In this post I will discuss one of the biggest mistakes English learners make when they want to sound fluent. This is something that many people do but don’t realize that it makes them sound less clear. When we first start listening to native English speakers, we can’t even understand where one word ends and where the next one starts. Then we make a hasty conclusion: native English speakers speak super-fast. This misconception leads us to speed up our own speech, but we often don’t realize that speaking too fast doesn’t make us sound fluent. It only compromises our clarity. So, you have probably guessed it by now. The biggest mistake that many nonnative speakers make when they want to sound more fluent is speaking like a machine gun.
Although some native speakers do speak quite quickly, most don’t. They just connect sounds in a way that makes the speech seem fast to nonnative speakers who have difficulty understanding it. In short, this impression of fast speech is because of something called connected speech and vowel reductions.
Connected speech
Connected speech means that sounds are connected in a way that they blend together and sometimes you can’t really pinpoint where a word starts and where it ends.
For example, let’s look at the sentence:
You didn’t have to call,
[jʊ ˈdɪd.ənt hæf tʊ kɒːl]
you could have texted.
[jʊ kʊd hæf ˈtɛks.təd]
A native speaker would never pronounce each word separately. They will probably say:
You didn’t hafta call,
[jʊ ˈdɪd.ənt ˈhæf.tə kɒːl]
you coulda texted.
[jʊ ˈkʊ.də ˈtɛks.təd]
See how have to [hæf tʊ ] becomes hafta [ˈhæf.tə] and
could have [kʊd hæf] becomes coulda [ˈkʊ.də ]?
This creates the impression that people speak faster than they actually do. And many speakers who haven’t learned how to connect words together and reduce some syllables just try to speed up their speech. But speaking super-fast without reducing and connecting anything can only confuse the listener’s brain.
If you want to hear how the words above sound without any connected speech and vowel reductions, but only spoken fast, watch the video. Then tell me if you hear the difference.
Vowel length
In addition to connecting the words together, the length of the vowels in the unstressed syllables is reduced and their quality is changed.
This is challenging for many speakers because they don’t do it in their native languages and are not used to doing it in English either.
For example, let’s take the vowels in Spanish:
/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/.
They are shorter than the vowels in English. So, when native Spanish speakers speak in English, they might always use the same length and not stretch out or reduce them when needed.
If you wonder how to reduce vowels, I suggest that you learn about the schwa sound. Most unstressed vowels in English are reduced to a schwa /ə/. It is the most relaxed sound in the English language and is pronounced as uh /ə/.
For example: the first vowel in the word about /əˈbaʊt/ is a schwa /ə/.
It is not: ✘ [ɑːˈbaʊt],
but: ✔ /əˈbaʊt/.
If you still don’t know the difference, watch the video above.
There are quite a few videos about the schwa sound, so you can google it. I might go a little more in depth about it in one of my next videos.
Honestly, mastering the schwa will change your whole perception of the English language, so I strongly recommend learning about it and practicing it if you want to work on your pronunciation.
Example
Right now, I’ll just give you one example of how a syllable spelled with the same letters is pronounced differently. To get the full benefit from the next part of the post, I recommend watching the video attached to the post.
Let’s first look at the word complicated /ˈkɑːm.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd/.
Listen carefully to the first syllable: /ˈkɑːm.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd/.
It’s not: ✘ [ˈkom.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd].
it’s: ✔ /ˈkɑːm.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd/.
The first syllable /ˈkɑːm/ is stressed, and the vowel /ɑː/ – the same vowel as in the word father /ˈfɑːðɚ/ – is slightly elongated.
But now let’s look at the word compose /kəmˈpoʊz/. Technically, if you look at the spelling, both words start with the same letters: c o m.
But do you hear the difference when I say complicated /ˈkɑːm.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd/ and compose /kəmˈpoʊz/?
They sound different. Do you hear how short the /kəm/ in compose is? This is because I am reducing the vowel to a schwa /ə/. Again, if you are confused, look it up. I’m telling you, the schwa /ə/ will change your world.
Now, imagine you want to say:
I want to compose something complicated.
But if you don’t differentiate between the vowels in the first syllable in compose and complicated, but just pronounce it as [ɔ:], it’s going to sound like:
✘ [aɪ ˈwɑːn.tə komˈpoʊz ˈsʌm.θɪŋ ˈkom.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd]
I said it fast, but it sure doesn’t sound natural in English.
It should be:
✔ [aɪ ˈwɑːn.tə kəmˈpoʊz ˈsʌm.θɪŋ ˈkɑːm.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd]
Focus on pronunciation
So, learn about phonetics and work on your pronunciation, and then play with speed if you want.
Let me clarify something though. When I say pronunciation, I don’t mean accent. This is something different. While having good pronunciation is necessary for being understood, you don’t have to change your accent if you don’t want to. Your accent can reveal where you originally come from, and there is nothing wrong with that. I’ll actually make another video about that because I have quite a few things to share from my own experience. On the other hand, having the right pronunciation will make you a more clear and confident speaker.
If you don’t know where to start, you can look for a pronunciation coach, or maybe you can first read about phonetics and phonology on your own. Also, try to listen to podcasts or watch videos in English – but without subtitles – and pay attention to individual sounds and the melody of the language. Again, if you realize that you don’t notice any difference on your own, work with a pronunciation coach. They will explain everything and tell you what to focus on.
But please, please, please, if you tend to speak fast, slow down and make sure you are pronouncing everything correctly. Then your listener or conversation partner won’t get tired of constantly trying to catch up with what you’re saying.
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Have you ever worked specifically on your pronunciation and what you did to improve it? Let me know in the comment section below.
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