Hi, there. My name is Emma, and thank you for clicking. So today's lesson is on a very
common pronunciation mistake. The mistake is, if you've ever seen "tu" spelled, how
do we pronounce "tu"? So this video is going to focus when "tu" -- and this is a spelling
-- is pronounced as a "ch" sound. So for those of you who know the International Phonetic
Alphabet, this is the symbol we'll be talking about today. For those of you who don't know
this alphabet, it's a "ch" sound, so "ch". Okay, so let's get started. So first of all,
I have two words here. The first one is "tunnel"; the second one is "century". Okay? Now, beside
the words, I've written the phonetic alphabet spelling of it. Again, if you don't know it,
don't worry about it. But notice here, it's "tu", "t-u-n-n-e-l", so "tu". And we have
a "tu" in "century". Now, are these two words pronounced the same? Are the "tu"s in both
these words pronounced the same? I want you to listen for a second to my pronunciation
of these words. "Tunnel", "tunnel". Okay, so you hear how that's pronounced? Now, listen
to the "tu" pronunciation in this word. "Century", "century". Okay? So again, "century". It's
not a "tu" sound or like "tun" as in "tunnel". This "tu" is pronounced differently. It's
pronounced "ch". And here is the International Phonetic Spelling for "century".
Okay, so what this video is going to look at is how do we pronounce "tu". And we will
go over some words that have this "ch" pronunciation for "tu" spelling. Okay? And then at the end,
we'll do some tongue twisters to really get you used to this pronunciation. All right,
so let's get started. So I have here a drawing. It might not be the best drawing. I don't
say that I'm that artistic. I'm not Leonardo da Vinci, but here is a drawing of a human
face. This thing is the tongue. So just to go over how do you pronounce "ch", your tongue
should be behind your teeth, a little bit above the teeth. Here's the roof of your mouth.
Here's your tooth. There's a little ridge here. This is where your tongue should be
touching. Okay? So your tongue is up, and then when you go "ch", "ch", it goes down.
"Ch". So your tongue touches and then goes down. The sound is also made not through here,
not through a vibration of your vocal cords. It comes from the mouth. Okay? So "ch". And
notice how my lips are? It's almost like I'm making a kiss or a pouty face. "Ch". Okay.
So if you have trouble making that sound, I will provide a link to a very good website
that can really help you to see a better picture of this and a step-by-step process of how
to pronounce the "ch" sound. Okay.
So let's look at some words that have this "ch" sound with a "tu" spelling. I want you
to repeat after me with the "ch" sound where "tu" is. The first word is "furniture". Okay?
So did you hear that? "Furniture". I didn't say "furniture". No, I said "furniture". So
"tu" is a "ch" sound. "Culture". "Culture". And again, as you probably are aware, I'm
Canadian. These -- the pronunciation of these words are North American, not British. "Culture".
"Ficture". "Ficture". "Punctuation". "Sculpture". "Structure". "Mature". "Mature". Now, some
people actually pronounce this word as "mature". That's an all right variation. It depends
on where you're from. You'll hear some people say "mature". Other people say "mature". So
"ch" pronunciation. "Nature". "Lecture". "Lecture". "Fortune". "Torture". "Ritual". "Literature".
"Actually". Okay? So these are common words we use that have the "tu" spelling that's
pronounced like a "ch".
Now, one word of advice is if you're wondering, "Well, how do I know if it's pronounced like
'tuh' as in 'tunnel' or 'chir' as in 'ch'?" How do I know this? Well, one of the common
ways to recognize this is usually if the "tu" is in the middle of a word, it usually -- not
always, but usually -- is pronounced "ch". Okay? So that's the main thing with this.
So what I would like to do now are some tongue twisters to really get you to practice these
So before we begin our tongue twisters, I just wanted to also let you know that you
can find out if it's a "ch" pronunciation by looking in a dictionary. This is actually
the only way to be 100% sure. When you look in the dictionary, even if you don't know
the International Phonetic Alphabet, that's okay. Anytime they use the International Phonetic
Alphabet, you will see a bracket like this and a bracket like this with some symbols
in it. This tells you it's the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Now just look for the symbol. It didn't really show up, but... So it looks like a "t" and
this weird hook shape. This is the symbol for "ch". So if you look in a dictionary,
you look for the brackets like this and you see a "t" along with this hook-shaped symbol.
This lets you know it's a "ch" or "ch" pronunciation.
Okay, so now let's begin with the tongue twisters. So I have here two sentences I've created.
If you don't understand what these sentences mean, that's okay. These sentences are a little
bit nonsensical, so it's okay if you don't understand the words. I want you to focus
on your pronunciation of these words. Okay?
I have put a red line underneath all the "tu"s. These are all pronounced like "ch". Okay?
So I'm going to say the sentence once slowly, and then I'm going to say it a little bit
faster, and then a third time as fast as I can. I want you to try to do the same thing.
The mature lecturer pictured this century's adventure literature. So you've probably heard
a lot of "ch", "ch", "ch", "ch". So this is the main sound we're producing in this sentence.
The mature lecturer pictured this century's adventure literature. Okay, so now I want
you to try to say this as fast as you can. Okay?
The mature lecturer pictured this century's adventure literature. Do you think I can do
it a little bit faster? I'll try one more time.
The mature lecturer pictured this century's adventure literature. Okay. Now, if you can
do it that fast, that's very good, although you'll never be required to say a sentence
All right, so let's look at sentence number two.
"Gestures, sculptures, and rituals are features of culture." Okay, so again, "ch", "ch", "ch",
"ch". Many "ch" sounds. So let's say this a little bit quicker.
"Gestures, sculptures, and rituals are features of culture." All right? Now, let's say this
as fast as we can. "Gestures, sculptures, and rituals are features of culture." I don't
know if I can do it faster than that. Let me try. "Gestures, sculptures, and rituals
are features of culture." That's probably the fastest I can say it.
So tongue twisters are actually good ways to practice words because you actually have
them in a sentence instead of just isolated on their own. For a lot of students, they
can pronounce the word if it's on its own. So if they just say "adventure", they have
no problem. It's when it's in a sentence that it's very difficult for them. So I would highly
recommend looking back at our list at some of the "ch" words that are spelled "tu". Try
to make your own tongue twisters. Put them in a sentence, and then practice. See how
So again, I will give you a link to help you with your pronunciation to a very good website,
and we will also have a quiz on this. So if you want to practice the things you've learned
in this video, I recommend you come visit our site at www.engvid.com. Until next time.