English Pronunciation: how to pronounce the Word AND -- American Accent

The word 'and'. It's a function word, and often not given much time in a sentence. In

fact, sometimes it's reduced simply to the NN sound, like in this sentence.

And I'm going to have my friends there, and we're going to relax and enjoy and have a good time.

I'm going to have my friends there, and we're going to relax and enjoy and have a good time.

So in this video, we'll focus on the word 'and'.

The word 'and' is a conjunction, and conjunctions

are function words. This means it will generally be unstressed in a sentence, and sometimes

even reduced. If you just say the word 'and' on its own, it is pronounced with the 'aa'

as in 'bat' vowel, the N consonant sound, and the D consonant. And. Now, when this 'aa'

vowel is followed by a nasal consonant (that would be N, M, or NG), the vowel sound does

change a little bit. There's an 'uh' kind of sound that happens between the vowel and

the consonant. Aa-uh-nnd. And. And. So the word, on its own, and. But, let's check out

the word 'and' in real conversation. And I'd like a side of bacon. And I'd like a side

of bacon. Did you notice how I didn't pronounce the D in the word 'and'? Let's listen again.

And I'd like a side of bacon. An'I'd, An'I'd. It's really important with function words,

especially when we reduce something, that we link them to the words that come around

them. An'I'd, an'I'd, an'I'd like. Let's look at another example. And then my bacon is nice

and thick. Nice n' thick. Did you notice how here I not only dropped the D, but I dropped

the vowel sound altogether. Nn, nn. Pretty much just the N consonant sound tying those

two words together. Let's look again. And then my bacon is nice and thick. The word 'and'

can reduce to an', or nn, also the schwa-N sound, uhn, as in this example.

He puts that on and then he puts this on.

He puts that on, and then he puts this on. So, the word

'and' in everyday conversation will probably reduce to an' or simply nn. And it will link

to the words around it. Because it is unstressed, it will also be low in pitch and said very

quickly. Saying 'and' this way will smooth out speech and make it sound more natural.

Let's take a look at some more examples. My mom and I will be there. My mom'n, my mom'n,

my mom'n I, mom'n I, My mom and I will be there. I'm taking off Monday and Tuesday.

Monday'n, Monday'n, Monday and Tuesday. I'm taking off Monday and Tuesday. I'll take this

one and that one. This one'n, this one'n, I'll take this one and that one. And now it's

over. An'now, an', and now it's over. That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's

English. An'thanks, an'thanks, that's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.