1. English Pronunciation Practice
英语语音技巧突破
Lecture 3
Weak forms and Rhythm

2. Revision Tongue twisters
A pleasant peasant keeps a pleasant pheasant and both the peasant and the pheasant are having a pleasant time together.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper prepared by his parents and put them in a big paper plate.
Ripe white wheat reapers reap ripe white wheat right.
The great Greek grape growers grow great Greek grapes.

3. Words
Strong Vowels
Weak Vowels at
//
//
has
//
//
she
/:/
//
could
//
//

4. How are strong forms changed into weak forms?
From strong vowels to weak ones //
Prepositions at for from of to
Aux verbs am are can do does had has have must shall should was were will would
Adverbs conjunctions articles a an and as but some than that the
Pronouns her them us you your

5. From strong vowels to weak ones //
be been he him his she we
// dropping
Weak forms which drop their initial // except at the beginning of utterances
had has had have he her him his

6. Weak forms
This unit deals with weak forms which are one of the most remarkable features of English. As a matter of fact, one must learn to use the weak forms of English words if one wants his English sounds to be English.
As compared with the strong forms, the weak forms of these words show the following features:
reductions of the length of sounds;
obscuration of vowels towards //, // or / /，// or // ;
elision of vowels and consonants.
The following list presents the most common of these function words.

7. as /z/ z ︳l  ju\  ‖ but /bt/ bt ai k\ prs ju:. ‖
Conjunctions
and /nd/ ︳ nd \ at. ‖
/n/ ′︳blk n\ wait. ‖
/nd/ hi ︳st nd\ it. ‖
// ︳bred n\ b ‖
as /z/ z ︳l  ju\  ‖
but /bt/ bt ai k\ prs ju:. ‖
that // ai m ︳frid t a °:nt \ help ju. ‖
than /n, n/ ︳m: n\ ev‖

8. Pronouns
he /hi/ (in careful speech or hi 1vz iz \ lnd‖
in initial position)
// (in rapid speech, never at ︳hz   / raivd? ‖
the beginning of an utterance)
him /im/ wi: ik spektid im\ jestdei. ‖
his // hi ︳pt t in iz \ pk‖
she // ︳we did  \ . ‖
her /:/ ︳li:v :  \ ln. ‖
/ / av \ met . ‖
/h/ (when sentence-initial) h \ neim iz \ met ‖

9. me /mi/ ︳v mi  \ hnd. ‖
them /m/ ︳v m \ lesn. ‖
we /wi/ ︳hau kn wi\ et ? ‖
w V :t t. ‖
us /s/ ︳let s \ du:t. ‖
/s/ ︳let s \ . ‖
you /ju/ ju  \ r ‖
︳jes, ju\ kn. ‖
that /t / hi ︳sed  hiz  \ best. ‖

10. (vowel) +/d / (consonant) ha d ju / laik t? ‖ does (aux. ) /dz/
Verbs
do (aux.)
/du /+ (before vowels)
︳wai du °:l v ju \ km? ‖
/d /+ (consonants)
︳w  ju \ nu? ‖
(vowel) +/d / (consonant) ha d ju / laik t? ‖
does (aux. ) /dz/
︳wen d  °re  \ rav.
/z/ ︳wenz i:  \ rav? ‖
/s/ ︳wts i: \ laik? ‖

11. am
I +/m/ aim \ rat. ‖
/m/ ( elsewhere) ︳wt  a  t \ d? ‖
are
//+ consonant ︳t v  \ m ‖
/r/+ vowel  pz r \ i. ‖
be /bi/
︳t  bi \ fa. ‖
t s t bi m\ p:vd. ‖
been /b/ hiz bin  \ we ‖

12. /s/ (after /p, t, k, f, / ) ts n\ uld \ mp. ‖
Verbs is
/s/ (after /p, t, k, f, / ) ts n\ uld \ mp. ‖
/z/ (after vowels and voiced
consonants except stridents /z, , d/ )
hi:z \ k. ‖
(after /s, z; , ; , d/, the strong form /z/ is always used:
︳wtz\ rt?)
was /w/ a  \  ‖

13. has (aux. ) /z/ (after /s, z, , , t, d/) z ︳su z / pbl. ‖
/s/ (after /p, t, k, f, / )
 d ︳ra:f s  °l \ nek. ‖
// (elsewhere) hiz  \ sn. ‖
have (aux. ) /v/ (after I, we, you, they) wiv \  t. ‖
/v/ ︳w v ju \ t? ‖
/hv/ (at the beginning of hv ju / tuld im? ‖
a tone unit)

14. Verbs had (aux. ) /d/ (after I, he, she, we, you, they)
hi d  ︳ ud \ db. ‖
/d/  ︳re d \ st. ‖
/hd/ (at the beginning of a tone unit)
hd  ︳ri: t / km? ‖
can /kn/  kn \ da:ns. ‖
/k/    ﬞ nau. ‖
could /kd/ kd ju / tel mi? ‖
shall /l/ ︳t°de l \ km. ‖
/1/ al bi \  ‖

15. will / /(after I, you, he, she, a 1\ k:l ju. ‖
we, you, they)
/1/ (after consonants t 1\ du:. ‖
except /1/)
/1/ (after vowels and /l/)  b1 lu:zl︱n   1\ w. ‖
must /mst / ( before vowels) ju mst \ upn it. ‖
/ms/ ( before consonants) ju ms\ tel hm. ‖

16. Determiners a // (before consonants) ︳hv °kp v \ ti:. ‖
an /n/ ( before vowels) ︳hv n \ p 1. ‖
/n/ (in rapid speech, parti hi ︳h n \ di. ‖
-cularly after an alveolar or
palato-alveolar consonant)
the // (before consonants) ︳: \ s:t °pli:z. ‖
/i/ (before vowels)  a ︳d z \ ret. ‖
some /sm, sm/ ︳kn ju °v mi s / pei.p?
(When some means "a certain quantity", it is always accented
and pronounced as /sm/:︳sm   \ frendz.)

17. Prepositions at /t/ ﬞ lst °wi:k︱︳steid t \ h. ‖
for /f/( before consonants) ︳km f \ 1nt, pli ‖
/fr, fr/( before vowels) aim︳dst \ da fr  / dk. ‖
from /frm,fm/ hi ︳kms fr \ 1ndn. ‖
of /v/ \ sm v s. ‖
to /t/ ( before consonants) wi︳t:kt t \ meri. ‖
/tu/ (before vowels and in w ︳bed m tu  \ ri: ‖
final position) ju ︳dunt \ hv tu. ‖

18. There
When there is used as an adverb of place and direction, it has no weak form and should be pronounced as /(r)/, as in “ ︳All of us are\ there”.
However, when there is used to introduce a sentence which states that something exists, usually its weak form is used. Here are the two most commonly used pronunciation for there is and there are respectively:
there is /z/ z 'n \ wt ‖
there are /r/ r 'ver°fain \ vju:z. ‖

19. Contracted forms
Certain English contracted verbs have special contracted forms when combined with not which has the weak form /nt/ after vowels and /nt/ after consonants when it follows are, is, should, would , has, have, could, dare, might. Special attention should be given to the negative forms of can, shall, will, do, must. For example:
can't /k:nt/ ai ︳k:nt \ ri: wi ju.
shan't // ︳ :nt °nt m °u:m \ . ‖
won't /wnt/ a︳ wt°let ju \  !1
don't /dunt/ wi ︳dnt lak it ‖
mustn't /'m.nt/ ju ' nt \ du: t. ‖

20. The use of strong forms
Although the weak forms mentioned in the previous part is common in English, their strong forms must be used in the following eases:
1) Whenever the word is stressed, e. g.
/ kn a? ‖
︳w wn d ju \ tu:z, ︱/ s : \ m?
ai ︳sed \ ei / sn, ︱ ︳nt\ i: sn. ‖
2) Whenever the word is in a final position in a tone unit, except the personal pronouns he, him, his, her, them, us ,e. g.
︳wts \ t f:? ‖
aid \ 1 tu:. ‖
ﬞ m hz. ‖
3) Some prepositions, when occur before an unstressed pronoun, may either use the strong or weak form.
︳mst v (or /v/ )  \ kes . ‖
av bin \ wet f (or /f:/) ju. ‖

21. Exercise 1. Now listen and repeat.
a cup of tea a loaf of bread a bundle of flowers
at the door in the field have an idea
coming and going sons and daughters in and out
tell him about it give her a lesson Yes, he has.
drive them home some of them most of us
from all over the world from above come from London
the office for the sake of for a long time
Yes, I'd like to come to me as it is
It was late You are correct He is wonderful.
Does he like her? Do you know that? Yes, I do.
No, I don't, Yes, she does I've been there for two times.
There are two of them. There is a car over there He's two sons.
We can not do it You mustn't do that That will do.

22. Exercise 2. Now try the same with the following sentences.
(1) We were very worried.
(2) I'm just dying for a drink,
(3) There wasn't a single woman.
(4) There are some very fine views.
(5) Which month suits the others?
(6) We talked to Tom.
(7) They stood by and watched.
(8) His beard gives him a very fierce appearance.
(9) We're so weary of hearing his ideas.
(10) How far is it to the Town Hall?
(11) What can we suggest to them for Christmas?
(12) How much can you let my mother have?
(13) Haven't you heard from Harry Atkins?,
(14) Most of them are missing.
(15) Has he taken his umbrella with him?.

23. Exercise
3. Listen to the tape. Pay special attention to the pronunciation of the italicized words. Then read after the tape.
I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the center of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.
(Adapted from New Concept English , Book II, Lesson 4)