Hey guys, it's Hadar.
Today we're gonna talk about the words
"Coffee" and "Café"
Two of my favorite concepts in this world,
coffee and café.
The idea for this video came from Dimitri.
I was setting on a café this morning,
and I was trying to come up with ideas for today's shoot,
and I went completely blank I couldn't think of a good word to practice.
So I went on my Facebook page
and asked the people for recommendations for a video,
and Dimitri said that since you're sitting at a café
drinking coffee
it's only a natural choice
to make a video about this.
So, Dimitri, you're absolutely right,
and here we go.
Now, the word "Coffee",
starts with a "K" sound
and then the "O" that is usually associated with
this neutral "O" sound by none native speakers
is pronounced as "A".
It's actually the "A" as in father.
Ok, so to make this sound,
you wanna drop your jaw and relax lips,
pull your tongue back a bit
create a lot of space inside your mouth
kaa
Coffee
One more thing, the "k" sound at the beginning of words
before a vowel,
since it's a stop sound that is voiceless
is aspirated
so it feels like there is a little H after.
Coffee
So it's not "coffee"
"coffee"
"k (h)aa-fee"
And the first syllable is longer
than the second one
Coffee
"Let's get some coffee"
Now, some speakers may pronounce it
with a more rounded sound
Coffee
'kaw'
Ok, so you see that I rounded my lips just a bit
But what I usually tell my students is that,
try to make a pure "A" as in father sound
if your immediate intention is to make a neutral "O" sound
And the result is probably gonna be
something between an "A" and an "O"
because we kind of merge the two sounds
and then the result would be a perfect "A" as in daughter, right?
Coffee
Now the word "café"
has a very unique rhythm
and this what I want to you to focus on when pronouncing this word
Café
This word is very common and exists in many languages
Usually pronounced with a neutral "a" and "e", "café".
But in American English, the beginning syllable is an "A" as in cat
so you wanna take the time and drop your jaw a lot
when you're making it
"Ca" as in cat
'kæ-'
The second syllable is "ei" as in "day"
it's not a pure "e" sound
'kafeh'
No, actually in English you don't have words that end with this pure "e" sound
It has to close into this nice diphthong
"ei" as in "Day"
Café
Now, to be able to make those two sounds
you have to stretch the syllables
a little more than you're used to
'cause if you're trying to fit it into the rhythm of the word
the way you say it in your own language
let's assume that you're saying something like "café"
I'm talking about most Latin languages
like French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese
So, if you try to fit it into the rhythm
of the neutral pronunciation
"a" "e"
Then, you'll never be able to make the actual sound
'cause you have to open your mouth wide
and to make a long diphthong at the end
So, it's about stretching the two syllables
Café
it's like you're saying it in a slow motion
Café
Now since you have time for yourself when you go to a café,
you wanna have time for yourself when you say this word
"Let's go to to a café and get some coffee"
Café
Coffee
Ok, good
I really like this video
So, go get some coffee
and practice these two words
with your friends and your family
and your kids, if you have kids
and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel
as you're practicing.
Thank you for watching,
and I will see you next week in the next video.
Bye
Coffee, can I get some coffee, please?