Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson, I'm going to teach you a very
easy trick to pronounce words that end with "t–i–o–n". Now, why is this
important at all? Because these words are everywhere. Okay? So, for example:
Have you ever asked anyone for "information"? Have you ever made a
"reservation"? Or have you ever given a "presentation"? If so, you used one of
these very common words that ends with "t–i–o–n". Now, what happens, though?
This spelling is not the way we pronounce it; the spelling is not the
pronunciation in this case.
So, let me give you three simple rules that will help you to pronounce any
words that have this ending. All right? Let's look here. So, the "tion" sound at
the end of words is actually pronounced like: "sh'n". Say it after me: "sh'n".
Like we said in "information", "sh'n". Okay? Next, what we're hearing is that
"sh'n" is very short. It's not "on". Okay? Even though there's an "o–n" in
there, there's no "on" sound. Even though there's a "t" in there, there's
no "t" sound. All right? So, it's pronounced like "sh'n". The "sh'n" is
very short, and fast, and quick. And the stress of the word is always on the
syllable before the "sh'n". Okay? And this doesn't matter how long the word
is.
So, let me show you exactly how it works. It's so easy. Once you see this,
you're like: "Oh, okay. Now I know how to pronounce all these words." All
right? So, I have here words which are two syllables; on this side, three
syllables; on here we have four-, five-, and even six-syllable words. But they
all follow the same rule — okay? — so your life is a little bit easier. Let's
do them together. Okay? So, what we're saying is that the "t–i–o–n", we're
saying it like "sh'n", we're saying it really fast, and we're going to stress
the syllable that comes just before this. So, with two-syllable words, we
can say: "nation". Okay? "Station". You can say them after me. Okay? Get the
rhythm of it. All right? Then it'll start to seem more fun and also easier
to remember. "Station", "mention", "fiction". Good. What's number five? You
say it. Yes. "Option", "junction". Okay? So, these were all two-syllable words —
right? — "nation", and so on.
Now, let's go to the list with three-syllable words. So, for example,
this word: "vacation", "vacation" three syllables. Okay? This one: "location".
But where do we put the stress? Just before the "tion". Okay? So, let's do it
together. Number seven: "vacation", "vacation". All right? Next: "location".
Nine: "election". Ten: "subscription". Okay? Eleven: "emotion". Okay?
"Emotion", even though it looks like a short word, compared to this one, it's
still only three syllables. "Subscription" — longer word, but three
syllables. "Emotion" — three syllables. Okay? And this one: "corruption". Okay?
"rup". So, again: What did we see? Where were we putting the stress? Always just
before the "t–i–o–n", which is pronounced, how? "sh'n". Okay? Great.
Are you ready for some longer words? You can do it now because you've got the
hack, you've got the trick, you've got the secret. Okay? Let's do it. This...
these two are four syllables. Okay? "Competition". So, how do we pronounce
it? "Competition", "competition"? This one: "situation". Very good. These are
five syllables. Ready? So, what's coming here? What's before the "tion"? This,
right? So, let's stress that: "organization". The next one:
"globalization". Okay? Good for you. Good for you, you've got it. Look at
these long words that you're pronouncing so beautifully. All right? And these
have six syllables. All right? Doesn't matter; same rule. All right? So, what's
before the "tion"? "za", so: "hospitalization". I know it's a little
longer. Let's say it again: "hospitalization". Okay? That's where we
put the stress. And the last one: "experimentation", "experimentation".
All right? So, you've got the rules, you practiced them in the words, but most of
the time, you don't usually just going around saying words. Right? You use them
in phrases or sentences. So, next, let's really lock this in by doing some
practice with a few phrases and sentences.
All right. So, we have on the board four phrases, and then some sentences and
questions. All right? So, let's get started. Number one: "An amazing
invention". Good. Okay? Again, you know the rules. Right? What's the rule? The
syllable before the "t–i–o–n", and the "t–i–o–n" is always pronounced how?
"sh'n", "sh'n". Okay? You've got it. Number two: "A little attention",
"attention". Okay? Excellent. Number three: "A thorough investigation",
"investigation". Okay? Good. Number four: "Academic qualifications". Good.
All right? So, these are phrases, but phrases are also sometimes referred to
as what? "Collocations", "collocations". That means expressions and words that go
together. Like, we use these kinds of phrases together, these kind of words
together. Like: "He needs a little attention", or: "That's an amazing
invention", or: "They did a thorough investigation", or: "He has... She has
fantastic academic qualifications". All right? And so on. All right. "He has
academic qualifications as well." All right.
Now, let's look at five to eight. All right? So, these are some sentences and
questions, because that's how you will encounter these words. All right? "We
had a friendly conversation." Good. All right? "We had a friendly conversation."
So, normally, you're not going to stress it as much as I am right now because I'm
doing that just so that you can become really aware of it. We're exaggerating
it a little bit, but in real conversation, you'll still find this
stress. All right? Number six: "Did you make a reservation?" Right? "Did you
make a reservation?" Good. Number seven: "We attended the graduation",
"graduation". Not on the "u"; just on the "a". Sorry. It's a "graduation".
Okay? "We attended the graduation." Good. And number eight: "You gave an
excellent presentation", "presentation". Okay? So, we saw that the rules work all
the time. All right? So, whenever you have words like this. Now, words like
this, that, like these, that end with "t–i–o–n" are called what in grammar?
They're called nouns. All right? You know nouns probably.
So, the rule that I just taught you applies to all of these nouns. All
right? However, here's a little bit extra; a little extra trick. It also
applies when those words change into adjectives or adverbs. Let's look at an
example. Let's start with the noun — all right? — which you already know. What?
"Tradition". Then let's go to the adjective: "traditional"; same stress,
and here: "traditionally". So, what happened? Did the stress change because
the word became longer? No, the stress stayed the same. It's always the
syllable just before the "tion". "Traditional", sorry. "Tradition",
"traditional", "traditionally". All right? Let's try one more. The noun is
what? "Education". What's the adjective? "Educational". And the adverb?
"Educationally". All right? So, that's another neat trick for you to remember.
All right?
So, where do you go from here? You can go to our website to practice a little
bit more. And there, you can do a little quiz. I'm sure you're going to get it
because that was pretty easy, this rule; you just have to become aware of it. And
then little by little, your English starts to improve in these important
ways. And in fact, I've also put together an online course, which does
exactly that. It's an online course which you spend about ten minutes every
day and you correct one little aspect of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, or
anything else — and this way, you're moving forward each day. All right? So,
check that out. I'll put a link in the lesson description for you. Okay? So,
thanks very much for watching. Good for you. Move forward each day. You can do
it. These little changes will make a huge difference in your English. Okay?
And don't forget to subscribe. Bye for now. Thank you for watching.