Unit 29. Last Night, I haven't Seen Her.
Leaving Out Consonant Sounds (1): /t/
Unit 29; Part A
Some consonant sounds tend to be left out in conversation. For example: I was a Units 29 and 30 look at some of the most common consonant omissions.It is not necessary to leave these out in your own speech in order tobe understood, but leaving them out can make your speech sound morefluent and natural, and being aware of these changes can help youunderstand fast speech. Important for listening! When a word with a fnal consonant cluster ending /t/ is followed by another word beginning with a consonant sound, /t/ is often left out (see also Unit 9):
Notice, however, that -
|
Unit 29; Part B
In the informal speech of some speakr a /t/ sound is commonly replaced by a glottal stop (Δ),a sound made by stopping the flow of air by closing the vocal cords.This change only happens at the end of a syllable and when the soundbefore /t/ is a vowel, /l/, /m/ or /n/. In particular, it is used -
Note: Replacing /t/ witha glottal stop is found in Britain particularly in the accents ofcities, but is also increasingly becoming part of the accents ofeducated young people. In some regional accents glottal stops replace /t/ even when the next syllable or word begins with a vowel sound, for example: /bΔ∂/ (butter) , /ma:Διn/ ( Martin ) , /noΔ∂υnli/ ( not only ) However, some people still consider this to be lazy speech . |
Unit 29; Part C
Important for listening! When a word ending with /t/ is followed by a word beginning with /j/ ('y'), the /t/ + /j/ is usually pronounced /t∫/ (as in 'cheap'): Has he left yet? Last year. /t∫/ /t∫/ However. /t/ may also be replaced by a glottal stop, depending on the sound befor /t/ (see B): I can't let you do it. (.../let∫u:/... or .../leΔju:/...) /t/ may change its pronunciation before consonants in other ways to make it easier to move to the next sound (see also Unit 26B): It's not me. (/t/ sounds like /p/) In the front garden. (/t/ sounds like /k/) |
Exercises
| Unit 28 Unit 29 Unit 30 | |