Does the guy really say "that"?

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svetlana14

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Does the guy really say "that" (as subtitles also suggest) at 00:09 [
]?
 

5jj

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svetlana14

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I hear s or z in the end after many times of "cycling" listening and don't understand where is my mistake. Can you please help me with that?
 

5jj

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Your 'mistake' is simply that you are hoping for a high level of discrimination skill without adequate practice or training. Even trained phoneticians sometimes need to use spectrograms before they can be 100% sure about some sounds.
 

svetlana14

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What is the most reliable computer spectogram programme which would be of any help for me? Please give me your advice.
 

dunchee

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I hear s or z in the end ...
Same here. Joey is laughing(or snickering) while saying "you don't want to lose that," so there's a lot of exhaling going on. As a result, his "to lose that" comes out like "/... luz-æ-s/". You can achieve the same effect by saying /t/ while laughing/exhaling. Also, /z/(loze) and /ð/(that) blend together into /z/.
 

5jj

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, his "to lose that" comes out like "/... luz-æ-s/".
That's what you think you hear, not becessarily what he acually says.
 

5jj

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What is the most reliable computer spectogram programme which would be of any help for me? Please give me your advice.
Sorry, but I am not up to date in that field any more. Somebody else can probably give better advice than I.
 

jutfrank

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I'm curious to know why you seem more interested in the exact sounds people make rather than in which words the speakers actually say.
 
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svetlana14

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5jj

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When I first started working with the International Phonetic Alphabet more than fifty-five years ago, inexpensive and easily portable sound-recording machines were not available, The only way that dictionaries and grammars could give students an idea of how words and phrases were pronounced was by some form of phonetic transcription, The IPA was an extremely good system. I made sure that all of my students then could read phonemic transcription.

With most learners these days having access to internet dictionaries with pronunciations they can hear, and to an almost infinite amount of recorded speech to listen to, I don't think the IPA is much benefit to learners today,
 

jutfrank

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I strongly believe that IPA would help me to better understand native speakers. Wouldn't it?

To some small extent, yes, but not much. It's very hard to say, as each learner has a unique set of issues to deal with. Generally speaking, as far as comprehension is concerned, you should be listening globally. This is because listeners understand language primarily from the top down—you comprehend meaning from the wider context much more than from the individual units of sound. It doesn't really matter how Joey pronounces the word that. What's important is that you understand that he says that.


There's some value in it, but for someone of your level, I think there are many better ways to work on your listening skills.
 
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