enthusiasts

Break it as en-THU-ziasts, with primary stress on the second syllable. IPA US: ɛnˈθuːziˌæsts or ɛnˈθuːziˌæsts depending on vowel quality; UK: enˈθjuːziˌæsts. Start with a clear 'eh' for en, then a stressed 'THU' with the dental fricative θ, followed by a long 'oo' in the second syllable and the final 'sts' cluster. Practicing slowly: en-THU-zi-asts, then blend to natural speed.

Common errors: (1) Stress on the first syllable instead of the second; (2) Mispronouncing the sequence -thu- as 'thu' with a short 'u' instead of a long 'oo' (/uː/); (3) Dropping the S in the final -sts or mispronouncing the cluster as -zsts. Correction: place primary stress on the second syllable: en-THU-ziasts, ensure /θuː/ is a long 'oo' sound, and articulate the final /sts/ clearly with a light but audible 's' before the 't' and 's'.

US: /ɛnˈθuːziˌæsts/ with a clear /θ/ and a longer /uː/; UK: /enˈθjuːziˌæsts/ where /juː/ can be a glide after /θ/; AU: /ɛnˈθuːziˌæsts/ with often a more centralized or rounded vowel in fast speech and a non-rhotic approach but similar stressed placement. Rhoticity affects only rhotic vowels in some contexts; here there’s no /r/ involved. Vowel length and the/diphthong quality may vary slightly by region.

The difficulty lies in the cluster -ziasts with the long /iː/ or /i/ quality and the /θ/ dental fricative, which can be softened or misarticulated as /s/ or /t/. Also, the final /sts/ can become a simple /s/ or /t/ if spoken quickly. The secondary stress on '-zi-' can be subtle, so maintaining consistent primary stress on the second syllable ensures intelligibility.

Focus on the transition from the /θ/ fricative to the long /uː/ vowel in the second syllable. Start with en- and hold the following /θuː/ briefly before moving to -ziasts. Practice the sequence slowly: en-THU-uzi-asts, then compress into en-THU-ziasts, keeping the /t/ crisp and the final /s/ audible to avoid a muffled ending.