Hello. I'm Gill at engVid, and today we have a lesson on pronunciation, and this is to
do with something that I notice quite a lot nowadays when there is a "t" at the end of
one word, followed by the next word beginning with a vowel sound. So, for example, with
"that is", I notice a lot of people pronounce it "that is", "that is", and they kind of
break it up, and it's a kind of in the throat, "that is". And you don't actually hear the
"t" sound at the end of "that", and a nice, easy way of making the "t" sound clear is
just to join it up with the next word. So, "that is", "that is", and it's a nice, smooth
way of speaking rather than just breaking everything up all the time. "That is", "that
is", it sort of catches in your throat. So, it's a choice. I mean, a lot of people do
the missing "t" now. A lot of people miss out the "t" sound altogether. But then, if
your first language isn't English, you may find that difficult to understand what someone
is saying. If you... You know the word "that" ends with a "t", but then you don't hear it
- "that is", and you think, "Oh, are they saying 'that'?" because you don't hear the "t". So,
this is just a choice for native speakers as well as for people learning English as
a foreign language. I think maybe people, if they're with their friends and they're
being very relaxed, they may use this kind of sound. "That is", "that is", it's a bit
more casual. People do it, I think, to fit in with their friends, so they all sound the
same in the way they're pronouncing things. But maybe if you were going to an interview,
for example, whether you're native English or English isn't your first language, if you're
going to an interview, a more formal situation, you might want to think about making the "t"
sounds because it sounds... To my ears, anyway, it's just my opinion, it sounds nicer and
smoother to hear the "t". So, if I just go through the list here to illustrate what I
mean. "What I mean", that's an example as well. So, we have "that is", "it is", "part
of", "what if", "eat up", "lot of", "write up". Okay. So, each time the "t", and it's
followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound. So, it's nice just to do it smoothly
and run the two words together. If I now do this list with the "t" missing, you may be
able to hear how much more broken up and maybe less pleasant it can sound without the "t".
So, "that is", "it is", "part of", "what if", "eat up", "lot of", "write up". So, to me,
I have to really make an effort to do that because I don't usually speak that way, but
that's just to demonstrate how broken up it can... It... It can sound... It can sound...
I mean, I do it myself sometimes, but that was "it can". The next word began with a consonant,
"c", "c". So, there are differences depending on the word that follows, but here these all
definitely follow with a vowel sound. So, "that is", "it is", "part of", "what if", "eat
up", "lot of", "write up". I think it sounds much smoother and it's clearer, too, because
you can hear the "t". You know what the word is if English isn't your first language.
Okay, and then we have some other examples where it's one word, but the "t" is in the
middle, and again, the "t" is followed by a vowel sound. In this list it's all the verb...
Verbal words ending "ing", the usually present participle. So, we have "cutting", not "cutting".
"Cutting", I hear people say "cutting". And, you know, if you don't know English very well,
you might think "Oh, what word was that?" "Cut", "cutting". So, "getting", not "getting", "getting",
but "getting". "Letting", not "letting", "letting", but "letting". Okay. "Meeting", "meeting".
"Putting", "sitting", "waiting". I think it's actually a lot easier to make the "t" sound
because it just flows nicely and smoothly. So... Okay, so then the third column here,
again, it's one word, and these are the verbs ending "ed", which is usually the past form
of the verb. So, we have "doubted", not "doubted", "doubted", "doubted". It sounds strange. "Doubted",
and "hated", "noted", "seated", "weighted". So, you may hear people missing the "t" and
you might think "Oh, I hear this so much now. That must be the right way to do it", and
you may start copying. But my advice is, you know, think about it, and maybe especially
if you're going for an interview, it's best to try to sound, you know, sound good when
you're speaking, and I do personally think it sounds better to hear the "t" sound and
much clearer and smoother. So... But we now have the second part of the lesson where we
will have a few sentences which contain the "t".
Okay, so here we are with the second part of the lesson and some sentences. So, if I
read each sentence first and you might like to repeat it after me. Okay. So, first of
all, I need to write up my report. Okay? So, can you see where the "t", what I call "t
run-on", sometimes you can call it "t run-on". So, "write up" is where it comes. Okay? So,
I need to write up my report. Not "I need to write up", not "write up", but "write up".
Okay? So, I'll say it once more. I need to write up my report. So, would you like to
repeat it? Okay. Right, so next one. "I'm sorry he's not in." So, can you see where
the "t" runs on? "I'm sorry he's not in." There, "not in", "not in". So, it's not "I'm
sorry he's not in", but "I'm sorry he's not in". So, would you like to say it? Okay. Good.
Next one. "Yes, it is a lot of work." So, we have two examples in one sentence, there.
Can you see both of them? "Yes, it is a lot of work." So, there's one there, and one there.
Okay. So, would you like to say it after me? "Yes, it is a lot of work." Okay. Good. And
then a short one. "That is true. That is true." So... And once more. "That is true." Okay.
And then finally, "When are they going to visit us?" Can you see where the "t" runs
on? "When are they going to visit us?" Okay, there, if you'd like to say it. Right, so
I'll just go through one more time each sentence, finally, so that you can hear it again to
end the lesson. So, "I need to write up my report." "I'm sorry he's not in." "Yes, it
is a lot of work." "That is true." "When are they going to visit us?" Okay, so I hope that's
been helpful, and to help you to speak English nice and clearly, and to be also aware of
how other people might be speaking and not pronouncing the "t", just because everybody
has a choice, so I'm not trying to make any rules about pronunciation. I'm just pointing
out that there is a difference in the way different people speak, so... And you can choose
which way to do it. In some situations, when it's an informal group of people, you might
be more casual about it, but in an interview or something more formal, a meeting with clients,
you might want to maybe change it a little bit. So... Okay, so that's the end of the
lesson for today. So, see you again soon. Bye for now.