Hi guys. Today we are going to look at the 24 consonant sounds in English.
Are you thinking: "What? Did she just say 24? I thought there were 21."
Yes, there are 21 consonants in the English alphabet,
but those aren't always pronounced the same way.
For example in this word the C is pronounced /k/. Cat.
But in this word it's pronounced /s/. Cent.
Certain combinations of consonants can also create new sounds.
For example CH is usually pronounced /tʃ/ like in "chat". And here's some trivia
for you. In "Pacific Ocean" every C is pronounced differently. English is fun.
If you compare English accents, there's quite a lot of variation in the vowel
sounds, but thankfully the consonants don't change that much. In most English
accents there are 24 consonant sounds and they're the same in standard British
English and standard American English.
In case you're interested, I also have a video on the 20 vowel sounds in British English.
To watch that, you can click on the card above or the link in the description.
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don't forget to hit that red subscribe button so you don't miss any new videos,
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Let's get started.
For each sound I'm going to show you the corresponding symbol
from the International Phonetic Alphabet, also known as the IPA.
The first one is /p/. /p/.
This is in words like pen, attempt and top.
The next one is /b/. /b/.
This is in words like but, abstract and cab.
This sound is /t/. /t/.
It's in words like ten, realistic and walked.
This one is /d/. /d/.
It's in words like dog, under and bed.
Now we have /tʃ/. /tʃ/.
This is in words like chicken, kitchen and speech.
/dʒ/. /dʒ/.
Some example words: June, budget, change.
Here we have /k/. /k/.
It's in words like can, kite, quite, technical and rock.
/g/. /g/.
Go, finger.
In this word you have to pronounce the G. It's not "finger". It's "finger".
Example, bug.
This one is /f/. /f/.
Photo, coffee, laugh.
Now we have /v/. /v/.
It's in words like vote, convince, give and of.
And now the two TH sounds.
This one is /θ/. /θ/.
It's in words like think, athlete and month.
And this one is /ð/. /ð/.
It's in words like that, brother and clothe.
This last word is not cloth. It has an E on the end, so it's "clothe".
It's a verb. To clothe somebody.
And now /s/. /s/.
Sit, basic, hexagon, across, dance.
/z/. /z/.
Zebra, crazy, cousin, watches.
This symbol is /ʃ/. /ʃ/.
It's in words such as should, pressure, nation, ocean and wish.
This one is /ʒ/. /ʒ/.
It's in words like genre, casual, leisure, vision and beige.
And now we have /m/. /m/.
Some example words: make, common, home.
This one is /n/. /n/.
Nice, dinner, fun.
Here we have /ŋ/. /ŋ/.
Singer, younger.
Be careful because "younger" is not like "singer".
If there's an NG in the middle of a word, sometimes it's pronounced /ŋ/,
like in "singer", and sometimes it's pronounced /ŋɡ/, like in "younger".
Singer. Younger.
And this is a finger. It's not a "finger". It's a "finger".
A couple more examples: bank, uncle.
This sound is /h/. /h/.
It's in words like hat, who and behave.
Now we have /l/. /l/.
It's in words like like, help and travel.
This sound is /r/. /r/.
It's in words like right, wrong and parent.
In standard American English you pronounce the R at the end of words,
so these last two (in American English) are pronounced "car" and "here".
In standard British English they're "car" and "here".
Now we have /w/. /w/.
It's in words like weight, one, swim and quit.
The last one is /j/. /j/.
It's in words like yes, cute and few.
That's it, guys. I hope you found that helpful.
If you did, please hit the thumbs up and as usual if you have
any questions, please write them in the comments section.
See you next time.
Ca...
Monty, go away!
The cat.
No!
F***.
But thankfully... ahh...
English.
Are you thinking...