Don't Give English Words an Extra Landing Pad

In Italian, words practically always land on a vowel — 'libro,' 'casa,' 'amico.' Because of that, many Italian speakers instinctively add a tiny extra vowel sound at the end of English words that stop on a consonant, turning 'dog' into something like 'dog-a' or 'stop' into 'stop-a.' It's subtle, but it registers to American ears as an accent and can even blur where one word ends and the next begins. Try this: say 'dog' and stop your voice sharply right after the 'g' — no sound after it, like slamming a door. Do the same with 'stop' and 'work,' cutting off cleanly with no trailing vowel. Practice this for two minutes, exaggerating the abrupt stop each time. It might feel almost rude or unfinished at first, since Italian rhythm doesn't work this way — that's exactly the adjustment you're making. With repetition, that clean, sudden ending will start to feel natural instead of strange.