Consonant Sound / dʒ / as in 'job' – American English Pronunciation

At first glance, this sound is just two other consonants merged together. However, this is one of the cases when you merge two sounds and get an entirely different one as a result. That's right, the /dʒ/ belongs to a special category of consonant sounds which is called "affricates."
Watch this video to find out how to pronounce the /dʒ/ consonant correctly and avoid common pronunciation mistakes. You'll practice making this sound with pronunciation exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.

Quick Links:
• Consonant sound /dʒ/ as in "job": 00:00
• A brief overview of affricate consonants: 0:50
• Affricate consonants definition: 01:32
• Tongue Twister from Sounds American: 01:57
• How to pronounce the /dʒ/ sound: 02:53
• Typical mistakes: 04:32
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 07:00
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 08:46
• Pronunciation exercise 3: 10:14
• Spelling for the /dʒ/ sound: 11:44

Related Videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #AffricateSounds
► Consonant Sound /dʒ/ as in "job" - this video
► Consonant Sound /tʃ/ as in "chair"
► Consonant Sound /ʒ/ as in "vision"
► Consonant Sound /ʃ/ as in "show"

[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE 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 consonant sound /dʒ/, as in the word "job."
You can also hear this sound in words like "gym," "judge," "June" or "soldier."
We'll be using special phonetic symbols - /dʒ/ - for this sound.

The /dʒ/ actually consists of two consonants: the stop sound /d/ and the fricative sound /ʒ/. We've talked about these sounds on our Sounds American channel.
The /dʒ/ is one of two consonant sounds in American English that are made this way. They're called "affricates".
So, what is an affricate sound?
The affricates are made by first stopping the airstream and then releasing it through a narrow passage in your mouth with an audible friction
At this point, we usually explain why this sound is important for your American accent.
Know what? Let's skip this part and have some fun instead.
Take a look at this sentence and try to pronounce it aloud:
Was it hard?
Yes, it was ;) Who comes up with this stuff, anyway?

We'll get back to this awesome tongue twister again at the end of this video. And now let's find out how to make the /dʒ/ consonant.
OK, as we mentioned a minute ago, to make the /dʒ/ sound, you need to merge the stop /d/ with the fricative /ʒ/ into one sound.
First, slightly open your mouth and push out your lips.
Now, focus on your tongue.
Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth. Just as you do to make the /d/ sound. This way you stop the air.
Now, to release the air, arch your tongue so it's near the roof of your mouth. The same way as you do when you make the /ʒ/ sound. Make sure that you don't touch the roof of your mouth and that there's a small gap for the air stream.
When you release the air through this gap, it'll flow with lots of noise: /dʒ/.
The /dʒ/ is a voiced sound, so don't forget to add your voice.
Does that sound like a lot? Don't worry, let's watch it again in slow motion.

Remember, the /dʒ/ is an affricate sound, so it's important to completely stop the air in your mouth and then immediately release it with friction.
Now, let's try and merge the /d/ and the /ʒ/ sounds together: /dʒ/, /dʒ/, /dʒ/.

Here are a few typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing this sound.
1. The most common problem is that non-native English speakers devoice the /dʒ/ consonant, especially when it occurs at the end of words. Often, people don't realize that they pronounce the voiceless /tʃ/ sound instead.
2. Another common problem is that many non-native English speakers involuntarily confuse the /dʒ/ and the /ʒ/ sounds.
This happens when people don't stop the air before making the /ʒ/ sound. Be careful as this may make your foreign accent stand out.
[Pronunciation exercise 1]
• gel
• gym
• jar
• jaw
• jeans
• jet
• job
• John
• join
• joke
• judge
• juice
• jump
• June
• just
[Pronunciation exercise 2]
• adjust
• agency
• angel
• budget
• danger
• education
• energy
• imagine
• major
• origin
• oxygen
• pigeon
• region
• religion
• magic
[Pronunciation exercise 3]
• age
• arrange
• average
• badge
• baggage
• bridge
• cage
• change
• charge
• edge
• huge
• image
• lounge
• page
• stage

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[WalgreensZoneOfficial]

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