Reading
Liaison is a very important phonetic phenomenon in English, which makes native English speakers sound more fluent and natural when speaking. The liaison mentioned can be divided into three types, including liaison between consonants and vowels, liaison between vowels, and liaison between the same consonants.
Linking consonants and vowels
When one word ends with a consonant and the next word begins with a vowel, the two sounds are linked together.
For example, in the sentence “It's a little bit of a problem.”, the word “It's” ends with a consonant and the word “a” begins with a vowel, so the two sounds are read together as “itsa”; the word “bit of a” is also read together and pronounced as “bitova”.
Linking vowels
When one word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, they are linked together with the /w/ or /j/ sound.
For example, if you say "Two eggs" and "Three eggs" quickly, you will notice that the /w/ sound is added to "Two eggs" and the /y/ sound is added to "Three eggs."
Linking of the same consonants
When a word ends with a consonant and the next word begins with the same consonant, the two sounds merge into one sound.
For example, say these phrases and pay attention to the sounds in bold:
I'm a bit tired.
We have a lot to do.
Tell me what to say.
Through the above introduction, you have a preliminary understanding of connected speech. Next, I will share a method to improve listening and pronunciation - micro-listening method.
Swallow
Have you ever noticed that some letters, or even entire syllables, are not pronounced in English? This is known as swallowing in English. Swallowing is when a sound is removed from a word. Basically, a weaker or similar sound is deleted or "swallowed" by the stronger or similar sound next to it. This phenomenon usually happens with the /t/ or /d/ sounds, and also occurs in common words.
Swallowing of common words
In the following list of words, we do not pronounce each syllable in order. For example, most native English speakers would pronounce "family" as "fam-ly." In most cases, the middle vowel is lost. Take a look at the pattern below:
T swallow
In American English, the t is one of the consonants that is most often "retained". In fact, this phenomenon is one of the most distinctive features of the American accent. In contrast, other English accents and non-native speakers will often release the final t sound when the next word begins with a consonant.
So how is t preserved?
Method 1: Your tongue should touch the back of your teeth without releasing any air.
Method 2: Stop the air flow by closing your vocal cords.
OK, so when should you keep t?
When the next letter is a consonant, either in the word or in the next word, the t should be retained.
For example: "nightmare" and "can't complain"
Keep t + consonant
A. First, always keep the t when the next sound is another consonant.
B. Secondly, always keep the t before the /ən/ syllable.
D swallow
When a word ending in /nd/ is followed by a consonant phoneme, /d/ is usually omitted. Therefore, when /d/ is deleted, /n/ must smoothly connect to the initial consonant phoneme of the following word. See this section of the article for situations where /d/ can be assimilated or change phonemes when followed by certain consonants.
For example:
and‿said, hand‿me, stand‿back, weekend‿project.
Add sound
Added sounds are a feature of connected speech in English. What are added sounds? In American English, when we say two words in a row, we add an extra sound between them to make them easier to say.
When the added sound connects two vowels:
If one word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, there should be no pause between the two words. To make the transition between two vowels smoother, we insert two additional sounds, y and w, between them. Specifically, this means adding a short sound /j/ after front vowels (such as /eɪ/, /i/ and /ai/), and a short sound /w/ after back vowels (such as /ʊ/ and /oʊ/).
For example:
/j/ sound plus sound:
Pronounce I ate as “I yate”
Pronounce "he is" as "he yis"
/w/ sound plus sound:
Pronounce "go over" as "go-wover"
How are you? is pronounced as “how-warr you”
Here are some examples:
1. We yate in. 5. May yI go now?
2. Go won. 6. That's so wamazing!
3. They yallow it. 7. We'll buy yit!
4. You know wit. 8. She yate out.
Adding accents can make speech smoother, but it should be noted that not all English dialects use them. In addition, if the accents are not used properly, they can sound very unnatural, so add accents should be used with caution.
Changing Voice
In English, there are two types of phoneme changes: ellipsis and assimilation. Ellipsis refers to the deletion of a sound, while assimilation refers to the change of a sound due to the influence of adjacent sounds on the phoneme. Now let's take a look at the most common assimilation or phoneme changes in American English.
Assimilation of D
We have seen that /d/ is often dropped when a word ending in /nd/ is followed by a consonant. However, when /d/ appears in other combinations, the phoneme can sometimes become another sound entirely!
D becomes B
When /d/ is followed by /p/, /b/, or /m/, /d/ becomes /b/.
For example:
could be better → “coub be bedder” /kʊb bi ˈbedər/
You could publish it. → “coub publi-shit” /kʊb ˈpʌblɪʃ ɪt/
They could make it. → “coub may-kit” /kʊb meɪk ɪt/
D becomes G
When /d/ is followed by /k/ or /g/, /d/ becomes /g/.
For example:
You should come. → “shoug come” /ʃʊg ˈkʌm/
We could go. → “coug go” /kʊg ˈgoʊ/
D becomes /dƷ/ (“dr” sound)
When /d/ is followed by an /r/, the two sounds combine to form a /dʒr/ sound. /dʒ/ is pronounced similar to the j sound in Joe.
For example:
1. drive 3. drip 5. hundred 7. drama 9. syndrome
2. dream 4. address 6. drain 8. children 10. drink
D becomes /dƷ/ ("du" and "d+y" sounds)
When /d/ is followed by /u/ or /y/, these combinations form a /dʒ/ sound that is pronounced similar to the j sound in Joe.
For example:
1. durable 4. educate 7. Did you
2. gradual 5. schedule 8. Had you
3. graduate 6. individual 9. Should you
Assimilation of T
T becomes /tʃ/ ("tu" and "t+y" sounds)
When /t/ is followed by /u/ or /y/, these combinations often produce a /tʃ/ sound similar to the ch in chick. This is what we hear when we hear "Got you" pronounced as "Gotcha," which means "I see."
For example:
1. actual 3. ritual 5. virtue 7. picture 9. Don't you
2. situation 4. venture 6. fortune 8. Aren't you 10. Can't you
T becomes /tʃ/ ("tr" sound)
When /r/ is followed by /t/, the pronunciation of /t/ changes to /tʃ/ or the “ch” sound.
To make this sound correctly, you need to hold your tongue close to your upper gums and tighten the tip of your tongue. At the same time, you need to use your breath to release the air. To practice, you can start by saying the words slowly and gradually increase your speed. Remember, correct pronunciation requires a lot of practice and patience.
In conclusion, phonetic assimilation is an important aspect of English pronunciation. Learning phonetic assimilation helps improve your English listening and speaking skills and allows you to communicate more fluently. When you understand these rules, you will be more confident in speaking English naturally and fluently.