Learning English

Tim
Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation Workshop. Here, I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let's go inside. Hey, look at this: a present. All wrapped up in paper. Now, do you know what this is? Well, if you could smell it, it might give you a clue.

Voice
Is it your old socks?

Tim
Very funny – No. No, it's not my old socks. It's something much, much nicer. Something delicious in fact. Let's ask the people of London if they can tell what it is, without seeing it.

Voxpops
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.

Tim
Yes, that's right. It's good old fish and chips. I'm going to save that for later. Now the word and has got three sounds, hasn't it? /æ/, /n/, /d/ - but listen again. How is it pronounced in everyday speech?

Voxpops
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.
Fish and chips.

Tim
And is not usually an important word. It’s a basic conjunction and it's frequently unstressed. When this happens, the /d/ at the end of the word disappears before both vowels and consonants, and the vowel sound at the beginning of the word changes to schwa: /ə/, so and becomes /ən/ or even /n/ as the sounds are almost identical. Here are some more examples.

Examples
I'm going to go and get the shopping.
Apples and oranges are my favourite fruits.
I’ve been thinking and thinking but I can't decide.
We went for a coffee and something to eat.

Tim
Right, so you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. You know the drill. Listen and repeat.

Examples
I'm going to go and get the shopping.
Apples and oranges are my favourite fruits.
I’ve been thinking and thinking but I can't decide.
We went for a coffee and something to eat.

Tim
Great work. Remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish dot com. And that is about it from the Pronunciation Workshop for now. I'll see you next week. Bye! Now, there's only one thing to eat with fish 'n' chips – and that's salt ‘n’ vinegar. This reminds me of one of my favourite jokes: What do angry sharks eat? Fish ‘n’ ships. Get it? Fish ‘n’ ships! Oh, I don't know why I bother. Ok, now, time to eat. What? What is this? What is going on? Where's the…? It really is fish… and ships! Well that is the last time I'm telling that joke. This is no laughing matter. I'm hungry now…