Beth Like in 'speed boat'. The /d/ changes to a /b/ and then merges with the /b/ from the following word. Again, these two words sound like one word. 'Speed boat' becomes 'speebboat'. Listen to some other examples.
Examples Your dog is lovely. What a goodboy! (你的狗真可爱。真是只乖狗!)
Beth Also in everyday speech, the plosive /d/ changes to the plosive /g/ when it comes before a /g/ or a /k/. So, 'bad girl' becomes 'baggirl' and 'good cook' becomes 'googcook'.
Beth Elision is where a sound disappears in between two words in connected speech. With plosives, this most often happens with words ending in /t/ and /d/ sounds.
Beth Yes. In fluent speech, when a /t/ sound comes in between two consonant sounds, we often don't pronounce it, which makes the words flow together more fluently.
Beth Remember, if you have a question about the English language you'd like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk