Speaking: Pronunciation B2 - Lesson 1: Connected Speech: Assimilation & Elision (e.g., "did you" -> /dɪdʒu/) 🗣️🔗🎶
Objective: To understand and recognize two key features of connected speech – assimilation and elision – and to practice common examples to improve listening comprehension and produce more natural-sounding English.
- Define and understand assimilation in connected speech.
- Identify and practice common patterns of assimilation.
- Define and understand elision in connected speech.
- Identify and practice common patterns of elision.
- Improve awareness of how these features affect pronunciation and understanding.
When native English speakers talk, they don't usually pronounce every single sound in every single word perfectly and separately. Instead, sounds often change or even disappear to make speech flow more smoothly. This is called connected speech. Two important features of connected speech are assimilation (sounds changing) and elision (sounds disappearing). Understanding these will greatly improve your listening skills and help your own pronunciation sound more natural.
Assimilation: Sounds Changing
Assimilation happens when a sound at the end of a word changes to become more like the sound at the beginning of the next word. This makes it easier and quicker to say the words together.
Common Examples of Assimilation:
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"good boy" often sounds like "goob boy" (/gʊd bɔɪ/ → /gʊb bɔɪ/)
The /d/ sound changes to /b/ because of the following /b/ sound.
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"handbag" often sounds like "hambag" (/hændbæg/ → /hæmbæg/)
The /n/ sound changes to /m/ because of the following /b/ sound.
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"ten bikes" often sounds like "tem bikes" (/tɛn baɪks/ → /tɛm baɪks/)
The /n/ changes to /m/ before /b/.
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"did you" often sounds like "didjoo" /dɪdʒuː/ (/dɪd juː/ → /dɪdʒuː/)
The /d/ + /j/ sounds combine to make a /dʒ/ sound (like in "judge").
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"would you" often sounds like "wudjoo" /wʊdʒuː/ (/wʊd juː/ → /wʊdʒuː/)
The /d/ + /j/ sounds combine to make a /dʒ/ sound.
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"meet you" often sounds like "meechoo" /miːtʃuː/ (/miːt juː/ → /miːtʃuː/)
The /t/ + /j/ sounds combine to make a /tʃ/ sound (like in "church").
Elision: Sounds Disappearing
Elision is when a sound (often a consonant) is left out or "disappears" in connected speech, especially in consonant clusters or unstressed syllables. This also helps speech flow more smoothly.
Common Examples of Elision:
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"next door" often sounds like "neks door" (the /t/ is elided) (/nɛkst dɔː/ → /nɛks dɔː/)
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"I don't know" often sounds like "I dunno" (the /t/ in "don't" is elided) (/aɪ dəʊnt nəʊ/ → /aɪ dəʊn nəʊ/ or /aɪ dənəʊ/)
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"must be" often sounds like "muss be" (the /t/ is elided) (/mʌst biː/ → /mʌs biː/)
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"camera" often sounds like "camra" (the middle vowel /ə/ is elided) (/ˈkæmərən/ → /ˈkæmrə/)
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"comfortable" often sounds like "comftəble" (the /ɔː/ or /ə/ sound is elided) (/ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/ → /ˈkʌmftəbəl/)
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"fish and chips" often sounds like "fish n chips" (the /d/ in "and" is elided) (/fɪʃ ənd tʃɪps/ → /fɪʃ ən tʃɪps/)
Practice Listening & Identifying
Listen to the following sentences. Can you hear the assimilation or elision? Try to say them both ways (slowly/carefully, then naturally/connected).
1. "Would you like a cup of tea?" (Assimilation: Would you -> /wʊdʒuː/)
2. "He must be very tired." (Elision: must be -> /mʌs biː/)
3. "I'm going to meet you at the library." (Assimilation: meet you -> /miːtʃuː/)
4. "She has lots of friends." (Elision: lots of -> /lɒtsə/)
5. "What do you want to do this evening?" (Assimilation: want to -> /wɒnə/ - also a type of elision/reduction)
Activity: Sentence Practice
Try saying these sentences, focusing on the connected speech features. Record yourself if possible.
- "Did you see that good boy with the red car?"
- "I don't know what to get from the shop next door."
- "Would you like some fish and chips?"
- "It must be comfortable to sit in that expensive chair."
- "I'm going to meet you at ten past eight."
- Listen actively: Pay attention to how native speakers link words and change sounds when they speak naturally (e.g., in movies, songs, podcasts).
- Don't focus on individual words too much: When listening, try to understand the overall meaning and rhythm of phrases rather than catching every single sound.
- Practice common chunks: Learn to pronounce common phrases with connected speech (e.g., "going to" -> "gonna", "want to" -> "wanna", "did you" -> /dɪdʒuː/).
- Exaggerate at first: When practicing, you can slightly exaggerate the connected speech features to get used to them.
- Shadowing: Listen to short audio clips and try to imitate the speaker's pronunciation, rhythm, and connected speech as closely as possible.
- Be patient: It takes time and practice to master these features.
Summary: Connected speech features like assimilation (sounds changing) and elision (sounds disappearing) are essential for understanding and producing natural-sounding English. By becoming aware of these patterns and practicing them, you can significantly improve both your listening comprehension and your fluency.