In this American English pronunciation video, we’re going to go over how to introduce
someone.
First, watch a few introductions. Then, we’ll talk about what we’re hearing.
>> Hey Staci. Hey. >> Hi.
>> Hi. >> This is my boyfriend David.
>> Um, hi, David. Nice to meet you. >> It’s really nice to meet you.
>> I’m Staci. >> Yeah, this is my friend Staci from YouTube.
>> Oh, it’s really nice to meet you. I see.
>> Hey Hilah, this is my boyfriend David. >> Hi David. I’m Hilah.
>> Hey. Nice to meet you. >> Nice to meet you.
>> Hilah, I did the program in L. A. with. >> Yeah.
>> Yes.
>> This, uh, this will be a boy. >> Oh! Hi boy!
>> In November. >> His name will be Flint.
>> Hi Flint. Really? Aw. Cute! >> Hi Flint. Nice to meet you.
>> This is our dog Banjo. >> Hi Banjo. Does Banjo shake?
>> No. >> Oh.
You might have noticed we use the phrase ‘this is.’ Then you can say the name.
This is David, this is Rachel. It’s also common to say your relationship
to the person, followed by his or her name.
This is my boyfriend David. This is my dad, Stan.
This is my colleague, Tom. This is my friend, Liz.
This is. Stress is on ‘this’. They should link together. We have an ending consonant
and a beginning vowel, so we want to link the consonant to the vowel to connect the
words. This is, this is, this is.
The TH is tough for a lot of students. The tongue can come through the teeth. But, since
this is a voiced TH, th instead of th, you don’t have to bring the tongue tip all the
way out. You can keep the teeth mostly together, and press your tongue on the backsides of
the teeth inside the mouth. Thi-, thi-, thi-, thi-, immediately pulling away. Make sure
the tongue tip isn’t at the roof of the mouth, or it will sound like a D. Di-, di-,
dis, dis is, dis is. Th-, th-, this, this is, this is. Can you
hear the difference? 0:02:58.530,0:02:39.430 This, dis. [3x]
This is my boyfriend David. This is my dad, Stan.
This is my colleague, Tom. This is my friend, Liz.
This is, this is.
>> This is my boyfriend, David, >> Hi! [3x]
This is, this is.
>> This is my friend Staci from YouTube. [3x]
This is, this is.
>> This is my boyfriend, David. [3x]
This is, this is.
>> This is our dog, Banjo. [3x]
This is, this is.
>> Hey Hilah, this is my boyfriend David. >> Hi David. I’m Hilah.
>> Hey. Nice to meet you. >> Nice to meet you.
>> Hilah…
Normally, after being introduced, you say, “Nice to meet you.” Notice how the T in
‘meet’ can sound like a CH sound when the next word is ‘you’. Nice to meet you,
‘chew’, ‘chew’. Nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you. >> It’s really nice to meet you. >> I’m Staci. [3x]
Nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you. >> Nice to meet you. >> Hilah… [3x]
Nice to meet you.
So, the two key phrases for introducing someone: This is ___. And, if you’ve been introduced,
Nice to meet you.
Special thanks to Hilah of HilahCooking and Staci of VeryPinkKnits for helping me with
this video. Is there a phrase you’d like to learn to pronounce better? Let me know
in the comments below. And don’t forget to sign up for the Rachel’s English mailing
list, where you’ll get all the latest and greatest news from me.
That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.