Pronunciation: G & J

1. Who is responsible for the morning briefing? ______
a) The mechanics in the vehicle bay.
b) The commanding officer.
c) The kitchen staff.

2. What do soldiers do at roll call? ______
a) They clean their weapons.
b) They report their presence.
c) They eat breakfast.

3. When do soldiers prepare their gear? ______
a) Before the daily briefing.
b) After going to the gym.
c) Only on weekends.

Pronunciation Rules for "G" and "J" Sounds

The pronunciation of "G" and "J" in English follows several patterns:

To listen to the sound go to  YouGlish  and enter the word you want to hear.

1. Hard "G" /ɡ/ (as in "Go")

  • Pronounced as /ɡ/ (like in "goat" or "garden").

  • Usually occurs before A, O, U, or consonants.

  • Examples:

    • Go → /ɡoʊ/

    • Garden → /ˈɡɑːrdən/

    • Glow → /ɡloʊ/

    • Gone → /ɡɒn/ (UK) or /ɡɑːn/ (US)

  • To listen to the sound go to  YouGlish  and enter the word you want to hear.

2. Soft "G" /dʒ/ (as in "General")

  • Pronounced as /dʒ/ (like in "jungle" or "judge").

  • Usually occurs before E, I, or Y.

  • Examples:

    • General → /ˈdʒɛn(ə)rəl/

    • Giant → /ˈdʒaɪənt/

    • Giraffe → /dʒɪˈræf/

    • Gym → /dʒɪm/

  • To listen to the sound go to  YouGlish  and enter the word you want to hear.

3. "J" Sound /dʒ/ (as in "Janis")

  • "J" is almost always pronounced /dʒ/, like the "soft G" sound.

  • Examples:

    • Janis → /ˈdʒænɪs/

    • Jump → /dʒʌmp/

    • Jungle → /ˈdʒʌŋɡəl/

  • To listen to the sound go to  YouGlish  and enter the word you want to hear.

4. "-DGE" /dʒ/ (as in "Judge")

  • "-dge" always represents the /dʒ/ sound (like "j").

  • The vowel before "-dge" is always short.

  • Examples:

    • Judge → /dʒʌdʒ/

    • Smudge → /smʌdʒ/

    • Edge → /ɛdʒ/

    • Bridge → /brɪdʒ/

  • To listen to the sound go to  YouGlish  and enter the word you want to hear.

These rules cover most cases, but there are some exceptions (like "get" and "give," which have a hard G despite being followed by E/I).