Proper Pronunciation Guide

New Year’s Day

[nju jɪ͜ɚz de͜i]

Tips:

  • Stress the word “day.”
  • Pronounce the letters “ew” like the name of the letter “u”—
    /ju/.
  • Pronounce the letters “ear” as the R-Vowel Diphthong
    /ɪ͜ɚ/ and just like the word “ear.” Be sure to pronounce the unstressed R-Vowel
    /ɚ/  at the end of the diphthong.

Practice Sentences:

 New Year's Day was bright and sunny but cold.
They went to bed early on New Year's Eve because they had a party to go to on New Year's Day.

Notes:

In pronouncing holidays the name of the holiday is usually stressed rather than the word “day,” such as Memorial Day or Valentine’s Day. However, with Christmas and New Year’s the words “Eve” and “Day” are stressed because both the eve and the following day are parts of the holiday and the speaker needs to differentiate the two. In other words, the words “Eve” and “Day” are contrastive and therefore need to be stressed.

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