Bra is in place.
Hi everyone. Welcome back to English with Max. Today I just
have another short pronunciation video for you. I do have some other longer
videos planned about different topics, so if you're getting a bit tired of
pronunciation videos, don't worry there will be some other videos up on YouTube
very soon. Now, today we are going to look at these
three words. After I did my last video, which was on beer, bear and beard, several
people said to me: "Yes, but what about 'bird'?" Which is why we are going to look
at these words. Now, I know they might look very different, but they all sound
very similar. In fact the only sound that changes is the first sound, so the first
letter, basically. Before I continue, remember that you can follow me on
social media. I have Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I would also like to tell
you now that I have recently started making short pronunciation videos
- very short ones - for Instagram and Facebook. So if you're interested in improving your
pronunciation, those might be good for you. Remember as well that there are
English subtitles available for all my videos. On some computers you have to
click the CC button. On other computers it's another button, but anyway, you
need to find the button for captions. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't
already, and remember to click the little bell if you want to receive email
notifications. You might have noticed I'm filming in another room today. That's
because it's very hot at the moment. It's summer in Australia and this is the only
room in the house with air conditioning. But Frank and George are here with us
so everything is okay. Anyhow, let's first look at this word. This word is: bird. Bird.
I'm sure you know what a bird is. It's the uh... They're the little animals that fly.
Well, most of them fly.
You have exceptions like ostriches and penguins, but most birds fly.
"Bird" is the standard British and Australian pronunciation. The standard
American pronunciation is: bird. Bird. To say it with an American accent, you have
to make this part around your mouth a bit tighter. And the tongue is a bit
higher in the mouth. It's a bit like when you make the R sound. Ruh, ruh.
Bird. Bird. Bird. It's different to this word. In British pronunciation
this is: beard. Beard. This word is: bird. Bird.
In American pronunciation this word is: beard. Beard.
In American pronunciation this word is: bird. Bird.
This word is: nerd. Nerd. It's the same as bird,
but the first sound changes, because there is an N there. The ending is the same.
At least it has the same pronunciation. "What is a nerd?" you might ask.
A nerd is a word we use for a person who is normally quite smart, but is
perhaps a bit socially awkward. So a bit uncomfortable in social situations, and
maybe not very stylish. If you watch The Big Bang Theory, the four main
guys in The Big Bang Theory are nerds. It's also a word we use for somebody who
is very interested in one topic - to an extent that other people find it a bit
strange. For example, computer nerds, Star Trek nerds... I'm a grammar nerd,
for example, because I really like grammar. Be careful a little bit with this word
because you might offend somebody if you call them a nerd. But it's not really mean.
You can normally say it without... without offending too many people.
Anyway, this word is pronounced "nerd" in British pronunciation.
In American pronunciation it's: nerd. Nerd.
This word is: word. I'm sure you know what a word is.
"Word" is the standard Australian and British pronunciation,
and the standard American pronunciation is: word. Word.
So as you can see, "-ird", "-erd" and "-ord" can all be pronounced the same way.
Don't consider this a rule though. As you know, in English there are lots of exceptions,
so don't think that "-ird" and "-erd" and "-ord" are always pronounced "ɜːd",
because that is not the case. I just wanted to show you that
different combinations of letters can often be pronounced the same way.
I hope you found that useful. If you did, as usual,
please give me the thumbs up. And if you have any comments or questions,
don't hesitate to leave them in the comments section down below.
See ya next time.
Sub... subtitles
Damn it...