(The word liaison is borrowed from
French. It means a link or a connection. In pronunciation, liaisons
are the connection between two words.)
In American English, words are not pronounced one by one. Usually, the end of one word attaches to the beginning of the next word. This is also true for initials, numbers, and spelling. Part of the glue that connects sentences is an underlying hum or drone that only breaks when you come to a period, and sometimes not even then. You have this underlying hum in your own language and it helps a great deal toward making you sound like a native speaker.
Once you have a strong intonation, you need to connect all those stair steps together so that each sentence sounds like one long word.
The dime.
The dime easier.
They tell me the dime easier.
They tell me the dime easier to understand.
They tell me that I'm easier to understand.
Click to listen
The last two sentences above should be pronounced exactly the same, no matter how they are written. It is the sound that is important, not the spelling.
Check Your Understanding
True or False1. Liaison means connection.
True
False
2. American English is pronounced word by word.
True
False
3. All of the words in a sentence are connected together until you come to a period.
True
False
4. As you speak, you shouldn't think about the spelling of words, you should only think about the sounds.
True
False
