AEE 2690: 3 Strange Things Americans Do with Pronunciation with Michael from Happy English
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What is the episode’s main focus on American pronunciation quirks?
This is an All-Ears English podcast, episode 2690, Three Strange Things Americans Do with Pronunciation with Michael from Happy English. Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. We believe in connection, not perfection, with your American host, Lindsay McMahon, and today's featured guest coming to you from Denver, Colorado, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to All ears English dot com forward slash subscribe. Americans do three weird things when they pronounce words and phrases. You don't have to mimic the accent, but you do need to understand it. Today, Michael from Happy English shows you exactly what you need to know to succeed, from New York City to California and everywhere in between.
Hello, Michael. Welcome back to Allers English. How have
you been? Lindsay, thank you so much. Good to be here. I've been good. I've been good. A little hot and sweaty in Japan, but other than that, yeah.
Yeah, for sure. It can get very hot in Japan. So I'm gonna take a minute to introduce you for any of our new listeners who don't know you. We've been on the show a number of times. But guys, today I have Michael De Giacomo on the show. He is the founder of Happy English and the host of the Happy English podcast. He's been teaching English since 1994 and has helped learners from around the world to speak more naturally and confidently. In everyday conversations. Michael is from New York City and now is based in Japan. So again, welcome, Michael.
Thank you so much. Yes, thank you. Which borough
which borough are you from? Where did you grow up in New York?
I grew up in a place called Long Island. Long Island is like next to New York and they talk more like this.
Yes.
Yeah. So it's kind of like the the suburbs of New York City.
Yeah, I'm glad you showed us a little bit of the accent there. It's very distinctive. When I hear it on TV, I know that's a Long Island accent. Like it's even different from Manhattan, right, Michael? It's interesting. Yeah.
It it's got its it's its own unique thing. If you know Cindy Lauper. The singer Cindy Lauper and you check any of her interviews, she talks like that. That's how she talks. I grew up in Long Island and I'm a singer.
Yes, she does. She's been in a couple of movies, I think, too, and she brings the accent into them as well. I love it. I love it.
How does Michael define “reductions” and why do Americans squeeze words together?
So that is a good a good way to sample that accent. Go find clips of Cindy Lopper.
Or Bugs Bunny.
Or oh, okay, Bugs Bunny. Well, Bugs Bunny has
more of a Brooklyn or New York City accent, but yeah.
Yeah, slightly more of a Brooklyn accent. So we're getting into accents today, right? But we're gonna bring it one level up. And talk a little bit about why American English is difficult to understand, even when you know all the words. Many of our listeners feel they do know a lot of vocabulary, but sometimes have trouble understanding when American English speakers speak.
Right.
Um so what are three of the pronunciation patterns that Americans tend to use in everyday conversation, Michael? What would you say that are tricky?
um reductions, reduced words, words squeezed together. Um linking words. Right. Put it away like that. And then Americans have this really unusual relationship with the letter T. Uh sometimes we drop it, sometimes we make it sound like a a weak D. And so all these things together. Some people say or a lot of people say, Oh, Americans talk too quickly. I don't think it's the speed. I think it's more the style. And that's what I wanted to share with your audience today.
Yeah, I love it. Well said, Michael. So it's not so much the speed, it's the style, but if we know what to look for, I think that's the key piece. Right. If we've primed our ears for what to actually listen for and look for, we'll understand it when it hits us right in the face, right?
Right, right. Because English, and I think especially American English, the way it sounds is usually totally different from the way it looks on the paper. And so if you're if you're if you can have a little bit of a flexibility in your ears and don't rely on your eyes very much, y you'll start to hear English from a better way or a new way, I think.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the episode’s main focus on American pronunciation quirks?
0:00–2:35
2
How does Michael define “reductions” and why do Americans squeeze words together?
2:35–5:52
3
What are the common ways Americans change the sound of the letter “T” at the end of words?
5:52–8:13
4
Why does the “T” in the middle of a word often sound like a weak “D” in American speech?
8:13–9:44
5
How do regional accents (East Coast vs. West Coast) affect these pronunciation patterns?
9:44–11:50
6
What role‑play examples illustrate reductions, T‑to‑D changes, and middle‑T shifts?
11:50–13:33
7
Why is understanding these pronunciation habits important for listening comprehension?
13:33–15:33
8
What final advice does Michael give for learners navigating American English speech?
15:33–19:18
Speakers
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