English Pronunciation Study: What did you do Today? (Ben Franklin Exercise)

in this American English pronunciation exercise we're going to study some conversation today it's going to be a Ben Franklin exercise where we analyze the speech together today's topic what did you do today great let's get started song what did you do today Tom what did you do today lots of interesting things happening here I noticed first of all that I've dropped the T here wedid what did what did you do I'm also noticing I'm getting more of a J sound here jew-jew what did you did jus so the D and the Y here are combining

to make the J sound so we have one day jus what did you what did you what did you Tom what did you do today the other thing I noticed is that the T here is really more of a flap sound a dee doo de doo de doo today this is most definitely a schwa so we're reducing this unstressed syllable to be the schwa today today do today do today Tom what did you do today it's on what did you do today today today today I woke up now here we have today three times always

the first syllable is reduced to the schwa sound but I'm noticing that these T's are all true T's and not flap T's that's because they're beginning sentences so we're not going to reduce that to a flap T in the case up here do today it came the T in today came between a vowel do the vowel and the schwa sound and that's why we made this a flap sound but here we're beginning a sentence so we're gonna go ahead and give it the true T sound though we will most definitely reduce to the schwa today

today today today today today today Tom what did you do today today today today I woke up everything was very connected there and I know that when we have something ending in a vowel or diphthong sound and the next word beginning in a vowel or diphthong sound that we want that to really glide together today I today I today I and any time we have a word that begins with a vowel we want to say hmm does the word before end in consonant sound it does it ends in the K consonant sound woke up woke

up so to help us link we can almost think of it as beginning the next word whoa Cup woke up today I woke up today today today I woke up and I went for a run and I went for a run Tom dropped the D here connected this word and to I and I and I and I this was the schwa sound so he's reduced and in I and I and I went for a run forever ah Tom reduced the vowel in the word for to the schwa and we've connected these two function words together

for a furro furro this is also a schwa for a furrow for a run for a run and I went for a run can you pick out the two stressed words here when run those are the two words that have the most shape in the voice the most length and I went for a run and I went for a run again he's got the intonation going up here at the end because comma he's giving us a list here and there's more information about to come today I woke up and I went for a run and

I went for a run and I went for a run and then I just worked and now here Tom did pronounce the D he linked it to the next word beginning with a vowel which is just this thought word that we say when we're thinking and and again the intonation of the voice is going up at the end and signaling comma not a period more information coming and and and that I just worked worked worked then I just worked here finally we have the intonation of the voice going down at the end so we know

period end of the sentence end of the thought then I he connected this ending consonant to the beginning vowel the diphthong i I to smooth that out then I then I that I just worked did you notice Tom dropped the tea here we did not get just worked just worked he didn't release it this happens often when we have a word that ends in a cluster with a tea when the next word also begins with a consonant in these cases often the tea will get dropped I just worked I just worked I just worked do

you notice that the Eadie ending here is pronounced as a tea sound that's because the sound before the K is unvoiced so this ending will also be unvoiced worked worked and I went for a run and then I just worked and then I just worked and that I just worked so where do you run so where do you run now this is a question but did you notice the intonation went down at the end run run that's because it's a question that cannot be answered with just yes or no yes/no questions go up and pitch

at the end all other questions tend to go down in pitch at the end where do you run do you hear the stressed words in that question where run so where do you run longer words more up-down shape of the voice where run so where do you run so where do you run so where do you run so where do you run I run in Fort Greene Park what do you hear as being the stressed syllables there I run in Fort Greene Park I run in Fort Greene Park I run in Fort Greene Park I

run in Fort Greene Park I hear Dada Dada Dada definitely I hear Fort Greene & Park all being longer all having that shape in the voice I run in Fort Greene Park also I is a little bit more stressed than running I I dadada dadada i runnin i runnin runnin runnin so those two words are really together because we have an ending consonant and a beginning vowel runnin runnin I run in I run in Fort Greene Park I run in Fort Greene Park I run in Fort Greene Park I run in Fort Greene Park in

Brooklyn in Brooklyn Brooklyn a two-syllable word one of the syllables will be stressed what do you hear as being stressed Brooklyn Brooklyn definitely it's that first syllable Brooke Brooke Brooklyn Brooklyn in Brooklyn in Brooklyn in Brooklyn so what are you doing after this so what are you doing after this how was I able to say so many words quickly but still be clear first of all I'm dramatically reducing the word our to the schwa our sound or that means the T here is now coming between two vowel sounds and I'm making that a flap T

sound which sounds like the D between vowels water water water also the word U is unstressed so it's going to be in that same line what are you what are you what are you what are you very fast quite flat lower in volume what are you doing now here we have a stressed word do doing doing what are you doing do you hear how this syllable do six out of that phrase more than anything else what are you doing what are you doing after this another stressed word here so what are you doing after this

so what are you doing after this so what are you doing after this what are you doing after this what are you doing after this after this nothing Tom's speaking a little bit more slowly than I am here after this nothing we have two two syllable words here which syllable is stressed let's take first the word after if you think you hear the first syllable as being stressed you're right F after director the second syllable very low in pitch flat and quick half what about the word nothing again it's the first syllable ing endings even

though this isn't an ING verb will be unstressed nothing nah nah nothing after this nothing after this nothing after this nothing no plans no plans nothing reduces in this phrase I'm really hearing this as two different stressed words they're both one syllable no plans no plans no plans no plans no plans no plans no plans no plans should we get dinner yeah should we get dinner one of the things I noticed is I'm dropping the D sound should we should we should we get should we get should we get that's helping me say this less

important word even faster should we get dinner should we get dinner should we get dinner should we get dinner I noticed that the T here is a stop T I don't release it it's not get dinner it's get get get get dinner get dinner should we get dinner should we get dinner should we get dinner should we get dinner do you notice in this question my voice does go up and pitch at the end dinner dinner that's because this is a yes/no question pitch goes up should we get dinner should we get dinner yeah as

you probably know a more casual way to say yes should we get dinner yeah should we get dinner yeah working this way with any video or audio clip can help improve your listening comprehension and your pronunciation that's it and thanks so much for using Rachel's English don't stop there keep learning with my fun American English and real-life playlist my reduction in linking playlist or any of the playlists on my channel and don't forget to check out Rachel's English comm where there is lots more to work with