This short YouTube tutorial (by Hadar Shemesh) teaches correct American English pronunciations for five commonly mispronounced words—choir, croissant, squirrel, iron, and Lincoln—using stepwise phonetic breakdowns, articulatory tips (tongue/lips, schwa, dark L), repetition drills, and example phrases. The host closes with a call-to-action to download a 50-word practice sheet on her website and to comment.
Chapters
Hey, guys, it's Hadar. And this is the Accentsway speaking to you from my very new work studio Accent Space. And if you want to find out more, follow me on Instagram Accentsway by hadar. Now let's quit all the chitter chatter and talk about the thing that you all came here for, which is the five words you're probably pronouncing wrong. Five words. Let's get started. Choir. Choir. If I were to read it phonetically, I would probably say something like. But English is not a phonetic language, thank God. Which means that the CH stands for a K sound. Untraditional spelling pattern. But it happens. And then the oi actually represents why. Why? I don't know. That's just how it is. Kwai. Kwai, as in quiet. Quiet. The ending is a Y sound, as in. Yes. A schwa and an R. Your choir. The next word is croissant. Oh, no, wait, sorry, that was French. Dar. I told you, not French. English. English. Okay, the next word is croissant. Croissant. So, yes, I know that for you French speakers, this word may sound like we just butchered it. And yes, that's what happens when you take a word from French and you turn it into English. You have to turn the French sounds into American sounds. So the French are. Turns into r, and then the T that is non existent in French will be pronounced in American English. So you start with a k sound, an r. Ker. Round your lips a little bit, and then a schwa. Cr. Cr. Cr. The second syllable is an S sound. The ah as in father. Saw. Saw, as in I saw you last night. Saw. And. And then you end it with an n and a T. Sand. Croissant. Croissant. The first syllable is really short and the second syllable is long. Croissant. Some people may pronounce the first syllable with a W instead of an r. And another ah sound. Qua. Croissant. Croissant. I think it sounds more like French croissant. So you have croissant or croissant. Both are okay, you can use both. Now go get yourself a piece of croissant. Squirrel. Squirrel. One of the most difficult words in English, and that's because you have three consonants together, an R and an L. It's like almost impossible and everything within the same syllable. Squirrel. But if you break it down, it might get easier. So let's begin with the middle of the word were. Were. Now practice just that. It's just like the word were, as in we were, or the beginning of the word work. W. W. The tongue is down, the lips are rounded and then you bring the tongue up immediately with no break in the middle. Were for the R. Were. Were. Now practice that for a little bit. Were. Were. Were. Were. Okay, so let's put this on the shelf and then start with the beginning, which is three consonants in a row. An S which is produced in the front part of the mouth. And then a K sound in the back. Sk. And then a W sound. Skw, which is the beginning of were. Skw. Squ. Now practice just that. Squ. So now I'm adding the wor that we just practiced a second ago. Squir. That's the beginning of the word. Squir. Squir. The second part is an R sound and a dark L. Roll. Roll. So you round your lips for the R and we can connect it to the previous R. Squir. Roll. For the L. You bring the tongue up, but you're also engaging the muscles of the back of the tongue here to create that dark, deep sound of the dark L. Roll. Imagine like you have an sound between the R and the L. Roll. Roll. And then put it all together. Squirrel. Squirrel. Iron. Iron. Although the R here is before the vowel, it is not iron but irn, as if I earned it. I as in my. And then you have a little Y sound. And then as in earn. Earth. And early I year. Iron. Iron. Now it's the same pronunciation for iron. Iron man, iron maiden and iron throne. But also for I ironed my clothes yesterday. Now that's a lie because I never ironed my clothes. Iron. The final word for today is Lincoln. As in Abram, Lincoln or Lincoln Center. It is not Lincoln or Lincoln. Alright? There is no L and not because it's a dark L and you barely hear it. Just because there is no L, no L whatsoever. The end. Lincoln. You start with an L. Lin with a relaxed is sound. And then it's a K sound, a schwa and an N. Kun. Lincoln. That's it. This was the five words you're probably pronouncing wrong. Was I right? Let me know in the comments below. Were you pronouncing them wrong? Now, if you like this one, you may like the 50 most commonly mispronounced words practice sheet I have on my website. So you can just click on the link below and get it. It's really cute. It's interactive. You click word and then you hear my voice. Technology. Amazing technology. So go to my website and get it and please share it with your friends. If you liked it and you feel that you want them to pronounce these words correctly. Thank you for watching. Have a great, great week and I will see you next week in the next video.
