Suprasegmental features
Also watch this video by Nicoline van Harskamp on some more intonation patterns.
1. Linking
English native speakers link words to a high degree; their speech frequently sounds more connected than the speech of speakers of other languages. This phenomenon of linking is especially salient in phrases where one word ends in a consonant en the next word starts with a vowel - the phrase will be reanalysed as if the consonant is part of the second word. Think of phrases like:
an egg --> a/negg fall in --> fa/lin give up --> gi/vup an old dog --> a/nol/dog not at all --> no/ta/tall
The phenomenon of linking is explained in video's from BBC Learning English and American Rachel's English.
This video demonstrates the absence of linking in the English of some non-native speakers. The former Dutch World Cup finalist Ruud Krol is interviewed: he pronounces words rather more separately.
1. Linking
English native speakers link words to a high degree; their speech frequently sounds more connected than the speech of speakers of other languages. This phenomenon of linking is especially salient in phrases where one word ends in a consonant en the next word starts with a vowel - the phrase will be reanalysed as if the consonant is part of the second word. Think of phrases like:
an egg --> a/negg fall in --> fa/lin give up --> gi/vup an old dog --> a/nol/dog not at all --> no/ta/tall
The phenomenon of linking is explained in video's from BBC Learning English and American Rachel's English.
This video demonstrates the absence of linking in the English of some non-native speakers. The former Dutch World Cup finalist Ruud Krol is interviewed: he pronounces words rather more separately.
