Hadar Shemesh breaks down how to say colonel: start with a K sound, then R, then the dark L in the second syllable. The word's spelling barely matches how it sounds, which is why it trips people up.
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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.
I have a little story for you. When I was a little girl, we had pirate cable at home.
So I.
So we would get all these American 90s military movies, and I remember myself sitting there hearing them saying the word colonel. Colonel, Colonel, Colonel, Colonel, colonel, Jeffrey. I remember trying to imitate their pronunciation, and I knew that there was an L there, so I would always try to say it really quickly. Colonel, Colonel.
I literally remember myself walking around the house saying this word, trying to make my pronunciation closer to the way they're saying. Was only years later when I found out that the reason why I can't make it the same is because there is no l there. There is no l because in the word colonel there is an R sound. And yes, I know it's weird, but that's the only word in English that is spelled with an L but pronounced with an R. So to say this word, you want to start with a K sound and then bring the tongue up for the R. Ker. Ker. Like the word sucker. Cur. Cur. And then the second syllable is an N sound. So bring the tongue up to touch the upper palate and then pull it back to the L immediately. Null, Null. And it's a dark L, so you want to round your lips just a bit and then create this tension in the back. Null, as you're making the L sound. Null. Colonel, colonel, colonel, colonel, Lieutenant Colonel. And it's a lot easier to say than colonel, colonel, colonel, because that's kind of impossible.
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 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.
