JOINED UP SPEECH

Joined up speech

last class we were learning about connected speech and i will start with this clear and funny example the teacher give us:

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Definition:

Linking is a way of joining the pronunciation of two words so that they are easy to say and flow together smoothly.

What is joined up speech?

It is something that happen when speaking, something that we do naturally. we do not pronounce a word, we normally do not make gaps between word when speaking we joined the words made the sound as an only word. This happen generally when we pronounce the end and beginning of some words that can change depending on the sounds at the beginning and end of those words.

This is a very important topic , for us as English students, it can give us an idea about how to speak more fluent, and also when speaking with native speakers it would be easier to understand what they are saying, because this is something that happen unconsciously, something that native speaker naturally do when they speak . So it could be good for us to take into account this topic.

first of all we need to know that there are some aspects that characterise the joined up speech:

rhythm
weak forms ( reductions)
assimilation
elision ( contractions)
linking

There are different ways in English this can happen:

• Consonant to vowel linking: this happen when the first word ends with a consonant sound and the second word begins with a vowel sound.

Example:
an aple a fresh aple a salad of aple

• Vowel to vowel linking: this happen when certain vowels come next to each other an extra sound is added to make the link smooth.

Example:
two elephans three elephnas

• Sounds disappear: When the sounds /t/ or /d/ occurs between two consonant sounds, they will often disappear completely from the pronunciation.

Examples:
I´ve failed
I need this book
I'm leaving next week

• Sounds join together: When a word ends in a consonant sound and the following word begins with the same consonant sound, we don't pronounce two sounds - both sounds are pronounced together as one.

Example:
She’s swimming
Show me what to do
She’s swimming

• Sounds change: When a word ends in a consonant sound and the following word begins with a consonant sound, depending on the particular sounds, the last sound of the first word or both the last sound and the first sound of the next word can change.

Example:
Would you like some milk?
Do you want a new car?


i found three radio programs that explain this topic very well, why it is very important, and when it is used in speaking. i hope this can help for all of us:
MP3 1
MP3 2
MP3 3

Bibliography:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/connected.shtml