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8-Sentence Accent Quiz

Record all 8 sentences for a deeper, more detailed accent analysis than the quick test.

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Sentence 1 of 8

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.

Tests long 'a' vowel sounds

Click the microphone button to begin the accent test

Why These 8 Sentences Were Selected

This 8-sentence corpus is phonetically balanced to trigger all major phonetic environments where L1 mother-tongue transfer and intelligibility breakdowns occur.

1Diphthong /eɪ/ (FACE Vowel) & Gliding

Prompt: "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." Assesses the smooth glide and duration of the /eɪ/ diphthong in content words.

2Dental Fricatives /θ, ð/ & Flap [ɾ]

Prompt: "I think that this thing is better than the other." Tests unvoiced /θ/, voiced /ð/, and the intervocalic tap [ɾ] in "better".

3Liquid Consonants /r/ vs. /l/ Contrast

Prompt: "The red truck rolled slowly along the rural road." Evaluates the rapid motor contrast between rhotic /r/ and lateral /l/.

4Intervocalic /t/ Variation & Rhoticity

Prompt: "Would you like water or a bottle of beer?" Evaluates /t/ flapping or glottalization in "water/bottle" alongside rhoticity in "beer".

5Sibilant Distinction: Postalveolar /ʃ/ vs. Alveolar /s/

Prompt: "She sells seashells by the seashore." Tests rapid oral muscle switching between /ʃ/ ("she", "-shells") and /s/ ("sells", "sea-").

6Schwa (/ə/) Vowel Reduction & Rhythm

Prompt: "About a thousand houses around the mountain." Assesses the /aʊ/ diphthong and sentence-initial unstressed schwa reduction.

7TRAP-BATH Vowel Split (/æ/ vs. /ɑː/)

Prompt: "I can't dance, but my aunt can." Evaluates dialectal vowel choices across "can't", "dance", "aunt", and "can" (/æ/ vs. /ɑː/).

8Labiodental /v/ vs. Bilabial /w/ & Cadence

Prompt: "Very well, we will work together on Wednesday." Tests upper-teeth /v/ against puckered /w/ and natural phrase stress-timing.

4 Tips for the Most Accurate Acoustic Analysis

  • Use your natural speaking pace: Do not artificially exaggerate or slow down; speak at your habitual communicative tempo.
  • Maintain consistent microphone distance: Stay 15–20cm from the mic to avoid plosive popping (breath distortion) on /p/ and /b/.
  • Respect full stops and sentence pauses: Pause slightly at punctuation marks so the acoustic engine can accurately track pitch descent.
  • Record in a low-noise environment: Background HVAC noise or echo can distort high-frequency sibilant recognition.