July Contest

The March contest winner is Anna Grossklag of Santa Clarita, CA -- Congratulations!

In the natural flow of speech, sounds link together; we don’t speak word by word. When one word begins with the same sound that the previous word ends with, we usually link those two sounds together. Try saying "I heard the same message." Notice how "same-message" links together with the result of one slightly longer M sound.

Now, here’s the contest. Most of these words are examples of linking because only one sound is made when you the two words. One pair, however, almost always has 2 sounds pronounced separately—one at the end of the first word and one at the beginning of the second word. Which pair is it?

1. what-time (What-time is it?)
2. nineteen-ninety (I moved in nineteen-ninety.)
3. bus-stop (The bus-stop is crowded.)
4. finish-shopping (We will finish-shopping early.0
5. orange-juice (Would you like some orange-juice?)
6. will-later (Yes, I will-later.)