Key at bottom of page.
Commentary
my:
Although my is monosyllabic
function/grammatical word and is usually unstressed, it doesn’t usually have a
weak form.
with:
Although with is monosyllabic
function/grammatical word and is usually unstressed, it doesn’t usually have a
weak form.
best:
When /t/ is at the end of a word (more specifically, in a syllable coda) and is
immediately preceded by a consonant (except /l/ and /n/), it is commonly
elided/deleted when another consonant immediately follows (i.e. without a
pause) in another word or in a suffix.
and: When
unstressed, as it usually is, and has the weak form /ən/ or /ənd/.
Some books say that /ən/ is used before consonants and /ənd/ before vowels, but
this is not true. While both forms can be heard before consonants and vowels, /ən/
is much more common than /ənd/. Learners can safely use only /ən/ for the weak
form of and because it will never be wrong to do so.
letː
When /t/ is at the end of a syllable (i.e. in the syllable coda), preceded by a
sonorant (i.e. a vowel, a nasal or an approximant) and immediately followed by
a consonant (within a word in the the following word), it can be realised as a
glottal plosive/stop [ʔ].
meː
The symbol i represents the same
vowel phoneme as the symbol iː. We
use i in unstressed syllables and iː in stressed syllables. This
distinction isn't very helpful for TEFL purposes and learners should simply
treat the two symbols as the same. Because we are using two different symbols
for one phoneme, this means our transcription isn't truly phonemic (phonemic
transcription = one symbol for each phoneme).
Although me is monosyllabic function/grammatical word and is usually
unstressed, it doesn’t usually have a weak form.
you:
The symbol u represents the same
vowel phoneme as the symbol uː. We
use u in unstressed syllables and uː in stressed syllables. This
distinction isn't very helpful for TEFL purposes and learners should simply
treat the two symbols as the same. Because we are using two different symbols
for one phoneme, this means our transcription isn't truly phonemic (phonemic
transcription = one symbol for each phoneme).
When unstressed, as it usually is, you can have the weak form /jə/ before a
consonant or a pause. Except in a few common phrases, however, this form is
typical of very casual speech. Learners, therefore, are recommended to use /ju/
in unstressed syllables because this will never sound unusual or incorrect.
I:
Although I is a monosyllabic
function/grammatical word and is usually unstressed, it doesn’t usually have a
weak form.
really:
Real and really traditionally have the /ɪə/ vowel. In the case of real, it is now more usual to use the
/iː/ vowel, making real sound the
same as reel /riːl/. In the case of really, usage is more mixed and it
appears that the traditional variant with /ɪə/ is still more common than the
newer variant with /iː/. From the learner’s point of view, young learners
(under 30) should probably pronounce real
with /iː/ and really with either vowel.
him:
When unstressed, as it usually is, him
has the weak form /ɪm/.
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