Proper oral posture is everything

In American English, it’s important for your speech to be both smooth and clear. If you either overdo or underdo your enunciation, your voice will loose its smoothness or clarity. Even after balancing these aspects, maintaining a stable voice can be challenging. Having a proper oral posture plays a big role in acquiring characteristics of American English.

Think about a saxophone; it is a wind instrument similar to a flute, a trumpet, or a clarinet. However, one of the things makes its sound distinguished is its unique shape. Similarly, your oral posture will determine how close your English sounds to American English. Please note that sounding American is not the purpose of this writing; rather, the ultimate goal is to speak English naturally and effortlessly. However, I strongly believe that once adopting a proper oral posture, your voice will immediately change, becoming much less influenced by your native language accent.

The proper oral posture I’m mentioning here is not for each individual sound. It is the overall mouth shape that you should consistently maintain throughout speech. While it needs to adjust to accommodate different sounds, it should always return to its overall form between transition of sounds, even the smallest unit. A proper oral posture significantly helps your enunciation sound natural, smooth and clear in a stable way.

Here are three steps to form an overall mouth shape for speaking American English.

First, inhale deeply and slowly through your nose. Avoid being aggressive and straining the muscles of your throat, lips or mouth. This technique is called diaphragmatic breathing (or belly breathing, or abdominal breathing). When you breathe in, your diaphragm, a muscle in your belly, contracts and moves downward, causing an expansion to your stomach. Diaphragmatic breathing is the foundation of your voice. With more air in your lungs, it creates a well-supported, stable, consistent and energetic voice.

Second, hold the breath, gently move your tongue forward and upward by slightly moving your lips forward. Position the upper body of the tongue between the upper molars, with the tip of the tongue behind the bottom teeth. This is a standard tongue position that you should maintain throughout speech after any adjustment. Since the tongue moves a lot, ensure it has plenty of freedom and flexibility. Stay away from any pressure or strain on your tongue, especially its root. If you feel discomfort or notice the tongue pulling back, lifting too much, or moving too far forward, adjust its position.

Third, open your mouth by dropping your jaw slightly without changing the positions of the tongue and the lips. Americans typically don’t open their mouths wide or move them excessively when they speak. No matter how much the lower jaw drops, never slide the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), or the hinge joints beyond the normal range of motion for speaking. To find the right amount of jaw movement, place your fingers on the hinge joints, located in front of the ears, and gently move your jaw as if chewing without opening your mouth. The space between the upper and lower molars created by this movement is the standard degree of mouth openness.

Although these 3 steps are described separately, in practice, they occur rapidly and almost simultaneously.

In summary, achieving natural American English speech hinges on adopting a proper oral posture. This involves inhaling deeply, positioning your tongue forward and upward, and gently lowering your jaw. Believe me, once the overall mouth shape is formed, your voice will experience an immediate transformation, sounding more natural with an instant reduction in the influence of your native language accent.