Watch my family wish me ‘good night’ in this video, and learn the different ways a native speaker may say this.
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Video Transcript:
In this American English pronunciation video, we’re going to go over how to pronounce the phrase ‘good night’.
>> I’m going to go to bed. Good night everybody!
>> Good night, Rachel!
[yawn!] I’m tired. Good night fans! Let’s listen to a bunch of different people say that phrase.
>> Good night, Rachel.
>> Good night!
>> Good night!
>> Good night Rachel.
>> Good night.
>> Night, Audrey.
>> Good night!
>> Good night Leon!
>> Good night.
>> Good night.
>> Good night, Savannah.
>> Good night.
>> Night!
>> Good night, Rachel.
>> Good night!
>> Good night!
>> Night!
Did you notice how most people reduced the word ‘good’ to just the G sound? G’night, g’night! Let’s hear a few people say that.
>> G’night Rachel!
>> G’night!
>> G’night!
>> G’night!
G’night! How do we say that phrase? Gg, gg. To make the G sound, the back of the tongue lifts up and touches the soft palate. To make the N sound, the front part of the tongue lifts up to the top of the mouth: g-nnn-a. Then it comes back down for the AI as in BUY diphthong. We do need some jaw drop for the first half of that diphthong. G’ni-. Then, for the second half, the tongue lifts up towards the roof of the mouth, the tip stays down but the front part lifts, and so the jaw is less lowered. G’night, g’night!
What’s happening to the T? That’s a Stop T. That means I’m just stopping the air in my throat. G’night, g’night! Some part of my tongue is lifting up to the roof of my mouth. It might be the front part, like is necessary for the T position, but it also just might be something further back. It’s a little bit more lazy. G’night, g’night. So when I’m making it there, the tongue tip stays down and the middle part is reaching and touching the roof of the mouth. But the important part is that we’re stopping the air in the throat. G’night, g’night. That cuts off the sound, which signifies the Stop T. G’night.
Some people drop the word ‘good’ altogether and just say ‘night!’
>> Night!
>> Night!
So, when you’re parting ways with a friend at night, or you’re getting ready to go to bed, this is what you can say. G’night! G’night, guys!
If there’s a phrase you would like to learn how to pronounce better, please put it in the comments below.
BONUS!! Did you notice how I used the word ‘gonna’? I’m gonna go to bed.
>> I’m gonna go to bed.
Gonna, gonna. This is a great reduction. Americans use it all the time. It’s not slang, it’s not uneducated, it’s not lazy. It’s just a very integral part of spoken American English. So don’t be afraid to use it.
I’m gonna go do bed. G’night, guys!
That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.
Hear the difference immediately.
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