Linking
is a basic element of American English Pronunciation.
In a dictionary, words are given in isolation.
In natural speech, however, you don’t say words separately.
You connect words together.
You link them.
Linking Pattern #5: /d/+ /y/ = /d͡ʒ/
And now it’s your turn.
Which sentence do you hear?
Linking /d/ + /y/ … or no linking?
As a native Croatian speaker, I had a lot of problems trying to figure out why I was not going anywhere with my ability to sound like native English speakers did while I was listening to recording materials. In Croatian, there are two versions of both sounds /ch/ and /d͡ʒ/, soft and hard one; ć, č, and đ, dž. So I was able to recognize those sounds but no course book ever sad anything about them being created while once speak naturally. Not a word about reduction and linking. Luckily I met professor Eva Easton who by the way speaks very well Croatian and understands those sounds on a professional level considering Croatian grammar and phonetics, and so she showed me the way to learn this significant part of especially American English pronunciation. Endlessly thankful!!!
Thank you, Srecko. I see you did 100% on the quiz, as usual.
Eva