Skip English final consonants

[Squirrel_3110]

hi,everybody!
Final consonants again! Now I know how to pronounce final consonants sounds in English. But sometimes it is better to skip final consonants, isn't it?Especially in fast speech. Can you give me some information about when this skipping can be done and with which consonants?

[Anglika]

"r" "g" and "t" are the most commonly lost. It often depends on the letter starting the following word.If there is a danger of an elision, the termination letter will be lost.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by Anglika

"r" "g" and "t" are the most commonly lost. It often depends on the letter starting the following word.If there is a danger of an elision, the termination letter will be lost.

Yes. It also depends on your region. In some places, people never drop the last R, and in others, they always do. I was raised in Ohio, U.S., where most people pronounce it, but now I live in Maine, U.S., where most people don't. So I sound like I'm what Mainers call "from away." It's also very New York. I mean New Yawk.

Dropping the last G (doin', goin') is common throughout the U.S., but it's considered a sign of either poor education or slumming. It's definitely not standard English here.

Dropping the T is also regional. I lived in Connecticut, U.S., for several years, and it's common there, especially in working class central Connecticut. (You di'n' hi' the bu'on!) They sort of hiccup, instead. In most places I've lived, however, people pronounce it.

In a recent thread, we also talked about people who add an R where none exists: warsh, idear, berl in erl. But don't get me started....

[Charlie Bernstein]

But to get back to your first question, I don't think "better" is the word I would use.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Some that really are silent:

succumb
plumb
thumb
dough
though
hurrah
corps
autumn

[I edit copy and have tutored college writing.]

[Charlie Bernstein]

...and back to Anglika's point, yes, Ts do get rushed over in the middle of sentences. If they didn't, then, for instance, "I don't know" would sound a little like "I don'teh know." The tongue does go to the T place, but it doesn't necessarily do any work there before forming the N.

I don't think of that as dropping the letter, but it might sound that way to a non-native speaker.

[Squirrel_3110]

Thank you very much. It sounds difficult to me about when I can drop these letter. Of course, I mention the final consonant sounds. In my country, English learners always want their English to be perfect every time. I mean when you pronounce "bad" only for example , you pronounce this way and exactly the same way as in fast speech.It's so hard to do so, right? the same happens to the final sounds. We always have to remember to pronounce the final consonants all the time which is so tiring and tough. When I drop these sounds by accident, I always think that I am doing the wrong things. Are there any rules for this? I hear that people can drop t, d, g and r (OK) and what after that?

[MaryTeacher]

Hi,

The final consonants aren't really being dropped, they are just being pronounced differently. Final /t/ for example is often not "exploded", so it sounds kind of like a /d/. Simply dropping the sounds can have a really negative effect on how well people understand your pronunciation, as it influences the rhythm of your speech...

Mary

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by MaryTeacher

Hi,

The final consonants aren't really being dropped, they are just being pronounced differently. Final /t/ for example is often not "exploded", so it sounds kind of like a /d/. Simply dropping the sounds can have a really negative effect on how well people understand your pronunciation, as it influences the rhythm of your speech...

Mary

Thanks, well put. That's what I was trying to say. (Among other things.)