What is the phonetics of the G in English?

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There are letters in English like F that are pronounced the same as in Spanish. However, others like the G have varied pronunciations depending on the words they are in. In this post, we will explain the differences between the Spanish and English versions with examples so you can see better and, in the process, expand your vocabulary.

At ABA English, we enjoy helping you improve your pronunciation because we know that pronouncing correctly makes a difference when communicating in English. That is why we have developed exercises like the Listen-Record-Compare that allow you to practice pronunciation based on phrases spoken by native speakers so you always have the best examples.

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THE ENGLISH PHONETICS OF THE G

Among the phonemes you will find in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), are those that represent the sounds of English phonetics. Knowing how to interpret them is a great advantage when understanding the correct pronunciation of words in English. In this post, we will present two phonemes that indicate what sound you should make when pronouncing the G in a particular word.

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What is the phonetics of the G in English?

THE PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF THE G IN ENGLISH

The pronunciation of the G in English is different from Spanish. While in Spanish the G in ‘gato’ and ‘agua’ is pronounced exactly the same, in English this letter has different sounds depending on the word it is in.

At the beginning of a word, like goat, which means ‘goat’ and is phonetically represented as /ɡəʊt/, the G sounds the same as in Spanish, ‘gout’. On the other hand, when it is in the middle of the word, it sounds similar to the ‘sh’ sound that is made in Spanish to ask for silence. This is done by curling the tongue back and raising it to almost touch the palate; the sides of the tongue touch the upper teeth and the vocal cords vibrate. Age (age), /eɪdʒ/, will sound something like ‘eish’ in Spanish. There is a third pronunciation variant, the phoneme /ŋ/, but we will see this in the article ‘How to pronounce NG in English’.

If you want to learn more about English pronunciation, we invite you to try the ABA English courses.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PRONUNCIATION IN ENGLISH

Improve your pronunciation of the G by practicing the words you have as examples in this post and add get (receive), /ɡet/, and sage (wise), /seɪdʒ/, to expand your vocabulary.

Pay attention to the way native speakers pronounce. This will help you know exactly the different sounds that exist in English. When you hear a word, try to repeat it imitating the pronunciation of these speakers as much as possible.

Finally, you can record yourself saying the words you want to improve and then listen to the recording to see where corrections are needed. You can do this with the Listen-Record-Compare exercises from our course!

Exceptions to the rules of the g in English

The previous rules, like most, have exceptions that do not follow the rule.

According to what we have learned, the words you will see below should normally be pronounced with the soft g sound (similar to the j in Spanish), but instead they will be pronounced with the hard g (more like a soft k).

Here are some examples with their Spanish translation and phonetic transcription in IPA.

Girl (Girl): /gɜːl/
Soggy (Soaked): /ˈsɒgi/
Begin (To start): /bɪˈgɪn/
Geek (Weirdo, pejorative): /giːk/
Give (To give): /gɪv/

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Sentences to practice the different sounds of the letter g in English

Read aloud the following example sentences to internalize the correct sound of the g in English.

1. I have always believed in angels, do you?

(I have always believed in angels, and you?)

/aɪ hæv ˈɔːlweɪz bɪˈliːvd ɪn ˈeɪnʤəlz, duː juː?/

2. Gemma is responsible for taking the garbage out in our shared apartment.

(Gema is responsible for taking out the trash in our shared apartment.)

/ˈʤɛmə ɪz rɪsˈpɒnsəbl fɔː ˈteɪkɪŋ ðə ˈgɑːbɪʤ aʊt ɪn ˈaʊə ʃeəd əˈpɑːtmənt/

3. I’m going to the gym twice a week and I’m so proud of myself.

(I’m going to the gym twice a week and I’m very proud of myself.)

/aɪm ˈgəʊɪŋ tuː ðə ʤɪm twaɪs ə wiːk ænd aɪm səʊ praʊd ɒv maɪˈsɛlf/

4. You need to apologize to your brother George, what you did was wrong.

(You need to apologize to your brother George, what you did was wrong.)

/juː niːd tuː əˈpɒləʤaɪz tuː jɔː ˈbrʌðə ʤɔːʤ, wɒt juː dɪd wɒz rɒŋ/

5. I found my glasses in the grass in front of my house, it would have been tragic if I had lost them.

(I found my glasses in the grass in front of my house, it would have been tragic if I had lost them.)

/aɪ faʊnd maɪ ˈglɑːsɪz ɪn ðə grɑːs ɪn frʌnt ɒv maɪ haʊs, ɪt wʊd hæv biːn ˈtræʤɪk ɪf aɪ hæd lɒst ðɛm./

Exercises to practice the pronunciation of the letter g in English

Classify the words shown below into two groups depending on whether the g they contain is hard g or soft g.

Gate (door), digit (digit), ghost (ghost), age (age), cage (cage), giraffe (giraffe), gentleman (gentleman), good (good), log (log), manage (manage), garden (garden), gamble (gamble), emergency (emergency), engine (engine), guardian (guardian), magic (magic), going (going), gather (gather).