Linking /w/

Tim Hi, I’m Tim and this is my pronunciation workshop. Here, I’m gonna show you how English is really spoken. It’ll help you become a better listener and a more fluent speaker. Come on, let’s go inside. When we speak English fluently we sometimes add extra sounds in between the words to help them link together. Now, have a look at my feet. What’s wrong with this? Let’s ask the people of London:

Voxpops The shoe is on the other foot. The shoe is on the wrong foot. The shoe is on the wrong foot. The shoe is on the wrong foot.

Tim ‘Shoe’ ends in the sound /u:/ and ‘is’ begins with the sound /ɪ/. But can you hear another sound linking them together? Have another listen:

Voxpops The shoe is on the other foot. The shoe is on the wrong foot. .he shoe is on the wrong foot. The shoe is on the wrong foot.

Tim When one word ends in an /u:/ sound and the next begins in a vowel sound we can just about hear another sound in between. This sound is a bit like /w/. So ‘The shoe is…’ becomes ‘The shoe w is’. This is called the linking /w/ - but it’s important to remember that it’s not a full /w/ sound. It happens because the mouth moves from an /u:/ sound to a vowel sound and on the way it passes through the /w/ mouth shape. Here are some more examples:

Examples When do I have to be there? I haven’t got a clue at all. That glue is really strong. I really can’t do it.

Tim So, you’ve heard the examples, and now it’s your turn. Are you ready? Listen and repeat.

Examples When do I have to be there? I haven’t got a clue at all. That glue is really strong. I really can’t do it.

Tim Well done. Now remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. And that’s about it from the pronunciation workshop this week. See you soon. Bye. Now I really must get this other shoe on, otherwise I’m going to have an accident. Aaah! Too late.