Hi again and welcome back to Seattle Learning Academy's American English pronunciation podcast.

My name is Mandy, and this is our 172nd episode.

This podcast includes a lot of information about spelling.

So if you want to see the spellings I talk about, instead of just hearing me say the letters,

go to www.prenuncian.com slash podcast and click episode 172.

Then you can read along.

Usually when we have a word spelled with double consonants, like P, P or B, or D, D, we pronounce both letters as one single sound.

For example, the middle two P's of the word puppy are said as just one P sound.

We say puppy, not Puppie. Likewise, we say rabbit and address, not rabbit and address, even though the word rabbit is spelled

with two bees and address is spelled with two D's. When we have two consecutive C's in a word, we need to be careful, though. Sometimes the

two Cs are pronounced as a single K sound, as in the word a cues, and sometimes the two Cs

are pronounced as the K sound, followed by the S sound, as in the word succeed.

Let's explore some more examples before we get to the pattern in these pronunciations.

In addition to the word accuse, the two C's in the words, accustomed, occasion, impeccable, accommodate, and tobacco are pronounced with a single K sound.

In addition to the word succeed, the two Cs in the words access, vaccine, and accident are pronounced as a K sound, followed by an S sound.

Did you hear the ks in those words?

I'll say them again, broken apart by syllable.

Succeed.

Access.

Vaccine.

And accident.

Luckily, there is a pattern to help you know which pronunciation to use.

...