REMEMBER THIS: In
written English each word is separated from the next, but in spoken
English words are linked together by sound.
Native English speakers mark out the phrases of
their speech for their listeners, so that the listeners can move
from one sense unit to the next. Within each of these sense
units, wherever possible, they join the words together to move
smoothly from one word to the next. You should try to develop
this feature. Some foreign speakers of English don't join
any words together, while others add vowels between every word.
Neither of these is good practice.
Control of the basic features of word linking (as practised below)
is one aspect of pronunciation on which candidates will be
assessed in Paper 5.
As with all features of pronunciation, improvement is something
that comes over time with repeated practice. One way to
improve this feature is to remember common phrases (e.g.
compound nouns, verb phrases, time phrases, names and titles,
idioms, other common fixed phrases) as one sound unit, e.g. a
three-hour exam;
it must have been her; at the end of the day; the
Queen of England; how do you do?; I don't feel
like eating, etc.
There are also many phrases with of, e.g. the middle of
the night; a glass of wine; a drop of water;
a pair of scissors; full of hope; out of order,
etc. Good pronunciation of these phrases also involves use of
weak forms as you have already seen in Unit 8 Lesson 30.
Here are six of the most important ways of linking words together
by sound. Please, practise repeating at least twice each case:
CASE 1
►
Consonant to vowel
The consonant at the end of the first word
links to the vowel at the beginning of the next. Click on
PLAY and listen carefully!!
This is beautiful !!
What's that in English?
Say that again.
CASE 2
►
Vowel (rounded lips) to vowel
A linking /w/
is added between the two vowels. Click on PLAY and listen
carefully!!
So it is.
No it's not.
They threw everything.
CASE 3
►
Vowel (stretched lips) to vowel
A linking /j/
is added between the two vowels. Click on PLAY and listen
carefully!!
What's the English for
... ?
The ancient kingdom.
They all sailed.
CASE 4
►
"r" to vowel
The /r/
is pronounced, where before a consonant it often wouldn't be,
e.g. four times, tea or coffee. Click on PLAY and listen
carefully!!
Four of his chiefs.
Or are you saying that
... ?
Of their own.
Some British speakers, especially those who
speak RP, don't pronounce /r/
if it's on its own or followed by a consonant.
What does 'RP' stand for?
For many years, the use of Received Pronunciation (RP)
was considered to be a mark of education. It was a standard
practice until around the 1950s for university students with
regional accents to modify their speech to be closer to
RP. As a result, at a time when only around five percent
of the population attended universities, elitist notions
sprang up around it and those who used it may have
considered those who did not to be less educated than
themselves. Historically the most prestigious British
educational institutions (Cambridge, Oxford, etc.) were
located in England, so those who were educated there
would pick up the accents of their peers.
CASE 5
►
Consonant to "h"
The /h/
is dropped: the consonant at the end of the first word links to
the vowel at the beginning of the next word. Click on PLAY
and listen carefully!!
And then he went out.
People have been taking
things.
You mean he actually had
to.
CASE 6
►
Consonant to same consonant
The two consonants become one. Click on
PLAY and listen carefully!!
Of that time.
The lake's still full !!
The famous ceremony.
Word linking - Part 2
And now, for further practice, try to do this
activity.
ACTIVITY 402: Are the museums in your country free, or do you
have to pay to visit them? Do you think museums should be free, or
that people should have to pay to get in? Let us listen to Mark's
opinion on the subject. Listen to what Mark says and fill in the ten
missing words. Then check your answers.
'I think that museums that
concerned with national culture should be free for
the people of that nation. Such museums are
part of the national heritage, and so should be
without charge, to .
If, on the
hand, it's a specialist
of museum, one that's
interest to only a few, then I suppose it's
right if people
to pay to get in.'
¡¡¡ Has tenido una de tus prácticas
más intensas !!!En la próxima página Mr. Grammar
complementará sus explicaciones de CONDITIONAL SENTENCES ...
