Happy English Podcast

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.Today, let’s look at a pair of words that sound very similar, but mean very different things:  wonder and wander.First, wonder. The vowel sound here is a short, relaxed uh sound - also known as the schwa. The one in wonder is like the number one. One wonder. It’s a short vowel sound. One wonder  “I wonder what time it is.”  “I wonder if she’s coming.”  One wonder - same short sound.Next is wander, wander. The vowel sound here is longer AH sound, like want. I want to Wander. Your mouth opens more and the sound lasts longer - I want to Wander.  “We like to wander around the city.”  “He wandered into the wrong room.” I want to Wander. So listen to the difference:  wonder -  wander /  wonder -  wander /  wonder -  wander The vowel sounds are different lengths: wonder, short. Wander, long. Remember, pron