PRONUNCIATION of English Words with an -ON Ending

Good afternoon.

Good morning.

My name's Ronnie.

I'm going to teach you how to...

Get focus on the camera, okay?

I'm going to teach you some very important pronunciation.

Pronunciation, pronunciation.

And the point of me teaching you this is-magic-how to sound more natural when you speak English.

So, you understand; you know that pronunciation in English, I think is the most difficult

because it's just crazy, isn't it?

You see a word written, but the way that it's actually said is completely different.

We have silent letters; we have letters that make a whole new word, a whole new sound.

So, let me teach you something that will help you, and it's all about one of my favourite

things in the word: Food.

Who likes food?

I like food.

Food is essential for living, so this lesson is essential for you.

I hope you're not hungry; maybe you will be after this.

So, our first word is: "bacon".

Right?

"Bay-kin", not: "bacon"?

No.

Check this out.

"Bacon".

"Bay-kin", "bacon", "bay-kin".

What is going on, Ronnie?

What's going on is the...

All of these words that I've written on the board actually end in "ion" or "on", but we

pronounce them like: "in".

So, we don't say: "bacon"-unless you're a French Canadian-we say: "bay-kin".

So, if I was to write this phonetically, which means how it sounds, I would write: "bay-kin".

Bacon is delicious.

It's got a lot of fat, a lot of calories - that's what makes it so tasty.

It comes from a pig, and it's the tummy of a pig.

Pig tummy.

Delicious bacon.

Bacon.

Bacon.

So, next one.

This is a crazy one as well because we have a silent "l", and as our lesson will follow,

we don't say: "mon", we say: "min".

So, this word-it's a fish and the inside of the fish is orange or pink-is called not:

"salmon"; it's actually called: "samin".

So, it looks like "salmon", but it's "samin".

So, so far we have: "bacon" and "salmon".

Next, it's a vegetable.

It smells bad; it makes you cry, if you cut it.

And this is not: "onion"; it's actually: "un-yin".

So you want to say: "onion", but we're like: "No.

I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to say: 'un-yin'."

Oh, that's just crazy.

Bear with, okay?

It gets more fun.

The next one is: "lemin", not: "lemon"; "lemin".

This is actually a little more easier.

Now, the other thing that you guys have to be aware of is "lemon" is yellow, and it's

big.

Okay?

In a lot of your countries, you say: "leemon", and "leemon" actually in English we call "lime".

Uh-oh.

So, a lemon is big and yellow; and a lime-which is actually the spelling; it's pretty cool-is

actually small and green.

So, in your language, maybe you mix those up.

But never fear.

Lemons are yellow; limes are green.

Another delicious fruit is a "melon".

Not: "melon"; "melin".

And in the world we have many different kinds of melon; we have watermelon that has nothing

to do with water, and we have muskmelon, dew melon, honeydew melon, queen melon, king melon

- so many melons; we're not going to get into them.

But the pronunciation is: "melin", not "melon".

Another thing that we have that you probably maybe have never seen this word before, it's

called "mutton".

Mitten?

Don't eat the mittens.

"Mutton".

"Mutton" is basically a sheep.

So, maybe you have heard of the word "lamb".

"Oh, Ronnie, you forgot the 'b': 'lamb'."

It's not "lam-b"; it's "lam".

So, basically: "lamb" and "mutton" are the same thing; they're both sheep.

The difference is a lamb is a baby sheep, and a mutton is an older sheep; a teenager.

So, you're eating the teenager or you're eating the baby.

Do you eat babies?

Do you eat baby lamb?

Do you eat baby sheep?

Cool.

Do you eat "lye-in"?

Not: "lion".

It should be.

Look at: "li-on".

Oh, no, in English - no.

I'm sorry, we say: "lye-in".

"Lion".

Have you ever eaten lion?

Me neither.

I would.

I think they're beautiful, but I would eat them.

Damn, I would eat anything, really.

Maybe anything.

The next one.

Maybe you guys are confused about why I have "lion" written on the board - it was a joke.

But the next one is not a joke at all.

And this word, it looks like: "pig-eon".

And you say: "Ronnie, is that a pig?" and I say: "No.

A 'pigeon' is a bird."

Okay?

A lot of people don't like pigeons; they think that they're dirty...

Or all birds are dirty; all animals are dirty.

Do you know that you're an animal and you're dirty?

Take a shower.

Okay?

After you finish this lesson.

So, a pigeon is a kind of bird.

And actually, I have eaten pigeon; tastes like chicken - it's delicious.

But let's go back to the hate for the pigeon for a second.

The pronunciation is: "pi-", maybe like: "pi-gin", like the drink.

And what colour are pigeons for you?

Grey.

Oh yes, you're right, they're grey or black.

Well, maybe they're black.

White.

Sorry, a white pigeon?

What?

Do you like doves?

Aw, doves are so beautiful; they're the bird of peace.

And the soap - not dirty birds at all.

Well, guess what, people?

Pigeon and dove are exactly the same.

Earth-shattering news.

Pigeon and dove are the same bird.

The only difference is one is grey, one is white - don't be racist against your delicious

food.

Pigeon.

Next one is a drink.

"Bourbon" is a kind of whisky.

It's from America.

You guys might know Jack Daniels, or we say in slang: "JD".

"I'd like a JD and Coke, please".

"Bourbon" is a kind of whisky, and we don't say: "bur-bon", we say: "bur-bin".

One of my favourite things in the world is a spice, and it's called: "cinnamon".

Not: "cinnamon"; "cinnamin".

Cinnamon is a really, really common spice in cooking all over the world.

It has a very wonderful heat to it.

It's not spicy; it's just very warm.

And it is brown.

It comes from a tree.

It's the bark of a tree.

So, we don't say: "cinnamon"; we say: "cinnamin".

And I have spelt "bourbon" wrong; it's actually: "b-o-u-r-b-o-n".

But the pronunciation, again, would be: "bur-bin", so I wrote how I think it should be spelt.

Right?

Bad, teacher, Ronnie.

You got to write things properly!

Spelling.

So, the pronunc-...

The spelling of this word, this alcoholic drink, is called: "bourbon", but this is the

pronunciation: "bur-bin", okay?

So it's: "bourbon", but it's: "bur-bin" is the pronunciation.

Are these any new words for you?

Are these words that you've never seen before?

If they are new words and you're not too sure, go and find a dictionary, or go in your cupboard,

go to the supermarket, and try to find these.

Some of them are very delicious, like dove.

Aw, dove is delicious.

When it's on your plate, you don't know if it's a dove or a pigeon.

You were like: "Was this a white one or a grey one?"

It doesn't matter.

Along with food, I'm going to teach you some words that have to do with actually eating.

So, the first one maybe you wear every day; maybe you don't; maybe your grandmother wears

one; maybe your grandfather wears it - but this is called an "apron".

Not an "apron"; an "aprin".

So, an "apron" is basically some kind of material that covers your clothes when you're cooking.

So probably you spill stuff on your clothes, so what you're going to do is you're going

to wear an apron to make sure your clothes stay clean when you're cooking.

"Apron" changes to "aprin".

Okay.

The next word we have...

Uh-oh, I'm kind of guilty of this one.

It's one of the seven deadly sins, and it's called: "glutton" or "gluttony".

"Glutton" means you eat everything.

Yum, yum, yum, yum - all the time.

So, for example: Oo, yesterday I went to a very big store and I bought a large amount

of blueberries.

I love blueberries, and I think that I ate maybe half of the massive container of blueberries,

so I was a glutton.

A glutton means you're greedy, and you eat, eat, eat, eat, eat until you explode.

Now, obviously I didn't explode, but it made my eyes turn blue, because I ate blueberries.

So, "gluttin" actually sounds like this; not "glutton".

So, "glutton" means you eat too much.

Maybe you eat too much chocolate, or potato chips, or...

What's one food you eat too much of?

Tell me.

Let me know.

You will see this word a lot in restaurants, if you travel to English-speaking countries.

Countries.

It's a word that they like to use to make you understand that their food is just not

from one country, and this word is: "fusion".

So, you look like it says: "fu-sion".

Oh, I'm going to have some Asian fusion food; but it's actually: "few-jin", "few-jin".

So it sounds like: "few-jin".

"Fusion" means a mix of foods together.

So, you might have, like, African fusion food, or Asian fusion food, so it means that it's

from different part of Asia; so Thai food mixed with Indian food - that would be delicious.

Thai food mixed with Chinese food would be fusion.

And actually, this would be: "few-jin".

This next word...

Hmm.

Do you know this word?

It's very strange.

This word, you probably know the word "lunch".

"Lunch" is what we usually eat at about 12 o'clock or mid-afternoon meal, but a "luncheon"...

Yeah, look it.

So it sounds like: "lunch-in", not: "luncheon".

A "luncheon" is basically a lunch party.

Oo!

So it's basically you invite a lot of friends; you have a lot of food; maybe you drink a

little - it's lunchtime.

So: "luncheon" is basically a big lunch party; sounds like fun.

This word is something that I have, and it's called "passion".

So, it actually sounds like this...

If I was going to spell it, I'd spell it like this.

I'd spell it: "pash-in".

"Passion" means you have a strong love or strong feeling for something.

So, I can say: "I have a passion for food.

Blueberries.

I have a passion for teaching you English.

I love it."

You can have a passion for anything; whatever you love to do, it's your passion.

What's your passion?

But be careful, it's not: "passion"; "pashin".

This is a really important word as well when we're talking about food, this word is "nutrition".

So, it sounds like this: "new-trish-in".

Hmm.

"Nutrition", "nutrition".

No.

It's: "new-trish-in".

So, "nutrition" basically means the diet that you are eating.

Now, "diet" doesn't mean the restriction of food, like: "I'm on a diet; I can only eat

100 blueberries".

"Diet" means the food that you actually eat.

So in your country...

Every country would have a different diet.

Example: When I was growing up, my diet was: Every day meat and potatoes, and vegetables.

The next day, oo, guess what I could have?

I could have potatoes, and then meat and vegetables.

Thanks, Grandma, for making me so many potatoes; I love it.

I'd like some rice every once in a while, though.

So, your nutrition is based upon your diet.

The nutrition means the vitamins and minerals you get from your diet.

Is your diet healthy?

If your diet is healthy, you would have a high nutrition; if your diet is not good,

you would have a very low nutrition.

So if you eat junk food or fried food-the delicious stuff-probably you have a very bad

or low nutrition.

Uh-oh.

Do you guys know this word?

"Addiction".

Mm-hmm.

Whoa, I almost fell.

So, some people...

This is a noun.

Some people have an addiction to food.

Mm-hmm.

So, we don't say: "addiction"; we say: "addicshin".

So, actually, this sounds like "shin" at the end, which is even crazier.

An "addiction" means something you cannot stop doing.

But then you think: "Ronnie, that's ridiculous.

Of course I can't stop eating; I have to eat to live."

But there's a problem with it.

If you're addicted to something, it means you can't stop doing it to the point where

it is unhealthy.

Of course you need to eat, but if you eat too much or you eat really, really bad food;

or you have to eat chocolate every day - you might have an addiction to chocolate.

People can be addicted to alcohol, people can be addicted to drugs; anything that you

do that is actually unhealthy.

A little bit - no problem.

Next word is: "digestion".

"Digestion" means the process of eating and then going through all the wonderful places

of your body, and then coming out at the end.

Okay?

So, digestion is the system of eating and the food leaving your body - not to get technical.

So, this word, it looks like: "dig-est-ion", but it's: "die-ges-chin", "die-ges-chin".

Oh, there's a "chin" at the end - woo-hoo.

So, this is: "die-ges-chin"; your digestive system.

And maybe you're not good at cooking, so you're going to take a cooking...

Not "less-on".

You're going to take a "cooking less-in".

So, a cooking lesson will teach you how to cook.

If you want to give me a cooking lesson, I'm up for that; but please don't teach me how

to cook potatoes or anything boiled, because I've been doing that for years.

And the last word is: "region".

Hmm.

It looks like: "region"; it's actually "regin".

So, "region", the pronunciation would be like: "re-gin", is basically the area.

So, in your country, I guarantee each region or each area of your country will have different

foods.

For example, if you go north, maybe it's spicy; or if you go south, maybe it's not as spicy.

I don't know, but I'd like to know.

I'll come to your house - feed me some food; it'll be great.

So, depending what region you live in, depending what food is available will depend on what

your diet is.

So, what I'm going to do, because pronunciation is so important, I am going to go through

these words a little bit faster, and you can repeat so that your pronunciation is perfect,

and sounds very natural.

So, let's go.

Delicious.

Bacon, salmon, onion, lemon, melon, mutton, lion, pigeon, bourbon, cinnamon; apron, glutton,

fusion, luncheon, passion-dunh-dunh-dunh-dunh-nutrition, addiction, digestion...

Sorry, that sounded weird.

Digestion, not: "die-gestion", don't say it like that.

Digestion, cooking lesson, and region.

So, if you want to teach me how to cook any food from your countries, I am more than open

to get recipes, and maybe I'll share some with you.

Do you guys like boiled meat?

I'll share some Scottish recipes.

As an ending, my family...

My grandmother was born and my grandfather was born in Scotland.

Have you...?

Have you ever been to a Scottish restaurant?

So maybe you're travelling not in Scotland or anywhere in the world, and you've got...

Especially in Toronto, you've got Mexican food, you've got Persian food, Lebanese food,

Italian food, Mexican food - food from all over the world, and I think: "Damn, why is

there no Scottish food?"

Do you know why?

It's terrible.

It's not bad, but it's terrible.

People just don't pay for it.

They're like: "I don't want some boiled meat and potatoes; I can make that at my house."

Thanks, Gran, for cooking.

Bye.