Name:____________________________________________________
Why can't I Understand You? – Reduced Speech in Spoken American English
One reason that native American English speakers are difficult to understand is
because they often use reduced speech forms when speaking in informal situations. When
native speakers use reduced speech forms the words seem to run together and this can
make it very difficult to understand what they are saying.
Look at the table below. In the first column are some common verb phrases written as
American English speakers say them in formal situations.
In the second column are the same phrases as American English speakers say them in
informal situations.
Formal Speech
Reduced Speech
(have) got to
gotta
have to
hafta
has to
hasta
want to
wanna
going to
gonna
don’t know
dunno
should have
shoulda
would have
woulda
could have
coulda
what do you
whaddaya
Mini Lesson: Dialogs with Reduced Speech
Dialog 1
A. Whaddaya wanna eat for lunch?
B. I dunno, whadda you wanna eat?
A. I wanna have Chinese food.
B. You shoulda told me, I coulda bought some on my way over.
Dialog 2
A. Whaddaya wanna do today?
B. I hafta clean the house or my mom’s gonna be mad.
A. Is your sister gonna help too?
B. No, my sister can’t help. She hasta work today.
Adapted from: http://www.confidentvoice.com/spoken-english-reduced-speech.html
Reduced Forms
To sound more like a native speaker of English, it is necessary to learn the reduced forms
used in daily speech. It is also important if you want to understand what native speakers are
saying.
As you know, we do not pronounce every word clearly. Remember, these reduced forms
are not written in standard English, but you may see some of them in songs, advertisements and
personal writing, when wishing to reflect natural speech.
The most popular vowel sound in the English language is the schwa. It is an unstressed syllable,
and it sounds something like `uh`(like the sound you make if you've been punched in the stomach!)
Here are some more examples of reduced forms:
Standard English
Reduced Form
Example
because
kuz
"I don't wanna go to the party, kuz
it sounds boring."
did you
didja/didya
"Didja like the film?"
don't you
doncha/donchu
"Doncha know?"
get you
getcha
"I'll getcha a drink."
give me
gimme
"Gimme all your money!"
going to + verb
gonna
"I'm gonna do my homework now."
how are you + verb
howarya
"Howarya doin'?"
I don't know
I dunno
"I dunno what to think about that."
want to
wanna
"I wanna go home."
what are you + gerund
whatcha
"Whatcha doin'?"
what do you + verb
whaddaya
"Whaddaya wanna do today?"
what is the matter
wassamatta
"Wassammatta witcha? (with you)
Adapted from: Karen Bond 2001.