So…it’s time for a sing-a-long.
Notice that the original words to the song say:
What shall we do with a drunken sailor.
This video version, however, says:
What will we do with a drunken sailor.
Now listen to my version,
using a common American English verb form.
What are we going to do with a drunken sailor.
shall do
will do
are going to do
My verb form is much longer,
so we have to reduce some sounds to fit the music.
First, let’s divide the sentence into word groups.
(What are we) (going to do) (with a) (drunken sailor)?
(What are we)
/ˈwʌ-də-wiy/
(going to do)
/gə-nə-ˈduw/
(with a)
/ˈwɪ-ðə/
(drunken sailor)
/ˈdrʌn-kɪn-ˈsey-lɚ/
Now, let me show you how I practice a long sentence.
I start from the end of the sentence.
drunken sailor
/ˈdrʌn-kɪn-ˈsey-lɚ/
with a drunken sailor
/wɪ-ðə-ˈdrʌn-kɪn-ˈsey-lɚ/
going to do with a drunken sailor?
/gə-nə-ˈdu-wɪ-ðə-ˈdrʌn-kɪn-ˈsey-lɚ/
What are we going to do with a drunken sailor?
/ˈwʌ-də-wiy-gə-nə-ˈdu-wɪ-ðə-ˈdrʌn-kɪn-ˈsey-lɚ/
And now you and I can sing together.
Reduction is a basic part of American English pronunciation.
What is Reduction? Find out here. [link]
