How to Pronounce 'Colonel'

1 May 2022 · 1 min

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A short YouTube explanation (by Hadar Shemesh) of how to pronounce the English word "colonel." The speaker breaks the word into phonetic components (initial k-like "ker" with an r-like quality despite the spelled 'l', followed by an n, schwa, and dark l), explains the resulting vowel quality and tension, and notes primary stress on the first syllable.

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Hadar Shemesh.

The word 'colonel'.

Chapters

How to pronounce the word colonel this word is so deceiving, and here's why. You start with a k sound, and then even though there is an l in the spelling, you pronounce it with an r. Ker Ker, as in the word baker. Ker. Kerr that's the beginning of the word colonel. Then we have an n sound, a schwa, and a dark l. Because of the dark l, the schwa sounds like a small o sound. Sound null Null. There's tension here in the back for the dark l null kernel. The ker is the primary stress, so it's longer, louder, and higher in pitch. Colonel lieutenant colonel colonel.