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It is recommended that you study all of the American vowel sounds in detail. (See Chapters One and Two.) However, pay special attention to the vowel sounds highlighted below which are the most problematic ones for Indonesian speakers of English.
The /eɪ/ Sound
Indonesian speakers tend to pronounce /eɪ/ (as in take) as /ɛ/ or /æ/, so the word same ends up sounding like Sam. Here are some other examples of words that tend to sound the same when Indonesian speakers pronounce them:
common mistake:
/ɛ/ |
should be:
/eɪ/ |
| “tech” |
“take” |
| “sell” |
“sale” |
| “test” |
“taste” |
| “west” |
“waste” |
The /a/ Sound
Be careful about words spelled with an o but pronounced with an /ɑ/ sound, as in father. Common words in this category include: job, hot, God, problem, and possible.
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