This content was created by Hadar Shemesh. This content was uploaded by Hadar Shemesh. This is a podcast episode titled "187. How to pronounce GIRL" (a How to Pronounce Friday segment) — an English pronunciation lesson recorded January 14, 2022. Host Hadar Shemesh leads listeners through step-by-step phonetic guidance for the word "girl," explaining the G→R onset, the transitional schwa-like vowel, the dark L, and providing examples (girl, girls, girlfriend) and practice tips. The episode includes brief intro/outro voice segments and invites listeners to contact Hadar on Instagram (Hadar Accentsway).
Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar, and this is how to Pronounce Friday, where we take a confusing word or word pair. We learn how to pronounce it and how to use it with confidence. Let's get started.
Hey, guys, it's Hadar. Today we're going to talk about the word girl, like many of you have asked me to do that before. So before we begin, because I have a really, really cool trick for you. I want you to go ahead and eliminate any representation of the written word from your brains. So I'm going to wait here for you to do that. Okay, good. So now that you don't know how to write this word or you don't know how it looks, let's start with a different word. Let's start with the word bigger. Go ahead and say that. Bigger. Now, to make the R sound, which is the key component in this word, you want to bring the tongue up. Remember that there is no contact between the tongue and the upper palate or the teeth. And you want to round the lips. So at the end of the word bigger, you shift from the G sound to the R directly. Bigger. Bigger. Right, because it's not bigger. All right, it's bigger. So what happens is that the back of the tongue goes up to produce the G sound. You block the air in the back with voice. And then as you pronounce the G, the tongue goes up to the middle of the mouth, preparing for the R sound, and you round the lips Gr. Gr. Like when you're saying grate or green. Grr. Grr. Now, that is the beginning of the word girl. Girl. Because there is no vowel between the G and the R. It's like you're about to say great or you're ending the word bigger or sugar. Gr. Okay, so it's not girl. It is definitely not girl. There is no I there. It's. And we already eliminated the representation of this word from your brain, so you don't know how it's spelled, right? So. So again, here it's a G to the R Gr. And then we have the dark L sound. Now, what is the dark L sound? To make the L, the tip of the tongue goes up to touch the roof of the mouth, but when the L appears at the end of the word, it's a dark L. So basically, you're engaging the root of the tongue a lot more. Do you hear that? It's not girl. It's girl. So to get that sound quality, I want you to swallow and make this really Caricature, like sound of swallowing your saliva. You hear that? So when you do that, you engage the root of the tongue, right? So this is the place where I want you to engage when you make the dark L. Okay? So that's dark L. But it's not enough, because before the dark L there is a transitional vowel that leads to the dark L. So after this sound that you now know how to pronounce properly, you shift to an L sound, which is basically like a schwa sound or an as in good L, where the tip, the root of the mouth is engaged like you just did when you swallowed. And then you bring the tip of the tongue up. And you know what? You don't even have to bring the tip of the tongue up if you get that sound quality. So listen to it again. Girl. Girl. So don't try to bring the L immediately after the R. Girl. Girl. You have to stretch the R and then get to that transitional vowel and then bring the L sound. So although there are only three consonants here, okay, like, that's how you should perceive it as three consonants. A G, R, an L. The R is long. And right before the L, there is a transitional sound. Girl. It's a very muffled kind of, like, dark sound. Girl. Girl. And the L is longer. She's a very nice girl, boys and girls. Girls. Also, let's use it in the common phrase. Girlfriend. Girlfriend. I'm going out tonight with a few of my girlfriends. Girlfriends. Girlfriend. Then it's a set phrase, and the word girl is a little higher in pitch. Girlfriend. All right, that's it. Let me know. How's that going? If it's easy for you, and if not, think about what part is most difficult for you and let me know so I can help you out and tell you what else you need to do. Okay?
That was your how to Pronounce Friday episode. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you like the podcast, then consider subscribing to the podcast. And if you feel really crazy, you can even rate and review the podcast. And you can find me at Hadar Accentsway on Instagram, where you can DM me and ask for all the crazy, fancy, confusing words that you'd like to know how to pronounce. Have a beautiful day, and I'll see you next time.
