Hadar Shemesh breaks down how to say little, a little bit, and just a little in American English. The trick: use a light L instead of dark L, relax the vowel, and let the T sound like a quick D. Practice with real sentences like ordering apple juice or coffee.
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Hey, what's up? It's hadar. And this is the accent's way. Today we're going to talk about how to pronounce the phrase a little bit.
Just a little bit. A little bit.
We begin with an L sound. It's not a super heavy dark L. Little. Right. If you find yourself prolonging it and making it too dark, then lighten it up a bit. But it shouldn't be too light, like li Little. No, somewhere in between. Bring the tip of the tongue up and engage the back of the tongue L. L, L, not lu. It's too much L. Then we have the relaxed I as in sit, kid and fish. It's not an E. It's not an E. It's somewhere in the middle I. Li, li, Li. Like in the word lift or listen or lips. Okay.
Li.
Then comes the tricky part, which is the flap T, a schwa and a dark L. But the T between two vowels in American English is flat. So it does sound like a D. It's not lido. It's not a dark D. It's this very light, light D sound that actually sounds like a R sound, like a Spanish R. L in a word that is not ending with a dark L. Like, literally. Maybe it's a little easier, but because we have the dark L, it's hard to transition between that flap T to the dark L. Little. And this is why I want to give you this trick that usually helps most of my students. Think of the T as a D. Think of the schwa as an O, and think of the L as a W. If you're a Portuguese speaker, then don't listen to what I just said, because you definitely need to pronounce the l at the end. Okay. Just saying. So. Li. Duh. O.
Little, Little.
Now, when you pronounce, it's not really lid o, but think as if you're.
Wanting to say litto.
Liddow. I just said L. I D, O W Liddow. Right. That's the direction I want you to go in. Little. And to that, add that pull in the back of your tongue that creates the dark L. Little. That's the dark L, which is very similar to the W sound, but it's different.
Little, little, little, little.
Remember that D sound and remember to add an O sound because that O helps you to lead into the dark L. Although there isn't an O there really. It's a schwa. But the schwa with a dark L sounds to us like an O sounds like. Sound like a neutral O sound that.
Many languages use little, little, little.
Now, let's use this word in different phrases, like a little bit, a little bit. So we start with a schwa for the a little bit. And then we move on to the word bit.
A little bit. A little bit.
Let's add to that the word just in the beginning.
Just a little bit.
Now I'm saying it slowly, deliberately.
Just a little bit. Just a little bit.
But the word just is tricky. It's usually reduced. And when the T appears after an S, it is a little flaky, so you don't always hear it. In this case, you can drop the T. Don't tell anyone I said that. But you can sort of drop the T and connect it quickly to the next word.
Just a little bit. Just. Just a little bit. Just a little bit.
I did not pronounce it, and it wasn't clear whether I'm pronouncing it or not. I mean, technically it should be there, but a lot of people just drop.
It just a little bit. Just. Just a little bit.
You should and can pronounce the T.
Just a little bit.
But I think it's harder to add a consonant to everything that is already going on in the word little. I mean, you can cheat.
Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Just a little bit.
And remember, it's not ja just, but it's a reduced vowel.
Just. Just.
Just.
Just a little bit.
We can also use the word little in the phrase a little bit of.
A little bit of. A little bit of. A little bit of.
So the T in the bit turns into a flap T, bit of. Another sound. Right? Not bit of, not bit of, bit of. Then a schwa, bit of. And the F is a V, bit of.
A little bit of.
But when the word of appears before a consonant, then we can just drop it to a schwa. So basically, we can just say a little bit of.
A little bit of. A little bit of money, a little.
Bit of wine, a little bit of water, A little bit of time. A little bit of practice time. But notice that when there is a vowel right after, we cannot drop the V. Okay. A little bit of vapple juice. Right. I can't say a little bit of apple juice. It sounds choppy. A little bit of apple juice. But I definitely connect it.
A little bit of apple juice.
I'll take a little bit of apple juice, please.
Just a little bit.
Would you like some apple juice?
Oh, just a little bit.
Just a little bit. Do you take sugar in your coffee?
Oh, just a little bit. Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Thank you. Just a little bit.
So you need to practice it just.
A little bit and then you'll be.
Able to pronounce it clearly and freely. Okay, so now it's your turn. Make up a sentence with a phrase, just a little and post it in the comments below so we can all practice together. That's it. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed the video and I will see you next time in the next video.
