American English Sounds
  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors

/y/

LISTEN

listen_to_-y-.mp3
File Size: 253 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/y/.../y/.../y/.../y/...

yes...young...bey​ond...oni​on

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /y/ is a voiced, palatal, glide consonant:
  • Raise your tongue to the top of your mouth so that the sides of your tongue touch your upper teeth. Your tongue should be tight.
  • Sharply move your tongue downwards and drop your jaw while pushing air out of your mouth.
  • Your vocal cords should vibrate.

Note: In English, some words have a /y/ sound before /uw/. This sound is “invisible” – it’s not shown in spelling.
invisible-y.mp3
File Size: 235 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​If the /uw/ is spelled “u,” “eu,” "eau," or “ew”, there is usually an invisible /y/, unless the syllable begins with “j”, “r”, or "ch."
  • Words with invisible /y/: 
    • confuse
    • menu
    • music,
    • unity​
uw_no-invis-y.mp3
File Size: 249 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

  • Words with no invisible /y/: 
    • ​juice
    • rude
    • chew
    • ​soo​n
For other words, there may be variation in whether speakers pronounce an invisible /y/ before /uw/. For example, invisible /y/ is usually pronounced after the "n" in "menu" but may or may not be pronounced after the /n/ in "newspaper" or "nutrition."  This variation occurs when /uw/ is spelled "u," "eu," "eau," or "ew" and comes after "t," "d," "s," "x," "l," or "n."

​Spelling:
  • "y" - yes, beyond
  • "i" - onion, interview
  • Unspelled (invisible-y): few, menu

Note: The letter "y" often represents a vowel (like /iy/ or /aɪ/ instead of the consonant /y/. as in words like "only" or "try." Also, the letter "y" may appear between two vowels to signal a separation of syllables, rather than a /y/ consonant, as in "employee" or "beyond." However, some speakers may still pronounce a /y/ in these words.

​Grammar Tip:
In informal questions with a "you" subject, the /y/ is often blended into the final sound of the previous word if the final sound is /t/ or /d/. This creates an affricate sound. (This blending is not required, but it is common in fast, conversational speech.)
grammar-y.mp3
File Size: 232 kb
File Type: mp3
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  • ​/t/ + /y/ = /tʃ/
    • ​Won't you come? -  Wontcha come?
    • Didn't you hear? - Didn'cha hear?
  • /d/ + /y/ = /dʒ/
    • ​Did you know? - Didja know?
    • Could you help? - Couldja help?

COMPARE

Compare /y/ with /l/:
compare_y-l_1.mp3
File Size: 103 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/y/.../l/.../y/.../l/.../y/.../l/...

These are both voiced, palatal consonants. However, /y/ is a liquid consonant while /y/ is a glide consonant. When you pronounce /l/, your tongue should touch the roof of your mouth, but when you pronounce /y/, the sides of your tongue should touch your upper teeth.

​You can hear the difference between /y/ and /l/ in these words.
compare_y-l_words.mp3
File Size: 423 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. yes, B. less
2. A. young, B. lung
3. A. yearn, B. learn
​4. A. use, B. lose
5. A. few, B. flu
6. A. furies, B. flurries

Practice recognizing words with /y/ and /l/ by taking the quiz below.

Now, compare /y/ and /w/:
compare_y-w_1.mp3
File Size: 98 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/y/.../w/.../y/.../w/.../y/.../w/...

These are both voiced, glide consonants. However, /w/ is a bilabial glide and /y/ is a palatal glide. To pronounce /y/, your tongue should be high in your mouth and your lips should usually be spread.

​You can hear the difference between /y/ and /w/ in these words.
compare_y-w_words.mp3
File Size: 360 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. yet, B. wet​
2. A. you, B. woo
3. A. yay, B. way
4. A. yonder, B. wander
5. A. your, B. wore
6. A. unyielded, B. unwielded 

Practice recognizing words with /y/ and /w/ by taking the quiz below.

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words: (A * marks words with an invisible /y/.)
words_with_-y-.mp3
File Size: 557 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. yes
2. you
3. yard
4. young
5. yoga
6. yesterday
7. *use
8. *music
9. *view

10. yeah
11. yawned
12. yogurt
13. *confuse
14. *beauty
15. onion
16. opinion
17. youthful
18. unyielding
19. yearly
20. *reunion


Now, practice /y/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
sentences_with_-y-.mp3
File Size: 1059 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. you - yellow - onions​
Where did you put the yellow onions? 

2. yearly - reunion
My family has a yearly reunion.

3. yoga - yesterday
I practiced yoga yesterday. 

4. refused - yield - opinion
He refused to yield to my opini​on.

5. you - youngest - your
Are you the youngest person in your class?

6. use - youthful - beautiful
​Many people use makeup to appear youthful and beautiful.

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
  • Male 1 (US Midwest - St Louis) - words, sentences
  • Male 2 (US Midwest - Iowa) - words, sentences
  • Male 3 (US Midwest) - words, sentences
  • Female 1 (US Northeast) - words, sentences
  • Female 2 (US Southeast) - words, sentences

USE IT!

​​Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

Prepare:
Look at the list of activities. Decide if an old person or young person is more likely to do each one.
​​
  • Wear yellow clothes
  • Argue about their opinion
  • Hike a canyon
  • Say "yes" to a new opportunity
  • Attend university
  • Buy a new computer​
  • Do yoga
  • Be genuine about what they feel​​
  • Listen to modern music
  • Care about looking beautiful
  • Eat yogurt
  • Yell at a person who makes a mistake 
  • Yield to authority
  • Own a yacht
  • Make things with yarn
  • Refuse to eat yucky (bad-tasting) food​
  • Wear yellow clothes
  • Argue about their opinion
  • Hike a canyon
  • Say "yes" to a new opportunity
  • Attend university
  • Buy a new computer​
  • Do yoga
  • Be genuine about what they feel​​
  • Listen to modern music
  • Care about looking beautiful
  • Eat yogurt
  • Yell at a person who makes a mistake 
  • Yield to authority
  • Own a yacht
  • Make things with yarn
  • Refuse to eat yucky (bad-tasting) food​
Record:
In your recording, describe 2 things that young people are more likely to do and 2 things that old people are more likely to do. Explain your answer.

©2018-2021, Christine Wingate​
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors