In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to go over why some words sound

different when they're said on their own than they do when they're said as part of a sentence,

like 'for', 'fer'.

A lot of people think, when they're studying a language and they're new to it, that they

need to pronounce each word fully and clearly in order to be well-understood. But in English

that's actually not the case. English is a stress-timed language. That means some syllables

will be longer, and some will be shorter. Many languages, however, are syllable-timed,

which means each syllable has the same length. Examples of syllable-timed languages: French,

Spanish, Cantonese. So, when an American hears a sentence of English, with each syllable

having the same length, it takes just a little bit longer to get the meaning. This is because

we are used to stressed syllables, syllables that will pop out of the line because they're

longer and they have more shape. Our ears, our brains, go straight to those words. Those

are the content words. When all syllables are the same length, then there's no way for

the ear to know which words are the most important.

So this is why stress is so important in American English. It's a stress-timed language. When

you give us nice shape in your stressed syllables, you're giving us the meaning of the sentence.

This means that other syllables need to be unstressed --- flatter, quicker --- so that

the stressed syllables are what the ear goes to. This is why it's so important to reduce

function words that can reduce in American English. When those function words are part

of a whole, part of a sentence, they are pronounced differently. Let's look at some examples.

----. Do you know what I'm saying? A native speaker might not either. But, in the context

of a sentence, "I'm going to the store," a native speaker would know exactly what I was

saying. I'm going to the store. I'm going to the store. When 'to the' is pronounced

---- (reduced and linked), 'going' and 'store' become the obvious words in that sentence.

I'm going to the store.

What about ----? Can you understand what I'm saying? A native speaker might not either.

But, in the sentence fragment "Because of my job," "Because of my job," a native speaker

would know exactly what I was saying. Because of my job. Because of my job. 'Because' and

'of' are so unstressed, so reduced and low in pitch, that the word 'job' is able to really

jump out of the sentence. Because of my job.

This is really of primary importance in American English pronunciation. As you're working on

pronunciation, keep in mind this idea of a word being part of a whole.

The word 'for': part of a word becomes fer, fer, fer you, fer me, fer dinner. Practice

it this way. Drill it over and over. Other words that can reduce: 'and' can become 'n'.

'Them' can become 'thum' or 'em'. 'At' can become 'ut'. 'To' can become 'tuh' or 'duh'.

'Can' can become 'kun', 'kun'. 'Are' can become 'er', 'er'. 'Was' can become 'wuz', 'wuz'.

'That' can become 'thut', 'thut'. 'Your' can become 'yer', 'yer'. 'At the' can become 'ut

the', 'ut the'. And so on. So keep an eye out for this as you're studying pronunciation

and listening to native speakers.

That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.

I'm excited to announce that I'm running another online course, so do check out my website

for details. You'll find on there all sorts of information about the course, who should

take the course, and requirements. I really hope you'll check it out and consider signing

up. I've had a blast with my first online course, and I'm looking forward to getting

to know you.

Don't stop there. Have fun with my real-life English videos. Or get more comfortable with

the IPA in this play list. Learn about the online courses I offer, or check out my latest

video.

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在这个美式英语发音视频中， 我们将讨论为什么某些单词在单独说出时听起来

与 作为句子的一部分说出时听起来不同，

例如“for”、“fer”。

很多人认为，当他们学习 一门语言并且他们是新手时，他们

需要完整而清晰地发音每个单词 才能被很好地理解。 但在英语

中实际上并非如此。 英语是一种 压力适时的语言。 这意味着有些音节

会更长，有些会更短。 然而，许多语言是音节定时的，

这意味着每个音节具有相同的长度。 音节定时语言示例：法语、

西班牙语、粤语。 因此，当一个美国人听到 一个英语句子时，每个音节都

具有相同的长度，只需要 稍长一点的时间就能理解它的意思。 这是因为

我们习惯于重读音节， 因为它们

更长，而且它们有更多的形状，所以会跳出线条。 我们的耳朵， 我们的大脑，直奔这些词。 这些

是内容词。 当所有音节 长度相同时，

耳朵就无法知道哪些词最重要。

这就是为什么压力在美式英语中如此重要的原因 。 这是一种压力适时的语言。 当

您在重读音节中赋予我们良好的形状时， 您就是在向我们提供句子的含义。

这意味着其他音节需要不重读 ——更平坦、更快——

这样重读的音节就是耳朵的目标 。 这就是为什么

减少美式英语中可以减少的功能词如此重要的原因 。 当这些功能词

是整体的一部分，句子的一部分时，它们的发音就 不同了。 让我们看一些例子。

----. 你知道我在说什么吗？ 母语人士可能也不会。 但是，在

“我要去商店”这句话的上下文中， 母语人士会确切地知道我在

说什么。 我正要去商店。 我正要去商店。 当“to the”发

----（减少和连接）时，“going”和“store” 成为该句子中的明显词。

我正要去商店。

关于什么 - - ？ 你能明白我在 说什么吗？ 母语人士可能也不会。

但是，在“因为 我的工作”、“因为我的工作”这个句子片段中，母语人士

会确切地知道我在说什么。 因为我的工作。 因为我的工作。 'Because' 和

'of' 是如此的轻描淡写，如此轻描淡写， 音调如此低沉，以至于“job”这个词能够真正

跳出句子。 因为我的工作。

这在美式英语发音中确实是最重要的 。 当你在研究

发音时，请记住这个 词是整体的一部分的想法。

单词'for'：单词的一部分变成了fer， fer，fer you，fer me，fer Dinner。 以

这种方式练习。 一遍又一遍地钻。 其他 可以减少的词：“and”可以变成“n”。

“他们”可以变成“thum”或“em”。 “at”可以 变成“ut”。 'To' 可以变成 'tuh' 或 'duh'。

“能”可以变成“坤”、“坤”。 “是”可以变成 “呃”、“呃”。 'Was' 可以变成 'wuz'、'wuz'。

“that”可以变成“thut”、“thut”。 '你的'可以 变成'yer'，'yer'。 'at the' 可以变成 'ut

the'、'ut the'。 等等。 所以 在学习发音

和听母语人士的时候要注意这一点。

就是这样，非常 感谢您使用 Rachel 的英语。

我很高兴地宣布我正在开设另一门 在线课程，所以请查看我的网站

了解详情。 你会在那里找到 关于课程、谁应该

参加课程以及要求的各种信息。 我真的 希望你能检查一下并考虑

注册。 我的第一个在线 课程很开心，我很期待

认识你。

不要停在那里。 享受我的真实 英语视频。 或者更熟悉

这个播放列表中的 IPA。 了解 我提供的在线课程，或查看我的最新

视频。