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For Hungarian speakers

Resting mouth

Where the jaw, lips, tongue and throat sit between sounds. Changing this one habit shifts every sound a little.

Hungarian

sourced
Jaw steady, lips gently rounded and slightly forward, tongue body sitting high and forward in the mouth.
Rest positionJaw steady, lips gently rounded and slightly forward, tongue body sitting high and forward in the mouth.
Lips pushed forward and rounded like a whistling shape, tongue tip low near the lower teeth while the tongue body arches high and forward.
Front-rounded vowel (ő/ü)Lips pushed forward and rounded like a whistling shape, tongue tip low near the lower teeth while the tongue body arches high and forward.
Hungarian keeps the tongue forward and the lips more actively engaged than English, especially for its distinctive rounded front vowels like ő and ü.

Hungarian speech keeps the tongue forward and fairly high, echoing the language's rich set of front vowels, including the rounded ő and ü sounds that don't exist in English. The lips work more actively than in English, pursing and rounding clearly for these front-rounded vowels. The jaw stays fairly steady, with less up-and-down bouncing than in English. There's no tongue-curling-back habit like the American 'r' — Hungarian's r is a light tap or trill made near the front of the mouth. Cheeks and throat stay relaxed, and consonants, especially doubled 'long' consonants and softened gy/ty/ny sounds, are made with crisp, deliberate tongue contact. Overall the mouth feels forward-focused and precise, without the loose drift typical of English.

American English

consensus
Mouth gently closed, jaw relaxed and slightly dropped, tongue tip curled slightly back near the lower gum ridge in readiness for the rhotic sound.
Rest positionMouth gently closed, jaw relaxed and slightly dropped, tongue tip curled slightly back near the lower gum ridge in readiness for the rhotic sound.
Jaw slightly lowered, lips loosely spread, tongue tip bunched and curled upward and backward without touching the roof of the mouth, as in producing 'r'.
Mid-speech, rhotic vowelJaw slightly lowered, lips loosely spread, tongue tip bunched and curled upward and backward without touching the roof of the mouth, as in producing 'r'.
General American at rest keeps the jaw loose and lips neutral; the signature feature is the tongue curling back for the ever-present 'r' sound.

General American speakers hold their mouths in a fairly relaxed, low-effort position. The jaw hangs loosely and opens moderately for vowels, without tensing. Lips stay mostly neutral or loosely spread, with only slight rounding for sounds like 'oh' or 'oo' — nothing like the pursed lips of French. The most distinctive habit is the tongue: its tip curls slightly upward and back throughout speech, ready to produce the classic American 'r' sound that appears after nearly every vowel. Cheeks stay soft, and the throat feels open rather than tight. Overall, English speech feels loose and economical — sounds glide into each other with minimal extra muscular effort, and stressed syllables get noticeably more energy than the many quickly mumbled, reduced unstressed ones in between.

Side by side

HungarianAmerican English
Jaw Fairly steady and moderately closed; less vertical bouncing than in English. Moderately open with flexible movement; not habitually clenched or held rigid.
Lips Active and clearly rounded for the front-rounded vowels (ö, ő, ü, ű) unique to Hungarian; lips work harder than in English. Neutral to loosely spread most of the time; only slight rounding for sounds like 'oh' or 'oo'.
Tongue at rest Tongue body rests forward and fairly high, reflecting the front-vowel-rich system; the tip stays near the upper teeth or alveolar ridge, not curled back. Body rests fairly low and slightly retracted; tip stays relaxed near the lower ridge, ready to curl back for the pervasive rhotic sound.
Cheeks Relaxed, with minimal involvement. Relaxed, not tensed or hollowed.
Pharynx and larynx Larynx in a neutral position; no rhotic retraction of the tongue root. Larynx neutral to slightly lowered; pharyngeal space open, supporting the characteristic rhotic quality.
Velum Raised for most speech; lowers for the nasal consonants m, n, and palatal ny. Lowers readily for nasal consonants and nasalized vowels before them; otherwise raised.
Overall tension Moderate; articulation is crisp and consonant-precise, with clearly executed gemination and palatalization requiring more deliberate tongue control than English. Low to moderate; articulation favors economy of movement over precision.
Voice quality Modal voice, generally clear with little breathiness; creaky voice is not a typical feature. Modal voice, sometimes slightly breathy in casual speech; creaky voice ('vocal fry') can appear phrase-finally.
resting mouth · marks your accent strongly

Resting mouth

You likely keep your tongue resting forward and fairly high, with your lips more actively rounded and engaged, and little to no habitual curling of the tongue tip — all carried over naturally from how Hungarian shapes…

consensus
Jaw steady, lips actively rounded and slightly forward, tongue body sitting high and forward, tongue tip near the upper gum ridge without curling back.
Hungarian habitJaw steady, lips actively rounded and slightly forward, tongue body sitting high and forward, tongue tip near the upper gum ridge without curling back.
Jaw loose and slightly dropped, lips neutral to loosely spread, tongue body lower and slightly retracted, tongue tip curled upward and back in readiness for rhotic r.
English targetJaw loose and slightly dropped, lips neutral to loosely spread, tongue body lower and slightly retracted, tongue tip curled upward and back in readiness for rhotic r.
Hungarian's mouth setting is forward, high, and lip-active; American English rests lower, looser, and keeps the tongue tip ready to curl back for r.

What you probably do

You likely keep your tongue resting forward and fairly high, with your lips more actively rounded and engaged, and little to no habitual curling of the tongue tip — all carried over naturally from how Hungarian shapes its mouth at rest.

How natives do it

General American speakers let the jaw and lips relax into a looser, more neutral position, rest the tongue body a little lower and further back, and keep the tongue tip subtly curled upward and back, ready at any moment to produce the ever-present American r.

Why it matters

This overall mouth 'setting' shapes every sound you make, not just individual phonemes; shifting your resting posture toward the looser, lower, r-ready American setting makes the whole accent — vowels, consonants, and r-coloring together — sound more natural with less individual sound-by-sound correction.

How the mouth differs

Hungarian holds the tongue body forward and fairly high at rest, reflecting its front-vowel-rich inventory, with active, engaged lips for its front-rounded vowels (ö, ő, ü, ű) and no habitual tongue-tip retraction. General American rests the tongue lower and slightly retracted, with the tip poised to curl back for the pervasive rhotic 'r', and keeps the lips mostly neutral with low overall muscular effort.

Listen for the pattern

Carrying Hungarian's forward, high tongue posture and active lip engagement into English can make American 'r' sounds weaker or tapped instead of retroflexed, and can add unintended lip rounding or fronting to vowels that should stay neutral and low-effort.

Reader ratings and feedback are coming soon.

Sources (2)
  • Kenesei, I., Vago, R.M., & Fenyvesi, A. (1998). Hungarian: Descriptive Grammar.
  • Wells, J.C. (1982). Accents of English.