Sound like a Native Speaker: WHEN & WHAT QUESTIONS

Hi, everyone.

In this lesson I'm going to teach you how to speak like a native speaker.

When native speakers are speaking, everything flows so it sounds like it's really, really

fast and it's hard to understand; but in this lesson I'm going to show you how native speakers

connect their words, and for that reason when they speak it sounds really fast.

So, based on this lesson, you'll be able to speak faster like a native speaker, but also

understand native speakers better when they're just speaking in a relaxed way.

Let me explain the columns I've got here.

Here we have the question phrases, and here this is written in sentences that you can

understand, normal English sentences - this is what we write, but this column is what

we say.

This is the difference between the sounds that we make in the sentences and what we write.

And this column here is the best we can get to and the closest we can get to describing

the sounds, still using the English alphabet, but we could only get so close to it because

the English alphabet doesn't have letters for every sound in English when we're speaking,

so that's why we have this column which is IPA transcription.

Now, this might be completely new to you and you won't understand the symbols here.

It can be hard to learn at first, but I'm going to point out the most important things

you need to know here.

And as you learn this, slowly, slowly, this is a way for you to understand the exact pronunciation

of words, but also when words are together in a sentence.

Let's have a look at the first example.

The question phrase is: "When's he coming?

When's he coming?"

Now, if I'm saying that slowly, perhaps as a beginner, I would say: "When is he coming?";

"When's he coming?" is when I speed it up.

So, look here at "sounds like": "Wen-zi kumin?

Wen-zi kumin?"

What's...?

What's changed about the question?

Well, the first thing to notice is that the "g" is gone: "kumin, kumin".

That happens a lot in words that end in "ing", like: "going", "coming".

We don't say the "g" when we're speaking in a really relaxed, informal way at all times,

in all...

In all situations.

So, "coming" becomes "kumin", and there's another change.

"When's he...?

When is he" changes to: "Wen-zi, wen-zi.

Wen-zi kumin?"

Why does this change?

Where has the letter "h" gone?

Well, it becomes silent: "Wen-zi kumin?"

And the "s" changes to a "z" sound.

"Wen-zi kumin?"

Next example: "When did you meet?"

Beginner: "When did you meet?" but that doesn't sound very natural, so instead we say: "Wen-jew

meet?

Wen-jew meet?"

What's changed here is where...

Where's the "d" for "did" gone?

"Wen-jew meet?"

This happens because the sounds blend into one another.

If we go back here as well: "When did you meet?" - four sounds, four syllables; but

here: "Wen-jew meet?" - only three syllables.

"Wen-jew meet?"

"e", "e", this is long "i" sound - "e" in "meet".

"Wen-jew meet?"

There's another way we can say this: "Wen di-jah meet?

Wen di-jah meet?"

Let's compare.

Listen closely because it's a small difference.

"Wen-jew meet?

Wen di-jah meet?

Wen di-jah meet?"

Just depends on the speaker and whether they're feeling very relaxed, how informal the situation

is what pronunciation they would use.

"Wen di-jah meet?

Wen di-jah meet?"

This is the schwa.

"Wen di-jah meet?"

Next example: "When do you go home?

When do you go home?"

I'm speaking slowly like a robot, so let's speed it up: "Wen-jew go home?

Wen-jew go home?

What time?

Wen-jew go home?

Wen-jew go home?"

Dipthong, "o", "home", "o", home".

"Wen-jew go home?"

I can say that one in a different way: "Wen-juh go home?

Wen-juh go home?"

Let's look at the IPA.

"When..."

Oh, there's a mistake here; I've written: "Wen-ya go home".

That's an easy mistake to make.

So let's...

Let's change this.

"Wen-juh?

Wen-juh go home?"

Why did I make that mistake there?

Because when I've written it how to say it, I'm using the letter "j".

"Wen-juh", so I can read that - that's easy, but in IPA the "j" is a different sound; it's

"yuh", not "juh"; it's "yuh", so it's an easy mistake to make and a common mistake to make,

something you have to learn.

"Wen-juh go home?"

Next example: "What's going on?

What's going on?"

When I'm saying it in a relaxed way like a native speaker: "Wots go wi-non?

Wots go wi-non?"

Do you see how this one changes?

"Wots go", but the second part of "going" jumps and becomes a "w": "Wots go wi-non?

Wots go wi-non?"

The reason this happens is because the sounds blend together, and "going" joins with the

last word in the question: "on".

"Wots go wi-non?

Wots go wi-non?

Wots go wi-non?"

"Aw", "aw".

And another "aw" in "on".

"Wots go wi-non?"

Another example here: "What's his name?"

Too slow.

I say: "Wot-siz name?

Wot-siz name?

Wot-siz name?

Wot-siz name?"

Again, the "h" disappears.

There's no "h" in the word "his" in the way I'm saying it naturally.

"Wot-siz name?

Wot-siz name?

Wot-siz name?"

And I've joined "What's" with "his" because I say it so quickly, I put them as if they're

one word: "Wot-siz name?

Wot-siz name?"

A similar example.

Oh, where's: "What's...?"

Where's: "What's...?"

Oh, here it is.

There it is.

"Wot-suh name?"

This is for "her".

This is "his"; this is "her".

-"Wot-suh name?

Wot-suh name?"

-"Her name's Mary."

-"Wot-suh name?

Wot-s...

Wot-suh name?

Wot-suh name?

Suh".

Another example: "What do you think?"

Too slow; a native speaker says: "Wot-jew think?

Wot-jew think about that?

Wot-jew think?

Wot-jew think"?

"S, s" - very hard sound for me to make.

"S".

In a London accent, we say it an easier way, which is just to say an "f": "Wot-jew think?

Wot-jew think?"

But in standard English: "Wot-jew think?

Wot-jew think?"

Let's look at this one now: "What do you do?

Hello.

What do you do?"

Too slow, like a robot.

-"Wotcha do?

Wotcha do?

Wotcha do?"

-"I'm a teacher."

-"Wotcha do?"

So, how do we go from: "What do you" with a "d"...?

How do we go to...?

Where does the "ch" come from?

"Wotcha, wotcha" - where does that come from?

We...

We change the sound because this way it rolls off the tongue a lot more easy; it's a lot

more flowing and a lot more natural.

We completely change the sound, there.

"Wotcha do?"

Well, that didn't sound right.

"Wotcha do?

Wotcha do?

Wotcha do?

Wotcha do?

Cha, ch, ch, ch".

This...

This "t" and that shape are together, and that's one phoneme, and that represents the

"ch, ch, ch" sound.

Looking at the last example now: "What do you want to do?"

How many sounds in that one?

"What do you want to do?"

Six sounds, six syllables.

I'm a native speaker - I don't say it that way; I say: -"Wotcha wanna do?

Wotcha wanna do?

Do you want to go put a bet on in the betting shop?

Wotcha wanna do?"

-"Yeah."

-" Wotcha wanna do?

Wotcha wanna do?"

The first part...

The first part is the same as previous example: "Wotcha, wotcha", but now we've got "wanna,

wanna, ah, wanna do.

Wotcha wanna do?"

Okay, so this is how you speed up your English to talk like a native speaker.

What I'd like to tell you about now is my accent course where I will teach you to talk

like a native speaker, to understand pronunciation, and to speak in clear English.

If you'd like to find out more about my course, click here and you'll find out all about it.

Thanks for watching and I'll see you again soon.

Bye.