Reductions are a common feature of spoken language, where sounds change or get shortened when people speak quickly. These reductions are essential to make speech flow smoothly and effortlessly, and they are common in most languages. Reductions occur on a spectrum and are more pronounced the faster someone speaks; they happen in a predictable way, so once you’ve learned the patterns by which sounds change and disappear you can begin to replicate it in your speaking as well.

Here are some examples of common reductions in English:

1. Schwa sound: The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound in English, and it occurs when the vowel is reduced to a short, unstressed sound. For example, the word 'the' is often pronounced as 'thuh,' and 'about' becomes 'uh-bout.'

2. Consonant clusters: In English, words often contain multiple consonants together, which can be difficult to pronounce quickly. To make it easier, speakers often drop one of the consonants in the cluster. For example, 'hand' can become 'han' or 'ham.'

3. Elision: This refers to the complete omission of sounds or syllables in a word. For example, 'library' is often pronounced as 'li-bry' or 'li-buh-ry.'

4. Linking: In connected speech, words often run together, and their sounds blend together to create a smoother, more natural sound. For example, 'have to' becomes 'haf-ta' and 'should have' becomes 'shoulda.'

Understanding these reductions is essential for language learners who want to speak fluently and naturally. However, it's essential to note that these reductions can vary from region to region, and different dialects may have their own unique reductions.

Reductions are a common feature of spoken language, and they are essential for making speech flow smoothly and naturally. Understanding these reductions can help language learners speak more naturally and understand native speakers better. However, it's important to keep in mind that different regions and dialects may have their own unique reductions, and language learners should pay attention to the specific reductions used in the dialect they are learning.

In addition to visualizing pronunciation, Sygmatic places the words of a video on a timeline so you can see when words are clustered together and spoken quickly. Mapping out the pacing of someone’s speech can help to visually point out where reductions take place because it’s difficult to pronounce every sound of a word clearly when they’re spoken quickly and close to one another.