Trap 4 of 22 · French speakers
Weak vowels: animal, possible, police
Les voyelles faibles : animal, possible, police
What French speakers do
You pronounce every vowel clearly, as written: a-ni-MAL, po-SI-ble, po-LICE.
The American rule
Every vowel that is not stressed becomes a tiny uh (the schwa, /ə/). Only the stressed vowel keeps its full sound.
The most common vowel in English is not written with any letter: it is uh — the schwa, /ə/. Any vowel letter (a, e, i, o, u) can become schwa when its syllable isn't stressed.
French has no real equivalent: every French vowel is pronounced fully. So animal comes out with three clear vowels — a-ni-mal — when English wants one strong and two weak: AN-uh-mul.
Practice by exaggerating the contrast: make the stressed syllable long and loud, and say the others as quickly and lazily as you can. It will feel wrong. It will sound right.
The words
animal
/ˈænəməl/
✗a-ni-MAL
✓AN-uh-mul
“What's your favorite animal?”
possible
/ˈpɑsəbəl/
✗po-SI-bluh
✓PAH-suh-bul
“Is it possible to change the date?”
police
/pəˈlis/
✗po-LIS
✓puh-LEES
“Call the police!”
probably
/ˈprɑbəbli/
✗pro-ba-BLI
✓PRAH-buh-blee
“I'll probably be late.”
capital
/ˈkæpətəl/
✗ka-pi-TAL
✓KAP-uh-dul
“Paris is the capital of France.”
general
/ˈdʒɛnrəl/
✗zhé-né-RAL
✓JEN-rul
“In general, I agree.”
natural
/ˈnætʃrəl/
✗na-tü-REL
✓NACH-rul
Also a hidden-Y word: t + you = ch.
“It's a natural reaction.”
terrible
/ˈtɛrəbəl/
✗té-RI-bluh
✓TER-uh-bul
“The traffic was terrible.”
personal
/ˈpɝsənəl/
✗per-so-NEL
✓PUR-suh-nul
“Can I ask a personal question?”
machine
/məˈʃin/
✗ma-SHIN
✓muh-SHEEN
“The coffee machine is broken.”
banana
/bəˈnænə/
✗ba-na-NA
✓buh-NAN-uh
“I had a banana for breakfast.”
America
/əˈmɛrəkə/
✗a-mé-ri-KA
✓uh-MAIR-uh-kuh
“I moved to America last year.”