[Music]
hello I’m Emma from English in this
video I’m going to go over the English
pronunciation of country names now many
of you have been asking for a video like
this because the way that native English
speakers say your country means can be
quite different to the way that you do
and this can be a real challenge for
communication when you’re listening to a
native speaker or when you’re speaking
yourself to make sure that you are
understood what’s interesting with
country names though is that on the one
hand there’s the pronunciation of the
country name as it’s pronounced by the
native population by the people who live
there right it’s their native language
now often English takes that
pronounciation and changes it or adapts
it a little to make it easier for native
English speakers so on the other hand
sometimes it sounds completely different
and it might also sound slightly
different depending on which native
English speaker you’re speaking to so an
Australian might pronounce the same
country name slightly different to a
Canadian or a British person some native
English people might pronounce this name
Iraq or they might say Iraq so it
depends on their accent this lesson will
show you how to pronounce all the
different country names or 193 that have
been recognized by the United Nations
and you’ll also hear the pronunciation
from me which will help you to improve
your listening skills so I’ll go through
the names in alphabetical order so if
you’re curious about a particular
country then you can just skip forward
in the video now for my students
I know that this video is going to be
long but I think you should stay with me
and practice the whole time out loud
it’s gonna be a huge English gym workout
for your mouth I guarantee that we’ll
cover every single English sound in this
lesson plus it’s a really fantastic
opportunity to revise the International
phonetic alphabet symbols the IPA ok
revise those sounds and what they look
like
alright are you ready let’s do this
Afghanistan Afghanistan now notice the
little line there under the vowel this
is the stressed syllable in this word
and I’m going to use this line all the
way through this lesson to show you
which syllable has the main stress in
English pronunciation which vowel is the
strongest bow you’ll also see it shown
in the phonemic script here as well now
if you’re wondering what these crazy
symbols are that I’ve put over here then
make sure you check out this lesson if
you’re curious to find out you want to
learn more about the international
phonetic alphabet to help you improve
your pronunciation check it out there
Albania Albania
notice that the stressed syllable is the
a as in day vowel sound Albania Albania
Algeria Algeria it’s the same stress
pattern as Albania Algeria Algeria it’s
the continents out Algeria and Dora and
Dora
so that stressed syllable is or as in
door and hora Angola
again it’s that same stress pattern
Angola the stress is on the second
syllable but notice as well that the
consonant sound mmm
Antigua and Barbuda I’m a little nervous
about this one because I’m not very good
at saying it in English but let’s break
it down together Antigua Antigua the
second syllable is the stressed syllable
in the first word it’s the long e sound
Antigua and the last two vowel letters
are actually unstressed they make just
one sound the schwa Antigua the and is
reduced to Antigua and Barbuda so there
are two long vowel sounds here bond boo
but it’s the second one that’s stressed
so it’s pronounced a little more
strongly a little clearer and finally
the last syllable is an unstressed
syllable de Antigua and Barbuda Antigua
and Barbuda Argentina Argentina so the
stress is on the third syllable this
time Argentina so Argentinians and
Spanish speakers notice that in English
we use the consonant sound and not the
sound i gen Tina
of course you don’t need to change your
pronunciation to be understood but to
reduce your accent you would try to
Armenia can you hear the stressed
syllable there me Nia me Nia Armenia
Australia Australia so the main stress
is on the second syllable a that’s the a
as in de vowel sound Australia Australia
I come from Australia and since this is
my home country I’ll give you a couple
of extra tips many Australians are
pretty lazy with their pronunciation and
with their syllable stress so you’ll
probably just hear Australia Australia
prefer the final ear is reduced down to
yeah and sometimes even the first
syllable gets completely dropped so
instead of Australia it’s Australia so
that’s just a bit of insider knowledge
for you now very similar is Austria
Austria but you’ll hear that the stress
pattern is different okay the stress
pattern puts the stress on the first
syllable okay the first syllable is
stressed Austria Austria Australia
Austria Azerbaijan Azerbaijan so the
stress syllable here is actually the
last one
Azerbaijan now I always thought it was
Azerbaijan the U as in vision not G as
in jam but there you have it I was
pronouncing it wrong
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan we’re already up
to be Bahamas Bahamas usually said the
Bahamas so the stress is on the
second syllable their Bahamas our
Bahamas bahrain bahrain now the long
vowel sound is actually in the first
syllable bar but the second syllable is
the one that stressed bahrain bahrain
Bahrain Bangladesh Bangladesh now I know
I’ve got a lot of students watching in
Bangladesh so hello to all of you in
Bangladesh the main stress here in
English is on the final syllable but
notice that the first syllable also has
a stress as well
Bangladesh Bangladesh that middle
syllable reduces down to the schwa
Bangladesh Barbados Barbados so there’s
a long vowel sound in the first syllable
but the stress is on the second syllable
bar BAE BAE and notice that the two A’s
are actually pronounced differently ba
Bay ba Bay barbados belarus belarus
belarus so starting with bail we have
bella the middle syllable is unstressed
and it reduces to become the schwa sound
la belle love Belarus so the main stress
is on the final syllable belarus belarus
belgium belgium the stress is on the
first syllable
bail bail is the strongest sound and the
eye and the you create the unstressed
vowel sound the schwa in the second
syllable bail Jim bail
Jim
Belgium Belize Belize so here how that
stressed vowel sound is a long vowel
sound in the second syllable
please believe and why finishing with
that consonant sound
Belize be mean again here that long
vowel sound in the second syllable the
mean the mean which is unusual for the
letter I to be pronounced like that but
here we haven’t been mean return return
so again there is a long vowel sound in
the first syllable but the second
syllable is the stressed one Bhutan
Bhutan Bolivia Bolivia the first
syllable is unstressed but it’s very low
in pitch but Bolivia the stress is on
the second syllable Bolivia Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia buzz is
the strong syllable there Bosnia two
syllables are easy
what about five Herzegovina Herzegovina
so Hertz here the T sound that’s added
there hurts hurts hurts a gov that’s the
stress syllable hurts a governor heard
see governor Bosnia and Herzegovina it’s
quite a mouthful Botswana Botswana
so the stress here is on the second
syllable SWA so it’s a little tricky
thanks to all of those consonant sounds
there SWA SWA but SWA Botswana Botswana
Botswana Brazil I also know I’ve got a
lot of students watching from Brazil to
say hello to all of you in English we
really hit the final all consonant
sounds there in Brazil Brazil so the
unstressed schwa sound is heard in the
first syllable bruh bruh bruh but the
stressed sound is on the second syllable
Brazil Brazil oh oh Brazil Brunei Brunei
so the first syllable has a longer sound
but it’s the second syllable that’s
stressed Brunei Brunei Bulgaria Bulgaria
oh that’s an unstressed syllable bulgar
will Gare the second syllable there is
the stressed syllable Bulgaria Bulgaria
burkina faso burkina faso burkina the
stress there is on the second syllable
burkina burkina burkina faso burkina
faso Burundi Burundi so we hear the as
in book vowel sound there
Burundi we hear it twice actually the
room beroun the second syllable is the
stressed syllable though the room
Burundi Burundi
Cambodia Cambodia the stress is on the
second syllable there
bow-bow CE o as in go Val sound Cambodia
Cambodia Cameroon Cameroon
so the stress there is on the final
syllable it’s the long vowel sound o
Cameroon Cameroon Canada Canada the
stress is on the first syllable and see
how the second ones reduce to the schwa
sound the unstressed sound Canada it’s
probably one of the easiest country
names to pronounce and the people in
Canada are also lovely they are the
nicest most polite people that I’ve ever
come across so easy to say their name
very kind people probably worth a visit
Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde Islands so
the final E on verb here is silent when
spoken in English third and there’s that
plural islands again it comes up all the
time when you’re talking about countries
doesn’t it comes up very frequently it’s
the I as in my or sky vowel sound and
it’s followed by the unstressed vowel
sound the schwa the lens lens and notice
that the plural s is actually pronounced
as a voiced sound Cape Verde Islands the
Central African Republic Central African
Republic three words central the first
syllable there is stressed
African the first syllable again the
second to reduce African Republic
Republic
so can you hear that in Republic it’s
the second syllable that stressed the
first syllable reduces right down it
becomes the schwa rah rah Republic
Republic Chad hmm we’re moving on to the
consonant sound here Chad so bring the
corners of your mouth in a little and
now most English speakers will say Chile
rather than Chile though those who have
actually visited Chile are probably
likely to pronounce it a bit more like
the locals Chile Chile China again we
have the consonant sound
China the consonant sound is followed by
the I vowel sound I as in my chai chai
and then we have the final unstressed
syllable no no no unstressed
China China Colombia or Colombia native
English speakers will say both but the
stress is on the second syllable
Columbia Columbia Comoros Comoros so the
stress here is on the first syllable
calm calm
cama cama rose
the Republic of the Congo Republic again
we learnt this one before Republic and
it’s followed by two unstressed words of
the they reduce down Republic of the of
the Republic other Republic of the Congo
Congo Congo
so the stress there is on the first
syllable Republic of the Congo now right
next door to the Republic of the Congo
is the democratic republic of the congo
democratic democratic so that stress
Democratic Democratic Democratic the
Democratic Republic of the Congo Kosta
Rica Costa Rica so we have Costa Costa
Rica so both unstressed syllables are
schwa sounds there Costa Rica Costa Rica
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast ivory so again
we have the I as in my vowel sound here
I worry so we have a short syllable
following I’ve I’ve I’ve arre ivory
ivory coast so this is the Oh as in go
vows out coast coast
ivory coast Croatia Croatia crow again
the Oh as in go vowel sound so the
middle syllable is the stressed one here
Croatia Croatia and again the
a as in de Val sound Croatia the TI a
here is actually pronounced as sha sha
croatia croatia cuba cuba so remember
this is the english pronunciation of
this word so it’s not kuba
but cuba cuba notice the you sound
its the consonant letter y that creates
the stressed vowel sound here sigh
cyprus the second syllable is shorter
and lower in pitch cyprus cyprus cyprus
czech republic this one’s tricky for
native English speakers to the first
word Czech sounds exactly like that word
check check check
so we went over Republic a few countries
ago and the stress syllable there is the
second syllable Republic Czech Republic
and it’s often used with the article the
the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea so there’s quite a few words here
but let’s focus on the stress Democratic
Democratic People’s Democratic People’s
Republic Democratic Democratic were
people Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea
so we have the unstressed form of off of
its low in pitch republic curve it kind
of links to the end of Republic Republic
of Korea so the middle syllable is
stressed there Korea Korea the other two
reduced to the schwa sound
Korea Korea the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea also known as North
Korea North so that’s the all vowel
sound followed by the unvoiced th
consonant sound
north north north push that air out
through your mouth
North Korea North Korea Denmark Denmark
the first syllable is stressed it’s the
strongest Den Denmark Denmark e Djibouti
that’s the G as in Jam consonant sound
and the ooh as in food vowel sound G
booty djibouti djibouti Dominica
Dominica now be careful here the stress
is actually on the third syllable
Dominica it’s the long e vowel sound as
in she Dominica Dominica so the other
syllables reduced down Dominica
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic so
there’s a little stress change there
between the two that are very similar
it’s not that DOM and Meakin Republic
but Dominican Republic there’s a stress
change now we’re stressing
their second syllable and the others
become short and fast dominican
dominican dominican republic East Timor
East Timor so that’s the long vowel
sound in East East and Timor so the
stress is on the first syllable but note
that there is a linking between these
two words that happens when English is
spoken
because East ends in the same consonant
sound that team R starts with we can
push those words together and we only
pronounce the sound once East Timor East
Timor East Timor Ecuador Ecuador so can
you hear that stress it’s on the first
syllable ech ech equi Ecuador so that
last syllable is the or as in door vowel
sound Ecuador Ecuador Egypt Egypt so
there’s the long e vowel sound followed
by the consonant sound Egypt Egypt now
don’t forget the last consonant sound
the Egypt Egypt Egypt
so listen out for the final two
consonants they are both there though
the reduces a little and it’s um without
the air pushing it’s Egypt Egypt Egypt
El Salvador El Salvador so in English we
hear that new consonant sound clearly
sell the door make sure that your teeth
are touching your bottom lip to make
that sound mmm
the door the door Salvador Equatorial
Guinea Equatorial Guinea equatorial
where is the stress there it’s the third
syllable equatorial aqua aqua ecuator
toriel equatorial now don’t worry about
all of the vowel letters in the second
Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eritrea so the
third syllable is the stressed one and
the others reduce down Eritrea Estonia
Estonia so that stressed syllable there
is the second one the O vowel sound as
in go Estonia Estonia Estonia Ethiopia
Ethiopia so the third syllable there is
actually the strongest we have e c.o
PR Ethiopia Ethiopia Fiji Fiji it’s the
long e vowel sound V G so the consonant
Fiji Fiji Finland Finland
the first syllable is stressed and the
second syllable is unstressed so that
vowel sound reduces down Finland Finland
France France notice that it is an
unvoiced consonant sound at the end
there France France
Gabon Gabon the second syllable there is
the stressed one the first one reduces
to the schwa gah gah good Blom the
Gambia the Gambia so we have the
unstressed the the the Gambia Gambia so
that first syllable there is the
strongest one Gambia the Gambia Georgia
Georgia so starting with the consonant
sound just as in jam then the aw vowel
sound jaw jaw then we have the second
syllable which includes the unstressed
schwa sound Joe Joe Georgia Georgia
Georgia same consonant sound again
Germany Germany so we have the same
vowel sound and the first syllable is
the stressed syllable je jure that’s the
earth as in her vowel sound Germany
Minnie Germany the two second syllables
are reduced and stress at unstressed
Germany Ghana Ghana
the first syllable is stressed the
second one unstressed Ghana Ghana oh my
gosh we’re up to Greece if you haven’t
been to Greece you have to go it is one
of the most beautiful places that I’ve
ever been and the food I’m just dreaming
of a European summer right now it’s cold
here in Australia so we have one long
sound of the vowel sound here because
there is just one syllable Greece II
Greece Greece the final continent sound
Grenada Grenada watch that middle
syllable there the stressed one the
sound is the a vowel sound like in day
Grenada
not Grenada Grenada Grenada Guatemala
Guatemala so we’ve got four syllables
here and the third one is stressed
Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala gimme now
we’ve already talked about Guinea with
Equatorial Guinea so remember that you
don’t need to worry about all of the
vowel letters here okay it’s just
pronounced Guinea Guinea and here we
have it again Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau Guinea Bissau so the
stress is on the last syllable in the
second word it’s the ow as in now vowel
sound Guinea Bissau Guyana Guyana the
stress here is on the second syllable
but the first syllable also includes a
stronger valsa guy on Diana Diana
Haiti Haiti so here the AI is pronounced
a in the same way as day it’s the same
vowel sound Haiti Haiti Honduras
Honduras
so the stress there is on the second
syllable also the most trickiest jew-jew
Honduras Honduras Honduras Hungary
Hungary notice the extra little syllable
there so it sounds different from the
adjective hungry Hungary Hungary Hungary
Iceland Iceland so that’s the first
syllable that stressed AI as in buy or
my ice the next syllable is unstressed
Lund Yogeshwara sound land land iceland
iceland india india the stress there is
on the first syllable india i know i’ve
got a lot of students watching in india
as well so i’m really pleased to say
hello to all of you India India
Indonesia Indonesia so here we’ve got
the third syllable stressed Indonesia
Lygia Indonesia so that’s the Yi
consonant sound like in vision Indonesia
Indonesia now Indonesians will probably
pronounce that as Indonesia Indonesia so
that
consonant sound is different to
Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia is also a
Iran or some native speakers will say
Iran so the second syllable is where the
stress is the vowel sound might be
slightly different
Iran Iran same for Iraq and Iraq Iraq
Iraq I say Iraq island island so this is
a little tricky it’s pronounced slightly
different to Island I yell and there is
an extra wire sound in there aya aya
island notice that I don’t pronounce
that are there but Irish English speaker
English speakers will they will
pronounce Ireland Ireland
there’s my rubbish Irish accent but note
that there will be a few distinctions
between native English accents and
that’s one of them I would say Ireland
and Irish people would say something
like Ireland anyway if you want to
practice with an Irish accent practice
pronouncing that are Israel Israel that
first syllable is the stressed syllable
Israel Israel Italy Italy the first
syllable is the stressed syllable the
other to reduce Italy okay let’s take a
break
quick add break grab a mouthful of water
shake things up a little bit and relax
then come back and join me for the
letter J
Jamaica Jamaica so that’s the Jew as in
Jam consonant sound the second syllable
is the stressed one and the others
reduce Jamaica Jamaica so that’s the a
as in de vowel sound Jamaica Japan Japan
again we have the consonant sound
followed by the schwa which tells us
that the first syllable is unstressed
Jeff Jeff Jeff Japan so that’s the AH as
in Apple strong vowel sound in the
second syllable Japan Jordan Jordan
again the consonant sound followed by
the all vowel sound all as in door
Jordan Jordan the second syllable is
unstressed Jordan kazakhstan kazakhstan
kazakh kuzzik kazakhstan so the stress
there is on the final syllable and
there’s quite a few countries that end
with this suffix Stan okay so you’ll
hear native English speakers pronouncing
it either Stan or Stan Kazakhstan Kenya
Kenya so that stress is on the first
syllable
ken yeah ken yeah Kenya Kiribati
Kiribati the third syllable is the
stressed one Kiribati kira-kira party
kuwait kuwait that’s the as in book the
vowel sound
Kuwait the a vowel sound wait
Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan so you’ll
see that the third syllable is the
stressed syllable but the first syllable
is also quite strong it’s a secondary
stress kyrgyzstan kyrgyzstan Laos Laos
this is the ow as in now vowel sound
Laos Laos Latvia Latvia the first
syllable is the stressed one at Latvia
Lebanon the first syllable is stressed
and the second and third syllables are
unstressed and then Lebanon Lebanon
lissu – okay this one I have been saying
incorrectly
for my whole entire life it’s not
Lesotho like I’ve been saying but it’s
less su – this su – so the stress is on
the second syllable there
oooh that’s the ooh as in zu vowel sound
list soo – and the th you don’t need to
pronounce as a th sound it’s just to
pursue to Liberia
so the first syllable is the AI as in
buy Val sound lie birria so the second
syllable is stressed and it has the ear
as in here vowel sound Liberia Liberia
Libya Libya so the first syllable there
is the strongest as well Libya
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein lick is the
straw
August syllable Lichtenstein Stein
that’s the AI as in buy Val sound
Liechtenstein Lithuania Lithuania
Lithuania so it’s the third syllable
that stressed Lithuania Luxembourg Lux
so we have the consonant sounds together
Lux Luxan Luxembourg so that last
syllable there is pronounced the vowel
sound is pronounced as in her Luxembourg
Luxembourg Madagascar Madagascar so we
have a couple of stress syllables here
but the third one is the strongest
Madagascar the first syllable is also
quite strong mad the Gasca malawi malawi
so the middle syllable there is the
stressed one the strongest syllable
malawi malawi Malaysia Malaysia the
second syllable there is the stressed
one Malaysia the other two are
unstressed syllables so they reduce and
just like Indonesia
you’ll hear the new consonant sound as
in vision Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia I
used to live in Malaysia actually in
Penang also delicious food lots of
beautiful places to visit to recommend
it Maldives
Maldives not the Maldives
but mold eaves Maldives the all as
door Val sound is the stressed sound
then you hear the long e vowel sound in
the second syllable Maldives Maldives
gosh the Maldives is one place that I
would love to visit have you ever been
I hear it’s quite expensive but maybe
that’s why people go there for their
honeymoon but it’s on my bucket list I
really want to go Molly Molly
so that long ah vowel sound is the
stressed sound Molly Molly molta molta
and you might hear the vowel sound in
that stress syllable pronounced slightly
differently by different native English
speakers but I say Malta Marshall
Islands Marshall Islands so ma is the
stressed syllable ah ma and then you’re
Marshall Marshall Marshall Islands
mauritania mauritania so that stressed
syllable there is the third the a as in
de vowel sound Mauritania and we can
hear the first sound quite clearly – ma
ma mauritania mauritania mauritania
Mauritius Mauritius so the first
syllable is unstressed you can see that
it reduces to the schwa ma ma ma Marie
so there’s the stressed syllable Marie
Marie Marie she’s so we have ma RIS
so here as well how the third syllable
reduces down to the schwa ma richest
okay now in English its Mexico Mexico
another place that is on my bucket list
Mexico watch out for the consonant
cluster here in the English
pronunciation
you have Mex Mexico okay that last
syllable uses the Oh as in go vowel
sound Mexico Mexico Micronesia
Micronesia now think back to Indonesia
this is very similar right it’s the same
stress pattern is the consonant sounds
there Micronesia
Indonesia okay it’s that long vowel
sound Micronesia
Moldova Moldova so we’ve got two letter
owes here but they are pronounced
differently
the main stress in the second syllable
is pronounced as oh like the verb go
Moldova Moldova Monaco Monaco so the
first syllable is stressed and the
second syllable relaxes to become the
schwa Mahna Mahna Mahna KO Mongolia
Mongolia
so the second syllable very stressed
Mongolia mom go Leah Mongolia Montenegro
Montenegro the third syllable there is
stressed Montenegro
you can hear that the first one is also
quite strong Montenegro and that final
Montenegro Montenegro Morocco Morocco so
the second syllable there is the
stressed one Morocco so that final
syllable is the O vowel sound but the
stress syllable in the middle is the
short hop sound Morocco Mozambique
Mozambique
so the first syllable we have the O
vowel sound Mosin Mosin and the last
syllable is the stressed syllable it’s
louder and clearer Mozambique Mozambique
the long e vowel sound me Emma me Emma
this is actually an interesting word for
native English speakers to try and
pronounce because the mmm and yet
consonant sounds don’t often appear
together in English yen yen but it’s the
second syllable that is stressed yen ma
yema
Myanmar Namibia Namibia can you hear
that second syllable is the stressed one
Namibia Namibia
no hmm three syllables here and the
second one is stressed nah oh so if
there are any Australians watching at
this point our neighbors our little
neighbors must be pretty sick of us
calling their country
Naru it’s nah you know Nepal Nepal so
it’s the second syllable that’s stressed
here and the vowel is the all as in door
vowel sound pull Nepal the Netherlands
the Netherlands so we have an unstressed
the followed by the stressed syllable
net net and then followed by the voiced
consonant sound
Nev Nev Netherlands Netherlands New
Zealand New Zealand can you see that
extra you there that’s included in the
word new new try to make sure that you
can hear that word new then that’s the
second word zealand has the first
you’ll hear lots of english
pronunciations of this one nicaragua
Nicaragua which is quite different from
the way that Nicaraguans actually
pronounce their country names but this
is how English speakers usually
pronounce it Nicaragua neasha or Nyjah
okay so there is two different
pronunciations that you’ll hear native
English speakers using ne’er is much
closer to the French pronunciation of
this word which I think makes it
little more correct but you’ll hear
Niger quite a lot as well and that might
be because of Nigeria Nigeria where you
hear the second syllable stressed
Nigeria
that’s the ear as in here Val sound
Nigeria Norway Norway so for Norway
you’ll hear the first syllable stressed
it’s much louder and much stronger than
the second one Norway a man a man the
second syllable has the strongest rest
and it’s the longer vowel sound ah like
in father a man a man Pakistan Pakistan
so again you’ll always hear the stressed
syllable pronounced slightly differently
depending on which native speaker you’re
listening to but you’ll hear a strong
first syllable and the main third
syllable stressed Pakistan Pakistan
Palau Palau see the unstressed syllable
at the start / / and the stronger Lao as
Panama the first and the last syllables
there are quite strong Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea so the first word has
three syllables Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw
a New Guinea again lots of vowel letters
in that last word but it’s just
pronounced Guinea Paraguay Paraguay
so the first syllable is stressed and
the third syllable is quite interesting
it’s pronounced y y para Y Peru Peru
another place on my bucket list first
syllable unstressed second still a
syllable stressed Peru Peru Peru
Philippines Philippines so in English
the pH makes the consonant sound the
first two syllables are very short and
fast filling filling filling Philippines
Philippines
it’s the voiced consonant sound
Philippines Poland Poland so here in the
first stressed syllable we have the Oh
as in go vowel sound Poland Portugal
another beautiful country Portugal so
that’s the or as in door sound in the
first and stressed syllable poor qu poor
qu Portugal go go that’s unstressed
syllable at the end very low in pitch
Portugal
Qatar or Qatar depending on which
English speaker you hear Qatar or Qatar
so the stress changes there Romania
Romania now the main stress is on the
second syllable so it’s a as in de
Romania and the first syllable is
unstressed so it reduces right down
sometimes to the schwarz sometimes
you’ll hear ro mania but usually the
schwa Romania Russia Russia the stress
is on the first syllable there and it is
a short vowel sound ah the AH vowel
sound as in up
ruff-ruff Russia followed by so the
double s here s si a makes shut the
consonant sound
raah sure that’s the unstressed schwa
sound at the end Russia Rwanda Rwanda so
the first syllable you have the ooh as
in Shu vowel sound ruh ruh but the
second syllable is stressed Rwanda
Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts
and Nevis so for Saint it’s often said
quite quickly as sent some sent kits
sent Kitson here how and reduces to and
and links to the consonant sound before
it Kitson Kitson
st. kitts and nevis that’s a longer
vowel sound there on the first syllable
sim Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia said
Lucia the stress on the first syllable
is ooh
then CI a is pronounced as shut Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines st.
Vincent and the Grenadines so we have
sinned Vincent sent Vincent sent Vincent
and again we can link that vowel sound
to the consonant sound some Vincent and
the Grenadines
Grenn is the stressed syllable their
Grenadines st. Vincent and the
Grenadines Samoa Samoa that stressed
syllable is the Oh as in go vowel sound
Samoa San Marino San Marino
so the stress there is on REE merino
merino San Marino Salome and príncipe
now I have to admit that I’m not the
best person to pronounce this correctly
hoof it as a native English speaker who
doesn’t speak Portuguese I’m going to
give it my best shot so we have Sal Sal
that’s the ow as in now vowel sound Sal
Sal – so that is unstressed you can see
the schwa there
Mei is stressed sounds like a as in de
sal – may sound to me Sal – man and Sal
– man principai it kind of runs some Sal
– man
to pay Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia so you
have the stressed syllable in Arabia
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Senegal
Senegal so the last syllable here is the
stressed syllable Senegal it’s the OO as
in door vowel sound Senegal Senegal
Serbia Serbia so that stress is on the
first syllable
Serbia Seychelles Seychelles now the
second syllable is actually distressed
Seychelles and don’t forget the plural
Zoo sound at the end Seychelles Sierra
Leone Sierra Leone now it’s actually the
last syllable that’s stressed there it’s
the Oh as in go vowel sound Sara Leone
Oh Oh Leone Leone Sierra Leone Singapore
Singapore Singapore it’s the first
syllable that’s stressed sing we have
that consonant sound sing sing that
unstressed vowel sound Singapore or
singapore slovakia slovakia you can hear
that stress is on the second syllable
slovakia slovakia
slovenia slovenian it has the same
stress pattern slovenia it’s that long e
vowel sound slovenia solomon islands
solomon islands
so the stress there is on the first
syllable sol solomon can see how the
other two syllables in solomon reduced
to the schwa solomon islands Somalia
Somalia the second syllable is the
strongest Somalia South Africa so in the
first word we have the ow as in now
vowel sound and the unvoiced th south
south south africa africa is the
strongest syllable in Africa and the
consonants and the AH vowel sound can
link together South Africa South Africa
South Korea South Korea so we have South
Korea Korea so that’s the second
syllable that’s stressed there Korea I’m
pretty excited
I’m visiting South Korea next week and
it’s my first time to visit South Korea
I’m going to Seoul the capital so I
think that Street food is pretty amazing
there in South Korea so I’m gonna eat as
much as I can while I’m there and I’ll
report back South Sudan South Sudan
Sudan so the second syllable there is
the stressed once Sudan South Sudan
Spain Spain also delicious food oh my
gosh
this video is making me hungry Spain has
the a as in de Val sound Spain notice
that the continent is the M continent
okay
Spain sri lanka sri lanka 3 is
unstressed so it’s quite short and low
in pitch but our main syllable the
stressed syllable is ylang-ylang lenka
lenka Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan which we
went over a few minutes ago
Suriname now this first vowel sound is
quite an uncommon one it’s the or as in
TOR vowel sound sorry sorry Suriname and
the last syllable is the stressed
syllable Serena Swaziland now I just
found out that only a few months ago did
this country name change and now it’s
not called Swaziland it’s known as the
kingdom of s14 II so forget Swaziland
it’s the kingdom of s14 II now Sweden
Sweden so that stressed syllable is the
first syllable and it’s a long vowel sir
Sweden Sweden Switzerland Switzerland
so our strongest syllable is Swit it’s a
short vowel sound but we have the the
consonant cluster Swit Swit Switzer
Switzerland
Syria Syria the why makes a short vowel
sound a Syria Tajikistan Tajikistan so
the main stress here like all of the
other stands is on the last syllable but
we can also hear the first syllable
clearly Tajikistan Tajikistan Tajikistan
Tanzania Tanzania so here we’ve got the
third syllable is stressed it’s a short
vowel sound but it’s the strongest
Tanzania Thailand Thailand now the th
doesn’t make the usual sound here it’s
not violent but Thailand so in English
actually we pronounce Thailand with the
stress on the first syllable Thai people
usually stress the second syllable
Thailand Thailand another beautiful
country with delicious food Togo Togo so
we have the same vowel sound that’s
repeated it’s the Oh as in go sound Togo
Tonga Tonga the stress is on the first
syllable Tong Tong with the second
syllable being the reduced schwa sound
Tana trinidad and tobago trinidad and
tobago trinidad so that’s all short
vowel sounds Trinidad Trinidad um
reduced and sound and Tobago Tobago
that’s the a as in de about
Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Tunisia so
notice here the Y consonant sound choo
choo not too but choo
Tunisia Turkey turkey the strut syllable
is the first one and it’s the earth as
in her vowel sound Turkey turkey
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan so again we’re
starting with the a vowel sound here
tuk-tuk men now men is the secondary
stress here so we hear it a little more
clearly took men two men took many took
many Stan Stan is the strongest syllable
tuvalu to valor the second syllable is
the strongest one and they’re all long
vowel sound Mong vowel sounds – var Lu
Tuvalu Uganda you we have that easy
sound there you Uganda the second
syllable is stressed Uganda Ukraine
again we have that you you pronunciation
Ukraine the second syllable is the
stressed one crane it’s the a as in de
vowel sound Ukraine United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates so you have United
United Arab United Arab United Arab
Emirates the stress in Emirates is on
the first syllable Emirates United Arab
Emirates the United Kingdom United
Kingdom United Kingdom now of course the
United Kingdom is made up of England
Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland and
I want to highlight England because some
of my students particularly my Chinese
and Korean students they have trouble
with the first vowel sound in England
it’s a short if not the air valve a
sound it’s English not English
it’s England not England
okay so focus on that short e sound in
glint notice how the second syllable
reduces to the schwa blend blend blend
England the United States of America
United we’ve been over this one United
States so States has the a a as in de
vowel sound United States of of reduced
sound there United States of America
okay so we have a merica it’s that
second syllable that’s stressed and
strongest the United States of America
Uruguay you’re Uruguay okay so you can
hear at the end there that AI is
pronounced as I liked by your reg why
why uruguay uruguayan who’s Becca Stan
who’s Becca Stan it’s the Oh
in book vowel sound at the start
booze was bet Becca Stan so bet is the
second stress stan is the strongest rest
was Becca Stan
Vanuatu Vanuatu that third syllable is
Venezuela
notice that in English the pronunciation
of that V is mmm
instead of Venezuela its move Venezuela
just like you Vietnam Vietnam Yemen
Yemen again that you sound but the
stress is on the first syllable Yemen
Zambia Zambia the first syllable is
stressed Zambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe the
Zimbabwe way Zimbabwe Oh phew we made it
if you stayed with me the whole way
through that lesson give yourself a huge
pat on the back that was insane I’m
completely exhausted now but keep in
mind that this is the standard English
pronunciation of these countries in my
Australian accent so there’s definitely
gonna be variations when you listen to
pronunciation between native English
speakers but learning and practicing the
English pronunciation with me is gonna
help you to communicate a little more
clearly and to help your listening
skills as well mmm
to drink about three of those I’m sure
you do too this has been such a great
pronunciation practice lesson
it’s literally like taking your mouth to
the gym for a workout I think you
probably need about five minutes break
before I send you to another video so I
won’t recommend any just yet but please
do hit that subscribe button down there
if you haven’t done so already you
definitely have earned new lessons from
English just by sticking around through
that whole lesson so make sure you click
that button click the little Bell button
so that you get notified whenever I
release a new lesson for you thanks for
watching and thanks for working so hard
with me today you’re amazing thanks for
watching and I will see you next week bye for now
hello I’m Emma from English in this
video I’m going to go over the English
pronunciation of country names now many
of you have been asking for a video like
this because the way that native English
speakers say your country means can be
quite different to the way that you do
and this can be a real challenge for
communication when you’re listening to a
native speaker or when you’re speaking
yourself to make sure that you are
understood what’s interesting with
country names though is that on the one
hand there’s the pronunciation of the
country name as it’s pronounced by the
native population by the people who live
there right it’s their native language
now often English takes that
pronounciation and changes it or adapts
it a little to make it easier for native
English speakers so on the other hand
sometimes it sounds completely different
and it might also sound slightly
different depending on which native
English speaker you’re speaking to so an
Australian might pronounce the same
country name slightly different to a
Canadian or a British person some native
English people might pronounce this name
Iraq or they might say Iraq so it
depends on their accent this lesson will
show you how to pronounce all the
different country names or 193 that have
been recognized by the United Nations
and you’ll also hear the pronunciation
from me which will help you to improve
your listening skills so I’ll go through
the names in alphabetical order so if
you’re curious about a particular
country then you can just skip forward
in the video now for my students
I know that this video is going to be
long but I think you should stay with me
and practice the whole time out loud
it’s gonna be a huge English gym workout
for your mouth I guarantee that we’ll
cover every single English sound in this
lesson plus it’s a really fantastic
opportunity to revise the International
phonetic alphabet symbols the IPA ok
revise those sounds and what they look
like
alright are you ready let’s do this
Afghanistan Afghanistan now notice the
little line there under the vowel this
is the stressed syllable in this word
and I’m going to use this line all the
way through this lesson to show you
which syllable has the main stress in
English pronunciation which vowel is the
strongest bow you’ll also see it shown
in the phonemic script here as well now
if you’re wondering what these crazy
symbols are that I’ve put over here then
make sure you check out this lesson if
you’re curious to find out you want to
learn more about the international
phonetic alphabet to help you improve
your pronunciation check it out there
Albania Albania
notice that the stressed syllable is the
a as in day vowel sound Albania Albania
Algeria Algeria it’s the same stress
pattern as Albania Algeria Algeria it’s
the continents out Algeria and Dora and
Dora
so that stressed syllable is or as in
door and hora Angola
again it’s that same stress pattern
Angola the stress is on the second
syllable but notice as well that the
consonant sound mmm
Antigua and Barbuda I’m a little nervous
about this one because I’m not very good
at saying it in English but let’s break
it down together Antigua Antigua the
second syllable is the stressed syllable
in the first word it’s the long e sound
Antigua and the last two vowel letters
are actually unstressed they make just
one sound the schwa Antigua the and is
reduced to Antigua and Barbuda so there
are two long vowel sounds here bond boo
but it’s the second one that’s stressed
so it’s pronounced a little more
strongly a little clearer and finally
the last syllable is an unstressed
syllable de Antigua and Barbuda Antigua
and Barbuda Argentina Argentina so the
stress is on the third syllable this
time Argentina so Argentinians and
Spanish speakers notice that in English
we use the consonant sound and not the
sound i gen Tina
of course you don’t need to change your
pronunciation to be understood but to
reduce your accent you would try to
Armenia can you hear the stressed
syllable there me Nia me Nia Armenia
Australia Australia so the main stress
is on the second syllable a that’s the a
as in de vowel sound Australia Australia
I come from Australia and since this is
my home country I’ll give you a couple
of extra tips many Australians are
pretty lazy with their pronunciation and
with their syllable stress so you’ll
probably just hear Australia Australia
prefer the final ear is reduced down to
yeah and sometimes even the first
syllable gets completely dropped so
instead of Australia it’s Australia so
that’s just a bit of insider knowledge
for you now very similar is Austria
Austria but you’ll hear that the stress
pattern is different okay the stress
pattern puts the stress on the first
syllable okay the first syllable is
stressed Austria Austria Australia
Austria Azerbaijan Azerbaijan so the
stress syllable here is actually the
last one
Azerbaijan now I always thought it was
Azerbaijan the U as in vision not G as
in jam but there you have it I was
pronouncing it wrong
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan we’re already up
to be Bahamas Bahamas usually said the
Bahamas so the stress is on the
second syllable their Bahamas our
Bahamas bahrain bahrain now the long
vowel sound is actually in the first
syllable bar but the second syllable is
the one that stressed bahrain bahrain
Bahrain Bangladesh Bangladesh now I know
I’ve got a lot of students watching in
Bangladesh so hello to all of you in
Bangladesh the main stress here in
English is on the final syllable but
notice that the first syllable also has
a stress as well
Bangladesh Bangladesh that middle
syllable reduces down to the schwa
Bangladesh Barbados Barbados so there’s
a long vowel sound in the first syllable
but the stress is on the second syllable
bar BAE BAE and notice that the two A’s
are actually pronounced differently ba
Bay ba Bay barbados belarus belarus
belarus so starting with bail we have
bella the middle syllable is unstressed
and it reduces to become the schwa sound
la belle love Belarus so the main stress
is on the final syllable belarus belarus
belgium belgium the stress is on the
first syllable
bail bail is the strongest sound and the
eye and the you create the unstressed
vowel sound the schwa in the second
syllable bail Jim bail
Jim
Belgium Belize Belize so here how that
stressed vowel sound is a long vowel
sound in the second syllable
please believe and why finishing with
that consonant sound
Belize be mean again here that long
vowel sound in the second syllable the
mean the mean which is unusual for the
letter I to be pronounced like that but
here we haven’t been mean return return
so again there is a long vowel sound in
the first syllable but the second
syllable is the stressed one Bhutan
Bhutan Bolivia Bolivia the first
syllable is unstressed but it’s very low
in pitch but Bolivia the stress is on
the second syllable Bolivia Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia buzz is
the strong syllable there Bosnia two
syllables are easy
what about five Herzegovina Herzegovina
so Hertz here the T sound that’s added
there hurts hurts hurts a gov that’s the
stress syllable hurts a governor heard
see governor Bosnia and Herzegovina it’s
quite a mouthful Botswana Botswana
so the stress here is on the second
syllable SWA so it’s a little tricky
thanks to all of those consonant sounds
there SWA SWA but SWA Botswana Botswana
Botswana Brazil I also know I’ve got a
lot of students watching from Brazil to
say hello to all of you in English we
really hit the final all consonant
sounds there in Brazil Brazil so the
unstressed schwa sound is heard in the
first syllable bruh bruh bruh but the
stressed sound is on the second syllable
Brazil Brazil oh oh Brazil Brunei Brunei
so the first syllable has a longer sound
but it’s the second syllable that’s
stressed Brunei Brunei Bulgaria Bulgaria
oh that’s an unstressed syllable bulgar
will Gare the second syllable there is
the stressed syllable Bulgaria Bulgaria
burkina faso burkina faso burkina the
stress there is on the second syllable
burkina burkina burkina faso burkina
faso Burundi Burundi so we hear the as
in book vowel sound there
Burundi we hear it twice actually the
room beroun the second syllable is the
stressed syllable though the room
Burundi Burundi
Cambodia Cambodia the stress is on the
second syllable there
bow-bow CE o as in go Val sound Cambodia
Cambodia Cameroon Cameroon
so the stress there is on the final
syllable it’s the long vowel sound o
Cameroon Cameroon Canada Canada the
stress is on the first syllable and see
how the second ones reduce to the schwa
sound the unstressed sound Canada it’s
probably one of the easiest country
names to pronounce and the people in
Canada are also lovely they are the
nicest most polite people that I’ve ever
come across so easy to say their name
very kind people probably worth a visit
Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde Islands so
the final E on verb here is silent when
spoken in English third and there’s that
plural islands again it comes up all the
time when you’re talking about countries
doesn’t it comes up very frequently it’s
the I as in my or sky vowel sound and
it’s followed by the unstressed vowel
sound the schwa the lens lens and notice
that the plural s is actually pronounced
as a voiced sound Cape Verde Islands the
Central African Republic Central African
Republic three words central the first
syllable there is stressed
African the first syllable again the
second to reduce African Republic
Republic
so can you hear that in Republic it’s
the second syllable that stressed the
first syllable reduces right down it
becomes the schwa rah rah Republic
Republic Chad hmm we’re moving on to the
consonant sound here Chad so bring the
corners of your mouth in a little and
now most English speakers will say Chile
rather than Chile though those who have
actually visited Chile are probably
likely to pronounce it a bit more like
the locals Chile Chile China again we
have the consonant sound
China the consonant sound is followed by
the I vowel sound I as in my chai chai
and then we have the final unstressed
syllable no no no unstressed
China China Colombia or Colombia native
English speakers will say both but the
stress is on the second syllable
Columbia Columbia Comoros Comoros so the
stress here is on the first syllable
calm calm
cama cama rose
the Republic of the Congo Republic again
we learnt this one before Republic and
it’s followed by two unstressed words of
the they reduce down Republic of the of
the Republic other Republic of the Congo
Congo Congo
so the stress there is on the first
syllable Republic of the Congo now right
next door to the Republic of the Congo
is the democratic republic of the congo
democratic democratic so that stress
Democratic Democratic Democratic the
Democratic Republic of the Congo Kosta
Rica Costa Rica so we have Costa Costa
Rica so both unstressed syllables are
schwa sounds there Costa Rica Costa Rica
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast ivory so again
we have the I as in my vowel sound here
I worry so we have a short syllable
following I’ve I’ve I’ve arre ivory
ivory coast so this is the Oh as in go
vows out coast coast
ivory coast Croatia Croatia crow again
the Oh as in go vowel sound so the
middle syllable is the stressed one here
Croatia Croatia and again the
a as in de Val sound Croatia the TI a
here is actually pronounced as sha sha
croatia croatia cuba cuba so remember
this is the english pronunciation of
this word so it’s not kuba
but cuba cuba notice the you sound
its the consonant letter y that creates
the stressed vowel sound here sigh
cyprus the second syllable is shorter
and lower in pitch cyprus cyprus cyprus
czech republic this one’s tricky for
native English speakers to the first
word Czech sounds exactly like that word
check check check
so we went over Republic a few countries
ago and the stress syllable there is the
second syllable Republic Czech Republic
and it’s often used with the article the
the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea so there’s quite a few words here
but let’s focus on the stress Democratic
Democratic People’s Democratic People’s
Republic Democratic Democratic were
people Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea
so we have the unstressed form of off of
its low in pitch republic curve it kind
of links to the end of Republic Republic
of Korea so the middle syllable is
stressed there Korea Korea the other two
reduced to the schwa sound
Korea Korea the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea also known as North
Korea North so that’s the all vowel
sound followed by the unvoiced th
consonant sound
north north north push that air out
through your mouth
North Korea North Korea Denmark Denmark
the first syllable is stressed it’s the
strongest Den Denmark Denmark e Djibouti
that’s the G as in Jam consonant sound
and the ooh as in food vowel sound G
booty djibouti djibouti Dominica
Dominica now be careful here the stress
is actually on the third syllable
Dominica it’s the long e vowel sound as
in she Dominica Dominica so the other
syllables reduced down Dominica
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic so
there’s a little stress change there
between the two that are very similar
it’s not that DOM and Meakin Republic
but Dominican Republic there’s a stress
change now we’re stressing
their second syllable and the others
become short and fast dominican
dominican dominican republic East Timor
East Timor so that’s the long vowel
sound in East East and Timor so the
stress is on the first syllable but note
that there is a linking between these
two words that happens when English is
spoken
because East ends in the same consonant
sound that team R starts with we can
push those words together and we only
pronounce the sound once East Timor East
Timor East Timor Ecuador Ecuador so can
you hear that stress it’s on the first
syllable ech ech equi Ecuador so that
last syllable is the or as in door vowel
sound Ecuador Ecuador Egypt Egypt so
there’s the long e vowel sound followed
by the consonant sound Egypt Egypt now
don’t forget the last consonant sound
the Egypt Egypt Egypt
so listen out for the final two
consonants they are both there though
the reduces a little and it’s um without
the air pushing it’s Egypt Egypt Egypt
El Salvador El Salvador so in English we
hear that new consonant sound clearly
sell the door make sure that your teeth
are touching your bottom lip to make
that sound mmm
the door the door Salvador Equatorial
Guinea Equatorial Guinea equatorial
where is the stress there it’s the third
syllable equatorial aqua aqua ecuator
toriel equatorial now don’t worry about
all of the vowel letters in the second
Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eritrea so the
third syllable is the stressed one and
the others reduce down Eritrea Estonia
Estonia so that stressed syllable there
is the second one the O vowel sound as
in go Estonia Estonia Estonia Ethiopia
Ethiopia so the third syllable there is
actually the strongest we have e c.o
PR Ethiopia Ethiopia Fiji Fiji it’s the
long e vowel sound V G so the consonant
Fiji Fiji Finland Finland
the first syllable is stressed and the
second syllable is unstressed so that
vowel sound reduces down Finland Finland
France France notice that it is an
unvoiced consonant sound at the end
there France France
Gabon Gabon the second syllable there is
the stressed one the first one reduces
to the schwa gah gah good Blom the
Gambia the Gambia so we have the
unstressed the the the Gambia Gambia so
that first syllable there is the
strongest one Gambia the Gambia Georgia
Georgia so starting with the consonant
sound just as in jam then the aw vowel
sound jaw jaw then we have the second
syllable which includes the unstressed
schwa sound Joe Joe Georgia Georgia
Georgia same consonant sound again
Germany Germany so we have the same
vowel sound and the first syllable is
the stressed syllable je jure that’s the
earth as in her vowel sound Germany
Minnie Germany the two second syllables
are reduced and stress at unstressed
Germany Ghana Ghana
the first syllable is stressed the
second one unstressed Ghana Ghana oh my
gosh we’re up to Greece if you haven’t
been to Greece you have to go it is one
of the most beautiful places that I’ve
ever been and the food I’m just dreaming
of a European summer right now it’s cold
here in Australia so we have one long
sound of the vowel sound here because
there is just one syllable Greece II
Greece Greece the final continent sound
Grenada Grenada watch that middle
syllable there the stressed one the
sound is the a vowel sound like in day
Grenada
not Grenada Grenada Grenada Guatemala
Guatemala so we’ve got four syllables
here and the third one is stressed
Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala gimme now
we’ve already talked about Guinea with
Equatorial Guinea so remember that you
don’t need to worry about all of the
vowel letters here okay it’s just
pronounced Guinea Guinea and here we
have it again Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau Guinea Bissau so the
stress is on the last syllable in the
second word it’s the ow as in now vowel
sound Guinea Bissau Guyana Guyana the
stress here is on the second syllable
but the first syllable also includes a
stronger valsa guy on Diana Diana
Haiti Haiti so here the AI is pronounced
a in the same way as day it’s the same
vowel sound Haiti Haiti Honduras
Honduras
so the stress there is on the second
syllable also the most trickiest jew-jew
Honduras Honduras Honduras Hungary
Hungary notice the extra little syllable
there so it sounds different from the
adjective hungry Hungary Hungary Hungary
Iceland Iceland so that’s the first
syllable that stressed AI as in buy or
my ice the next syllable is unstressed
Lund Yogeshwara sound land land iceland
iceland india india the stress there is
on the first syllable india i know i’ve
got a lot of students watching in india
as well so i’m really pleased to say
hello to all of you India India
Indonesia Indonesia so here we’ve got
the third syllable stressed Indonesia
Lygia Indonesia so that’s the Yi
consonant sound like in vision Indonesia
Indonesia now Indonesians will probably
pronounce that as Indonesia Indonesia so
that
consonant sound is different to
Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia is also a
Iran or some native speakers will say
Iran so the second syllable is where the
stress is the vowel sound might be
slightly different
Iran Iran same for Iraq and Iraq Iraq
Iraq I say Iraq island island so this is
a little tricky it’s pronounced slightly
different to Island I yell and there is
an extra wire sound in there aya aya
island notice that I don’t pronounce
that are there but Irish English speaker
English speakers will they will
pronounce Ireland Ireland
there’s my rubbish Irish accent but note
that there will be a few distinctions
between native English accents and
that’s one of them I would say Ireland
and Irish people would say something
like Ireland anyway if you want to
practice with an Irish accent practice
pronouncing that are Israel Israel that
first syllable is the stressed syllable
Israel Israel Italy Italy the first
syllable is the stressed syllable the
other to reduce Italy okay let’s take a
break
quick add break grab a mouthful of water
shake things up a little bit and relax
then come back and join me for the
letter J
Jamaica Jamaica so that’s the Jew as in
Jam consonant sound the second syllable
is the stressed one and the others
reduce Jamaica Jamaica so that’s the a
as in de vowel sound Jamaica Japan Japan
again we have the consonant sound
followed by the schwa which tells us
that the first syllable is unstressed
Jeff Jeff Jeff Japan so that’s the AH as
in Apple strong vowel sound in the
second syllable Japan Jordan Jordan
again the consonant sound followed by
the all vowel sound all as in door
Jordan Jordan the second syllable is
unstressed Jordan kazakhstan kazakhstan
kazakh kuzzik kazakhstan so the stress
there is on the final syllable and
there’s quite a few countries that end
with this suffix Stan okay so you’ll
hear native English speakers pronouncing
it either Stan or Stan Kazakhstan Kenya
Kenya so that stress is on the first
syllable
ken yeah ken yeah Kenya Kiribati
Kiribati the third syllable is the
stressed one Kiribati kira-kira party
kuwait kuwait that’s the as in book the
vowel sound
Kuwait the a vowel sound wait
Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan so you’ll
see that the third syllable is the
stressed syllable but the first syllable
is also quite strong it’s a secondary
stress kyrgyzstan kyrgyzstan Laos Laos
this is the ow as in now vowel sound
Laos Laos Latvia Latvia the first
syllable is the stressed one at Latvia
Lebanon the first syllable is stressed
and the second and third syllables are
unstressed and then Lebanon Lebanon
lissu – okay this one I have been saying
incorrectly
for my whole entire life it’s not
Lesotho like I’ve been saying but it’s
less su – this su – so the stress is on
the second syllable there
oooh that’s the ooh as in zu vowel sound
list soo – and the th you don’t need to
pronounce as a th sound it’s just to
pursue to Liberia
so the first syllable is the AI as in
buy Val sound lie birria so the second
syllable is stressed and it has the ear
as in here vowel sound Liberia Liberia
Libya Libya so the first syllable there
is the strongest as well Libya
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein lick is the
straw
August syllable Lichtenstein Stein
that’s the AI as in buy Val sound
Liechtenstein Lithuania Lithuania
Lithuania so it’s the third syllable
that stressed Lithuania Luxembourg Lux
so we have the consonant sounds together
Lux Luxan Luxembourg so that last
syllable there is pronounced the vowel
sound is pronounced as in her Luxembourg
Luxembourg Madagascar Madagascar so we
have a couple of stress syllables here
but the third one is the strongest
Madagascar the first syllable is also
quite strong mad the Gasca malawi malawi
so the middle syllable there is the
stressed one the strongest syllable
malawi malawi Malaysia Malaysia the
second syllable there is the stressed
one Malaysia the other two are
unstressed syllables so they reduce and
just like Indonesia
you’ll hear the new consonant sound as
in vision Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia I
used to live in Malaysia actually in
Penang also delicious food lots of
beautiful places to visit to recommend
it Maldives
Maldives not the Maldives
but mold eaves Maldives the all as
door Val sound is the stressed sound
then you hear the long e vowel sound in
the second syllable Maldives Maldives
gosh the Maldives is one place that I
would love to visit have you ever been
I hear it’s quite expensive but maybe
that’s why people go there for their
honeymoon but it’s on my bucket list I
really want to go Molly Molly
so that long ah vowel sound is the
stressed sound Molly Molly molta molta
and you might hear the vowel sound in
that stress syllable pronounced slightly
differently by different native English
speakers but I say Malta Marshall
Islands Marshall Islands so ma is the
stressed syllable ah ma and then you’re
Marshall Marshall Marshall Islands
mauritania mauritania so that stressed
syllable there is the third the a as in
de vowel sound Mauritania and we can
hear the first sound quite clearly – ma
ma mauritania mauritania mauritania
Mauritius Mauritius so the first
syllable is unstressed you can see that
it reduces to the schwa ma ma ma Marie
so there’s the stressed syllable Marie
Marie Marie she’s so we have ma RIS
so here as well how the third syllable
reduces down to the schwa ma richest
okay now in English its Mexico Mexico
another place that is on my bucket list
Mexico watch out for the consonant
cluster here in the English
pronunciation
you have Mex Mexico okay that last
syllable uses the Oh as in go vowel
sound Mexico Mexico Micronesia
Micronesia now think back to Indonesia
this is very similar right it’s the same
stress pattern is the consonant sounds
there Micronesia
Indonesia okay it’s that long vowel
sound Micronesia
Moldova Moldova so we’ve got two letter
owes here but they are pronounced
differently
the main stress in the second syllable
is pronounced as oh like the verb go
Moldova Moldova Monaco Monaco so the
first syllable is stressed and the
second syllable relaxes to become the
schwa Mahna Mahna Mahna KO Mongolia
Mongolia
so the second syllable very stressed
Mongolia mom go Leah Mongolia Montenegro
Montenegro the third syllable there is
stressed Montenegro
you can hear that the first one is also
quite strong Montenegro and that final
Montenegro Montenegro Morocco Morocco so
the second syllable there is the
stressed one Morocco so that final
syllable is the O vowel sound but the
stress syllable in the middle is the
short hop sound Morocco Mozambique
Mozambique
so the first syllable we have the O
vowel sound Mosin Mosin and the last
syllable is the stressed syllable it’s
louder and clearer Mozambique Mozambique
the long e vowel sound me Emma me Emma
this is actually an interesting word for
native English speakers to try and
pronounce because the mmm and yet
consonant sounds don’t often appear
together in English yen yen but it’s the
second syllable that is stressed yen ma
yema
Myanmar Namibia Namibia can you hear
that second syllable is the stressed one
Namibia Namibia
no hmm three syllables here and the
second one is stressed nah oh so if
there are any Australians watching at
this point our neighbors our little
neighbors must be pretty sick of us
calling their country
Naru it’s nah you know Nepal Nepal so
it’s the second syllable that’s stressed
here and the vowel is the all as in door
vowel sound pull Nepal the Netherlands
the Netherlands so we have an unstressed
the followed by the stressed syllable
net net and then followed by the voiced
consonant sound
Nev Nev Netherlands Netherlands New
Zealand New Zealand can you see that
extra you there that’s included in the
word new new try to make sure that you
can hear that word new then that’s the
second word zealand has the first
you’ll hear lots of english
pronunciations of this one nicaragua
Nicaragua which is quite different from
the way that Nicaraguans actually
pronounce their country names but this
is how English speakers usually
pronounce it Nicaragua neasha or Nyjah
okay so there is two different
pronunciations that you’ll hear native
English speakers using ne’er is much
closer to the French pronunciation of
this word which I think makes it
little more correct but you’ll hear
Niger quite a lot as well and that might
be because of Nigeria Nigeria where you
hear the second syllable stressed
Nigeria
that’s the ear as in here Val sound
Nigeria Norway Norway so for Norway
you’ll hear the first syllable stressed
it’s much louder and much stronger than
the second one Norway a man a man the
second syllable has the strongest rest
and it’s the longer vowel sound ah like
in father a man a man Pakistan Pakistan
so again you’ll always hear the stressed
syllable pronounced slightly differently
depending on which native speaker you’re
listening to but you’ll hear a strong
first syllable and the main third
syllable stressed Pakistan Pakistan
Palau Palau see the unstressed syllable
at the start / / and the stronger Lao as
Panama the first and the last syllables
there are quite strong Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea so the first word has
three syllables Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw Paw
a New Guinea again lots of vowel letters
in that last word but it’s just
pronounced Guinea Paraguay Paraguay
so the first syllable is stressed and
the third syllable is quite interesting
it’s pronounced y y para Y Peru Peru
another place on my bucket list first
syllable unstressed second still a
syllable stressed Peru Peru Peru
Philippines Philippines so in English
the pH makes the consonant sound the
first two syllables are very short and
fast filling filling filling Philippines
Philippines
it’s the voiced consonant sound
Philippines Poland Poland so here in the
first stressed syllable we have the Oh
as in go vowel sound Poland Portugal
another beautiful country Portugal so
that’s the or as in door sound in the
first and stressed syllable poor qu poor
qu Portugal go go that’s unstressed
syllable at the end very low in pitch
Portugal
Qatar or Qatar depending on which
English speaker you hear Qatar or Qatar
so the stress changes there Romania
Romania now the main stress is on the
second syllable so it’s a as in de
Romania and the first syllable is
unstressed so it reduces right down
sometimes to the schwarz sometimes
you’ll hear ro mania but usually the
schwa Romania Russia Russia the stress
is on the first syllable there and it is
a short vowel sound ah the AH vowel
sound as in up
ruff-ruff Russia followed by so the
double s here s si a makes shut the
consonant sound
raah sure that’s the unstressed schwa
sound at the end Russia Rwanda Rwanda so
the first syllable you have the ooh as
in Shu vowel sound ruh ruh but the
second syllable is stressed Rwanda
Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts
and Nevis so for Saint it’s often said
quite quickly as sent some sent kits
sent Kitson here how and reduces to and
and links to the consonant sound before
it Kitson Kitson
st. kitts and nevis that’s a longer
vowel sound there on the first syllable
sim Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia said
Lucia the stress on the first syllable
is ooh
then CI a is pronounced as shut Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines st.
Vincent and the Grenadines so we have
sinned Vincent sent Vincent sent Vincent
and again we can link that vowel sound
to the consonant sound some Vincent and
the Grenadines
Grenn is the stressed syllable their
Grenadines st. Vincent and the
Grenadines Samoa Samoa that stressed
syllable is the Oh as in go vowel sound
Samoa San Marino San Marino
so the stress there is on REE merino
merino San Marino Salome and príncipe
now I have to admit that I’m not the
best person to pronounce this correctly
hoof it as a native English speaker who
doesn’t speak Portuguese I’m going to
give it my best shot so we have Sal Sal
that’s the ow as in now vowel sound Sal
Sal – so that is unstressed you can see
the schwa there
Mei is stressed sounds like a as in de
sal – may sound to me Sal – man and Sal
– man principai it kind of runs some Sal
– man
to pay Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia so you
have the stressed syllable in Arabia
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Senegal
Senegal so the last syllable here is the
stressed syllable Senegal it’s the OO as
in door vowel sound Senegal Senegal
Serbia Serbia so that stress is on the
first syllable
Serbia Seychelles Seychelles now the
second syllable is actually distressed
Seychelles and don’t forget the plural
Zoo sound at the end Seychelles Sierra
Leone Sierra Leone now it’s actually the
last syllable that’s stressed there it’s
the Oh as in go vowel sound Sara Leone
Oh Oh Leone Leone Sierra Leone Singapore
Singapore Singapore it’s the first
syllable that’s stressed sing we have
that consonant sound sing sing that
unstressed vowel sound Singapore or
singapore slovakia slovakia you can hear
that stress is on the second syllable
slovakia slovakia
slovenia slovenian it has the same
stress pattern slovenia it’s that long e
vowel sound slovenia solomon islands
solomon islands
so the stress there is on the first
syllable sol solomon can see how the
other two syllables in solomon reduced
to the schwa solomon islands Somalia
Somalia the second syllable is the
strongest Somalia South Africa so in the
first word we have the ow as in now
vowel sound and the unvoiced th south
south south africa africa is the
strongest syllable in Africa and the
consonants and the AH vowel sound can
link together South Africa South Africa
South Korea South Korea so we have South
Korea Korea so that’s the second
syllable that’s stressed there Korea I’m
pretty excited
I’m visiting South Korea next week and
it’s my first time to visit South Korea
I’m going to Seoul the capital so I
think that Street food is pretty amazing
there in South Korea so I’m gonna eat as
much as I can while I’m there and I’ll
report back South Sudan South Sudan
Sudan so the second syllable there is
the stressed once Sudan South Sudan
Spain Spain also delicious food oh my
gosh
this video is making me hungry Spain has
the a as in de Val sound Spain notice
that the continent is the M continent
okay
Spain sri lanka sri lanka 3 is
unstressed so it’s quite short and low
in pitch but our main syllable the
stressed syllable is ylang-ylang lenka
lenka Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan which we
went over a few minutes ago
Suriname now this first vowel sound is
quite an uncommon one it’s the or as in
TOR vowel sound sorry sorry Suriname and
the last syllable is the stressed
syllable Serena Swaziland now I just
found out that only a few months ago did
this country name change and now it’s
not called Swaziland it’s known as the
kingdom of s14 II so forget Swaziland
it’s the kingdom of s14 II now Sweden
Sweden so that stressed syllable is the
first syllable and it’s a long vowel sir
Sweden Sweden Switzerland Switzerland
so our strongest syllable is Swit it’s a
short vowel sound but we have the the
consonant cluster Swit Swit Switzer
Switzerland
Syria Syria the why makes a short vowel
sound a Syria Tajikistan Tajikistan so
the main stress here like all of the
other stands is on the last syllable but
we can also hear the first syllable
clearly Tajikistan Tajikistan Tajikistan
Tanzania Tanzania so here we’ve got the
third syllable is stressed it’s a short
vowel sound but it’s the strongest
Tanzania Thailand Thailand now the th
doesn’t make the usual sound here it’s
not violent but Thailand so in English
actually we pronounce Thailand with the
stress on the first syllable Thai people
usually stress the second syllable
Thailand Thailand another beautiful
country with delicious food Togo Togo so
we have the same vowel sound that’s
repeated it’s the Oh as in go sound Togo
Tonga Tonga the stress is on the first
syllable Tong Tong with the second
syllable being the reduced schwa sound
Tana trinidad and tobago trinidad and
tobago trinidad so that’s all short
vowel sounds Trinidad Trinidad um
reduced and sound and Tobago Tobago
that’s the a as in de about
Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Tunisia so
notice here the Y consonant sound choo
choo not too but choo
Tunisia Turkey turkey the strut syllable
is the first one and it’s the earth as
in her vowel sound Turkey turkey
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan so again we’re
starting with the a vowel sound here
tuk-tuk men now men is the secondary
stress here so we hear it a little more
clearly took men two men took many took
many Stan Stan is the strongest syllable
tuvalu to valor the second syllable is
the strongest one and they’re all long
vowel sound Mong vowel sounds – var Lu
Tuvalu Uganda you we have that easy
sound there you Uganda the second
syllable is stressed Uganda Ukraine
again we have that you you pronunciation
Ukraine the second syllable is the
stressed one crane it’s the a as in de
vowel sound Ukraine United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates so you have United
United Arab United Arab United Arab
Emirates the stress in Emirates is on
the first syllable Emirates United Arab
Emirates the United Kingdom United
Kingdom United Kingdom now of course the
United Kingdom is made up of England
Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland and
I want to highlight England because some
of my students particularly my Chinese
and Korean students they have trouble
with the first vowel sound in England
it’s a short if not the air valve a
sound it’s English not English
it’s England not England
okay so focus on that short e sound in
glint notice how the second syllable
reduces to the schwa blend blend blend
England the United States of America
United we’ve been over this one United
States so States has the a a as in de
vowel sound United States of of reduced
sound there United States of America
okay so we have a merica it’s that
second syllable that’s stressed and
strongest the United States of America
Uruguay you’re Uruguay okay so you can
hear at the end there that AI is
pronounced as I liked by your reg why
why uruguay uruguayan who’s Becca Stan
who’s Becca Stan it’s the Oh
in book vowel sound at the start
booze was bet Becca Stan so bet is the
second stress stan is the strongest rest
was Becca Stan
Vanuatu Vanuatu that third syllable is
Venezuela
notice that in English the pronunciation
of that V is mmm
instead of Venezuela its move Venezuela
just like you Vietnam Vietnam Yemen
Yemen again that you sound but the
stress is on the first syllable Yemen
Zambia Zambia the first syllable is
stressed Zambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe the
Zimbabwe way Zimbabwe Oh phew we made it
if you stayed with me the whole way
through that lesson give yourself a huge
pat on the back that was insane I’m
completely exhausted now but keep in
mind that this is the standard English
pronunciation of these countries in my
Australian accent so there’s definitely
gonna be variations when you listen to
pronunciation between native English
speakers but learning and practicing the
English pronunciation with me is gonna
help you to communicate a little more
clearly and to help your listening
skills as well mmm
to drink about three of those I’m sure
you do too this has been such a great
pronunciation practice lesson
it’s literally like taking your mouth to
the gym for a workout I think you
probably need about five minutes break
before I send you to another video so I
won’t recommend any just yet but please
do hit that subscribe button down there
if you haven’t done so already you
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watching and thanks for working so hard
with me today you’re amazing thanks for
watching and I will see you next week bye for now
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