2.2.- Connected speech: Linking.

So, what is it that native speakers do when stringing words together that causes so many problems for students?

When we speak naturally we do not pronounce a word, stop, then say the next word in the sentence. 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.

Sometimes, a consonant and a vowel are linked, as we tend to drag final consonants to initial vowels or vice versa. For example:

• Get on. (geton)
• Not at all. (notatall)
• It´s no joke. (snow joke)

When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel, another sound, a /w/ or /j/ can be added depending on the particular sounds to make a smooth transition.

Text adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/connected.shtml and http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/connected-speech-2