s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
How to pronounce statement in American English
STAYT·muhnt
Start here
Americans pronounce statement as STAYT-muhnt (/ˈsteɪtmənt/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I strongly object to that statement" or "He gave a compelling opening statement outlining his defense" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "statement".
2 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
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.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
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.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "statement" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He gave a compelling opening statement outlining his defense."
hee GAYV uh kuhm·PEH·luhng OH·puh·nuhng STAYT·muhnt OWT·lahy·nuhng hihz duh·FEHNS
"He reviewed his bank statement to check for any unauthorized transactions."
hee ruh·VYOOD hihz BANGK STAYT·muhnt tuh CHEHK fer EH·nee uh·NAH·thuh·rahyzd tran·ZAK·shuhnz
"I strongly object to that statement."
ahy STRAHNG·lee uhb·JEHKT tuh dhat STAYT·muhnt
"She witnessed the accident and gave a statement to the police."
shee WIHT·nuhst dhee AK·suh·duhnt and GAYV uh STAYT·muhnt tuh dhuh puh·LEES
"The thesis statement should clearly present your main argument."
dhuh THEE·suhs STAYT·muhnt shuud KLEER·lee pruh·ZEHNT yer MAYN AR·gyuh·muhnt
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "statement", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
statement→STAYT·muhnt
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "statement", 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.
statement→STAYT·muhnt
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch STAYT — keep everything else short and quick.
stayt·MUHNT→STAYT·muhnt
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.
STAYT·MUHNT→STAYT·muhnt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "statement" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "STAYT" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "STAYT-muhnt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "statement" 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 "STAYT-muhnt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "statement" 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 "STAYT-muhnt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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