Why You Sound Slow (Even When You’re Not)
Have you ever listened to native English speakers and felt like they were running all their words together? You can understand each word when it’s spoken slowly, but when they talk at a natural pace, it sounds like one long, fast blur. This isn’t because they’re speaking faster than you, it’s because they’re using Connected Speech.
Connected speech is the way sounds change, disappear, or blend when we speak naturally and continuously. Think of it like a beautiful, flowing river instead of separate drops of water. Mastering connected speech rules for fluency is the single most effective way to improve two things at once:
- Your Listening Comprehension: You’ll stop hearing “Whatchew gonna do?” and start recognizing “What are you going to do?“
- Your Speaking Fluency: By linking words smoothly, you’ll sound more natural, confident, and your pace will dramatically increase, making you instantly easier for native speakers to understand.
This article breaks down the three core mechanisms of connected speech—Linking (Catenation), Assimilation, and Intrusion—using simple language, clear examples, and unique insights that will transform the way you speak and hear English.
Part 1: The Building Block of Flow – Linking (Catenation)
Linking, or Catenation, is the most fundamental rule of connected speech. It’s simply the act of moving the final sound of one word directly to the beginning of the next word, provided the next word starts with a vowel sound. It’s like creating a phonetic bridge between the two words so there is absolutely no gap or pause.
1.1 The Golden Rule: Consonant-to-Vowel (C-V) Linking
This rule applies when a word ends with a consonant sound and the next word starts with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).
Instead of saying: “I have | an | old | umbrella.” (four separate units) Native speakers say: “I haven oldumbrella.” (all linked together)
| Example Phrase | Slow Speech (Separate) | Connected Speech (Linked) | Breakdown of the Link |
| Pick it up. | Pick /ɪt/ /ʌp/ | Pikitup | k links to i, t links to u |
| Not at all. | Not /æt/ /ɔːl/ | Notatall | t links to a (three words blend into one) |
| Leave us alone. | Leave /ʌs/ /ələʊn/ | Leavusalone | v links to u |
Why is this important? When you leave a small silence between a consonant and a vowel, your brain (and the listener’s brain) has to work harder to separate and re-process the sounds. By linking them, you create a seamless, rhythmic flow that sounds effortless and natural.
1.2 The Power of Vowel-to-Vowel Linking (The Starting Point for Intrusion)
What happens when one word ends in a vowel sound and the next word also begins with a vowel sound? If you try to say them together without doing anything, it often results in a choppy pause or a glottal stop (a small catch in your throat, like in the phrase “uh-oh”).
To prevent this pause and ensure smooth flow, English naturally introduces a very tiny, subtle sound between the two vowels. This introduces the concept of Intrusion, which we will cover in Part 3, but the simple act of trying to link two vowels together is the trigger for those intrusive sounds.
| Example Phrase | Target Vowel Sounds | How Beginners May Link | The Smooth, Natural Link |
| Go out | Go /oʊ/ + Out /aʊt/ | (Pause) Go | Out |
| We always | We /iː/ + Always /ɔːlweɪz/ | (Pause) We | Always |
| The apple | The /ðə/ + Apple /æpəl/ | (Pause) The | Apple |
This smooth transition is key to English sound linking rules and is the first step toward understanding the Intrusion rules.
Part 2: The Sound Mixer – Assimilation
Assimilation is what happens when two sounds come together, and one sound changes to become more like its neighbor, making the transition easier and faster to articulate. It’s a form of sound efficiency.
Think of it like a musician who slightly adjusts a note in a complex sequence to make the melody flow better. It’s not the original note, but it sounds much smoother in the context of the whole piece.
2.1 The Silent Culprit: Assimilation of /t/ and /d/ with /y/
This is perhaps the most common and often misunderstood rule of assimilation in English, and it’s critical for fluency. When the final sound of a word is /t/ or /d/, and the first sound of the next word is /y/ (as in “you” or “your”), the sounds fuse together to create entirely new sounds: /t/ + /y/ → /tʃ/ (The “ch” sound, as in chair) /d/ + /y/ → /dʒ/ (The “j” sound, as in jump)This is precisely the answer to the auxiliary keyword assimilation t and y.
A. The /t/ + /y/ Blend
| Example Phrase | Written Link | Natural Fusion (Sound) | Common Misunderstanding |
| What you | What-you | Whatcha (informal: Whatcha doin’?) | What you |
| Don’t you | Don’t-you | Doncha | Don’t you |
| Right you are | Right-you | Righchu are | Right you are |
B. The /d/ + /y/ Blend
| Example Phrase | Written Link | Natural Fusion (Sound) | Common Misunderstanding |
| Could you | Could-you | Cojoo | Could you |
| Did you | Did-you | Didja (informal: Didja see that?) | Did you |
| Would you like | Would-you | Wooju like | Would you like |
Actionable Tip for Fluency: Don’t try to stop and make a /t/ sound before “you.” Simply move your tongue into the position for the /t/ or /d/, and then move immediately into the /y/ sound. The /ch/ or /j/ sound will happen naturally and automatically. This is a crucial element of connected speech exercises.
2.2 The Less-Discussed Mixer: Place Assimilation with /n/ (Unique Content Section)
While the /t/ + /y/ rule is well-known, other forms of assimilation often go unmentioned. One of the most subtle yet important is how the /n/ sound changes its place of articulation (where the sound is made in the mouth) when followed by a /k/ or /g/ sound.
Normally, the /n/ sound is made at the alveolar ridge (behind your front teeth). However, when a native speaker anticipates the next sound being made at the back of the throat (the velar position for /k/ or /g/), they subconsciously move the /n/ back to that position as well.
This means that /n/ changes to the /ŋ/ sound (the “ng” sound, as in sing) for ease of speech!
| Example Phrase | Standard Pronunciation | Connected Speech (Assimilation) | Sound Change Explanation |
| Ten kids | Ten /tɛn/ | Teng /tɛŋ/ kids | /n/ moves back to become /ŋ/ to prepare for /k/ |
| On go | On /ɒn/ | Ong /ɒŋ/ go | /n/ moves back to become /ŋ/ to prepare for /g/ |
| I can go | I can /kæn/ | I cang /kæŋ/ go | This makes the phrase much faster and smoother to say. |
The ‘Secret’ Advantage: Recognizing this change will help you understand why “I can go” sounds different from the two separate words and prevents you from mishearing words like “ten” as “teng.” This subtle understanding moves you from a mechanical learner to an intuitive speaker.
Part 3: The Glide-In Sound – Intrusion
Intrusion is the third main rule of connected speech, and it directly relates back to the challenge of linking two vowel sounds together (Vowel-to-Vowel linking, as noted in Part 1.2).
When two vowel sounds meet, the mouth naturally inserts a tiny, unwritten, semi-consonant sound (called a glide) to smoothly bridge the gap. These sounds are always /r/, /w/, or /y/. Intrusion is the answer to the auxiliary keyword intrusion w and y.
Why is it called ‘Intrusion’? Because the sound is not written on the page. It intrudes or inserts itself into the natural flow of speech.
3.1 The /y/ Intrusion (The Vowel-to-Vowel Bridge)
The /y/ sound (like the “y” in yes) is inserted when the first word ends in a high front vowel sound, such as /iː/ (like in see or we), /eɪ/ (like in say or play), or /aɪ/ (like in I or my).
| Example Phrase | Written Vowel Sequence | Intruded Link (Sound) | Sound Placement |
| We always | /iː/ + /ɔːl/ | We y always | High front vowel → /y/ |
| I asked | /aɪ/ + /æ/ | I y asked | High front vowel → /y/ |
| The apple | /ðə/ + /æ/ | The y apple | High front vowel → /y/ |
Note on “The”: The word “the” changes its sound based on the next word. Before a consonant, it’s /ðə/ (like thuh). Before a vowel, it’s /ðiː/ (like thee). Because the /ðiː/ sound is a high front vowel, it triggers the /y/ intrusion.
3.2 The /w/ Intrusion (The Lip-Rounded Bridge)
The /w/ sound (like the “w” in wet) is inserted when the first word ends in a rounded vowel sound, where your lips are already in a rounded or close position, such as /uː/ (like in to or do), /oʊ/ (like in go or no), or /aʊ/ (like in now or how).
| Example Phrase | Written Vowel Sequence | Intruded Link (Sound) | Sound Placement |
| Go out | /oʊ/ + /aʊt/ | Go w out | Rounded vowel → /w/ |
| Do it | /uː/ + /ɪt/ | Do w it | Rounded vowel → /w/ |
| How about | /aʊ/ + /ə/ | How w about | Rounded vowel → /w/ |
3.3 The /r/ Intrusion (The Non-Rhotic Secret) (Unique Content Section)
This rule is often only taught to advanced students, but it’s essential for understanding British (RP), Australian, and some East Coast American accents. These are non-rhotic accents, meaning they only pronounce the /r/ sound when it comes before a vowel (e.g., in red or very), but not at the end of a word (e.g., the /r/ in car is silent).
However, in connected speech, if a word usually has a silent final /r/ and is followed by a vowel, that /r/ sound suddenly reappears to link the words. This is called the linking /r/ or, when it appears where it historically didn’t belong, intrusive /r/.
| Example Phrase | Accent Type | Phonetic Link (Sound) | Explanation |
| Your all | Non-rhotic | Your r all | The silent final /r/ in “your” reappears to link to “all.” |
| Idea is | Intrusive /r/ | Idea r is | The word “idea” has no written /r/, but one is inserted for the link. |
| Asia and | Intrusive /r/ | Asia r and | A non-rhotic speaker inserts an /r/ here, although it is less common in North American English. |
The Fluency Takeaway: When you hear a British speaker say “The idear is good,” they aren’t misspelling it; they are simply using the intrusive /r/ to seamlessly link “idea” and “is.” Recognizing this pattern is a major step in mastering connected speech rules for fluency.
Part 4: The Sound Eraser – Elision (Sound Deletion)
The opposite of Intrusion is Elision, which is when a sound that is written and would normally be spoken is deleted or completely dropped out in natural, rapid connected speech. This is done for maximum efficiency. If a sound is too difficult to pronounce quickly, it’s simply left out.
4.1 T- and D-Deletion: Dropping the Stops
The most common form of elision involves the /t/ and /d/ sounds. These are ‘stop’ sounds (the airflow is briefly blocked by the tongue), and they are often dropped when they occur between two other consonant sounds.
- T-Deletion: The final /t/ is dropped when it is preceded by a consonant and followed by a consonant.
| Example Phrase | Slow Pronunciation | Connected Speech (Elided) | Sound Change |
| Next time | /nɛkst taɪm/ | Neks time | The ‘t’ is difficult to articulate between the ‘s’ and the ‘t’—it’s deleted. |
| Post card | /poʊst kɑːrd/ | Pos card | The ‘t’ is dropped between the ‘s’ and the ‘k’. |
| First class | /fɜːrst klæs/ | Firs class | The ‘t’ is dropped between the ‘s’ and the ‘k’. |
- D-Deletion: Similarly, the final /d/ is dropped when it is preceded by a consonant and followed by a consonant.
| Example Phrase | Slow Pronunciation | Connected Speech (Elided) | Sound Change |
| Old man | /oʊld mæn/ | Ol man | The ‘d’ is dropped between the ‘l’ and the ‘m’. |
| Send me | /sɛnd miː/ | Sen me | The ‘d’ is dropped between the ‘n’ and the ‘m’. |
Actionable Tip: Don’t actively try to delete these sounds. Just practice the full phrase quickly. You’ll find that your mouth naturally eliminates the /t/ or /d/ because it’s too much work to stop and start the airflow twice in a row.
4.2 H-Deletion (A Unique Contraction) (Unique Content Section)
This is one of the biggest keys to understanding conversational English, yet it is rarely categorized under Elision.
H-Deletion is the dropping of the initial /h/ sound in unstressed function words (words that carry grammatical meaning but not main lexical meaning), such as:
- he
- her
- him
- has
- have
When these words are not stressed, the /h/ sound is dropped, and the remaining vowel then links directly to the preceding word, often through C-V Linking (Part 1.1).
| Example Phrase | Standard Pronunciation | Connected Speech (Elided & Linked) | How the Link Works |
| Tell her | /tɛl hɜːr/ | Tell er | The ‘l’ links to the vowel sound of ‘her’ (now ‘er’). |
| Ask him | /ɑːsk hɪm/ | Ask im | The ‘k’ links to the vowel sound of ‘him’ (now ‘im’). |
| Where have | /wɛər hæv/ | Where ave (or wave) | The ‘r’ links to the vowel of ‘have’ (now ‘ave’), or uses an intrusive /w/. |
The Fluency Takeaway: When a native speaker says, “I saw ‘im go ‘ome,” they are not being lazy; they are efficiently using H-deletion for fluency. This is a common and critical element of natural conversation.
Part 5: Beyond the Sounds – Rhythm and Weak Forms (Unique Content Section)
Mastering connected speech rules for fluency isn’t just about changing sounds; it’s about changing the rhythm of English. English is a stress-timed language, meaning the stressed syllables fall at roughly equal time intervals, regardless of how many unstressed syllables are between them. This is the opposite of a syllable-timed language (like Spanish or French).
To maintain this rhythm, English uses Weak Forms.
5.1 The Power of the Schwa (ə): The King of Weak Forms
The most common vowel sound in connected speech is the Schwa (ə), which sounds like a very short, relaxed “uh” (like the ‘a’ in about). The schwa is the sound that unstressed function words often turn into.
Function words—like prepositions (to, at, for), articles (a, the), auxiliary verbs (can, have, are), and conjunctions (and, but)—are almost always said in their weak form (using the schwa) in connected speech, leaving the main content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives) to carry the stress.
| Function Word | Strong Form (Used only when stressed) | Weak Form (Used in Connected Speech) | Example and Sound |
| to | /tuː/ | /tə/ (tuh) | I went tə the store. |
| for | /fɔːr/ | /fə/ (fuh) | This is fə you. |
| can | /kæn/ | /kən/ (kuhn) | I kən do it. |
| and | /ænd/ | /ən/ (uhn) or /n/ | Fish ən chips (Fish n’ chips). |
5.2 The Rule of Three: Your Fluency Rhythm Exercise
To practice this rhythm, focus on linking the weak forms together to rush from one stressed content word to the next.
Try this connected speech exercise called the Rule of Three:
- Identify the three most important (stressed) words in a phrase.
- Speak only those three words slowly.
- Put all the other (unstressed) function words into their weak form and rush them together between the stressed words.
| Phrase | Stressed Words (Keep Strong) | Weak Words (Rush & Schwa) | Final Rhythm |
| I have been to the office | I / office | have-been-to-the | Ivə bn tə th office |
| I can go and see her | go / see / her | I-can-and | ə kən go ən see her |
Why this is effective: By practicing this rhythm, you stop trying to pronounce every single word clearly and separately. Instead, you train your ear and your mouth to focus on the melody and stress pattern of English, which is the ultimate key to mastering connected speech rules for fluency. Your fluency won’t come from speed, but from flow.
Part 6: Your Fluency Action Plan – Connected Speech Exercises
Now that you understand the rules of Linking, Assimilation, Intrusion, and Elision, it’s time to put them into practice. True fluency is built on muscle memory, not just head knowledge.
6.1 The Shadowing Technique (Listening & Mimicking)
This is the single best way to absorb connected speech.
- Choose a short clip (30-60 seconds) of natural dialogue from a podcast, TV show, or YouTube channel.
- Listen with subtitles ON and note all the connected speech rules you hear (e.g., Whatcha for ‘What are you’).
- Listen again with subtitles OFF and immediately try to speak over the speaker, mimicking not just the words, but the speed, intonation, stress, and linking exactly. This is “shadowing.”
- Repeat this 10 times with the same short clip. You will find your mouth naturally starts using the ə sound, the /w/ intrusion, and the assimilation rules.
6.2 The Rhyming Game (Self-Correction Exercise)
This exercise focuses on the Intrusion and Linking rules.
Task: Say a phrase that forces you to use a rule, and then say a phrase that rhymes or has a similar structure, and check the difference.
Example 1 (Intrusion /w/):
- Say: “No edge” → Sounds like “No w edge”
- Say: “Go about” → Should sound like “Go w about”
Example 2 (Assimilation /t/+/y/):
- Say: “Bet you” → Should sound like “Bechu”
- Say: “Let yourself → Should sound like “Lech yourself”
By drilling these specific connected speech exercises, you move the knowledge from your conscious mind into your subconscious speaking ability.
Speaking with the Flow of English
Fluency isn’t about having a massive vocabulary or perfect grammar. It’s about being understood without effort, and making your listener comfortable. By mastering connected speech rules for fluency—embracing the blending of Linking, the changing sounds of Assimilation, the inserted Intrusion glides, and the skipped sounds of Elision—you are taking the biggest step toward sounding like a native English speaker.
The words you see on the page are just the blueprint. The words you hear and speak in real life are the music. Start listening for the music, and your fluency will unlock itself.
Tired of unnatural pauses when you speak? Our online courses at EnglishFact focus on Connected Speech techniques to help you eliminate choppy delivery. Learn how to link words smoothly and build the confidence and fluency needed for rapid, natural conversation.
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