Don't Give Every Syllable Full Volume

English relies heavily on contrast: the stressed syllable in a word is loud, long, and clear, while the syllables around it shrink down and blur toward a quick 'uh.' In a word like 'photograph,' the first syllable is strong, but in 'photography,' the stress jumps and 'pho' becomes weak instead. Russian speakers often keep every syllable close to full strength, which flattens this contrast and makes English sound monotone or overly deliberate. Research on Russian learners shows that under-reducing these unstressed syllables can actually make words harder for listeners to recognize quickly. Try this: say 'photograph' and 'photography' back to back, really collapsing the unstressed vowels in the second word. Two minutes today: pick three long English words, mark the stressed syllable, and exaggerate the difference between strong and weak parts. This contrast is doing more work than you'd expect — lean into it.