In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to go over the pronunciation of
the word 'probably'.
This week's Word of the Week is 'probably'. 'Probably' is a three-syllable word, but some
people will reduce it to two syllables. The first syllable is stressed. We begin with
the PR consonant cluster, pr-, pr-. So the lips are together for the P, but the tongue
can already be in position for the R. Pr-, pr-, pro-. The first vowel is the AH as in
FATHER sound. The jaw does need to drop for that: pro-, pro-. The second syllable, unstressed,
proba-, -ba-, is the B consonant, where the lips come together, and the schwa sound. Proba-,
proba-. And the last syllable, the B consonant, and then the LY ending. Proba-bly, -bly. So
the lips come together for the B, and the tongue tip comes up here for the L, -bl-,
-bl-. And then we have the EE as in SHE vowel. Probably, probably.
As I said, some people will reduce this to two syllables, so you might here pro-bly,
-bly, without the middle syllable. Prob-ly, prob-ly. And sometimes you'll hear it without
the B at all: 'prolly', 'prolly', 'prolly'. Both of these reductions are used a lot.
For example: prob-ly: I'll probably be there. Prob-ly, prob-ly.
Or, 'prolly', 'prolly'. I'll probably forget. 'Prolly', 'prolly'.
That's it, your Word of the Week. Try it out yourself. Make up a sentence with the
word, record it, and post it as a video response to this video on YouTube. I can't wait to
watch it.
That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.