How to Pronounce PROBABLY - American English

In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to go over the pronunciation of

the word 'probably'.

This week's Word of the Week is 'probably'. 'Probably' is a three-syllable word, but some

people will reduce it to two syllables. The first syllable is stressed. We begin with

the PR consonant cluster, pr-, pr-. So the lips are together for the P, but the tongue

can already be in position for the R. Pr-, pr-, pro-. The first vowel is the AH as in

FATHER sound. The jaw does need to drop for that: pro-, pro-. The second syllable, unstressed,

proba-, -ba-, is the B consonant, where the lips come together, and the schwa sound. Proba-,

proba-. And the last syllable, the B consonant, and then the LY ending. Proba-bly, -bly. So

the lips come together for the B, and the tongue tip comes up here for the L, -bl-,

-bl-. And then we have the EE as in SHE vowel. Probably, probably.

As I said, some people will reduce this to two syllables, so you might here pro-bly,

-bly, without the middle syllable. Prob-ly, prob-ly. And sometimes you'll hear it without

the B at all: 'prolly', 'prolly', 'prolly'. Both of these reductions are used a lot.

For example: prob-ly: I'll probably be there. Prob-ly, prob-ly.

Or, 'prolly', 'prolly'. I'll probably forget. 'Prolly', 'prolly'.

That's it, your Word of the Week. Try it out yourself. Make up a sentence with the

word, record it, and post it as a video response to this video on YouTube. I can't wait to

watch it.

That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.