Hi everyone it's Jennifer from Tarle speech with your question of the week.
We're continuing our mini series today on heteronyms: words that are spelled the same
but with a different pronunciation and a different meaning.
Our word today is excuse which is the noun meaning a reason or an explanation;
and excuse meaning to let someone off for what they did.
To say these words correctly you're going to start with the same syllable
eks. To do this you're going to start with that eh vowel, that short e. The tip of your tongue will
just be visible between your top and your bottom teeth, and your tongue will be flat in your mouth.
Next we're going to add that k. Tip of the tongue is down, back of the tongue is pulled way high up.
Then for the s you can either keep your tongue pointed down or you can put it behind your top
front teeth, as long as you do not touch your teeth, and the air keeps moving out of the mouth.
eks eks eks
Next we're going to add another k.
You know how to do that, tip of your tongue down back of your tongue is pulled high up,
and then you are going to add that 'y' sound. So all that I do is my tongue is high in the back
of my mouth for that k and the tip of the tongue is down my tongue moves slightly up for that 'y'.
Then you're going to round your lips for that ew as you do that your tongue
will just flatten out in your mouth for the noun you're going to end with an s.
And to do this, tip of the tongue is down, or it is behind the top front teeth and the air is
moving out of the mouth. The voice box is off. It is not vibrating and it is not moving. eks k-yous
excuse excuse excuse
Now for excuse. All you're going to do is end with a z. That's the difference here.
And for that your voice box is on vibrating and moving.
excuse excuse excuse excuse excuse excuse excuse
And now for a sentence:
The excuse does not excuse the bad behavior.
Give it a try people are going to notice the difference. If you found this helpful
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Thanks so much everyone have a great weekend!