English Pronunciation for Arabic Speakers
Your strengths first, then the fixes that change how clearly you are understood.
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First language
If your first language is Arabic
These are the patterns Arabic speakers bring most often. Nothing here is a mistake — it is your first language doing exactly what it always does. Each row says where the fix lives.
| The challenge | What often happens | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| P vs B | 'pen' → 'ben', 'park' → 'bark' | see the tip |
| V vs F | 'very' → 'fery', 'van' → 'fan' | W vs V |
| Bit, bet, bat | the three short vowels collapse into one | Short Vowels |
| Clusters gain a vowel | 'street' → 'is-treet', 'children' → 'chil-de-ren' | see the tip |
| The NG sound | 'sing' gains a hard g, or becomes 'sin' | The NG Sound |
| The English R | a tap or trill stands in for the curl | The English R |
| CH vs SH | 'chip' → 'ship' | CH vs SH |
| G and the 'j' sounds | /g/ and /ʒ/ shift by dialect — 'garden', 'usually' | J vs Y |
| Stress and the weak vowel | every syllable gets equal weight; the weak 'uh' is missing | Word Stress |
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The Arabic guide
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