Word linking in connected speech

Speakers connect words when speaking naturally and it can be hard to understand the individual words. When people speak naturally, they do not say a word, stop, and then say the next word. Some two word groups are joined together to help with the rhythm. The pronunciation of the end and the beginning of the words may change too. These changes are part of ‘connected speech’. 

To understand connected speech, you need to know the difference between vowels and consonants. The 5 vowels are: a, e, i, o, u. Consonants are all the other letters of the English alphabet. It will also be helpful to learn the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), so that you can learn the sounds. The IPA sounds and the English alphabet are not always the same. Tophonetics is a great website that will change a word or sentence into IPA. 

Learn more about the five main types of connected speech.

Catenation (linking words)

Linking consonant to vowel: connect the final consonant in the first word to the vowel that starts the next word. This will make it sound like the second word starts with a consonant. 

For example:

• I want this orange –> thi sorange
• This afternoon –> thi safternoon
• Cats or dogs? –> Ca tsor dogs?
• I want that orange –> tha dorange 

Intrusion (adding an extra sound)

Linking vowel to vowel: when the first-word finishes in a vowel sound and the next word starts with a vowel sound, connect the 2 words and add an extra sound. The three sounds added are /w/, /r/ or /j/. /j/ sounds like the ‘y’ in yellow.  

For example: 

Extra /r/

• I saw a movie –> I saw ra movie
• Law and order –> Law rand order
• Tuna oil –> Tuna roil
• Victoria and Albert museum –> Victoria rand Albert museum

Extra /w/

• Do it –> Do wit
• Go out –> Go wout
• True or false? –> True wor false?
• How are you? –> How ware you?

Extra /j/

• I agree –> I jagree
• He asked –> He jasked
• She answered –>She janswered
• Tea or coffee? –> Tea jor coffee?  

Elision (deleting a sound)

If the first word finishes in a consonant sound and the next word starts with a consonant sound, the first sound disappears. This often happens with a /t/ or /d/ sound.

For example:

• Next door –> Nexdoor
• Dad take –> Datake
• Most common –> Moscommon
• Used to –> Useto

Assimilation (joining sounds to make a new sound)

Sometimes when two consonant sounds are joined, it is very difficult to pronounce the new sound. A new sound is made instead. This often happens with /t/ and /j/ which make /ʧ/. Note: ʧ = ch. It also happens with /d/ and /j/ which make /ʤ/. Note: ʤ = dg.

For example:

• Don’t you — donʧu
• Meet you — meeʧu
• Did you — diʤu
• Would you — wuʤu

Geminates (twin sounds)

These are like twins — two of the same consonant sounds back-to-back. When the same letter ends a word and starts the next word, you should connect the two words in your speech. In this connection, you will say only one sound of that letter. 

For example:

• Social life –> socialife
• Pet turtle –> Peturtle
• I want to –> I wanto 

For more practice:

• Tim’s Pronunciation Workshop (these lessons focus one-by-one on all the consonants, vowels and connected speech elements) 
• Linking in connected speech
• Linking in connected speech practice

Connected speech is challenging for English language learners, both in producing and processing it.  At an advanced level, it is often the stumbling block to understanding native speakers, watching videos and movies in English. On being shown the transcript or subtitles, learners are sometimes stunned at how unrecognisable the text can become when spoken. 

In a connected speech, the boundaries between the words get blurred and shifted. This happens in all languages due to the natural tendency of speakers to minimise articulatory efforts. For this reason, words and sounds get linked, blended and adapted to each other so as to reduce the movement of the active organs of speech, that is the tongue and the lips.  

Learners can be encouraged by the mondegreen concept representing mishearing and misunderstanding of a phrase, which is also common for the native speakers of the language.  Introducing features of connected speech in English lessons and showing tendencies and regularities may enable learners to process spoken discourse easier. 

Personally, I can’t think of a better way to acquaint learners with the most common phonetic features of spoken discourse than through a TV show/movie conversation. I’ll give an example from “The Big Bang Theory”, my all-time-favourite (in the bunch of articles here you’ll find a number of ways to use these conversations in your lessons) For today’s specific purpose I’ve picked a conversation between Howard Wolowitz, a fictional  MIT engineer with experience on a space mission, and an actual Elon Musk, who has become even more iconic since the release of the episode in 2015 (and compared to what he says in this dialogue, they are “already there”). This context makes the fragment pretty relevant and meaningful per se, it may trigger a discussion once the phonetic work is done at the lesson. 

This dialogue is beneficial for introducing connected speech features as Elon Musk, playing himself in the episode, speaks the way the actual natives do, his articulation is not affected by speech classes that actors might have taken. 

The lesson procedure and the material is for Upper-Intermediate learners, they can be used both in group and one-to-one lessons.

In the lead-in, I would bring up the Perseverance mission news and Elon Musk persona, introduce the context for the fragment (Howard meets Elon Musk in the kitchen of a homeless shelter, where both are volunteering to help out with Thanksgiving dinner) and ask to predict what the main point of this sink conversation might be (key: it’s Wolowitz fishing for a job offer). 

After the first viewing and the prediction check, I would ask the learner(s) to share if it’s more difficult to understand Howard or Elon and introduce the notion of connected speech the way I’ve done at the beginning of this article. 

The main part of the lesson starts with a gap-filling activity. In the handouts with the material (the script of the dialogue) the phrases with the connected speech features are left out. We’ll be watching the video, stopping to fill in each gap. Upon filling in each phrase, I would briefly introduce each phenomenon, allowing time for replaying and practising each piece. In the script below you can see the features colour-coded as per their type (the outline for each type comes after the script), in bold type are the letters representing the sounds involved.

The first part of the conversation is discussed and practised at the lesson, the second part can go for homework. 

Material

The Big Bang Theory – Elon Musk on BBT, homeless shelter kitchen sink conversation with Howard Wolowitz on Thanksgiving (Season 09, Episode 09, fragment)

Elon: Well, you’re here on Thanksgiving, so you’re probably a good person.

Howard: Oh. I made my wife come down, too.

Elon: You think you might ever get back out to space?

Howard: Is that a job offer? ‘Cause I really want to go to Mars. Assuming I can bring my wife. She hardly takes up any room. She’s basically a carry-on.

Elon: Well, we’re not quite there yet, but we’re always looking for engineers. So let me give you my e-mail. We can stay in touch.

Howard: Thank you.

Elon: Oh, look. Someone hardly touched their pumpkin pie. Want to share it with me?

Howard: A partially eaten piece of pumpkin pie from a homeless shelter? With Elon Musk, you bet I do. 

Comments

There is a great variety of phonetic phenomena in connected speech, the most common of them can be boiled down to the following types. 

Assimilation

The most common feature affecting the consonants in connected speech. It occurs when a sound in one word causes a change in a sound in an adjacent word. 

kidding me — /ŋ/ turns into /n/, it’s easier to pronounce an alveolar sound before a bilabial /m/, as it’s closer to lips than /ŋ/, which is made at the back part of the mouth.

meet you — /t/ becomes /tʃ/ due to the influence of /j/. It’s worth noting that Musk in his following line pronounces the same phrase without assimilation. It’s a good chance to comment on the arbitrary and individual nature of assimilation. These are neither dogmas nor rules, but a bunch of features that may be there, and knowing that helps to understand connected speech in its variety. 

come down — /m/ turns into /n/, it’s easier to say another alveolar sound before the alveolar /d/, than to first press the lips together for /m/ and then put the tongue tip to the alveolars behind the teeth. 

You’ll notice that the last sound of the first word changes in each case. The /n/ sound becomes /m/, /t/ becomes /tʃ/ and /d/ becomes /b/.

want you — same as meet you 

Elision / loss of plosion

Elision is the loss of a sound, most commonly the last one of a word. It most commonly happens to the plosives consonants (also called “stops”, where the vocal tract stops all airflow for a moment and it’s then released with some plosion), such as /t/, /d/, /p/, /b/,/k/, /g/, specifically when they occur before another stop. What happens is that the effort for pronouncing two plosives in a row would be too great, so the first one (the last sound of the word preceding the word with another plosive) is dropped to minimise the time and effort. 

got demoted /gɒdɪˈməʊtɪd/

and help /ənhelp/ — final /d/ is often dropped in the conjunction “and”, especially if the next word begins with any consonant, not necessarily a plosive.

Delayed plosion

It is technically a variation of the loss of plosion, the only difference being that the adjacent consonants are identical. So what we get is a “prolonged” plosive with one plosion after the second ound. There is also a very short pause before this “prolonged” sound. 

got to be /gɒtəbɪ/

great to /greɪtʊ/

spent two /spentu:/

Linked pronunciation 

This is what gives the speech most of its fluency. Two processes can be singled out here, catenation and linking sound intrusion.

In catenation the last consonant of the first word is joined to the vowel sound at the beginning of the next word. These cases are represented with the joining parenthesis in the script above. Mind that /j/ is not a vowel, so no catenation appears in “All your [companies]”, for example. 

Linking /r/ can be regarded a specific instance of linked pronunciation. In non-rhotic variants of English, like British English, when a word ends in an /r/, it’s not heard unless the following word begins with a vowel sound. In this case, it’s pronounced to help to link the two words together.

you’re Elon /jərˈi:lən/

where I /weəraɪ/

In intrusion, an extra sound appears (“intrudes”) at the junction of two words to sort of “glide” one word into the other. 

Intrusive /r/ occurs between a word that ends in a back vowel and a word beginning with a vowel. 

Intrusive /w/occurs between a word that ends in a back vowel and a word beginning with a back vowel. 

to adopt /tʊwəˈdɒpt/

Intrusive /j/occurs between a word that ends in a front vowel and a word beginning with a vowel. In some sources it’s also called “linking j”, the reasons for the difference in terminology are so subtle that they can well be regarded negligible from where we stand. 

I am. /aɪjæm/

the International /ðɪjɪntəˈnæʃn/

gravy on /ˈgreɪvɪjɒn/

Note: The phrases on this list are those that should be left out in the handouts for the gap-filling activity. 

As you can see there is a certain leeway in defining some features, which is pretty okay for practical purposes. I have taught practical phonetics at the university for around ten years, and I can assure you that terminological accuracy, important as it is, helps little in mastering the accuracy in articulation. You just need some conventional concepts to label the features so as to quickly refer to them when needed. The main thing is to expose the learners to those features on a regular basis, to train processing and producing connected speech. 

For primary delving into the matter, I’d recommend the book by Mark Hancock, as well as his site with loads of useful information on Phonetics, practical teaching tips and materials. Should you have any questions or comments, please, write them in the comments below, I’ll be happy to respond and to get to know your opinion and ideas.

Many English learners pronounce each word separately because they want to make sure their speech is clear and easily understood or because they may “think” in individuals words instead of thought groups. Speaking this way may help with clarity, but it also creates speech that sounds non-native and a bit choppy and mechanical, somewhat like computer-generated speech.  Linking words is key to avoiding this unnatural sound.

Native English speakers connect, or “link,” words together when communicating one thought group. Linking means connecting the last sound of one word to the first sound of the following word. The result? Smooth, natural, fluent-sounding English.

Do you sometimes drop word endings by not pronouncing the final consonant? This problem will be solved if you apply the rules of linking to your speech since linking requires you to connect the final consonant with the following word, if it begins with a vowel. As a result, the final sound becomes the first sound of the word that follows it. 

You know what? This will make things easier for you, too! 

Linking Consonants to Vowels

Let’s look at an example.  

Which is more difficult for you to pronounce: “burned out” or “burn doubt?”

We’re guessing the first one is more of a challenge for you.  The good news is that a native speaker would pronounce “burned out” as we would read “burn doubt.” 

Another example? “It’s – a – cold – evening” can be a mouthful when pronounced separately, but if you say “it sa col devening,” you’ll sound more natural and will spend less effort getting that phrase out! 

Word combination	Sounds like
Deep end	Depend  (w/ accent on the first syllable)
I like it	I lie kit
Hold on	Hole Don
Get up late	Ge da plate
This guy	The sky
Kicked out	Kick doubt

Linking ing + Vowel

Be careful not to skip the /g/ sound when linking the ing ending of a word to the vowel sound of the following word. For example, “going on” should not be pronounced as “goin’ on” in standard English. Be sure to create a quick nasal “ng” /ŋ/sound by touching the back of your mouth with the back of your tongue.

Try linking in these examples

• I’m thinking about it
• How about staying in tonight?
• Are we really doing it? 
• This just isn’t working out

Linking Consonant to Same Consonant

When the final consonant of one word is the same as the first consonant of the next word, the consonant is pronounced only once, with a slightly lengthened sound.  

Word combination	Sounds like
He speaks Swahili	He speak Swahili
Black car	Black are
Big game	Big aim
Well lit	Well it
Can never	Can ever
Turned down	Turn down

Linking Two Different Consonants

 In our section on consonants, we explained the difference between stops and continuants. Remember that “stops” are consonants that are pronounced with a stop in airflow (ex. /b/) while “continuants” are pronounced with a continuation of airflow (ex. /s/). 

Understanding these two types of consonants will help you sound more natural when linking words.  

Here are the rules of linking two different consonants: 

1. When a stop sound is followed by another consonant, you must hold the stop sound. What does this mean?  Instead of releasing air after you create the sound with your lips or tongue, hold the pressure inside your mouth. This applies to both to linking words (ex. “Sit  down”) and consonant combinations within words (ex. “lobster”)
2. Linking continuants is easier since you can just continue from one consonant to the next without stopping the airflow.  For example, “aims to” sounds “aim Stu,” “it’s tall,” sounds like “it stall.” 

Make sure that you hold the final consonant of the first word.

up top           baked buns          great day         cookbook

help now      fried beans           big dog            dark night

Need help? 

For more tips on how to make your English speaking sound more natural, check out these articles on connected speech:

• Intrusive Sounds (when sounds are added) 
• Elision (when sounds are removed) 
• Assimilation (when sounds change)

Would you like a little more coaching on your pronunciation with a professional ESL teacher?  To learn more about English pronunciation and practice it in conversation, join SpeakUp, a dynamic program that engages you in authentic conversations on relevant topics and provides you with feedback from a professional experienced English teacher.  The first week is free for you to try it out!  

What is Connected Speech?

Learn how connected speech will help you to speak English faster, more fluently, and much more like a native speaker. Unfortunately, many language learners don’t know about this subject, but we should! First of all, let’s make sure we have a basic understanding. What is connected speech?

Connected speech means that when we speak a language, words have some effect on each other. We do not always pronounce words completely separately with a neat pause in between. In fact, many words affect each other when you put them into phrases and sentences. The end sound of one word often affects the beginning of the next word.

Connected Speech Includes Many Sub-Topics

There are many different ways that connected speech happens. Sometimes sounds are added, or omitted, or changed, in different ways.  It is actually a big subject and we could spend a long time talking about the several sub-topics in it!

In this lesson, you’ll learn a bit about five different kinds of connected speech: catenation or linking, intrusion, elision, assimilation and geminates.

Catenation or Linking

Catenation, or Linking is probably what most people think of first when they think of connected speech. Linking happens when the end of one word blends into another. When the last sound of a word is a consonant and the first sound of the next word is a vowel, you get linking.

For example:

I want this orange –> thisorange

I want that orange –> thadorange

This afternoon –> thisafternoon

Is he busy? –> Isi busy?

Cats or dogs? –> Catserdogs?

Intrusion

Intrusion means an additional sound “intrudes” or inserts itself between others. It is often is a /j/ or /w/ or /r/ sound between two other vowel sounds.

For example:

He asked –> Heyasked

She answered –? Sheyanswered

Do it –> Dewit

Go out –> Gowout

Shoe on –> Shoewon

Elision

Elision means when a sound disappears. Basically, a sound is eaten by other stronger or similar sounds next to it. This often happens with a /t/ or /d/ sound.

For example:

Next door –> Nexdoor

Dad take –> Datake

Most common –> Moscommon

Assimilation

Assimilation means two sounds blend together, forming a new sound altogether. This often happens with /t/ and /j/ which make /ʧ/ and with /d/ and /j/ which make /ʤ /.

For example:

Don’t you — donʧu

Won’t you — wonʧu

Meet you — meeʧu

Did you — diʤu

Would you — wuʤu

Geminates

Finally, geminates are like twins — two same sounds back-to-back. Often when one word ends with the same letter as the beginning of the next word, you should connect the two words in your speech.

For example:

Social life –> socialife

Pet turtle –> Peturtle

These five points and examples may make you feel like you have a lot to study!

Try learning the International Phonetic Alphabet so that you can take notes about how words sound together. Or, you could keep an audio journal on your smart phone where you record how words and phrases sound with connected speech.

Here is a cool tool you can try making English sentences into IPA. Keep in mind that sometimes real life pronunciation will be different because of variations.

If you liked this lesson, you’ll love my lesson about pronunciation and the “schwa” sound. Click here to view it now. 

And click on our video lesson below if you’d like to hear more about connected speech!

Would you like training to improve your English speaking faster? pre-register today for information about the Complete Go Natural English Course, Fluent Communication!

How to Stop Translating in Your Head and Start Thinking in English

Connected Speech in British English

The Linking R and Intrusive R

The Linking /j/

Learn more with OLA

OLA: Improve Your Fluency | Increase Your Confidence