3 syllables: In, tern, ship. Stress on In.
IN-turn-ship
/ˈɪntɚˌnʃɪp/
Internship is pronounced IN-turn-ship (/ˈɪntɚˌnʃɪp/). It has three syllables (In-tern-ship), with the stress on "In". An internship is a temporary position in a company or organization that provides hands-on work experience, often for students or recent graduates. It enables participants to gain practical skills, professional exposure, and sometimes academic credit or résumé value. Internships can be paid or unpaid and may lead to permanent employment or future opportunities in the field.
nounAn internship is a temporary position in a company or organization that provides hands-on work experience, often for students or recent graduates. It enables participants to gain practical skills, professional exposure, and sometimes academic credit or résumé value. Internships can be paid or unpaid and may lead to permanent employment or future opportunities in the field.
How to Pronounce Internship
"She landed an internship at a biotech startup to gain lab experience."
"His internship helped him decide between engineering and software development."
"The university requires an internship for credit in the communications program."
Pronounce as /ˈɪn.tɜːn.ʃɪp/ (US) or /ˈɪn.təˌnɜː.ʃɪp/ (UK/AU). Start with a stressed 'IN' sound, follow with a schwa-like or mid central vowel in the second syllable depending on accent, then 'n-ship' with a light, final /ʃɪp/. Focus on the middle syllable as a clear, short schwa or /ɜː/ in US. IPA: US /ˈɪn.tɜːrn.ʃɪp/, UK/AU /ˈɪn.təˌnɜː.ʃɪp/.
Common errors: misplacing stress and mispronouncing the middle vowel. People often say in-TERN-ship with heavy second syllable stress in US, or compress the middle to /tən/ instead of /tɜːn/ or /təˈnɜː/. Correction: keep primary stress on the first syllable, use /tɜːrn/ (US) vs /təˈnɜː/ (UK/AU), and ensure the final -ship is /ʃɪp/ without changing to /ʃɪ/. Practice minimal pairs: IN-tern-ship vs in-TURN-ship, IN-tuh-NUR-ship.
US tends to have /ˈɪn.tɜːrn.ʃɪp/ with rhotic /r/ and a clearer /ɜː/ in the second syllable; UK/AU often use /ˈɪn.təˌnɜː.ʃɪp/ with a more reduced second syllable and less rhoticity in non-rhotic dialects. In rapid speech, US may merge /tɜːrn/ to /tɜrn/ and UK to /tən͡ˈɜːn/; Australian follows UK patterns but with its own vowel qualities. Tailor your mouth positions: US shows a tense /ɜː/, UK/AU a lighter /ə/ before /n/.
The challenge centers on the mid consonant cluster -rn- followed by -ship, and the /ɜː/ or /ə/ vowel in the middle syllable. For many speakers, the shift from /ˈɪn/ to /tɜːrn/ or /təˈnɜː/ requires precise tongue retraction and jaw positioning, plus a brief pause or light vowel. The final /ʃɪp/ is straightforward, but can soften in rapid speech if not clearly enunciated. Focus on maintaining a crisp /n/ before the /ʃ/ and keeping the middle vowel distinct.
There are no silent letters in internship. Each letter contributes to the syllable structure: IN-TERN-ship. The middle 't' is pronounced as a typical alveolar stop in the syllable boundary, and the final 'p' is pronounced as a voiceless bilabial plosive. In careful speech, you will clearly articulate the /t/ and /p/; in rapid speech they may be lightly released, but not dropped.
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The word internship comes from the practice of being attached to a place of work for a period of time as an intern. It derives from the prefix inter- meaning 'between' or 'among' and -ship from old English -scipe, which denotes a state or condition, akin to companionship or scholarship. The modern sense developed in the late 19th to early 20th centuries as educational institutions sought to combine classroom learning with real-world experience. The term gradually evolved to describe a temporary, supervised position intended to provide practical exposure rather than long-term employment. Early references appear in professional and academic contexts in English-speaking countries, with the concept formalized in corporate training programs and university curricula by the mid-20th century, paralleling the growth of career services and cooperative education. Today, internships span industries and formats, from unpaid research roles to structured paid programs with formal evaluation and academic credit, reflecting broader shifts toward experiential learning in higher education and workforce development.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Internship" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Internship"
-hip sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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