How to pronounce gang in American English

IPA /gæŋ/ Syllables 1 · gang Stress 1st syllable
GANG
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Americans pronounce gang as GANG (/gæŋ/).

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Sounds
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Clarity
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Stress
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Intonation
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Fluency
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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the vowel before NG too pure.

In "gang", the "a" vowel before NG shifts toward "ay" — sounding like "ay" as in "say", a distinctly American pattern — most prominent in Midwestern American English; other GenAm speakers may use a less raised vowel. Vowel changes to sound like /eɪ/ ("ay" as in "say").

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"The young gang was banging on the gong."
dhuh YUHNG GANG wuhz BANG·uhng ahn dhuh GAHNG
Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

01

Pronouncing the vowel before NG too pure.

In "gang", the "a" vowel before NG shifts toward "ay" — sounding like "ay" as in "say", a distinctly American pattern — most prominent in Midwestern American English; other GenAm speakers may use a less raised vowel. Vowel changes to sound like /eɪ/ ("ay" as in "say").

GANGGANG
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "gang" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "GANG" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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