Name: 5 Secrets of American English Pronunciation: Advanced Pronunciation Lesson
Uploaded: 2023-01-21T01:35:14.000Z
Duration: 8 min 55 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Have you ever been watching an American movie or TV show

and you heard someone  say, "Your guess is as good as mine."

And you thought, "Oh my goodness, they were speaking so fast."

Maybe you understand the general idea, but how are they saying it so quickly?

Are there some secrets that I don't know?

In today's lesson, you are going to learn five secrets to American English pronunciation,

and you're going to level up your vocabulary at the same time.

I've created a free PDF worksheet with all of today's American English pronunciation tips, idioms, and concepts that you're going to learn in this lesson.

You can download this free PDF worksheet, my gift to you, with the link in the description.

Click on that link and instantly in your email inbox, you will have this free worksheet.

All right, are you ready to get started with the first secret of American English pronunciation? 

This means that if you wake up early or you get started now, well, you will succeed.

Only the birds that wake up early in the morning get the best worms.

If you wait, if you procrastinate, well, too bad for you, you won't be able to succeed.

But this wonderful phrase uses an important American English pronunciation point.

There are three words, early, bird, and worm that use a colored "R."  

So in American English, this "R" is a strong hard sound.

Do you see how that's almost like an angry dog?

Make sure that when you're using American English pronunciation, this colored "R" sound is hard.

Phrase number two that uses key American English pronunciation is this one.

Have you ever heard someone say, "Your guess is as good as mine. Your guess is as good as mine."

This means that the other person has no clue.  

Maybe you could say, "I don't know how to get to the beach. Your guess is as good as mine."

But there is something important happening with the pronunciation of this phrase.

At the end of the word guess and at the end of the word is, there is an "S."

But in American English pronunciation, we often link the "S" with the vowel next to make  a "Z" sound.

So listen carefully when I say this phrase, "Your guess is as good as mine."

It sounds a lot like zzzz, and that's what's happening here.

We are linking together the "S" plus a vowel from the next word.

I have no clue, your guess is as good as mine. 

Key phrase number three that uses American English pronunciation is this fun one,  

Have you ever been trying to help someone, and then they complain about how you're helping them?

"Hey, don't bite the hand that feeds you. I'm just trying to help you."

If you argue with your boss, if you yell at your boss, ugh,

he's the one that gives you your paycheck, so don't bite the hand that feeds you.

But there is important American English pronunciation here that happens three times.

Don't, bite, and then a little later in the sentence is the word "that."

What is similar between all  three of these words?

Listen when I say this contraction, don't, don't.

Do you hear don't with that puff of air coming out?

Nope. In American English, oftentimes a T at the end of words will be cut off.

We call this a stopped T because your mouth is making that shape.

My tongue is at the top of my mouth trying to make that T shape,

but there's no puff of air that comes out.

Listen carefully as I say this and I want you to hear that stopped T.

You can do it. Let's say this phrase together.

All right, let's go to our next phrase. 

You invite a lot of people over to your house and you think it's going to be a fun party,

it's great, and then it just becomes so many people in your house,  

"Oh  no, I think it's going to get out of hand."

This doesn't mean that anything is really in your hand and it's getting out of your hand.

Instead, this means it's getting out of control.

But this phrase, get out of hand, uses an important American English pronunciation tip,

which is that the T at the end of words, another T tip,  

that has a vowel next often changes to a "D" sound.

So listen when I say this, "The party will get out of hand."

The word get is surrounded by vowels, there's a vow on either side.

G-E-T, and then the next word starts with an "O".

So, that T is surrounded by vowels, and that means that it's going to change to a "D" sound.

Get out, and then it's going to happen with out and of. Out of.

In fact, the word "of" changes to just a.

The party will get outta hand if you invite 50 people over to your house.

All right, let's go to our last American English pronunciation tip.

Has it ever happened to you that you travel abroad,

and then you realize that you're just meeting people from your own home country?

It's like you're magnetic towards each other.

And this means that common things are attracted to each other, for better or for worse.

So there is a key American English pronunciation point we can talk about with this phrase.

We already talked about the word bird and how it uses that colored "R,"  

And there is another "R" tip in this phrase as well.

Look at the end of the word feather and together.

Here is an -ER, and it's going to be a strong R sound. Feather. Together.

Again, pretend that you are an angry dog and try to make that hard R sound. Feather. Together.

Can you say this wonderful idiom with me?

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5 Secrets of American English Pronunciation: Advanced Pronunciation Lesson

pronunciation

phrase

procrastinate

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