How to pronounce LITERALLY in American English | American Accent

I literally use literally in every other sentence.

Hey, it's Hadar

and this is the Accent's Way.

And today we're gonna talk about the word literally.

Literally is one of those literally abused words

in the language

because people use it, not only when they need to use it,

but also as a filler word,

which is a valid reason for us to practice it

to say it correctly, literally.

Let's start with the first syllable.

You start with an L-sound and then it's i as in sit,

it's not lee-terally, it's li, li

notice that the L is a little heavier,

it's not super light.

Li, li, but a little heavier,

you engage the back of the tongue.

Li, li, this is the first syllable

and also the primary stress

so it's longer and higher in pitch, Li.

Then the second syllable is a flat T,

which sounds like a D,

lida, da, da,

but it's not a strong D.

It's a very, very light D,

it's a very small tap.

Lida, da, can you hear that?

Lida and a schwa right after,

which is a reduced vowel.

Lida, lida,

and then an R sound around your lips,

bring the tongue up.

Lida rrr,

you have to hear this continuous, tense sound

and then a schwa.

Lida ra, lida ra,

and then you bring the tongue up

for another L, lee,

and then end it with a high E.

Lee, it's a secondary stress

so it's going to be a little longer

than the previous two syllables, the two schwas,

literally, ta da ta ta,

literally.

All right, that's it, I'm literally done.

And I hope this was helpful

and I would literally appreciate it

if you literally shared this entire video

with literally all your friends.

Literally.

Have a great week and I'll see you next week

in the next video.

Bye.

(blooper beep) I literally, literally.

I literally used literally--

literally used literally

in every other sentence.

I can't speak, literally!