465. How to pronounce the 50 states of the USA

Today, I'm going to teach you how to pronounce the 50 states of the United States. We're going to go in alphabetical order and we're going to do it rather quickly. I'll say the word, break it down, and whenever there is an interesting variation, you can bet I will talk about it. But for now, I will teach you the pronunciation that I think is the easiest and the clearest. Let's get started. Hey, you're listening to the Influency podcast. I'm Hadar, your host, a pronunciation expert, fluency coach, and a proud non native speaker. With over 16 years of experience teaching, I am here to share with you all my secrets on how to show up in English clearly with confidence and freedom. On this podcast, I'll provide step by step strategies, lessons, stories and practical tips to keep you inspired and motivated on your English journey. Are you ready? Let's do it. There are several pronunciations for most states. Sometimes it's very nuanced, sometimes it's distinct, sometimes it's regional because the accent, the common accent, or the dialect of that particular state has a different way of pronouncing a state. But for now, I just want to make sure that you, as a non native speaker of English, are capable of pronouncing all of the states correctly and clearly. So you are always understood. Let's get started. First, Alabama, Ala BA MA Primary stress on ba Alabama. Alaska. Stresses on la, Alaska, Arizona, Arizona. Arizona, Arkansas or Arkansas? Arkansas more rounded or Arkansas more open. The S is not pronounced, but there is an interesting story behind it and I'm going to tell you that once upon a time, up until 1881, the pronunciation of the S was noticeable at the end of the word. So it was actually pronounced more like ar, Kansas, Ar Kansas. But the pronunciation of the name of the state of Arkansas with a silent final S was made official in 1881 after a dispute arose between the state's two US senators. Because they had a lot of important things to discuss back then, like the pronunciation of the state. And one of them liked the pronunciation without the S, Arkansas and the other liked the pronunciation with the S AR Kansas. So you now know who won. And actually you can still sometimes hear people saying Arkansas as Arkansas, especially in Kansas, apparently. Next we have California. Every time I say this word, I remember Joni Mitchell's song California, California. I think that's how I learned the pronunciation of this word when I was 12. California, California. You can also reduce the L to a schwa. California, California, Colorado or Colorado. Colorado, Colorado. Rado. Ratto. A lot of times you'll see that the letter A is either pronounced as an A or. Or an. In certain names or names of states. So Colorado or Colorado. Which one do you prefer? The next one is tricky. Connecticut. Connecticut. So it's not Connecticut. Not Connecticut. K, Ne. R. That's a flap. T. If it's hard for you, you can just say a T. K, Nete. Connecticut. Connecticut. Delaware. Pretty easy. Delaware. Okay. Next we have Florida. Or Florida. Florida. Or Florida. Or. Ah, Florida. Florida. Or you can actually say it in one syllable. Florida. Floor. Like the floor. Florida. Florida. Anyway, very subtle. Next we have Georgia. Georgia. I love this name. I really do. Georgia. Georgia. Then we have Hawaii. Hawaii. Hawaii. Okay. And you can even add a glottal stop, like Hawaii. Hawaii. I don't say it like that. I say Hawaii. Hawaii. Huh? Why he. Idaho. Idaho. Stress on the first syllable. Idaho. Illinois or Illinois. Very subtle. Illi I, I noi or illa noy. Illinois. Illinois. Just so you know, the lax sound, when it's an unstressed position, it's usually pronounced as a schwa or a lot of times. So some people might pronounce it as an, and some people might reduce it. That's a phonological process that we see in the names of the states. But it's something that happens in almost all words. When the lax is. Is in an unstressed position, it's not the primary stress of the word. Anyway, I feel bad for the sound, but it is what it is. Indiana. Indiana. So when you shift from the D to the A, it sounds almost like you're adding a Y sound in D. Yeah, yeah. There isn't a real Y sound. But that's what happens when you shift from a front vowel to an open vowel. Indiana. Iowa. Another great name. I, W. And then when you transition from I, wa, it sounds like there is a yes sound there. Iowa. Iowa. Kansas. We've already heard this name before. Can. Yes, I can. Kansas. Kentucky. Kentucky. Stresses on the second syllable, that's a cup sound. Kentucky. It's a bit more open than a schwa sound. K, T, key. Louisiana. Louisiana. And some people might even say Louisiana with a schwa. Very subtle. Both are okay. Louisiana. I think that's easier because of the spelling, just to think of it as an oo sound. But if you hear Louisiana, that's fine. And remember, there are more pronunciations, especially regional pronunciations, but I'm not going to talk about them right now. So if you've heard it pronounced in different ways, let me know how You've heard it pronounced in the comments or if you pronounce it differently, let me know in the comments. There are a lot of variations, a lot of different regional dialects. So this is kind of like the accepted pronunciation or common pronunciation or clear pronunciation that is easy to pronounce for non native speakers. Main. Easy peasy main. And then we have Maryland. Maryland. Some people might pronounce it more with an a sound. Maryland. But when the A appears before an R, people usually shift it to an eh. Maryland. So it's less about the pronunciation of the state, it's more about what happens to the as in cat sound before an R turns into an eh. Maryland. But people usually pronounce it as Maryland. But both pronunciations are okay. How about this? It looks scary, but it's not that scary. Massachusetts. When you see a long word, just always focus on the primary stress. In this case it's chew, chew, chew. And the ending is chew. Sits. She sits down every time she enters the class. Sits, chew. Sits. Chew. Chew on something. And she sits. Chew, sits, chew, sits, chew, sits. Massachusetts. Massachusetts. Massachusetts. Michigan. Michigan. Minnesota. The T is a flap T here. Minnesota, Minnesota. Mississippi. I, I, I, I. Mississippi. Mississippi. The stress is on the second situation. Missouri. Not Missouri. Not Missouri. It's like a Z sound that shifts to the R directly. Missouri, Missouri. Not misery. No, we don't want to feel misery when we pronounce. Missouri. Montana. I've been there once. Montana. Beautiful place, lots of nature. Montana, Nebraska, Nebraska, Nevada or Nevada. Both are okay. Remember what I said. Sometimes when the A is in the spelling, it might be pronounced with an ah sound and sometimes with an ah sound. Ah, Ah. So N, I pronounce it with a schwa. You can also hear it with an E sound. Just pronounce the schwa, it's easier. Ne, Vada or Nevada. Nevada. Nevada. Very good. New Hampshire. New Hampshire. New Jersey. New Jersey. And the new can be pronounced as new as well, with a y. And not just for the name of the state, but also for the word new. Like it's a new idea. New or new. Both are correct. New Jersey, New Jersey, New Mexico. New Mexico. New York. New York or New York. If you're from New York. North Carolina, North. North, North Carolina. And again it's an A. So technically it's the as in cat. Carolina. Carolina. Before an R shifts to an A. Carolina, Carolina. North Carolina. North Dakota. Dakota. North. Practice the Rth there. North. Relax the tongue for the thumb. North Dakota. Ohio. Not Ohio. Oja, but O. Hi, O, O, hi, O. All diphthongs. Ohio. Ohio. Take your time with it, especially if you don't have diphthongs in your first language. Okay. Don't squeeze it into one sound. O, but O. Hi. Oh. Ohio. Oklahoma. Same thing. Oklahoma. Not Oklahoma, but Oklahoma. Oregon. Oregon or Oregon. Also Pennsylvania. Or Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Or I think it's easier to just say Pennsylvania. Nyah. Nyah. Rhode Island. No S. Road. Road. Road. The red road. The yellow road. The yellow brick. Road. Road. Island. South Carolina. Same thing with Carolina here, but you can just choose the S sound. I think it's easier. South Carolina. South Carolina. Dakota. I feel like we're cheating here because we already talked about these states and we just changed from north to south, so it's a little hack here. Tennessee. Tennessee. Texas. Or some people might say Texas. Texas with a lax. I. I usually pronounce it as Texas with a schwa. Utah. Or Utah. Aw with an aw sound. Utah or Utah. Vermont. Vermont. Virginia. Virginia. Washington. Washington. Some people might round their lips a bit more. Washington. But you can just open it up. Washington. West Virginia. You already know how to pronounce Virginia. Wisconsin. Wisconsin. You can also pronounce it with a schwa. At the beginning was Wisconsin. For most of you, it's probably going to sound the same, so it's okay. Wisconsin. And Wyoming. Wyoming. Very good. That's it. We completed all 50 states. But now let's not forget how to pronounce the United States. Let's break it down the With a schwa. United. The T here is a flap T. United. United. The United. The United. And States. States. States. The United States. The United States. United States. United States. All right, that's it. I hope you enjoyed and learned how to pronounce the 50 states of the United States and the word the United States. The United States. And that was helpful. And even if it wasn't, that was a good pronunciation practice because it got you to activate your articulation organs. Remember that you can see the list with the IPA on my website, so click the link below this video or go to hadar shemish.com and look for this blog post. Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next week in the next video. Bye.