Speaking: Pronunciation C1 - Lesson 1: Refining Connected Speech for Natural, Native-like Flow

Speaking: Pronunciation C1 - Lesson 1: Refining Connected Speech for Natural, Native-like Flow

Welcome to C1 Pronunciation! At this level, your goal is to move from being simply "clear" to sounding truly natural and fluent. The key is to master the subtleties of Connected Speech¹. This lesson assumes you understand basic elision and assimilation and introduces the advanced linking techniques that native speakers use unconsciously to create a seamless² flow.

Advanced Linking Techniques

Beyond simply dropping or changing sounds, fluent speech involves adding sounds and linking words together in specific ways.

1. Catenation (Consonant-to-Vowel Linking)

When a word ends in a consonant and the next starts with a vowel, they link together as if one word.

"I need a break" sounds like "I nee-da break." → /aɪ niːdə breɪk/

"Get on it" sounds like "ge-do-nit." → /getɒnɪt/ (with a flap 't')

2. Intrusion (Adding a Sound to Link Vowels)

To avoid a clumsy pause between two vowel sounds, we "intrude" a small linking sound.

• Intrusive /j/ (a 'y' sound): After words ending in vowel sounds like /iː/ (he), /aɪ/ (my), /eɪ/ (say), /ɔɪ/ (boy).
  "I agree" sounds like "I-y-agree" → /aɪjəˈgriː/
  "Say it" sounds like "say-y-it" → /seɪjɪt/
• Intrusive /w/ (a 'w' sound): After words ending in vowel sounds like /uː/ (you), /əʊ/ (go), /aʊ/ (how).
  "You are" sounds like "you-w-are" → /juːwɑː/
  "Go out" sounds like "go-w-out" → /gəʊwaʊt/
• Intrusive /r/ (non-rhotic accents like British RP): When a word ending in /ɔː/, /ɑː/, or /ə/ is followed by a vowel.
  "The idea is..." sounds like "The idea-r-is..." → /ði aɪˈdɪərɪz/
  "Law and order" sounds like "Law-r-and order" → /lɔːrəndˈɔːdə/

Scenario: Deconstructing Fluent Speech

Let's analyze a short, natural-sounding sentence to see how all these features work together to create a smooth "stream of speech."

Written text: "I think he is going to ask about it."

How it might sound in fluent, connected speech:

/aɪ θɪŋkiːz gənəwɑːskəˈbaʊtɪt/

Deconstruction:

• "think he" → "thin-keey": The /k/ links to the /h/, but the /h/ is elided (dropped). (Catenation + Elision)
• "he is" → "hee-y-iz": The intrusive /j/ links the two vowels. (Intrusion)
• "going to" → "gonna": A very common reduction.
• "ask about" → "as-ka-bout": The /k/ links to the weak form of 'about'. (Catenation)
• "about it" → "abou-tit": The /t/ becomes a flap T sound and links the words. (Catenation/Flap T)

No one says "I... think... he... is..." They say one long, smooth word.

The Goal: Automaticity

At the C1 level, you don't need to consciously think about every single rule when you speak. The goal is for these patterns to become automatic. You achieve this through focused listening and imitation.

By understanding *why* native speech sounds the way it does (because of linking, intrusion, elision, etc.), your brain becomes better at predicting and decoding it when you listen. By practicing imitation, your mouth develops the muscle memory to produce these patterns automatically. The result is a significant improvement in both listening comprehension and speaking fluency.

Practice Quiz: Identify the Feature

Read the description and choose the connected speech feature it describes.

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1. When a native speaker says "two apples," it often sounds like "two-w-apples." What is this linking feature called?

A) Elision
B) Intrusive /w/
C) Catenation

→ Answer: B. An extra /w/ sound is added between the two vowel sounds to make the transition smoother.

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2. The phrase "an orange" sounds like "a-norange." This linking of the final consonant 'n' to the initial vowel 'o' is called:

A) Catenation
B) Intrusion
C) Assimilation

→ Answer: A. Catenation is the linking of consonant sounds to vowel sounds.

Your Mission: The Shadowing Challenge

Your mission is to practice producing a natural, seamless flow. The best exercise for this is called shadowing³.

1. Find a short audio or video clip (30-60 seconds) of a native speaker talking at a natural pace. A TED talk, a podcast, or a news report is ideal.
2. Listen to one sentence or phrase at a time.
3. Immediately after you hear it, try to repeat it exactly. Don't wait. Speak along with or just after the speaker.
4. Your Goal: Do not focus on the meaning of the words. Focus ONLY on copying the "music" of the speech—the rhythm, the intonation, the linking between words. Try to make your voice a "shadow" of the speaker's voice.
5. Do this for 5-10 minutes. It is an intense but extremely powerful way to train your ear and mouth for native-like fluency.

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Connected Speech: (Noun Phrase) - ការនិយាយគ្នាទៅវិញទៅមក / ការនិយាយតភ្ជាប់ - The way sounds and words are joined together in fluent speech, often causing them to change. ↩
2. Seamless: (Adjective) - ដោយគ្មានថ្នេរ/ គ្មានការរំខាន - Perfectly smooth, with no pauses or interruptions. ↩
3. Shadowing: (Verb) - ការនិយាយតាម - A language learning technique where you listen to someone speaking and repeat what they say in real-time. ↩
4. Catenation: (Noun) - ការភ្ជាប់សម្លេង - The linking of a final consonant sound of one word to the initial vowel sound of the next. ↩
5. Intrusion: (Noun) - ការបញ្ចូលសំឡេង - The process of adding a small linking sound (/j/, /w/, or /r/) between two vowel sounds. ↩