The most difficult 20 words to pronounce in English!

Hi everyone!

Daniel Tanner here and welcome back to my weekly newsletter that helps Italian professionals communicate more effectively with their English speaking colleagues and clients. 💼 

Let’s get started….

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Welcome to part 1 of the Powerful English Pronunciation series and today you’re going to learn 20 of the hardest words to pronounce when learning English. And since you’ll need to hear how these words are pronounced, I thought I’d record this edition for you, so hi there, thanks for listening! Don’t forget to reply to this email to let me know what you think of the episode.

Really, really hard Words

If you didn’t know already, in English, the spelling of a word doesn’t always help you to understand how to pronounce it. Just think of the completely illogical differences between simple words like has and was, or so and do. It makes absolutely no sense.

So…as an English learner, when you find a new word, you also need to check the pronunciation. 

How can you do this? 

Well, the easiest way to check the pronunciation of a word is to visit on online dictionary, like WordReference or even Google Translate, type in the word you want to hear, listen to the pronunciation, and finally, and most importantly, repeat it a couple of times out loud to see if your pronunciation is correct. 

My personal favourite online dictionary is WordReference, because they have recordings of real people pronouncing the words and also in a variety of accents! Google Translate, on the other hand, uses a robotically produced voice and since no one wants to sound like a robot, I’d suggest using WordReference.

There are a collection of words in English that are particularly difficult when trying to master the language. This is because the spelling of these words doesn’t help learners with the pronunciation at all. 

So, let’s tackle these wicked words and give your English pronunciation a boost today. In the words of Greta Thunberg…right here, right now.

Listen carefully to each word and then repeat the whole sentence.

The th terrors

I thought you wanted to meet at 8pm not 7pm! I’m not ready yet.

I don’t usually like sweet things. I love popcorn though.

On this train journey, you’ll travel through 8 different countries in 3 days.

Wash your hands thoroughly before cooking food, you filthy thing! 

The -f ending

It was tough, but we finally reached the top of Mount Everest! 

Cover your mouth if you cough.

The opposite of smooth is rough.

Tell me when you’ve had enough of these words.

I need to tell you something embarrassing. Don’t laugh!

Commonly confused words

I walk to work every day.

Always wash your hands with soap before making soup.

I did a cookery class last month. Now I only put gourmet food in my mouth.

I want to go on holiday but my boss won’t allow it.

Difficult days

On Tuesdays I play tennis, on Wednesdays I have jiu-jitsu, and on Thursdays I sit at home and eat pizza in front of the TV, of course.

Pronunciation challenge.

Now, it’s time for you to do some practice. Your challenge is to choose five of the really hard words above, record yourself saying them and check your pronunciation is the same as mine.

I know, everybody hates the sound of their own voice, but you don’t need to show anyone, you can delete the recordings immediately afterwards if you like, this is just for you. But, it’s very useful to check that the pronunciation you hear in your head while your speaking is the same as what’s actually coming out. I do this all the time in Italian and I’m often surprised by the results.

OK, ready? Go!

Reply to this email and let me know when you’ve completed the challenge so I can send you a high five ✋ 

That’s it for this edition. If you have any questions or topics you'd like me to cover in future newsletters, feel free to reach out.

Grazie mille and see you next time!

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