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Have you ever said a word in English and then realized you'd been saying it wrong for months? I moved to the US when I was 25. I was saying sugar, for example, like in a very Russian way. And nobody corrected me. I only found out when I met Vanya and he started correcting my pronunciation. And he told me that the right way to pronounce it is sugar. You kind of have to make a fake smile to pronounce this word as sugar. So, today we're fixing this problem. There are 30 words that almost every English learner mispronounces. And not a lot of programs really cover them. We're going to shadow them together. You speak with me at the same time, matching my rhythm and stress. Not repeat after me,
with me. By the end of this video, these words are going to feel natural in your mouth. Let's go. Uh quick question before we dive in. What's one English word you always hesitate before saying out loud? Drop it in the comments. It might appear in some of my next videos. Hi there. In this video, I'll be guiding you through the practice. Before we start, a quick reminder of how shadowing works. You speak with me at the same time, not after me, with me. Match my rhythm, my stress, my speed. Focus on flow, not on being perfect. Let's go. Round one, words with silent letters.
These are words where one or more letters exist in the spelling, but make absolutely no sound when you speak. Your mouth just skips them entirely. Our first word is clothes. Most people say clothes. Two syllables, with a strong th sound at the end. And honestly, that's not completely wrong. The th is technically there. It's the same th as in the or this. A soft voice sound. But in natural American speech, it gets reduced and said so quickly that it almost disappears.
The whole word collapses into one syllable and sounds very close to close, as in close the door. But with a slight z feeling at the end. Not a full z, not a full th, somewhere in between, very light, very fast. So, don't stress about making a perfect th sound here. What you want to avoid is the two-syllable version. clothes with a big clear th at the end. That's what sounds foreign to a native speaker's ear. Say it as one smooth syllable and let that ending stay soft. clothes Shadow with me slowly first. I need to do my laundry. I have no clean clothes left.
Now faster. I need to do my laundry. I have no clean clothes left. Now our next word, debt. The b in debt is there on paper, but your mouth never touches it. A lot of people say dept pushing that b sound out and then adding a t at the end. But native speakers go straight from the e sound to the t. No b at all. The word rhymes with set or let. Just debt. Shadow with me slowly first. He paid off his student debt 3 years after graduating.
Now faster. He paid off his student debt 3 years after graduating. Moving on, let's talk about salmon. The l in salmon dropped out of spoken English a long time ago. You'd never know it was there just from hearing the word. A lot of people say salmon and that l sounds immediately foreign to a native speaker. The correct pronunciation skips the l entirely. salmon Two syllables, no l, the a sounds like the a in cat. Shadow with me slowly first.
I ordered the salmon, but I probably should have gone with the pasta. faster. I ordered the salmon, but I probably should have gone with the pasta. Here's another one that surprises people. receipt The p in receipt does nothing. It came from the Latin word recepta and just never left the spelling. Your mouth never makes that P sound. A lot of people say receipt and that P sticks out immediately. The correct pronunciation is receipt.
Stress on the second syllable and the P simply isn't there. Shadow with me slowly first. Can I get a receipt for that? I need it for my expenses. Now faster. Can I get a receipt for that? I need it for my expenses. Next up, island. The S in island is one of those letters that just doesn't belong in the sound anymore. It comes from an old spelling influence and never got removed. A lot of people say is-land, but native speakers say island. No S sound at all. Just two clean syllables, island. Shadow with me slowly first.
They spent two weeks on a small island with no Wi-Fi and said it was the best trip they'd ever taken. Now faster. They spent two weeks on a small island with no Wi-Fi and said it was the best trip they'd ever taken. And our last word in this round, subtle. The B in subtle is one of the most common silent letter surprises because the word looks so straightforward. You see sub-tle and your brain wants to pronounce it exactly like that. But the B isn't pronounced at all. Native speakers say subtle. Two syllables, no B, and the ending is light and quick. Shadow with me slowly first. There's a subtle difference between those two words.
Most people miss it completely. Now faster. There's a subtle difference between those two words. Most people miss it completely. By the way, shadowing, it actually trains your ear as well, but there is one thing it can't do and that's tell you when you're still wrong. The most common thing people tell me in the comments is that speaking is still the hardest part. They understand English, they study, they practice, but the moment they are in a real conversation, something freezes. And the only way to fix that is to actually speak with real people regularly. That's why we have a product for that at LinguaTrip. It's called Speaking Club Pro. Every week, live sessions on Zoom in small groups, real
conversation, storytelling, vocabulary, pronunciation, and a professional teacher in every session. All you have to do is show up and speak. Students say the biggest change they notice is how much more confident they feel in real conversations after attending the Speaking Club. It's open to A2 level and above. Normally, it's $55 a month, but because you're watching this video, your first month is just $35 with a promo code LinguaMarina. The link is down below. All right, let's get back to it. This next round is where things get interesting. The letters are all there.
You're just putting the stress in the wrong place. Let's start round two with comfortable. You probably say comfortable. Four syllables with the stress on the second one. But Americans collapse this word. They say comfortable. Three syllables, stress on the first one. And that middle part almost disappears. If you've been saying the four-syllable version your whole life, this one will feel strange at first. Say it with me a few times before we shadow. Comfortable. Shadow with me slowly first.
This chair is so comfortable. I could fall asleep in it right now. Now faster. This chair is so comfortable. I could fall asleep in it right now. Now let's look at temperature. Similar to comfortable, you might be giving this word one syllable too many. The written form suggests temperature, four syllables. But in natural American speech, it's temperature, three syllables, stress on the first, and that last part sounds like cher, not ter. The middle e disappears completely in fast speech. Shadow with me slowly first. The temperature dropped overnight and nobody was ready for it. Now faster.
The temperature dropped overnight and nobody was ready for it. Here's one you've definitely said wrong, vegetable. On paper, this looks like four syllables, vegetable. You might say it exactly like that, but native speakers say vegetable, three syllables. The second e vanishes, the stress stays on the first syllable, and the ending is very light, bull, not blow. Shadow with me slowly first. She said she'd eat any vegetable except Brussels sprouts. Now except Brussels sprouts. Moving on to a longer one, particularly.
This word is long enough that you might stress it differently every time you say it, and then rush through it to get it over with. The correct stress is on the second syllable, particularly, five syllables, but the key is that strong tick in the middle. Don't rush it. Own that second syllable and the rest of the word follows naturally. Shadow with me slowly first. I wasn't particularly tired, but I went to bed early anyway. Now faster. I wasn't particularly tired, but I went to bed early anyway.
Next word, photographer. You might say photographer, putting the stress on the first syllable, the same way you'd say photo or photograph, but the stress shifts in this word. photographer The second syllable gets the emphasis, and that ending is fur, not fur. It's one of those words where the stress pattern changes depending on the form. photograph, but photographer Shadow with me slowly first. The photographer asked us to move closer together for the shot. Now faster. The photographer asked us to move closer together for the shot. And the last word in this round, interesting. This one surprises a lot of people because it looks completely
readable. You might say interesting, four syllables, stress on the third. But Americans say interesting. Three syllables, stress firmly on the first, and that middle part collapses. Just like comfortable and vegetable, English loves to swallow syllables in the middle of long words. Shadow with me slowly first. That's an interesting point. I never thought about it that way. Now faster. That's an interesting point. I never thought about it that way. Good work. Round three is the one that surprises people the most. These next six words look completely reasonable on paper and sound like nothing you'd
expect. If you try to read them out loud the way they look, you'll get it wrong every single time. The spelling gives you almost no useful information. You just have to know. Let's start with one of the strangest words in the English language. colonel You look at it and want to say co-lo-nal. Three syllables, all the letters accounted for. But the actual pronunciation is kernel. Like a kernel of popcorn. No L sound, no O sound, just kernel. The reason goes back to when English borrowed this word from French, which had gotten it from Italian. The spelling changed, but the pronunciation remained stuck in an older form. And here we are. Shadow with me, slowly first.
The colonel gave the order and everyone in the room went quiet. Now faster. The colonel gave the order and everyone in the room went quiet. Now this next one trips up a lot of people, chaos. A lot of people say chaos, two syllables with a soft c h, like in chair or cheese. But the c h in chaos comes from Greek and in English it makes a k sound. So it's chaos. The same k sound you hear in chemistry, chorus, and character. Anytime you see a c h that came from Greek, there's a good chance it sounds like k. Shadow with me, slowly first.
The meeting started late and everything descended into chaos. Now faster. The meeting started late and everything descended into chaos. Ready for another one? This is yacht. This word looks like it should rhyme with watched or scratched. But the c h and the t are both silent and the whole thing is just one short sound, yacht. Rhymes with hot. The word came from Dutch and the spelling never caught up with how English speakers actually say it. Shadow with me, slowly first.
She'd never been on a yacht before and had no idea what to expect. Now faster. She'd never been on a yacht before and had no idea what to expect. Moving on, let's do Wednesday. You probably know how to say this one, most people do. But if you've ever tried to spell it out loud, you've noticed that the d in the middle is completely ignored in speech. Nobody says Wednesday. It's Wednesday. Two syllables, the d disappears and the middle part collapses entirely. The word comes from Woden's day, Woden being a Norse god, and the pronunciation has drifted very far from the spelling over the centuries. Shadow with me, slowly first.
Can we move the meeting to Wednesday? Thursday doesn't work for me. Now faster. Can we move the meeting to Wednesday? Thursday doesn't work for me. Here's one that's almost funny. Q. Five letters. Four of them are silent. The word is just Q. Exactly like the name of the letter. It means a line of people waiting. You'll hear it more in British English where Americans would usually just say line. But it shows up in both. And when it does, you say it exactly like the letter Q. Shadow with me slowly first. There was a long queue outside the coffee shop and I didn't have time to wait. Now faster.
There was a long queue outside the coffee shop and I didn't have time to wait. And to close out this round, conscience. This word trips people up in two ways. First, the SC at the beginning makes a SH sound. No hard C, no S. Second, the ending isn't enza the way it looks. The whole word is conscience. Two syllables. That middle part, cien, completely collapses into one quick shun sound. The same thing happens in conscious.
Conscious. Shadow with me slowly first. She knew it wasn't right. Her conscience wouldn't let her ignore it. Now faster. She knew it wasn't right. Her conscience wouldn't let her ignore it. Almost there. Round four is a little different from everything we've done so far. These words aren't wrong exactly, but the way you're saying them is making you work harder than you need to. This round is about sounds that are technically in the word but get swallowed, shortened, or nearly deleted in natural American speech. Pronouncing them fully and carefully can actually make you sound more foreign, not less.
This is where trying too hard works against you. Let's kick off round four with chocolate. On paper, this looks like three full syllables. Cho-co-let. You might say it exactly like that. But in natural American speech, the middle syllable almost vanishes. It's chocolate. Two syllables, stress on the first, and that ending is very light and quick. Lit, not late. The O in the middle simply disappears. Shadow with me, slowly first.
She brought a box of chocolates to the office, and it was gone within an hour. Now faster. She brought a box of chocolates to the office, and it was gone within an hour. Now let's look at February. This is one of those words where two correct pronunciations exist, and the easier one has quietly become the standard in American English. Technically, there's an R after the B. Feb-ru-ar-y. But most American speakers say February, dropping that first R entirely, because having two R sounds so close together is genuinely difficult to say quickly. Both are accepted as correct by Merriam-Webster. But if you've been carefully pronouncing
that R every single time, you've actually been working harder than most native speakers do. Shadow with me, slowly first. My birthday is in February, which means it's always cold and nobody wants to come. Now faster. My birthday is in February, which means it's always cold and nobody wants to come. Next up, and very similar, library. Same pattern as February. The word has two R sounds close together. Li-brar-y. And in fast natural speech, that first R gets reduced or swallowed.
You'll often hear Americans say library, or even library. The fully pronounced version with both R sounds isn't wrong, but it can sound overly careful compared to how native speakers actually say it in conversation. Shadow with me slowly first. I used to spend every Saturday at the library when I was a kid. Now faster. I used to spend every Saturday at the library when I was a kid. Moving on. This one is probably, and I mean that literally, probably. Written out, this has three syllables, prob-a-bly. But in natural speech, the middle syllable gets crushed. Americans usually say probably, and sometimes even probably in fast conversation.
The middle B is barely noticeable, and the A sound almost disappears. If you pronounce all three syllables clearly every time, it can sound unusually careful or formal to a native speaker's ear. Shadow with me slowly first. I'll probably finish it tonight, but don't count on it. Now faster. I'll probably finish it tonight, but don't count on it. Here's another one you'll use every day, different. This looks like three syllables, diff-er-ent. And technically, it is. But in natural American speech, the middle syllable gets swallowed and it becomes diff-er-ent.
Two syllables. The double F gives you a very short clipped first syllable, and then straight to rent. Saying all three syllables slowly and clearly makes the word sound over-pronounced. Shadow with me different. I couldn't explain why, but something had changed. Now faster. This time felt different. I couldn't explain why, but something had changed. And to wrap up round four, literally. This word has four syllables on paper, literally. But Americans usually collapse it to three, literally. The middle e disappears, the stress stays firmly on the first syllable, and the whole word moves quickly.
It's the same pattern you hear in words like comfortable, vegetable, and interesting. Once you notice it, you'll hear it everywhere. Shadow with me, slowly first. I literally forgot what I was going to say the second I opened my mouth. Now faster. I literally forgot what I was going to say the second I opened my mouth. One more round. These last six words catch people off guard because the vowel sounds different from what you'd expect, or the word looks familiar from another language, and your brain fills in the wrong sound automatically. Starting round five with career.
A lot of people stress the first syllable. ca-reer Because that's where many similar-looking words put their stress. But this word is stressed on the second syllable. ca-reer The first syllable is very short and light, almost a schwa, the most neutral vowel sound in English. And then the stress lands hard on -reer. Shadow with me, slowly first. She spent 20 years building her career and wasn't ready to slow down. Now faster. She spent 20 years building her career and wasn't ready to slow down. Now let's do police. This one catches a lot of people because it looks like it should be stressed on the first syllable. po-lice But just like career, the stress is on
the second syllable. police The po at the beginning is very quick and light. The lease at the end gets the weight. Stressing the first syllable is one of the most common patterns that signals a non-native accent. So, getting this one right makes a noticeable difference. Shadow with me, slowly first. Someone called the police. But by the time they arrived, everyone had left. Now faster. Someone called the police. But by the time they arrived, everyone had left. This next one is actually two words in one. desert versus dessert Two words, one letter difference, completely different stress patterns,
and they mean very different things. Des-ert, stress on the first syllable, is the dry, sandy place. Dessert, stress on the second syllable, is the sweet thing you eat after dinner. A way to remember it, dessert has two s's, and you always want seconds of dessert. The stress difference is the only thing separating them in speech. So, getting it right matters. Shadow with me, slowly first. We drove through the desert for 3 hours without seeing a single gas station. I skipped dessert because I was already full, and I regretted it immediately.
Now faster. We drove through the desert for 3 hours without seeing a single gas station. I skipped dessert because I was already full, and I regretted it immediately. Moving on to village. This is tricky because of the ending. In many languages, the age ending is pronounced ahdge. A full open sound. In English, it's much shorter and softer. Village. The ending sounds more like idge than ahdge. Almost like the word itch without the t. Same pattern in manage, damage, language, package.
The ending is always light and quick. Never open and full. Shadow with me slowly first. It was a tiny village. Maybe 300 people and one coffee shop. Now faster. It was a tiny village. Maybe 300 people and one coffee shop. Almost done. Next up, decade. The stress in this word surprises people who expect it on the second syllable. De-cade. But it's actually dec-ade with the stress on the first syllable, and the second syllable is very light. The a in aid is a long a sound, like in made or trade, but it doesn't carry the stress.
Say it with me before we shadow. Dec-ade. Shadow with me slowly first. A lot can change in a decade. Things you never expected. Now faster. A lot can change in a decade. Things you never expected. And our very last word, imagine. The ending is where this one goes wrong. A lot of people say im-a-gine with a hard g sound and a full ine ending, like pine or mine. But the g in imagine is soft, and the ending is just a quick light in, not ine.
The whole word is imagine. Stress on the second syllable, soft G, light ending. Same pattern in engine, origin, margin. That gin ending is always soft and short. Shadow with me slowly first. I can't imagine doing this job without some kind of coffee in my hand. Now faster. I can't imagine doing this job without some kind of coffee in my hand. So those are our 30 words. Write in the comments which one surprised you the most. I read every comment on the first day the video goes live. And if you want more shadowing practice, I have a 60-minute session right here. Link is in the description. We go through full conversations there, not just sentences and phrases. That one is great for
building your overall fluency, not just fixing specific sounds. And if you want to practice with real people, the speaking club pro link is in the description, too. First month is $35 with promo code Lingua Marina. And if this video helped you, share it with one person who's learning English and give it a thumbs up. That's honestly the best thing you can do for this channel and for friends. See you in the next video.
