Sound | Tongue | Lips | Jaw | Teeth | Air | Vocal Chords |
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/ˈ/ | | | | | | |
/ʤ/ | Raise the middle part of your tongue towards the hard palate, which is the bony ridge in the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. At the same time, lower the back of your tongue towards the floor of your mouth. | Keep your lips relaxed and slightly open. | Keep your jaw slightly open and relaxed. | Keep your teeth slightly apart. | Build up some pressure behind your tongue by briefly stopping the airflow with the tip of your tongue against the hard palate. Then, release the air by quickly pulling your tongue back from the hard palate. | Start vibrating your vocal cords just as you release the burst of air. This produces a voiced sound. |
/ɜ/ | The middle part of the tongue lifts towards the roof of the mouth in the middle. The front of the tongue hangs down. But it does not touch anything. | The corners of the lips come in, pushing the lips away from the face. | | | | The vocal cords vibrate. |
/r/ | The tongue forms an arch near the roof of the mouth. It does not touch any part of the mouth. | | | | The air flows through a narrow space in your mouth. | The vocal cords vibrate. |
/k/ | The back part of the tongue reaches up and touches the soft palate, cutting off the air. The tongue pulls away and the air flows. | The lips position to adjust the sound that comes next. | | | Air passes through the mouth. First, the air stops. Then, it flows. | The vocal cords do not vibrate. |