European Girls tried to Pronounce The Hardest English Words! (UK, Spain, France, Germany)

[@MrYfrank14]

With words like " Colonel" pronunced "ker nill", I give non native speakers a lot of credit for even trying.

[@schmerztablette-yn7ft]

The word was originally pronounced "coronel" (in Old/Middle French). The English language adopted the newer spelling (with an L instead of an R) but didn't change the pronunciation, which (in English) never evolved towards an L sound. But since the spelling was never changed, the word is as weird as it is nowadays. In modern French, "colonel" is pronounced as it is written (co-lo-nel, three syllables). "Lieutenant" would be another good example from the military field. The spelling is purely French, the pronunciation (especially in British English) is just very strange. The American pronunciation of the word sounds like a person who tried to pronounce the French word and failed horribly but at least they didn't add an F sound that is nowhere to be found in the word.

[@jenniferhanses7064]

@@schmerztablette-yn7ft Just blame the French for about half the spellings not matching, and really nerdy scholars for insisting the other half shouldn't match either. Basically, the language massively evolved, but the spellings didn't change. And then scholars came back in and changed other spellings to make them harder in order to reflect Latin and Greek roots. And the reason American spellings are different is that we had at least one scholar on our side (Noah Webster), who said screw this with making spellings hard, lets make things simpler.

[@elmercy4968]

Unlike the German girl said the word "Colonel" is known in Germany if you look movies about military. I've heard it a lot. Major, Colonel, Sergeant. The latter would also have been interesting for the girls to spell. :)

[@schmerztablette-yn7ft]

@@jenniferhanses7064 That's true, in some cases French scholars added letters to words that had not been pronounced for hundreds of years but they thought it was sad that the (spoken) words no longer reflected their Latin roots, so they made sure the words looked a bit more like their Latin origins again. Of course they couldn't change how their fellow citizens pronounced words but they could establish the spelling and so they did. It is important to consider that back then, when the spelling of languages was established for the first time in history, it was not intended for working class / uneducated people to know how to correctly spell words, so adding difficulty to the spelling (thus requiring thorough education) was seen as a good thing, not as a drawback. Besides, historical context is always important - it happened during the Renaissance, and in that era Latin and Ancient Greek were extremely fashionable! If you didn't know Latin, you were basically a nobody.

[@jenniferhanses7064]

@@schmerztablette-yn7ft So French had the same issues as English then in that respect?

[@louburnett6782]

NEVER be embarrassed if you get a foreign word wrong - it’s how you learn. I am trying to learn Spanish and there are so many things I can’t pronounce, but I am trying so I refuse to be embarrassed about it.

[@JP-en7cc]

If you can pronounce fast "El cielo está enladrillado. ¿Quién lo desenladrillará? El desenladrillador que lo desenladrille buen desenladrillador será" you are good to go

[@schmerztablette-yn7ft]

@@JP-en7cc In this case, you might try French which seems even easier to pronounce! Try this complex looking sentence: "Si six scies scient six cyprès, six scies scient six cyprès." The pronunciation is very simple: see see see see see see-pre, see see see see see-pre. :D (Translation: If six saws saw six cypresses, six saws saw six cypresses)

[@jasonwiley798]

key is craazy

[@s-p-tmusic8190]

U will get there don’t give up.

[@patrickluis232]

Some more practice, one day u get there

[@sgtNACHO]

German girl has a near perfect American when speaking English. She could be from Pennsylvania or Ohio and I would believe it

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Germans tend to be pick up idiomatic English fairly easily.

[@ramennight]

Most of the time I was blinking at how understandable she was.

[@cindersofcreation]

Well english is a Germanic language whereas the other two are romance Latin based

[@benjaminstephens7524]

@@ramennight especially when she said squirrel, because that one is particularly difficult for Germans. Enough that it was used to root out Nazi spies in WWII if I recall correctly.

[@haselnuss43]

I think many Germans start to watch the American sitcoms or other shows in english language, so we pick up the accent there

[@nevermind3520]

Claudia looking dead searious pronouncing it completly wrong is soo hilarious! 😂 This video is always good for a laugh!

[@testfire3000]

It was loads of fun!

[@xohyuu]

ES language is easy to pronounce literally. | Cầu nguyện cho Ukraine và hòa bình.

[@alvallac2171]

*completely

[@Charl_es19]

Next time try with these words : through , thorough , throughout , thought , though , tough . Try also with these : Two , To , Too and There , Three , They , Their , They're

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

No need.

[@EZTopNotch]

The last words are not difficult

[@kaitlyndoucet2151]

these are harder to SPELL, not to say.

[@zarzaparrilla67]

Exactly, these are hard to spell, but pronounce them is not that hard

[@jwb52z9]

@@zarzaparrilla67 You wouldn't believe how many Americans don't know that "they're, there, and their" are not identically pronounced in the US.

[@mpolleys]

Plot twist! Massachusetts isn't an English word. It's taken from a Native American language, the same way that we use words from Spanish like patio.

[@Groundedsquirrel]

And as someone from MA, trying not to feel pained by the misspelling in the video!

[@POTATOSOOPS]

It is an English word, it's just one that has a loan word origin

[@jjnonken]

Massachusetts. Just like in the song. Also, "gouge" is not spelled the same as "gauge".

[@juddgraves5064]

They spelled "Massachusetts" wrong! The spelled it "Massachuesetts."

[@BladeX11883]

@@Groundedsquirrel same

[@PongoXBongo]

One of the great things about English being so widely spoken around the world is that is has adopted many local accents over time, and those accents travel to other parts of the world. So, as long as you get the pronunciation _close enough_ (doesn't have to be perfect UK/US) then most people should be able to understand you. The main thing is to be confident and just keep trying until you get your point across (note: that doesn't *not* mean speaking louder, lol).

[@czaja995]

Yes, but at the same time it is just insane how English language evolved but it spelling did not, many words now just do not follow any rules, it looks like someone just forgot to update spelling, it is funny to watch some movies where English children have spelling contests in schools, especially for someone from country where almost all words you pronounce how you write them, you only have to know how to pronounce written letter correctly and you are good to go.

[@promontorium]

They all have the same southern Californian girl accent with upspeak and vocal fry. As a Californian who already finds it annoying locally, it disturbs me.

[@fart63]

@@promontorium wtf are you talking about

[@jenm1]

I think we should consider that English simply has different dialects rather than saying people are "wrong"

[@jenm1]

@@promontorium do u just dislike women

[@Daun0007]

This proves Australians are the best in this kind of things : vegetables = veggies, sixth = sixth (emphasis on the i), colonel = mate, choir = bunch of singers, gauge = the thing, jewellery = accessory thingy, Massachusetts = somewhere in US, etc 😆

[@小青蛙-b3z]

really!? somewher in US 🤣🤣🤣

[@rorychivers8769]

@@小青蛙-b3z 'e i'n't wrong Coming up in the next English lesson, the various subtle intricate and limitless usages of the humble apostrophe, first edition, volume 1

[@geoffreyherrick298]

Not even an English word. Massachusetts is an Algonquin word that means "Great hill, small place", and referred to the hills near Boston.

[@skilz8098]

You could add a twist to it and do a New York City versus a Boston accent of many words...

[@slaps101]

Yeah nah yeah

[@miriamiraci6167]

I love Claudia breaking out laughing while Shannah gently pats her leg

[@betsyduane3461]

Gauge is a French word, so is colonel. “Colonel” came into the English language from the mid-16th-century French word "coronel" Old French gauge (noun), gauger (verb), variant of Old Northern French jauge (noun), jauger (verb)

[@axwleurope9519]

In. Spanish is also coronel

[@Loutral]

And "Squirrel" comes from the old French "Escurel" (Écureuil in French).

[@jujucachoux3240]

*Сolonel in french now, not coronel 😉 And it comes from the italian word colonnello

[@betsyduane3461]

@@jujucachoux3240 Like I said, mid-16th-century French word "coronel"

[@jujucachoux3240]

@@betsyduane3461 ah yes sorry, I read too fast

[@CheekandBluster]

I think what's important to remember is, don't freak out and worry about mispronouncing things. At least here in the U.S., people can hear from your accent that you're foreign, so we don't fuss about you not knowing how to pronounce "quay" or "Colonel." It's actually kind of charming. Plus, we love foreign accents anyway.

[@kens32052]

Quay is from the French "Quai" - hence the pronunciation.

[@carlsiouxfalls]

I'm from the upper Midwest, so we don't really use "quay" in normal, or even abnormal conversation considering the lack of ports in the prairie. My brain pronounces quay like these ladies did.

[@dpcooper381]

Being from the Southern US (The South), I pronounce almost all of these words differently from the "standard'. Quay is "kway", but most often "boat dock". Jewelry is "Joolry". We use a relaxed manner of pronunciation in informal situations, but we can "dress up" our speech if we feel we need to, y'all.

[@Zeromus725]

This is indeed true, brother

[@bongobagginz]

for example there's a place in the southwest of uk called newquay, so that'd be new-kee. might be handy if u ever go to cornwall and need directions idk lmao

[@RecklawTheAmazing]

or "skwerl" -Alabama

[@hkpew]

You forgot to mention the Southern pronunciation of squirrel - "varmint'

[@germanqr]

Quay is pronounced Kee!

[@h-Qalziel]

If you're interested in the etymology of 'Quay' it comes from the Old French 'Kay' which then evolved into Middle English 'Key'. They then changed the spelling of the word from 'Key' to 'Quay' to resemble the Modern French word 'Quai' meaning 'Platform', however keeping the original pronunciation!

[@vanessaalbert9738]

In German quay is spelled Kai, so it's interesting it doesn't evolve from some old German. Also in Swiss German it's quai. So very similar, also the pronunciation is close!

[@AutoReport1]

Same thing with colonel, the spelling was changed to reflect modern Italian-French spelling, which is a deliberate Latin archaism that doesn't represent how the pronunciation evolved. It first entered English from French with the spelling kernel or Cornel.

[@Lcngopher]

I believe its spelled key in american english. Not too sure though. As an american, ive usually seen it spelled the same like with key west florida

[@AutoReport1]

Final i is changed to y in English for visual clarity. Daily/day etc.

[@1Cirmag]

@@Lcngopher Shit you not, it's a different word (probably). Key as in Florida Keys is from the Spanish word cayo, meaning small island, itself from the Taino word cayo, while quay means wharf/pier. Though quay used to be spelled key, so sometimes the same word. The word(s) cay have the same issue.

[@matt21884]

In fairness Massachusetts isn't an English word it's an Algonquin word for "near the great hill" which is referring to the Dorchester hills in Boston. The story is quite tragic because that particular subset of the language of the wampanoags actually went extinct in the and was only recently revived by an MIT linguist.

[@mostlyevilmisha]

Came here to say this; Many many places in the US and Canada have Native American names and are NOT english words. The further west and south you go, the more instances you'll find.

[@tarmaque]

I kept waiting for her to try "Kansas" followed by "Arkansas." That's just evil.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

I think because this video is produced by people who's first language is not English they don't seem to understand that some words they consider "English" are not actually used in England or by the English they are "Americanisms" used in the US. I saw on a previous video one person thought that "soccer" was an English term when in reality nobody in England uses that word they say "Football"

[@racketman2u]

@@lightfootpathfinder8218 I think we are talking about English the language not English the country; in Australia traditionally football=aussie rules, and in New Zealand football=rugby union, and soccer=football! So soccer has been quite widely used in English the language, although it is (sensibly) dying out in favour of "football"

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

@@racketman2u I agree but the game was invented in England and its official name is "Football" so the correct term that should be used is "English football" if you have another national game called football. just as English people say "American football" or "Aussie rules football". I have no idea where "soccer" came from but it definitely wasn't England lol

[@StrawberryMilkkTeaa]

The French girl is so cute lol especially when she tries explaining the reason she pronounces the word squirrel. That was funny.

[@danielplatts9446]

She is really adorable. Something about her that I can't describe. Je ne sais quoi.

[@MateoQuixote]

What the French girl said at 3:51 is sooooo funny and so true when learning a new language. Even if it sounds weird or you don't understand, sometimes its best to just mock the sound you're hearing

[@99Stutz]

Very insightful for the French woman to point out how difficult it is to sound like a native English speaker with a French accent. Even those with very good English skills sound like they have a strong accent. I'm not sure why it is, but to me the biggest difference is in which syllables are emphasized. Pick any word, and most likely the natural tendency toward emphasis will be the opposite in English and French. Often, French tends to emphasize the last syllable of a word, and in English that sounds very unnatural and choppy, or like you're asking a question. English often emphasizes either a first or middle syllable.

[@bartkavanagh2216]

the french girl is soooo dahm cute, like every time she answers she is so quiet but she is teh most accurate throughout

[@efficiencygaming3494]

I remember reading in a book that the word "squirrel" is supposedly very difficult for German speakers to pronounce. That German girl got it right on the first try. Awesome! The word "quay" is very rare in American English, but I'm pretty sure most Americans do pronounce it the way that it's spelled.

[@NybergCarl]

A guy I knew in the Navy said his Filipina wife had major issues with pronouncing squirrel, so I suspect it's hard from multiple non-English starting points.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

Yes, "quay" is pronounced /KWAY/, on the rare occasion that the word is pronounced at all; normally it's found in age-of-sail literature (alongside such other obsolete naval terms as "wharf", "mizzen", "focsle", "linstock", "cascabel", "carronade", "athwart", "barque", "rake the stern", etc.), so it doesn't get spoken aloud that much. In modern English we almost always say "dock", or occasionally "pier".

[@esunisen3862]

I'd say english squeakers would have much more trouble with either eichhörnchen (DE) or écureuil (FR).😂

[@ausgepicht]

The irony here is that while English is considered a descendant of German, the lion's share of our words are French. Goes to show you have much language can change over 500-800 years. The reason English is difficult is because it adopted words from hundreds of languages and those languages have their own set of rules. One cannot make a hard and fast rule when comes to English. Even the rules we were taught in school were lies: "i before e, except after c," for example. I feel bad for non-English speakers when they see words like garage that has two different "g"s and laugh and fought, where the "gh" is pronounced differently. Each word has to be learned by ear for speaking and by letter for writing because those two don't always agree. You should have thrown them a curveball with "Lieutenant" which you guys in England pronounce "LEFTtenant." Also, as a Massachusetts native, it's not Massachuesetts. We have LOTS of Amerindian words and if you aren't from specific areas other Americans can't pronounce them. It's fun when family from Florida comes to visit and tries to pronounce "Gloucester, Worcester, Wampanoag, Sconticut," etc. The German girl's English was VERY good, sometimes indistinguishable from a native speaker. The Spanish and French woman should NEVER feel ashamed when speaking English because 1) Most Americans love these two accents - Spanish from Spain sounding very distinguished and French sounding charming; and 2) Many Americans who would laugh at you girls can hypocritically only speak one language - which essentially makes you smarter than the person laughing at you. Besides, when I go to Walmart and hear other Americans speak English, I realize that many Americans can't speak English.

[@ktipuss]

The lion's share of our most commonly used words are Germanic. I don't think it's possible to make up a sentence using exclusively French-derived words (although I invite someone to give it a go). Churchill's "We will fight them on the beaches" oration contains just one French-derived word: "surrender". Suggest to a native French speaker that English is a Romance language like French, and the response will be: "NON! L'anglais est une langue germanique !"

[@JoeKeyes]

Yeah, English is an amalgamation of a language. Evolved with German/Dutch/French/Latin influence for sure. The surprise with the word 'colonel' was so funny to me because the root word is the Italian word 'colonnello' (which means the same as colonel), but the word was adopted by the French into the word 'coronel' which then came to English and is why we pronounce colonel like we do! So much of what we say is because of French and Spanish influence (this is often a major reason for many differences between US and British English) but without linguistic context the Spanish and French people in this video think something like colonel is so random, haha.

[@krissv3ctor512]

As another fellow Massachusetts native, Gloucester, Worcester, Leicester and the like all come from England.

[@tonyg.1114]

@@ktipuss Disagree. Working on a dock I would see packages with contents written in multiple languages. French by far had the most words similiar to english.

[@elias_scamander]

German guy here! I totally agree. The pronounciation of words in english is really something you can only learn by hearing the words over and over... At least for me it feels like there is absolutely no logic behind it.

[@Ahmed-pf3lg]

The spanish girl has a great personality haha

[@AblissMusic]

It's interesting how my main language is English, but I've never heard the word "quay" a day in my life lol

[@Benji567891]

I've always just pronounced it like they did, not key.

[@oConshien]

Yeah what the heck is a quay

[@1Cirmag]

@@oConshien It's a pier, and depending where you are in the US can be pronounced key, kay or kwai

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

To be fair American English is almost a different language to English

[@Skyl3t0n]

@@1Cirmag In german it's "Kai". So I wonder why it's pronounced that weirdly in english

[@macvena]

Vocabulary and grammar are most important. Having an accent or slightly mispronouncing a word is nothing. In fact it may be very charming and make you more interesting. I promise you.

[@endeavor1664]

True! Even native speakers mispronounce words all the time. I could understand all of them in this video even when they had a hard time pronouncing it. What matters more is the whole sentence not just one word’s pronunciation

[@poit57]

7:40 Is there a place in the UK spelled "Massachuesetts"? If they were referring to the US state, the editor misspelled Massachusetts.

[@Hercules1-v9m]

I'm impressed by anyone who can speak more than one language. I've tried to learn other languages and it's very difficult.

[@MN-vz8qm]

Nah it isn't difficult at all. As a french I can give you THE secret of learning another language. Go live abroad. I remember the first day I set foot in London, I took a taxi from the airport, and the driver was feeling talkative. I couldn't understand one word about what he said, and was wondering what all those years at schools were for. After a couple months in immersion, I had made tremendous progress. Of course, it was a long time ago and I lost most of it, but the advice stands.

[@user-ry4ip9ps9x]

@@MN-vz8qmvery true, immersion is key

[@wolfzmusic9706]

@@MN-vz8qm I'm sorry, but most people don't have the opportunity to live abroad, so this is stupid advice. And as somebody who's been learning German for almost two years, it is very hard and requires a lot of dedication and commitment.

[@MN-vz8qm]

@@wolfzmusic9706 most peiple? Really? From the US? Dont you think you exagerate a bit? I have several examples around me who did it to north america without even having a job waiting for them in advance (when i was younger i moved to england, then the US, but in my case i had jobs waiting for me)

[@wolfzmusic9706]

@@MN-vz8qm I'm not from the US, but the UK. Many people cannot move abroad because they have family, could cause immense anxiety, how would they get a job if they aren't good enough at the language (a serious question to consider) and so much more. It's unrealistic for most & it's ridiculous advice to give. I for one would be incredibly anxious to move abroad and it'd probably be very difficult to get a good job even knowing the basics of the language. You'd at least need to be fluent (even for some basic jobs, like working at a supermarket I assume).

[@pingw1]

French says so many french expressions that's so funny😂 "Bah nan", "ouais mais"

[@davidbaker1363]

I'm American and native Amerenglish speaker, and I was in my 50's before I learned the right pronunciation of "quay".

[@MidnightBlue105]

So funny. I’m American and I didn’t know the word “Quay”. I would have also guessed to say it like “Kway” 😅

[@downundabrotha]

In my country Quay is Marquee i dunno why 😆 they're like 2 different things

[@zacharywoudstra5917]

Same here. Born, raised in the US, still would have guessed Kway. In fairness I'm from Iowa. There's not many boats around here!

[@MidnightBlue105]

@@zacharywoudstra5917 ...and I'm from Michigan... probably THE boating state 😅

[@danielvan12]

@@zacharywoudstra5917 Came here to say this, just so happens I’m also from Iowa lol

[@shaaravguha3760]

90% of city names from the other girls countries are harder then all these words to say lol.

[@jmaz0444]

Tbh even in England we have hard place names but I agree place names would be harder than those words however I think the video emphasises just how irregular English can be

[@mcp4211]

Capital of slovenia...

[@huaiwei]

@@mcp4211 the only Icelandic placename I can pronounce properly is "Iceland". 😅

[@C0URTNEYYYYYYYY_______________]

As a native (American) English speaker, “sixth” is such a hard word. I’m noticing I say “sixt.” It sounds like “six” if I’m talking fast, “sixt” if I’m talking normally, and “sixth” if I’m emphasizing it. Basically everything I can to make one syllable (“SIXT”) instead of two (“six-TH”). Super interesting. I wonder how much that pronunciation varies by dialect

[@ravelanone9462]

“Eighth” is the one people have the most trouble with. Most people say it wrong. It’s “eight-th”-both the T and the Th sound are pronounced.

[@xohyuu]

Is it right without s sound ; [ sikθ ] ? | Миру мир!

[@ravelanone9462]

@@xohyuu No. It’s /siksth/ (I don’t have a theta character). x = ks sound.

[@xohyuu]

@@ravelanone9462, cheers for being my online daily English teacher^^; Please let learners know English more easily, as Ravelan One did to me from now on^^;

[@paulbradford6475]

You spelled Massachusetts incorrectly. Otherwise, you (all of you, that is, )did a great job.

[@jenniferhanses7064]

Gouge is the word you were looking for, I think, for comparison with gauge. Of course, I'm American. Maybe the Brits spell the two words the same? Also, all of the ladies did really well. Usually when I run into Germans, they tend to do the best, but then English is a Germanic language, so they have an advantage, I suppose, even though it's long since diverged.

[@daniellatheczarina2u915]

Hi, gouge and gauge are two different words in British English. She doesn't know what she's talking about. I thought that she was being so picky about the word vegetables, they sounded fine.

[@jenniferhanses7064]

@@daniellatheczarina2u915 Subtitler clearly needs to do a better job then. Thanks for confirming that they're two different spellings.

[@ryanjustice2670]

@@jenniferhanses7064 Yeah right? Not to your remark about the subtitler, but your original comment. I thought to myself, "Do Brits really spell gouge as gauge, or have I lost my mind, or is this girl just an ace of spades short of a full deck?"

[@skilz8098]

There's some germanic but there's a lot of influence from the Celts, Anglo Saxons and Bretons and Latin too. However much of that has faded over time when Old English transitioned into Middle English. Then the language transformed again within the Shakespearean - King James era and transformed again in our present time within the past 150-250 years.

[@kevincasey1280]

when they tried to write massachussets on the screen it was a total bloodbath.

[@timothyduggan2263]

I'm surprised the French girl struggled with Quay as they have a very similar word Quai, meaning railway platform.

[@FinalGurr]

Colonel is interesting because the sound/pronunciation comes from the original spelling of the English and French "Coronel" which if you say how its spelled, you can hear how "Ker-nel" developed from that

[@pedrolopes3542]

If you are a Latin speaker, you can latinize the words in your head before pronouncing them, (but never write them latinized) : Jewelry becomes Yúelri Massachusetts becomes masaxúzets Choir becomes cuàier Colonel becomes córenel Lincoln becomes líncon you becomes iú House becomes jóuz Room becomes Rrúm (roll the r) New York becomes niu iorc Irony becomes aironi Yellow becomes ielou Yes becomes iés No becomes nóu Now becomes nau Know becomes nou Knolodge becomes nolodx (subtle d and x sound) Washington becomes uáxinton

[@d.on.in.a]

@Edgardus "white Italians"?

[@d.on.in.a]

@Edgardus btw the spelling above doesn't make sense in Italian, so I guess it's only valid for Spanish speakers

[@esunisen3862]

If i'm not wrong, if a word has 3 or more syllables, you drop the vowels in the second syllable. Like restaurant you say rest-rant.

[@MikMoen]

Its really surprising how well the German speaks English.

[@dontspoilmyride]

I learnt that word down un Sydney NSW, there is the Circular Quay train station at the end of the line.

[@johnm_85]

Colonel is a French world adopted into English

[@TheMuddySea]

As are gauge and quay

[@reginaldwelkin]

I find it funny how colonel originated in France, with an "R" in the past. Also, Americans spell quay as "key", I'm pretty sure.

[@FranklinVillalobosLPA]

Loved the Spanish girl in "Ozark"

[@smorrow]

"When I see that word I always remember the American version" As opposed to just saying it how it's written

[@mackenziemorgan7054]

The only place I’ve ever been that had the word “quay” in use was Wales, and the lady at the hotel front desk pronounced it like “koi”!

[@milkandblue]

We have Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay!

[@timothywilliams2252]

Well, Massachusetts was kind of unfair, since the colony (and, now, state) was named after the Massachusett people native to the region. So, technically, it's not an English word. For example , from the pacific northwest of the USA, "Klickitat"

[@gotham61]

They also spelled it incorrectly on the screen with an extra E added.

[@zarzaparrilla67]

For me one of the most difficult things of speaking English as a Spanish speaker is to pronounce words that start with an s follow by another consonant like t or p. I always tend to pronounce a vowel before the s hahaha. One perfect example is Spain, everytime I say I'm from Spain, I say something like I'm from espain lol

[@fernandobermejo6840]

That’s true, and since “e” is a vowel, I tend to use “an” instead of “a” before these words.

[@blacksheep8427]

In college I had an American friend named Scott. All my Mexican friends very distinctly called him "EScott."

[@rahim7327]

just pronounce it with I in the beginning Ex: Spain = ISpain

[@zarzaparrilla67]

@@rahim7327 It is more natural to us to pronounce with an e, because most words that start with s and p, t or l, in Spanish start with e, s and one of hose consontants . For example, Spain = España. State = Estado. Slalom = Eslalon

[@rahim7327]

@@zarzaparrilla67 I do understand coz it’s the same thing in the Philippines we use estado/s, España , etc. I’m just suggesting some “tips” to kinda sound native.

[@kevin19358]

8:05, Same for me, it's quay, but I am wrong. It's que, similar to key.

[@mschmuller4506]

As a German, Colonel was one of the first words I learned in English as a little child, thanks to Disneys 101 Dalmatians lol

[@machjiffy4710]

I'm an English speaker and had no idea how to say "Quay" lol I've never even heard of that word before

[@VOiDED50120]

Its interesting how I am a native english speaker (from the us) and I have never heard the word quay in my life

[@elmercy4968]

English has so many synonyms. I knew the word chorus but not choir.

[@pixywings]

I know a lot of people have difficulty with the letters B and V. For B just press your lips together and sort of let the air pop your mouth back open. It's actually like a slightly softer P. For V lightly bite your bottom lip. It should feel similar to when pronouncing the letter F but with less air. I hope this helps a few people. Gauge is pronounced Gaje. Gouge is how to spell the word pronounced Gowje. Example used in a sentence : Gouge out their eyes. They are only one letter off, so I understand why Lauren got them confused. I'm a native English speaker and I remember how confused I was when I first saw the word "Quay." I thought it was pronounced kway and had no idea what it meant. I later learned that its pronounced Kee and that it's the same thing as a boat dock.

[@Ethan-qo9rx]

Haha 6:10 gouge not gauge. Why don’t they pick someone smarter to host this?

[@chipsthedog1]

It's not fair that the same girl has to go first every time but great video really fun

[@bazoo513]

Shannah's pronunciation is excellent!

[@emotionalIntelligence2078]

The most fun part was how Lauren turned to an actual English teacher after two words and rest of the girls as obedient students

[@wilvin2627]

The funny thing about the word colonel is it is a word English took from the old French word coronelle. I think the French dropped writing the r and so did English. The French also dropped pronouncing the r were as English keep the r sound.

[@pierren___]

Wtf false. Colonel is a french word, as 60% of english words are

[@wilvin2627]

@@pierren___ That is what I said it comes from a French word. It came into English around the 16th century, What I said was the spelling changed a bit and English keep the r sound while the French dropped it. Most English speakers only have a vague knowledge that a good part of English is from French. The reason some do is if they are like myself and studied French they would notice this, or if they took advanced English classes in school. And we are not even talking about how it was in fashion for a long time to add words from other languages(mainly French) into English because they sound better or it was something from that country. So I do not get where the WTF False comes from. I will admit it put Old French accidentally when it was most likely Middle French.

[@Zarastro54]

@@wilvin2627 Don’t you mean the French kept the r/l sound while the English dropped it?

[@yamagawa7174]

Coronel is spanish

[@kroo07]

I grew up in Poole so "quay" was an everyday word. Interesting that there are so may alternatives in seaside places such as harbour, port, docks, wharf and even more obscure ones like cob.

[@_JesseJames_]

Spanish girl 😍 i fell in love

[@iainmarais]

If one means gauge, the phonetic spelling using standard english phonetics is /geidzh/, and as for gouge it is /gaudzh/ as in a deep cut or a particular woodturner's tool. Example: When turning something on the lathe, it's best practice to gauge (and mark) one's cuts before gouging them out

[@sonamadinolf6096]

In all fairness, the word "Quay" is pronounced differently depending on region. In some its "Key" in others "Kway". It originally comes from a French word, which I believe would have been pronounced "Kay". So both pronunciations are partially right. I stick to pronouncing it "Kway", since there is another nautical landmark which is spelled and pronounced "Key" (e.g. the Florida Keys), so pronouncing the two differently avoids ambiguity.

[@mikem668]

Thanks for that. I always thought it was Kay, but living in Australia in Sydney it was Key. It seems Key is more common. In the US, the Middle Atlantic dialect is essentially what newscasters use and actors start with. It's more like older English than is the current educated SE English in the UK. That's also true to a degree of Northern England and parts of Scotland. Probably because educated British English around London continued to change after the colonization of America. And lots of our early settlers were Scots or Scots-Irish. And also Welsh, but I don't know much about the relationship of Welsh and English.

[@potandhisteams2763]

Quay in Thailand:💀💀💀

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

I've actually never heard anyone say it as anything other than "key". That's me living in Ireland, where we have both American *and* British TV so I hear both accents every day. Kind of odd I haven't come across that yet. In Dublin, we have "the quays" along the river Liffey.

[@MaelstromPraetorex]

It’s ok … Navy’s doesn’t have Col. but Commader or LtCdr. Equivalent to Army Coloner

[@henri191]

I love Lauren is sitting apart from the other girls and her reactions towards the girls whose main language isn't english , especially when Lauren laughs 😂😁

[@1nm1]

I just learned that I was pronouncing one of those words wrong....and I am from the US. As Lauren said near the end, "Quay" is a word that most people don't use or spell much in Real Life. I knew the definition of the word, but I always had pronounced it as they did. Learn something new everyday!!!

[@NexSicarius]

Well, gauge is gauge, and the other word that she thought was spelled the same is actually gouge, so they are visibly different after all.

[@oConshien]

Yeah I'm surprised there wasn't any note added in post about gouge

[@mohawksniper79]

Love their accents very much a turn on don't change guys will love you just the way you are.

[@andreytsyganov7321]

When they were trying to pronounce 'jewellery' Claudia demonstrated this metathesis thing in Spanish that you can see in the words like 'peligro' (Lat. perīculum, note how L and R positions interchange), 'milagro' (Lat. mīrāculum) or 'palabra' (Lat. parabola). Or the modern pair 'croqueta' and 'cocreta'.

[@BlanchestarlightUwU]

Lmao, "cocreta"? That's something only grandmas say... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@usuarioytal4760]

"Cocreta" is an erroneous way of saying "croqueta" generally used in Spain by people with a low cultural level.

[@andreytsyganov7321]

So, 'cocreta' was the only example of such metathesis in the modern language I found. Thanks for the comments!

[@marvinlear5848]

The UK host mispronounces the word Jewelry (USA spelling) every time she speaks it for them. It's either JOO-wel-ree or JOOWL-ree. It is *never* JOO-leh-ree, which you're right, transposes the l and the w. It's a common mispronunciation amongst English speakers though, so I'm not surprised. A tip for anyone having trouble to remember it: just say the word 'jewel', and then add '-ree' to the end. There's a radio commercial I hear all the time that makes me laugh. It's put out by the National Association of Realtors, and they have the voice actor going WAY over the top stressing the second syllable of the word as 'Reel-TOR' (instead of just 'REEL-ter', which is the accepted pronunciation). Clearly, the National Association of Realtors are on a mission to get native English speakers to stop mispronouncing it as the three syllable REEL-a-ter, which has never been correct, yet 25% of USA speakers will say it that way.

[@FlightpathPE]

6:21 The Spanish speaker was the only one who got it correct. I live in Fuquay and it is pronounced few-kwae

[@truthteller2578]

All of these women have beautiful accents but damn France hits different. Her smile and tonality could charm the coldest soul.

[@MichaelVari]

Quay is an interesting one. "late Middle English key, from Old French kay, of Celtic origin. The change of spelling in the late 17th century was influenced by the modern French spelling quai." Compare that to key (meaning a low-lying island or reef, especially in the Caribbean. Compare with cay, late 17th century: from Spanish cayo ‘shoal, reef’, influenced by quay.

[@ricardomachado6792]

Spanish language the letter V has the same sound as B , both of these letters sounds like a B , because of that Spanish people tend to say per example : Thank you Bery much. Colonel and Choir I knew none of them would guess lol 😆

[@Ivan-fm4eh]

vegetables = VETCH-ta-bullz (it really is pronounced with 3 syllables, not 4) sixth = SICKS-th (in the UK they might say SICK-th) - this is hard for native speakers, too... squirrel = skwerl colonel = KER-null choir = quire gauge = gage gouge (dig something out) one letter difference quay = key jewellery/jewelry = JOO-wull-ree or JOOL-ree or even JOO-lah-ree like Lauren did Massachusetts = massa-CHEW-sits

[@cafdo]

English pronunciation is completely random, basically.

[@ramennight]

My family has some germen heritage from several generations back, its interesting to hear that some of the way we talk still has roots in German even though we have been pure English speakers for generations.

[@gshenaut]

It's interesting that neuropsychologists use a variant of this game to estimate patients' verbal IQ. Relatively few native speakers finish the whole test without errors. It's also worth pointing out that it can take some time to learn how to administer the test correctly, because new testers may not know how to pronounce some of the words. (The “[American] New Adult Reading Test”, a.k.a the NART or AMNART)

[@kynn23]

I'm a native English speaker and surprised a researcher when, on a test like this, I pronounced "statistician" correctly. He said it tripped up a lot of people.

[@moonverine]

My great-grandpa was well decorated in the 9th Naval Snack Division. He was a Popcorn Colonel.

[@MagsonDare]

"Colonel's" etymology is from Latin and means more or less "the leader of a column of soldiers." It made its way through Old French where it became "coronel" which leads into the present-day pronunciation, but at some point some scholars decided it should be spelled "the Latin way" to preserve its roots or something, so that's why it's pronounced nothing like it's spelled anymore. Words like debt (Latin debitum, but via French dette), doubt, and isle got the same treatment. Silly medieval scholars....

[@Lxz3]

In Spanish is Coronel

[@pierreabbat6157]

What officer is under General Protection Fault? Colonel Panic.

[@mud213]

It is "colonnello" in Italian. To your point, the word entered via Old French with it's pronunciation but it was spelled to match closer to the Latin/Italian although neither French nor English speakers pronounced the first "l" as an "r".

[@profonde3460]

@Jon Camp just learned that recently from RobWords youtube channel about the silent B & silent P in some English word was just 14th-17th Centuries scholars showing off they know Latin and therefore put the silent B & silent P in their writings, with the words subsequently becoming part of English language. As we know, they changed other words too. There's a good Aussie slang word (also British slang) for someone who's showing off that they know more than others when it serves no useful purpose.

[@javierluissantosrubio6603]

colonel is one of the few words that have spread from Spanish to other languages, it does not come from old French, the colonelía was a military unit of the Spanish Tercios that was commanded by a colonel

[@zachary4670]

I’m an American, and for the first few words I’m like, Oh they’re doing good! And then they bust out Colonel and I’m like, that’s just rude. I would like to see them pronounce “garage” and then add an American to the mix to duke it out with the Brit. When I first heard the British pronunciation of “garage” I had no idea what they were talking about. It’s completely different.

[@AndresRuiz2035]

7:44 no es una palabra inglesa, es de origen indígena, de una tribu homónima que habitaba esa zona a la llegada de los europeos. Los Massachusett.

[@MultiKswift]

To be fair on the Massachusetts one. 1) It's a name not an actual word 2) It doesn't even derive from English (it's from an Algonquin language I believe)

[@Moetastic]

Growing up in Toronto, Canada, theres a street called Queens Quay. I swear I would pronouce it "Queens Kway" up to adulthood until a friend of mine corrected me and told me its "Queens Key". Blew my mind.

[@lunsj]

Lol I learned the pronunciation of Quay from playing Grand Theft Auto III.

[@ExUSSailor]

In the town I grew up in, right around the corner from my childhood home, there was a marina called, "Long Quay Marina". My entire childhood, well into my teens, I pronounced it "Long Kway".

[@hannahtaylor2242]

I just learned it yesterday on Busuu, there's a whole story about this street and the neighborhood, and I was like wtf 🤣 Just when you think you got a pretty good appreciation of the language, this comes up !

[@marshahovenesian8142]

You spelled Massachusetts incorrectly (there is no e after the u). Also we spell jewelry this way in the US - some people pronounce it like it is spelled but most pronounced it jewlry.

[@8967Logan]

As an American I can say I had no idea what a "quay" was or how to pronounce it. You are all lovely and I'm sure if you came to the US you would get a pass on your pronunciations unlike me in Paris this summer trying to say "dinde". Come on it's a sandwich shop; you can't take a guess what I'm trying to say.

[@eurofritz4617]

I knew what it was but I have ever heard it spoken out loud before, only in books. I always read it as Claudia pronounced it.

[@rbrtgrdn]

As an American, I had to look up the word 'quay'.

[@chrismarchini2886]

same, never heard that word in my life

[@anthonypearsall5851]

I learned to pronounce quay as key (the right way), when I read a Rudyard Kipling poem that begins: "There was a row in Silver Street that's near to Dublin Quay/Between an Irish regiment an' English cavalry."

[@toxicskull5991]

I've lived in canada for my entire 19 year life and I've NEVER seen the word "quay" before. Even I thought it was pronounced "kay" . English Is weird

[@lairdsman7928]

u live in the prairies or sumn how u aint never seen a quay lmao L

[@theonk3361]

It's really a rarely used word unless you are from Singapore..

[@davidfranklin5434]

It's a French word ('quai", meaning dock) that got anglicized. Same thing with "colonel" and "gauge" which were both originally French. Helps to explain the gap between pronunciation and spelling in English.

[@lairdsman7928]

@@theonk3361 I'm from Vancouver there's literally quays everywhere I'm just saying this guy has to live far away from water to have never heard how it's pronounced

[@sststr]

Colonel comes directly from the French (as do other ranks such as lieutenant), so I'm surprised the French girl couldn't get it right. The Germans use the word "Oberst" for the equivalent rank, so no surprise she struggled with it.

[@sststr]

We also get quay from the French, although they spell it quai, but it's close enough that again I'm surprised the French girl didn't get it. But, I guess if you never had reason to learn any nautical terminology, it will throw you for a loop regardless.

[@aggiecat]

I write a lot in english, but I have few opportunities to talk, so even though I know how to write a word and what it should sound like, I have a problem! I laughed with you girls, because I would have spoken many words differently myself! Greeting from Poland! Btw now gauge and quay are my favorite english words 😆

[@gwar763]

I have the exact opposite problem. I haven't had anyone to speak polish with since my babcia died 10 years ago. I can read polish and know what it should sound like but I'm sure it comes out sounding ridiculous. Sometimes I practice to myself on long car rides knowing damn well it's probably 80% gibberish. 😂

[@xohyuu]

i was surprised that i recognised that Polish, RU, UA languages were different. | Cầu nguyện cho Ukraine và hòa bình.

[@rizerek]

Massachusetts is spelled wrong, but it is a really tough word to spell. I also think it's funny that it's in a video about English words, since it's actually a Native American word.

[@FromThe9thDimension]

I lived in a small town that had a sign for a nearby Quay, which is how I learnt the word growing up. Never seen any other signs for it though anywhere else I’ve lived 😆

[@betsybabf748]

Watching this from Massachusetts.

[@SpooxyCowboy1911]

Spain girl is a cutie pie

[@brodymanandts]

SO the reason why in English Colonel is pronounced like it is, is because of Frenchman winning the throne of England and bringing upper class word from French into the English language. It has a very interesting etymology.

[@drdotter]

The German girl's pronunciation was native US level. I don't see how that would be possible unless she had an American parent or she lived a significant amount of time in the US.

[@Regular_Decorated_Emergency]

Not quite. Hear her at the end.

[@drdotter]

@@Regular_Decorated_Emergency Those were just words she hadn't heard before. I've heard a lot of natives mispronounce words, too.

[@Regular_Decorated_Emergency]

@@drdotter No, at the end she was speaking about her experience in the video. It is also quite a gap to assume what you wrote as she could have simply practiced an American accent.

[@drdotter]

@@Regular_Decorated_Emergency I could be wrong, then again, I could be right. I guess we'll never know.

[@braincytox7314]

There's a huge exposure to American media so if you are good at learning pronounciation you don't need to live there

[@xelabae]

The French girl would have been absolutely understood with her pronunciation of ''Quay', if she was on Tyneside as some of the words in the Geordie dialect are still preserved from middle French.

[@PoetaDesperto]

Same to the word Choir.

[@kelvinho1983]

Shannah is cute af

[@joshuddin897]

Sounds like an Arabic name. What does it mean?

[@hubi2986]

Ikr she’s freaking pretty and very inteligent aswell. I mainly watch this show for her😅

[@josephkondrat6478]

Having trained foreign nationals to run machines for 37 years, I know the difficulties they have trying to speak English. However, I have more respect for a person who will try to say a word that is not in their native language. They will at the very least try something that is difficult for them.

[@theblackbear211]

There are plenty of native English speakers who seeing the word Quay for the first time would not pronounce it correctly. Just like the word Buoy - which is pronounced "Boy" - as in Buoyant and Buoyancy... and not Boo-ey.

[@prithvishivaraman6461]

I think the issue is that words are pronounced differently depending on where you live. In the US, it is pronounced Boo-ey. Pronouncing it "Boy" would get you confused looks.

[@theblackbear211]

@@prithvishivaraman6461 Not if you are a professional mariner... which I am. I am aware that there are folks that say "Boo-ee", but I'm sorry, but they are mispronouncing the word. The correct pronunciation is a little more nuanced that simply "boy"... just as when you say buoyancy or bouyant - the "u" is there - but it modifies the "o" sound, rather than overriding it completely. There - I'm finished with my pedantic screed for the day. Now I can go back to my other geezerly duties. 🙂

[@Senaleb]

@@prithvishivaraman6461 yeah..I'm in California..we would say Boo-Ey..but then Boyant..and Boyancy.

[@ewetho]

Gage is the thing that shows a value of pressure or temp etc…. Gauge is a measurement of size of like drill bits, pipes, or length (naval artillery) Both are pronounced the same

[@dcs4555]

our language is just weird and adopted from words that probably got stuck on places/ locations/ things that were from another language speakers' idea, and the 'passed down version'. colonel=kernel. 'left-tenant' always got me when watching pirates of the carribean. well like carry-be-n to me. anyway, i loved this mingle of peoples, thank you. life should be enjoyed, as you demonstrated.

[@ToneFuentes]

I think English becomes difficult to many beacause of its inconsistencies in pronunciation, plus the ommison of letters when reading. For example, in Spanish (aside form the h), we don't omit any word when reading. And all of them have a specific and consistent sound that does not change just for the sake of it.

[@kmetcalfe]

I feel this is almost mean, as the simple truth is that as Americans, we are pronouncing at least half of those words wrong. Like Colonel becoming "Kern ill". And Gauge becoming "gage". A french person would know how to say those right, as we are the ones who took the french word and drastically changed the pronunciation.

[@100percentoffcoupon]

as a native american english speaker the quay one confused me because i've never seen this word before and when she said "its where you park boats" i said out loud "thats a dock"