Make your English sound natural with connected speech

Powerful English Pronunciation Part 3 - Connected Speech

The English Breakfast ā˜•ļø 

Hi everyone!

Daniel Tanner here and welcome to my weekly newsletter that helps Italian professionals communicate more effectively with their English speaking colleagues and clients. šŸ’¼ 

Ever feel like native English speakers are speaking in code during meetings?

Have you ever listened to a native speaker and heard nothing but a mushy mess of sounds that barely resemble words? Fear not! Itā€™s because they were probably using connected speech, and itā€™s the secret sauce that makes English flow smoothly.

So, what exactly is connected speech?

If you think about it, spoken English is really just a collection of different ideas. ā€œI need a coffeeā€ is one distinct idea. ā€œWhere is my passport?ā€ is another, and  ā€œIā€™m going on holiday for 6 weeksā€ is another great idea!

We donā€™t deliver these ideas focusing on the individual words, but instead the idea, or phrase as a whole. 

Enter connected speech. All the words in these ā€œthought unitsā€ stick together like magnets leaving no space, or silence between one word and the next. Vowels and consonants huddle together, and some sounds disappear entirely. It's what makes natural English sound so, well, natural.

Building blocks 

Before we go any further, letā€™s do a quick refresher on our building blocks: vowels (the sounds you make with an open mouth, A E I O U) and consonants (any sound that isnā€™t a vowel. These sounds involve some kind of blockage or interference from the lips, tongue and mouth, like "b" or "t" ā€œsā€ ā€œvā€).

Let's explore the different ways these sounds interact with each other.

Vowel to Vowel

Ever wonder why "Iā€™m so excited" sometimes sounds like /Iā€™m sowexcited/? Here, a little friend called a "glide" (think of it as a handshake) pops in between the vowels to make the transition smoother.

Glide can be heard as a /w/ /r/ or /y/ sound.

She is a really great CEO - /She(y)is a really great CEO/

You are late again - /You(w)are late again/

I saw a movie last night - /I saw(r)a movie last night/

As always in English, we would naturally use contractions where possible, so sheā€™s and youā€™re would be more common, but, hey, I needed some examples.

Say these phrases again slowly and focus on the last sound before the connection. Can you feel the position of your mouth? Can you feel the vowel sound?

  • Linking the eee sound at the end of she is easier with the /y/ sound - /She(y)is a really great CEO/

  • The ooo sound of you requires the w connection - /You(w)are late again/

  • The open ooorrr sound at the end of saw needs an /r/ to easily link to the next vowel sound. - /I saw(r)a movie last night/

Try to really internalise how these vowels feel in your mouth because other words ending in similar sounds will follow the same rule.

How would the vowel sounds below link together? 

Theā¤³only thing theyā¤³are worried about is having to speak English throughā¤³out the whole of theā¤³afternoon meeting. How will they doā¤³it!? 

Consonant to Consonant

Imagine "a team building weekend" turning into "ateambuildingweekend." This happens because consonants run together to avoid making speech sound choppy. 

Notice how thereā€™s no space between these words:

teamā¤³building, a groupā¤³text, a messageā¤³board, a meetingā¤³room

Words that end in a /t/ or a /d/ sound donā€™t connect well with consonants. Like think though or used to, they feel uncomfortable and awkward. So guess what we do? We just leave them out. Itā€™s all about making speech as smooth and efficient as possible becauseā€¦yes, English speakers are lazy.

I thoughtā¤³through the offer

I workedā¤³lastā¤³weekend

We didā¤³nothing all day

I usedā¤³to work for a different company

Notice that the spelling of the word doesnā€™t necessarily need to end in /t/ or /d/. Itā€™s the /t/ or /d/ sound thatā€™s important. e.g. I workedā¤³lastā¤³weekend

Consonant to Vowel

Consonants find vowels incredibly attractive. There are the Romeo and Juliets of pronunciation because they just canā€™t bear to be apart. We never leave space between consonants and vowels.

Theyā€™ve gotā¤³aā¤³board meeting thisā¤³afternoon

We needā¤³a longer lunch break

Do you prefer catsā¤³or dogs? ā€¦cats?! Youā€™re fired!

The Great Sound Meltdown

Sometimes, sounds get fused together in unexpected ways. The fancy name for this is assimilation (thatā€™s not really important, whatā€™s important is that you know how to use it) and itā€™s the reason a phrase likeā€¦

Did you tell them youā€™re going to move to France? sounds like /Didjya tellā€™em youā€™re gonna move to France?/ 

I know. Crazy, right? If youā€™re not aware of this phenomenon, it can make it very difficult to understand speech. 

Letā€™s have a look at some common examples. Listen carefully to the pronunciation and try to make your speech sound the same.

Do and you together make a /jya/ sound - Do you need a hand? - /jya need a hand?/ 

Did and you sounds like /didjya/ - Did you eat my sandwich? - /Didjya eat my sandwich?/

Going to is a classic example of this! If you didnā€™t know this before you heard it, youā€™d have a really hard time understanding what this person is saying. - Iā€™m going to ask for a pay rise! - /Iā€™m gonna ask for a pay rise/

Want to sounds like /wanna/ and that /uh/ at the end is the schwa sound we saw in the edition all about sounds - Do you want to get a drink later? - /dya wanna get a drink later?/

In should have, would have and could have. The have is just the schwa sound again. Also, remember that the LšŸ”• is silent in these words too!

I should have called to say I was going to be late - /I shoulda called to say I was gonna be late/

You could have told me the truth. That would have been better. - /You coulda told me the truth. That woulda been better./

If you havenā€™t understood already, connected speech is key to having natural-sounding English pronunciation, and being aware of this will also help your listening immensely! So, the next time youā€™re in the office and you hear a colleague say "Iā€™m gonna grab a coffee. Do you want to come?" don't panic ā€“ remember, itā€™s just connected speech.

Thatā€™s it for this edition. If you have any questions or topics you'd like me to cover in future newsletters, feel free to reach out.

Grazie mille and see you next time!

Daniel Tanner

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