Producing /reduce/

How to produce /reduce/

Function words — 'to', 'for', 'and', 'of', 'you', 'are', 'have' — are almost always reduced in connected speech. 'Going to' → 'gonna', 'want to' → 'wanna', 'kind of' → 'kinda', 'and' → 'n'. Over-pronouncing these marks you immediately as a non-native speaker.

Practice the sound in isolation

Say 'gonna' slowly. Hold the target sound. Record yourself — does it match your mental model of the native version?

A few varied words

• Initial: gonna, wanna, gotta
• Medial: should've, would've, could've
• Final: dunno, gimme, oughta