UNIVERSIDAD DE LA SERENA

ENGLISH TEACHING TRAINING PROGRAMME

ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION I
INSTRUCTOR: CARLOS TAPIA MICHEA

FEATURES OF CONNECTED SPEECH

They are different types of connections used in English to create fluid, smooth speech.
Some features of connected speech usually used in English are: liaison (linking),
assimilation, blending, incomplete plosion, co-articulation, connecting consonants of
different places of articulation and elision of consonant sounds /t/ and /d/.

1. LIAISON

Linking is a rhythmic feature of the English language that takes place when two or more
words connect together to sound like one multisyllabic word. Linking can produce groups
of words (phrases) with rhythmic patterns that will:
a) sound very much like a single word with the same stress pattern, and
b) take the same amount of rhythmic time to say (the number of beats is the same)
For example:
One word Two words
minute Wi/n‿it (one beat)
sender Sen/d‿ her (one beat)
Willie Wil/l‿ he? (one beat)

Cases of linking:
1.1 consonant + vowel
1.2 vowel + vowel
1.3 intrusive ‘r’

1.1 Consonant-vowel linking

A consonant at the end of a word links together with a vowel sound at the beginning of the
next word.
Examples:
1. Kee/ p ‿on trying. 17. It’ /s ‿easy.
2. Su/ch‿ idea is good. 18. Still wi/th‿ us.
3. We/’re ‿ awa/re ‿of that. 19. Sti/ll‿ on TV.
4. Ea/ch‿ hou/r ‿of the day. 20. We studi/ed‿ it together
5. She mov/ed ‿in last year. 21. Great! Breakfas/t ‿in bed
6. That/’s ‿ enough! Swi/tch‿i/t ‿off! 22. Wri/te‿ it down.
7. She work/s ‿all day. 23. Don’t ru/n ‿away.
8. Drin/k‿i/t‿ up. 24. Let’s mee/t ‿a/t‿ eight
9. I can/’t‿agree with you on that. 25. Ta/ke‿ a chance now.
10. Righ/t‿ in the midd/le‿ o/f ‿an island. 26. Thin/k‿ i/t‿ over.
11. You’d better loo/k‿ i/t‿ up‿ i/n‿ a dictionary. 27. I’ll co/me ‿as soo/n ‿as I can.
12. She ca/me‿ up wi/th‿ a bett/er ‿idea. 28. Which pa/ge‿ i/s‿ i/t‿ on?
13. A fríen/d‿ in need is a fríen/d‿ indeed. 29. The expression/‿ o/f‿ ideas
i/n‿ a/n abstract way.
14. Ali/ce‿ arriv/ed‿ a minu/te‿ ago. 30. Unfortunately, she miss/ed‿ it.
15. She kiss/ed‿hi/m‿ on the cheek. 31. Mom cook/ed ‿it fo/r‿ us.
16. Co/me‿ on, let’s try i/t‿ out. 32. They ende/d‿ u/p‿ in jail
Note: The consonant will often sound like it will go together with the next word. Linking is
considered to be a more informal aspect of pronunciation, but most English speakers will
link as much as possible.

EXERCISE 1
Identify all the cases of consonant-vowel liaison in the utterances below.
1. There are other options to think about.
2. Ruth did it for her own sake.
3. It’s up to the members of the council now.
4. They are all interested in his career.
5. He thinks nobody really cares about him.
6. A cup of tea for Alice, please.
7. Neither of us could solve it.
8. What is he afraid of?
9. She’s always finding faults with us.
10. I want you to tell us more about it.
11. That’s the kind of art Fred enjoys.
12. Never in a million years.
13. Michael sent a note to all the members of the trade union.
14. It would have been very nice if you could have come earlier.
15. They told us she did it on the spur of the moment.
16. I told him I needed it myself.
17- It is a nice violin, I inherited it from my grandfather.
18- Tell him to come over for dinner this evening.
19- We’re really tied up today.
20- The police stopped us and looked at our permits.

EXERCISE 2
Practice the utterances above paying special attention to consonant-vowel liaison.

1.2 Vowel-vowel linking

A vowel at the end of a word links together with a vowel at the beginning of the next word.
One reason this occurs is because several vowels will use a consonant ‘glide’ / j/ or / w/ to
help in the linking process. We have to go from one vowel right into the other without
stopping your voice.

1.2.1 The vowels /i: /, /i / and the diphthongs /eI/, /aI/ and /ɔ I/ will use the glide /j/. For
example:
1. Say‿j it in a loud voice.
2. That’s the‿j end.
3. Three‿j or four.
4. Me ‿j and my wife.
5. Play ‿j another song for me, please.
6. I start work in the ‿j evening.
7. Never in the history‿ j of mankind.
8. What day ‿j is today?
9. Why do we‿ j always have to get up so early?
10. OK. It’s twenty j eight. Sea ‿j Avenue.

1.2.2 The vowels /ʊ/ or / u:/ and the diphthongs / әʊ/, / aʊ/ will use the glide / w/. For
example:
1. A yellow ‿w one and a blue one.
2. Go ‿w out of the building now.
3. Go ‿w over the bridge.
4. Did you ‿w ask her?
5. Now ‿w it’s the right time to go there.
6. Let’s go ‿w up the hill.
7. Go ‿w over it.
8. Show ‿w us your drawings.
9. It’s a new‿w electric device.
10. It’s too ‿w early for us.

1.3 The intrusive-r

Many times, for analogy with the ‘linking-r’, the native speakers pronounce a linking-r
where there is none. It generally happens when the final sound of a word is /ә/ and the next
word also begins with /ә/ or some other vowels. Example: an idea of mine /әn aI 'dIә ‿
r‿әv `maIn/, a sofa and a chair. /ә 'sәʊfә ‿r ‿әn ә `tʃeә/. There are other contexts in which
the intrusive ‘r’ is pronounced as well.

EXERCISE 3
Read the utterances below paying special attention to the intrusive -r in brackets.

1- The American idea (r) of the future is limited.

2- The cinema (r) appeared at the end of the 18th century.

3- Africa (r) and Latin America are in permanent upheavals.

4- The area (r) of Panama (r) and Colombia have a tropical climate.

5- I’m tolerant, but only up to (r) a point.

6- Emma (r) applied for a job as a camera (r) assistant.

7- Vodka (r) and tonics, please.

8- When Joanna (r) is here.

9- All he knew (r) about Africa.

10. I was able to (r) escape and survive.

11- I saw (r) a film today, oh boy.

12- In the Korea (r) area.

2. ASSIMILATION

Process by which a sound is influenced by a neighbouring sound and comes to share some
or all of its articulatory characteristics. Therefore, assimilation can be complete or
partial.
Speakers use assimilation to make words in certain sequences easier to pronounce.

The most common form of assimilation in English is ‘Yod coalescence’, a phenomenon

which occurs when / j/ is preceded by the alveolar consonants /t, d, s, z, /. For example:

1. d + j becomes dʒ . For example: What kind of education would you like to have?

2. t + j becomes tʃ . For example: I’ll let you know when I’m travelling.

3. s + j becomes ʃj . For example: I miss you when you are not here.
4. z + j becomes ʒj . For example: As you know, I always keep my promises.

Other cases of assimilation are:

/t, d, n/ may be assimilated to /p, b, m/ respectively, when immediately followed by the

bilabials /p, b, m/. For example:

5. That platform

6. We’d better apologise.

7. She did it on purpose.

/t, d, n/ may be assimilated to /k, g, ŋ/ when immediately followed by /k, g/ For example:

8. That colour

9. We could go together.

10. Our own customers

/s, z/ may be assimilated to / ʃ, ʒ/ respectively when /ʃ, j/ follow. For example:

11. Her voice shook.

12. She was shot dead in Paris.

EXERCISE 4
Identify the cases of assimilation of place in the following utterances.

1. The trouble is she’s sick.

2. It could be very nice, you know.

3. I suppose she’s shy.

4. The police car is right behind you.

5. Arrange your work so that it can be easily read.

6. What d’you suppose happened between them?

7. How’s your mother feeling, James?

8. Aren’t you lucky to have finished your career, Paul.

9. Your ideas will probably change as you get older.

10. What kind of education would you like to have?

11. I trust you because you seem honest.

12. If you wanted me to help you, why didn’t you say so?

13. This young lady promised you last year to impress you with her paintings.

14. MissYoung says she is your friend.

15. I rented the best yacht in the world and spent the best years of my life on it.

EXERCISE 5
Read the utterances above paying special attention to the cases of assimilation of
place.
3. BLENDING

Blending is similar to linking in that two or more words will come together to sound like
one word. The word ‘blending’ involves connecting the same (or similar sounds) together.
There are two kinds of blending: consonant-consonant blending and vowel-consonant
blending.

a) Consonant-consonant blending

store rate (the sounds ‘r’ blend into each other, the first one of which is held for a while)

1. beach chair 6. a first-time mother

2. Miss Steve 7. line nine

3. orange juice 8. those zebras

4. with that 9. second dish

5. real life 10. big gardens

11- This student 12. This sad girl

Notice how you can often ‘stretch’ some of those blends between two words. You can
‘hold’ on the previous consonant and then finish the sound at the beginning of the next
word.

b) Vowel-consonant blending

Glide sounds help to connect the words.

1. Say ‿j you.

2. How ‿w weird.

3. Too‿w well.

4. INCOMPLETE PLOSION

Overlapping

When a plosive consonant is followed by another plosive at a different place of articulation,

the two articulations usually overlap. The release of the first plosive takes place during the
hold of the second, masking the first consonant’s release and making it inaudible; the
approach stage of the second plosive is not heard either. This cross-articulation process
seems like deletion or complete assimilation.

a) Plosive + plosive

When a plosive sound is immediately followed by another plosive sound, only the second
one is fully exploded, but the closure of the first plosive sound (the second stage of the first
plosive) is held to double the usual time. This is known as ‘incomplete plosion.’ Go directly
from one consonant to the next without releasing the first one, that is, without opening your

mouth too wide. During the first consonant, begin moving your tongue silently inside your
mouth into the position for the following consonant. If this is difficult for you, try to say the
two consonants at the same time. For example:

1. acting 2. empty 3. knocked 4. football 5. necktie

6. gold coin 7. at that time 8. clock time 9. top cops 10. In Great Britain

11. sit down 12. dialect 13. backbite 14. backdoor 15. a sick baby

16. That girl 17. Stop talking 18. big dog 19- that person 20. suitcase

21. rub down 22. Lake District 23. Send two 24. A black kite 25.Alcoholic drinks

26. an academic career. 27. a great time 28. It took place soon. 29. The bright blue sky.

30. I can’t drive if you keep talking to me. 31. I don’t like back seat drivers

32. You’d better slow down. 33. How can I get to the city center. 34. Just go straight.

35. Jack plays rugby 36. It was a sad day 37. It’s Chapter ten 38. Try to help Bob

39. Sorry, I can’t tell you. 40. He’s a spoilt brat.

b) Plosive + fricative

In words or between words, when a plosive sound is immediately followed by a fricative

sound, the plosive sound is not fully produced, i.e., it has no audible release. Then the air
rushes out through the narrow passage causing a friction. This is another type of incomplete
plosion. For example:

1. It’s an advanced course.

2. It was really successful

3. That seat is taken.

4. We really appreciate friendship

5. The second exercise was harder to me.

6. I could see the bright sky.

7. I already explained that

8. I changed the tires this morning.

9. I really like that shirt.

10. See you up there at three thirty.

c) In words or between words, when a plosive sound is immediately followed by an

affricate sound /tʃ ,dʒ/ the plosive sound is not fully articulated, i.e., it has no audible
release.

1. that chair 6. a big joke

2- a top chief 7.a bad choice

3. a picture 8. fruit juice

4. a step-child 9. climate change

5. odd jobs 10. a good judge

5. COARTICULATION

Co-articulation occurs when the final sound (often a consonant though sometimes a vowel)
and the initial sound (again often a consonant) of the following word occurs in the same
place in the vocal tract (or ‘overlap’).

The term ‘co-articulate’ means ‘action at the same time’.

Co-articulation most commonly occurs with /d/, /n/ and /d/, /l/ sounds, which are often
stopped at the end of words and thus are difficult to hear. The sounds take place in the same
position and at the same time. For example:

1. Good night 6. Stop bothering.

2. Bad luck 7. missile strike

3. I’ve read none of them 8. I need some suntan lotion.

4. A sad lonely girl. 9. She fell down

5. God knows he’s hurt 10. Ten days from now.

11. Those seats are taken 12. I like this number

6. CONNECTING CONSONANTS OF DIFFERENT PLACES OF ARTICULATION

You should start making the following consonant while holding the preceding consonant so
that they link smoothly to each other. If this is hard for you, try to form both consonants at
the same time. For example:

1. This mobile phone works fine

2. Most of them feel proud of it.

3. Sean changes the tires of his car once a year.

4. It’s ten thousand miles away.

5. They’ve kept them since then.

6. I love chocolate ice cream.

7. They’re saving money to buy some Christmas presents.

8. The sheets went unchanged for weeks.

9. Both cases are hard to deal with.

10. The residence hall was crowded.

7. ELISION OF CONSONANT SOUNDS /t/and /d/

Consonant sounds /t/ and /d/ are elided when they occur between other consonant sounds.
This may occur at word-internal level or at word-boundary level.
a) Word internal

1. sandpaper 2. Postcard 3. Postscript 4. Grandpa

5. landmark 6. Grandchildren 7 Post-mortem 8. Grandma

b) At word boundary

1. I don’t know 2. She doesn’t speak German.

3. First lesson 4. Next performance

5. Canned food 6. A fast track

7. Last thing 8. He didn’t say

9. Soft drink 10. I can’t stand it

11. I lost my luggage 12. I shan’t need a help.

13. Send Dan. 14. He likes roast beef.

EXERCISE 6

Read the following texts paying special attention to the features of connected speech
applied in the reading.

A)

MARTIN LUTHER KING

Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on 15 January 1929, in the heart of the
American south. From an early age he was aware that black people were not treated as
equal citizens in America. Four million Africans had been torn from their homes and
shipped to America to work as slaves. Even though slavery had been abolished by Abraham
Lincoln in 1869, most blacks still lived in poverty in the richest nation on earth. They
earned half of white people’s wages; many could not vote; they lived in ghettos and they
were segregated (separated) in public places. Some whites (like a secret society called the
Ku Klux Klan) wanted slavery reintroduced and used violence against black people.

Martin Luther King was a Christian. He became a doctor of theology and in 1954 a
Baptist minister in Montgomery, Alabama. He believed that the only way to achieve
equality was by non-violent and peaceful forms of protest. Not all blacks agreed with him.
The Black Power movement (led by Malcolm X) believed that equality would only be
achieved by violence.

In Montgomery black people could only sit at the back of buses and even the old had to
give up their seat if a white person asked them. Martin Luther King organized a ‘bus
boycott’, (when black people refused to use the buses until they were desegregated). This
movement was known as the Civil Rights movement and in 1960 Martin Luther King
became its leader. In 1956 the government passed a law making it illegal to segregate
people on buses.

Martin Luther King campaigned endlessly. In 1957 he spoke to a crowd of 40,000 in

Washington at a ‘freedom march’. He organized various forms of peaceful protest. Often
the police reacted with violence. In 1960 he led a march of a quarter of a million people in
Washington demanding that black people be given the vote.

Throughout his life Martin Luther King was confronted by violence. His home was
bombed, he was stabbed, his family received death threats but he kept to his Christian
belief that violence and hatred could only be conquered by love and forgiveness. In 1964 he
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1965 equal voting rights were given to black
people.

B)

ADVERTISING

The average person living in a city is bombarded by over 1.600 advertising images a day.
Wherever we go we are invited to spend. We are shown pictures of desirable goods and
services, and we are given reasons why we’re entitled to have them. We are encouraged to
want more than we need. Adverts tempt us, give us glimpses into a world of luxury.

Whether we are aware of it or not, adverts do affect us. Advertisers talk about us as
targets. They tailor their work very specifically for particular targets. They know which
audiences are susceptible to their produce. When TV sells advertising space it is buying
audiences. It is buying us. It offers advertisers a known audience to which to advertise. The
fee is fixed according to what kind of audience it is. If a programme is mainly watched by
people in their twenties to forties it will cost more to advertise in its commercial breaks
than, say, in a programme aimed at older people who have less spending power.

Adverts also manipulate the audience. If you buy a certain produce you will be rewarded
by having many friends or you will be happy and so on. Some adverts play on people’s
fears. If you buy a certain insurance policy you will be guaranteed a lifetime of peace and
security. If you buy a telephone your old age won’t be lonely and isolated, with relatives
phoning you up from across the world. Adverts also make us discontented with what we
already have- invest with the advertiser and you can enter a glamorous world. If you buy
the product or service you will reach a new and higher status. Ownership will tell the world
you’ve ‘made it’, you’re ‘in’ with the in-crowd’.