Some non-native speakers, especially Spanish speakers, mix up the Y and J sounds in English pronunciation, so that ‘yes’ sounds like ‘jess’. Learn how to pronounce these two consonants clearly and correctly.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKII6NscMbg
Video Transcript:
In this American English pronunciation video, we’re going to go over the difference between the words ‘yellow’ and ‘jello’.
I got a request to do a video on ‘yellow’ vs. ‘jello’, and a similar request, the difference between ‘you see’ and ‘juicy’. Both of these are comparing a beginning Y sound with a beginning J sound. And I’ve noticed that especially my Spanish-speaking students and friends have problems with this. The word ‘yesterday’, for example, with the Y consonant, often sounds more like jesterday, with a J sound.
What is the difference between these two sounds?
First, let’s look at the lip position. yyyyellow. The lips are relaxed, aren’t they?
Jjjello. There, the corners come in, and the lips flare. So the lip position is quite different. Also, the teeth have to be closed for the J sound: jjjjello, but they don’t have to be closed for the Y sound: yyyyellow.
You see, juicy. [2x]
I do want to note, for the Y consonant, generally the lip position doesn’t affect the sound. So it might take the position of the following sound. For example, my lips might start rounding for the OO vowel in YOU as I say the Y consonant: You. So for the Y consonant, the lips are probably going to be relaxed or taking the position of the next sound. But for the JJ consonant, the lips have to flare.
Let’s look at the tongue position by comparing some photos.
See how the lips must flare for the J sound. They stay relaxed here for the Y sound.
The tongue position is quite different. For the J sound, the tip is at the roof of the mouth. For the Y consonant, it touches the back of the bottom front teeth. The middle part of the tongue pushes forward against the roof of the mouth to make this sound.
So the tongue position is really your key. Where is the tip of your tongue? For the Y consonant, make sure it’s down. Yyyy (drop jaw). And the middle part pushes forward along the roof of the mouth while you hold a little bit of the sound in your throat. Yyy, yy.
Yellow, jello.
Let’s look at these two words up close and in slow motion.
Yellow: corners of the lips are relaxed, tongue tip is down. Notice for L here that my tongue tip comes through the teeth, it doesn’t go to the roof of the mouth. This is an alternate position. Instead of pressing against the roof of the mouth, it presses against the bottom of the top front teeth.
Jello: see how the lips flare and the teeth are closed. Let’s compare these two positions.
Yellow: corners of the lips are relaxed, tongue tip is down. Notice for L here that my tongue tip comes through the teeth, it doesn’t go to the roof of the mouth. This is an alternate position. Instead of pressing against the roof of the mouth, it presses against the bottom of the top front teeth.
Jello: see how the lips flare and the teeth are closed. Let’s compare these two positions.
Yellow, jello. You see, juicy. I hope this video has made the difference in these two words clear. If there’s a word comparison you’d like to see, put it in the comments below.
Also, I’m very excited to tell you that my book is now on sale. If you liked this video, there’s a lot more to learn about American English pronunciation, and my book will help step by step. You can get it by clicking here, or in the description below.
That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.
Hear the difference immediately.
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