How to pronounce “curricular”
Curricular is pronounced /kərˈɪkjəˌlɜːr/. It has 4 syllables, and the beat falls on the second one — ɪ. Below: the syllable split, native audio in both accents, the mistake people actually make with this word, and every individual sound in it explained.
Syllables and stress
Split it into 4 beats. The highlighted syllable is the strong one: say it louder, longer and a touch higher in pitch, and let the others fall away. English is a stress-timed language, so getting ɪ in the right place matters more to a listener than getting every vowel perfect.
Stress pattern oOoō — capital letters mark the stressed beats.
“curricular” sound by sound
“curricular” is built out of 8 sounds. Say each one on its own first, slowly, then run them together at speed. Every sound links to a full guide with mouth position, the mistake learners make with it, and other words that use it.
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kRaise the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate, seal the air, then release it with a puff.
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ərThe same r-coloured tongue shape as /ɜːr/ but weak, short and unstressed — the ending of "teacher", "doctor", "sugar".
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ɪRelax the tongue slightly lower and further back than for /iː/, keep the lips neutral, and make it short and lax.
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kRaise the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate, seal the air, then release it with a puff.
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jRaise the front of the tongue high toward the hard palate as if starting /iː/, then glide straight into the following vowel.
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əDo almost nothing: leave the tongue in its neutral resting position, mouth slightly open, and make the shortest, weakest possible vowel.
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lTouch the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth and let the voiced air flow around the sides of the tongue.
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ɜːrHold the tongue central and bunched or curled back for the whole vowel, with the R quality present from beginning to end — it is one continuous r-coloured vowel, not a vowel plus an /r/.
Minimal pairs — words one sound away from “curricular”
Each of these differs from “curricular” by exactly one sound. If you can say both of a pair and hear the difference, that sound is under control:
Questions people ask about “curricular”
- How do you pronounce “curricular”?
- “curricular” is pronounced /kərˈɪkjəˌlɜːr/, with the stress on the second syllable (ɪ). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “curricular”?
- “curricular” has 4 syllables: kər · ɪ · kjə · lɜːr. The stress pattern is oOoō.
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