OW as in 'go' | American English Pronunciation | vowels

45,791 views ・ 2017-10-26

Accent's Way English with Hadar


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

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Let's talk about the "O" as in "Go".
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Hey guys, it's Hadar and this is the Accent's Way.
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And today we're gonna talk about the O vowel, the O diphthong as in "Go", "No", "Lonely" and "Hotel".
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I can't believe I haven't talked to you guys about it, yet.
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Shame on me, because this is a very important vowel sound for non-native speakers.
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Now, here's the thing. This is not a regular pure vowel.
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It's a diphthong, which means, first of all, it's longer two vowels that are connected.
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This is how you should think about it.
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And second thing, it's about all the changes.
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So you're starting in one point and then you're changing into another.
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So, while you start with a fairly open mouth - 'aw', and slightly rounded lips,
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you close the mouth as you pronounce this sound,
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and push your lips forward to an 'oo' sound.
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'ow'.
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'ow'.
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Try it with me
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Go
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No
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Now, you have to be really loose, it's not so stiff, it's not 'no', 'go'.
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Right? And you don't see a lot of jaw movement here
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You got to loosen your jaw and then close it slightly to the 'oo' sound.
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No
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Go
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Alright. So you want to visualize as if there is a W sound at the end.
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This is the only way you'll actually get to the second sound if you visualize a W sound.
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Low
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Now, some people may pronounce it as a diphthong
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Low, Go, No.
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When it's at the end of the word, but at the beginning of the word
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you may turn it into a quick short "O" sound. And you may say "only" instead of long "O" -
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'o(w)nly'
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Do you hear the difference? It's not 'onli'
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it's 'o(w)nly'.
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It's not 'don't',
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it's 'do(w)nt'
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A long diphthong.
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It is not 'wont',
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"I 'wont' do it",
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It's 'wo(w)nt'
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'wo(w)nt'.
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Now, I already made a video
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specifically about the difference between "won't" and "want",
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and if you tend to confuse these two I highly recommend you to watch it.
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And as you can see here, it's very important to reach the W sound.
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Otherwise, it's going to be perceived as a different sound.
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So again: 'wow'.
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Get to the W sound, create change, hear the difference between the beginning and the end of the same vowel.
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'wow'
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'wo(w)nt'
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'do(w)nt'
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'co(w)ld'
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It's not 'cold'
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'co(w)ld'
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'Scro(w)ll'
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Not 'scroll',
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'Scro(w)ll'
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So it has to be a little longer.
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'ho(w)-tel', and not 'hahtel'
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or 'hotel'.
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'how', 'how', 'how-how-how',
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Merry Christmas
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'ho(w)-tel'
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Quick "O", but still it's a long vowel.
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All right, so visualize the W.
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Give yourself the time, so make it a longer vowel,
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double the length of what you might be used to.
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And start open, so you have where to go.
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So you can actually close it throughout the pronunciation.
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'ow'
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Now if you want to practice this sound and the only way to
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really make a change and the only way to own a new sound is by practicing
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drilling words, phrases, and sentences, and
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developing muscle memory. And then
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it's just gonna be there for you when you're speaking,
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cause it's very difficult to think about those things when you're trying to make conversation.
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So I prepared a practice sheet for you guys with words and sentences
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that have the "O" as in "Go" sound and a recording of me, so you can actually drill the words
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until you get used to the new pronunciation and remember to insert that extra W after the O.
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That's it. Let me know in the comments below how you're doing,
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and if you have any questions about this sound.
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And if you don't then I'll just see you next week, in the next video.
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