American English pronunciation: Linking and Blending
I have a set of questions...
Nouns with "s" (lovers)or "es" (games) should be pronounced as "loverz" and "gamez", are there any exceptions?

"let this/ hit this" should I link these two words as "le ðɪs(mispronounce t)" or "le(tt)dhis (pronounce tt as dd)"

A word end with "h" + a word start with t ex: "hold together" how do I link/blend these two words (or should i mispronounce 'd')

How to pronounce a word end up with "ts" + vowel or consonant EX: "streets right "

what's different between cause and 'cause in lyrics?

Thank you for your help.

Question

American English pronunciation: Linking and Blending
I have a set of questions...
Nouns with "s" (lovers)or "es" (games) should be pronounced as  "loverz" and "gamez", are there any exceptions?

"let this/ hit this"  should I link these two words as "le  ðɪs(mispronounce t)" or "le(tt)dhis (pronounce tt as dd)"

A word end with "h" + a word start with t  ex: "hold together"   how do I link/blend these two words (or should i mispronounce 'd')

How to pronounce a word end up with "ts" + vowel or consonant   EX:  "streets right "

what's different between  cause and 'cause in lyrics?

Thank you for your help.

Answer

Do not think about it too much and allow the ending to naturally take on either an /s/ or /z/ sound as fits. Words that end in an unvoiced phoneme will typically append the /s/, while those that end in a voiced phoneme will append /z/.
Unvoiced examples: cats /kæts/, racks /ræks/, caps /kæps/
Voiced examples: fads /fædz/, rags /rægz/, tabs /tæbz/

'Let' ends in a stop, so you should typically pronounce it that way. However, you can drop the stop /t/, and no one will notice in conversation. In actual speech, people do all kinds of things to sounds, usually without realizing they are doing them. Dropping the stop in this case will not diminish the intelligibility of your speech.

Once again, 'hold' ends with a stop /d/. Feel the little holes above your teeth inside your mouth? You would normally  bring the tongue to touch them (the alveolar ridge) while there is still vibration in your throat (voicing). Then, to pronounce the 'together', you gently flick your tongue down while beginning the /t/ sound without vibrating your throat.

The /r/ is liquid. The tongue stays down while vibration occurs in the throat.

Cause is a noun that means 'the reason', but 'cause is short for because (a conjunction).

Answer

I suggest you ask separate questions.

As for number 1:
Nouns with "s" (lovers)or "es" (games) should be pronounce as "loverz" and "gamez", are there any exceptions?

Plural nouns (birds), third personal singular verbs (The cat chases the bird.), possessives (Tom's father) and contractions (He's busy.) follow three pronunciation patterns:

1) Ending with an "sss" sound [s].
2) Ending with a "zzz" sound [z].
3) Ending with an "izzz" sound [ɪz].

1) Ending with an "sss" sound [s].
If the final pronounced sound of the base word is unvoiced, then the  spelling has an [s] sound.

cats -> final [s] for cats
He walks to work. -> final [s] for walks
Pat's father -> final [s] for Pat's
It's his book. -> final [s] for It's

2) Ending with an "zzz" sound [z].
If the final pronounced sound of the base word is voiced, then the  spelling has an [z] sound.

dogz -> final [z] for dogs
He drives to work. -> final [z] for drives
Tom's father -> final [z] for Tom's
He's late. -> final [z] for He's

3) Ending with an "izzz" sound [ɪz].
If the final pronounced sound of the base word has a s-like sound (s, z, j, ch, sh), then the  spelling has an [ɪz] sound.

judges -> final [ɪz] for judges
He watches TV. -> final [ɪz] for watches
Chris' book ->  final [ɪz] for Chris'

Answer

1 Nouns with "s" (lovers)or "es" (games) should be pronounce as "loverz" and "gamez", are there any exceptions?  It seems that words which end with a 'hard' final letter like 't' or 'k' or 'p' have a final 's' which sounds like 's' and not 'z'.

2 "let this/ hit this"  are pronounced as written:   bot 't's are sounded.

3.  You wrote "h" + a word start with t  - but your example was d + a word starting with t.  Pronounce the 'd' and then go right into the 't' with a burst of air from behind the tongue.

4.  "ts" + vowel or consonant EX: "streets right " pronounced just as written.

5.  both cause and 'cause can be slang for because.   'cause' without the apostrophe is also to make something happen.

Answer

As for number 2:
"let this/ hit this" should I link these two words as "le ðɪs(mispronounce t)" or "le(tt)dhis (pronounce tt as dd)"

The default pronunciation for  in English is [t] which places the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge (the ridge behind the upper teeth).

However, in preparation for the following sound, the [t] changes location.  In this case, a native speaker uses a dentalized version of [t] [t-dental] which places the tongue against the upper teeth and then the native speaker moves the tongue slightly to a new position between the teeth for the [ð].  A professional announcer will do it this way even when speaking quickly.  However, casual speech can have all sorts of reductions or omissions.

At a certain level of proficiency, the speaker's brain automatically makes small adjustments in articulation to prepare for the following sound.

An easy example is "feet" and "food."  The first [f] is unrounded in preparation for the following unrounded vowel and the second [f] is rounded in preparation for the following vowel.

Answers · 8

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!