How Do Native English Speakers Pronounce 'Our'?

How do you pronounce the word 'our'? If you are not a native English speaker, then I'll bet you pronounce it just like the word 'hour'. Well actually... you’re right, it is pronounced that way, but that is not the only way of pronouncing it. There are actually TWO WAYS of pronouncing 'our', and that is the subject of today’s video.

Listen to the song 'Our House' by the British band Madness. What do they sing in the chorus? Do they sing "A house in the middle of a street"? No. If they were singing "a house...", then it would sound like this: "əː haʊs...". But it's not "əː haʊs"; it's "ɑː haʊs". So, what is the lyric? The answer is in the title of the song: Our House.

But notice that they’re not singing "aʊə haʊs"; they’re singing "ɑː haʊs". The reason they're pronouncing it this way is not because they are singing, or because they have strange accents. No, they’re using the pronunciation ‘ɑː’ because that is the CORRECT way to pronounce this word.

There are TWO WAYS of pronouncing this word: 'aʊə' and 'ɑː'. Both ways are correct. Most native English speakers have a preference. I, for example, prefer to say 'ɑː'; I don't usually say 'aʊə' ...but sometimes I do.

There is NO RULE about when to use each pronunciation, but we generally pronounce it aʊə when the word is isolated. That's why if you ask a native English speaker how to pronounce 'our' he or she will probably answer ‘aʊə’. But if you listen to that same person talking naturally, you’ll probably notice that he or she does sometimes use the 'ɑː' pronunciation.

Native English speakers often use the 'ɑː' pronunciation, but foreigners ALWAYS pronounce it 'aʊə'. So here’s a tip: if you want to sound less like a foreigner, stop saying 'aʊə' and start saying 'ɑː' instead.

The real lesson here is that, if you want your pronunciation to improve, you need to open your ears and LISTEN to how native English speakers really speak. Let go of your preconceptions, stop worrying about at how words are spelt, and use your EARS.

Thanks for watching.

Ta ta!