English Pronunciation For video modeling of sounds and practice: https://earlham.box.com/v/ER-Pronunciation

1. VOWELS: /ɝ/ & /ɚ/
Pronunciation Lesson
Speaking & Listening Class
Ms. Quinones

2. VOWELS of the Day
• /ɝ/ - as in “early,” “perfect,” and “fir”
• /ɚ/ - as in “paper,” “honor,” and “brother”

3. Commonly Confused Sounds
• /ɝ/ is commonly confused with sounds like /ɔɹ/, /a/, and
/oɹ/ depending on how a word is spelled.
• Ex. “word” might sound like “ward” or “warred” or even “wad”
• /ɚ/ is commonly confused with /ə/ since it comes at the
end of words and it is easy to drop the /ɹ/.
• Ex. “Brother” sounds like /brʌðə/

4. Production
• Both /ɝ/ and /ɚ/ start with the tongue in the middle of the
mouth in height and slightly forward, but not too much.
• The lips are also rounded and the tongue curled slightly in
the position for the „r‟ sound.
• The main difference between them is that /ɝ/ is held longer
(at the beginning and in the middle of words).
• /ɚ/ is released more quickly (at the end of words).

5. Individual Practice
• /ɝ/
• Ernest served Pearl perfectly and earned a worthy word
of encouragement.
• /ɚ/
• Her honorable mother, father, brother, and sister would
rather bother the waiter

6. Now Try Them Together
• Bertha and Peter were mirthless as they feverishly
worked to preserve the Burmese serpent‟s environment.
• Katherine and Walter curbed the fervor for the serpent‟s
leathery covering at their lawyer‟s firm.

7. Additional Practice
1. Sir, the pastor of the church would prefer if you‟d defer
your leisurely nap until after service.
2. Her mother referred her to the purchase order.
3. Surely Shirley‟s was super curly.
4. The worm squirmed to work it‟s way under the earth.