We asked this driving around Ernakulam one night. I asked as well as my husband who’s a native Keralite (raised in Delhi and lived in the US more than 10 years), asked. We were utterly confused when no one understood us. Finally, someone repeated what we said back to us, but it sounded to our ears, and especially to my American ear like “By Dosa.”
I was befuddled to say the least! Not only did the Malayalees we talked to not understand my P sound, but in their making the P sound back to my American ear, it sounded clearly like a B.
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How can I reduce the MTI of the Malayalam imba or impa (മ്പ) letter/sound?
There are two steps to reduce the MTI (mother tongue influence) of this sound.
First step: To help you perfect these sounds, read and watch the following tips below.
P – English Pronunciation Tips | B - Enunciation Tips |
| Follow all the rules for B, except:
|
To know if you are making the buzz sound, place your hand on your throat. Do you feel the vibration? This vibration should not be made for P. |
To know if air is coming out while making this sound, hold a piece of tissue in front of your mouth. If you see the tissue move, you are doing it right. It may move for B, but the movement for P is much more. One can exaggerate this at first by trying to release air only with P and avoid it with B. Can you hear and feel the difference?
Saying the letter “P” | Saying the letter “B” |
When spelling a word with the letter “B”, we will say the letter as it sounds followed by “ee” – “Bee”. Example: Spell “Bobby” Bee- oh- bee- bee- why | When spelling a word with the letter “P”, we will say the letter as it sounds followed by “ee” – “Pee”. Example: Spell “Pradhy” Pee – are – aee- dee- eh – why |
Cultural Note: Saying “pee” or “pee pee” is a slang for “urine”. Often little kids say this before they have to go to the bathroom. |
Second Step: Listen to these tutorials with English words with mp or mb
For more tips
Videos for learning and practicing the American English P & B sounds:
Basic Tips of B and P and Word list practice
Step by step pronunciation practice for B and P
B and P practice - American Accent Lessons
Want to improve your English Pronunciation with other sounds?
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