where we study everything about American English pronunciation,

to help you improve your listening comprehension and understand how to sound more American.

So today, we're going to do a Ben Franklin exercise on a monologue about going out to dinner.

First, we'll listen to the full monologue, then there will be an in-depth analysis after that.

You study everything about stress, reductions, and linking.

There will be a listen and repeat section.

This is where you get to practice out loud and see if you can imitate what I've done.

First, the monologue.

Tonight, David and I are going out to dinner with two friends, a double-date.

We both got sitters and we got a reservation at Park at six forty-five.

I already know what I'm going to get.

They have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it, but it's worth every minute.

It's going to be so great to enjoy a nice meal catching up with these friends.

Now, the analysis.

Tonight David and I are going out to dinner with two friends, a double date.

Tonight David and I are going out to dinner.

Tonight.

I stress that, the time, when this was gonna happen.

David and I, a little bit longer, going out to dinner, go, a little bit longer,

din, a little bit longer, with two friends, two, I stressed that, I bring the pitch of my voice up,

two friends, friends, a little bit longer.

Tonight David and I are going out to dinner with two friends.

Tonight David and I are going out to dinner with two friends.

Tonight David and I are going out to dinner with two friends.

And the rest of the words are said pretty quickly.

Please notice the word 'tonight' is pronounced with a schwa in the first syllable.

So many people pronounce that: to-- tonight, today, tomorrow, but they're all: te, te, just the T and the schwa.

To-- tonight, tonight.

Tonight, tonight, tonight.

The second T is a stop T because it's followed by a word that begins with a consonant, that would be David.

Tonight, David--

Tonight David and I are--

Tonight David and I are--

Tonight David and I are--

David and I.

Now whenever we have two things that were putting together with 'and', it's very common

to reduce the word 'and' which I did, I changed, the vowel to the schwa and we drop the D.

And, David and I, David and I.

And then the N links right into the next word which is the AI as in buy diphthong.

David and I.

David and I.

David and I

David and I

David and I

The word 'are'.

David and I are.

'Are' is more like rr--.

David and I are.

David and I are going out.

Rrrrr--

Said more quickly.

David and I are going out.

David and I are going out.

David and I are going out.

I'm going to put a little bit more length on 'out' as well.

Out to dinner.

So here we have two Ts and I combined those with just one true T.

Out to, out to.

So a stop and then a release.

Out to dinner.

And the word 'to' is reduced.

We use the schwa instead of the OO vowel so it's not 'to' it's 'te'.

Out to dinner.

Are going out to dinner.

Are going out to dinner.

Are going out to dinner with two friends.

The word 'with' said very quickly.

With, with, with, with, with.

So the TH is made very simply here.

It's very fast.

With two, with two.

Now here, TWO is pronounced with the OO vowel and this word never reduces,

unlike this word which is pronounced with the OO vowel, which almost always reduces.

So it's actually the schwa instead of the OO vowel.

With two friends, with two friends.

With two friends, a double date.

A double date.

A double date.

With a stop T.

So we have the word 'a' with a schwa, a, a, a double date.

And in this thought group, these three words are very linked together.

We have an unstressed syllable, then a stressed syllable, then an unstressed syllable, and a stressed syllable.

Da-da, da-da, a double date.

A double date.

A double date.

A double date.

A double date.

We both got sitters.

We both got sitters.

Both and sit are the most stressed word there.

Sitters. The double T there is a flap T,

that's short for a babysitter, someone to watch our kids.

We both got sitters.

The T in got, a stop T.

Why?

Because the next word begins with a consonant.

We both got sitters.

We both got sitters.

We both got sitters.

We both got sitters and we got a reservation at park at six forty-five.

And we got a reservation at park at six forty-five.

Park, probably the most stressed word in that whole sentence.

The word 'and' reduces, did you hear that?

I dropped the T.

And we got our reservation at--

And we got our reservation at--

And we got our reservation at--

And we got a reservation, and we got a, and we got a, and we got a.

Dropped the D, the T here turned into a flap to connect the words, linking right into the schwa,

got a, and we got a, and we got a, and we got a.

Those four words are all flatter in pitch.

They're unstressed, and they all link together.

And we got a reservation.

The stressed syllable of 'res' is a little bit longer, a little bit clearer.

Reservation. Notice the letter S here makes the Z sound.

Rezzzz, reservation.

And we got a reservation at Park at six forty-five.

And we got a reservation at Park at six forty-five.

And we got a reservation at park at six forty-five.

So I have the word 'at' twice.

Both times, it's reduced.

It's not the AH vowel but it's the schwa, and it's a stop T, at park, at park at six forty-five.

At, at, at, at, at, at.

So it's not at but: at, at, at.

Both times it's a stop T because the next word begins with a consonant.

Here, it's a P, and here, it's the S sound.

At park at six forty-five.

At park at six forty-five.

At park at six forty-five.

Six forty-five.

Six forty-five.

Whenever you're giving a time, it's the end of the time, the last part of the time that's stressed.

So forty-five.

If I was going to say, let's say this, then I would say: seven thirty, and the final word 'thirty'

would be the most stressed.

Here, the final word is 'five' so it's: six forty-five, 'five' being the most stressed.

Six forty-five

Six forty-five

Six forty-five

And notice the T in 'forty' is a flap T.

We flap the T if it comes after an R before a vowel.

Forty, forty.

Six forty-five.

Six forty-five.

Six forty-five.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I stress the word 'already' the most.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I already know what I'm going to get.

This is a little unusual. I'm stressing it because

we haven't even arrived at the restaurant and I've already chosen what I'm gonna eat.

So that's why 'already' is coming out the most.

Now this word is normally stressed.

Already.

I already know.

But sometimes, we do stress the first syllable.

I already know.

I already knew that.

I already know.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I pronounce this word without an L.

Already. Already.

It's like a tighter AW as in law vowel.

Already.

I already know.

You can do this as well.

I think it simplifies the word for non-native speakers and it's a good little shortcut to that word.

Already.

Already.

I already know.

I already know.

I already know.

I think I also make 'know' a little bit longer.

Know what I'm.

Know what I'm.

Know what I'm.

What and I'm, both flattened, said faster, not as clear.

Flap T connecting the two words.

Know what I'm, know what I'm.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I already know what I'm going to get.

I definitely could have said: what I'm gonna get, gonna, gonna, gonna.

'Going to' is such a good candidate for getting reduced.

Gonna.

But instead, I said: going to get, going to get, going.

So I did a full OH as in no diphthong.

Going.

Then I made a flap T.

And we make a flap T in the word 'to' quite a bit when the sound before is voiced.

And here, it's the NG sound that is voiced, so rather than saying: going to, I said: going, going.

So my tongue is in position for the NG.

That's the back of the tongue and then the front of the tongue flaps.

Going to get.

Going to get.

Stop T at the end of 'get', why?

Because it's at the end of a thought group.

Going to get.

Going to get.

Going to get.

Going to get.

They have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

Okay I really stress the word 'best', don't I?

They have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

Ever.

They have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

They have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

They have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

They have the, they have the, they have the.

These three words, a little less clear, flatter in pitch, and then I bring out the word 'best',

and I emphasize the B and I move my head as I say the word to say: This is an important word, it is the best.

They have the best, they have the best, they have the best French onion soup I've ever had.

Soup I've ever had.

So I noticed I closed my lips for the P, but I don't really release.

Soup, soup.

You don't hear that escape of air right into the next word 'I've'.

Soup I've ever had.

Soup I've ever had.

So there was no release of the P there.

Soup.

P is a stop consonant.

Soup I've ever had.

Soup I've ever had.

Soup I've ever had.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it.

Those are my two longer most stressed words there.

I emphasize the H. I make it a little stronger than normal to bring out the stressed word.

Let's look at this phrase.

I don't know.

There are several ways we can pronounce that.

We can say: I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

That's the most conversational, the least clear.

That's not how I do it, and make it a little bit more clear.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it.

I don't know how long it takes them to make it.

I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know.