Pronunciation Secret: How to say any word with ‘-tion’

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson, I'm going to teach you a very

easy trick to pronounce words that end with "t–i–o–n". Now, why is this

important at all? Because these words are everywhere. Okay? So, for example:

Have you ever asked anyone for "information"? Have you ever made a

"reservation"? Or have you ever given a "presentation"? If so, you used one of

these very common words that ends with "t–i–o–n". Now, what happens, though?

This spelling is not the way we pronounce it; the spelling is not the

pronunciation in this case.

So, let me give you three simple rules that will help you to pronounce any

words that have this ending. All right? Let's look here. So, the "tion" sound at

the end of words is actually pronounced like: "sh'n". Say it after me: "sh'n".

Like we said in "information", "sh'n". Okay? Next, what we're hearing is that

"sh'n" is very short. It's not "on". Okay? Even though there's an "o–n" in

there, there's no "on" sound. Even though there's a "t" in there, there's

no "t" sound. All right? So, it's pronounced like "sh'n". The "sh'n" is

very short, and fast, and quick. And the stress of the word is always on the

syllable before the "sh'n". Okay? And this doesn't matter how long the word

is.

So, let me show you exactly how it works. It's so easy. Once you see this,

you're like: "Oh, okay. Now I know how to pronounce all these words." All

right? So, I have here words which are two syllables; on this side, three

syllables; on here we have four-, five-, and even six-syllable words. But they

all follow the same rule — okay? — so your life is a little bit easier. Let's

do them together. Okay? So, what we're saying is that the "t–i–o–n", we're

saying it like "sh'n", we're saying it really fast, and we're going to stress

the syllable that comes just before this. So, with two-syllable words, we

can say: "nation". Okay? "Station". You can say them after me. Okay? Get the

rhythm of it. All right? Then it'll start to seem more fun and also easier

to remember. "Station", "mention", "fiction". Good. What's number five? You

say it. Yes. "Option", "junction". Okay? So, these were all two-syllable words —

right? — "nation", and so on.

Now, let's go to the list with three-syllable words. So, for example,

this word: "vacation", "vacation" three syllables. Okay? This one: "location".

But where do we put the stress? Just before the "tion". Okay? So, let's do it

together. Number seven: "vacation", "vacation". All right? Next: "location".

Nine: "election". Ten: "subscription". Okay? Eleven: "emotion". Okay?

"Emotion", even though it looks like a short word, compared to this one, it's

still only three syllables. "Subscription" — longer word, but three

syllables. "Emotion" — three syllables. Okay? And this one: "corruption". Okay?

"rup". So, again: What did we see? Where were we putting the stress? Always just

before the "t–i–o–n", which is pronounced, how? "sh'n". Okay? Great.

Are you ready for some longer words? You can do it now because you've got the

hack, you've got the trick, you've got the secret. Okay? Let's do it. This...

these two are four syllables. Okay? "Competition". So, how do we pronounce

it? "Competition", "competition"? This one: "situation". Very good. These are

five syllables. Ready? So, what's coming here? What's before the "tion"? This,

right? So, let's stress that: "organization". The next one:

"globalization". Okay? Good for you. Good for you, you've got it. Look at

these long words that you're pronouncing so beautifully. All right? And these

have six syllables. All right? Doesn't matter; same rule. All right? So, what's

before the "tion"? "za", so: "hospitalization". I know it's a little

longer. Let's say it again: "hospitalization". Okay? That's where we

put the stress. And the last one: "experimentation", "experimentation".

All right? So, you've got the rules, you practiced them in the words, but most of

the time, you don't usually just going around saying words. Right? You use them

in phrases or sentences. So, next, let's really lock this in by doing some

practice with a few phrases and sentences.

All right. So, we have on the board four phrases, and then some sentences and

questions. All right? So, let's get started. Number one: "An amazing

invention". Good. Okay? Again, you know the rules. Right? What's the rule? The

syllable before the "t–i–o–n", and the "t–i–o–n" is always pronounced how?

"sh'n", "sh'n". Okay? You've got it. Number two: "A little attention",

"attention". Okay? Excellent. Number three: "A thorough investigation",

"investigation". Okay? Good. Number four: "Academic qualifications". Good.

All right? So, these are phrases, but phrases are also sometimes referred to

as what? "Collocations", "collocations". That means expressions and words that go

together. Like, we use these kinds of phrases together, these kind of words

together. Like: "He needs a little attention", or: "That's an amazing

invention", or: "They did a thorough investigation", or: "He has... She has

fantastic academic qualifications". All right? And so on. All right. "He has

academic qualifications as well." All right.

Now, let's look at five to eight. All right? So, these are some sentences and

questions, because that's how you will encounter these words. All right? "We

had a friendly conversation." Good. All right? "We had a friendly conversation."

So, normally, you're not going to stress it as much as I am right now because I'm

doing that just so that you can become really aware of it. We're exaggerating

it a little bit, but in real conversation, you'll still find this

stress. All right? Number six: "Did you make a reservation?" Right? "Did you

make a reservation?" Good. Number seven: "We attended the graduation",

"graduation". Not on the "u"; just on the "a". Sorry. It's a "graduation".

Okay? "We attended the graduation." Good. And number eight: "You gave an

excellent presentation", "presentation". Okay? So, we saw that the rules work all

the time. All right? So, whenever you have words like this. Now, words like

this, that, like these, that end with "t–i–o–n" are called what in grammar?

They're called nouns. All right? You know nouns probably.

So, the rule that I just taught you applies to all of these nouns. All

right? However, here's a little bit extra; a little extra trick. It also

applies when those words change into adjectives or adverbs. Let's look at an

example. Let's start with the noun — all right? — which you already know. What?

"Tradition". Then let's go to the adjective: "traditional"; same stress,

and here: "traditionally". So, what happened? Did the stress change because

the word became longer? No, the stress stayed the same. It's always the

syllable just before the "tion". "Traditional", sorry. "Tradition",

"traditional", "traditionally". All right? Let's try one more. The noun is

what? "Education". What's the adjective? "Educational". And the adverb?

"Educationally". All right? So, that's another neat trick for you to remember.

All right?

So, where do you go from here? You can go to our website to practice a little

bit more. And there, you can do a little quiz. I'm sure you're going to get it

because that was pretty easy, this rule; you just have to become aware of it. And

then little by little, your English starts to improve in these important

ways. And in fact, I've also put together an online course, which does

exactly that. It's an online course which you spend about ten minutes every

day and you correct one little aspect of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, or

anything else — and this way, you're moving forward each day. All right? So,

check that out. I'll put a link in the lesson description for you. Okay? So,

thanks very much for watching. Good for you. Move forward each day. You can do

it. These little changes will make a huge difference in your English. Okay?

And don't forget to subscribe. Bye for now. Thank you for watching.