Diphthong Sound / aʊ / as in "cloud" – American English Pronunciation

There are three diphthongs in American English. This time we're talking about /aʊ/, as in the word "cloud." Enjoy!

In this video, you'll find out how to make the /aʊ/ diphthong and how to avoid pronunciation mistakes.
You'll practice this sound with a pronunciation exercise recorded by a professional speech therapist.

By the way, here's our website: https://soundsamerican.net/

Quick Links:
• Diphthong /aʊ/, as in "cloud:" 00:00
• Diphthong vs. monophthong: 00:37
• Diphthong definition: 01:47
• How to make the /aʊ/: 02:20
• Typical pronunciation mistakes: 03:57
• Pronunciation exercise: 05:26
• Spelling for diphthong /aʊ/: 09:04

Related videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #VowelSounds #Diphthongs
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[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, PORTUGUESE, AND KOREAN 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 vowel sound /aʊ/, as in the word "cloud." You can also hear this sound in words like "how," "now," "out," or "town."
We'll be using special phonetic symbols — /aʊ/ — for this sound.

Let's begin with a simple exercise.
Take a look at these two words: "bra" and "brow" [/brɑ/] - [/braʊ/]
They differ by their vowel sounds: the /ɑ/ in "bra" and the /aʊ/ in "brow."
Now, watch and compare what happens when you pronounce these vowels:
/ɑ/ - /aʊ/
Do you see a difference in how your tongue and jaw move?

When you pronounce the /ɑ/ sound, your tongue and jaw move into one position only.
So, you pronounce just one sound. That's why the /ɑ/ is called a "monophthong," which means "a single sound."
However, when you pronounce the /aʊ/ vowel, your tongue and jaw move from one position to another. The /aʊ/ sound is called a "diphthong," which means that it's made by merging two single sounds into one.
That's why your jaw and tongue change their positions as you make the first sound and then connect it to the second.
There are three diphthongs in American English, the /aʊ/, the /ɔɪ/ and the /aɪ/, as in the words "bow," "boy," and "by."
We'll cover the /ɔɪ/ and the /aɪ/ in our other videos.
As for the /aʊ/, let's find out how to pronounce this sound.
To make the /aʊ/ diphthong correctly, you need to pronounce two sounds and make a smooth connection between them.
This is how you do that.
Start with making the /ɑ/ sound.
Open your mouth as wide as possible. Relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position.
Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.
Next, connect the /ɑ/ to the /ʊ/ sound.
Smoothly move your jaw up, until your mouth is almost closed. Then pull the back of your tongue to your throat.
The first sound in a diphthong is typically longer and louder. So, make sure that you pronounce a nice and full /ɑ/ and then connect it to the /ʊ/.
Now, let's glide from the /ɑ/ to the /ʊ/ and blend the two sounds together: /aʊ/, /aʊ/, /aʊ/.

Let's talk about the most typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing the /aʊ/ diphthong.
1. Many non-native English speakers reduce the /ʊ/ sound in the /aʊ/.
As a result, the whole sound gets distorted, and it may lead to misunderstandings.
Compare: "shout" -- "shout"
2. In words like "town," or "down" the /aʊ/ is followed by a nasal consonant /n/.
Some people may distort the /aʊ/ by pronouncing it through their nose.
This happens if you pass the air through your nose too early, before making the /n/ sound.
How do you fix this? Practice pronouncing such words this way:
/taʊ/ - /n/ - "town," "daʊ" - /n/ - "down."
Remember, both sounds in diphthongs are equally important. Don't reduce the second sound and avoid pronouncing your diphthongs through your nose!
[Pronunciation exercise]
Now, let's practice the /aʊ/ sound in some words.
This is how the practice works. You'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation. Like this.
You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word. Don't skip this part and do your best to practice as many words as possible.
Let's begin.
• about
• allow
• bow
• cloud
• couch
• cow
• crowd
• doubt
• eyebrow
• flower
• house
• how
• loud
• mouse
• mouth
• now
• powder
• shout
• south
• thousand
• towel
• vowel
• amount
• bounce
• brown
• clown
• count
• down
• downtown
• drown
• found
• frown
• gown
• ground
• noun
• playground
• pound
• round
• sound
• town
You're done! Congratulations!