Yearly Archives: 2017

• Surf the In(t)ernet

  When the “t” sound comes after the “n” sound, it is often not pronounced. It becomes a silent “t”. The word “Internet” is often spoken as “Innernet”. The silent “t” is especially common in phrases (such as San(t)a Claus), contractions (such as “didn(‘t) it”), and verbs (such as “wan(t)ed”).

• Hello May!

  American English has “glided” vowel sounds. This means there is a slight “w” or “y” sound at the end. (The glides are the “w” and “y” sounds.) The “ay” sound in American English, as in “May”,  is longer than in some other languages and has a slight “y” sound at the end. To sound like […]

• Ideal situation

  The letter “t” is sometimes a “ch” sound, as in the word “situation”. An ideal situation is a standard that seems very good and that which one seeks to attain. What is an ideal situation for you?

• Cherry blossoms

  Cherry trees have been in bloom recently in some parts of the U.S., displaying beautiful blossoms. “Cherry blossom” is a compound noun. Compound nouns are usually stressed on the first base word. A compound noun often means something different than just the individual words put together. For example, a GREENhouse isn’t a green-colored house – […]

• April showers bring May flowers!

  The vowel sound in “showers” and “flowers” is “ow”, as in “Ow! I stubbed my toe!” This is the sound in several common words, such as “about” and “how”. Some non-native speakers say this sound a little like “o”. The “ow” sound is like a combination of “ae” as in “cat” and “o” as in […]