Instructify

Quetzalcoatl. Rhinopharyngitis. Mnemosyne. If you tried to say these out loud you’d either have an aneurism or accidentally open a portal to the underworld. Fortunately, there’s a safe way to speak difficult words thanks to howjsay.com.

Howjsay.com (as in, “How do you say…”) is a free online pronunciation dictionary. Just type in a word and listen to its pronunciation. It’s ideal for students tackling a difficult reading assignment, and at the very least is much easier than the hieroglyphic pronunciation guide in written dictionaries. Now you can finally hear those unpronounceable terms from biology in English.

Mind you, that’s the Queen’s English, young squire. Howjsay.com pronounces all words in a stately British accent. This makes the pronunciations sound more official, as well as lets you have fun with limey diction. Be amazed as our friends across the pond transform “blueberry” into “BLOO-bree.” Through some sort of lingual alchemy, howjsay.com inserts a phantom vowel into “aluminum” (pronounced on the site as “a-loo-MIN-i-yum”). Howjsay.com also voices the “h” in “herbs.” Now I’m no longer confused by the Harry Potter movies when they’d need to find some mystery dudes named Herb to make a potion.

Still, English English is close enough for most words you’ll run into, and would it be so terrible for your slang-slinging students to speak the language of Shakespeare? So tonight after you take the lift up to your flat and eat your fish and chips in front of the telly, visit howjsay.com and pronounce like a pro. –BILL FERRIS
Howjsay.com