Learn English | American Accent | Real Speech

Most English learners are taught to pronounce every word distinctly.

I don't know what you are talking about.

Native speakers speak in chunks.

I don't know what you're talking about.

I don't know what you're talking about.

So, let's master some of these shortcuts together.

What are you going to do?

What are you going to do?

What are you going to do?

So, as we listen to the natural conversation, you'll notice some of the words are reduced and contracted together. First, let's listen to the

together. First, let's listen to the intonation or the musical patterns of the American English accent in this phrase, "What are you going to do?"

What are you going to do?

What are you going to do? You'll notice

that there's one word that stands out and is sung at a higher pitch, and then there's a falling intonation at the end.

What are you going to do?

The rising indicates this is the primary stressed word. It's the word that we

stressed word. It's the word that we want to exaggerate or emphasize to give the most meaning in our phrase.

Since that's our primary stressed word, we're not ever going to reduce the vowel in that main stressed word or stressed syllable if there are more than one

syllables in it. But, the other words can all be reduced and contracted, and we do a lot of things to these other words that are unstressed.

Even though this is a question, we might think, "Oh, it's a question. I should

raise my tone at the end or have a rising intonation."

But, because the sentence or this question starts with a wh question word, we're still going to use a falling intonation at the end. So, you're not going to hear, "What are you going to

do?"

do?" but "What are you going to do?" A rise on the stress and a fall after.

The words what and are become linked together. You'll notice all of the words

together. You'll notice all of the words become linked. So, as we do this, the

become linked. So, as we do this, the word are is reduced to just the er sound. And because the T now is followed

sound. And because the T now is followed by a consonant, we're not pronouncing a T as a t or released T, but rather a

lingual flap kind of sound, which sounds like a D.

Wuh-der. Wuh-der. It's a quick little flutter of the tongue tip to create a flap. That's the IPA symbol, but it

flap. That's the IPA symbol, but it sounds more like a little D.

So, now we have wuh-der.

The WH is pronounced as just wuh. The H

is pretty much silent. And the A here is not produced as ah, but rather uh. So,

not ah as in on, but uh as in the word up. Uh uh uh. And that's the carrot

up. Uh uh uh. And that's the carrot symbol in IPA.

So, it sounds like wuh-der.

Wuh-der.

The word you, since it's not the primary stressed word and is followed by a consonant sound, the G in going, this

word you can be reduced to yuh.

Or yuh.

And this vowel is called the schwa.

It's an upside down E. It's a quick little uh.

And that's linked to going. You going.

You going. As if it's one word.

The ing in going is actually pronounced as one sound, the ng sound, not N and G as many non-native

English speakers assume.

So, it's not go in n n n with a tongue tip for n and then g for a g, but rather the back of the tongue is producing a ng

nasal sound. The air is coming out of

nasal sound. The air is coming out of the nose, but we're not producing two separate sounds, just one nasal ng.

going instead of going ng.

The word to is followed by a consonant.

So, this vowel can be reduced to a as you guessed, schwa.

So, it can sound more like to do.

going to do to do almost as though there's no vowel at all.

So, the words what are you become what are you?

And in some cases, speakers very quickly can drop the r altogether. The words

going to can even be more fully reduced to gonna gonna gonna. So, you'll get rid of this

gonna gonna. So, you'll get rid of this all together. Because this phrase is so

all together. Because this phrase is so commonly used, it's morphed over time.

So, you can hear that g and n sound.

gonna And that's how you may hear what are you going to do.

What are you going to do? This will help you tremendously when you're learning how to understand very fast native English speakers.

What are you going to do?

What are you going to do?

What are you going to do?

What are you going to do?

Let's listen to this sentence taken from a clip and hear how the reductions and the contractions occur.

Can I throw this out? You have a garbage?

You You to use the non-presidential garbage.

Let's listen for the intonation. Do you

notice how there are a couple words that are emphasized a little bit more or sung on and lingered on more than others.

You have to use the non-presidential garbage.

The speaker is using non-presidential because the speaker wants to emphasize that that's the most important word. So,

the singing is going to indicate what the most important meaning it's.

You have to use the non-presidential garbage.

And there is a falling at the end indicating it is a statement. So, the

rising of the intonation indicates this is primary stress and it has the greatest meaning.

There will be a falling tone and pitch in the intonation pattern afterward for statements. Since the word you is not

statements. Since the word you is not the primary stress word, we can hear a reduction. You'll hear

reduction. You'll hear you you have.

So, here's your schwa sound. It will

sound like you have.

Or it may sound like there's no vowel at all.

You you have.

So, it's like those two words are linked together.

The words have and to are used so frequently that they've also morphed a little over time and you'll hear have to.

To is a very frequently reduced to a ta ta or a schwa sound. And v is a voiced sound. What's happening here is it's

sound. What's happening here is it's turning to a voiceless f.

Have to. And it's only because it's followed by another voiceless sound and it's just easier to produce. So, that's

why you're hearing have to.

The word use, although spelled with an S, is pronounced with a Z sound. Use.

So, add your voice to ensure there's a vibration. Instead of use

vibration. Instead of use being the noun, use being the verb.

The Z links to the word the. Use use

the.

This is a voiced th sound, meaning you must put your tongue on your teeth so it vibrates and creates a voiced friction.

th This e is followed by a consonant. So,

we don't have to fully pronounce it as z, but rather a schwa.

That's what you're hearing, the.

the non This o is pronounced as ah or

ah. If you tend to pronounce o's as o,

ah. If you tend to pronounce o's as o, this is a tricky sound. Open your jaw and feel your lips in an open position

that feels uncomfortable. Non. The pr,

many people struggle with the r sound.

If you feel your tongue tip touching right behind your front top teeth, pr pr [laughter] pr presidential, then what

you want to try is pulling your tongue tip away from the palate. So, lower and more far back so it doesn't touch near your front alveolar ridge.

pr curling your tongue away presidential So, this s is pronounced as a z, not an

s. Press

s. Press is a quiet s. Prez

is a voiced z or z z sound. This I is not pronounced as e or even a, but rather a schwa. It's an unstressed

syllable. So, that's why it sounds like

syllable. So, that's why it sounds like preza instead of prezi presidential. The

tial can come across as like a ch sound.

The ial or the ia vowel will also be a schwa sound. So, that's why you're not

schwa sound. So, that's why you're not hearing tial but rather chul chul. Almost like the vowel is

chul chul. Almost like the vowel is gone.

It is actually a chul sound, presidential. The l the end is what we call a dark l. It has a dark

quality. We're going to pull more of the

quality. We're going to pull more of the middle of our tongue up toward the roof l l rather than just the tongue tip if

you produce more clear l's.

So presidential versus presidential.

It's a very throaty sound because I'm pulling the base of my tongue higher. In

the word garbage, there are two syllables, gar and bage.

The first syllable of two-syllable nouns are usually the stressed syllable. So,

there's your stress. So, this vowel will not be reduced in any way.

But the second syllable has potential.

And in this case, instead of bage as we might expect this will turn to a schwa.

It's the unstressed syllable, so that vowel can be reduced.

buj And that's why it sounds like buj And this j is voiced. It is both a D sound d d d

is voiced. It is both a D sound d d d and j together. Many people will pronounce

j together. Many people will pronounce this sound as a ch because it's a simple substitution, I guess. garbage

But touch your throat and feel a little vibration. garbage

vibration. garbage Here again, you'll see it's a D d and j together. Not just

j together. Not just j on its own either. And that's how you get You have to use the non-presidential garbage.

You have to use the non-presidential garbage.

[laughter] Practice for yourself and listen for these little reductions and contractions in the speaker's speech.

Quick question.

Do native speakers ever ask you to repeat [music] yourself? Do you know exactly why? Most English learners

exactly why? Most English learners don't.

They know they're being misunderstood, but they don't know which sounds, patterns, or habits are causing the problem. [music]

problem. [music] That's why progress feels so slow.

American Accent Mastery gives you a complete road map for American English pronunciation. You'll learn the sounds,

pronunciation. You'll learn the sounds, [music] rhythms, stress patterns, connected speech, and how to train your mouth and ears and create habits that make [music] the biggest difference in how clearly

you're understood. If you're tired of

you're understood. If you're tired of guessing and ready for a proven system, click the link below. Start the American Accent Mastery [music] today.

Are these washed?

Well, don't don't don't leave the apple though. You got to If you're going to

though. You got to If you're going to have a bite of the apple, you got to take it.

Notice the intonation of the musical pitch of the sentence because that's what indicates meaning. Beyond just the words, the music will tell you a lot of what the meaning is.

If you're going to have a bite of the apple, you got to take it.

In this case, the speaker emphasizes apple. If you're going to have a bite of

apple. If you're going to have a bite of the apple, apple.

We have to take it. Notice

there is the stress.

And here it kind of is fairly flat. It

doesn't really rise or fall tremendously. There may be slight highs

tremendously. There may be slight highs and rises on more meaningful words, but apple stands out as stressed in this phrase.

And since we have a comma, we have a new phrase, we're going to have a brand new primary stressed word. So, that's why you have another rise and fall. They

fall at the end in intonation because they're statements, they're not questions or yes no questions.

And notice that this one has a slight uptick. Apple.

uptick. Apple.

Apple, because this indicates I have more to say, I'm not done yet.

Then, as you speak again and fall down to the end, that low pitch means I'm finished.

So, if you have trouble either people think you're still going to say something more or you notice that you get cut off a lot when you're speaking with others, it may be that you're using a rising pitch at

the end or you're not indicating very clearly with that falling intonation.

So, working on falling intonation can be really helpful for you. For

pronunciation, the words if and you, the F will link to the Y, so it's not if and you, but if

you if you This i is quick, but it is an i vowel.

And the F links really quickly to the U.

You and R The R reduces to just the er.

And your this U will reduce to a schwa because it's followed by a consonant sound. So that's where you're going to

sound. So that's where you're going to get this your sound.

Going into as we talked about have morphed into gonna gonna.

Like gonna to have gonna have gonna have.

The V links to the A word but A is unstressed we can reduce it to a.

So now we have gonna have a gonna have a.

The word bite the T is followed by a vowel in the word of.

So this T is produced as a flap T and will sound more like a D.

Bida bida.

Of is quite often reduced to a just an a sound just like the word A.

So now we have gonna have a bida. The

word the has a voice th tongue between our teeth with vibration.

th This E is not reduced to the or a schwa because it's followed by.

So this is when we are going to use our E.

The apple the apple it's linked as one.

So if the apple the apple the apple.

The L in this word is a dark L pronunciation so push more of the middle um, back of your tongue up to a higher position. So, instead of just the tongue

position. So, instead of just the tongue tip, apple, touching your alveolar ridge, think of more of the middle, apple, making contact with the roof of your

mouth.

The apple have got to turns to gotta.

So, the have gets taken away altogether.

You can hear you, there may be a v there at times. You've

gotta, but in this case, it gets reduced altogether.

The two t's in it got and two become one. So, we're just saying the t

become one. So, we're just saying the t once. And now, since that t is

once. And now, since that t is surrounded by vowels, it's going to sound like the flap t, like a d sound.

So, that's why it sounds like god.

duh duh duh duh duh And the two the word two is followed by another consonant, so that's why it's not two,

but tuh, or in this case, duh.

It's a schwa.

You gotta. You can say you've gotta or you gotta.

Now, this you now is followed by a g cuz we're going right to gotta. So, this you

to gotta. So, this you turns to yuh.

And that's why you have another schwa pronunciation. You gotta. The word

schwa pronunciation. You gotta. The word

take is the stressed word. We're not

going to reduce it in any way. The k in take links to it.

kit It sounds more like kit because there is no pause between the two.

Take it. Take it. Take it.

The final T in this sentence is the last T. You can choose to release it.

T. You can choose to release it.

Take it. T T T And allow air to release from your tongue tip. Or you can hear or choose a

tongue tip. Or you can hear or choose a glottal stop. It.

glottal stop. It.

It.

Where you stop the air flow in your glottis or in your throat. So no air comes out from your tongue tip area.

It.

And that is the symbol for glottal T.

But it sounds like a forceful stop. It.

And that's how you get. If you're going to have a bite of the apple, you got to take it.

If you're going to have a bite of the apple, you got to take it.

Listen again to the speaker and see if you can notice these reductions now.

Just take a moment to click that like button for me. I work really hard to share what I know and create lessons that make a difference. So if you can do that for me, I would be very [music]

grateful. Thank you.

grateful. Thank you.

And like.

In this sentence, let's listen to the potential intonation patterns and stress.

I kind of like a lot of them.

I kind of like a lot of them. So one

word sings a little higher than the others because I'm I'm emphasizing it.

Kind of like a lot of them.

So this is the word I stressed.

I could choose another word for meaning.

I could say kind of as my stress word, which means only a little bit.

If I'm stressing a lot, I want the person who I'm talking to to understand it's actually a lot. There are many that I like.

So I can change the meaning a little there.

We had talked about how the word of can be reduced to an a.

So, that's why you may hear kinda kinda.

Sometimes you'll even notice that an n followed by a d, those words sometimes have the d drop. Kinda kinda. So, that

is also something you may hear when listening to native speakers. I kinda

like there's a lot of linking. There's

no pause. Feel your throat and make sure the voice never stops.

I kinda like a Here the a is reduced. It's unstressed. So, we can

is reduced. It's unstressed. So, we can say a.

Like a like a like a. Notice the k is part of this word. Ka

like a.

Rather than like a.

The word lot, we do not reduce the stressed emphasized word in terms of

vowels. So, this o is the ah vowel. Ah

vowels. So, this o is the ah vowel. Ah

not o. So, if your lips are rounding and tight o o o, you want to open your jaw and relax your lips as if it's very

open. Ah ah ah. A lot

open. Ah ah ah. A lot

The t is surrounded by vowels on both sides. That's why you're going to hear

sides. That's why you're going to hear this lingual flap d sound. Lot

lot This t sounds like a d. And that's why you might hear lot of lot of for lot of.

The word of as we spoke about before can be reduced to just a.

A lot of. The word of them starts with a voiced th sound with your tongue vibrating on your top front teeth.

Th- feel vibration on your throat.

The e, this is an unstressed word, so can be reduced. That's why you may not hear them, but thm thm them thm

It is a schwa. In highly reduced speech, you may even hear the word them entirely as

m.

So, give them to me. You may hear give 'em m give 'em to me.

So, that's how you may hear instead of I kind of like a lot of them to I kind of like a lot of 'em

a lot of 'em.

Practice for yourself and get used to these little reductions and contractions in speech.

For a variety [clears throat] of reasons, I don't want to be the one responsible for purchasing costly gasoline.

Listen to the speaker really closely.

The word I, since it's not emphasized or stressed as primary stress, you may hear a little uh It's a reduction from I to an uh uh Some

speakers may say it clearly and some others may not. So, you may hear I or you may hear uh. These two words won't be contracted to don't. If the speaker

wants these words to be emphasized, they may keep them separated to fully explain that the negative or do not is important. So, if you ever hear this not

important. So, if you ever hear this not contracted, it means it's emphasized.

It's very important to the speaker. The

t is followed by a consonant, so that is why you'll hear not It's a glotal stop rather than a

released T.

not want. This W is tricky for some people. Make sure your lips are not

people. Make sure your lips are not touching your teeth.

Wuh.

Wuh. So, pull them a little farther.

Otherwise, it will sound like a V to a native English speaker and will hear vont, a full W. Want and two. Two Ts

become one pronunciation.

So, we'll have one pronunciation of that. The two, since it's followed by a

that. The two, since it's followed by a consonant, will become a schwa.

N the followed by T, often the T disappears. This is something that you

disappears. This is something that you often see in like winter. You may hear someone say winner, I'm the winner. So,

the T is also dropped because it's after an N.

And that's why you're getting one.

wanna. B is not reduced.

TH for the is voiced. The E in the, you may think, oh, it's followed by a vowel, so it must be the one.

Because the word one is actually not starting with a vowel. It starts with a consonant.

In IPA, that's how you spell one.

Wuh uh n. So,

a W is a consonant. That's why it's not the one, but the.

There's your schwa.

Thuh. Watch for your lips, making sure they're not touching your front teeth.

And for those of you who have struggled or struggled with n at the ends of words, make sure your tongue tip fully touches right behind your front teeth.

One. N

is a nasal sound, so you should feel air out your nose.

The one.

The n links right to responsible.

Words that start with re typically are not pronounced as re, but r.

The stress on this word, responsible.

Responsible.

This is the stressed syllable of the word.

So, no reductions will occur on those vowels.

But, the others will have an option. So,

you can say re or you'll hear more often r.

R.

Like an uh respon Do we say sit or see? No, usually it's sa.

Responsa.

S-U-H kind of sound.

End of the l, dark l, pull that middle of your tongue up.

Responsible.

And that's how you get I don't want to be the one responsible.

Take a listen and hear for the reductions contractions and intonation.

For a variety of reasons, I don't want to be the one responsible for purchasing costly gasoline.

If you're ignoring the linking, phrasing, and reductions, then you may actually be making your English harder to understand and less fluent. Let's get

rid of this common belief that reductions, those shortcuts in speech, equal bad pronunciation. Yes, there are some

pronunciation. Yes, there are some sounds in English that are nearly always produced very clearly and very accurately, but there are many that are

commonly reduced or removed or changed due to shortcuts. Unfortunately, these

shortcuts feel really wrong to foreign speakers going against what they were taught learning English. But, the truth is reduction isn't sloppy speech.

Educated professionals reduce constantly and native speakers don't speak word by word. They speak thought by thought. If

word. They speak thought by thought. If

you realize that there are some gaps in your American English pronunciation and you want to master a high level in the American accent, then I recommend

checking out my free demo lessons for the full mastery method. American Accent

Mastery gives you all of the tools and the practice that you need to get to the conversation level and it includes an assessment of your speech from me. You

can access the course and all the free resources on my website proactivepronunciation.com.

proactivepronunciation.com.

[music] Only a few spots are left. Once

the 10 spots are filled, access will be closed until the next opening. So, click

the link in the description while there are still spots available. But, if you just want to stick with me here on YouTube, this playlist will help you with even more of your pronunciation

goals. I'll see you there.

goals. I'll see you there.