In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to go over the pronunciation of the word 'family'.
This week's Word of the Week is 'family' [ˈfæm ə li]/[ˈfæm li].
'Family' may be pronounced with three syllables, but more commonly you'll hear it with two.
Family, family. it begins with the F consonant sound, so the bottom lip will come up and touch the bottom of the top front teeth. [f], [f], [fæ].
Then we have the [æ] as in Bat vowel.
It's followed by the M consonant, and whenever the [æ] vowel is followed by an M consonant, actually by any nasal consonant, it's not quite a pure [æ] vowel.
The back part of the tongue will relax, and we'll get an [ə]-like sound. [fæə], [fæəm], family.
The second syllable, unstressed, has the L consonant sound, [l], [l], tongue tip here, and the [i] as in She vowel.
So, the tongue tip will come down, the corners of the lips will pull wide a bit, [li], [li]. Family, family.
I have family in town.
