Antman and The Wasp

Today, you’re studying fast English by looking at the reductions , the linking, the melody,

the simplification that native speakers do when speaking English.

We’re going to be using the scene from the movie Ant Man and The Wasp.

When you study American English this way, and not the way you learned it in school,

or the way you learned from your book, your listening comprehension and your ability to sound natural

speaking English is going to improve dramatically.

Today, you’ll see what changes in someone’s rhythm when they’re insulting somebody.

We’re doing an in-depth analysis, studying the rhythmic contrast that gives American English its character.

And there’s going to be audio to train with at the end, so you can fully understand it,

and start building that habit of natural American English.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

We’re doing this all summer. We started in June, and we’re going through August.

Stick with me every Tuesday. They’re all great scenes and there’s going to be so much to learn

that can transform the way you understand and speak English.

And as always, if you like this video or you learned something new, please like and subscribe with notifications.

You’re going to watch the clip, then we’re going to do a full pronunciation analysis together.

This is going to help so much with your listening comprehension when it comes to watching English movies in TV.

But there’s going to be a training section.

You’re going to take what you’ve just learned and practice repeating it, doing a reduction, flapping a T,

just like you learned in the analysis. Okay here’s the scene.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Hope, I’d love to help you but I don’t have anything like the equipment you’re describing.

I told you, this is a waste of time. Come on, let’s go.

Don’t condescend, Hank. You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

All because you had to grow to a size that finally fit your ego.

And now, the analysis.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

So what’s the stress and melody of that phrase?

Doctor, doctor, that goes up. Doctor, we need to find our lab.

And then we have those three words that have a little bit of that up down shape

in the overall feeling of that phrase descending.

Let’s just listen to that melody again.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Now just do it with me on UH. Uhhhhh. Uhhh.

Can you make it that smooth when you put the words in?

That’s the goal.

And to do that, you might need to simplify things a little bit about how you pronounce words.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Doctor, we–

The R links right into the W with no break.

Do– that’s the AH as in father vowel,

the second O is the schwa.

So the R absorbs the schwa. You don’t need to try to make a vowel there.

Doctor. Doctor. Right from T into R. Doctor we–

Doctor we–

Doctor we–

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

We need to find our–

So to and our, both lower in pitch, part of a valley, a little valley between those peaks of stress.

Need to– so they’re said more quickly, they’re lower in pitch,

and in order to do that, we make some reductions. So rather than saying need to, we say: need duh–

We need to–

We need to–

We need to–

Need to– So the word to gets reduced to just the schwa.

This can happen when the sound before is a D.

Need to-need to find–

And that schwa links the D and the F together so that there’s no break between these words.

Need to find our lab.

Then the word our is pronounced quickly. It’s more like: are, are. Find our, find our, find our lab.

Find our lab.

Find our lab.

Find our lab.

Hope, I’d love to help you but I don’t have anything like the equipment you’re describing.

So then he responds with a long thought group.

No breaks here, much longer than the first statement, isn’t it?

Isn’t this fantastic? I love doing these analyses with you.

You know, one of the things my students ask for in lessons is more idioms and slang.

And as you watch movies, you may find that there are words and phrases you understand,

but you don’t know the meaning of, you don’t get how they’re being used.

I’d like to talk about Cambly who’s sponsoring this video.

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Now, let’s get back to that analysis.

Hope, I’d love to help you but I don’t have anything like the equipment you’re describing.

So then he responds with a long thought group.

No breaks here, much longer than the first statement, isn’t it?

Hope, I’d love to help you but I don’t have anything like the equipment you’re describing.

Hope, I’d love to help you –

So there we have three peaks of stress. Hope, I’d love to help you–

Hope, I’d love to help you–

Uhhhhh—-

Hope, I’d love to help you–

Hope, I’d love to help you–

Hope, I’d love to help you–

See if you can do that. Make it smooth,

one sound gliding up next to the other, do it just on UH if you want to,

to practice that smoothness, to practice that melody.

Hope, I’d love to help you–

Hope, I’d love to help you–

Hope, I’d love to help you–

Hope, I’d, I’d- Lower in pitch, flatter, Hope, I’d love to–

The word to reduced.

Hope, I’d love to–

Hope, I’d love to–

Hope, I’d love to–

I’d love to– So the T is pronounced more like a D.

This is common when the sound before is voiced. The sound before here is V, vvvv,

that is voiced, so he’s making this a D sound: love duh-love duh–

and this is the schwa. Love to help you.

Help you. P releasing right into the JU diphthong: pyou, pyou, pyou. Help you.

Help you–

but I don’t have anything like the–

But I don’t have anything like the–

uhhhh–

But I don’t have anything like the–

So we have I: But I don’t have anything like the–

And then everything falls down from that, and is slowly, the pitch slowly glides down.

But I don’t–

But I don’t have anything like the–

But I don’t have anything like the–

But I don’t have anything like the–

But I– But I– That’s a flap T linking those two sounds together.

But I don’t–

Let’s listen to this N apostrophe T ending, what’s happening there?

But I don’t– But I don’t– But I don’t have anything like the–

But I don’t have–

don’t have–

don’t have–

The T is totally dropped, it happens more commonly than you think.

N apostrophe T contractions can have a stop T, can have a fully pronounced T, that’s not very common,

and then they can also have a totally dropped T where the N just goes right into the next sound,

and that’s what’s happening here.

I don’t have–

I don’t have–

anything like the–

Anything like the– the equipment– So the word the here is pronounced with the EE vowel

because the next word begins with the vowel, and it happens to be the EE vowel.

The, the, there’s a little bit of a feeling of a re-emphasis here, the, the, the equipment.

The equipment, the equipment, the equipment.

Equip– and then we have another stressed syllable after this long line of unstressed syllables

heading down in pitch. Anything like the equip– anything like the quip–

Anything like the equipment–

Anything like the equipment–

Anything like the equipment–

Everything linking together smoothly. Do it that smoothly.

When you’re working with the audio that goes at the end of this video,

try the slow motion section, and really focus on

that smoothness and connection.

Anything like the equipment–

Anything like the equipment–

Anything like the equipment–

We have a little bit of length here on the stressed syllable of anything.

Note that that is the EH vowel even though we see the letter A.

Have anything, have anything, have anything, have anything like the equipment.

Have anything like the equipment.

Have anything like the equipment.

Have anything like the equipment.

Equipment. We have a stop P. It’s not released. It’s not quipment, but qui-ment.

And then we have a stop T here: equipment, equipment, da-da-da. So a little bit of a lift there, equipment.

Equipment, equipment, equipment you’re describing.

You’re– and then we have a reduction. It’s not your, or your, it’s yer, said more quickly, more simply, yer, yer, yer.

Equipment you’re-

describing.

The equipment you’re describing. Describing. Middle syllable stress there of that word,

and of course, as he is saying it, another character interjects.

Equipment you’re describing.

Equipment you’re describing.

Equipment you’re describing. » I told you this is a waste of time.

I told you this is a waste of time. Very clear when you listen to it on a loop.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.

Where our stressed syllables are. I told you.

I told you this is a waste of time.

I told you this is a waste of time.

I told you this is a waste of time.

Now, a couple interesting things happening here with the word told.

We have an ending D sound, the next word is you.

This can happen, it’s actually pretty common for the Y constant of you or your or yourself

to turn that into a J sound instead of a D sound. Told you, ju, ju.

This is how we would write that sound in IPA. I told you. Told you.

I told you–

Also the L in told is a dark L. Tol–

That does influence the vowel here, which is actually a diphthong, the OH diphthong.

So it’s not told, but it’s: to-ohld. The dark sound and the OH mix together, so it’s not really a diphthong anymore,

it’s more like a single sound, ohl, ohl, lip rounding, the tongue is,

the tongue tip is not lifted, but the whole tongue itself is shifted up and back a little bit.

Tohl– before the J sound. I told you.

And this is a true T because it begins a stressed syllable.

So link the AI diphthong right into that true T. I told you.

I told you–

this is a waste of time.

I told you this is a– this is a– this is a– Then we have three really fast words.

This is a– this is– notice that these are different sounds.

The letter S in this is an S sound, the letter S in is is a Z sound, links right into the schwa.

So all of these words link together really smoothly. This is a, this is a, this is a, this is a.

This is a–

See if you can simplify your mouth movements to make that that fast. This is a, this is a, this is a.

This is a waste. This is a waste.

This is a waste–

of time.

Waste of time. Waste of time.

So we have two stress words. One unstressed word in between.

The ending T of waste, links right into the reduction of ‘of’: of, of, with a true T. Waste of time.

And then another true T in time, because it is beginning a stressed syllable.

Waste of time.

A waste of time. A waste of time. A waste of time.

So you can’t say: waste of time, waste of time, you can’t fully pronounce that.

You won’t be able to do it quickly enough. You have to reduce it. Waste of time. of of of of.

A waste of time.

Come on, let’s go.

Then he says really quickly: come on, let’s go. Really linked together, not all that clear. Come, come.

I would write that with the schwa, come on,

and then it links right into the next vowel: come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go. And actually, on is our peak of stress there. Come on, let’s go.

And then everything else falls down away from that peak come leads up to it. Come, come on, let’s go.

And actually, let’s go is said pretty unclearly. I would say there’s not even a T sound there.

Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go.

I’m just hearing light L, EH as in bed, S. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Come on, let’s go.

Don’t condescend Hank–

What do you think are the most stressed syllables here?

Don’t condescend Hank.

Don’t condescend Hank.

Don’t condescend Hank.

Don’t condescend Hank.

Hank. Hank definitely has stress it’s an up down shape as his voice goes up.

Don’t condescend. Some stress on con, more on scend, condescend.

So each word in American English only has one syllable with primary stress.

That would be the send syllable here.

But some syllables do have secondary stress.

And sometimes, they have a stressed feel, and sometimes they don’t.

This one sort of does.

Condescend. Con, con, con.

So this is a word that we wouldn’t change the vowel to the schwa.

Con, con, con. Condescend.

Condescend.

But this middle syllable, unstressed, does have the schwa.

Condescend.

So notice the C here doesn’t make a sound. It’s just combining with the S to make an S sound.

Condescend.

Condescend.

Now here, we have an N apostrophe T. How is that pronounced?

Don’t condescend–

It’s a stop T. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t condescend.

Don’t condescend–

Hank.

Hank. Does a light release of the K. Hank. This is like the word thank.

If you look it up in IPA, thank has unvoiced TH,

AA as in Bat, NG sound, K.

Well, this sound is AH. I don’t hear that sound in thank.

Ah, thank, thank, thank.

So this is actually a case where the IPA doesn’t really reflect what happens when we speak.

It’s a lot more like the AY diphthong.

When the AA vowel is followed by the NG consonant, if you look up a word and you see that, like thank,

just know that it should be more like: ay ay thay thay thank thank Hank Hank. Not Hank Hank.

Hank.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

Okay what are our peaks of stress here?

Let’s listen to the sentence a few times, see if the rhythm jumps out at you.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

You’re the one– You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI. FBI.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

I’m trying to think about what vowel I think he’s putting in there.

It sounds a little bit like the AW when it’s followed by R like in the word core.

You’re, you’re, you’re, you’re, but it also sounds more closed than that, kind of like UR plus R, like

if we reduced it: you’re, you’re, you’re, but then we put some shape into it, you’re, you’re.

So I would say it’s probably more like this one, but it’s also not totally pure.

Sometimes it’s really hard to identify what exact sound I think it is, especially when there’s an R involved

or something that might change the vowel a little bit.

Like R definitely changes the AW as in law vowel, it’s not going to be a pure sound

when R follows it in the same syllable.

You’re the one– You’re the one– You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

You’re the one who’s on the run– You’re the one who’s– the one who’s–

So we have three flatter in pitch words here, unstressed, remember, always linking together smoothly.

You’re the one who’s on, who’s on, who’s on.

Ending Z here. This is the word is, which does have a Z sound for the S.

Who’s on– links right into the vowel. Who’s on the run.

Just everything linking together so smoothly. No skip or space or lift between the words.

You’re the one who’s on the run-

You’re the one who’s on the run-

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

On the run from the- So ‘the’ here flatter in pitch, unstressed.

From the. Also flatter in pitch, unstressed.

Not pronounced: from the, but rather: from the, from the, from the, from the.

To say that more quickly, you have to put a schwa in there.

From, from, from, from, from the, from the, from the.

From the FBI.

And actually this vowel in ‘the’ is actually the EE vowel: from the, from the, from the, from the F,

that’s because the next word begins with the EH as in bed vowel, F, F, from the, from the, from the, from the FBI.

FBI.

And whenever we say something by the initials, it’s always the last initial that has the most stress, like here,

FBI, but everything links together really smoothly there.

FBI.

B links into I. You can feel like you’re going through a glide constant Y. FBI. FBI.

FBI.

All because you had to grow to a size–

All because you had to grow to a size.

Lots of up down shape there. All because you had to grow to a size.

All because you had to grow to a size.

All because you had to grow to a size.

All because you had to grow to a size.

Now let’s look at the word because. So he’s really stressing

and speaking more clearly here. I think he’s accusing him of something. He’s a little bit angry.

All because. So the word because is written in IPA with the IH as in sit, but I hear him doing more of an EE vowel.

All because. Over pronouncing, over accenting it because of his emotion. All because.

All because–

you had to grow to a size.

You had to grow to a size. So then we have three unstressed words here before the more up down shape,

the more stressed word of grow.

But he’s still saying all of the words pretty clearly here I would say.

You had to grow to a size.

You had to grow to a size.

You had to grow to a size.

You had, you had to, let’s listen to just these three words on a loop.

You had to–

Do you notice that even though he’s a little bit angry, and speaking a little bit more clearly,

we still have a reduction here? It’s not had to, it’s hadduh, hadduh, hadduh, taking the ending D,

linking it on to the schwa, and letting that be the word to. You had to. You had to. You had to grow.

You had to grow–

to a size.

Grow to a size. So we have two unstressed words between now again we have the word to,

and we’ve seen how it can reduce to just the schwa. But you know what? It doesn’t reduce here at all.

And the reason is it links into a word that is the schwa, or

it can also happen if it’s a longer word that begins with schwa. When the word two links into a word like this,

we can’t also make it a schwa because then the schwas would blend together and we might not hear the syllable.

We might not catch the word at all. So it is a true T plus the OO vowel which then links right into the schwa.

To a, to a, to a, to a. So it’s unstressed, but it doesn’t reduce. But it’s not to, it’s to, to, to, to a, to a, to a.

Still needs that unstressed feel. Grow to a size.

Grow to a size.

Grow to a size.

Grow to a size that finally fit your ego.

That, that, that. The word that said quickly with a stop T and then he really brings out that consonant.

Finally. Finally.

He wants to stress that word. Finally fit your ego.

That finally fit your ego.

That finally fit your ego.

That finally fit your ego.

Fit your, fit your. Stop T in fit and the word your, not reduced to your, which is very common,

and why didn’t he reduce it? Well, he’s insulting him. He’s kind of stressing each word.

It’s, it’s an insult to be considered somebody with a big ego. And so he’s saying you grew to a size,

a huge size that finally fit your huge ego.

So in this insult, he’s stressing each word more.

Finally fit your ego.

Finally fit your ego.

Finally fit your ego.

Finally fit your ego.

Put a little up down shape there.

Finally fit your ego.

Finally fit your ego.

Finally fit your ego.

Let’s listen to this whole conversation one more time.

Doctor, we need to find our lab.

Hope, I’d love to help you but I don’t have anything like the equipment you’re describing.

I told you, this is a waste of time. Come on, let’s go.

Don’t condescend, Hank.

You’re the one who’s on the run from the FBI.

All because you had to grow to a size that finally fit your ego.

Now for the fun part, you’ll look at the notes we took together

and you’ll hear a part of the conversation on a loop three times.

Then there’s a space for you to repeat.

For example, you’ll hear this:

Maybe so, sir.

Then you’ll repeat it: maybe so, sir. Try to imitate everything about this exactly.

So when you see this,

then you’ll repeat it. Maybe so, sir.

That’s from top gun: maverick which was the first movie we studied in this summer series.

You’ll also have the opportunity to listen and repeat in slow motion.

This will be important for you if you’re more of a beginner, or if you’re having a hard time

focusing on linking or the melody. Maybe you’ll want to do it both ways, but the important thing is

here is your opportunity to take what you learned and put it into your body and your own habit.

That’s what’s going to transform your speaking.

You might do well to work with the audio section of this video every day for a week.

Imitating the rhythm and the simplifications will get easier each time you do it.

If you can’t keep up with the native speaker, do the slow-motion imitation.

Okay, here’s our audio training section.

Don’t forget to come back and do this audio again tomorrow and the next day.

You want to build habits here.

So you don’t need to think about how to say what you want to say when you’re speaking English,

you just think about the words themselves, not the pronunciation.

This is part of a series all summer long,

13 videos, 13 scenes for movies check out each one, learn something new each time.

That’s it guys, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.