Words that are hard to say in British and American English

Hello everyone. I’m Vicki and I’m British. And I’m Jay and I’m American.

And we’re back with another 10 words that are hard to pronounce in British and American

English.

Thank you to everyone who has told us about words you find hard to pronounce.

Yeah, that was great. Let’s get going. OK, here’s the first one.

Queue. I don't know. Oh. que, que, que?

That’s funny. This word looks nothing like it sounds.

Yeah, the spelling is so different. Queue. Queue. Queue.

Now they’ve got it right! Yes.

Queue. Queue. But we don’t usually say queue in American

English. When we’re waiting, we wait in line.

And British people wait in a queue. We do it a lot because we’re very polite.

Yeah right. Let’s see what’s next. Iron. Iron. Iron.

Ah, not quite. This words is tricky. In British English, the r is silent.

So you write r but you don't say it? Yes, we say iron. Iron.

Mmm. I think you say it a little differently in American.

Iron. Ah, so you pronounce the r, but it comes after

the schwa. Iron. Iron. Say it with us.

Iron. Iron. Iron. Iron. What’s next?

OK, several people suggested this one. Chocolate. Chocolate.

That’s not right. Yes, it looks like it has three syllables

but it only has two. Chocolate. Chocolate.

They’re good! It has 2 syllables – chock-lit- and the final vowel sound is I, not ay

Chocolate.

Chocolate.

Now I come from Brooklyn in New York and we have a different sound at the start too.

What’s that? Chawklit.

Chawklit. So like chalk? Yeah, chawklit! Chawklit.

Don’t say it like that! Chocolate! OK, what’s next?

Another suggestion from a viewer.

Environment. Environment.

Ah, it’s not veer, it’s vai. Environment.

Environment.

Environment.

You’ve got to get the rhythm right. Vi gets the stress.

EnVIronment Let’s back chain it. Say it with me. Ment

ronment -vironment - environment So that n sound is very weak?

Yes, and sometimes it disappears. Say it with our learners.

Environment. Environment. Environment. Next one?

Yes – this one’s a very common word.

Wednesday. Wednesday.

Not quite. OK, so there’s a question here. Is it three syllables - Wednesday or two syllables, Wednesday?

Wednesday. Wednesday.

It's two syllables. Wednesday.

And remember the first D is silent. Try it!

Wednesday? Wednesday. Wednesday. Wednesday. Next one?

Yep. This one will really get your mouths moving.

Sixth. Sixth. Sixth. It’s really hard!

Errr... Sixthes? Six? Sixth?

It's really hard.

Is it the th sound? Yes, very few languages have this sound. Unfortunately

English is one of them. Sixth. Sixth. After six you’ve got to get your

tongue forward to say sixth sixth

sixth We should make another video about that th

sound. Yeah.

Sixth. Sixth. Sixth. Hey, they were pretty good. Is there an easier

way to say this? Yes. You can cheat. Skip the th sound and

say siks. siks

siks We sometimes say that when we’re speaking

fast. Next one?

Yeah. This comes from a viewer too.

Err tongue.

Tongue. I don't know. The spelling and pronunciation are so different.

Yes. This is your tongue. Tongue. Tongue. So we don’t say tong. It’s tongue.

Yeah. It’s an ^ sound. And there’s no g sound at the end. It’s just ng. It’s in your

nose. ng. Tongue.

Tongue. Say it with our learners

Tongue. Tongue. Tongue. Tongue. OK, the next one’s interesting.

What’s that? Infamous. Infamous. Infamous. Infamous. Infamous.

Ah, they’re all wrong! It’s hard. So what’s the problem here?

The word stress – we say INfamous. Not inFAMous INfamous. It means famous but in a bad way

- not in a good way. Yes, like an infamous killer.

An infamous crime. infamous. Infamous.

infamous The prefix ‘in’ can change the meaning

of a word into its opposite. Like, incorrect is the opposite of correct.

Yes. Independent, indirect, inexpensive. They’re all opposites.

OK, next one? Yeah. Let’s have something easier.

February. February

February. It's very difficult this word for French people. They’re pretty good.

Yes. We can pronounce this word in different ways. We can say the r sound - roo - Feb|roo|ary

or we can make a j sound Feb|you|ary. Feb|roo|ary Feb|you|ary. Oh yeah.

I think most people say Feb|you|ary. It’s a little easier.

February February

Another question. How many syllables does it have?

Feb|you|a|ry – 4 syllables. OK, in British English we also say Feb|you

|ry. Feb|you |ry. 3 syllables. February. So say it however

you like and we’ll probably understand. Chocolate. No, not Chocolate, but February.

That's easy to say. Yes. Now let’s finish with a hard one. OK.

Worcestershire. Worcestershire. Worcestershire. OK. Worcestershire. What is that?

This is the name of a place in England, and it's also the name of this sauce.

It’s hard to say. Oh my god! Worcestershire

She nearly got it right! Yeah, we say Worcestershire (Woostershire).

It’s the name of a county in England, so an area that has its own government. And Worcester

is the name of a town. We have a town called Worcester in Massachusetts

– same spelling and pronunciation. You got it from us.

Worcester Worcester

It’s the same in British and American. But there’s another town in Pennsylvania

called Worcester, so some people might say that. Worcester.

Well what’s this? Well I say Worcestershire sauce.

In British English we drop the shire and just say Worcestershire (Wooster).

Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce.

Would you like some Worcestershire sauce in your tomato juice?

In my tomato juice, yes. We’d like to say a big thank you to all

the English learners who helped us make this video.

They were terrific and such good fun. If you liked it please give us a thumbs

up and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel.

And if there are words you find hard to pronounce in English, please tell us in the comments below,

so we can make a video about them. See you all next week.

Yeah, bye everyone.

Well, what's this?

Well, I say Worces....