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  • Hey guys, it's Hadar.

  • Today we're gonna talk about the words

  • "Coffee" and "Café"

  • Two of my favorite concepts in this world,

  • coffee and café.

  • The idea for this video came from Dimitri.

  • I was setting on a café this morning,

  • and I was trying to come up with ideas for today's shoot,

  • and I went completely blank I couldn't think of a good word to practice.

  • So I went on my Facebook page

  • and asked the people for recommendations for a video,

  • and Dimitri said that since you're sitting at a café

  • drinking coffee

  • it's only a natural choice

  • to make a video about this.

  • So, Dimitri, you're absolutely right,

  • and here we go.

  • Now, the word "Coffee",

  • starts with a "K" sound

  • and then the "O" that is usually associated with

  • this neutral "O" sound by none native speakers

  • is pronounced as "A".

  • It's actually the "A" as in father.

  • Ok, so to make this sound,

  • you wanna drop your jaw and relax lips,

  • pull your tongue back a bit

  • create a lot of space inside your mouth

  • kaa

  • Coffee

  • Coffee

  • One more thing, the "k" sound at the beginning of words

  • before a vowel,

  • since it's a stop sound that is voiceless

  • is aspirated

  • so it feels like there is a little H after.

  • Coffee

  • Coffee

  • So it's not "coffee"

  • "coffee"

  • "k (h)aa-fee"

  • And the first syllable is longer

  • than the second one

  • Coffee

  • "Let's get some coffee"

  • Now, some speakers may pronounce it

  • with a more rounded sound

  • Coffee

  • 'kaw'

  • Ok, so you see that I rounded my lips just a bit

  • But what I usually tell my students is that,

  • try to make a pure "A" as in father sound

  • if your immediate intention is to make a neutral "O" sound

  • And the result is probably gonna be

  • something between an "A" and an "O"

  • because we kind of merge the two sounds

  • and then the result would be a perfect "A" as in daughter, right?

  • Coffee

  • Coffee

  • Now the word "café"

  • has a very unique rhythm

  • and this what I want to you to focus on when pronouncing this word

  • Café

  • This word is very common and exists in many languages

  • Usually pronounced with a neutral "a" and "e", "café".

  • But in American English, the beginning syllable is an "A" as in cat

  • so you wanna take the time and drop your jaw a lot

  • when you're making it

  • "Ca" as in cat

  • 'kæ-'

  • The second syllable is "ei" as in "day"

  • it's not a pure "e" sound

  • 'kafeh'

  • No, actually in English you don't have words that end with this pure "e" sound

  • It has to close into this nice diphthong

  • "ei" as in "Day"

  • Café

  • Café

  • Now, to be able to make those two sounds

  • you have to stretch the syllables

  • a little more than you're used to

  • 'cause if you're trying to fit it into the rhythm of the word

  • the way you say it in your own language

  • let's assume that you're saying something like "café"

  • I'm talking about most Latin languages

  • like French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese

  • So, if you try to fit it into the rhythm

  • of the neutral pronunciation

  • "a" "e"

  • Then, you'll never be able to make the actual sound

  • 'cause you have to open your mouth wide

  • and to make a long diphthong at the end

  • So, it's about stretching the two syllables

  • Café

  • it's like you're saying it in a slow motion

  • Café

  • Now since you have time for yourself when you go to a café,

  • you wanna have time for yourself when you say this word

  • "Let's go to to a café and get some coffee"

  • Café

  • Coffee

  • Ok, good

  • I really like this video

  • So, go get some coffee

  • and practice these two words

  • with your friends and your family

  • and your kids, if you have kids

  • and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel

  • as you're practicing.

  • Thank you for watching,

  • and I will see you next week in the next video.

  • Bye

  • Coffee, can I get some coffee, please?

Hey guys, it's Hadar.

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