How to Pronounce WH Words what why which American English
In this American English pronunciation video,
I’m going to discuss, with my Mom, the pronunciation
of WH.
I’ve gotten a couple questions about how
do you pronounce words that begin with WH.
And I’ve brought my Mom here because she
pronounces it differently than I do. She does
the perfect, in my opinion, old fashioned,
hw sound before the W. Whereas, I just make
a clean W sound. So, for example, let’s
just say some words.
Okay.
Whale.
Whale.
White.
White.
What?
What?
Why?
Why?
While.
While.
Such a perfect hw. So, either way, totally
acceptable. And Mom, you said sometimes you
leave off the hw? Like for the word ‘whether’,
you said you don’t do it.
Whether, W-H-E-T-H-E-R, I would say the
same as weather.
Whether or not.
Yeah, whether or not, I would say the same
as weather, clouds, rain, sleet.
Right.
So, there I don’t say the WH.
Yeah.
So either one is acceptable. Um, in my
opinion, why learn another sound, hw, when
you don’t have to. Just make it a nice,
clean W sound. I also think that the way my
Mom says it, white.
White.
…is a little old fashioned. What do
you think. Do you agree with that?
No.
Really?
I don’t think it’s old-fashioned.
What do you think it is?
I think it’s the way to say WH.
Oh. Its A way to say WH.
Grammar note: when you say THE way, it means
there’s only one way. When you say A way,
it means there is more than one way. Mom thinks
her way is the only way, the right way,
but I know that both are acceptable pronunciations.
Listen again to THE way and A way.
What do you think it is?
I think it’s the way to say WH.
Oh. Its A way to say WH.
Okay guys, so that’s my opinion on how
to say WH words. If you’re going to say
it like me, which is a clean W sound, you
just round the lips, ww, and start your word.
Thanks, Mom.
You’re welcome, dear.
Alright guys, that’s it, and thanks so
much for using Rachel’s English.