assimilation of /t/ followed by /k/

Hi, I’m Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I’m going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let’s go inside.

Now, these days, when you go to a real shop do you prefer to pay by cash or by plastic? What do we call one of these? Now, I’m sure you already know, but let’s hear what the people of London call it.

It’s a credit card.

Credit card.

Credit card.

Credit card.

Credit card.

A credit card. Now, the word ‘credit’ ends in the sound /t/, doesn’t it? Or does it?

Watch and listen again. What sound can you actually hear?

It’s a credit card.

Credit card.

Credit card.

Credit card.

Credit card.

In fluent speech, when one word ends in a vowel sound followed by a /t/ and the next word begins with a /k/ , sound the /t/ changes to a /k/ .

So /kredɪt kɑːd/ becomes /kredɪk kɑːd/. It’s an example of assimilation. And here are some more examples.

Don’t let it get cold!

You have to do it quickly.

There’s no short cut to learning a language.

I didn’t like that cake.

Right, so you’ve heard the examples, and now it’s your turn. You know the drill. Listen and repeat.

Don’t let it get cold!

You have to do it quickly.

There’s no short cut to learning a language.

I didn’t like that cake.

Well done. Now, remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week. I’ll see you soon. Bye bye! Now, to be honest, I don’t really use cash or card these days.

I don’t need them. No. If you want to maintain your street cred, then the only way is pay by phone. Have you got a charger?