Linking

Universidade Estadual de Alagoas – Uneal Campus III – Palmeira dos Índios 4º Período Letras Inglês

Linking
When we study English we see that words written on paper, and we use dictionaries to learn how the words are pronounced. When we listen to people speaking English, however, we might be surprised! Many words that we hear are pronounced quite differently from the way that we might expect. One of the biggest reasons why words sound different is that people don’t usually pronounce each word individually. On paper, when we are reading written words, there is a space between each word. However, in conversation, when we are listening to people speaking, many words have no spaces between them. Instead, the words are linked together, so that the end of one word becomes part of the beginning of the next word. This is called linking. In that lesson, we will study kinds of linking: 1. the linking of identical consonants 2. the linking of consonant to consonant 3. the linking of vowel to vowel 4. the linking of vowel to semi-vowels

Linking Identical Consonant Sounds or Similar Consonant Sounds
When the consonant sound at the end of one word is the same as the consonant sound at the beginning of the next word then the consonant sound at the end of the first word is often spoken as the first sound of the next word. red dress re dress

When the consonant sound at the end of a word is very similar to the consonant sound at the beginning of the next word then the consonant sound at the end of the first word is not pronounced completely. It almost disappears into the consonant sound at the beginning of the next word. ripe banana ri banana

Linking Vowel to Vowel/Semi-Vowel
When a word ending in a vowel sound is next to one beginning with a vowel sound, they are connected with a glide between the two vowels.

A glide is either a slight [y] sound or a slight [w] sound. How do you know which one to use? This will take care of itself--the position your lips are in