Reduction and Assimilation

2024-02-03

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1
  • Hi there! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about reduced syllables and assimilation.
    • 2
  • Hello,
    • 3
  • I would like you to explain to me in detail, if that is possible...
    • 4
  • In spoken English, why do native speakers change or omit these letters, for example:
    • 5
  • I want to go. (I wanna go)
    • 6
  • Handbag (hambag)
    • 7
  • A and B (A n B)
    • 8
  • What's the rule behind this?
    • 9
  • Thanks,
    • 10
  • Adam
    • 11
  • Thanks, Adam, for your question.
    • 12
  • You have found that people do not always say words the same way all the time.
    • 13
  • They sometimes change sounds to make them easier to say.
    • 14
  • One example is syllable dropping, which we discussed in an earlier Ask a Teacher.
    • 15
  • Assimilation and reduction are other ways sounds can change when people are speaking quickly.
    • 16
  • Two different sounds can start to sound the same when they are said quickly.
    • 17
  • This is called "assimilation."
    • 18
  • This is what is happening in the word "handbag."
    • 19
  • The /n/ sound is a nasal sound, which is made by air moving through our nose.
    • 20
  • The sound/b/ is produced by pressing the lips together.
    • 21
  • So, the /n/ sound is affected by the /b/ sound in "bag."
    • 22
  • The sound becomes /m/, a combination of a nasal sound and the labial sound.
    • 23
  • The /d/ sound is then dropped.
    • 24
  • /Handbag/
    • 25
  • /Hambag/
    • 26
  • 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."
    • 27
  • Function words, like "to" and "and" are often reduced in everyday speech.
    • 28
  • This helps us to pay more attention to the more important words that carry meaning.
    • 29
  • Most unstressed syllables and function words become shorter, softer and less clear.
    • 30
  • The vowel sound in "to," /oo/, gets reduced to another vowel sound "schwa," /ə/.
    • 31
  • "Want to" becomes "wanta," /ə/. The two /t/ sounds drop off in fast speech. So, "want ta" becomes "wanna."
    • 32
  • 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."
    • 33
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Adam.
    • 34
  • Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 35
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
    • 36
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
    • 1
  • Hi there! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about reduced syllables and assimilation.
    • 2
  • Question:
    • 3
  • Hello,
    • 4
  • I would like you to explain to me in detail, if that is possible...
    • 5
  • In spoken English, why do native speakers change or omit these letters, for example:
    • 6
  • I want to go. (I wanna go)
    • 7
  • Handbag (hambag)
    • 8
  • A and B (A n B)
    • 9
  • What's the rule behind this?
    • 10
  • Thanks,
    • 11
  • Adam
    • 12
  • Answer:
    • 13
  • Thanks, Adam, for your question.
    • 14
  • You have found that people do not always say words the same way all the time. They sometimes change sounds to make them easier to say.
    • 15
  • One example is syllable dropping, which we discussed in an earlier Ask a Teacher. Assimilation and reduction are other ways sounds can change when people are speaking quickly.
    • 16
  • Two different sounds can start to sound the same when they are said quickly. This is called "assimilation."
    • 17
  • This is what is happening in the word "handbag."
    • 18
  • The /n/ sound is a nasal sound, which is made by air moving through our nose. The sound/b/ is produced by pressing the lips together. So, the /n/ sound is affected by the /b/ sound in "bag." The sound becomes /m/, a combination of a nasal sound and the labial sound.
    • 19
  • The /d/ sound is then dropped.
    • 20
  • /Handbag/
    • 21
  • /Hambag/
    • 22
  • 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."
    • 23
  • Function words, like "to" and "and" are often reduced in everyday speech. This helps us to pay more attention to the more important words that carry meaning.
    • 24
  • Most unstressed syllables and function words become shorter, softer and less clear. The vowel sound in "to," /oo/, gets reduced to another vowel sound "schwa," /ə/.
    • 25
  • "Want to" becomes "wanta," /ə/. The two /t/ sounds drop off in fast speech. So, "want ta" becomes "wanna."
    • 26
  • 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."
    • 27
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Adam.
    • 28
  • Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 29
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
    • 30
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
    • 31
  • Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
    • 32
  • __________________________________________________
    • 33
  • Words in This Story
    • 34
  • syllable - n. a unit of spoken language that consists of one or more vowel sounds alone or with one or more consonant sounds preceding or following
    • 35
  • assimilation - n. a sound changes in which some sounds (typically consonants or vowels) change to become more similar to other nearby sounds
    • 36
  • labial -adj. involving one or both lips
    • 37
  • phrase - n. a word or group of words forming a syntactic constituent with a single grammatical function
    • 38
  • cream - n. a thick white liquid taken from milk used in cooking, baking and coffee