English Pronunciation Fix: How to say ‘on’ words correctly every time

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this pronunciation lesson, you're going to learn the many different ways in which we pronounce the letters "on" when they appear in words. Okay? The letters "on" appear at the beginning of words, sometimes in the middle, and very often at the end. And we're going to focus on how we pronounce those letters when they appear in these different positions. Okay?

But first I want you to do a little pre-test to see how you're pronouncing them right now. Okay? And I am so excited about this lesson because I know that lots of people make some mistakes here, but maybe not you, so let's check. Okay? The first word I want you to say out loud, wherever you are, is this one. Okay? Next, say this word. Good. The third word. And the last word. Okay? All right.

So, let's go back. Say the first word again. Okay? Now I'm going to say it. The word is "online". So, here, the letters "on" appeared at the beginning, and we pronounced it like the word itself: "on". Okay? So, we pronounced it here as "on". Okay? Probably you got that right. Most people do, because if you can pronounce the word "on", when "on" appears at the beginning, you're usually pronouncing it properly. All right.

How did you pronounce this one? Say it again. Okay. Now I'll say it: "Amazon". So, what happened here? "Online", "Amazon". We're also pronouncing it pretty much like this. All right? So you probably got this right, and you probably got this right. "Amazon". Okay?

But now say this one. Okay. So, what happened here to the letters "on"? This word is pronounced "son", like a son and daughter. Right? We write "on", but we don't say "on"; we say it like: "sun". Right? So, sometimes when "on" appears at the end of a word, it's pronounced "un", so many people get that wrong sometimes, but sometimes not.

What about this one? "Washington". Okay? That's what you should say. You should say: "Washington". Listen again: "Washington", "tin". Am I saying "ton"? No. Am I saying: "tun"? No. Am I saying: "tin"? Yes. So, what's happening - that "on" gets connected here to the "t"-right?-and becomes shortened or reduced, and it sounds like this. Now, you're wondering: What is this? This letter in the International Phonetic Alphabet is called a schwa. And what a schwa is, it's a very quick, short sound; it's a reduced sound, and it sounds a little bit like: "uh", "uh". So, here, it becomes "un", "un"; not "ton", but "tin": "Washingtin". That's what you should be saying when you say the name of this place. Okay? And that is definitely an area where many students - maybe not you - many students make mistakes.

And that's the main area of our focus in this lesson. We will be reviewing all of them, but especially this. Why? Because look at the many different situations in which we have "on" at the end of words; we have it in the names of people, like "Bill", what is it? "Clinton". Right. "George Harrison". Not: "Harrison"; "Harrisin". "Clin"... Not: "Clinton"; "Clintin". Okay? Good. Places: "Boston". Repeat after me: "Lisbon". Good. And many other words-okay?-that happen to end in "on", like: "reason"; not "reason" - "reasin".

"Million". Now, here's a word that lots of people actually mispronounce. They tend to say: "million", because they're thinking of "on". It's not your fault, okay? You see "on", and so you think you should be pronouncing it like "on", but unfortunately at the end of words, it changes. That's why I'm here. Okay? To help you out. All right.

We also have words that end in "on", but have "tion" endings or "sion" endings. Repeat after me: "action", "vision". Okay? All right. So, in the next few minutes you are going to master this. And if you make mistakes, you will not make a mistake again; and as a result, you will correct hundreds of words that actually fall into this category. Okay? And, in fact, afterwards I'm going to give you a resource which you can read and practice to really master this with lots and lots of words which follow these patterns. But first let's warm up a little bit by reviewing this part, and then we'll get to the last part. Okay? See you in a minute.

Okay. So, now let's start with when the letters "on" are actually pronounced like "on". […]

[kaoutarerr]

thank you so mush for this lesson it's very helpful.

[matatamazeze]

Well done madame. Your expectation is well understood. I get some knowledge from you. I repeat after you, when you say repeat after me. My name's Matata William from DRC but for now I'm in Malawi refugee camp.

[lbvnrw]

I need to practice these pronunciation☺️

[delphineyara]

Thank you so much for the video. It's very helpful ❤

[pashupatikoirala]

I like your way of teaching, I learned .

[khenharoldgenotiva]

Thanks, Rebecca. I am a customer rep. here in Philippines. There are some American customers were really having a hard time to understand my thick accent. This is really helpful for me to at least improve my accent! Thanks, for this video. I'm looking forward for more!! ❤️ ❤️

[xy_________alone]

It makes confident to speak english thank's for the help

[Elon-xe]

I need to practice these words every day

[shibyvarughese]

You’re the best teacher I’ve ever seen. All your videos are great. God bless you, you’re helping so many people like me, I’m so thankful.

[vijaypalsingh]

Dear madam
Thanks for your good efforts on teaching English

[laikaa]

Thank you ma'am. You're great teacher..so easily i can understand your teaching

[kemancikara]

Rebecca is my english teacher ...lots of love from turkey.

[leonardomora]

Thank you Rebeca for your explanation; the lessons are clear and so improving for us.

[sofmarkosyan]

Respect from Armenia.Dear Rebecca your lessons really help me to improvemy English.

[marisolcontreras]

Thank you Teacher Rebecca, you're terrific!!

[mr.faisal]

My favourite teacher in the whole world.

[ananddayal]

You are so lovely. Your teaching style is impeccable. Thanks you madam. Indians love you a lot.

[manmayalama]

Excellent ma'am are great teacher for all the students you for teaching us.

[oliviawilson]

Wow!
Am I first here?
😊😊😊😊😊😊
I love your teaching method , Rebacca!
You're best teacher ever..forever!

[lakshayyadav]

today is teacher's day here in India😃so...hppy teacher's day to you ma'am💝🙏💞