Connected speech is spoken language with a continuous sequence of sounds – these sounds can be observed most clearly in analyzing the difference between spoken language and reading a transcript of the same phrase or speech.
In learning about connected speech, it’s helpful to compare spoken language with a transcript side by side. The process of listening to the difference in the way spoken and written language is translated to a reader reveals quite a bit about connected speech. For this exercise, we will rely on Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Had a Dream speech.
0:45
I have a dream that the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
1:23
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today... (1:48) I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
General rules for stress patterns in the English language allow us to use spoken language and understand one another. If we take a very basic sentence, it’s easy to see how changing the stress of different words changes the meaning of the sentence.
The dog jumped over the river.
If we stress the word dog, we are implying that the dog (and not the cat or something else) is the subject who did the jumping. On the other hand, if we stress the word river, we are implying that the dog jumped over the river (and not the road or something else).
In the I Have a Dream speech, stress on different words becomes very obvious if you listen to the speech alongside a transcript. Take a listen (and look) at this sentence:
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
If you read this sentence without knowing where the stress is placed, you may guess Mississippi. Instead, MLK Jr. began by stressing the word “even” rather than Mississippi to signify the drastic environment of southern states – something that was better left to connected speech stress than explicit wording. In this example, connected speech was more effective than the written word.
A second important aspect of connected speech exists in weak formsof words. Consider this line from MLK Jr.’s speech:
… one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
In several places in the speech, MLK Jr. uses reductionism. This is evident in the word “with” that turns into the word “wit-“ or “wi-.” In spoken language there are many words that people reduce to weaker forms including: than (den), its (iss), his (iz), and some (sem).
Finally, linkage in connected speech is evident when letters (and sounds) are inserted in places they would not normally exist (and don't exist in the written form. Consider the sentence: I want to eat. In this sentence, "I want to eat" will turn into "I want toow eat," where a "W" intrudes after "too." This is not clear in the written word, but is very clear in spoken language.
In the I Have a Dream speech, MLK Jr.'s mention of the word "Georgia" turns into "Georgia(r)." The "r" intrudes at the end of "Georgia" where it does not appear in the transcript.
To better understand connected speech, try listening to the entire speech alongside the transcript.
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