How To Pronounce English Words With The Consonant Blend /br/ With An American accent
Learn how to pronounce the consonant blend /br/!
Hi, it’s Ted here from Speak More Clearly!
In this video, we’re going to learn how to pronounce the consonant blend /br/ with an American accent.
When we say the /br/ consonant blend in standard English, we don’t usually put a vowel sound between the /b/ and /r.
We usually go straight from /b/ to /r/ in one go.
br br
Umbrella /ʌmˈbrel.ə/
(um-bre-lla not um-ber-ella)
Just like when you’re feeling cold, brrrrrr…
In Rhianna’s song, she does put a vowel, a short ‘u’- a schwa sound, between the /b/ and /r/.
If your background language doesn’t have many consonant blends 2 or 3 consonants said together in a row – you may be finding it difficult to say the /br/ consonant blend without the vowel in between.
1. Practice words with /br/ at the beginning:
Brown /braʊn/ (not berown but brown)
Breaking /breɪkɪŋ/ (make your /ai/ vowel long enough in the word ‘breaking’)
Brief /briːf/ (the /ie/ says /ee/ in brief)
Brain /breɪn/
2. Practice words with /br/ in the middle:
Upbringing /ˈʌpˌbrɪŋ.ɪŋ/
Celebration /ˈsel.ə.breɪ.ʃən/ (the ‘bray’ syllable is the longest and main stressed syllable)
Equilibrium /ˌek.wəˈlɪb.ri.əm/
If you found this video helpful, please share it with someone who would benefit from it 🙂
For more training materials, check out this lesson on pronunciation tips for consonant clusters.
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