[ti:Reduction and Assimilation]
[al:Ask a Teacher]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-02-03]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Hi there! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about reduced syllables and assimilation.
[00:11.48]Hello,
[00:13.55]I would like you to explain to me in detail, if that is possible...
[00:18.47]In spoken English, why do native speakers change or omit these letters, for example:
[00:27.14]I want to go. (I wanna go)
[00:32.37]Handbag (hambag)
[00:36.76]A and B (A n B)
[00:41.23]What's the rule behind this?
[00:44.30]Thanks,
[00:45.27]Adam
[00:46.22]Thanks, Adam, for your question.
[00:50.28]You have found that people do not always say words the same way all the time.
[00:56.20]They sometimes change sounds to make them easier to say.
[01:02.02]One example is syllable dropping, which we discussed in an earlier Ask a Teacher.
[01:09.69]Assimilation and reduction are other ways sounds can change when people are speaking quickly.
[01:18.07]Two different sounds can start to sound the same when they are said quickly.
[01:24.66]This is called "assimilation."
[01:27.58]This is what is happening in the word "handbag."
[01:32.80]The /n/ sound is a nasal sound, which is made by air moving through our nose. 
[01:41.22]The sound/b/ is produced by pressing the lips together.
[01:46.96]So, the /n/ sound is affected by the /b/ sound in "bag."
[01:54.27]The sound becomes /m/, a combination of a nasal sound and the labial sound.
[02:01.42]The /d/ sound is then dropped.
[02:05.77]/Handbag/
[02:06.90]/Hambag/
[02:09.66]Sometimes it is not just one sound within a word that is reduced, but a whole word, like in the examples of "wanna" or "A n' B."
[02:22.44]Function words, like "to" and "and" are often reduced in everyday speech. 
[02:30.08]This helps us to pay more attention to the more important words that carry meaning.
[02:37.49]Most unstressed syllables and function words become shorter, softer and less clear.
[02:45.86]The vowel sound in "to," /oo/, gets reduced to another vowel sound "schwa," /ə/.
[02:55.53]"Want to" becomes "wanta," /ə/. The two /t/ sounds drop off in fast speech. So, "want ta" becomes "wanna."
[03:08.05]In "A and B," the "and" gets reduced to /ən/. So, phrases like "A and B" or "cream and sugar" become "A 'n B" and "cream 'n sugar."
[03:25.57]Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Adam.
[03:31.94]Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
[03:42.25]And that's Ask a Teacher.
[03:44.20]I'm Faith Pirlo.