Quick rules for liaison and elision in speech

Perfecting French Pronunciation: A Beginner's Handbook: Quick rules for liaison and elision in speech

Here is a quick summary of the rules for liaison and elision in speech:

Liaison:

Liaison occurs when the final sound of one word, often a consonant or glide, links to the initial vowel sound of the next word.
In English, this typically happens when a word ending in a vowel sound is followed immediately by a word beginning with a vowel, creating a smooth link (e.g., “be able” sounds like “be-yable”).
Liaison can also happen with consonants that connect smoothly to vowel sounds in rapid or connected speech.

Elision:

Elision is the omission or dropping of a sound, usually a consonant, in connected speech to make pronunciation easier and faster.
Commonly elided sounds include /t/ and /d/, especially in consonant clusters (e.g., “next door” becomes “nex door”).
Elision often occurs with weak or unstressed vowel sounds in syllables, such as in “interesting” pronounced as “intresting.”
Elision helps avoid complex consonant clusters and facilitates fluid speech.

Together, liaison and elision contribute to natural, fluent connected speech by linking words smoothly or omitting sounds for ease of articulation.

These summarized rules reflect typical patterns seen in casual and rapid speech contexts in English.¹^{, 2}^{, 3}^{, 5}^{, 6}

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