LISTEN

/dʒ/…/dʒ/…/dʒ/…/dʒ/

juice…edge…giraffe…major

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The consonant /dʒ/ is a voiced, alveo-palatal, affricate consonant.

Press the middle of your tongue between your alveolar ridge and your soft palate.
Quickly move your tongue downward while forcefully pushing air out.
The air in your mouth should stop before it is released. (It is like combining a /d/ with a /ʒ/.)
Your vocal cords should vibrate.

The sound /dʒ/ can be in these consonant clusters:

BEGINNING OF A SYLLABLE

(none)

END OF A SYLLABLE

/ndʒ/ (“nge”) – change
/ldʒ/ (“lge”) – bulge
/rdʒ/ (“rge”) – large
/dʒd/ (“ged”) – edged
/ndʒd/ (“nged”) – hinged
/ldʒd/ (“lged”) – divulged
/rdʒd/ (“rged”) – charged

Spelling:

“j” – jump, reject
“g” – magic , gentle
“ge” – age, large
“dj” – adjacent, adjective
“dg” – badger, gadget
“dge” – lodge, budge
“di” – soldier, cordial
“d” (+u) – graduate, education

COMPARE

Compare /dʒ/ with /tʃ/:

/dʒ/…/tʃ/…/dʒ/…/tʃ/…/dʒ/…/tʃ/

These are both alveo-palatal, affricate consonants. However, /dʒ/ is a voiced consonant and /tʃ/ is a voiceless consonant.

You can hear the difference between /dʒ/ and /tʃ/ in these words.

1. A. joke, B. choke
2. A. jest, B. chest
3. A. badge, B. batch
4. A. lunge, B. lunch
5. A. ridges, B. riches
6. A. surged, B. searched

Practice recognizing words with /dʒ/ and /tʃ/ by taking the quiz here (external link).

Now compare /dʒ/ and /d/:

/dʒ/…/d/…./dʒ/…/d/…/dʒ/…/d/

These are both voiced consonants in a similar position. However, /dʒ/ is an alveo-palatal affricate, while /d/ is an alveolar stop. The sound /dʒ/ begins as a stop (with no air coming through the mouth) but then moves into a fricative (with some air released).

You can hear the difference between /dʒ/ and /d/ in these words.

1. A. jump, B. dump
2. A. jock, B. dock
3. A. hedge, B. head
4. A. large, B. lard
5. A. raging, B. raiding
6. A. adage, B. added

Practice recognizing words with /dʒ/ and /d/ by taking the quiz here (external link).

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:

1. juice
2. jeans
3. jacket
4. Japan
5. gentle
6. jealous
7. justice
8. page
9. judge
10. range

11. merge
12. bandage
13. major
14. adjunct
15. packaging
16. managers
17. adjective
18. damaged
19. knowledgeable
20. judicial

Now, practice /dʒ/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.

1. original – strategy – procedure
Our original strategy didn’t work, so we’re trying a new procedure.
2. graduated – college – languages
She graduated from college with a degree in Asian languages.
3. jar – jam – edge
A jar of jam fell off the edge of the counter.
4. manager – just – packages
The manager just picked up the packages
5. vegetables – juice – fridge
The vegetables and juice should be in the fridge.
6. imagine – jacket – July
I can’t imagine why you’d need a jacket in July.

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:

Male – US Midwest (St. Louis)

Male – US Midwest (Iowa)

Male – US Midwest

Female – US Northeast

Female – US Southeast

USE IT

Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

Prepare:
Look at this list of activities. Rank them from most dangerous to least dangerous.

Jumping on a trampoline
Sitting on the edge of a bridge
Catching a jellyfish
Riding a giraffe
Exploring a jungle
Walking outside in winter without a jacket
Making a friend feel jealous
Travelling alone in Japan
Catching a giant spider
Being a hostage

Record:
In your recording, describe which 2 activities are most dangerous and which 2 activities are least dangerous. Explain the reasons for your answers.

Home

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.