Accent's Way Magazine

#76

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How to Pronounce Analysis in English

Do you want to know how to pronounce ‘analysis’ in English?

And also what the’s difference between analysis (singular form) and analyses (plural form)?

Because they don’t sound the same.

There’s also a verb ‘analyze’ and it also sounds different.

Before your head starts to spin take a deep breath and watch the video to find a simple way to distinguish between those three words.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey guys, it’s Hadar. And this is the Accent’s Way. Hila asked me to explain the difference between the word ‘analysis’ and ‘analyze’. ‘Analysis’ and ‘analyze’. Indeed, a confusing pair. So, this is what we’re going to discuss today, and I’m also going to add the plural form of the word ‘analysis’ – ‘analyses’. Did you even know that there is a plural form? And this is how it sounds – analyses.

So let’s talk first about the difference between the singular and the plural form. So, analysis, ‘uh-NA-luh-sis’. The first thing you need to think about when you are, you know, trying to figure out how to pronounce a word is where the primary stress is. Analysis. The primary stress is the one syllable that sticks out the most. And in this case, it’s the second syllable. Notice, it’s a little longer than the rest of the syllables. And it’s higher in pitch. ‘uh-NA-luh-sis’, right?

The first syllable in this case is a schwa – a very reduced and neutral sound. ‘uh-NA’. So, the first syllable is super short, unstressed, quick, neutral. The second syllable is long, loud, higher in pitch – ‘uh-NA’ – very open. Okay? It’s the ‘a’ as in cat. So drop your jaw, pull the lips to the sides a bit -. ‘a’, and push your tongue forward. It’s like that sound people make when they’re not really interested in something. ‘Nah, it’s not for me’.

‘Hey, you want to go grab a drink after?’ ‘Nah, I don’t drink’.

‘You want to take a trip to mountain view?’ ‘Nah, I don’t like it.’

So, NA, NA. ‘uh-NA’. All right? A schwa sound and the ‘a’ as in cat.

Then you have another schwa sound – ‘luh’ – with a nice American L. It’s not a dark L, but it is somewhat, it has some kind of a weight to it. ‘luh’. All right? It’s not [luh], but it’s also not [luh]. Don’t engage so much the back of the tongue – ‘luh’ – just a bit. ‘uh-NA-luh’.

And then the singular form has an S, an ‘ɪ’ as in ‘sit’, and another S – ‘sis’, like ‘sister’, ‘sister’. ‘Hey, sis. What’s up?’. ‘sis’. Okay? Now, one thing I have to tell you about the ‘ɪ’ sound when it’s not the primary stress, and sometimes people tend to drop it into a schwa, make it a schwa – ‘səs’. So you might hear that – ‘uh-NA-luh-suhs’ – 2 schwas. But you can or should pronounce it with a relaxed ‘i’ sound – ‘uh-NA-luh-sis’. ‘sis’.

Now, the plural form changes at the end. Okay? So instead of ‘sis, what you hear is ‘seez’. So the relaxed ‘i’ turns into a high ‘ee’, and the S turns into a Z: ‘uh-NA-luh-seez’. ‘uh-NA-luh-sis’ – ‘uh-NA-luh-seez’. And if you’re not sure how to remember these two words, then remember the difference between ‘this’ and ‘these’. Because ‘analysis’ rhymes with ‘this’, ‘this analysis’, ‘this analysis’. And ‘analyses’ rhymes with ‘these’, ‘these analyses’, ‘these analyses’. Right? Super simple.

And if you’re not sure about the distinction between ‘this’ and ‘these’, then you should definitely go and check out my video about ‘this’ and ‘these’. Okay. And I’m going to put a link below. Okay. So, ‘analysis’ and ‘analyses’.

Now the verb is a little different. And why is that? Listen to the word – analyze. analysis – analyze. What’s the difference? So the difference, again, is in the primary stress. Right here the primary stress falls on ‘A-nuh-lize’ – the first syllable. ‘A-nuh-lize’. So the first syllable is actually the ‘a’ as in cat, and then you have a schwa- ‘A-nuh’. Unlike the first word- ‘uh-NA’ – schwa and then the ‘a’ as in cat, here they switch places – ‘A-nuh’. Funny how things work. ‘A-nuh.

And then you have the common suffix – ‘lize’, like’ realize’ or ‘recognize’. ‘A-nuh-lize’. ‘I have to analyze the system’. ‘A thorough analysis’. ‘I’ve submitted my analyses’. ‘analyze’ – ‘analysis’ – ‘analyses’. That’s it.

And you know what, if you want to make it your own, and if you want to really remember the distinction between these three words, you just have to practice. So say each word separately slowly until you feel pretty comfortable and confident about the pronunciation. And then use it in a phrase or a sentence. Cause, you know, a word outside of context never sticks. Right? You can never really remember the word if you don’t put it in context. All right? So do that.

And that’s it. Thank you for watching. Please share this video with your friends, if you liked it. And come on over to my website to check it out and get a free audio course to get your accent training started. All right? So do that. I’m going to put the links below. And let me know if you have any questions about English, about pronunciation, or about the word ‘analysis’.

Have a great week. And I’ll see you next week in the next video. Bye.


The InFluency Podcast
The InFluency Podcast
217. How to pronounce Analysis, analyses, analyze
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Did you watch the video? I hope now you can see the difference in pronunciation. But as I said in the episode, the best way to remember it is to practice and use it in context.

Watch this episode, to find out how to learn new vocabulary effectively.

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