And this summer, we're going to use those movies to learn English, and study how to sound American.

Every video this summer is going to be a Study English with Movies video.

We'll pull scenes from the summer's hottest movies, as well as favorite movies from years past.

It's amazing what we can discover by studying even a small bit of English dialogue.

We'll study how to understand movies, what makes Americans sound American,

and of course, any interesting vocabulary, phrasal verbs, or idioms that come up in the scenes we study.

I call this kind of exercise a Ben Franklin exercise.

First, we'll watch the scene.

Then we'll do an in-depth analysis of what we hear together.

This is going to be so much fun. Be sure to tell your friends and spread the word that all summer long,

every Tuesday, we're studying English with movies, here at Rachel's English.

If you're new to my channel, click Subscribe, and don't forget the notification button.

Let's get started.

First, the scene.

That sounds different. Did you change it?

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Why?

I just played it the way Liszt would have played it if he altered Bach’s version.

Play that again.

Play what again? The thing you played outside.

Oh, you want me to play the thing I played outside?

>> Please. >> Ah.

Now the analysis.

That sounds different. Did you change it?

So we have a statement and a question. Listen to the intonation for this statement.

That sounds different.

The intonation goes down, then a yes/no question.

Did you change it?

Change it?

And the intonation goes up.

That's often what happens with a yes/no question.

That sounds different. Did you change it?

That sounds different. Did you change it?

That sounds different. Did you change it?

Uh sounds, uh sounds different.

So 'sounds' and 'dif', stressed, the word 'that' reduced, he drops the TH. Quick little AH vowel, stop T.

Ah, ah, ah sounds, ah sounds.

That sounds-- that sounds-- that sounds different--

That sounds different. So a four-word sentence here, sorry, a four-syllable sentence.

And the middle two are stressed. Unstressed, that sounds, stressed, dif--, stressed, rent, unstressed.

Diff-rent.

Now this word could be three syllables, different,

but most native speakers will drop the middle syllable, he does, it's just diff-- first syllable stress, diff-rent.

Different,

Different, diff-- ferent-- ferent-- ferent-- ferent-- so F sound, R sound, schwa: ferent-- ferent-- ferent--,

and then a stop.

Different.

He goes right into the next sound of the D.

Different, did-- different-- but we don't release the T. That would be: different did-- different did--

but he says: different did, different, different.

Different--

Did you change it?

Did you change it?

Again it's a four-syllable, section of this thought group.

Did you change it?

Change, change is stressed, the other three are unstressed. So in the first half, that statement half,

we had two stressed syllables.

And now we have just one. So, did you-- flat, low in pitch:

did you-- did you-- did you-- did you--

Did you--

change it?

Did you-- did you-- did you-- did you--

Notice that he's combining D with Y to make a J sound, which we would write an IPA with this symbol.

Did you-- did you-- did you-- did you--

That's fairly common. When a word ends in a D, and the next word is you or your,

you might hear it with 'would you' becoming: would you, would you, would you.

Common to hear that J sound when an ending D connects into 'you'.

Did you--

Did you-- did you-- did you--

Now say that quickly, flat, low in pitch, just the way he does. Did you-- before the stressed syllable 'change'.

Did you change it?

Did you change it?

Did you change it?

Did you change it?

Change it?

And then the word 'it' said quickly, unstressed, but the intonation does go up because of the question

and it ends in a stop T, not released because it's at the end of a thought group.

Change it? Change it? Change it?

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Okay then he responds with a short thought group.

Tell me what you think is the most stressed syllable in that thought group.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Little-- lih-- and 'bit' a little length, but definitely most of the stress, the peak of the stress, is unchanged.

The word 'well' said pretty unclearly.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I-- Well, I-- Well, I--

I don't even really hear the L sound, it's just like a W: what, what, what, before the AI diphthong:

Well, I--

Well, I--

Well, I--

Well, I--

Whoa, different day, different outfit, important announcement.

Did you know that with this video, I made a free audio lesson that you can download?

In fact, I'm going this for each one of the youtube videos I'm making this summer,

all eleven of the Learn English with Movies videos.

So follow this link, or find the link in the video description to get your free downloadable audio lesson.

It's where you're going to train all of the things that you learned about pronunciation in this video.

Back to the lesson.

So 'well' and 'I' both unstressed, simplified, and then stress on 'changed'.

Now, the sounds in 'changed' are... The final sounds are: the J sound, and the D sound.

If I was going to pronounce this really clearly, I would say: changed.

But actually, when he says it, I don't really hear the D.

Do you?

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

And I'm a little surprised because the next word begins with a vowel.

If the next word began with a consonant, I would totally get why he dropped the D.

That's pretty common to drop the D between two consonants.

But it's followed by a vowel, still, I don't really hear a clear D sound,

and I think you could get away with it if you tried imitate it without the D sound at all.

Changed it, changed it.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

If it links together, and is smooth and the next word is said quickly,

we have two unstressed words here in a row, I don't think that anyone would wonder where the D was.

Also we are used to dropped Ds. Our ears are. Because we do drop Ds between consonants.

So that's what I'm hearing him doing and I think when you're imitating with the audio,

go ahead and think of there being no D as you work with the audio that goes with this video lesson.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

Well, I changed it a little bit.

It a little bit.

It a little bit.

We have two flap t's.

We have a flap T in 'it' linking into the schwa.

It a-- it a-- it a-- and then we have a flap T in 'little' so try that with me: it a little-- it a little--

It's funny when we take just those three words.

They sort of rhyme, don't they?

It a little--

It a little bit.

It a little bit.

It a little bit.

It a little-- it a little--

It a little bit.

And a stop T at the end of 'bit' because it ends the thought group.

It a little bit.

It a little bit.

It a little bit.

Why?

Why? Why?

A single thought group.

A sing-word thought group, I should say.

Up-down shape of stress.

Why? Why?

So it's not flat.

Why? Why? Why?

But it's got that up-down shape of stress. Why? Why? Why?

Why?

I just played it the way Liszt would have played it if he altered Bach’s version.

So then we have a longer sentence, and he breaks it up into two thought groups.

He breaks it up by putting a pause after the word 'he'.

So let's look at this thought group and let's find our most stressed words, and are there some reductions?

Let's find those too.

I just played it the way Liszt would have played it if he--

I just played it the way Liszt would have played it if he--

I just played it the way Liszt would have played it if he--

I'm hearing: I just played it the way Liszt would have played it if he--

'played' has some length, Liszt has the most stress, I would say, the most up-down shape.

And then we have quite a few unstressed words. So 'I' and 'just' how are those pronounced?

I just played--

I just-- I just-- I just--

The word 'just', I just-- I just-- gets pretty unclear, both the J sound and the vowel are pretty unclear.

I just-- I just-- I just--

A really, really subtle J then an ST, I wouldn't try to make a vowel there at all.

I just-- I just-- I just--

I just--

I just played it the way--

I just played it the way--

played it the way--

played it the way-- played it the way--

So we have stressed and then three unstressed words: played it the way-- it the way-- it the way-- it the way--

It the way-- said more simply, a little bit less clearly.

Stop T in it: it the-- it the-- it the-- It the way--It the way-- ED ending in 'played',

just a D sound, sound before his voiced, the AY diphthong. He doesn't do a really strong D release,

but I do think it does link into the vowel. Played it, played it. Really light with the flap there.

Played it-- played it-- played it the way--

played it the way--

Liszt would have played it if he--

And the composer's name Liszt, we don't say the Z in that.

I'm not sure how it would be pronounced in his own native language, but in American English we just say:

Liszt, up-down shape the most stress in that thought group.

Play it the way list play it the way Liszt--

Play it the way list play it the way Liszt--

Play it the way Liszt would have played it if he--

So we have S-T-W, sometimes we drop the T between consonants, he doesn't drop the T,

there is a light true T release: Liszt would have-- Liszt-- A little bit of air escaping, just to make that name clear.

Liszt would have played it if he--

Liszt would have played it if he--

Liszt would have played it if he--

Then we have 'would have played it', oops, I forgot the word 'if', didn't I? Would, I forgot the word 'it',

would have played it if he-- let's listen to those words:

Would have played it if he--

Would have played it if he--

Would have played it if he--

Would have played it if he--

So a little bit of length and stress on 'played', the second time around, too. Have, how's that pronounced?

Would have-- would have-- would have--

So we have: would have-- would have-- would have--

The word 'have' is reduced, it becomes just schwa V, so the H is dropped, the vowel reduces,

and it links right into the word before with a flap: would have-- would have--

D between vowels is just like the T between vowels, it's a flap of the tongue.

Now remember, we have the letter L here but that's not a sound, it's a silent in 'would'.

So this sound before is the UH as in push vowel, so the D does come between two vowels, flap it:

would have-- would have-- would have-- would have-- Very light V sound before the P.

Would have-- would have--

Would have played it if he--

Would have played--

would have played--

would have played--

would have played if he--

would have played if he--

would have played if he--

Now we have: played it if he-- played it if-- The T comes between two vowels, the IH vowel

of 'it' and the IH vowel of 'if' so that is a flap T.

It if he-- it if he-- it if he-- it if he--