This is how English REALLY sounds

Can't you, can't you. Last year, last year. Did you, did you. Hey everyone, today we are going to talk about how English actually sounds and how often it is very different than how it is written. And we're going to talk about it in specific cases as we talk about the concept of fusion or coalescence. This concept means that oftentimes there are two words that when they come right after the other, they kind of like fuse together or merge together and become one sound. For example, can't you, we have the T and the Y, two distinct sounds, T-Y, and then they become CH. Can't chew. Can chew. So instead of pronouncing two sounds, we pronounce just one sound, and that sound is ch. Can't you, can chew. Did you, instead of d and yuh, we have j. J, j, j is considered as one phoneme, one sound in English. Not 'to,' 'd,' 'y,' 'j.' Think about it as a shortcut that the mouth takes as it connects those two sounds. This is something very specific that happens when there are two consonants. Usually one of them is tip of the tongue consonants, 't' and 'd,' and 's' even, and 'z' before a 'y' sound, as in 'yes.' So today we're going to talk about that You're going to learn a little bit of linguistics and connected speech and speech and pronunciation in English, and just a fun class to understand the difference between how English is spoken and how English is written, and how usually it does not correspond. So let's get started. If you're new to my channel, my name is Hadar Shemesheshemesh. I'm a non-native speaker of English. I'm obsessed with pronunciation, fluency strategies, and helping my students feel like themselves in English. So if you relate to any of that, you can check out my website at HadarShemesh.com for a ton of free resources, or follow me on social media for daily lessons and just to connect with me. So let's get started with the first case, when there is a T sound at the end of one word and a Y sound at the beginning of the next word, and that becomes CH. For example, don't cheer. Let's practice it. Don't you, don't you, don't you. By the way, the you can often be reduced to ya. Don't ya, don't ya, don't ya. It's not slang, it's not careless pronunciation. That's what happens when you connect two words. It's a phonological process that occurs when you have these two words together in English. Don't you, don't you, don't you worry, don't you worry. Don't you worry about a thing. Don't you worry about a thing. Okay. Don't you dare. Don't you, don't you, don't you, don't you dare. Can't you see it? Can't you see it? Can't you just tell me? Can't you just tell me? I'll text you when I get there. Now, listen, it's not incorrect to say, "I'll text you," "text you when I get there." 100% accurate. Okay? So, don't stress out over it if you don't get it, if you just feel like you prefer to say it maybe what you think is the correct way. Both ways are correct. Just do whatever is easier for you, but I also want to just introduce you to what happens in the language. So you can detect what it is that you hear and why it sounds like a different sound to you when it's written differently, and why what you are saying is different than how they are saying. Now I'm giving you the secrets, the why, the why behind it. Okay, let's now talk about the D and the Y when they connect together. D and Y, they become J. J. J. So the D is a stop sound because the air is stopped, and the J is an affricate, which means the sound is stopped and then slowly released with a friction. Now, if you think about it, and this is just for you to kind of like think about it in a theoretical way, or not theoretical way, just to understand what is happening inside your mouth. Think about where your tongue is for the D, okay? Duh, duh, duh. The tip of the tongue goes right behind the teeth, right? Duh, duh, duh. Think about where your tongue is for the Y sound. Yuh, yuh, yuh. What part of the tongue is almost touching the upper palate, and what part of the upper palate is the tongue getting closer to? I really want you to feel it, exaggerate it. Ya, ya, ya, da, da, da, ya, ya, ya. Now, the D is up here and the ya is back there. Now, where is the J? Juh, juh, juh. Can you feel how it's actually right there in the middle between the da and the ya? Think how clever your tongue is. And your brain is. It's like, oh, they're so close. The T or the D and the yeah, they're so close, but why do we need to pronounce both of them if they're so close? Let's just invent a sound that is right there in the middle. Efficiency, okay? Let's practice. Would you, would you mind? With reductions, would you, would you, would you, would you mind? Would you mind passing me the salt? Would you, would you, would you. Did you, did you, did you, did you, did you. Did you hear that? I told you. Try it, try it. Let me hear the J. I told ya. I told ya, or I told you. Joo, joo. I warned you. Joo, joo. Right? Does that sound familiar? And again, you don't have to start saying that deliberately, but I want you to start becoming aware that that is what people say. So let's check it out. Let's listen to people saying these phrases in different situations. I'm not gonna say I told you so. I'm not gonna say I told you so. Told you, told you, told you. I told you that my French sucks. I told you that my French sucks. I warned your grandfather. I warned your grandfather. Now I'm going to move on to the other two pairs where you'll find these situations where the two sounds fuse into one sound. Now, I think that these cases are a little bit more rare, so not— you won't hear them as often as you'd hear the other two, the CH and the J, but you might still hear those. Okay? And that is when you have an S or a Z before a Y sound. Let's start with an S. Sss, miss, and then Y, Y, Y, you. Miss you. Try merging them together and try to guess the sound that will replace the S and the U. Let's see if you can think about it. Miss you. Miss you. Miss you. Miss you. Miss you. I miss you already. Now, I know that might feel jarring for some of you, but let's practice it anyway. I miss you already. Bless you. Bless you. Bless you. So the S, yeah, S, yeah, S, yeah, it turns into SH. Bless you, one sound. Bless you. Bless you. Bless you. I guess you are right. I guess you're right. I guess you're right. Guess you're right. Guess you're right. Right? Same thing with the Z sound and a YAH. /z/, /j/, /z/, /j/, /z/, /j/, /z/, /j/, /z/, /j/, /z/. As you know, as you know, as you know. Where's your phone? /z/ your, /z/ your, /z/ your. Where's your phone? Where's your phone? Dude, where's your phone? Where's your phone, my friend? How's your day going? How's your, how's your, how's your, how's your day? Does that sound familiar? Let's listen to a few more people say that. How's your family? How's your family? How's your footwork? How's your footwork? I just think it's really interesting when we think about these sounds and how they're created in the brain and the mouth, and how it's all super, super organized. It's not random. It's not random. I actually have an entire video about consonants. It's a consonant masterclass, and if you want to learn more and understand these categories and the difference between voiced and voiceless consonant and where it's produced, you should definitely check it out. It's on my channel, on my podcast. There's also a PDF that you can download, free PDF, so I'm going to link to it in the description. Below. I will also have a special freebie for this video that will help you practice these transitions, okay? And these new sounds that are created, these fusions, okay? So I have an entire exercise that will help you connect words together, practice connected speech, and understand these new sounds that are created when people speak. and that might be a little different than how it is when you read those words. So definitely download this PDF. Thank you so much for watching. If you want more resources about sounds and about pronunciation, check out the description below and definitely come on over to my website at HadarShemesh.com. Download today's freebie and practice along, my friend. Practice along. Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day, and I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.