We link and reduce words in the sentence to make it sound more natural and pleasant to the ears.
Let’s check out the sentences below and compare the wrong and the right way of reading the sample sentence.
I can bring a bottle of wine to the party.
❌ / aɪ kæn brɪŋ eɪ bɑː.t̬əl ɑːv waɪn tu: ði: pɑːr.t̬i/
I can bring a bottle of wine to the party.
✓ / aɪ kən brɪŋə bɑː.t̬ələv waɪn tə ðə pɑːr.t̬i/
Note: The function words took their weak form and linking is being applied.
In the second sentence, stressed words include the nouns “women” and “water”, and the verb “bought”. The rest of the words are unstressed.
Thə women bought səme water.
In the third sentence, stressed words include the negative auxiliary “can’t”, the adjective “late”, and the noun “appointment”. The rest of the words are unstressed.
I can’t bə late fər mə appointment.
Generally, we use the strong form of the function words to emphasize very important information in the sentence. In some cases, the technically unstressed function word becomes strong or stressed in the sentence if they’re found at the end of the sentence or the question.
Important Reminder: We use the strong form of the function words to emphasize very important information in the sentence.
For example:
Are they from Japan?
Yes, they are.
(/ ɚ/ = weak form)
Yes, they are.
( /ɑːr/ = strong form)
There are also common English words that have both strong and weak pronunciation forms. Here are a few examples.
CAN
Strong form /kæn/ Weak form /kən/
We know you can. Can we sit here?
BUT
Strong form /bʌt/ Weak form /bət/
She’s but a fool. He is good, but not intelligent.
THAT
Strong form /ðæt/ Weak form /ðət/
That is David’s car. I think that we should get a new one.
THE
Strong form /ði/ Weak form /ðə/
They ate the apples. She dislikes the man.
AT
Strong form /æt/ Weak form /ət/
What are you looking at? I’ll see you at noon.