Sounding like an American on vacation: Talking about water skiing

The video tutorial explains the concept of reductions and linking in American English pronunciation. It covers how function words like 'that' and 'can' are often reduced, and how linking occurs when a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word starting with a vowel. The tutorial also highlights common reductions such as 'going to' becoming 'gonna' and 'are' reducing to 'err'. Examples are provided to illustrate these concepts, emphasizing the importance of smooth, connected speech in American English.

What happens to the word 'that' in American English when it is reduced?

• It is completely omitted.

• It becomes 'thot'.

• It is pronounced as 'dat'.

• It becomes 'the' with a flap or stop T.

How is the phrase 'going to' commonly reduced in American English?

• Gonna

• Gotta

• Gina

• Guna

What is a common technique to link words in American English?

• Repeating the last consonant of the first word.

• Pausing between words.

• Adding an extra vowel between words.

• Linking a consonant at the end of one word to a vowel at the beginning of the next word.

Which of the following is an example of linking in American English?

• Changing 'right' to 'rite'.

• Pronouncing each word separately.

• Adding a pause between 'right' and 'away'.

• Connecting the 't' in 'right' to the 'a' in 'away'.

What is the effect of linking consonants to vowels in speech?

• It creates a smoother flow of speech.

• It adds pauses between words.

• It makes speech slower.

• It makes words sound more distinct.

What happens to the contraction 'I'm' in casual American speech?

• It is reduced to just the 'M' sound.

• It becomes 'Imma'.

• It is pronounced as 'I am'.

• It is omitted completely.

In the context of reductions, what does the word 'of' often become?

• A schwa sound 'ə'.

• The word 'off'.

• The word 'ov'.

• The word 'if'.