexts where the [[dark l]] does not normally appear in English.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=286}} Beginners may insert an [[epenthetic]] [[schwa]] between {{IPA|/l/}} and a following {{IPA|/p, f, m, k/}}, leading to ''milk'' being pronounced as {{IPA|[ˈmɪlək]}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=287}}
* {{IPA|/h/}} could pose difficulties for certain regional dialects which lack /h/, such as in [[Zeelandic]] and [[West Flemish]].{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=286}}
* {{IPA|/w/}} is replaced by {{IPAblink|ʋ}}, which English listeners may perceive as {{IPA|/v/}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=287}}
* The alveolar consonants /t, d, n, s, z, l/ are articulated with the blade of the tongue, rather than the tip as in English.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=285}}

;Vowels
* Speakers confuse between {{IPA|/æ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, so that ''man'' and ''men'' are both pronounced as the latter.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=10, 288}}
* Speakers confuse between {{IPA|/uː/}} and {{IPA|/ʊ/}}, so that ''pool'' and ''pull'' are both pronounced with {{IPA|[u]}}.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=10}} Some advanced speakers may employ a glide [ʉy].{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=289}}
* /iː/ is pronounced closer, tenser, and sometimes shorter than usual. Some advanced speakers might over-compensate for the length with a diphthong like [ëi].{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=288}}
* {{IPA|/ʌ/}} is replaced by {{IPA|[ʉ]}}. Spelling might cause confusion with /ɒ/ in words like ''wonder'', ''nothing'' and ''lovely''.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=289}}
* British English /ɒ/ is replaced by [ɔ].{{clarify|date=July 2024}}{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=288}}
* British English /ɜː/ is replaced by the sequence in Dutch /ør/, with significant lip-rounding and r-insertion.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=?}}
* /eɪ/ is replaced by [eː].{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=289}}
* /əʊ/ is replaced by [oː]. More advanced speakers might use the Dutch diphthong [eːu].{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=289}}
* /aɪ/ tends to be overly long before [[Fortis and lenis|fortis]] consonants, giving the impression of a following lenis consonant.{{sfn|Collins|Mees|2003|p=289}}

====German====
{{see also|German phonology#Loanwords from English}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2016}}

;General
* German has a smaller pitch range, less consonant cluster reduction, and less [[vowel reduction]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Gut|2009}}</ref>

;Consonants
* Speakers may not [[Velarization|velarize]] {{IPAslink|l}} in [[Syllable coda|coda positions]] as most native speakers do.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>
* German features [[Final-obstruent devoicing|terminal devoicing]], which is often carried over to English (creating homophones in cub/cup, had/hat, etc.)<ref name="pronstudio">{{cite web|url=https://pronunciationstudio.com/10-english-pronunciation-errors-german-speakers/|title=10 English Pronunciation Errors by German Speakers - Pronunciation Studio|website=pronunciationstudio.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-04|date=2016-04-04}}</ref><ref name="hickeydue">{{cite web|url=https://www.uni-due.de/ELE/German_Pronunciations.pdf|title=German pronunciations of English|last=Hickey|first=Raymond|date=October 2014|website=University of Duisburg-Essen}}</ref>
* German features neither {{IPAslink|ð}} ("'''th'''e") nor {{IPAslink|θ}} ("'''th'''ink"), and both are often realised as either /s/ or /f/ (think/sink, thought/fought, etc.)<ref name="pronstudio" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/german.htm|title=Language differences: English - German|last=Shoebottom|first=Paul|website=esl.fis.edu|access-date=2017-03-04|archive-date=2017-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515140106/http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/german.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* German speakers tend to realise {{IPA|/w/}} (written {{angbr|w}} in English) as {{IPA|[v]}} (also written {{angbr|w}} in German) when speaking English.<ref name="pronstudio" /><ref name="hickeydue" />
* The German /r/ is realised differently from the English /r/. Whereas in the former case the [[tongue]] touches the [[uvula]], in the latter case it does not.<ref name="pronstudio" />
* After German speakers master the pronunciation of [w], some of them [[hypercorrect]] to incorrectly pronounce the [v] phoneme in English as [w] without realizing it.<ref name="chamson-2016">{{cite journal |last=Chamson |first=Emil |date=30 November 2016 |title=Wisiting Wienna: /w/ for /v/ as a typical feature of German speakers' English |url=https://scispace.com/papers/wisiting-wienna-w-for-v-as-a-typical-feature-of-german-500ivn26w2 |journal=English Today |volume=32 |issue=4 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=40–48 |doi=10.1017/S0266078416000298 |access-date=26 July 2025}}</ref>

=== [[Hellenic languages]] ===
====Greek====
{{see also|Modern Greek phonology|Ethnolect#Greek Australian English (Greek ethnolect)}}
;Consonants
* Greek speakers tend to struggle with the difference between {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.{{sfnp|Cheung|2015}}{{better source needed|date=December 2021}}
* {{IPA|/tʃ/}} and {{IPA|/dʒ/}} can be replaced by {{IPA|[ts]}} or {{IPA|[dz]}}.{{sfnp|Cheung|2015}}{{better source needed|date=December 2021}}
* {{IPA|/p t k/}} tend to be unaspirated.{{sfnp|Cheung|2015}}
* Greek speakers may pronounce the English rhotic as a flap {{IPA|[ɾ]}}.{{sfnp|Cheung|2015}}{{better source needed|date=December 2021}}
* The closest sound to English {{IPA|/h/}} in Greek is {{IPA|[x]}}, and speakers may substitute this sound in words like ''house''.{{sfnp|Cheung|2015}}{{better source needed|date=December 2021}}

;Vowels
* The English vowels [ɪ] (b'''i'''t) and [iː] (b'''ea'''t) are conflated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Georgiou |first=Georgios P. |date=2019-03-01 |title=Bit and beat are heard as the same: Mapping the vowel perceptual patterns of Greek-English bilingual children |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000118302687 |journal=Language Sciences |volume=72 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1016/j.langsci.2018.12.001 |s2cid=150229377 |issn=0388-0001|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== [[Romance languages]] ===
====Catalan====
{{see also|Catalan phonology}}

;Consonants
*Devoicing of final consonants:{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}} {{IPA|/b}} {{IPA|d}} {{IPA|ɡ}} {{IPA|v}} {{IPA|z}} {{IPA|dʒ}} {{IPA|ʒ/}} to {{IPA|[p}} {{IPA|t}} {{IPA|k}} {{IPA|f}} {{IPA|s}} {{IPA|tʃ}} {{IPA|ʃ]}}.
::E.g. ''phase'' can be pronounced like ''face'' (even though Catalan has both {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}} phonemes).{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=93}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/b/}} {{IPA|/v/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[b~β]}} ({{IPA|/b/}} {{IPA|/v/}} are only distinguished in [[Valencian language|Valencian]] and [[Balearic dialect|Balearic]]).{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=93}}
*[[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|Rhotic pronunciation]], with {{IPA|/r/}} pronounced as a trill {{IPA|[r]}} or a flap {{IPA|[ɾ]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=93}}
*Difficulties with word-initial clusters involving {{IPA|/s/}}, where an [[epenthetic]] ''e'' is usually added.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=94}}
::E.g. ''stop'' being pronounced ''estop''.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=94}}
*Simplification of some word [[consonant cluster]]s.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=94}}
::E.g. ''instant'' being pronounced ''instan''{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=94}}

;Vowels
*Vowel length confusions.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/æ/}} {{IPA|/ɑ(ː)/}} {{IPA|/ʌ/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[a]}}{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/ɪ/}} {{IPA|/i(ː)/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[i]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/ʊ/}} {{IPA|/u(ː)/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[u]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/ɔ(ː)/}} {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[ɔ]}} or {{IPA|[o]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}

;Suprasegmental features
*Narrower pitch range, with emphasis marked with extra length instead of extra pitch variation.{{sfn|Swan|2001|pp=91, 96}}
*Problems with variable stress.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
::E.g. ''the blackbird'' vs. ''the black bird.''{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Problems with contrastive stress.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
::E.g. ''with sugar or without '''sugar'''?'' (the second ''sugar'' is more heavily stressed){{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}

====Italian====
{{See also|Italian phonology}}
Studies on Italian speakers' pronunciation of English revealed the following characteristics:<ref>Martin Russell, [http://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/russellm/ItalianEnglishReport/ItalianEnglish_report_v2.htm Analysis of Italian children's English pronunciation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527173328/http://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/russellm/ItalianEnglishReport/ItalianEnglish_report_v2.htm |date=2007-05-27 }}. Accessed 2007-07-12.</ref><ref name="pronunciationstudio.com">{{Cite web|url=https://pronunciationstudio.com/italian-speakers-english-pronunciation-errors/|title = Italian Speakers' English Pronunciation Errors|date = 22 November 2013}}</ref>

;General
Italians learning English have a tendency to pronounce words as they are spelled, so that ''walk'' is {{IPA|[walk]}}, ''guide'' is {{IPA|[ɡwid̪]}}, and ''boiled'' is {{IPA|[ˈbɔilɛd]}}. This is also true for loanwords borrowed from English as ''water'' (water closet), which is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈvat̪ɛr]}} instead of {{IPA|[ˈwɔːtə(r)]}}.

;Consonants
* Tendency to realise {{IPAslink|ŋ}} as {{IPA|[ŋ[[Voiced velar stop|ɡ]]]}} ("singer" rhymes with "finger") or as {{IPAblink|n}} because Italian {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before velar stops.
*Tendency to realise word-initial {{IPA|/sm/}} with {{IPA|[zm]}}, e.g. ''small'' {{IPA|[zmɔl]}}. This voicing also applies to {{IPA|/sl/}} and {{IPA|/sn/}}. The main reason is that the letter "s" is always pronounced as {{IPAslink|z}} before a voiced consonant in [[italian phonology|Italian]].
*Italian does not have dental fricatives:
**Voiceless {{IPAslink|θ}} may be realised as {{IPAblink|t̪}} or {{IPAblink|f}}.
**Voiced {{IPAslink|ð}} may be realised as {{IPAblink|d̪}}.
*Since {{IPAslink|t}} and {{IPAslink|d}} are typically pronounced as [[dental stop]]s anyway, words like ''there'' and ''dare'' can become homophones.
*Tendency to pronounce {{IPAslink|k}}, {{IPAslink|p}}, {{IPAslink|t}} as [[Aspirated consonant|unaspirated]] stops.
*Italian speakers may pronounce consonant-final English words with a strong vocalic offset, especially in isolated words, e.g. ''dog'' {{IPA|[ˈdɔɡːə]}}.
* Tendency to realise {{IPAslink|ɹ|r}} as {{IPAblink|r}}; a trill rather than the native approximant {{IPAblink|ɹ}}~{{IPAblink|ɻ}}, even when the dialect of English they are learning is nonrhotic.

;Vowels
*{{IPAslink|ɪ}} and {{IPAslink|iː}} are pronounced {{IPAblink|i}} (''ship'' and ''sheep'' are homophones); 
*{{IPAslink|æ}} (in certain words) and {{IPAslink|ɛ}} are pronounced {{IPAblink|ɛ}} (''bad'' and ''bed'' are homophones);<ref name="pronunciationstudio.com"/>
*{{IPAslink|æ}} (in certain words), {{IPAslink|ʌ}}, and {{IPAslink|ɑː}} are pronounced {{IPAblink|a}} (''bat'', ''but'', and ''bath'' are homophones);<ref name="pronunciationstudio.com"/>
*{{IPAslink|ʊ}} and {{IPAslink|uː}} are pronounced {{IPAblink|u}} (''cook'' and ''kook'' are homophones); 
*Speakers tend to have little difficulty with {{IPAslink|ɒ}}, though some might pronounce it as {{IPAblink|ɑ}} or {{IPAblink|a}}). 
*The pronunciation of {{IPAslink|ɔː}}, {{IPA|/əʊ/}}, and {{IPA|/oʊ/}} are variable, pronounced as {{IPAblink|o}} or {{IPAblink|ɒ}}.<ref name="pronunciationstudio.com"/>
*The {{IPA|/əl/}} sequence in words like ''bottle'' is realized as {{IPA|[ʌl]}}, {{IPA|[ɒl]}}, or {{IPA|[ʊl]}}.
*Schwa {{IPAblink|ə}} does not exist in Italian; speakers tend to give the written vowel its full pronunciation, e.g. ''lemon'' {{IPA|[ˈlɛmɔn]}}, ''television'' {{IPA|[ˌt̪ɛleˈviʒɔn]}}, ''parrot'' {{IPA|[ˈpar(ː)ɔt̪]}}, ''intelligent'' {{IPA|[in̪ˈt̪ɛl(ː)idʒɛn̪t̪]}}, ''water'' {{IPA|[ˈwɔt̪ɛr]}}, ''sugar'' {{IPA|[ˈʃuɡar]}}.

====French====
{{see also|French phonology}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2016}}

;Consonants
* Because of the phonetic differences between English and French rhotics, speakers may perceive English {{IPAslink|ɹ|r}}, allophonically labialized to {{IPA|[ɹʷ]}}, as {{IPAslink|w}}-like and have trouble distinguishing between {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hallé|Best|Levitt|1999|p=294}}</ref>
* French speakers have difficulty with {{IPAslink|h}} and many delete it, as most French dialects do not have this sound.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Paradis|LaCharité|2001|p=257}}, citing {{Harvcoltxt|LaCharité|Prévost|1999}}</ref>
* French speakers have difficulty with dental fricatives {{IPA|/θ/}} and {{IPA|/ð/}} (since these sounds do not exist in French). In France they may be pronounced as {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}},<ref name="pronunciationstudio1">{{Cite web | url=https://pronunciationstudio.com/french-speakers-english-pronunciation-errors/ |title = French Speakers' English Pronunciation Errors|date = 2013-12-06}}</ref> while in Quebec, Canada, the usual substitution is {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}}.{{sfn|Paradis|LaCharité|2012}}
* Speakers tend not to make a contrast between {{IPA|/ɪ/}} (as in ''ship'') and {{IPA|/iː/}}. (as in ''sheep'').<ref name="pronunciationstudio1"/>

====Portuguese====
{{see also|Portuguese phonology}}

Brazilian speakers of English as a second language are likely to exhibit several non-standard pronunciation features, including:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/pronunciation.html |title=Pronunciation problems for Brazilian students of English |access-date=2009-10-15 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091015203916/http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/pronunciation.html |archive-date=2009-10-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

;Vowels
* Confusion of {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/iː/}}, usually realized as {{IPAblink|i}}, and of {{IPA|/ʊ/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}}, usually realized as {{IPAblink|u}}.
* Especially in a British context, confusion of {{IPA|/əʊ/}} and {{IPA|/ɒ/}}. The Brazilian {{IPA|/ɔ/}} is equivalent to RP English {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, and English orthography rarely makes a clear demarcation between the phonemes, thus ''cold'' (ideally {{IPA|[ˈkɜʊ̯ɫd]}}) might be homophone with ''called'' {{IPA|/ˈkɔːld/}}. The North American equivalent of British {{IPA|/əʊ/}}, {{IPA|/oʊ/}}, may be easier to perceive as it closely resembles the Portuguese diphthong {{IPA|[ow]}}. Speakers may also have trouble distinguishing between schwa and {{IPA|/ʌ/}}.
* In a British context, the diphthong {{IPA|/əʊ/}} might also be pronounced as the Portuguese diphthong ''eu'', {{IPA|[ew]}}.
* Persistent preference for {{IPA|/æ/}} over {{IPA|/ɑː/}} (even if the target pronunciation is England's prestige accent), and use of {{IPA|/æ/}} within the IPA {{IPA|[ɛ]}} space (Portuguese {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is often {{IPA|[æ]}}, what makes it even more due to confusion in production and perception), so that ''can't'', even in RP, might sound like an American pronunciation of ''Kent''. Some might even go as far as having {{IPA|[le̞st]}} instead of {{IPA|/læst ~ lɑːst/}} for ''last.''

;Consonants
*Difficulty with dental fricatives {{IPA|/θ/}} and {{IPA|/ð/}}.  These may be instead fronted {{IPA|[f v]}}, stopped {{IPA|[t̪ d̪]}} or hissed {{IPA|[s̻ z̻]}}.
*Speakers may pronounce word-initial r as a [[Guttural R|guttural r]] pronunciations or a [[Alveolar trill|trill]]. These often sound to English speakers as {{IPA|/h/}}, leading to confusion between ''ray'' and ''hay'', ''red'' and ''head'', ''height'' and ''right'', etc.
* Neutralization of coda {{IPA|/m n ŋ/}}, giving preference to a multitude of nasal vowels (often forming random diphthongs with {{IPA|[j̃ w̃ ɰ̃]}}, or also randomly losing them, so that ''sent'' and ''saint'', and ''song'' and ''sown'', are homophonous) originating from their deletion. Vowels are also often strongly nasalized when stressed and succeeded by a nasal consonant, even if said consonant starts a full syllable after it.
* Fluctuation of the levels of aspiration of voiceless stops {{IPA|/p t k/}}, that might sound like {{IPA|/b d g/}}. 
* Loss of contrast between coronal stops {{IPA|/t d/}} and post-alveolar affricates {{IPA|/tʃ dʒ/}} due to palatalization of the earlier, before vowels such as {{IPA|/iː/}}, {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, {{IPA|/juː/}},<ref>[http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/000503/current.pdf Palatalization in Brazilian Portuguese/English interphonology]</ref> and {{IPA|/ɨ/}}.
*The insertion of [i] to break up consonant clusters.
* Palatalization due to epenthetic {{IPA|/ɪ ~ iː/}}, so that ''night'' sounds slightly like ''nightch'' ({{IPA|[ˈnajtɕ ~ ˈnajtɕi̥]}} rather than {{IPA|/ˈnaɪt/}}) and ''light'' sounds like ''lightchie'' ({{IPA|[ˈlajtɕi]}} rather than {{IPA|/laɪt/}}).
* Loss of unstressed, syllable-final {{IPA|[i ~ ɪ ~ ɨ]}} to palatalization, so that ''city'' sounds slightly like ''sitch'' ({{IPA|[ˈsitɕ ~ sitɕi̥]}} rather than {{IPA|/ˈsɪti/}}).
* Post-alveolar affricates {{IPA|/tʃ dʒ/}} are easily confused with their fricative counterparts {{IPA|/ʃ ʒ/}}, often merging ''chip'' and ''ship'', ''cheap'' and ''sheep'', and ''pledger'' and ''pleasure''.
* Absence of contrast of voice for coda fricatives. ''He's'', ''hiss'' and ''his'' are easily confused with each other. Spelling pronunciations are also possible, in which all words that historically contain schwas in their orthography are pronounced as /z/, even when the usual pronunciation would be /s/.
* English is less prone to perfect [[Liaison (French)|liaison]]-style [[sandhi]] than Portuguese, Spanish and French might be. Often, two identical or very similar consonants follow each other within a row, each in a different word, and both should be pronounced. Brazilians might either perform epenthesis or delete one of them. As such, ''this stop'' is produced either {{IPA|[ˈdis i̥sˈtɒpi̥ ~ ˈdiz isˈtɒpi̥]}} or {{IPA|[ˈdi sˈtɒpi̥]}}, instead of the native {{IPA|/ðɪs ˈstɒp/}}
* In Portuguese, the semivowels {{IPA|[j]}} and {{IPA|[w]}} may be vocalized to their corresponding vowels ({{IPA|[i]}} and {{IPA|[u]}}, respectively).<ref>[https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/2175-8026.2008n55p63/14859 Preceding phonological context effects on palatalization in Brazilian Portuguese/English interphonology] Page 68.</ref> so that ''I love you'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈaj ˈlɐviː ˈuː]}}.  These semivowels may also be epenthetically inserted between vowels of very dissimilar qualities.
* With the exception of {{IPA|/s ~ z/}} (here represented with a loss of contrast at the end of a word) and {{IPA|/r/}}, consonants tend to not elide corresponding to or assimilate to the next word's phoneme, even in connected speech. This means, for example, occasional epenthesis even if the following word starts in a vowel, as in their native language (''not''{{IPA|[ɕi]}}'' really'').

====Romanian====
{{See also|Romanian phonology}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2025}}

;Consonants
* Romanian doesn't have {{IPAslink|ð}} and {{IPAslink|θ}}. They are often pronounced as {{IPAblink|d}} and {{IPAblink|t}}, respectively.
* The letter r is often pronounced as the hard rhotic {{IPAblink|r}}, as that is the only sound it makes in Romanian, even though a native English speaker would pronounce it as {{IPAblink|ɹ}}~{{IPAblink|ɻ}}.
* The silent p before a consonant(e.g. in psychology or pterodactyl) is usually pronounced.

;Vowels
* {{IPAslink|ɪ}} and {{IPAslink|iː}} are often pronounced {{IPAblink|i}} (''ship'' and ''sheep'' are homophones).
* Romanian doesn't have the {{IPAslink|æ}} and {{IPAslink|ɛ}} sounds. They are often pronounced as {{IPAblink|e}}. However, speakers in some parts of [[Transylvania]] are usually familiar with Hungarian before learning English, and Hungarian does have {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, as such, they pronounce them as {{IPAblink|ɛ}}.
* Romanian doesn't have the {{IPAslink|ʌ}} sound. It is often pronounced as {{IPAblink|a}}.
* {{IPAslink|ʊ}} and {{IPAslink|uː}} are often pronounced {{IPAblink|u}} (''cook'' and ''kook'' are homophones).

====Spanish====
[[File:Non-native English reading by Spanish native speaker 002.ogg|thumb|An excerpt of Herman Melville's ''Moby Dick'' as read in English by a person whose mother tongue is Spanish]]
{{See also|Spanglish|Spanish phonology}}

;Consonants
*Since Spanish does not make voicing contrasts between its fricatives (and its one affricate), speakers may neutralize contrasts between {{IPAslink|s}} and {{IPAslink|z}}; likewise, fricatives may assimilate the voicing of a following consonant.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{Harvcoltxt|MacDonald|1989|p=219}}</ref>
*[[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|Rhotic pronunciation]], with /r/ pronounced as a trill [r] or a flap [ɾ].{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=93}}
* Cuban and Central American speakers tend to merge {{IPAslink|tʃ}} with {{IPAslink|ʃ}}, and {{IPA|/dʒ, ʒ/}} with {{IPAslink|j}}.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
* {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPAslink|w}} often have a fluctuating degree of closure.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
* For the most part (especially in colloquial speech), Spanish allows only five (or six) word-final consonants: {{IPAslink|θ}}, {{IPAslink|s}}, {{IPAslink|n}}, {{IPAslink|r}}, {{IPAslink|d}} and {{IPAslink|l}}; speakers may omit word-final consonants other than these, or alter them (for example, by turning {{IPAslink|m}} to {{IPA|/n/}} or {{IPA|/ŋ/}}).<ref name="Goldstein 2005 203"/>
* In Spanish, {{IPA|/s/}} must immediately precede or follow a vowel; often a word beginning with {{IPA|[s]}} + consonant will acquire an [[Epenthesis|epenthetic]] vowel (typically {{IPAblink|e}}) to make ''stomp'' pronounced {{IPA|[esˈtomp]}} rather than {{IPA|[stɒmp]}}.<ref name="Goldstein 2005 203"/>
* In Spanish, the {{IPA|/θ/}} phoneme exists only in (most dialects of) Spain; where this sound appears in English, speakers of other Spanish dialects replace {{IPA|/θ/}} with {{IPAslink|t}} or {{IPA|/s/}}.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
* Speakers tend to merge {{IPAslink|ð}} and {{IPAslink|d}}, pronouncing both as a plosive unless they occur in intervocalic position, in which case they are pronounced as a fricative.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Jeffers|Lehiste|1979|p=139}}</ref>  A similar process occurs with {{IPAslink|v}} and {{IPAslink|b}},<ref name="ReferenceC"/> because {{IPAslink|v}} does not exist in Spanish.
* The three nasal phonemes of Spanish neutralize in coda-position; speakers may invariably pronounce nasal consonants as homorganic to a following consonant; if word-final (as in ''welcome'') common realizations include {{IPAblink|n}}, deletion with nasalization of the preceding vowel, or {{IPAblink|ŋ}}.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>
*Devoicing of final consonants.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}

;Vowels
*Vowel length confusions.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/æ/}} {{IPA|/ɑ(ː)/}} {{IPA|/ʌ/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[a]}}{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/ɪ/}} {{IPA|/i(ː)/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[i]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/ʊ/}} {{IPA|/u(ː)/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[u]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Confusion of {{IPA|/ɔ(ː)/}} {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, usually realized as {{IPA|[o]}}.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}

;Suprasegmental features
*Narrower pitch range, with emphasis marked with extra length instead of extra pitch variation.{{sfn|Swan|2001|pp=91, 96}}
*Problems with variable stress.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
::E.g. ''the blackbird.'' vs. ''the black bird.''{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
*Problems with contrastive stress.{{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}
::E.g. ''with sugar or without '''sugar'''?'' 
::(the second ''sugar'' is more heavily stressed){{sfn|Swan|2001|p=91}}

=== [[Slavic languages]] (part of the [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic branch]]) ===
==== Czech ====
{{see also|Czech phonology}}
These are the most common characteristics of the Czech pronunciation of English:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Melen|2010|pp=71–75}}</ref>

;Consonants
* Final devoicing of voiced consonants (e.g. "bet" and "bed" are both pronounced {{IPA|[bɛt]}}), since non-sonorant consonants are always voiceless at the end of words in [[Czech language|Czech]]. Some speakers may pronounce consonant-final English words with a strong vocalic offset,{{Definition needed|date=November 2020}} especially in isolated words (e.g. "dog" can be {{IPA|[ˈdɔɡə]}}).
* Czech {{IPA|/r/}} is alveolar trill. There is a tendency to pronounce the trill in English and in all positions where {{angle bracket|r}} is written.
* Final -er (-or) pronounced as syllabic alveolar trill {{IPA|[r̩]}} (e.g. "water" sounds {{IPA|[ˈvɔːtr̩]}}). Stressed {{IPA|/ɜː/}} tends to be realized as {{IPA|[ɛːr]}} (e.g. "bird" {{IPA|[bɛːrt]}}).
* Tendency to realize both {{IPA|/v/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} as {{IPA|[v]}}, since {{IPA|/w/}} does not exist in Czech.
* Tendency to pronounce the initial {{angle bracket|wr}} cluster as {{IPA|[vr]}} (e.g. "write" {{IPA|[vrajt]}}).
* Tendency to realize {{IPA|/θ/}} as {{IPA|[s]}} or {{IPA|[f]}}, since {{IPA|[θ]}} does not exist in Czech.
* Tendency to substitute {{IPA|/ð/}} as {{IPA|[d]}} or {{IPA|[d͡z]}}, since {{IPA|[ð]}} does not exist in Czech.
* Tendency to pronounce {{IPA|/h/}} as voiced (e.g. "how" {{IPA|[ɦau̯]}}).
* Tendency not to aspirate the stops {{IPA|/p, t, tʃ, k/}} (e.g. "keep" sounds {{IPA|[kiːp]}} instead of {{IPA|[kʰiːp]}}), since these stop consonants are not aspirated in Czech.
* Tendency to realise {{IPA|/ŋ/}} as {{IPA|[ŋk]}} or {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} (e.g. "singing" {{IPA|[ˈsɪŋɡɪŋk]}}), because Czech {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before velar stops.

;Vowels
* {{IPA|/æ/}} is often realised as {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, so that "had" sounds like "head" {{IPA|[ɦɛt]}}, homophonous with "hat".
* Schwa {{IPA|[ə]}} does not exist in Czech. Speakers tend to pronounce it as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} (e.g. "a table" {{IPA|[ɛ ˈtɛjbl̩]}}) or {{IPA|[a]}} (e.g. "China" {{IPA|[ˈt͡ʃajna]}}).

;Suprasegmental features
* Tendency to isolate all words in speech, because the liaison is unusual in Czech. For instance, "see it" tends to be pronounced {{IPA|[siː ʔɪt]}}, rather than {{IPA|[siː‿ɪt]}}.
* The melody of the Czech language is not so strong as in English. Czech speakers may sound monotonous to an English ear.

====Russian====
{{See also|Russian phonology}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2016}}

;Consonants
* There is no {{IPAslink|w}} in Russian; speakers typically substitute {{IPAblink|v}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Thompson|1991}}</ref>
* Native Russian speakers tend to produce an audible release for final consonants and in consonant clusters and are likely to transfer this to English speech, creating inappropriate releases of final bursts that sound overly careful and stilted and even causing native listeners to perceive extra unstressed syllables.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Zsiga|2003|pp=400–401, 423}}</ref>
* Word-initial voiceless stops {{IPAslink|p}},  {{IPAslink|t}},  {{IPAslink|k}} may not be aspirated by Russian speakers (following the pattern in Russian), which may sound to native English speakers as  {{IPAslink|b}},  {{IPAslink|d}},  {{IPAslink|g}} instead.<ref name="languagelink.ru"/>{{Better source needed|reason=source does not cite studies and is contradicted by at least one other source|date=May 2020}} However, at least one study challenges this, with Russian-accented English speakers in the study aspirating the voiceless consonants just as much as [[General American English]] speakers, and {{IPAslink|t}} even more than General American speakers.<ref>Sukmawijaya, Jeri, Sutiono Mahdi, and Susi Yuliawati (2020). "AN ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF VOICELESS ALVEOLAR PLOSIVE/t/IN SUNDANESE, INDONESIAN, AND ENGLISH BY SUNDANESE SPEAKERS." Metahumaniora 10.1: 1-13.</ref>
* Russian exhibits [[final-obstruent devoicing]], which may also be used by speakers in English.<ref name="languagelink.ru">{{cite web|url=http://jobs.languagelink.ru/tefl_clinic/teaching_knowledge/speaking_skills/pronunciation.php|title=LanguageLink TEFL clinic - Pronunciation}}</ref><ref name="litera.in.ua">{{cite web|url=http://litera.in.ua/mistakes_in_english_prononciations.php|title=О характерных ошибках в произношении при изучении английского языка|date=2017-10-20}}</ref>
* Since there are no dental fricatives ({{IPAslink|θ}} and {{IPAslink|ð}}) in Russian, speakers may pronounce them respectively as {{IPAblink|s}} or {{IPAblink|f}} or {{IPAblink|t}} and as {{IPAblink|z}} or {{IPAblink|v}} or {{IPAblink|d}}.<ref name="litera.in.ua"/><ref name="languagelink.ru"/><ref name="english-easy.info">{{cite web|url=http://www.english-easy.info/articles/ar79.php|title=Как исправить или улучшить свое произношение?}}</ref>
* English {{IPA|/r/}} is typically realised as a trill {{IPAblink|r}}, the native Russian rhotic.<ref name="languagelink.ru"/>
* Likewise, {{IPAslink|h}} may be pronounced like its closest Russian equivalent, {{IPAblink|x}}.<ref name="languagelink.ru"/><ref name="english-easy.info"/>
* Since there is no {{IPAslink|ŋ}} in Russian, speakers typically produce {{IPAblink|n}}<ref name="languagelink.ru"/> or {{IPA|ru|nɡ|}} instead.
* The voiced palato-alveolar affricate {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} may be realised as a sequence of a stop and a fricative: {{IPAblink|d}} {{IPAblink|ʐ}}.<ref name="languagelink.ru"/>
* The voiceless palato-alveolar affricate {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}} may be pronounced as its closest Russian equivalent, {{IPAslink|t͡ɕ}}.
* The postalveolar fricatives {{IPAslink|ʃ}} and {{IPAslink|ʒ}} may be realised as their closest Russian equivalents, {{IPAslink|ʂ}} and {{IPAslink|ʐ}}.
* The consonant cluster {{IPAslink|t}} {{IPAslink|s}} may be realised as an [[affricate]], {{IPAslink|t͡s}}.
* The "clear" alveolar {{IPAslink|l}} may be realised as Russian {{IPAblink|l̪ˠ}}, sounding closer to English velarised {{IPAblink|ɫ}} (a.k.a. "dark l").<ref name="languagelink.ru"/>
* Consonants written twice in English may be [[gemination|geminated]] by speakers.<ref name="english-easy.info"/>

;Vowels
* Russian speakers may have difficulty distinguishing {{IPAslink|iː}} and {{IPAslink|ɪ}}, {{IPAslink|æ}} and {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, and {{IPAslink|uː}} and {{IPAslink|ʊ}}; similarly, speakers' pronunciation of long vowels may sound more like their close counterpart (e.g. {{IPAslink|ɑː}} may sound closer to {{IPA|/æ/}})<ref name="languagelink.ru"/>

== Examples from non-Indo-European languages ==

=== [[Sino-Tibetan]] ===
====Cantonese====
{{main|Hong Kong English}}

;Consonants
* {{ipa|/ð/}} tends to be [d], so ''this'' is [dis],<ref name="Sewell2009">{{cite journal|last=Sewell|first=Andrew|year=2009|title=World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and the case of Hong Kong English|journal=English Today|volume=25|issue=1|pages=37–43|doi=10.1017/S0266078409000066|s2cid=54170922}}</ref>

;Vowels
* /ə/ tends to be [a], so ''whether'' is {{ipa|[ˈwɛda]}}.<ref name="DWK2008">Deterding, D., Wong J., & Kirkpatrick, A. (2008). The pronunciation of Hong Kong English. ''English World-Wide'', 29, 148–149.</ref>
* There is less [[Stress and vowel reduction in English|vowel reduction in unstressed syllables]], and some variation in the placement of stress. For example, ''chocolate'' may be pronounced {{IPA|[ˈtʃɒkoʊleɪt]}} instead of {{IPA|[ˈtʃɒklɪt]}}.<ref name=Sewell>{{cite book|year=2017|last=Sewell|first=Andrew|chapter=Pronunciation Assessment in Asia's World City: Implications of a Lingua Franca Approach in Hong Kong|editor1=Isaacs T. |editor2=Trofimovich P.|title=Second Language Pronunciation Assessment: Interdisciplinary Perspectives|volume=107|pages=237–255|location=Bristol|publisher=Multilingual Matters / Channel View Publications|jstor=10.21832/j.ctt1xp3wcc.17|isbn=9781783096848}}</ref>

=== [[Uralic]] ===
====Hungarian====
{{see also|Hungarian phonology}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2016}}

;Consonants
* The dental fricatives {{IPAslink|θ}} and {{IPAslink|ð}} may be realised as {{IPA|[s̻]}} and {{IPAblink|d̪}} respectively.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Nádasdy|2006}}</ref>
* Since [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] lacks the phoneme {{IPAslink|w}}, many Hungarian speakers substitute {{IPAslink|v}} for {{IPA|/w/}} when speaking in English. A less frequent practice is [[hypercorrection]]: substituting {{IPA|/w/}} for {{IPA|/v/}} in instances where the latter is actually correct.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Kovács|Siptár|2006|p=?}}</ref>
* In Hungarian phonology, in obstruent clusters, retrograde voicing assimilation occurs,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael. |first=Vago, Robert |title=The sound pattern of Hungarian |date=1980 |publisher=Georgetown University Press |isbn=0-87840-177-6 |oclc=1171902116}}</ref> so voiced consonants change to their voiceless counterparts if a voiceless consonant follows them and voiceless consonants change to their voiced counterparts if a voiced consonant follows them. While in English, it's the other way around. e.g. pronouncing ''dropped'' as [d r ɔ́ b d] instead of [d r ɔ́ p t]<ref>{{Cite web |title=CUBE: dropped |url=http://seas3.elte.hu/cube/index.pl?s=dropped&t=&syllcount=&maxout=&wfreq=0-9&grammar= |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=seas3.elte.hu}}</ref>

=== [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] ===
====Indonesian====
{{See also|Indonesian language#Phonology}}
The following are some characteristics of the English pronunciation by Indonesian speakers:<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://repository.uki.ac.id/4902/1/PronunciationProblemsFaced.pdf|title=Pronunciation Problems Faced by Indonesian College Students Who Learn to Speak English|journal=European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine|last1=Tambunsaribu|first1=Gunawan|last2=Simatupang|first2=Masda Surti|year=2021|volume=08|issue=2}}</ref>

;Consonants
* Merger of {{IPAslink|θ}} and {{IPAslink|ð}} into {{IPAslink|t}} and {{IPAslink|d}}.
* [[Final-obstruent devoicing]].

;Vowels
* Difficulty with English vowels, including lack of vowel length.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://prosiding.esaunggul.ac.id/index.php/snip/article/download/281/275|title=ERRORS IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION MADE BY STUDENTS OF ESA UNGGUL UNIVERSITY|first1=Asyahra|last1=Ikhwanur|first2=Isma|last2=Khabibah|first3=Veamas Wahyu|last3=Saputra|year=2022}}</ref>
** {{IPA|/ɑː/}} → {{IPA|[a]}}
** {{IPA|/eɪ/}} → {{IPA|[e]}}
* Common occurrence of unusual [[spelling pronunciation]]s (e.g. ''eleven'' as {{IPA|[ɛlɛv(ə)n]}}, ''cow'' as {{IPA|[koʊ]}}, ''bite'' as {{IPA|[bitɛ]}} or even ''what'' as {{IPA|[wɛt]}}).

=== [[Japonic]] ===
====Japanese====
{{see also|Japanese phonology|Engrish|Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2016}}

;Consonants
* Speakers tend to confuse {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/r/}} both in perception and production,<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Goto|1971|p=?}}</ref> since the [[Japanese language]] has only one [[Liquid consonant|liquid]] phoneme /r/, whose possible realizations include central {{IPAblink|ɾ}} and lateral {{IPAblink|l}}. Speakers may also hear English {{IPA|/r/}} as similar to the Japanese {{IPA|/w/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hallé|Best|Levitt|1999|p=284}}</ref>

;Vowels
* Tendency to realize syllables containing unstressed central vowel /ə/ with a vowel based on the written form
* Tendency to insert a vowel, typically /o/ or /ɯ/, after consonants other than moraic nasal /ɴ/, as Japanese lacks syllable-final consonants.

;Suprasegmental features
* Tendency to reanalyze English words according to [[moraic timing]] and/or [[pitch accent]], leading to unnatural stress/timing

=== [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] ===
====Vietnamese====
{{see also|Vietnamese phonology}}
'''Note''': There are three main dialects of [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], a northern one centered on [[Hanoi]], a central one centered on [[Huế]], and a southern one centered on [[Ho Chi Minh City]].

;Consonants
* Speakers may not produce final consonants since there are fewer final consonants in Vietnamese and those that do exist differ in their phonetic quality:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hwa-Froelich|Hodson|Edwards|2003|p=269}}</ref>
**Final {{IPAslink|b}} {{IPAslink|f}} {{IPAslink|v}} is likely to be confused with {{IPAslink|p}}.
**Final {{IPAslink|d}} is likely to be confused with {{IPAslink|t}}.
**Final {{IPAslink|s}} {{IPAslink|ʃ}} {{IPAslink|z}} {{IPAslink|tʃ}} is likely to be omitted.
**Final {{IPAslink|l}} is likely to be confused with {{IPAslink|n}}, but some Vietnamese pronounce the word ''bell'' as {{IPA|[ɓɛu̯]}}.
**Final {{IPAslink|t}} is likely to be confused with {{IPAslink|k}} by southern Vietnamese.
* Speakers also have difficulty with English consonant clusters,<ref name="Hwa-Froelich 2003 267">{{Harvcoltxt|Hwa-Froelich|Hodson|Edwards|2003|p=267}}</ref> with segments being omitted or [[epenthesis|epenthetic]] vowels being inserted.<ref name="Hwa-Froelich 2003 271">{{Harvcoltxt|Hwa-Froelich|Hodson|Edwards|2003|p=271}}</ref>
*Speakers may not aspirate initial {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, native English-speakers think that they pronounce as {{IPAslink|d}} and {{IPAslink|ɡ}}. For example, when Vietnamese people pronounced the word ''tie'', native English-speakers think that they say the word ''die'' or ''dye''.<!-- the source actually says /d/ and /f/ though the latter is likely a typo. --><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hwa-Froelich|Hodson|Edwards|2003|p=265}}</ref>
*Speakers often have difficulty with and confuse the following phonemes, which in some cases may depend on where in Vietnam they are originally from:<ref name="Hwa-Froelich 2003 267"/>
** {{IPAslink|θ}} with {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}.
** {{IPAslink|ð}} with {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}.
** {{IPAslink|p}} with {{IPA|/b/}} (especially in southern dialects).
** {{IPAslink|ɡ}} with {{IPA|/k/}}.
** {{IPAslink|dʒ}} with {{IPAslink|z}}.
** {{IPAslink|ʒ}} with {{IPAslink|z}} or {{IPA|/dʒ/}}.
** {{IPAslink|s}} with {{IPA|/ʃ/}} by northern Vietnamese.
** {{IPA|/tr/}} with {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, or {{IPA|/t/}} by northern Vietnamese.
** {{IPAslink|v}} with {{IPA|/j/}} by southern Vietnamese.

;Vowels
*Speakers often have difficulty with and confuse the following phonemes, which in some cases may depend on where in Vietnam they are originally from:<ref name="Hwa-Froelich 2003 267"/>
** {{IPAslink|ɪ}} with {{IPAslink|iː}}.
** {{IPAslink|ʊ}} with {{IPAslink|uː}} or {{IPA|/ʌ/}}.
** {{IPAslink|æ}} with {{IPAslink|ɑː}}.

;Suprasegmental features
*Vietnamese being a [[Tonal Language|tonal language]], speakers might try to apply the Vietnamese tonal system or use a mid tone with English words. However, they produce a high tone when the closed syllable is followed by /p, t, k/. They may also associate tones with the intonational pattern of a sentence and become confused by inflectional changes.<ref name="Hwa-Froelich 2003 271"/>{{clarify|date=June 2013}}

=== [[Afroasiatic]] ([[Semitic languages|Semitic branch]] is only listed) ===
====Arabic====
{{see also|Arabic phonology|Egyptian Arabic phonology|Hejazi Arabic phonology|Levantine Arabic phonology|Tunisian Arabic phonology}}General features among most or all Arabic speakers:

;Consonants
* Speakers tend to speak with a [[rhotic accent]] and pronounce {{IPAslink|ɹ}} as {{IPAblink|ɾ}} or {{IPAblink|r}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Khattab|2002|p=101}}</ref>
* There is struggle in pronouncing {{IPA|/ŋ/}} alone in its final position; the “ing” syllable. It is often immediately related to the {{IPA|/g/}} sound, like in: "waiting" {{IPA|/ˈweɪtɪŋg/}} instead of {{IPA|/ˈweɪtɪŋ/}} and "something" {{IPA|/sʌm.θɪŋg/}} instead of {{IPA|/sʌm.θɪŋ/}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alshalaan |first=Khawater |date=May 2020 |title=A Comparison between English and Arabic Sound Systems Regarding Places of Articulation |url= |journal=A Comparison Between English and Arabic Sound Systems Regarding Places of Articulation}}</ref>
* A study conducted with 45 subjects from Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia found that speakers had difficulty in pronouncing some English consonants such as {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/v/}}, {{IPA|/ŋ/}}, dark {{IPA|/ƚ/}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khalifa |first=Mohamed |title=Errors in English Pronunciation among Arabic Speakers |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |pages=Abstract}}</ref>

;Vowels
* Confusion between {{IPA|/ɪ/}} as in ''sit'' {{IPA|/sɪt/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ/}} as in ''set'' {{IPA|/sɛt/}}, pronouncing both vowels as {{IPAblink|ɪ}}, {{IPAblink|e̞}}, or {{IPAblink|ɛ}}.{{sfnp|Al Saqqaf|Vaddapalli|2012|p=48}}
* Difficulty distinguishing low sounds, {{IPA|/æ/}} as in ''bam'' and {{IPA|/ɑː/}} as in ''balm'' may both be realized as {{IPAblink|aː}}, {{IPAblink|æː}}, or {{IPAblink|ɑː}} depending on the speaker's dialect.{{sfnp|Al Saqqaf|Vaddapalli|2012|p=48}}
* Confusion between {{IPA|/ɔː/}} as in ''called'' and ''caught'' with {{IPA|/oʊ/}} as in ''cold'' and ''coat'', both being realized as {{IPAblink|oː}} or {{IPAblink|o̞ː}} depending on the speaker's dialect.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hago|Khan|2015|}}</ref>

====Hebrew====
{{see also|Modern Hebrew phonology}}
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2016}}

;Consonants
* The dental fricatives {{IPAslink|ð}} (as in "'''th'''e") and {{IPAslink|θ}} (as in "'''th'''ink") are often mispronounced.<ref name="Shoebottom"/>
* Hebrew speakers may confuse {{IPAslink|w}} and {{IPAslink|v}}.<ref name="Shoebottom"/>

;Vowels
* The lack of discrimination in Hebrew between tense and lax vowels makes correctly pronouncing English words such as ''hit''/''heat'' and ''cook''/''kook'' difficult.<ref name="Shoebottom">{{Harvcoltxt|Shoebottom|2007}}</ref>

;Suprasegmental features
* In Hebrew, word stress is usually on the last (ultimate) or penultimate syllable of a word; speakers may carry their stress system into English, which has a much more varied stress system.<ref name="Shoebottom"/>  Hebrew speakers may also use Hebrew intonation patterns which mark them as foreign speakers of English.<ref name="Shoebottom"/>

==See also==
* [[Anglophone pronunciation of foreign languages]]
* [[Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩|Pronunciation of English {{angbr|th}}]]
* [[Non-native speech database]]
* [[International Dialects of English Archive]]
* [[Accent reduction]]
* [[Koiné language]]
* [[Shibboleth]]
* [[English prosody]]

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==Further reading==
*{{Citation
|last=Wiik
|first=K.
|year=1965
|title=Finnish and English Vowels: A comparison with special reference to the learning problems met by native speakers of Finnish learning English
|place=Turku
|publisher=Annales Universitatis Turkuensis
|ref=none
}}

==External links==
*[http://accent.gmu.edu Speech Accent Archive] (most recordings also have an IPA transcription)
*[http://web.ku.edu/idea/ International Dialects of English Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821112901/http://web.ku.edu/idea/ |date=2007-08-21 }}
*[http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/determiners/determiners.htm Articles, Determiners, and Quantifiers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201225818/http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/determiners/determiners.htm |date=2010-12-01 }}

{{English dialects by continent}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Native Pronunciations Of English}}
[[Category:English as a second or foreign language]]
[[Category:Macaronic forms of English|*Non-native pronunciations of English]]
[[Category:English phonology]]
[[Category:Dialects of English]]
[[Category:Language acquisition]]
[[Category:Language comparison]]