A short pronunciation tutorial (YouTube video) by Hadar Shemesh explaining the difference between the American English words 'her' and 'hair'. The speaker demonstrates articulatory details (H onset, timing of R, presence vs. absence of a distinct E vowel), gives examples and practice phrases, and contrasts the sounds in minimal pairs.
Chapters
Hi, it's Hadar. And this is the accent's way, your way to finding clarity, confidence and freedom in English. Let's talk about her. Hair. Or more specifically the word her and the word hair. If they sound the same when you say them, this video is for you. Let's begin with the word her.
Her.
So we begin with an H sound. So release air. It's like you're whispering. And then you shift directly to the R. Her. To make the R, bring the tongue up round your lips. The sides of the tongue should be touching the upper teeth.
Her. Her.
So although there is an E there, you don't hear an E vowel sound. It's not hair. This is hair.
Her. Her.
It's like when you say the word hurt. Hurt without the T. Her.
Her.
Tell her. Teller. The word hair does have an E sound there and you gotta hear it. So we begin with an H. Release the air and then open it to an E sound. Here you want to wait with the R. You don't want to pronounce the R before you hear the pure vowel, the E vowel only. Then you bring the tongue up for the R. Ha. And round your lips just a bit. Hair.
Her.
Here your lips are rounded right from the beginning because you go to the R directly. Her. And hair. Look at her hair. I love her accessories. I love hair accessories. Do you hear the difference? Her. Hair. Alright, that's it. Thank you for watching. Go practice to make your pronunciation perfect. And don't forget to subscribe if you haven't yet. I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.
