Pronunciation ChallengePhrases English Speakers Sometimes Yell At Each Other

Language is “the infinite use of finite means.” – Wilhelm von Humboldt

Hey! Eyes on me! Wake up! These are some of the phrases English speakers may yell at one another when trying to get their point across. What do they mean? Well, let me introduce myself first. My name is Hubert and I’ll be your host for today’s Pronunciation Challenge. Ok, without swearing, what are some things you may say to one another when you’re mad or frustrated? In Mandarin, I know there’s 閉嘴 which means “shut up” but that can sound rude so what’s something a little bit more polite? We say “zip it” like a zipper. It means to close it. “Cut it out” is something we say to tell someone to stop what they’re doing if they’re bugging you. (In case you don’t know, when someone “bugs you”, they’re bothering you like a bug flying near your face.) There’s so many so why don’t we get to the featured sentence before we get back to learning more phrases, ok?

Today’s featured sentence:
I would probably say to my kids, "Hey, zip it back there. I'm trying to focus on my driving, and all of the noise that you are making is very, very distracting."

I’ll say that again.

I would probably say to my kids, "Hey, zip it back there. I'm trying to focus on my driving, and all of the noise that you are making is very, very distracting."

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
probably
3 syllables.
I heard this is a problem word for many people so let’s try and get this one right! “PRO” has a short A sound. “Ba” has a short U sound and “bly” sounds like the show Glee but with a B instead of a G sound. However, let’s make it easier for everyone. For the last two syllables, just say the word, “bubbly” like something that has a lot of bubbles. Probably.

Next up, we have a blended combination!
“All of”
For this combination, drag the “of” into All. It actually sounds a bit like you’re saying the word “love” when you drag the of into all. All of.

Lastly, we have,
distracting
3 syllables.
“Dis” has a short U sound. “Strac” has a short A sound and “ting” has your typical “i n g” ending sound but if you want the North American accent, I suggest you pronounce this with a D sound instead of the T. Distracting.


Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:
1. zip
Definition
to fasten something with a zip
Used in a sentence you could say,
“My mother always told me to zip up my jacket whenever I went outside.”

Next word,
2. focus
Definition
If you focus your eyes, or if your eyes focus, you try to look directly at an object so that you can see it more clearly.
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“I found it so hard to focus with my phone notifications turned on.”

And lastly,
3. distracting
Definition:
to make someone stop giving their attention to something
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“Social media is very distracting and I could waste a lot of hours mindlessly scrolling on Instagram.”

So which one was your favorite? Actually, there’s one that I say often myself when I’m on the basketball court. When my teammate does something amazing on the basketball court or I score a point, sometimes we say “let’s go!”. It doesn’t mean that we’re going anywhere, it’s just a way to express something like “yes!” or “oh yeah!”. If you really want to learn some good slang, I would suggest you stick around a basketball court in North America. You’ll pick up the local phrases or slang in no time! In no time means very quickly. I learned some good Taiwanese phrases on Taiwanese basketball courts but I’m hesitant (hesitant means unsure) to say it because I’m not sure if it’s swearing or not. I’m not going to take the chance on the Pronunciation Challenge.

Ok, this was a fun episode, well I hope all my episodes are fun for everyone! I’ll wrap it up here but remember to get your recordings in if you haven’t already. Also, give your boy a follow on Instagram at hughtran_. Tell me you’re from Voicetube and say hi! Until the next episode, bye!