The sounds in "chip" and "jet"

Both of these two sounds is actually a combination of two different sounds. The "ch" sound like in "chip" is a combination of /t/ as in "tip" and "sh" like in "ship". The "j" sound in "jet" is a combination of /td/ as in "dip" and the sound in the middle of leisure and measure.

They are both made the same way in your mouth. The difference is that "ch" is made without using your voice, and "j" is made by using your voice.

To make these sounds, put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right behind your teeth, then move your tongue back behind your teeth until you are making the "sh" or "measure" sound.

If you are having trouble making these sounds, try these tricks. To say "chip", practice saying "meet ship". Say it faster and faster, and then you will notice that it sounds like you are saying "me chip". If you are having problems with "jet", first, say the word "measure" several times. Now try to add a "d" in the middle of the word, so you are saying "meadsure". Try saying this fast. It will sounds as if you are saying "medjure". Now you've got it!

Watch videos for these sounds! In these video clips, notice how the speaker's mouth moves in a very similar way for both 'church' and 'judge' -- the difference in how she says them is with her voice. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• 'church' video clip (200K MPEG file)
• 'judge' video clip (300 K MPEG file)

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"chip" sounds: chip cheap chafe

"jet" sounds: jet judge jello

To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

The sound in "yet"

/j/

/j/, the sound at the begining of "yet", is made by putting your tongue very close to the top of your mouth, as if you are getting ready to say the vowel /i/. That is why this consonant sound is often pron ounced between certain vowel sounds.

Say the phrase "why he" quickly. Native speakers of American English would often pronounce this phrase as "whyje" (/waIji/). Even though it is not spelled that way, we pronounce a /j/ between the /a I/ and /i/ vowels.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

/j/ sounds:

• yet
• you
• he is (/hiyIz/)
• why he (/waIji/)

The sound in "wit"

/w/

/w/ is an interesting sound, because you need to do two different things with your mouth. First of all, you need to make lips round, as if you are getting ready to kiss someone. Next, you need to put the back of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, almost as if you are going to say g, but DON'T touch the top of your mouth. You must do both of these things at the same time. Use your voice. /w/ is a voiced sound.

Be careful that you do not confuse /w/ with /r/. When you say /w/, your tongue is further back in your mouth and the back of it is close to the top of your mouth. When you say /r/, your tongue is a little bit more towards the front of your mouth, and the tip of your tongue is pointed towards the top of your mouth.

Watch a video clip with the /w/ sound! (This video will launch a separate video viewer to play it. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• 'wow' video clip (200 K MPEG file)

Now let's listen to some sounds!

/w/ sounds:

• wit
• what
• where

The sound in "hat"

/h/

/h/ is basically the sound that you make by opening your mouth wide and blowing air.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

/h/ sounds:

• hat
• hate
• hot

Word Final Fricatives - Voiced and Unvoiced

Many students of English have problems pronouncing the consonant sounds at the end of words. On this page, you can hear examples of /f/, /v/, "th" sounds /s/, /z/, "sh" , and the sound in the middle of "measure"

There is actually a small difference in how long we say the vowels before voiced and unvoiced sounds. Listen to these pairs of words or say them out loud. Which ones have the longer vowels?

• leaf
• leave

• breath
• breathe

• seas
• seize

• garage
• rush

Did you notice that the vowels are shorter in "leaf", "breath", "seas", and "rush"? These are the three unvoiced sounds. However, the unvoiced consonants themselves (f, s, sh) are longer than the voiced vowels. So, the difference is not just whether the sounds are voiced or unvoiced, but also how long they last.

The sounds in "git" and "kit"

/g/ /k/

The consonant sounds in "git" and "kit" are both made by putting the back of our tongue up against the roof on the back of our mouths to release a small puff of air.

If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice.

When we make a /k/ sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound /k/. You should not feel any movement in your throat.

However, when we make a /g/ sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the /g/ sound. Can you feel the vibrations? Another way to help you learn the difference between these two sounds is that /k/(the voiceless sound) makes a bigger puff of air. Put your hand in front of your mouth and make the /k/ sound. Feel the big puff of air. Now put your hand in front of your mouth again and make the /g/ sound (the voiced sound). Feel only a little puff of air? Good!

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"git" sounds: got get gook

"kit" sounds: cot catch cook

To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

Voiced and Unvoiced

Many students of English have problems pronouncing the consonant sounds at the end of words. On this page, you can hear examples of /b/, /p/, /d/, /t/, /g/ and /k/.

There is actually a small difference in how long we say the vowels before voiced and unvoiced sounds. Listen to these pairs of words or say them out loud. Which ones have the longer vowels?

• nap
• nab

• mat
• mad

• knack
• nag

Did you notice that the vowels are shorter in "nap", "mat", and "knack"? These are the three unvoiced sounds. However, the unvoiced consonants themselves (p, t, k) are longer than the voiced vowels. So, the difference is not just whether the sounds are voiced or unvoiced, but also how long they last.

The sounds in "ship" and "measure"

The consonant sounds in "ship" and "measure" are both made by putting your teeth together, with your top teeth in from of your back teeth, and putting your tongue in the middle of your mouth, scrunched up towards the back of your mouth.

If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice.

When we make a "sh" sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound in "ship". You should not feel any movement in your throat.
However, when we make a "zh" sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound in "measure". Can you feel the vibrations?

There are not many words in English with the sound in "measure", and very few words with this sound at the beginning. This sound is mostly found in words that came into English from other languages in the middle or at the end of the word.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"ship" sounds:

• ship
• sheep
• shape

"measure" sounds:

• measure
• garage
• pleasure

---

To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

The sounds in "fed" and "vittles"

/f/ /v/

The consonant sounds in "fed" and "vittles" are both made by putting your top teeth on your lower lip and blowing air through your teeth.

If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice.

When we make a /f/ sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound /f/. You should not feel any movement in your throat.
However, when we make a /v/ sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the /v/ sound. Can you feel the vibrations?

Watch videos with this sound! Here you can see a close-up of how your lips should look when you say /f/ and /v/. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• 'five' video clip (300 K MPEG file)
• 'vat' video clip (300 K MPEG file)

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"fed" sounds: fan fat food

"vittles" sounds: van vat voodoo

To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

The sounds in "sit" and "zit"

/s/ & /z/

The consonant sounds in "sit" and "zit" are both made by putting your teeth together and putting your tongue in the middle of your mouth, right behind your teeth, but not touching them.

If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice.

When we make a /s/ sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound /s/. You should not feel any movement in your throat.
However, when we make a /z/ sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the /z/ sound. Can you feel the vibrations?

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"sit" sounds: sit sue see

"zit" sounds: zit zoo z ("zee")

To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

r and l sounds in English

/r/ & /l/

It is easy to confuse /r/ and /l/ in English. However, it is also easy to learn how to make the two different sounds. The big thing to remember is that when you say /r/, YOUR TONGUE SHOULD NOT TOUCH THE TOP OF YOUR MOUTH. It should be bunched up towards the back of your mouth with the tip pointing towards the top of your mouth (BUT NOT TOUCHING!). We do NOT move our tongue while making the American /r/ sound. This makes it different from the /r/ is German, Czech, or even some other English dialects, like Scottish. Your lips should also be round when you say /r/, like you are getting ready to kiss someone.

Here are some videos with /r/ sounds at the beginning of them. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• 'read' video clip (200 K MPEG)
• 'road' video clip (300 k MPEG)
  
  

There are actually two different ways to make /l/ sounds in American English. The most common way is to put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your teeth (as it your were going to make a /d/ or /t/ sou nd). As you make the sound, the air comes out from the sides of your tongue. The second way to make /l/ is used after some vowels, like in the words call, full, toll, and walk. This sound is made way in the back of your mouth by putting the back of you r tongue close to the back of your mouth so that there is only a small opening for air.

/r/ sounds after a vowel change the sound of the vowel, too. This is called r colorization.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

r sounds: rake rack rock or fear

l sounds: lake lack lock all feel

r- colored vowels
• bead--beard
• body--bard
• sir were purr

The sounds in "did" and "ted"

/d/ /t/

The consonant sounds in "did" and "ted" are both made by putting our tongue right behind our top teeth and then moving it to release a small puff of air.

If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice. When we make a /t/ sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound /t/. You should not feel any movement in your throat.

However, when we make a /d/ sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the /d/ sound. Can you feel the vibrations?

Another way to help you learn the difference between these two sounds is that /t/(the voiceless sound) makes a bigger puff of air. Put your hand in front of your mouth and make the /t/ sound. Feel the big puff of air. Now put your hand in front of your mouth again and make the /d/ sound (the voiced sound). Feel only a little puff of air? Good!

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"did" sounds: den dad dip

"Ted" sounds: ten Tad tip

To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

The sounds in English

There are actually two different "th" sounds in English, but they are very similar. Both "th" sounds are made putting your tongue between your teeth so that the tip of your tongue is touching the tips of your top teeth. Now you can make a "th" sound by blowing are through your teeth. You can check to see if you are doing it correctly by using a mirror. You should be able to see your tongue when you say words such as "this", "the", and "that". If cannot see your tongue, yo u may be putting your tongue behind your top teeth instead of touching the tips of your top teeth.

If you put your tongue behind your top teeth, you will make a /d/ or /t/sound instead of a "th" sound. If it sounds like you are making an /s/ or /z/ sound, it is also because your tongue is behind your teeth. Make sure you are touching your teeth with your tongue!

Watch where the tongue is in these video clips. Can you see it between the teeth? (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• 'think' close up video (400 k MPEG file)
• 'that' close up video (500 k MPEG file)

  There is a difference, however, in the "th" sound in "the" and "breathe" and the sound in "thigh" and "breath". What is the difference?

  In "the" and "breathe", we use our voice when we make the "th" sound. Try to make a "th" sound using your voice. If you put your hand on your throat, you should feel the vibration.

  The sound in "thigh" and "breath" is made without using our voice. If you put your hand on your throat when you are making this sound, you will not feel anything moving.

  Now let's listen to some sounds!

  "thy" sounds: thy this breathe

  "thigh" sounds: thigh thought breath

  ---

  To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

Nasal sounds

/m/ /n/ and "ng"

The beginning sounds in "mitt" and "knit", as well as the sound at the end of "bring", are called "nasals". That is because when we makes these sounds, the air goes out of our nose instead of our mouths.

The first sound, /m/, is made by closing your mouth. Now use your voice to make a sound. That is the sound /m/. Try holding your nose and making this sound. You can't do it. You need for the air to go out your nose in order to make this sound.

Here is a video clip with the /m/ sound. Compare this clip of someone saying 'mom' to the 'pop' clip on the b/p page. Notice how both sounds are made with the lips. BUT when the speaker says 'mom' she doesn't open her mouth again afterwards, but she does when she says 'pop.' Why? For /m/, you only need to close your mouth. For /p/, you need to close your mouth and then open it again to release that puff of air that makes the /p/. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• 'mom' video clip (200 K MPEG file)
  

The second sound, /n/, is made by putting the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right behind your teeth, like you do when you make /d/ or /t/. Now use your voice to make a sound (don't move your tongue!). Be careful that you do not say /l/ instead of /n/. You can check by holding your nose. If you can make the sound and hold your nose, you are saying /l/, if you can't then you are saying /n/.

The sound at the end of "bring", the "ng" sound is actually one sound even though it is written with two letters. To make this sound, put your tongue up against the roof of the back of your mouth, as if you are going to say /k/ or /g/. Now, make a sound using your voice. This is "ng".
In English, the "ng" sound is only found at the end of syllables. It cannot start a word.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"mitt" sounds:

• mitt
• meat
• mat
• rum

"knit" sounds:

• knit
• neat
• gnat
• run

"bring" sounds:

• bring
• sang
• gong
• rung

The sounds in "bat" and "pat"

/b/ & /p/

The consonant sounds in "bat" and "pat" are both made by putting our two lips together and then opening them to release a small puff of air.

In these two video clips, you can see the woman saying the words "Pop" and "Bob." Notice

If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice. When we make a /p/ sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound /p/. You should not feel any movement in your throat.

However, when we make a /b/ sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the /b/ sound. Can you feel the vibrations? Another way to help you learn the difference between these two sounds is that /p/(the voiceless sound) makes a bigger puff of air. Put your hand in front of your mouth and make the /p/ sound. Feel the big puff of air. Now put your hand in front of your mouth again and make the /b/ sound (the voiced sound). Feel only a little puff of air? Good!

Watch videos of these sounds! In these video clips, notice how the speaker puts her lips together at the beginning and end of the words. In fact, notice that her lips move in a very similar way for both 'Pop' and 'Bob' -- the difference in how she says them is with her voice. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• Bob video clip (200K MPEG file)
• Pop video clip (200K MPEG file)

  Now let's listen to some sounds!

  "bat" sounds: bat bull but

  "pat" sounds: pat pull putt

  ---

  To practice voiced and voiceless sounds at the end of words, click here.

Reduced Vowel Sounds

In English, we give some syllables more stress than others. That means that some syllables are louder, longer, and clearer than others. Syllables that are unstressed are shorter, softer, and less clear. In fact, there are o nly TWO reduced vowel sounds in English. These are the "Schwa" sound and the "barred i" sound.

The "barred i" is like a really short /I/ sound.
The "schwa" is like a really short vowel made in the center of your mouth.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

schwa sounds:
• writer
• explanation
• emphasis

barred i sounds:
• recitation
• monitor
• implication

The sounds in "oy!", "how" and "height"

These three vowel sounds are all diphthongs. This means they are actually two vowel sounds that slur together. Notice your mouth move when you say these sounds. Now compare that to "he". When you said "he", you can say the vowel sounds for a long time without moving your mouth!

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"oy!" sounds:

• Reuters
  
• boy
  

"how" sounds:

• route
  
• bout
  

"height" sounds:

• right
  
• bite

Here are some video clips!

Notice how the jaw moves, showing the movement from one vowel sounds to the second. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.)

• coy (200 k MPEG file)
• how (200 kMPEG file)
• hi (200 K MPEG file)

The sounds in "ought" and "hot"

We make the sound in "hot" (/a/) with our mouth open the widest. Pretend you are going to the doctor and saying "ahhhhhhhh".

See how open your
mouth is and how
far back your tongue is.

The sound in "ought" is made with your mouth open not as wide and the sound more in the middle of your mouth. Try to say a very quick, light /ou/ sound. That is the sound in "ought".
Don't worry if you are having problems with this sound! Many native English speakers do, too! New Yorkers pronounce the word "ought" much differently, and many people in the mid-west pronounce the words "caught" and "cot" exactly the same.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"ought" sounds: caught ought sought

"hot" sounds: cot hot sod

To practice more with the /a/ sound, go to this page:

The sounds in "hoed" and "hoot"

The vowel sound in hoed is called a diphthong. This means it is actually two vowel sounds that slur together. As you say the sound, your mouth will get more closed and your lips will get more round. At the end of this sound, you will be making the same vowel sounds as in /u/, and your lips should not be as round as they as when you say "hoot".

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"hoed" sounds: moat hoed local soap

"hoot" sounds: mute who'd Luke soup

To practice more /u/ sounds, go to these pages:

The sounds in hoot and hood

The sounds in hoot and hut

The sounds in "hoot" and "hut"

We make the sound in "hoot" (/u/) with our really rounded. Sing "ooh, baby, baby" or pretend you are going to kiss someone.

Here is a picture of
someone making this sound.
See how round her lips are.

However, when we say "hut" we open our mouths wider and relax our lips. The sound in "hut" is in the center of your mouth. Try to put your tongue in the center of your mouth.

Now let's listen to some sounds!

"hoot" sounds: mute Luke who'd

"hut" sounds: mutt luck hut shut