Can you relate to this experience? You see a word all the time in writing.
You know what it means and how to use it. But then when you go to say it,
you realize that you actually don't feel confident pronouncing it out loud.
You stumble over the word,
hoping that you got it close enough so that the other person understands you.
Don't worry - we've all been there.
That's why I'm going to share my best tips for figuring out how to clearly say
new or unfamiliar words.
This will also help with any tricky or challenging words you've been struggling
to pronounce. Let's get started! When you come across a new, unfamiliar,
or tricky word, and you want to figure out how to say it clearly,
start by looking it up. You can simply enter it into Google,
check your favorite dictionary, or use an app, whichever is easiest for you.
When you look at the entry for the word you want to look for the phonetic
spelling of the word.
That's the version of the word that often has interesting symbols.
It's important to remember that English is not a phonetically consistent
language, which means the letters aren't always pronounced the way they look.
That's why you can find this alternate version of the word in any dictionary.
The IPA, or International Phonetic. Alphabet,
uses symbols to help people recognize sounds across languages.
When you're looking at phonetic versions of words,
pay special attention to the vowel sounds.
As you continue to look at the phonetic transcriptions of words,
you'll start to remember what the vowel symbols look like.
That's actually how I learned to use the IPA myself. If you're still not sure,
you can listen to someone reading the word to double check the vowels.
You can either listen to the pronunciation on the dictionary site or listen
to several people saying the word on Youglish.
So now that you have the phonetic spelling of the word,
I want you to look for the symbol that looks like apostrophe at the top of the
word. Let's start with this example.
This symbol signals the stressed syllable,
which is the syllable that's pronounced the most clearly in the entire word.
When we stress a syllable, we make its vowel sound the longest,
the loudest, and the highest in pitch.
We make an effort to clearly pronounce this vowel sound.
We actually relax and put less effort into the rest of the syllables.
When you're trying to figure out how to clearly say a word,
you want to find and focus on this stressed vowel sound.
Quite honestly, the rest of the sounds don't matter as much.
Don't get me wrong - they matter, but not as much.
If there are consonant sounds that surround this syllable,
they should also be clearly pronounced because they influence the stressed vowel
sound. They're like bookends framing either side of the vowel sound.
Let's look at our example word: registration. In this example,
the stressed syllable is "stra." Try saying this syllable clearly
by making sure you pronounce the sounds to the best of your ability.
You want to really use your mouth on this syllable: stra,
stra, stra.
Remember you can hold the stressed syllable for longer,
which gives you time to fully form the vowel and the sounds around it.
Your pitch will also be higher and your volume will be louder.
Think of this sound as a burst of energy.
You're directing people's attention to this syllable.
Now that you're comfortable saying this syllable, let's add in more of the word.
Stra, stration, stration,
gistration, gistration,
registration, registration.
Let's look at another word: appreciate.
Let's find the stressed syllable of this word.
Remember to use the apostrophe-like symbol to help you identify it.
Pre, pre, pre. Next,
fill in the end of the word one syllable at a time.
Pre, preci, preci, preciate, preciate.
Now let's add the first syllable. Appreciate,
appreciate.
If you feel like the first syllable isn't particularly clear, you're right.
The vowel sound in the first syllable is actually the schwa sound,
which is a very short, very relaxed "uh" sound.
Because this vowel is not being stressed,
the vowel sound is reduced until it's barely there.
By focusing on the stressed syllable and relaxing on the rest,
we're creating clear contrast.
We listen for this stressed syllable to identify a word.
By putting less effort into the rest of the syllables,
you're allowing the most important one to shine.
This is great news for you if you find it tricky to pronounce certain sounds,
as they can often hide behind the stressed syllable. Besides that,
carefully pronouncing each and every syllable can be exhausting for your mouth.
If you give every sound equal importance in English, nothing stands out,
and it can be challenging for other people to understand the word.
Let's try this approach with a few more words. Thermometer. Mo, mo, mome, mome,
mometer, mometer,
thermometer, thermometer. Analysis. Nal, nal, naly, naly,
nalysis, nalysis,
analysis,
analysis.
Refrigerator. Fri,
fri, friger, friger, frigera,
frigera,
frigerator,
refrigerator,
refrigerator.
A quick note about vowels. If you can believe it,
there are 15 vowel sounds in American English. Besides that,
regional dialects can influence and slightly change the pronunciation of these
vowels. That's why you're trying to get the sounds as close as possible,
but it's okay if there's some variation between how you say the sounds and
how someone else says them. Let's look at another word. Supervise.
Su, su,
super, super,
supervise
supervise.
Society. Ci, ci, cie, cie,
ciety,
society,
society.
When you're figuring out how to say new words clearly,
pay attention to contrast.
Sometimes unfamiliar words look intimidating because you feel like you have to
clearly pronounce each and every sound in the word.
But as you've seen your goal is to get the stressed syllable as accurate as
possible. You can relax and do less work on the rest of the syllables.
Let them fade into the background a little bit.
Now that you understand how to figure out the pronunciation of a word by
starting with this stressed syllable,
think of a word that's been tricky for you.
See if you can figure out how to say it more clearly by identifying and clearly
pronouncing the stressed vowel sound,
then build the rest of the word from the stressed syllable.
For more tips that will help you. If you have trouble pronouncing words,
check out this video. I'm Kim from englishwithkim.com.
Have a good one - goodbye!