Generational Change

ðə wəz ˈnəʊ rɪˈspek fə ˈjuːθ | wen ˈaɪ wəz ˈjʌŋ | ən ˈnaʊ ðət aɪm ˈəʊld | ðəz ˈnəʊ rɪˈspek fər ˈeɪʤ

Key at bottom of page.

Commentary

there: When there has its existential use (e.g. There's a man outside. /ðəz ə ˈmæn ˈaʊtˈsaɪd/ There's a pen on the table. /ðəz ə ˈpen ɒn ðə ˈteɪbl̩/ There are too many. /ðər ə ˈtuː ˈmeni/ There were two choices. /ðə wə ˈtuː ˈʧɔɪsɪz), it is usually unstressed and has the weak form /ðə/. 

was: When unstressed, as it usually is, was has the weak form /wəz/.

respect: 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.

for: When unstressed, as it usually is, for has the weak form /fə/.

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.

that: When unstressed, as it usually is, that as a conjunction or relative pronoun has the weak form /ðət/. Note that the other uses of that do not have weak forms and are always pronounced /ðæt/: pronoun, I know that. /aɪ ˈnəʊ ˈðæt/; determiner, I know that man. /aɪ ˈnəʊ ˈðæt ˈmæn/; adverb, It wasn’t that good. /ɪt ˈwɒzn̩t ˈðæt ˈɡʊd/.

I’m: When unstressed, as it usually is, and immediately preceded by I, am has the weak form /m/, which attaches to the preceding I to form the contraction I’m /aɪm/.

there’s: When unstressed, as it usually is, the word is can have three different pronunciations, depending on the final sound of the immediately preceding word:

•          When the final sound of the preceding word is /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/, then is has the form /ɪz/, e.g. Chris is well /ˈkrɪs ɪz ˈwel/.
•          When the final sound of the preceding word is a voiceless consonants (excluding the consonants listed above), then is has the form /s/ and forms a contraction with the preceding word, e.g. Jack is well /ˈʤæks ˈwel/.
•          If the final sound of the preceding word is voiced (i.e. a vowel or a voiced consonant (excluding the consonants listed above)), then is has the form /z/ and forms a contraction with the preceding word, e.g. John is well /ˈʤɒnz ˈwel/.

This is the same pattern as with possessive s, plural s and the third person singular s.

for: When a word ends in /ə/ and is immediately followed (without a pause) by a word beginning with a vowel, the consonant /r/ is inserted between the vowels. This process is known as /r/-liaison and also occurs after /ɑː eə ɜː ɔː ɪə ʊə/.

There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I’m old, there’s no respect for age.