Why does the letter Y sound completely different in "yes," "gym," "happy," and "my"? This episode unravels the mystery behind Y's four pronunciations in British English: the consonant /j/, the short vowel /ɪ/, the long vowel /iː/, and the diphthong /aɪ/. Discover the patterns (and exceptions) that govern when Y makes each sound, and learn about common pronunciation pitfalls for learners from French, German, Romance, Slavic, and Chinese language backgrounds. From over-articulating "yes" to flattening diphthongs in "fly," understand why these errors happen and what they reveal about the quirks of English pronunciation. Essential listening before the hands-on practice episode!

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Practice all 5 E sounds in British English with targeted exercises and tongue twisters. This lesson revisits the long and short E, the distinctive /ɜː/ sound that gives Southern British accents their signature "posh" quality, and the tricky /eɪ/ diphthong. Perfect for anyone looking to refine their British pronunciation through hands-on practice.

Transcript:

Long e /iː/: protein - Japanese - guarantee - committee - serene - believe, receive, degree, theme, scheme,

Short /ɪ/.: English, pretty, bucket, pocket, started, helmet, velvet, secret, women, gifted

Short e: bed, get, end, ever, ten, red, lend, help, next, step, send, tell, men, check

Minimal pairs:

bet / beat

met / meet

pet / Pete

sec / seek

stem / steam

breath / breathe

/ɜː/: her, term, serve, learn, fern, verse, perk, stern, mercy, permanent

Tongue twisters:

Her perfect purple purse was purchased in the service of a merchant.

The poet’s verse was first rehearsed in the perfect church.

The stern clerk served the fresh herbs with perfect purpose.

Myrtle curled her fingers around the purple purse, sure it was hers.

The surgeon gave a stern service to every patient with perfect care.

/eɪ/ : hey, great, eight, neighbour, they, vein, prey, weigh, rein, obey.

Sequence of 3:

bed – bid – bade

met – mitt – mate

pen – pin – pain

sell – sill – sail

get – git – gait

Explore the six ways to pronounce the letter E in British English. Building on the long E (see, me) and short E (English, pretty) from previous episodes, this lesson dives into three additional sounds: the mid-front /e/ in "bed," the distinctive central /ɜː/ in "her," and the diphthong /eɪ/ in "they." Learn precise tongue placement and jaw movement for each sound, discover common exceptions from French loanwords, and understand the role of silent E.

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