ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
How to pronounce intonation in American English
ihn·tuh·NAY·shuhn
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Americans pronounce intonation as ihn-tuh-NAY-shuhn (/ˌɪntəˈneɪʃən/). In "intonation", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as IHN·tuh·NAY·shuhn. Stress falls on the third syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I practice shadowing techniques to improve my intonation and rhythm".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "intonation".
4 syllables, 9 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
t/t/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
sh/ʃ/
Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
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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 silent T after N.
In "intonation", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
intonation→IHN·tuh·NAY·shuhn
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "intonation", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
intonation→IHN·tuh·NAY·shuhn
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the third syllable, not the others. Stretch NAY — keep everything else short and quick.
IHN·TUH·nay·SHUHN→IHN·tuh·NAY·shuhn
04
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
ihn·TUH·NAY·shuhn→IHN·tuh·NAY·shuhn
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "intonation" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the third syllable — say "NAY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ihn-tuh-NAY-shuhn" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "intonation" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "ihn-tuh-NAY-shuhn" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "intonation" 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 "ihn-tuh-NAY-shuhn" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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