Subtitles section Play video
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Hi. I'm Tim and this is my pronunciation workshop.
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Here, I'm gonna show you how English is really spoken.
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Come on, let's go inside.
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You see this? This is my lunch.
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Well, either that, or it's some cat food.
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Anyway, do you know what we call this container? It's a can, right?
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Now this has the same spelling as the modal 'can', and the same pronunciation, hasn't it?
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Or has it? Listen carefully when we ask some people in London how many languages they speak.
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I can speak one language.
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I can speak two languages.
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I can speak two languages.
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I can speak two languages, English and Hindi.
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They all used the word 'can'. But they didn't pronounce it as /kæn/.
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Listen again. How do they pronounce it?
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I can speak one language. I can speak two languages.
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I can speak two languages. I can speak two languages, English and Hindi.
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In fluent everyday English, when the modal auxiliary 'can' is unstressed, its pronunciation changes to /kən/.
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'I /kæn/ speak four languages' becomes: 'I /kən/ speak four languages'.
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This is what's known as a weak form and it can occur in questions as well.
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Here are some more examples.
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Can you help me bring in the shopping, please?
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I can swim further than I can run.
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You can succeed if you work hard.
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How far can you throw a tennis ball?
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Right, so you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. Are you ready?
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Listen and repeat.
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Can you help me bring in the shopping, please?
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I can swim further than I can run.
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You can succeed if you work hard.
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How far can you throw a tennis ball?
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Well done.
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Now remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
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And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week.
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I'll see you soon. Bye bye!
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Right, now, time for lunch I think! Ahh.
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Do you think I can open this can, without a can opener?
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Oh no - it is cat food.
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Never mind, we can eat cat food, can't we?
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You know what? That is not bad. Salmon? Rabbit? Mouse?