Non-native pronunciations of English result from the common linguistic phenomenon in which non-native speakers of any language tend to transfer the intonation, 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 Non-native English speakers may pronounce words differently than native speakers either because they apply the speech rules of their mother tongue to English ("interference") or through implementing strategies similar to those used in first language acquisition. They may also create innovative pronunciations for English sounds not found in the speaker's first language. 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: neurological plasticity, cognitive development, motivation, psychosocial states, formal instruction, language learning aptitude, and the usage of their first (L1) and second (L2) languages. English is unusual in that speakers rarely produce an audible release between consonant clusters and often overlap constriction times. Speaking English with a timing pattern that is dramatically different may lead to speech that is difficult to understand. Phonological differences between a speaker's native language and English often lead to neutralization of distinctions in their English. Moreover, differences in sound inventory or distribution can result in difficult English sounds being substituted or dropped entirely. 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, several theoretical models have presumed that non-native speech perceptions reflect both the abstract phonological properties and phonetic details of the native language. 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. 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 substratum.
Examples from Indo-European languages
Germanic languages
Dutch
Consonants Speakers have difficulty with dental fricatives, often pronouncing /ð/ as [d] (failing to contrast then and den) or [s] (especially between vowels). Similarly, the dental fricative /θ/ is replaced by [s] or [t], though Belgian speakers may pronounce both /θ/ and /ð/ as [f] in word-final position. 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 [aɪzbɜːɹk], and if I as [ɪv aɪ]. Speakers have difficulty with the glottalization of /p t k/, either not pronouncing it or applying it in the wrong contexts so that good morning is pronounced [ɡʊʔ ˈmɔːnɪŋ]. The voiceless stops /p t k/ lack aspiration in stressed syllable-initial context. Medial /t/ is replaced by /d/ such that better is pronounced as [bɛdə]. The postalveolar sibilants /tʃ dʒ ʃ ʒ/ tend to be pronounced as their alveolo-palatal equivalents in Dutch: [tɕ dʑ ɕ ʑ]; beginners may pronounce them as alveolar (and voiceless) [ts] or [s] in syllable-final positions, leading to wish being pronounced as [wɪs]. /ɡ/ may be confused with /k/ and /v/ with /f/ in initial position. /l/ may be strongly pharyngealized, even in contexts where the dark l does not normally appear in English. Beginners may insert an epenthetic schwa between /l/ and a following /p, f, m, k/, leading to milk being pronounced as [ˈmɪlək]. /h/ could pose difficulties for certain regional dialects which lack /h/, such as in Zeelandic and West Flemish. /w/ is replaced by [ʋ], which English listeners may perceive as /v/. The alveolar consonants /t, d, n, s, z, l/ are articulated with the blade of the tongue, rather than the tip as in English. Vowels Speakers confuse between /æ/ and /ɛ/, so that man and men are both pronounced as the latter. Speakers confuse between /uː/ and /ʊ/, so that pool and pull are both pronounced with [u]. Some advanced speakers may employ a glide [ʉy]. /iː/ is pronounced closer, tenser, and sometimes shorter than usual. Some advanced speakers might over-compensate for the length with a diphthong like [ëi]. /ʌ/ is replaced by [ʉ]. Spelling might cause confusion with /ɒ/ in words like wonder, nothing and lovely. British English /ɒ/ is replaced by [ɔ]. British English /ɜː/ is replaced by the sequence in Dutch /ør/, with significant lip-rounding and r-insertion. /eɪ/ is replaced by [eː]. /əʊ/ is replaced by [oː]. More advanced speakers might use the Dutch diphthong [eːu]. /aɪ/ tends to be overly long before fortis consonants, giving the impression of a following lenis consonant.
German
General German has a smaller pitch range, less consonant cluster reduction, and less vowel reduction. Consonants Speakers may not velarize /l/ in coda positions as most native speakers do. German features terminal devoicing, which is often carried over to English (creating homophones in cub/cup, had/hat, etc.) German features neither /ð/ ("the") nor /θ/ ("think"), and both are often realised as either /s/ or /f/ (think/sink, thought/fought, etc.) German speakers tend to realise /w/ (written ⟨w⟩ in English) as [v] (also written ⟨w⟩ in German) when speaking English. 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. 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.
Hellenic languages
Greek
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