VOA Learning English: How To Pronounce: Casual speech and careful pronunciation
This is where the machete comes in. Just like we use a machete to make our way quicker through a jungle, so too, do we cut out words and sounds to make our way through conversations quicker.
For example:Do you want to go?In casual speech, we might sayWanna go?The auxiliary verb “do” was cut out, as was the word “to.” Then I combined some of the leftovers.Do you want to go?Wanna go?
We also cut out some consonants or syllables of common words.
For example,“Probably” becomes something like this: “probly”Probably --- problyOr“Remember” becomes something like this: “member”Remember --- member
When you listen to Americans speak and you have trouble understanding, ask yourself: What are they cutting out?
We will explore some of the most common ways Americans cut out words and sounds in future videos.
That’s all for today. Keep up the good work!
Lean more:
Watch the VOA Learning English playlist