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The American accent for Indonesian speakers

Your English is already good. If Indonesian is your first language, these are the American patterns worth your time first, and why.

Start with these patterns

You may say T with no air, every vowel in full, and a rolled R.

1. T, P and K start with air

   start + T · P · K → with air

   Without the air, time can sound like dime.

2. Any vowel can become “uh”

   vowel in a quick part → uh

   An -le at the end sounds like “uhl”: table.

3. R is never rolled

   R touches nothingD touches once

   If your tongue tip touches, even once, hiring sounds like hiding.

   If you speak Indonesian, your R rolls or touches once. The English R does neither: right, very.

Then, for clear pronunciation

Indonesian has no long and short vowels, makes each part equally strong, and adds no -ed for the past.

1. Ship or sheep?

   i shortee long

   Your mouth is relaxed for ship, with a little smile for sheep.

   If you speak Indonesian, your vowels are not long or short. Make sheep long, with a smile, and ship short.

2. Two-part words start strong

   two parts → strong-quick

   This is true about 3 times in 4, so when you’re not sure, start strong.

3. -ed has three sounds

   P · K · F · S · SH · CH + -ed → tother sounds + -ed → dT · D + -ed → id

   Look at the sound before it, not the letter: laugh ends in an F sound.

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