Hello there!
This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the American R-colored vowel /aɪr/,
as in the word "fire."
You can also hear this sound in words like
"hire" - "wire" - "flyer" or "liar."
We'll be using special phonetic symbols — /aɪr/ — for this sound.
Let's recap what we've learned in the R-Colored Vowels Overview video:
The /aɪr/ is one of the seven American R-colored vowel sounds.
The /aɪr/ is an R-colored triphthong...
...and it's made by merging the /aɪ/ diphthong and the /r/ sound.
As with all R-colored vowel sounds,
the /aɪr/ is often distorted by non-native English speakers.
The spelling for R-colored vowels could be confusing.
Now, let's find out how to pronounce this R-colored vowel.
Since the /aɪr/ vowel is a triphthong,
you need to pronounce three different sounds
making a smooth connection between them.
This is how you do that.
Start with making the /ɑ/ sound.
Open your mouth as wide as possible.
Relax your lips
and allow them to rest in a neutral position.
Now, let's move your tongue into the correct position for the /ɑ/ vowel.
Place your tongue very low in the center of your mouth
and make it flat.
The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.
Next, connect the /ɑ/ to the /ɪ/ sound.
Smoothly move your jaw up,
until your mouth is almost closed
and push your tongue forward,
raising it high in your mouth.
Next, connect the /aɪ/ to the /r/ sound with a long gliding movement.
Slightly round your lips.
Curl back the tip of your tongue.
Now, slightly lower the center of your tongue
and raise its back.
Your tongue should be tensed.
Now, let's color the diphthong /aɪ/ with the /r/
and blend the two sounds together:
Let's talk about the most typical mistakes that people make
when pronouncing the /aɪr/ sound.
Number one.
Many non-native English speakers reduce the /r/ sound in the /aɪr/ vowel
This would be fine in British English,
but an American accent requires the /r/ to be pronounced.
So, if you reduce the /r/,
your American /aɪr/ sound will be distorted
and it may lead to misunderstandings.
Compare:
Number two.
Some non-native speakers pronounce the /r/ in the /aɪr/,
but they trill it.
Remember,
Americans never trill their R-colored vowel sounds.
Compare:
How do you avoid trilling?
The tip of your tongue should never touch the alveolar ridge
when you pronounce the R-colored sounds.
Remember,
if you want to sound like an American,
don't reduce the /r/ when pronouncing the R-colored vowels
and avoid trilling them.
Now, let's practice the /aɪr/ sound in some words.
This is how we'll do that.
You'll see the word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.
Like this:
You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.
Make sure you complete this part,
as this is the only way to learn to speak with an American accent.
Let's begin.
You're done!
Congratulations!
A few words about how this sound is represented in spelling.
In about 99% of all words with this sound,
the /aɪr/ is represented by the combination of letters 'ir,'
as in "wire" or "vampire."
However,
if you count nouns that are made from verbs ending with the /aɪ/ sound,
the numbers will be different.
Here's what we mean:
Don't blame us,
we aren't responsible for all this!
Click Like if you liked this video.
By the way,
did we say that we like your comments?
Like this one:
Someone who calls themselves "Noname" said:
"... I can pronounce the word "car" like in the video.
But I can't pronounce "cars" without trill.
How should we pronounce it?"
Great question.
First, note that even though you see the letter 's' in the word "cars,"
you actually need to pronounce the /z/ sound.
There's a rule for this.
and we'll cover it in our future videos.
Second,
if you're able to pronounce two sounds separately
but have difficulty pronouncing them together,
practice like this:
Make the first sound
pause
and then pronounce the second sound.
Keep repeating the word gradually reducing the pause.
Eventually,
you'll be able to link practically any sounds:
Good luck!
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