English: How to Pronounce CH [ʧ] and JJ [ʤ] Sounds: American Accent

The CH and JJ consonant sounds. These two sounds are paired together because they take

the same mouth position. CH is unvoiced, meaning only air passes through the mouth, and JJ

is voiced, meaning, uh, uh, jj, you're making a sound with the vocal cords. These consonants

have a stop consonant component, but unlike stop consonants, they're always released.

The stop consonant is when the front part of the tongue raises and touches the roof

of the mouth in the front in the T/D tongue position. The mouth takes the position of

the SH and DJ sounds, where the teeth are together, the corners of the lips are in,

and the rest of the lips are flared. Ch, jj. So the tongue will move up and press the roof

of the mouth, air builds up, and when the tongue releases, the air comes through, ch,

jj, making the sound. Here is the sound on the right, compared with the mouth at rest

on the left. Notice how the lips in this sound come away from the face. Here parts of the

mouth are drawn in. The soft palate is raised in this consonant sound. Notice how high the

tongue reaches. It presses against the roof of the mouth before pulling away to release

the air. The ch/jj sounds. Sample words: char, jar, chump, jump. Sample sentence: I was on

the edge of my seat watching each match of the major tournament. Now you will see this

sentence up close and in slow motion, both straight on and from an angle, so you can

really study how the mouth moves when making this sound. I, with the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong,

lips circle into the W, was. On the edge, now here we have the jj consonant sound. Watch

the lips as the teeth come together. Of my seat. Lips pull wide for the 'ee' as in 'she'.

Watching, lips make the W. Ch, here is the ch sound. Watch the lips. Each, lips pull

wide for the 'ee' as in 'she' and again, the ch. Match, again it ends in the ch consonant

sound. Of the major, with the jj consonant sound, jj. Tournament. Lips together for the

M, tongue up for the N position, and the T. And now from an angle. I, with the 'ai' as

in 'buy' diphthong. Was on the edge, watch the jj sound. Jj. Of my seat, corners of the

mouth pulled wide for the 'ee' as in 'she'. Watching, lips make the W. Watch-, here's

the ch sound. Watching. Each, corners pull wide for the 'ee' as in 'she', and now form

the ch. Match, again ends in ch. Of the major, watch for the jj - there we are - major, tournament.

Lips together for the M, tongue up to make the N, and the teeth together for the T. That's

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