R-Colored Vowel Sound / ɚ / as in “after”- American English Pronunciation

Learn how to pronounce the R-Colored vowel sound /ɚ/ used in words like “enter,” “color,” “dollar” or “nature.”
Improve your American accent with phonetic exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.
Practice pronunciation of the /ɚ/ sound in everyday words.

Learn more here:

Quick links:
• R-Colored Vowel /ɚ/ as in “after:” 00:00
• How to make the /ɚ/: 01:53
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 03:23
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 05: 37
• Most common spelling for /ɚ/: 07:18

Related videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #VowelSounds #RColoredVowels
► R-Colored Vowel Sounds Overview:

► R-Colored Vowel Sound /ɝ/ as in “first”:

► R-Colored Vowel Sound /ɚ/ as in “after”: this video
► R-Colored Vowel Sound /ɪr/ as in “hero”:

► R-Colored Vowel Sound /ɛr/ as in “chair”:

► R-Colored Vowel Sound /ɑr/ as in “car”:

► R-Colored Vowel Sound /ɔr/ as in “sport”:

► R-Colored Vowel Sound /aɪr/ as in “fire”:

[ THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, SPANISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, KOREAN, PORTUGUESE, AND RUSSIAN SUBTITLES]
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TRANSCRIPT

Hello there! This is the “Sounds American” channel.
In this video, we’re going to talk about the American r-colored vowel /ɚ/, as in the word “after”.
You can also hear this sound in words like “enter”, “color”, “dollar” or “nature”.
We’ll be using a special phonetic symbol – /ɚ/ – for this sound.

In our previous video, we began exploring the American r-colored vowels.
Here’s a summary of what we’ve covered:
• In American English, any time in any word, when you see a vowel followed by the letter ‘r’ in the same syllable, you have an r-colored vowel sound.
• The r-colored vowel sound /ɝ/, as in the words “first,” “burn,” “learn,” or “word” can be spelled with different vowel letters and the letter ‘r’.
• The /ɝ/ occurs only in stressed syllables.
But what happens in unstressed syllables?

The r-colored vowel sound /ɝ/ has a weak version, the sound /ɚ/, which is used in unstressed syllables. Its pronunciation is almost the same as of the tense /ɝ/, but the /ɚ/ is a relaxed r-colored vowel. Some linguists consider them to be the tense and the weak versions of the same sound.
So, let’s find out how to make the relaxed /ɚ/ sound.

OK. Pronunciation of the r-colored vowel /ɚ/ is very similar to the /ɝ/ vowel or the /r/ consonant.
To make the /ɚ/ sound, open your mouth a little and leave your lips neutral or round them slightly.
The /ɚ/ is a weak sound, so your tongue and throat should be relaxed.
Raise the front of your tongue toward the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth, but don’t touch it.
Next: curl back the tip of your tongue.
Now slightly lower the center of your tongue and raise its back.
Note, that your tongue should be relaxed.
Remember, the tip of your tongue should be curled back and it should never touch the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth.
Now, let’s try saying it: /ɚ/, /ɚ/, /ɚ/.

[Pronunciation exercise 1]
Now, let’s practice the /ɚ/ sound in some words.
You’ll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation. Like this.
You’ll have a few seconds to pronounce the word. Repeat each word after the speaker and try to copy the pronunciation as much as you can.
Let’s begin.
• answer
• author
• better
• border
• butter
• cellar
• center
• clever
• collar
• dinner
• doctor
• eager
• editor
• error
• favor
• figure
• future
• gather
• hammer
• honor

Let’s pause here for a second and check on how you are making the /ɚ/ sound.
The tip of your tongue should be curled back and raised towards the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Your tongue and your throat should be relaxed.

[Pronunciation exercise 2]
Let’s continue practicing.
• bakery
• comfort
• coward
• eastern
• effort
• energy
• forward
• general
• lizard
• memory
• modern
• natural
• operate
• pattern
• percent
• perfect
• perhaps
• upward
• western
• yogurt

You’re done! Congratulations!

By the way, did you know that most of the time, the /ɚ/ is represented by the combination of letters ‘er’, as in the word “writer” or “teacher”?

However, the /ɚ/ can be written with any vowel letter followed by the ‘r’.
And this can be really confusing for non-native speakers.
Here’re some words with the /ɚ/ sound that are often mispronounced:
• dollar
• color
• author
• doctor
• nature
• future
• mayor
• honor
• favor
• error
• editor

Thanks for watching! Let us know if you liked this video!
Stay tuned on our Sounds American channel!

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