wonder word: without

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Written TH is pronounced several ways.
I wonder how an American pronounces TH /θ/ in…

without
/wɪ-ˈðawt/

(complete linking course)

 

Before we begin, let’s learn the secret of
pronouncing American English /ð/,
as in the word without.

First, stick your tongue out.
Don’t say anything as you do this.

Then, as you pull your tongue back in,
that is when you pronounce written th…/ð/

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It’s important to learn to pronounce th /θ, ð/.
It’s never reduced.
It never changes to another sound when we link.
There’s no escaping th. 🙂

 

without
/wɪ-ˈðawt/

Appearances can be deceiving.
That means that what looks easy…isn’t always easy.
The word ‘without‘ falls into this category.

In writing, we separate the syllables … with-out
In pronunciation, we say … wi–THOUT
Stress is on the second syllable … /wɪ-ˈðawt/

 

/wɪ-ˈðawt/

Do you take coffee with sugar or without?

 

In natural speech, however, we
don’t say words separately.

We connect words together.  We link them.

Sometimes we move the t at the end of the
word ‘without‘ to the beginning of the following word.

When do we do that?  Let’s see.

t + vowel sound
[linking pattern #1]

without a … without an
/wɪ-ˈðaw–də/ … /wɪ-ˈðaw–dən/

without ever … without eggs … without us
/wɪ-ˈðaw-ˈdɛ–vɚ/ … /wɪ-ˈðaw–dɛgz/ … /wɪ-ˈðaw–dəs/

 

without a
/wɪ-ˈðaw–də/

I can’t live without a computer.

 

without a doubt
/wɪ-ˈðaw–də-ˈdawt/

Giraffes are, without a doubt,
the tallest animals in the world.

without a care
/wɪ-ˈðaw–də-ˈkɛ–ɚ/

I finished my project.
Now I can go on vacation
without a care in the world.

 

without a paddle
/wɪ-ˈðaw–də-ˈpæ–dəl/

If I don’t do a better job, I’m going to get fired.
Then I’ll be up the creek without a paddle.

 

without an umbrella
/wɪ-ˈðaw–də-nəm-ˈbrɛ-lə/

Don’t leave the house
without an umbrella! It’s raining.

 

without ever
/wɪ-ˈðaw–ˈdɛ–vɚ/

We can talk to people all over the world
without ever leaving home.

 

without eggs
/wɪ-ˈðaw–dɛgz/

Can you make a cake without eggs? I don’t know.

 

without us
/wɪ–ˈðaw–dəs/

The men finished the job without us.

 

t + y = /t͡ʃ/

without you … without your
/wɪ-ˈðaw–t͡ʃuw/ … /wɪ-ˈðaw–t͡ʃɚ/

 

without you
wɪ-ˈðaw–t͡ʃuw/

Hurry up.  I don’t want to
go shopping without you.

 

without you
/wɪ-ˈðaw–t͡ʃuw/

I couldn’t have done it without you.

 

without your
/wɪ-ˈðaw–t͡ʃɚ/

Don’t go out without your
umbrella and boots.  It’s raining.

 

without your
/wɪ-ˈðaw–t͡ʃɚ/ 

You never leave the house
without your cell phone, do you?

 

Now you know the secrets of this much-used word.

1.  say the /ð/ as
you pull your tongue back in

2.  stress is on 2nd syllable

3.  look for possible linking patterns
t + vowel sound … t + y = /t͡ʃ/

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