Connected Speech

Hi All,

I'd like to know if I speak without using connected speech. For example, if say "I like it", "Like I say", "Like I said", "Get out of here"...not using connected speech, will the native speakers understand what I say? Will they think my spoken english is not fluent?

Regards,

William

Your words will be understood in the same way that a computerized voiced is understood. Whether your words sound native-like or not depends on how you pronounce the sounds within the individual words, as they too have their own kind of connectivty.

Speech connects naturally - it would be very difficult for you to learn and use the English language without connecting it in various ways. My advice would be to not think about that too much - try to be clear when you speak, but not devise your own way of learning / speaking that's different from others people.

Often, the way native speakers connect their speech is one of the main barriers to other people understanding! Don't try to copy native speakers, but don't try to create your own individual way - use the language and speak as you feel comfortable and effective. The best feedback you can get on this will be from friends and other people you speak to - if they can't understand you, you may have to slow down, pay attention to wordstress or pronunciation. Trying to divide your words will make you sound unnatural, but I think it's great that you're thinking about it.

Remember that 'native speakers' join words differently depending on their dialect / accent, as do many perfectly proficient non-native speakers, so it isn't a big deal - your own style comes naturally with time and with interaction!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bobbybobbob

Speech connects naturally - it would be very difficult for you to learn and use the English language without connecting it in various ways. My advice would be to not think about that too much - try to be clear when you speak, but not devise your own way of learning / speaking that's different from others people.

Often, the way native speakers connect their speech is one of the main barriers to other people understanding! Don't try to copy native speakers, but don't try to create your own individual way - use the language and speak as you feel comfortable and effective. The best feedback you can get on this will be from friends and other people you speak to - if they can't understand you, you may have to slow down, pay attention to wordstress or pronunciation. Trying to divide your words will make you sound unnatural, but I think it's great that you're thinking about it.

Remember that 'native speakers' join words differently depending on their dialect / accent, as do many perfectly proficient non-native speakers, so it isn't a big deal - your own style comes naturally with time and with interaction!

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Thank you very much for the valuable recommendations. I always hear non-native speakers don't pay attention to the wordstress, that's why I was affected by these speakers last time, so right now I'm improving my wordstress by listening the CNN, BBC and all famous talking dictionaries like Oxford,Longman,Cambridge.....