Hello everyone. I’m Vicki and I’m British. And I’m Jay and I’m American.
And we’re back with another 10 words that are hard to pronounce in British and American
English.
Thank you to everyone who has told us about words you find hard to pronounce.
Yeah, that was great. Let’s get going. OK, here’s the first one.
Queue. I don't know. Oh. que, que, que?
That’s funny. This word looks nothing like it sounds.
Yeah, the spelling is so different. Queue. Queue. Queue.
Now they’ve got it right! Yes.
Queue. Queue. But we don’t usually say queue in American
English. When we’re waiting, we wait in line.
And British people wait in a queue. We do it a lot because we’re very polite.
Yeah right. Let’s see what’s next. Iron. Iron. Iron.
Ah, not quite. This words is tricky. In British English, the r is silent.
So you write r but you don't say it? Yes, we say iron. Iron.
Mmm. I think you say it a little differently in American.
Iron. Ah, so you pronounce the r, but it comes after
the schwa. Iron. Iron. Say it with us.
Iron. Iron. Iron. Iron. What’s next?
OK, several people suggested this one. Chocolate. Chocolate.
That’s not right. Yes, it looks like it has three syllables
but it only has two. Chocolate. Chocolate.
They’re good! It has 2 syllables – chock-lit- and the final vowel sound is I, not ay
Chocolate.
Now I come from Brooklyn in New York and we have a different sound at the start too.
What’s that? Chawklit.
Chawklit. So like chalk? Yeah, chawklit! Chawklit.
Don’t say it like that! Chocolate! OK, what’s next?
Another suggestion from a viewer.
Environment. Environment.
Ah, it’s not veer, it’s vai. Environment.
Environment.
You’ve got to get the rhythm right. Vi gets the stress.
EnVIronment Let’s back chain it. Say it with me. Ment
ronment -vironment - environment So that n sound is very weak?
Yes, and sometimes it disappears. Say it with our learners.
Environment. Environment. Environment. Next one?
Yes – this one’s a very common word.
Wednesday. Wednesday.
Not quite. OK, so there’s a question here. Is it three syllables - Wednesday or two syllables, Wednesday?
Wednesday. Wednesday.
It's two syllables. Wednesday.
And remember the first D is silent. Try it!
Wednesday? Wednesday. Wednesday. Wednesday. Next one?
Yep. This one will really get your mouths moving.
Sixth. Sixth. Sixth. It’s really hard!
Errr... Sixthes? Six? Sixth?
It's really hard.
Is it the th sound? Yes, very few languages have this sound. Unfortunately
English is one of them. Sixth. Sixth. After six you’ve got to get your
tongue forward to say sixth sixth
sixth We should make another video about that th
sound. Yeah.
Sixth. Sixth. Sixth. Hey, they were pretty good. Is there an easier
way to say this? Yes. You can cheat. Skip the th sound and
say siks. siks
siks We sometimes say that when we’re speaking
fast. Next one?
Yeah. This comes from a viewer too.
Err tongue.
Tongue. I don't know. The spelling and pronunciation are so different.
Yes. This is your tongue. Tongue. Tongue. So we don’t say tong. It’s tongue.
Yeah. It’s an ^ sound. And there’s no g sound at the end. It’s just ng. It’s in your
nose. ng. Tongue.
Tongue. Say it with our learners
Tongue. Tongue. Tongue. Tongue. OK, the next one’s interesting.
What’s that? Infamous. Infamous. Infamous. Infamous. Infamous.
Ah, they’re all wrong! It’s hard. So what’s the problem here?
The word stress – we say INfamous. Not inFAMous INfamous. It means famous but in a bad way
- not in a good way. Yes, like an infamous killer.
An infamous crime. infamous. Infamous.
infamous The prefix ‘in’ can change the meaning
of a word into its opposite. Like, incorrect is the opposite of correct.
Yes. Independent, indirect, inexpensive. They’re all opposites.
OK, next one? Yeah. Let’s have something easier.
February. February
February. It's very difficult this word for French people. They’re pretty good.
Yes. We can pronounce this word in different ways. We can say the r sound - roo - Feb|roo|ary
or we can make a j sound Feb|you|ary. Feb|roo|ary Feb|you|ary. Oh yeah.
I think most people say Feb|you|ary. It’s a little easier.
February February
Another question. How many syllables does it have?
Feb|you|a|ry – 4 syllables. OK, in British English we also say Feb|you
|ry. Feb|you |ry. 3 syllables. February. So say it however
you like and we’ll probably understand. Chocolate. No, not Chocolate, but February.
That's easy to say. Yes. Now let’s finish with a hard one. OK.
Worcestershire. Worcestershire. Worcestershire. OK. Worcestershire. What is that?
This is the name of a place in England, and it's also the name of this sauce.
It’s hard to say. Oh my god! Worcestershire
She nearly got it right! Yeah, we say Worcestershire (Woostershire).
It’s the name of a county in England, so an area that has its own government. And Worcester
is the name of a town. We have a town called Worcester in Massachusetts
– same spelling and pronunciation. You got it from us.
Worcester Worcester
It’s the same in British and American. But there’s another town in Pennsylvania
called Worcester, so some people might say that. Worcester.
Well what’s this? Well I say Worcestershire sauce.
In British English we drop the shire and just say Worcestershire (Wooster).
Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce.
Would you like some Worcestershire sauce in your tomato juice?
In my tomato juice, yes. We’d like to say a big thank you to all
the English learners who helped us make this video.
They were terrific and such good fun. If you liked it please give us a thumbs
up and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel.
And if there are words you find hard to pronounce in English, please tell us in the comments below,
so we can make a video about them. See you all next week.
Yeah, bye everyone.
Well, what's this?
Well, I say Worces....