asked Scrooge [pronunciation]

    • The colloquial pronunciation of "asked the question" sounds like "ass the question," doesn't it?
     
    sitifan said:
    The colloquial pronunciation of "asks the question" sounds like "ass the question," doesn't it?
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    No. Wrong. Incorrect. There is more than one "colloquial pronunciation".

    Speakers pronounce things clear enough that the listener understands their words. If they don't, communication fails.

    So speaking to a fluent listener is different than speaking to a non-fluent listener.
    And speaking an expected phrase is different than speaking an unexpected phrase.

    If A is speaking to B, it will sound like "asked" to B. If you overhear it (and you are not fluent in English) it might not sound like "asked".
     
    Tegs said:
    people will look at you curiously. Ask has a clear K sound at the end.
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    But "asked" does not usually have a clear K sound. It has a clear T sound, but one that loses its clarity when followed by a consonant.
    When that consonant is itself a T, they tend to merge:
    "I asked Tom" sounds like "I asstom".
    sitifan said:
    The colloquial pronunciation of "asks the question" sounds like "ass the question," doesn't it?
    Click to expand...
    No. With "asks", you should hear a clear SKS (or SX) sound, but the "th" may lose its clarity, so that it will sound almost (but not quite) like "asks a question".
     
    No, none of these involve completely deleting a large number of consonants. In English we have words that are impossible in your native Chinese - ending in /s/ or /sk/ or /sks/ or /skt/, or beginning with /kr/ or /skr/, and many many other combinations. We pronounce these. When two of them come together, there might be some small reduction of them, but basically you have to accept that a combination like /sktskr/ in 'asked Scrooge' is normal, and can be said in ordinary colloquial speech. Sometimes some people simplify them a bit. But don't expect this to happen a lot.
     
    sitifan said:
    ‘asked’ is pronounced:
    /ɑ:s/ before a consonant (‘asked them’) without a /k/ or a /t/ sound.
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    Whilst I agree with their pronunciations of "ask if" and "asked if", their advice on "ask them" and "asked if" needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.
    In general, I would expect to see a wide range, across native speakers and situations, of how much the 'k' is suppressed in "ask them". Mostly a hint of it will remain, i.e. it doesn't always disappear completely.

    As for "asked them", I would indeed expect the 'k' to vanish, but mostly I'd expect at least a hint ot 't' to remain before the /ð/ of 'them'; it also does not always disappear completely.
     
    Edinburgher said:
    But "asked" does not usually have a clear K sound. It has a clear T sound, but one that loses its clarity when followed by a consonant.
    When that consonant is itself a T, they tend to merge:
    "I asked Tom" sounds like "I asstom".

    No. With "asks", you should hear a clear SKS (or SX) sound, but the "th" may lose its clarity, so that it will sound almost (but not quite) like "asks a question".
    Click to expand...


    It has a clear K sound when I pronounce it. Never a T sound (I speak Standard Southern British English).
    "I asked Tom" sounds like "I asktom" when I say it. Accents are a wonderful thing.:)
     
    sitifan said:
    How to pronounce 'ask' & 'asked'.
    ‘asked’ is pronounced:
    /ɑ:s/ before a consonant (‘asked them’) without a /k/ or a /t/ sound.
    Click to expand...
    Sitifan, I think you should try to distinguish between:
    1. How native speakers say things to each other, and
    2. How a Chinese-speaking person should learn to pronounce words.
    It is true that in casual situations, some native English speakers may almost say "ass" for "ask". Almost. But two points arise - a) this is not how they learn to speak, and b) the two pronunciations are not exactly the same.

    You are trying to shortcut ten years of speaking English if you jump to the conclusion that " ‘asked’ is pronounced /ɑ:s/ before a consonant (and also it will sound like arse to an English person !). Learn it like we did when we were young, and pronounce the final "d". Over time, you may find that it disappears, or it may not.

    Your danger if you omit the "d" right now is that you probably still have a Chinese accent. This leads to the typical, hard-to-understand pronunciation that many Chinese people in Britain have, whe the omi the fina consonan on every wor and taw lie thi. Their children, brought up speaking English from an early age, don't make this mistake.
     
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