Learning English

Tim
Hi, I'm Tim and this is my pronunciation workshop. Here, I'm gonna show you how English is really spoken. It'll help you become a better listener and a more fluent speaker. Come on, let's go inside. Now, when we speak English fluently, the sounds in words can join together, change or even disappear entirely. Sometimes more than one of these can happen. Take this for example. Now, I'm sure you know what it is, but let's ask the people of London:

Voxpops
An egg sandwich
It's a sandwich
It's a sandwich
It's an egg sandwich 

Tim
Now, the word 'sandwich' has an /n/ followed by a /d/, doesn't it? Or does it? Listen again, what sound can you hear?

Voxpops
An egg sandwich
It's a sandwich
It's a sandwich
It's an egg sandwich

Tim
Instead of 'sandwich', we hear 'samwich'. That's pretty crazy, right! So, what is going on? Well, first the /d/ disappears in between two consonants. You might remember this from our video on elision. So 'sandwich' becomes 'sanwich'. Now, we have an /n/ followed by a /w/ and /n/ changes to /m/ before /w/. You might remember this from our video on assimilation. So sandwich becomes samwich. Have another look – this time in slow motion. Watch the shape of the mouth. Can you see /nd/, or /m/?

Voxpops
Sandwich
Sandwich
Sandwich
Sandwich 

Tim
Pretty cool, huh? Here are some more examples:

Examples
My grandparents have been married for 50 years.
I got a standby ticket.
The band played until midnight.
I left my handbag on the train. 

Tim
Ok, so you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. Are you ready? Listen and repeat.

Examples
My grandparents have been married for 50 years.
I got a standby ticket.
The band played until midnight.
I left my handbag on the train. 

Tim
Well done. Remember if you want to see more on pronunciation please visit our website: bbclearningenglish.com. That's about it from the pronunciation workshop for now. I'll see you soon. Bye. Now, where did I put that sandwich? It was handmade, just for me. Argh!