How To Pronounce California

In British English, California is pronounced /ˌkæl.ɪˈfɔː.ni.ə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˌkæl.ɪˈfʷɔː.ni.ə]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˌkæl.əˈfɔːr.ni.ə/.

California has five syllables, and the main stress falls on the third syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.