British Pronunciation of Tune, New and Tuesday
/juː/as in tune
New and news include a Y sound before OO in the RP model.
The Y sound in new is not a separate syllable. In contemporary British speech, tune and Tuesday may also begin with a sound like CH; a careful TY version is not the only option.
Listen once, repeat the word, then use it in a sentence. Practise the retained y.
Compare
toon
Practice target
tyoon
What to listen for
Listen for the Y in new. Tune and Tuesday have more than one common British pronunciation.
How to practise
Slip a tiny y in before the oo. Tune is t-yoon, not toon.
A short practice session
- Listen to tune. Repeat the beginning into the vowel.
- Try new, keeping the Y and OO together.
- Say a new tune, then the whole practice sentence.
Try it in a sentence
I heard a new tune on Tuesday.
Keep new as one syllable. Listen to several speakers before treating one pronunciation of Tuesday as a universal rule.
Read a line for a free accent assessment, or follow the British accent learning guide.
Practise words
Hear how you do on tune.
BritSpeech scores retained y on your own voice, on your phone, in seconds, then offers exercises to practise it.