266. Learn how to pronounce the months of the year

Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar, and this is episode number 266. Today we're going to learn how to pronounce the months of the year. I wonder, as you were listening to the intro of the podcast, if what you were more concerned about than how to pronounce the actual months of the year was to how to pronounce the word months. Did you just repeat the word months? Wondering what to do with that? Th. If the answer is yes, then you should definitely keep listening, because I do talk about how to pronounce the word months or months. Both pronunciations are valid. So, yes, today we're going to talk about how to pronounce the months of the year. And here's the thing about these very common words, words that we use on a regular basis, like months and days and numbers and words like house and dog and me. We don't think about their pronunciation anymore because we use them so often. And a lot of times we get attached to a certain pronunciation that we may have learned in school or that we have gotten used to pronouncing it a certain way before learning more about pronunciation or before becoming more attentive to pronunciation. Honestly, I think it's one of the first things I remember from school. That and the days of the week when I first started learning English. I think it was like fifth grade or something like that. And I remember learning a song that was supposed to teach us the months of the year, and it went something like this. I'm gonna mess it up. But bear with me, I haven't sung this in 30 something years. January, February, March and April, May, June, July and August, too. And then. And I so vividly remember the sound of my teacher, the voice of my teacher going up and squeaking. September, October, November, December. These are the months of the year. Okay, at least I learned something valuable. So that's when I learned how to pronounce the months of the year. Of course, that was not the pronunciation back then because I learned it with a very distinct Israeli pronunciation pronunciation. But either way, like, we learned it in school, and then we get attached to the pronunciation and then it's really hard to change. But then sometimes there are different nuances that we don't notice anymore because we're so set on a certain pronunciation now. It may not affect your clarity whatsoever. Then it's your choice if you want to change it or not. But if you're clear, then good for you. But sometimes it may make you feel uncomfortable because you might avoid saying Certain dates or you just become a little self conscious every time you need to say a certain date. And then it's important to learn these things. And maybe sometimes you're pronouncing a month the name of a certain month and it's not clear. And then I would definitely recommend focusing on the sounds that people expect to hear. And that's what we're going to talk about today. And I hope you enjoy it. Let's listen.

Oh, my birthday. My birthday is in February. February. You know, March. So the month before that, how to pronounce the months of the year. Today we're going to talk about the 12 months and how to pronounce them effortlessly and clearly. But before that, let's talk about how to pronounce the word months. There are actually two ways to pronounce this word. The first way is the proper way. You start with an M sound, then the as in cup. Then you bring the tongue up for the N. You stick the tongue out for the th. It's a soft th. Allow the air to pass. And then you bring the tongue back in for the S. Months. Months. However, since it is a very difficult transition and I'm sure that you are feeling it right now in your tongue, you can drop the th. You can totally drop it and it's going to sound just fine. Months. Months. Most people pronounce it like that.

Months.

But before we go into the months, if you are new to my channel, then hi and welcome. I'm so happy that you're here. My name is Hadar. I'm a non native speaker of English. I'm a pronunciation coach and I'm here to help you speak English with clarity, confidence and freedom. And you can come on over and check out my website, hadarshemish.com or where I have a bunch of resources for you to study and practice on your own. Or you can follow me on your favorite social platform where I share daily content. All right, so let's talk about the months of the year. The first month is January. January. You start with a J sound. Then it's the A as in cat, J, J, an N sound and the Y gen U transition to an U sound and then e ry an E sound, an R and an E. January. January. Primary stress is on the first syllable. Even the A sound at the beginning leans towards the E. January. Because there is an N right after and the A as in cat before an N changes a little bit to an sound. J. January. January. The president will take office in January. The next word is February. A few months ago, I released a video with how to pronounce the word February, and it has gotten over 10 million views on Facebook. And the reason why is because people really didn't like how I was teaching this word because I was teaching the American pronunciation that has a shortcut and makes it easier for people to pronounce. So let me teach you the two different ways to pronounce this word. Now, by the way, there are more than two ways, but I'm going to teach you two ways that you can choose how to pronounce. The first is February. You start with an F sound. Then it's the es in red.

Fe.

You close your lips for a B. Feb. Then R. An R sound in a tense. Ooh. Febru. And then airy, like the ending of January. February. Now, when you transition from an U sound to an E, a back high vowel to a front vowel, what you get is an intrusive sound that sounds like a W sound. Listen. February. February. So maybe that would help you pronounce the U sound more clearly. February. Now, you can drop actually the first R and pronounce it as Feb.U with A. Yeah. Instead, February. This is what some people didn't like. February. You choose whatever is easier for you. You're going to be clear in both ways. February. February. My birthday is in February. March. Short and sweet. You start with an M sound, then it's the ah, as in father. Ma. Then you bring the tongue up for the r. Mar. And then you wrap it up with a ch sound, a T, and a sh. March. March. Make sure you don't bring the tongue up for the R too quickly, because then it's going to sound like merch, which is a different word. March. March. I have an important conference in March. Next we have April. April. The A is pronounced as a, as in day. A. A. It's a diphthong, a changing vowel. So you want to hear it shifting from E to e. A, A. Then we have a P sound. Ape. And then you wrap it up with roll, an R sound, a schwa, and an L. Roll. And April. April. April. Let's go on vacation in April. April. May is probably the easiest month to pronounce. You start with an M sound, then it's the A, as in day. May. Start with an E, then shift to an E. Not my, but May. May. Yes, you may visit me in May. June starts with a J sound, then the oo, as in food, and it's a long vowel. So make sure you round your lips. Jew. And then close it with an N. June. June. I'm not available in June. I'm going to be too busy. June, the month July also has several pronunciations. The American pronunciation is either a j sound than the as in cook, look and book. Juh. Juh. And then lie, an l sound, and then the I as in my ju lie. But a lot of people drop the first vowel to a schwa. J, J, J. July. July. Which one is easier for you? July. July. In British pronunciation, by the way, you'll hear more of an ooh sound. July. Ju, ju, ju. But a quick one. July. July or July. On July 1st, I'm flying to New York. August has two syllables. The first one is Aug, as in father.

Ah.

You can also round your lips to something more rounded, like the daughter vowel. Ah, ah. And then gust. A gu sound, a schwa, an s and a T. Gist. Gist. September has three syllables. The first syllable is sep. Tem.

Right.

Make sure that you raise your pitch a little bit for the primary stress. Septem. And then bur, A b and an R. Bur. Bur. There is no vowel in between. It's not September, but September. September. I can't wait for September. September. October starts with the ah as in father sound. So you want to drop your jaw. Ah, ah, and then a k sound. Ock. Toe is the primary stress. A t sound, then the O as in go. You can make the T a little aspirated so it feels like there is a little H right after octo. Can you hear it? Octo. And then bur. Same ending as in September. October. October. October is my favorite month. October, November. Three syllables as well, same ending. Bur. Here we start with no. No as in I said no. Then them. That's the primary stress. November. November. And then finally we have the month of December. December. You start with a d sound, then it's the E as in sit D, D, D, then SEM. Primary stress. December. December. December is the last month of the year. By the way, when you talk about months, you want to use the preposition in. In April, in January. When you talk about a specific day in the month, you would want to use on. On April 15th. All right, that's it. 12 months. You did it. Let me know in the comments below which one of those months is the hardest one for you to pronounce. Thank you so much for watching. If you like this video, make sure you like it and subscribe if you haven't yet. And come check out my website@hadar shemesh.com where I share with you a bunch of different resources for free to study and practice on your own. Have a beautiful day, and I'll see you next week in the next video. Bye.