How to pronounce 'Strength' and 'Length' | American English

111,000 views ・ 2016-12-13

Accent's Way English with Hadar


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hi, it's Hadar.
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And this is the Accent's Way, your way to finding clarity,
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confidence, and freedom in English.
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Let's talk about the word "strength", "strength" - a lot of consonants.
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So, I have a lot to say about this word, so stay with me.
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We begin with an 'str' consonant cluster - a lot of consonants put together.
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The 's' sound: for that, you bring the tongue up for the S,
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then the T - so you hold the air abruptly, that's the T, all right?
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It's not 'sT', you don't have to hear the pop of the T, you're just
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holding or stopping the S abruptly.
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Now, the tongue is up there for the held T, and then you pull the
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tongue in for the R: 'str', 'str'.
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All right?
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And then you round your lips a little bit, and you have that nice, strong
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tension of the R sound: 'str-'.
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Then you have time to open your mouth for the E as in "red" - 'stre-', 'stre-'.
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And now we start over with another consonant cluster: we
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have the NG consonant sound.
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And then you shift to the TH sound.
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Now, the NG consonant sound is an N that is pronounced in the back of the mouth.
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What do I mean?
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To make an N sound, you bring the tongue up, you block the air in the mouth, and
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then the air comes out through the nose.
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'ng', right?
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An NG consonant sound is where you raise the tongue in the back, all
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right, you block the air in the mouth, but with the back of the tongue, the
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air still comes out through the nose.
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Then you bring the tongue up for the TH.
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Now, in between the NG and the TH there is a very soft K sound.
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Listen: 'stre-ng-k-th'.
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Which allows you some time to prepare before you bring
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the tongue out for the TH.
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Listen again: 'stre-ng-k-th'.
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'stre(ng)kth', 'stre(ng)kth'.
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Now, there is another way to pronounce this word, that is a little easier.
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Where instead of bringing the tongue up in the back for the NG, you just bring
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it up for an N: 'stre-n-th', 'stre-n-th'.
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Now here, because the N appears just before a TH sound, then you can place the
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N on the teeth, preparing for the TH sound - 'stre-n-', and then you are just releasing
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the tongue for the TH - 'stre-n-th'.
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Listen to the two: 'stre-ng-k-th' and 'stre-n-th'.
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Choose whatever works for you.
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One more thing.
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You may hear people pronouncing the STR consonant cluster with a SH sound.
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For example, 'shtrength'.
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It happens often when there is the STR consonant cluster, like
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"street", "strange", "stripes".
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Okay?
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That's also totally fine.
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You choose whatever works for you, these are both okay.
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I personally prefer the STR pronunciation - 'stre(ng)kth'.
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It's a little cleaner and easier for me, but do whatever works for you.
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'stre(ng)kth', 'strenth', or 'shtrength'.
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Okay?
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Good.
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Now, let's talk about the word "length", all right.
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This one is a little easier.
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The ending is exactly the same, but you begin with an L sound.
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Then the 'e' as in "red": drop your jaw, relax your tongue.
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'le-', 'length'.
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strength - length.
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All right, that's it.
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I hope this was helpful.
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So please, practice this word over and over until you feel
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really comfortable with it.
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That's the thing about words with many, many consonants.
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You just have to kinda like know where your tongue is going and for what
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consonant, and then it's a lot easier.
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Have a wonderful week, and I hope to see you next week in the next video.
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And you're welcome to come over to my website, to check it out and get
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more great content every single week.
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Take care, and I'll see you next week in the next video.
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Bye.
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All right, that's it for today.
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Thank God, we're done.
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