Monthly Archives: January 2017

• Martin Luther Ki”ng” Jr. Day!

  The “ng” sound in “King” is one sound. It does not have a “n” sound or a “g” sound. Instead it is a different sound altogether. Some nonnative speakers add a hard “g” sound, saying “King-g” instead. To make the “ng” sound, the back of the tongue hits softly against the throat. To make the […]

• Joyous Jan(y)u(w)ary

  The word “January” is spoken as “Jan(y)u(w)ary”. In American English, we link two vowel sounds together with a “w” or “y” sound. The “w” and “y” sounds are in a class of sounds known as “glides”. Some vowel sounds in American English are “glided” vowels. That is, they have a slight “w” or “y” sound […]