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Lecture 10: Consonant Reductions
A source of listening comprehension problems is consonant reduction, such as the loss of the initial h in the common function words he, her, him, his, has, and have. Does he love her? rhymes with fuzzy cover. I will read a very short story. I will then reread it and often stop and repeat two or three words. You spell the words I say.
John went to school. When he got there, his teacher asked him to explain why he was late. He told her he was sorry, that he had to help his little brother do his homework. His teacher said he should promise her immediately that he would never be late again, and he should tell his brother to do his own homework.
[Here the teacher should pronounce when he like whinny, promise her like promiser, etc.]
The letter t is often reduced. Americans especially don't like t and try to kill it. They are successful with the first t in international, the second t in twenty, and the t in What do you need? But often they only wound the t, and it becomes a d, as in but he can /b di kn/.
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