In this video we're going to be looking at how to pronounce the ordinal numbers in British
English. [intro] Hi everyone and welcome back to Pronunciation with Emma. So, let's start
with the first word, first. Now the thing that seems to really trip students up is that
vowel sound, and they get a bit confused because there's an R in there, and it's a bit of a
mess. So, in British English, we don't tend to pronounce that R in first, there are some
varieties which do, but I'm gonna teach you the "standard" variety, which doesn't pronounce
it. So let's focus on that vowel. Relax your jaw, your mouth, your lips, everything, relax
it completely, and just produce sound. I like to call this the thinking sound because it's
the same sound that English people make when they're thinking. Then start to add sounds
around it. The next one we have is second. Careful that you're not saying "sek-OND",
so it's not an O sound in that second syllable, but it's a schwa. So make sure it's very weak.
The next is third. Similar to first, again, this one kind of trips a few people up and
they get a bit confused cause there's an R in there. Do you pronounce it? Do you not?
In the "standard" variety of British English, no you wouldn't. So let's have a practise,
starting with the vowel. So with the first sound, that "th", you put your tongue in between
your teeth. The next one, fourth. Again, I don't pronounce that R. You're probably sending
a pattern now, but we don't pronounce that R in "standard" British English. Fourth, so
again it's the same sound as in the start of third. My tongue goes gently in between
my teeth. You don't need to get too worried about this. I know some students do get worried
about it because they feel that they're putting their tongue out too far, so it looks like
"fourTH". But I promise that's not how you look when you do this. So, let's have a practise,
starting with the vowel. The next one, fifth. Now this one can be quite tricky and it's
the one that normally gets students, so let me show you an easier way how to pronounce
this one. So when native speakers speak quite quickly, it's quite difficult to say fifththth,
cause it feels like too much is going on. So we remove one of the sounds, and we say
"fith". We remove the "f". So just to compare for you. So that second one is a lot easier
to say. The next one is sixth. Again, this is another tricky one, so let's have a go
at that consonant cluster at the end. So let's start with the first one. Next one, seventh.
Careful you're not saying "sevEN", but it's a schwa. The next one is eighth. Now you'll
see in the transcription, there is a t and "th" together. I do not say "eit-th", because
that's quite tricky to sound. What happens is we go to pronounce that t, but we hold
the position and then we release it on the "th". Makes it a lot easier to say. Next one,
ninth. Make sure you get that "th" at the end. And the last one, tenth. That's it for
this video, I hope it was beneficial. Why not record yourself using some of the links
below, use those to upload your recording and then post your link down in the comments
and I'll give you some free feedback. As always, I'm humbled that you've even watched this
far. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and I will see you next week. [kiss] See you soon.