-
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 at the end. We connect vowel sounds together with a glide because the vowel sounds at the ends of syllables are usually glided vowels. There is a “y” sound before the second syllable in this word as well.