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PRONUNCIATION: BASIC SOUNDS
The O-W Sound and the O-I Sound
/aʊ/ and /ɔɪ/

GOAL

I can make the O-W sound and the O-I sound.

TRY IT!

Read the sentence below.

Troy found some old round coins.

SOUNDS

Learn how to pronounce today's sounds.
Sound Profile

/aʊ/

Voicing

yes

Mouth

open ➡ slightly open

Lips

wide apart ➡ rounded + pushed forward

Teeth

Tongue

the middle of the tongue low ➡ the middle of the tongue close to but not touching the roof of the mouth

Jaw

down ➡ neutral

Steps

  1. Open your mouth with your lips wide apart.

  2. Drop your jaw down. Keep the middle of your tongue low.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. Round your lips and push them forward. At the same time, raise your jaw up to neutral.

  5. Raise the middle of your tongue close to but not touching the roof of your mouth.

  6. Make a voiced sound.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the O-W sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with au (アウ) in katakana.

 

brown ➡ buraun (ブラウン)

now ➡ nau (ナウ)

proud ➡ puraudo (プラウド)

 

Be careful to make them the O-W sound in English!

/ɔɪ/

Voicing

yes

Mouth

slightly open

Lips

slightly rounded + pushed forward ➡ stretched horizontally

Teeth

Tongue

the middle of the tongue low ➡ the middle of the tongue close to but not touching behind the top front teeth + the sides of the tongue touching the top side teeth

Jaw

Steps

  1. Open your mouth slightly

  2. Slightly round your lips and push them forward. Keep the middle of your tongue low.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. Stretch your lips horizontally.

  5. Raise the middle of your tongue close to but not touching behind the top front teeth.

  6. Make a voiced sound.

  7. You should feel the apples of your cheeks rise slightly during Step 3.

Katakana Otoshiana

Many English words with the O-I sound are written with oi (オイ) in katakana. The way you form both the English and Japanese sounds is the same, but the katakana words can sometimes sound choppier.

 

noise ➡ no-i-zu (ノイズ)

join ➡ jo-in (ジョイン)

point ➡ po-in-to (ポイント)

 

Be careful to have a smooth transition in English!

Steps

  1. Open your mouth with your lips wide apart.

  2. Drop your jaw down. Keep the middle of your tongue low.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. Round your lips and push them forward. At the same time, raise your jaw up to neutral.

  5. Raise the middle of your tongue close to but not touching the roof of your mouth.

  6. Make a voiced sound.

Steps

  1. Open your mouth slightly

  2. Slightly round your lips and push them forward. Keep the middle of your tongue low.

  3. Make a voiced sound.

  4. Stretch your lips horizontally.

  5. Raise the middle of your tongue close to but not touching behind the top front teeth.

  6. Make a voiced sound.

  7. You should feel the apples of your cheeks rise slightly during Step 3.

Katakana Otoshiana

Because there is no perfect match for the O-W sound in Japanese, many English words with that sound are written with au (アウ) in katakana.

 

brown ➡ buraun (ブラウン)

now ➡ nau (ナウ)

proud ➡ puraudo (プラウド)

 

Be careful to make them the O-W sound in English!

Katakana Otoshiana

Many English words with the O-I sound are written with oi (オイ) in katakana. The way you form both the English and Japanese sounds is the same, but the katakana words can sometimes sound choppier.

 

noise ➡ no-i-zu (ノイズ)

join ➡ jo-in (ジョイン)

point ➡ po-in-to (ポイント)

 

Be careful to have a smooth transition in English!

WORDS

Practice today’s sounds in the words below.

/aʊ/

couch

bow

round

meow

crown

pound

/ɔɪ/

noise

oink

soy sauce

annoy

oyster

poison

SENTENCES

Practice today’s sounds in the sentences below.

/aʊ/

  1. There’s a mouse in my house now.
  2. The children counted the cows around the town.
  3. The brown cat said meow.
  4. Ow! I just fell down!
  5. Wow, the king’s crown cost three million pounds!

/ɔɪ/

  1. My little boy likes toy cars.
  2. Loud noises annoy me.
  3. Fatima joined a voice competition.
  4. Kim enjoys oysters in soy sauce.
  5. My cousin’s pig toys make oink noises.

/aʊ/ + /ɔɪ/

  1. The police found poison in the cup.
  2. The oyster dish costs twenty pounds.
  3. The boy likes to play outside his house.
  4. Troy found some old round coins.
  5. Joy has a brown toy car.

DIALOGUES

Practice today’s sounds in the dialogues below.

/aʊ/

Student:

Hey, Lao, I have a question. How do you bow?
Tutor:

Put your head down like this. Ow, my neck! Can you get me some medicine? It’s behind the couch.
Student:

Sure! Is it this round bottle under the towel?
Tutor:

No, it’s in a brown bottle. It’s a powder. The name is Pain Down.
Student:

I found it! It was next to your flowers.

/ɔɪ/

Student:

Do you and the boys want to join the oyster eating contest tomorrow?
Tutor:

We want to join, but the oysters might be raw! We don’t want to get sick.
Student:

Don’t worry. The oysters will be boiled.
Tutor:

Hmm… We really love oysters. Especially Roy. He eats them with soy sauce.
Student:

Please join! I’m sure you and the boys will enjoy it!

/aʊ/ + /ɔɪ/

Tutor:

I want that cowboy toy, but it’s fifty pounds!
Student:

What? The toys here are expensive! How about this round pig toy that oinks? It’s only 10 pounds.
Tutor:

Oh, cute! I’ll buy that one and this toy cat that says meow. Are you going to buy anything?
Student:

No… I’m counting my coins now, and I only have five pounds!

TRY IT AGAIN!

Reread the sentence below.

Troy found some old round coins.