What's the difference of pronunciation of words 'ward' and 'word'?
I searched them in the dictionary, and
(link: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ward)
word sounds like '\ˈwərd\', and ward sounds like \ˈwȯrd\
But I'm not sure how I can make different sound.
Could you give me any tip about this?
(I try to speak 'word' more strongly, then I felt like it sounds close to 'world')
Try this for word
Bird with a w instead of a b, w+ird
Some guidance, Bird Is The Word by the Trashmen, can be found here
and this for ward
War (as in battle) with a guttural d (as in down) at the end, war+d
These pronunciations are for a flat accent sometimes termed newscaster or General American, there can be regional differences but this is the most basic.
This may come as a totally inappropriate method to teach you how to pronounce 'ward', but I'll try and attempt it anyhow.
Do you know the legendary Aussie cricketer Steve Waugh ? Now just pronounce 'Waugh-ed'. That is close to the actual pronunciation of 'ward'.
The pronunciation of 'word' shouldn't be a problem and I'm sure its pretty easy for you. It sounds very similar to 'world', just avoid the "L" sound.
Words that sound like 'ward' that can help you how to pronounce it : wand, Vaughan(another cricketer to the rescue).
