The "Lazy" Sounds of English
Lesson Goals
- Understand why native speakers sound so fast.
- Learn the "Schwa" sound /ə/.
- Recognize the weak forms of "a", "and", "can", and "to".
Native speakers do not say every word clearly. They are "lazy" with unimportant words! Words like a, and, to, can become very short and quiet. This weak sound is called the Schwa (/ə/).
1. 'And' becomes 'n'
In a sentence, we rarely say /ænd/. We usually just say /ən/ or even just /n/.
- Strong: Fish AND chips.
- Weak: Fish-n-chips.
- Sentence: I like rice 'n' pork.
2. 'To' becomes 'tə'
We don't say /tuː/ (like the number 2). We say /tə/ (a very short sound).
- Strong: I go TO work.
- Weak: I go tə work.
- Sentence: Time tə go!
3. The Tricky "Can"
This is the most important one!
Can (positive) is usually weak: /kən/.
Can't (negative) is usually strong: /kænt/.
- Weak: I kən swim. (Very fast)
- Strong: I can't swim. (Long and clear)
Why do we do this?
English is a "Stress-Timed" language. This means the important words (Nouns, Verbs) are big and slow. The grammar words (to, a, the, and) are tiny and fast to keep the rhythm.
Think of it like music: Big beats and small beats!
Practice Activity: Strong or Weak?
Listen to the audio. Is the word highlighted spoken in its Strong form or Weak form?
- "I want to sleep." (Weak /tə/)
- "Who are you talking to?" (Strong /tuː/ - because it's at the end!)
- "Black and White." (Weak /ən/)
- "Yes, I can." (Strong /kæn/ - short answer)
Vocabulary List
- Weak Form (noun) /wiːk fɔːrm/ [ទម្រង់ខ្សោយ] - The unstressed, fast pronunciation of a word.
- Schwa (noun) /ʃwɑː/ [សំឡេង Schwa] - The 'uh' sound (/ə/). The most common sound in English.
- Connected Speech (noun) /kəˈnɛktɪd spiːtʃ/ [ការនិយាយតភ្ជាប់គ្នា] - How words link together when speaking naturally.
Your Mission 🎙️
Record yourself saying these phrases as fast and naturally as possible. Don't say "AND", say "n"!
- Salt n pepper.
- Come tə my house.
- I kən speak English.