Pronunciation Practice: Nick Jonas Can’t “Change” the “Chains”

Posted on Mar 20 2015 - 11:00am by PopESL

Nick Jonas, ESL, English as a second language, Music

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Nick Jonas has a new song called “Chains.” You can listen to it below. One of the lyrics to the song says:

“You got me in chains, you got me in chains for your love
But, I wouldn’t change, no I wouldn’t change this love.”

Let’s talk about the sounds in this line. It’s a bit of a mouthful, no?
That’s because “chains” and “change” have very similar consonant clusters at the end.
The U.S. pronunciation of “chains” is: tʃeɪnz
or in text: tSeInz
The U.S. pronunciation of “change” is: tʃeɪndʒ
or in text: tSeIndZ
You can see the only difference is the last sound of the word. The extra dZ “changes” the meaning of the word. “Change” has more than one definition in English, but the pronunciation is always the same.
There are other sets of words that have these same minimal pairs. Let’s practice them now. Good luck!
Choose the best word to complete this sentence.

It gets muddy when it _____.
Choose the best word to complete this sentence.

I am broke. Can I you loan me some _____?
Choose the best word to complete this sentence.

She is _____.
Choose the best word to complete this sentence.

The test scores had a big _____.
Choose the best word to complete this sentence.

The prisoner was in _____.
Which word is spelled correctly?
Which word is spelled correctly?
Which word is spelled correctly?

 

 Proofed by Prooffix

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