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10 Mispronounced Finance words

In this lesson, you’re going to learn about common words in the field of finance that are often mispronounced by non-native speakers.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey guys, it’s Hadar and this is The Accent’s Way. Today we’re gonna talk about how to pronounce the top 10 words in finance. Ready? Let’s go. Capital. It’s a ‘k’ sound and then the ‘ah’ as in ‘cat’ – “k(h)a”, “k(h)a” – where the ‘k’ appears at the beginning of words it’s aspirated. So it feels like there is a little H right after – “k(h)a”. Then we have a “p” sound and then a schwa – “k(h)a-puh”, “puh” “puh”. It’s not “k(h)a-pee” but “k(h)a-puh”. And then finally we have a flap T, that sounds like a D and a dark L – “d’l”, “d’l”. The dark L is created here so it has this really deep, dark sound and kind of weird – “ul”, “d’l”. “K(h)a-puh-d’l” – Capital. The “k(h)a” is the primary stress so it’s longer and higher in pitch. Capital. The next word is ‘debt’. That’s an easy word to pronounce but is commonly mispronounced because, you got it, of the spelling. So we start with a ‘d’ sound. Then it’s the ‘eh’ as in ‘red’. Drop your jaw just a bit but the tongue is still rolling forward quite a bit – “de”, “de”. And we end it with a held T – “det”, “det”. There is no B, although there is a B in the spelling, here we just disregard it and pronounce it as “det”. “I’m in debt.” “I’m out of debt.” Let’s be positive. Debt. Cryptocurrency. So let’s talk about currency, which is an important word on its own. Currency. It’s the ‘k’ sound then the ‘r’ as in ‘stir’. So technically you want to think of it as if it’s a ‘k’ and an ‘r’ together – “k’r”, “k’r”. And then you relax your tongue and mouth and energy to a schwa – “k’r-r’n” “r’n” “r’n”. And then close it with an N – “k’r – r’n”. And then again finish it up with “see”. Currency. Currency. Before that we want to add the ‘crypto’. Crypto – it’s a ‘k’ sound and then an R – “kr”. And then you move on to the ‘ih’ sound as in ‘sit’. Not “kreept”, but “krip”. “Krip” – somewhere between “ee” and “eh” – “krip”. And the close it with a P and a T “krip-tow”. The T opens up to the ‘oh’ as in ‘go’. So again – “krip-tow”. “Krip-tow”. Cryptocurrency. And every syllable has a different note. Cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency. And if we’re talking about cryptocurrency, let’s talk about blockchain. It’s a B sound that shifts to the L sound – “bl”. Make sure that the tip of the tongue touches the upper palate. If you don’t have the L in your language, you maybe say something like – “brockchain” and it sounds like an R. Now you gotta make sure that the tip of the tongue touches the upper palate – “bl”. And then drop your jaw to the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ – “blaa”. Block – close it with a ‘k’ sound – “blaak” – and then move on immediately to the ‘ch’ sound as in ‘chicken’. “Blaak-chein”. Don’t add vowels in between. You need to connect that ‘k’ to the ‘ch’ – Blockchain. You can kind of hold abruptly the K sound – blockchain. But not “blaa-kuh-chain” – don’t add any vowels in between. Blockchain, then we have the ‘ay’ as in ‘day’ and we close it with an N – “blaak-chein”. The “blaak” is the primary stress. Higher in pitch, longer, but you already know that. Blockchain. Bankruptcy. Bank. We being with ‘bank’ – it’s a B sound and then it’s the ‘ah’ as in ‘cat, but since there is an ‘ng’ consonant sound – “bank” the ‘ah’ turns more into a ‘eh’ sound or an ‘ay’ sound – “bein”. And then close it with a ‘k’ – “beink”. “Beink-rup” – so you move on to the R immediately after the ‘k’ sound – “beink-rup”. So round your lips for the R, prepare for the R and bring the tongue up – “Beink-rup”. Schwa, reduced vowel. Don’t open your mouth too much. So it’s not “beink-rahp” – “beink-r’p”. Close it with a P. And then ‘see’ as in ‘what do you see in front of you?’ – “see”. Let’s go to the sea. “Beink-r’p-see”. Bankruptcy. Stock Market. Let’s break it down. You start with an S sound and you hold it abruptly with a T – “st” – and then you open it to the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ – “staa” “staa”. And close it with a ‘k’ – “staak”. It is not “stohk”. It is not “estohk”. It’s “staak”. Stock. The ‘stock’ is the primary stress so it’s going to be longer and higher in pitch. Stock. Then we have ‘market’. Market. We begin with an ‘mm’ sound and then the ‘ar’ as in ‘car’. Technically it’s the ‘father’ vowel, but a bit more rounded because it has the R right after – “maar” “maar”. Notice that you’re not bringing the tip of the tongue high up too soon so it sounds like ‘merkit’. ‘Merkit’. But “maar”. You want to divide it into two steps – “maar”. And then you close it with ‘k’t’ – “k’t” “k’t”. It’s a ‘k’ sound, a schwa, a reduced vowel, and a held T – “k’t” “k’t”. Stock market. Stock market. Stocks. Stock market. Equity. We begin with the ‘eh’ as in ‘red’ – “eh”. And then it’s a ‘k’ sound and an W immediately – “kwuh” “kwuh”. Obviously there is a schwa there, so it’s a really relaxed vowel – “eh-kwuh”. Alright? So not “eh-kweh-dee”, not “eh-kwah-dee”. “Eh-kwuh”. Flap T and then a high E – “dee” “dee” “dee” “dee”. Equity. Equity. Primary stress on the first syllable – “eh”. Equity. Mortgage. Mortgage. Here, we have the M sound then the “or” as in “for”. Round your lips for the ‘oh’ but keep your tongue down so it doesn’t go up too soon for the R – “more”. Then you drop to the R – “more”. And then the second part is “g’j” “g’j”. It’s a ‘g’ sound and then a ‘j’. The T there is silent, it doesn’t really exist, only in the spelling. “More”, like ‘gimme more’, “more” and “g’j” “g’j” “g’j”. Mortgage. Mortgage. Forex. Forex. We begin with ‘f’ sound then the ‘or’ as in ‘for’ – “for” “for”. And then, “reks” “reks”. So we have a primary stress and a secondary stress – “FO-reks” “FO-reks”. The R sound is a strong R because it opens up to a vowel and the vowel right after is the ‘eh’ as in ‘red’ – “reks”. And we close it with a ‘k’ and a ‘s’ sound, on after another. Forex. Make sure you don’t drop any sounds at the end so it doesn’t end up sounding like ‘fork’, that’s a different word. Forex. Forex. Shareholder. Shareholder. Two words with two long vowels in the middle. So you gotta go slow on this one. We begin with the first word, share. It’s a ‘sh’ sound then the ‘are’ as in ‘dare’ – “share”. You wanna make sure that the ‘are’ sound is clean so it doesn’t sound like “sher” “sher”. Share. Share. That’s the primary stress. Then we have the word ‘holder’. The “oh” here is the ‘oh’ as in ‘go’, so it’s not “hulder” “hulder”. But you do go through this nice diphthong starting from “oh” and then closing to “oo” – “hoe” “hoe”. Make sure you pronounce the H – “share-hoe”. And then we have the dark L. It’s dark because right after there is a consonant, it is the D sound – “Share-hoe” – so we’re starting to create the tension for this L – “share-howl” “l” “l” – and the dark L blends in with the ‘oh’ as in ‘go’. “Share-howl”. And then we end it up with “der” “der” “der” – a D sound, schwa R, which is technically D-R “der”. Shareholder. Think of it as if it has three parts. Share-howl-dr. Shareholder. Okay! That’s it! These were the top ten words in finance and how to pronounce them. Now, it’s your turn. In the comments below, write a sentence with one of the words we discussed today, or two sentences, or three sentences! Because remember, practice makes better and that the only way to learn. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, consider subscribing to my channel because more fun videos are coming your way. Have a great week and I’ll see you next week in the next video.


We’ll talk about how to pronounce capital, how to pronounce equity, how to pronounce blockchain, how to pronounce stock market, how to pronounce mortgage, how to pronounce debt, how to pronounce cryptocurrency, how to pronounce Forex. how to pronounce bankruptcy, and how to pronounce shareholder.

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4 Responses

  1. Thank you very much ! You again demonstrated a marvelous example of your teaching talent and your vocal art. I enjoyed it.

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