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In this video we'll compare two consonant sounds:
/n/ and /ŋ/,
as in the words "thin" and "thing."
In our previous videos we learned how to make them.
Remember the videos for the /n/ sound,
as in the word "nice"
and the /ŋ/ sound,
as in the word "thing"?
This time we'll focus on the differences between these two sounds.
Many non-native English speakers have difficulty differentiating between the /n/ and the /ŋ/ sounds.
Yes, these two can be quite confusing.
Here's how you can recognize these sounds in written words.
If you see a word that ends with 'ng,'
you have the /ŋ/ sound
If you see the letters 'ng' in the middle of a word,
pronounce the 'n' as /ŋ/.
If you see the letter 'n' before the letters 'k' or 'c,'
pronounce the 'n' as /ŋ/.
In all other cases, pronounce the letter 'n' as the /n/ sound.
That was about spelling.
Now let's check how well you can differentiate between the /n/ and the /ŋ/ when you hear them.
Here's a quick test.
You'll see a pair of words on the screen and hear only one of them pronounced.
For example, "***"
Can you guess what word you heard?
Let's try a few more word pairs.
How did you do?
Don't worry, if you didn't get all the words right.
You'll improve after doing some pronunciation exercises in a just minute.
The /n/ and the /ŋ/ are both nasal consonants,
which means that you should pass the air through your nose when you pronounce them.
Here's the key distinction between the /n/ and the /ŋ/:
Look at the position of the tongue.
For the /n/ sound,
the tip of the tongue is placed on the alveolar ridge
behind your upper front teeth.
For the /ŋ/ sound the tongue is pulled far back to the throat.
Listen and compare: "thin" - "thing."
Let's pronounce these sounds one after the other:
/n/ - /ŋ/
Now that you've reviewed how to make these consonants,
let's practice pronouncing these sounds in some words.
This is the most important part of your training,
so try to go through as many words as possible.
You'll see a word on the screen and hear it's pronunciation.
After that you'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.
♪
Repeat each word after the speaker,
the first word will have the /n/ consonant sound,
and the second will have the /ŋ/ consonant sound.
Let's begin!
You're done!
Congratulations!
To check how much you've improved, you can do the word pairs test again.
Did you like this exercise?
Let us know in the comments what other sounds you would like to practice.
We like your suggestions!
Thanks for watching!
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