Consonant Sound / k / as in "key" - American English Pronunciation

[@SoundsAmerican]

🎉Great news!🎉 Our brand new Sounds American website is up and running!🚀🎊 There's lots of content on pronunciation.🤓You can start with the article about the /k/ sound: soundsamerican.net/article/consonant_sound_k_as_in_key

[@MB-ts8oq]

I used to speak the "Brazilian English" (LOL). I discovered that when I decided to teach my child how to read. I bought a book to teach a child how to read based on phonetics. How I live in Brazil I researched channel that teach how to pronounce each and every English phoneme to support the book. That's when I found out I was mispronouncing a lot of words! Now I am correcting myself to teach the right way to my daughter. We have improved a lot already, but we are still in the journey!

[@SoundsAmerican]

It takes time, but it's totally worth the effort, right?

[@MB-ts8oq]

@@SoundsAmerican Yes, indeed! It is funny how I decided to teach something to someone and I discovered how ignorant I still was and I ended up learning even more things. Thanks for your channel. It would be impossible to learn those things outside a English speaking country without the internet and channels like yours!

[@SoundsAmerican]

Awesome, glad to hear this! Let us know if you have any questions. BTW, on our Community page on this channel, we make weekly quizzes and posts on phonics (how letters match sounds in American English), this stuff can be useful too, check it out: kzbin.info/door/-MSYk9R94F3TMuKAnQ7dDgcommunity

[@MuhammadAmeen-rp5sm]

I am very thankful to you because you are my tutor and I folow your videos daily and i do practice on your souns

[@victorhernandez4613]

Honestly, I think you have made a great job. This playlist is very neat, it is a great tool for learning. Thanks, it is priceless.

[@SoundsAmerican]

You're very welcome!

[@MohamedAli-rd7rn]

I'm incredibly excited to find this super extraordinary website!! No one can imagine how much American accent means to me. I really appreciate your time and you, guys. You mean a lot to me. Thanks a million for sharing this helpful tips about American accent training. I'll stick with it insha Allah. Thank you so much again for your precious time ⏲️ 💗

[@linavila5776]

I'm so happy to find this channel :) my husband keeps criticizing me in front of people because of my bad English. I get mad at him for doing that but he is right. I've been living in USA for so many years and my English is still bad. I took accent reduction courses but I didn't cover all. Plus, I was surrounded by people that only speaks my native language or have foreign accent too. For a long time I prioritized other things in my life. Now that I got married to a guy that only speaks English, my priority is to get better at this language. Thank you for your videos and I hope I could speak better soon or I will just divorce this dude! Just kidding! 😂

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Lina Vila , hello there Lina, OK, we're in! We want the Sounds American to become the first KZbin channel that saved a marriage. :) Let's do it! What's your first language, by the way? What sounds are most difficult for you?

[@linavila5776]

+Sounds American :) my first language is Spanish. Some difficult sounds for me: sh and ch, verbs ending in ed, anything spelled with o, sound /s/ and /z/, Words like shot and shut, Live and leave, full and fool, word stress, rolling the r, Not pronouncing every consonant. 🙄

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Lina Vila , thank you, it's helpful. Hold on a couple days, we're making a playlist for you.

[@sione_etc]

it's not nice of him to criticise you in front of people, if he wants you to learn he should be supportive and helpful. he should try learning spanish before he gets so critical of you

[@YT15888]

Sounds American I hope that the phonetic signs can have Chinese subtitles. Thank you

[@FabioRodrigues-fh5zv]

I practices every single day sounds of american in this chanel

[@SoundsAmerican]

Awesome! Tell us about your progress!

[@sasino]

8:18 nice idea putting that one as the last, as a reminder for us 😂

[@thealonso_rex5692]

Es un sonido dificil de hacerlo para mi, pero con practica se puede.

[@yesikacindhe5084]

all of your videos really helps me,keep making these useful videos,stay amazing!!😊

[@SoundsAmerican]

+yesika cindhe , glad to hear that! We will 😀🖖

[@andrealouisebocalanchan1379]

hi we dont know about how many chldren you have

[@kammydhaliwal186]

It is a great video. My doubts got clarified. Thanks. I had purchased an American accent course in which I was not told about the 3 different sounds of the same letter k.

[@arthurrise1000]

Great job with this one! Thank you.

[@SoundsAmerican]

Glad you like it!

[@ardasnnnn]

Hello, dear "Sounds American" channel! I've realized something about my native language recently. First of all there's /k/ phoneme in Turkish but there's another one similar to it which is /c/ (unvoiced palatal plosive or unvoiced post-palatal plosive). We characterize both of these sounds with the letter k but we pronounce it with /c/ if it occurs before or after one of the front-vowels as in the word: kemik /ˈcemic/. Despite this rule, in some loanwords we use /c/ before non-front-vowel: kâr /caɾ/ (profit) and if you articulate /k/ instead of /c/ then it'll mean kar /kaɾ/ (snow). After this short brief, I would like to know how it works in General American English because I realized that I pronounce the words can and cage like /cæn/ and /ceɪdʒ/ and when I listen it from websites like forvo, it still sounds /c/ :D Am I the one who thinks there's /c/ instead of /k/ or is it another version of conservative transcribing like the one /r/ instead of /ɹ/? By the way, thank you for everything. I've made a huge progress so far thanks to you :)

[@asunciondiezarce1828]

Thanks,at the end,I’ll be learn English.

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Asuncion Diez Arce Awesome! Glad to hear that!

[@pedroguevara7883]

Thanks for the video, this k sound is easy.

[@ngannguyen-lt9ri]

Pedro Guevara argee

[@tutuchacha1]

Thank you so much. I really love your lectures. I want to know about ‘qu’ sounds as in queen.

[@josea.pineda1755]

kwin

[@jinhuafeng2789]

You guys are really helpful. Thanks a lot. By the way, could you put on /tj /for the next video?

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Bonny Feng , you're welcome! Not sure I understand what sound you mean. Can you please give an example word?

[@jinhuafeng2789]

Sounds American I mean /tj / or the “ch” like coach, touch , chalk, etc. Thank you!!!

[@ramzy-6566]

Great video. Thank you.

[@SoundsAmerican]

Glad you liked it!

[@马陆飞]

Hello! Thank you for your videos! I have a question. I am a little confused. Not aspirated, what does it mean? Does it mean that at the end these sounds won't make any sound? I do non aspirated ones but at the end there's always a little air. Am I doing right?

[@SoundsAmerican]

Hello there! Check out this video, the "Aspiration" and the "Final stop" sections in particular: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3ezk3-Ziqill7Msi=U1EhDicEdccUp2Gj&t=240

[@HimanshuGupta-jx4nk]

Just Awesome!

[@ramzy-6566]

Hello, is the letter l in the words ( clam /klæm/ - claim /kleɪm/ ) devoiced or partially devoiced. Thank you so much.

[@SoundsAmerican]

Hello there! No, the letter 'l' is always pronounced as the voiced sound /l/. In some words it can be silent, though.

[@ramzy-6566]

Hello, is the letter s reduces the Aspiration for ( p - t - k ) if they followed the letter s - as in spot - stow - ski ?

[@speedart7900]

you guys amazing. Thank you so much for app. Love from India

[@dimipovkorosov5550]

can't wait to use this amazing app

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Dimipov Korosov , 😀 soon!👋

[@personalJoke]

This channel is amazing!!!! I Thank you so much, for the huge amount of job and care taken to build something like this. I have a tab pointing here, so I can easily find any doubt when I am doing my pronunciation lessons. I have a couple of doubts regarding the "click" sound at the end of this phoneme. At 5:27, when hearing the words BACK, BAKE, BLACK It is clear that the typical "click" at the end of the sound is absent, and it can be seen in the graphic that the line is flat at the end. However, I can slightly hear it and I can see it in the word LUCK. Also, it is clearly noticeable in the word PARK, and in some others. - My first doubt is: When do I have to do that CLICK sound and when I shouldn't do it? - My second doubt is when linking the words "PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION", for example, that click should be produced or not?, or maybe, Am I linking these words when they shouldn't be linked at all? Could you please help me? Thanks in advance for all your help, tips, patience, kind and amazing work!!!!!! As I always say "YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!"

[@SoundsAmerican]

Thank you! We're very glad that you like our videos! 💚 Regarding your question - the click sound that you hear (or don't hear) is the aspiration of the final stop sounds. In American English, the final stops are not aspirated in conversation and we recorded some of the words just like that. Some other words are recorded the way they are pronounced in isolation - with the final stops aspirated. Here's our video where we talk about the stop sounds' aspiration - it'll help you understand how it works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3ezk3-Ziqill7M Please check it out and let us know if you have any questions!

[@hoangyenbui5348]

thanks

[@talkeraware1115]

Very clear!

[@EnglishBMTCity]

If we have a nasal sound followed by a stop sound, then we must stop the air through the nose, right?

[@LinhHoang-yw8lc]

Your channel has helped me a lot. Thank you so much. I'm a bit confused with the consonants /t/, /k/ at the end of words. In the word back, lack, the consonant /k/ is not heard. But in the word park, the consonant /k/ is made sound. Can you help me explain? Thank you very much.

[@SoundsAmerican]

Good question, we've talked about this in detail in this video, check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3ezk3-Ziqill7M

[@girlecute18]

its very helpful ^^ thank you

[@SoundsAmerican]

+girlecute18 Glad to hear that!👋

[@Akhoon_faheem]

I have question , suppose we're in a conversation , how long should we pause to build pressure , so that we've the required aspiration for these stop sounds?

[@sriratdecha8809]

Thank​ you!

[@rociom.4991]

Gracias!

[@jeancarlo1367]

Thanks for the video

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Jean carlo da silva , you're welcome!

[@brazenserpent7]

Still hoping to have your Android app installed on my phone soon. Any timeline? This year or next year release? Excellent videos!

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Benjamin P. Ellis , glad you like them! We're working hard on getting the app for the beta release. It should happen soon!

[@ramzy-6566]

Hello, is there a video for qu sound.

[@SoundsAmerican]

There's no such sound in American English.

[@صادقجعفر-م1ص4ق]

Thank you

[@SoundsAmerican]

+صادق جعفر you're welcome! 😁

[@nguyenchicuong3875]

thank you so much

[@SoundsAmerican]

You're welcome!

[@ingalingua8574]

Thank you, ♡

[@SoundsAmerican]

You're welcome 😊

[@andrealouisebocalanchan1379]

Hi

[@38d-thiennguyenthe44]

How to pronounce the /ks/ as in 'xerox', ' extra', ' trucks', 'fix'. And how to pronounce the /sk/ as in 'scare', task', 'disco'. Thank you very much.

[@damongeo840]

I think there are two different sounds should there is aspiration: • CALL /'kʰɔɫ/ and • CAKE /'cʰeɪʔ/. What is your opinion?

[@SoundsAmerican]

It's the same sound /k/, aspirated at the beginning of a stressed syllable.

[@damongeo840]

@@SoundsAmerican, thank you for replying. I think they are different indeed. In Greek, there is a specialised letter for each sound but after the 6th century BC, we have started using one for both of them because the sound strictly depends on the following vowel. Ϟ/Ϙ /k/ (voiceless velar plosive) Κ/Ϲ /c/ (voiceless palatal plosive) ϘΟΣΜΟΣ→ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ→ COSMOS ϘΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ→ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ→ CORINTH ΚΕΡΑΜΕΙϘΟΣ→ ΚΕΡΑΜΕΙΚΟΣ→ CERAMEICOS

[@SoundsAmerican]

That may be true for Greek, but English has different phonology. Both of those word ("call" and "cake") are pronounced with the same /k/ sound (the voiceless velar stop sound). In conversation, the /k/ sound is aspirated at the beginning of a stressed syllable and unaspirated at the end of a syllable. There's no /c/ (the voiceless palatal plosive) sound in American English. The /k/ and /c/ sounds may seem very much alike, but it's best not to replace the English /k/ sound with /c/.

[@damongeo840]

@@SoundsAmerican, OK. Thank you very much for the feedback. Take care.

[@shahbazabbas4621]

What kind of application is used in this.

[@SoundsAmerican]

We're using our own app, but we haven't released it to the public yet. We're planning to do it very soon and we'll announce the release on this channel. Stay tuned!

[@ramzy-6566]

Great video.

[@priyankavaishnav1435]

Share the app which you use to pronounce

[@ambikauprety4470]

Thank you for such amazing videos. I would like to know if these words are also included in /K/ sound : oxygen, october, octopus, oxen, oxford..... etc Thank you so much for your kindness. We are really learning a lots of things here that we don't find in other place.

[@SoundsAmerican]

Yes, those words are pronounced with the /k/ sound.

[@nanaratu8039]

What app did you use in this video for pronunciation?

[@SoundsAmerican]

We're using our own app, but we haven't released it to the public yet. We're planning to do it very soon and we'll announce the release on this channel. Stay tuned!

[@nanaratu8039]

@@SoundsAmerican yes please

[@LindsayHaddy1]

I really like what you’re doing here, and wanted to like this video. But I disagree that the “k” at the end of a word isn’t aspirated. I’m a native speaker, born and lived in Phoenix for 28 years, and lived in Portland, OR for 10 and I think it’s a defining characteristic of the General American accent. Or, does this mean I have a regional accent?

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Lindsay Haddy Hello from Oregon! :) We know what you're talking about! Native speakers often don't realize that the final stop sounds are unaspirated in conversational speech unless they specialize in speech-language pathology. We wouldn't if it weren't our profession 😊, that's for sure 😊. Two ways how you can check if the final /k/ sound is aspirated or not. The first one: compare the puff of air from this sound in the phrase "I like my cat" with the puff of air in the sentence "Get me that brick." This is a relatively reliable way since we pronounce "isolated" words differently than in a sentence. The other way - more reliable - is to check the sound wave that we show under the words in our practice section. The aspiration is next to none for the final /k/ sounds.

[@hrsight]

nice video

[@SoundsAmerican]

Thanks

[@hibbertjahlil4512]

Could you make a video about how to prounce unaspirated / p / / t / / k / sounds. As in apple stop circle. In our country, apple sounds like a bble , stop sounds like sdop , circle sounds like cirgle . We don't know how to prounce unaspirated p t k , they sound like b d g to us.

[@Quietperson135]

wow which country is it

[@Americandream2]

In stop k you pronounced k in some words so should I pronounce all words with k or without k in the end of words ?

[@SoundsAmerican]

The /k/ sound at the end of words is always pronounced, just like all stop sounds at the end of words. You probably don't hear that as they are not aspirated, meaning, they are pronounced without a puff of air. To learn to hear them better, you need to practice with the pronunciation exercises. It's important to listen to how the words are pronounced by a native speaker and then repeat after them. Hope it helps!

[@Americandream2]

@@SoundsAmerican thank you for replying but why you did pronounce k in park with puff ?

[@SoundsAmerican]

These words are recorded in isolation, so we may have recorded some of the stops with a slight puff. The final stop rule works mostly in conversation. We teach this rule so that you get used to how words are pronounced in real life :).

[@Americandream2]

@@SoundsAmerican sorry to bother you but c letter also counts with stop k ? Because today I learned epic fail I really confused about if I should pronounce c or shouldn't

[@SoundsAmerican]

Looks like you're confusing letters and sounds. In English, letters can represent different sounds, and it's one of the difficulties that students have when learning this language. The letter 'C' represents the /k/ sound when it occurs before the letters 'O,' 'A,' 'U' or consonant sounds: "cold," "cat," "cute," or "clean." In this very video we provided the most frequent spellings for the /k/ sound, including the letter 'C'. Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKnVp5ira96obKc

[@thaichinesechannel1912]

Really like it! Thanks a lot. I have one question: calm should sound [kam] not [kalm] ? Am I right? Thanks again!

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Lifeilong28 Lifeilong28, good question! In American English both /kɑm/ and /kɑlm/ are possible.

[@nguyenDuong-nx3dw]

1:50 Why is the Kite's syllable ending at /t/ but you aspirate ?

[@SoundsAmerican]

This word is pronounced in isolation, so there's some aspiration. The Final Stop rule is more frequent in conversation.

[@nguyenDuong-nx3dw]

@@SoundsAmerican oh, tks u so much for answer

[@linhadabeleza]

In consonant /k/ sound most common spelling didn't you forget to mention the letter "x"? We hear this sound in words like: affix, apex, axe, axel, axis, box, boxes, boxer, boxy, coax, complex, crux, dexterity, equinox, excel, except, ex's, expect, expel, experience, expo, expression, extent, fax, fix, fixed, fixer, flax, flex, flexible, fox, foxes, foxy, hexagon, hoax, ibex, index, jinx, latex, lux, linx, max, maxi, maximum, Mexico, mix, mixer, mixed, next, nix, nixed, onyx, ox, oxen, oxide, pixel, pixie, pox, proxy, sax, saxophone, sex, sexy, sexist, sexual, sexuality, luxury...

[@SoundsAmerican]

No, we didn't. The spelling that occurs in less than 5% of words is not considered "common," so on our chart it's marked with an asterisk. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKnVp5ira96obKc

[@vinciwang9703]

what's the name of the app which was used to pronounce

[@SoundsAmerican]

We're using our own app, but we haven't released it to the public yet. We're planning to do it very soon and we'll announce the release on this channel. Stay tuned!

[@kokonina5401]

How can you hear the”k” in final? Luck, black, bake. I can’t hear the K sound at all! How can you hear it when you don’t pronounce it? I’m very very confused! Please help me!

[@SoundsAmerican]

The final stop sounds are always pronounced, they are just not aspirated, meaning, they are pronounced without a puff of air. To learn to hear them better, you need to practice with the pronunciation exercises. It's important to listen to how the words are pronounced by a native speaker and then repeat after them. Soon, you'll see progress. One other important note: you need to pay attention to the Vowel Length rule, the /k/ is a voiceless sound, so vowel sounds that are pronounced before /k/ are shorter, than when they occur before voiced sounds. If you pay attention to the lengths of the vowel sounds, you'll be able to hear final stops better. Hope it helps.

[@kokonina5401]

Sounds American Thank you so so so much! I find that some are very easy to hear, some are very hard to hear. The materials come from TV shows and textbooks. For example, I can hear many “t”, but “t” in “Kate” is very hard to hear. I tried and tried many times. When I connected my phone to the stereo, and make the volume the largest. Finally, I hear more. I hear the very slight “t”! 🎊🎊🎊🎉🎉 Thank you for your reply. Without your help, I cannot realize there is a pronounced sound.

[@SoundsAmerican]

Sure, np! The final stop are not easy, it usually takes a lot of time and practice to learn to recognize them. But seems like you've got a good ear and you're on the right track! The more you listen to native speakers (it's great that you watch the TV shows and pay attention to how the words are pronounced), the better progress you'll make. Just don't forget to pronounce the words with final stops too. Let us know how it goes!

[@Mr.GreenBee.Ongsiengnang]

March 21, 2020

[@aliwilson7658]

this app will free? or not?

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Ali wilson , There will always be a free version. 👋

[@user-lf2zh3mo5l]

Are the p, k, t in these clusters: sps, sks, sts - aspirated?

[@SoundsAmerican]

The stop sounds are not aspirated after the /s/ kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKnVp5ira96obKc

[@user-lf2zh3mo5l]

@@SoundsAmerican so the k sound in the word 'mask' is unaspirated?

[@fernandoposas3691]

I am Spanish speaker, I am not sure if it is the same pronunciation as the K in Spanish, can any Spanish speaker clarify this for me please?

[@SoundsAmerican]

In English, the /k/ sound is aspirated (pronounced with a puff of air) at the beginning of words and syllables and unaspirated (pronounced without a puff of air) at the end of words and syllables. This is very different from how the /k/ sound is made in Spanish. Just a note: it's best not to compare the sounds of your native language with the American ones. Even if they seem similar, there can be subtle differences in pronunciation. It's best to just focus on how American sounds are made. Hope it helps.

[@paulzegarra7211]

part 2 and 3 is the same

[@SoundsAmerican]

+ paul zegarra If you're talking about the practice exercises in this video, the part 2 contains words with the /k/ sound at the end of words, but the part 3 contains the words with the /k/ sound that occurs after the /s/ consonant.

[@mohammedrebwar5877]

I'm 20 years old. I can't get the letter K. Please get a solution.

[@SoundsAmerican]

This video is actually the solution. It describes how to pronounce the /k/ sound in detail.

[@physicist3327]

Man i also have a lisp being a 17 yo in k

[@legendytber]

Việt Nam! Điểm danh

[@gpscmotivation945]

8:18 subscribe 😅 at the end 😂

[@rayhanmollah165]

Hi there I want to learn American English from you. Wil you learn me ?

[@SoundsAmerican]

We don't teach English as a second language, we only teach pronunciation.

[@cricketjalwa7892]

system into consonant...... how

[@myxuyenle1750]

What's app name?

[@SoundsAmerican]

+D.O.M Official This is our own app which is not publicly released yet, we'll announce the release on this channel. Stay tuned!

[@duyhoangha3457]

How to pronounce: 2:16 Exercise number 1: 3:32 Exercise number 2: 5:16 Exercise number 3: 6:37

[@SoundsAmerican]

We have all these links in the video descriptions.

[@AngelAurum79]

kilo

[@arisbarkowichannel139]

Smangatt

[@canhhung4419]

concax

[@maamaachannel]

いいねえ(*´▽｀*)

[@ngannguyen-lt9ri]

まあまあちゃんねる Sounds american don't understand what did you said. Please translate to English.

[@minh_otaku]

@@ngannguyen-lt9ri có dịch trên KZbin rồi bạn ê:))

[@vanessax5753]

hello，i think sk～，k become voiced d and sp voiced d

[@SoundsAmerican]

No, they don't :).

[@juanvalentinencarnacion6100]

cap

[@johnabellana575]

Botol ning tawhana ni.

[@marinak1303]

Thank you

[@SoundsAmerican]

+Marina Kiseleva You're welcome!

[@sriratdecha8809]

Thank you!