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Hello there!
This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the American R-colored vowel /ɛr/,
as in the word "chair."
You can also hear this sound in words like
"there"-"bear"-"share" or "marry."
We'll be using special phonetic symbols — /ɛr/ — for this sound.
Let's recap what we've learned in the R-Colored Vowels Overview video:
The /ɛr/ is one of the seven American R-colored vowel sounds.
The /ɛr/ is an R-colored diphthong
and it's made by merging the /ɛ/ and the /r/ sounds.
As with all R-colored vowel sounds,
the /ɛr/ is often distorted by non-native English speakers.
The spelling for /ɛr/ could be confusing
as this sound is represented by several different combinations of letters.
Now, let's find out how to pronounce this R-colored vowel.
To make the /ɛr/ sound correctly,
focus on pronouncing two sounds
and making a smooth connection between them.
This is how you do that.
Start with making the /ɛ/ sound.
Partially open your mouth,
slightly spread your lips
and relax them.
Now, let's place your tongue in the correct position for the /ɛ/ vowel.
Push your tongue to the front of your mouth
and relax it.
Raise the middle of your tongue to the roof of your mouth.
The tip of your tongue can be lowered just behind your bottom front teeth.
Next, connect the /ɛ/ to the /r/ sound with a long gliding movement.
Slightly round your lips.
Curl back the tip of your tongue.
Now, slightly lower the center of your tongue
and raise its back.
Your tongue should be tensed.
Now, let's color the /ɛ/ with the /r/ and blend the two sounds together:
Let's talk about the most typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing the /ɛr/ sound.
Number one.
Many non-native English speakers reduce the /r/ sound in the /ɛr/ vowel.
This would be fine in British English,
but an American accent requires the /r/ to be pronounced.
So, if you reduce the /r/,
your American /ɛr/ sound will be distorted
and it may lead to misunderstandings.
Compare:
Number two.
Some non-native speakers pronounce the /r/ in the /ɛr/,
but they trill it.
Remember,
Americans never trill their R-colored vowel sounds.
Compare:
How do you avoid trilling?
The tip of your tongue should never touch the alveolar ridge
when you pronounce the R-colored sounds.
Remember,
both sounds in the R-colored vowels are equally important.
Don't reduce the /r/
and avoid trilling it!
Now, let's practice the /ɛr/ sound in some words.
This is how it works.
You'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.
Like this.
You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.
Make sure you complete this part
and practice as many words as possible.
This is the only way to improve your American accent.
Let's begin!
You're done!
Congratulations!
BTW, did you know that the /ɛr/ sound is represented by at least eight (!) combinations of letters?
Take a look:
Most often,
the /ɛr/ sound is represented by 'ar' as in "scare" or "parent."
Less often,
by 'er' as in "very' or "there,"
and 'air' as in "air" or "pair."
There are quite a few words with 'arr'
as in "carrot" or "arrow,"
and 'err'
as in "cherry" or "merry."
In some words
these three combinations are pronounced as /ɛr/:
'ear' as in "wear" or "pear,"
'eir' as in the word "their"
and 'ur' as in "bury."
While several of these combinations of letters represent the /ɛr/ sound in some words,
they may also represent other R-colored vowels in other words.
We know, it's confusing,
but that's how English works.
Click Like if you liked this video!
BTW, did we say that we like your comments?
A few months ago we got a comment from Lan:
"Thank you for great videos.
Do you want your videos to have Vietnamese subtitles?
I can do that."
Guess what?
We now have subtitles in Vietnamese for the most of our videos.
Thank you, Lan!
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Video info
VocabularyR-Colored Vowel Sound /r/ as in "chair" American English Pronunciation
The /ɛr/ is a tricky sound to learn. First, it’s often confused with other R-colored vowels, such as /ɝ/ and /aɪr/. Second, the spelling for the /ɛr/ sound is.. well, it's often inexplicable, as this vowel is represented by eight different combinations of letters. Here are just a few examples: 'ar' as in "scare", 'er' as in "very', 'air' as in "pair", 'arr' as in "arrow", 'err' as in "cherry".
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