Pronunciation of the "OR" sound in English
193,155
Published 2019-06-10
NEXT, watch these three other pronunciation lessons:
1. Pronunciation – How to say words ending with -OW: • English Pronunciation: How to say wor...
2. Pronunciation – TH & THR: • Learn English Pronunciation: TH & THR
3. Pronunciation – The 2 ways to pronounce 'THE': • Learn English: The 2 ways to pronounc...
TRANSCRIPT
Hello. I'm Gill at engVid, and today's lesson is on the pronunciation of a vowel sound, and what it sounds like is: "or", and this is a British English vowel sound. If you're listening to American speakers or Canadian speakers, the words will be a little bit different. And also, depending on whether there is an "r" in the spelling, Americans and Canadians do pronounce those words differently from the ones that don't have an "r", because they make the "or" sound in their pronunciation; but in the UK, in Britain, we don't make the "r" sound so much, even if it's in the spelling.
So, we have a lot of words here which all have different spellings, but they're all pronounced in British English with one vowel sound, which is: "or", "or". So, it's like the word: "or", and you can see I'm pushing my mouth forward when I'm saying it: "or", "or", and it's just a round shape; I'm not making any "r" sound with it. It's just: "or", "or". So... and a lot of people get distracted, really, by the spellings and try to say the word according to the way that it's spelt; when, in fact, sometimes that produces the wrong sound.
So, a word like this, for example... Well, with "ght", of course that makes it even more difficult. But that's just: "caught", "caught". You don't have to try to make "au", "co-... coat". Some people try to say: "coat", but it's not. It's "caught". Okay? Just like that spelling of "caught", it's just the same; no different. So, that's the case for all of these words, even if they have double "l" in them - it's "or", like that. Even if they have a "w" at the end, it's still "or".
So, let's go through the words, and also there may be some words you're not familiar with and I'll explain the meaning as we go along. So, let's have a look. So: "all", "all". You probably know this word - everything; all. This one: "awful", "awful". So, there's a "w" there but we don't say "wa", "awa", "awa", "wa" like that; it's just "or" - it's an open, circular shape. "Awful", "awful". So, people use the word "awful" if something is bad. If they're eating something and they're not liking the taste, they say: "Oh, this sandwich. Oh, it's awful. Awful." So, that's "awful". And "awkward" is similar. If you feel awkward, you don't feel comfortable. You feel a bit shy or unhappy. If you feel awkward... At a party for example, if you don't know anybody and nobody's talking to you, you sort of feel awkward. Okay? Right.
So, next line: "ball". So, "ball" - I'm sure you know that word; sports, football. Ball. And "bald". So, this "bald" is when someone has no hair; they are bald. Okay? And a "bore", this "bore" is when someone isn't very interesting. You're talking to them. Maybe you're at that party and then you do find somebody to talk to, but the person you're talking to is really a bore - what they're talking about isn't very interesting and you're doing your best to look interested, but it's very difficult. A bore. Okay. And "born". When a baby is born on a certain date, then that's their birthday. "When were you born?" Usually someone will ask: "What year were you born?" Okay. So that's that one. So, you notice by now I'm making the same shape with my mouth for every word.
So, next line: "call", to call someone. "Call", shout out to them. Call. Or just simply the name of somebody: What do you call them? You call them by their name. Okay? "Core", "c-o-r-e", "core" is the middle of something. Like, if you have an apple and you eat the apple, but there's a bit left in the middle, that's the core; that's the inside part - the core. […]
All Comments (21)
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You are the best English teacher I have ever heard !!! Million thanks for your brilliant lessons❤️
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I adore this lady 💕💕💕💕thank you for all the lessons and the amazing explanations👍👍👍
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You should be more popular. Thanks for sharing the beauty of British English.
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Madam, you are an excellent teacher. I am very grateful to you for your rewarding lessons. 👍
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I am in love with your lessons! Especially in pronunciation category. Please share such videos more often. Thank you :)
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Oh Gill, you are so amazing. I'm a German English learner and you help me understand the different types of the English language 😍 you are so adorable and I really admire you and your videos.
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Gill we love you.. you are so sweet and the best teacher.. greetings from a Venezuelan living in Bournemouth.. thank you 😘👋👋👋
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Mrs Gill I love your lessons, help me so much and I'm so grateful for your marvellous work and time. May God bless you and stay well.
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You are a lovely teacher, madam, and a good person in real world! I am learning a lot from your teaching, especuially the pronunciation and a lot more!! you make learning English a real fun! God bless you!!
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Great great great usefull lesson I don't know how to thank you , there are no words can match which you've done I got many new vocabularies, and corrected many of others as well , either in pronunciation or in meaning great thanks
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I really love ur way of explanation...great effort 👍🏿👍🏿 I wait for ur videos from Egypt 🇪🇬
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Pristine voice and clear explanation. Many Thanks!
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I Love te Britsh English. Muito daughter finished her english course in London. I live in Brasil. Thank you. I'm 67 year old and I've been studing English for a long time.
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I love this. Surprisingly soothing to hear and informative.
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I love her, she's amazing, I've been living in London for 3 years, I'm from Brazil
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so many nutritions having your lesson today makes my garden more and more green. thankyou. 🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇
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Your voice is so clear and soothing to hear.
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Thank you! You're an excellent teacher!
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I unashamedly call myself an Anglophile, though a devout Hindu. Thank you so much O my kindly Motherly Aunt. You are a very good Teacher. May GOD always keep you happy. Good night Madam.
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Thank you so much Gill for the transcript of what you say ( your explanation). That will also give viewers a chance to learn from the expressions and phrases you use when explaining your topic. Thank you again and keep up with such useful videos and alike.
