How to Pronounce the Word 'TO' - American English

In this American English pronunciation video, I'm going to go over how to pronounce the

在这节美式英语发音视频中，我要讲讲如何在对话中发“to”的音。

word 'to' in conversation.

The word 'to' is a preposition, so it's a function word. Function words will normally

单词“to”是一个介词，所以它是一个功能词。功能词在句子中通常是非重读的。

be unstressed in a sentence. And the word 'to' will even reduce. Reduce means a sound

单词“to”甚至会略读。略读意味着发音会发生改变。所以，“to”单独发音时，是清音T加上“boo”里面的元音oo。

will change. So, 'to' on its own: true T with the 'oo' as in 'boo' vowel. But, in a sentence,

但是在句子中则会变成“to”，清音T加弱元音。甚至会变成“to”，D音加上弱元音。

it will be come to, true T with the schwa sound. Or, it might even become to, D sound

with the schwa sound. Using the flap T pronunciation will smooth out your line even more. I've

使用闪音T会让你的句子更加流畅。

我看了很多例子，试图找出是否有规则规定用闪音T是否合适。

looked at lots of examples to try to figure out: is there a rule for when it's appropriate

to use the Flap T or not? And I've decided you can use the flap T in the word 'to' any

然后我发现任何时候你都可以在单词“to”中用闪音T，除非“to”前面的单词以T结尾。

time except when the word 'to' follows a word that ends in a T. Now, if this rule is too

如果这个规则让你感到迷惑，别担心。你可以用清音T加弱元音来发音，这样略读是可以的。

confusing for you, don't worry about it. You can always pronounce it with a true T and

a schwa, and that reduction is fine. However, a flap T will smooth things out just a little

然而，闪音T会令你的语言更流畅。所以，我们来看一些例子。

bit more.

So, let's look at some examples. We went to dinner. [3x] Now you'll notice the word before

We went to dinner. （循环三次）你会发现“to”前面的单词以T结尾，所以我发成了“to”（循环两次）。

ends in T, so I'm pronouncing 'to' 'to'. True T, schwa sound. I'm not pronouncing two T's.

清音T，弱元音。我没有发两个T的音。We went to dinner.（循环两次）

We went to dinner. [2x]

Come to my party. Here I'm pronouncing the T as a flap. Duh, duh, duh. Come to my party. [2x]

Come to my party。这列我把T发成了闪音。Duh （循环三次）. Come to my party.（循环两次）

Much smoother than 'Come to my party'. Come to my party.

比“Come to my party”这样发音要更流畅。Come to my party.

Let's go to the store. Here, 'to' is pronounced duh, duh. Go to, go to, go to the, go to the.

Let's go to the store。这里的“to”发成了“duh”（循环两次）Go to （循环两次），go to the（循环两次）. Let's go to the store.

Let's go to the store. I wanted to get more. Wanted to, wanted to. Notice I'm not pronouncing

I wanted to get more. Wanted to（循环两次）。注意这里我没有发两个D的音。Wanted to.“wanted”结尾的第一个D变成了一个停顿。

two D's here. Wanted to. The first D, at the end of 'wanted', is a stop. Wanted to. Then

I'm pronouncing 'to' with the flap T/schwa sound. Wanted to [3x]. I wanted to get some

然后我把“to”发成了闪音加弱元音。Wanted to （循环三次）. I wanted to get some more.

more.

Did you notice that I did not pronounce the T sound in the word 'wanted'. I said wanted,

你注意到单词“wanted”里我没有发T的音了吗？我说的是wanted，省略了T。

I dropped the T. This is not an uncommon practice when the T follows an N. Other examples: 'center'

这在T前面是N的情下是很常见的。

另外一些例子：“center”变成了“cenner”（循环两次）或是，“interview”发成了“innerview”（循环两次）。

becomes cenner, cenner. Or, interview can be pronounced innerview, innerview. Dropping

省略清音T会令讲话更流畅。

this true T smooths out speech. Even though I dropped the T, the -ed ending still follows

即使省略了T，结尾-ed依旧符合结尾是T或者D的规则，所以发音时是“sit”里面的元音“ih”加上辅音D。

the rule for a word that ends in T or D, and is pronounced with the 'ih' as in 'sit' vowel

and the D consonant. Wanted is a fairly common word. Don't be afraid to pronounce it 'wannid' [2x]

“wanted”是一个非常常见的单词。不要害怕把它发成“wannid”（循环两次）

You'll notice many native speakers pronouncing it this way.

你会发现很多英语母语者就是这样发音的。I wanted to get some more. I thought to myself...（循环两次）

I wanted to get some more.

I thought to myself ... [2x] Here I'm pronouncing 'to', tt, with a true T because the word before

这里我发成了清音T因为前面的单词以T结尾。但是要注意，我没有发两个T的音。I thought to myself. （循环两次）

ends in a T. Notice though, I am not pronouncing two T's. I thought to myself. [2x]

We're going to your play. Going to, going to: flap. We're going to your play.

We're going to your play. Going to （循环两次）闪音。We're going to your play.

Don't forget to reduce and link the word 'to'. It's a very important part of this stressed

不要忘了略读和连读单词“to”。这在美式英语的重读/非重读规则中是很重要的一部分。

/ unstressed nature of American English.

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

这次的学习就到这里，非常感谢使用Rachel's English。

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

我很高兴来宣布我正在开设的另一门在线课程，所以请访问我的网站Rachel's English获得详情

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

你会在这里找到所有的课程信息，比如课程的适用者和要求

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

非常希望您能查看和注册

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

这是我第一门在线课程，我期待可以认识你

to know you.

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

不要到此为止，继续享用我的视频或观看此播放列表中的IPA。查找我上传的更多在线课程或查看我的最新视频

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

video.