Bugger.
It's so hot in here.
Ahhh, I can't say that.
OK.
Hi guys, welcome back to English with Max. Today I have a video for you on 10
English words that non-native speakers, and even some native speakers, often find
very difficult to pronounce. Some of these words have very strange spelling,
although strange is actually quite normal in English, and some of the words
are just difficult to say. I didn't just randomly choose these words. I recently
ran a small survey on Facebook and Instagram, and I combined that
information with my experience teaching English as a second language.
Before we begin, remember that you can follow me on social media. The links will
be in the description. Remember to hit the subscribe button if you want to be
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comment. I remember that when I was just watching YouTube videos before I started
the channel, I sometimes thought that I might annoy people if I left a comment,
but don't worry, that is not the case. Most people on YouTube enjoy reading comments.
I also want to tell you that I will be focusing on British pronunciation.
I'm Australian and for the most part Australian English is closer
to British English than American English. However, for all of these words I will
also briefly give you the American pronunciation.
Word number one is: hierarchical.
Hierarchical is the adjective of hierarchy. A hierarchy is a
system in which people or things are organised
based on their importance. Here is an example sentence:
It is common knowledge that the military is very hierarchical.
I'll say it slowly hi-e-rar-chi-cal. Hierarchical.
As you could probably hear, the CH in hierarchical is pronounced "K".
Just like CH in chlorine or chlamydia.
Here's an interesting fact: lots of koalas in Australia have chlamydia. You can google it.
Do you have chlamydia, Frank?
Anyway, hierarchical is the British pronunciation of this word.
The American pronunciation is: hierarchical. Hie-rar-chi-cal. Hierarchical
Word number two is: clothes. Clothes. This is a word that
even people with a really high level of English often find difficult to say.
What makes it hard is the "TH" sound followed by the "ZZ". The good news is there is a way to
"cheat" with this word. If you find it hard, instead of saying "clothes", you can say
"close", like, "I close the door." So instead of saying, "My dirty clothes
are on the floor," you can say, "My dirty CLOSE are on the floor." To be honest,
when native speakers are speaking quickly, or they're just being lazy,
that's often what they say anyway. So it's unlikely people will notice the difference.
The American pronunciation is similar. It's just the O sound that changes.
British pronunciation: clothes. American pronunciation: clothes.
Word number three is: sixth. Sixth.
It's a lovely word, isn't it?
That was sarcasm.
I know it's quite a difficult word because there's a "KS" followed by a "TH",
and it's particularly hard in phrases such as "The Sixth Sense". It's not as easy to
cheat with this word as it is for clothes, but if you really find it
difficult, you can, just like with clothes, drop the TH. People will still understand
you, and if you say it very quickly, most people won't even notice. The Six Sense. The Six Sense.
Let's hear it in a full sentence. I'll say the same sentence twice.
The first time using "sixth", the second time using "six".
I watched The Sound of Music for the sixth time yesterday.
I watched The Sound of Music for the six time yesterday.
You can probably hear a small difference, but really, it's not a big deal.
Another thing you can do is just try to avoid the word and use different sentences.
For example: I watched The Sound of Music yesterday. I've now seen it six times.
I'll say this word again: sixth.
The American pronunciation is basically the same: sixth.
Word number four is: photographer. Photographer.
I'm sure you all know what a photographer is. It's a person who takes photos.
I'll say it slowly: pho-to-gra-pher. Photographer. It's not "photo-GRAPH-er".
Don't worry, it's understandable if you've made this mistake because the root word is "photograph".
And the abbreviated form of that is "photo". The English language is cruel sometimes.
I'll say it again: photographer. Photographer.
The American pronunciation is: photographer. Photographer.
Word number five is: miscellaneous. Miscellaneous. I actually really like this word.
Miscellaneous is an adjective that refers to a group of things or people that are varied, and
normally have no connection with one another. Because it's a long word it's
often abbreviated to "misc." But this is only in written form. Don't say it.
People often use this word as a label. For example, in somebody's house you
might see a drawer labelled "miscellaneous household items". Or on your computer you
might have a folder labeled "miscellaneous". That's where you put all
the files that don't fit into other categories.
I'll say it slowly: mi-sce-lla-ne-ous. Miscellaneous.
The American pronunciation is basically the same: miscellaneous. Miscellaneous.
Word number six is: comfortable. Comfortable.
I know this word is a pain in the butt, but hopefully this explanation
will end all confusion. You can either say it with three syllables: comf-ta-ble. Comfortable.
Or with four syllables: com-for-ta-ble. Comfortable.
I personally say it with three syllables (comf-ta-ble), and I think most native
speakers nowadays say it that way as well. But it's perfectly correct to say "com-for-ta-ble".
In American pronunciation you can also say it with three or four syllables.
"Comf-ta-ble" or "com-for-ta-ble".
Word number seven is: literature. Literature.
In British pronunciation you ignore the first E. Li-tra-ture. Literature.
And although you probably won't see this in a dictionary, lots of
native speakers also pronounce the first T, and not just the second one, as "CH".
That gives us: "lichracha". "Lichracha". Some people might not think that sounds very nice,
but in my opinion you can choose. In the American pronunciation the first T
is actually more like a D sound. It's called a flap T, so the American
pronunciation is: literature. Literature.
Word number eight is: similarly. Similarly.
I'll say it slowly: si-mi-lar-ly. Similarly. To be honest, this word is also
sometimes hard for me to say. I think it's because there are two Ls which are
very close together. This word means: in a similar way.
For example: The girls were dressed similarly. That means the girls were
wearing similar clothes. Ooh, there's that word again: clothes.
If you find this word too hard to say, you can simply avoid it by saying "in a similar way" instead.
For example, this sentence would become: The girls were dressed in a similar way.
I'll say it again: similarly.
The American pronunciation is: si-mi-lar-ly. Similarly.
Word number nine is: thoroughly. Thoroughly means completely or very much.
For example: I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. That means I enjoyed the movie very much.
It can also mean in a careful or detailed way.
For example: The doctor examined the test results thoroughly.
I'll say it slowly: tho-rough-ly. Thoroughly.
The American pronunciation is: tho-rough-ly. Thoroughly.
Word number ten is: congratulations.
If you can say all these words correctly, congratulations!
I'm sure most of you know what this means. It's something you can say to
someone to show you are happy about their success or good luck.
- You got a promotion? - Congratulations!
- You won the lottery? - Congratulations!
- You got 10,000 followers on Snapchat?
- Congratulations? I have no idea how snapchat works.
I think some people struggle with this word because of the first syllable,
which is pronounced "kehn" and not "con", and because of the T, which is pronounced "CH".
There is also the "-tion", which is pronounced "shen".
I'll now say it slowly: con-gra-tu-la-tions. Congratulations.
The American pronunciation is very similar: congratulations.
Although sometimes in American English the T is pronounced "J". CongraJulations.
I hope you found that useful. If you did, remember to hit the thumbs up.
And like I said before, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Maybe you could tell me
which of these words you find the most difficult. See you next time.
... words have strange spelling, although spelling is quite normal... uh, no, not spelling...