Pronunciation: Linking Sounds & Connected Speech

Pronouncing larger chunks of language is one of the biggest problems my students face every single day. 
Definition of chunk: Several words that commonly occur together in fixed phrases sometimes referred to as a lexical phrase. We tend to speak in chunks which reduces the energy required for processing language.

For that matter I suggest practising linking sounds and connected speech.

When we speak naturally we do not pronounce words in isolation. Fluent speech flows with a rhythm and the words bump into each other. To make speech flow smoothly the way we pronounce the end and beginning of some words can change depending on the sounds at the beginning  and end of those words. These changes are described as features of connected speech.

Connected Speech explained in Spanish with activities and examples.

Linking is a way of joining the pronunciation of two words so that they are easy to say and flow together smoothly. Linking is very important in English. If you recognize and use linking, two things will happen:

1. you will understand other people more easily
2. other people will understand you more easily

There are basically three types of linking:

• Consonant to Vowel

We link words ending with a consonant sound to words beginning with a vowel sound.

When a word ends in a consonant sound, we often move the consonant sound to the beginning of the next word if it starts with a vowel sound.

For example, in the phrase "turn off":

We write it like this:	turn	off
We say it like this:	tur	noff

Remember that it's the sound that matters. In the next example, "have" ends with:

• the letter "e" (vowel)
• the sound "v" (consonant)

So we link "have" to the next word "a" which begins with a vowel sound:

We write it like this:	Can I have a bit of egg?
We say it like this:	Ca-nI-ha-va-bi-to-fegg?

• Vowel to Vowel

We link words ending with a vowel sound to words beginning with a vowel sound

When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound, we link the words with a sort of W or Y sound.

If our lips are round at the end of the first word, we insert a W sound:

	We write it like this: too often who is so I do all We say it like this: tooWoften whoWis soWI doWall

If our lips are wide at the end of the first word, we insert a Y sound:

We write it like this: Kay is I am the end she asked We say it like this: KayYis IYam theYend sheYasked

• Linking 'r'

In standard British English the letter 'r' after a vowel sound at the end of word is often not pronounced, as you can see in the image below,. However, when the following word begins with a vowel the /r/ sound is pronounced to make a smooth link.

http://linkingphonetics.wordpress.com/category/linking-r/

Linking sounds por luizotaviobarros no Videolog.tv.




Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/connected.shtml
http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/linking.htm