A short YouTube pronunciation lesson by Hadar Shemesh explaining how to pronounce the phrase “Santa Claus.” The speaker breaks the phrase into sounds, describes vowel reduction (schwa) in unstressed syllables, the possible dropping/flapping of T after N in American English (resulting in Santa≈Santa/winner), and correct pronunciation of ‘clause’ with an /ɑː/ vowel and voiced /z/ ending. The video closes with holiday well-wishes.
Chapters
Hey guys, it's Hadar. And this is the accent's way, your way to finding clarity, confidence and freedom in English. So, holiday season is here. I was thinking whether we should talk about the word Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. But I figure that if we practice Santa Claus, I also have something interesting to say about the T. And that's me. I'm a geek. I always want to connect it to sounds. So. So we're going to practice the word Santa Claus. Plus, I figured even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you may still say the word Santa Claus. So there you go. We begin with an S sound and then it's the as in cat. However, after that there is an N. Alright? And when the A appears before an N, we don't pronounce it as a pure, clean A sa. It's a little milder. Okay. It's kind of like you're transitioning from the A to a schwa. Then it's a T sound, San ta, that you release into a schwa, a neutral sound. Santa. Santa. However, if you watched my video about the American T, you'll know that when the T appears after an N in unstressed syllables, it can drop. So you can also say Santa and not Santa, like you do for center Internet interview and winner. Okay, so you can say winter, but you can also say winner. Same thing for Santa versus Santa. Alright, so that's the first word. The second word, clause, it's a K sound and then the L. So it's a clean, quick transition from the K to the L. Cool. And then it's the ah, as in father claw. So although there is a and U, you don't pronounce it as two vowels. Not clow, it's just one long ah, claw. Then you close it with a Z sound, not an S. It's not Klaus again. Clause, Clause. Santa Claus or Santa Claus. Alright, that's it. Ho ho, ho. So, I hope you enjoyed this. Have a Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, joyous Kwanzaa, or happy whatever you're celebrating. I hope you enjoy your holiday season. And remember, there is no I in holiday. It's a schwa. Have a great week and I'll see you next week in the next video. Bye.
