English pronunciation for Bengali speakers
For Bengali speakers the big three are: /f/ and /v/ hardening into aspirated p and b, /z/ turning into /dʒ/ ('zoo' → 'joo'), and s/sh swapping, plus an extra vowel breaking up consonant clusters (school → ischool).
- 6 sounds to fix, in order
- Every sound read aloud
- A listening game for each contrast
Your sounds, in order
- f
1
f as in fan
/f/ hardens to an aspirated p: 'fan' sounds close to 'pan'
Fix: Touch your top teeth to your bottom lip.
- v
2
v as in very
/v/ hardens to a b-like sound: 'very' → 'bery'
Fix: Touch your top teeth to your bottom lip, same position as /f/.
- z
3
z as in zoo
/z/ becomes /dʒ/: 'zoo' → 'joo', 'lazy' → 'lajy'
Fix: Same position as /s/, tongue near the ridge.
- s
4
s as in see
s and sh interchange: 'see' and 'she' swap unpredictably
Fix: Bring your tongue close to the ridge behind your top teeth without touching.
- ɪ
5
i as in sit
long/short vowel pairs merge: ship/sheep, pull/pool
Fix: Relax your lips and jaw, no smile.
- w
6
w as in we
/w/ weakens to a vowel glide: 'would' loses its onset
Fix: Round your lips into a tight circle, as if about to whistle.
Stress and rhythm
- Avoid the helper vowel in clusters: school, station, street start on pure /s/.
- Bengali rhythm is syllable-timed; practise compressing unstressed syllables between beats.
- Give each sentence ONE main stress; even emphasis flattens meaning.
Start this week
- f-drill: top teeth on bottom lip, continuous air: 'coffee, office, fifteen'.
- Buzz practice: 'zzz' like a bee, then 'zoo, zero, busy, easy'.
- Slow-motion clusters: s-t-r-eet, s-ch-ool; no vowel before or inside.