The Disadvantages of Correct Pronunciation

English language learners often strive to have correct pronunciation. Perfect pronunciation is certainly something to work toward so that you can reduce your accent and be better understood by English speakers. However, having perfect pronunciation also comes with some drawbacks. Balance your quest to learn English properly with understanding that it is not an absolute must to say each word correctly.
  1. Correct

    • Who is to say that any particular pronunciation of a word is absolutely correct? Words, in general, do have more than one accepted pronunciation. Depending on where you are from, you may not agree with a certain pronunciation deemed to be "correct."

      You can learn some "correct" pronunciations on Forvo.com, a website that lets you listen to, submit and vote on the supposedly right pronunciations of words. Forvo has over 100,000 "pronouncers" and words pronounced in 200 languages. This indicates the widespread interest in speaking words properly, but it is not always a good idea to say words the way a majority of the people would say them.

    Stuffy

    • If you always try to pronounce each new word you learn absolutely perfectly, it is quite possible that native English speakers will think you are too much of a perfectionist. They might think you are a bit stuffy and hard to get along with. If you spend much of your time asking the correct pronunciation of words when you speak with your friends in English or enunciate every single letter of each word you say, you may get a few raised eyebrows.

    Blending In

    • It is easier to blend in with native English speakers and be understood if you try to emulate their local pronunciation of words. "What did you do?" probably sounds like, "Whudj'ya do?" in many parts of the United States, for example.

    Accent

    • The accents with which native English speakers speak around the world involve various pronunciations of the same words. As you try to sound like those around you, work on learning not only the prescribed "correct" pronunciation of a word, but also how those around you say specific words. How they pronounce vowels and how they string words together to make sentences are especially important to listen to and to try to replicate.

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