Contractversation -- Going to Starbucks -- American English Pronunciation

Hi Rachel, I am going to Starbucks. Hey Rach, I’m going to Starbucks.

What's the difference between these two phrases?

In this American English pronunciation video,

you're going to learn a little more about the character of American English.

Contractions and reductions go a long way in making you sound more American.

But sometimes, I have a hard time convincing my students of this.

They think, "If I pronounce everything fully and clearly, it will be better."

But the problem with that is, it can end up sounding very formal,

sometimes even robotic, not at all natural.

You're going to hear the following conversation twice,

once with no contractions, no reductions, and only True T pronunciations.

It will sound formal and stilted.

Then, you'll hear the conversation as Americans would speak.

I hope you hear the huge difference that reductions,

contractions, and habits like the Flap T can make.

Hi Rachel, I am going to Starbucks. Hey Rach, I’m going to Starbucks.

‘Hi’ becomes ‘Hey’. Not a reduction, but maybe a more casual greeting.

Tom uses ‘Rach’ instead of ‘Rachel’. A reduction of my name, a common nickname.

‘I am’ becomes, ‘I’m’. The word ‘to’ is reduced.

We have the Flap T and the schwa: going to, going to, going to Starbucks.

Hi Rachel, I am going to Starbucks. Hey Rach, I’m going to Starbucks.

Hi Rachel, I am going to Starbucks. Hey Rach, I’m going to Starbucks.

Do you want to come along? You wanna come along?

‘Do you’: ‘do’ is reduced so much that we almost don’t hear it. Just a light ‘D’ sound.

The vowel in ‘You’ isn’t quite a pure OO either.

It’s a little more relaxed, heading towards the schwa, d’you, d’you, d’you, do you wanna.

‘Want to’ reduces to ‘wanna’. Do you wanna, do you wanna.

Do you want to come along? You wanna come along?

Do you want to come along? You wanna come along?

No, thank you, Tom. No, thanks.

‘Thank you’ becomes ‘thanks’. One less syllable.

No, thank you, Tom. No, thanks.

No, thank you, Tom. No, thanks.

I have got too much I want to get done here. I’ve got too much I wanna get done here.

‘I have’ becomes ‘I’ve’. ‘Got to’: just one ‘T’ between those two words, got to, got to.

‘Want to’ becomes ‘wanna’, wanna.

‘Get’: we use the Stop T sound here, because the next sound is a consonant,

‘get done’, get done.

I have got too much I want to get done here. I’ve got too much I wanna get done here.

I have got too much I want to get done here. I’ve got too much I wanna get done here.

Okay, I will be back soon. Okay, I’ll be back soon.

‘I will’ becomes ‘I’ll’, reduced to I’ll.

Okay, I will be back soon. Okay, I’ll be back soon.

Okay, I will be back soon. Okay, I’ll be back soon.

Oh, I would love a coffee though. Oh, I’d love a coffee though.

‘I would’ becomes ‘I’d’.

Oh, I would love a coffee though. Oh, I’d love a coffee though.

Oh, I would love a coffee though. Oh, I’d love a coffee though.

Medium? That will be fine.

Medium? That’ll be fine.

‘That will’ becomes ‘that’ll', a two-syllable word with stress on the first syllable.

The T at the end of ‘that’ is a Flap T

because it comes between two vowels, that’ll, that’ll.

Medium? That will be fine.

Medium? That’ll be fine.

Medium? That will be fine.

Medium? That’ll be fine.

Great, see you in a bit. Great, see ya in a bit.

‘Great’, with a Stop T. This is because it’s the end of the sentence.

‘You’ is more relaxed here, not an OO vowel but more a schwa, see ya, see ya.

And finally ‘bit’ with a stop T, bit, bit.

Again, because it’s coming at the end of the sentence.

Great, see you in a bit. Great, see ya in a bit.

Great, see you in a bit. Great, see ya in a bit.

So many options for reductions and contractions in such a short conversation.

Now let’s listen to the whole conversation, once without these tips, and once with.

What is your sense of the overall character?

Formal - T: Hi Rachel, I am going to Starbucks. Do you want to come along?

R: No, thank you, Tom. I have got too much I want to get done here.

T: Okay, I will be back soon. R: Oh, I would love a coffee though.

T: Medium? R: That will be fine.

T: Great, see you in a bit.

Informal - T: Hey Rach, I’m going to Starbucks, you wanna come along?

R: No, thanks. I’ve got too much I wanna get done here.

T: Okay, I’ll be back soon. R: Oh, I’d love a coffee though.

T: Medium? R: That’ll be fine.

T: Great, see ya in a bit.

To keep going with this, go back and listen to the conversation

when it sounded American and natural.

Turn it into a Ben Franklin exercise

and then practice the conversation with a friend, or by yourself.

If you're not sure what a Ben Franklin exercise is, click here or look in the description.

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