Expunge

Pronunciation: ex-PUNGE, IPA US: ɪkˈspʌndʒ. The first syllable is unstressed; the second bears primary stress. The -pung- cluster ends with the voiced j sound /dʒ/ as in ‘judge.’ Place the tongue high-mid, raise the back of the tongue toward the soft palate, and let the lips compress slightly for the /ʌ/ vowel, then release into /ndʒ/. You can hear it in word lists and dictionaries that provide audio; practice repeating slowly, then speed up. IPA hints: /ɪk/ + /ˈspʌndʒ/.

Common mistakes include misplacing the stress (saying ex-PUNGE with wrong emphasis), mixing up the /dʒ/ sound (pronouncing it as /dʒ/ is correct but sometimes students substitute /tʃ/ or /ʒ/), and attempting a silent or weak final consonant. Correction: keep the /ndʒ/ sequence intact, avoid over-articulating the /k/ or adding an extra vowel; maintain the short /ʌ/ vowel quality and ensure the final affricate lands cleanly by pinching the tongue tip behind the upper teeth and releasing into /dʒ/.

In US, UK, and AU, the core pronunciation is the same: ex- + PUNGE (/ɪkˈspʌndʒ/). The main variation lies in preceding vowels or timbre, but the stressed syllable and /ndʒ/ sound remain consistent. US and UK tend to have rhoticity differences in surrounding vowels in connected speech, but the expunge pronunciation itself is non-rhotic in practice, since the /r/ is not present. Australian speakers often have a slightly more centralized /ʌ/ and a quicker vowel transition. Overall, the distinguishing features are not in the target word itself but in adjacent vowels and intonation.

The difficulty centers on the consonant cluster -pung- followed by the /dʒ/ sound /dʒ/. It requires smooth transition from the alveolar nasal /n/ to the affricate /dʒ/ without inserting a vowel. Learners often mispronounce as expunge with a /j/ or a /tʃ/ sound, or misplace the primary stress. Focus on a quick, clean transition: /n/ immediately followed by /dʒ/ with no extra vowels; keep the /ʌ/ vowel compact and avoid over-enunciating the preceding /ɪk/.

The first syllable is typically reduced in fluent speech to a quick schwa-like /ɪk/ in American and British varieties when pre-stressed by the second syllable. In careful speech you’ll hear the /ɪk/ as a light, unstressed chunk before the primary stress on /ˈspʌndʒ/. In rapid speech, you may hear /ɪkˈspʌndʒ/ with a minimal vowel on the first syllable and a more prominent second syllable. The key is ensuring the /sp/ onset in the stressed syllable stays crisp.