Pronunciation of "thank you"

Question

About pronunciation of "thank you""thanks" [?æ?ks] are usually [?æ?s]."think so" [?i?k-so] tends to be pronounced [?i?-so].In a consonant group, the consonants, such as k, p, t. are omitted.if you look at the most famous Merriam Webster dictionary in the United States,"thanks" can be '[tha?(k)s] omitted by 'k'.It's explained.(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thanks) In that sense,"thank-you" [?æ?k-ju?]( As the principle that k pronunciation is omitted)Do you use pronunciation that omits k as in [?æ?-ju?]?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I have never heard those words without the "k". "Thanks" sounds different from "pangs". Maybe they are trying to accommodate the Mexican accent, but I hit that "k" pretty hard.

Teechr · Answer

The link doesn't mention any of that. Where did you get that info from?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I have never heard "thank you" pronounced without (a hint of ) the "k" sound. Sometimes it is pronounced with the "k" connected to the "u" as in "thang'-kyu"

Here is how it is usually pronounced: https://howjsay.com/search?word=thank+you

The "k" is barely audible in this American rendition: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/thank-you_1

Here are recordings in different accents:

https://forvo.com/phrase/thank_you/#en_other

EnglishUSA · Answer

It depends on your goals. Do you want to sound American? And if 'yes', do you want to sound like an American teenager? Or an American businessman at a meeting? Or an adult American talking on the phone to a friend? Most Americans have the luxury of using very relaxed pronunciation because we have a native accent with correct word stress in a sentence, and correct syllable stress with the correct vowel sound on the stressed syllable (which is vital for being understood.)

Unless you are young, perhaps under the age of 8, it will be almost impossible to lose your native accent. But that's ok! In the USA - we have many accents. And of course, there are so many native accents when speaking English in the UK, South Africa, Australia, etc. Millions of people around the world speak English with some type of accent. So what seems most important, is being UNDERSTOOD when speaking English. When I am speaking with a non native, I over articulate just a bit so that I am understood. I try not to use too many phrasal verbs. Why? Because I want to be able to communicate effectively and to be understood.

Non native speakers of English already have a disadvantage at being understood, so why add further misunderstanding by trying to learn native 'relaxed' speech?

When you have mastered how to speak English properly (correct syllable stress with correct vowel sound), then you can introduce some relaxed speech and see if you are still being understood.

CalifJim · Answer

realtor28
About pronunciation of "thank you"

"thanks" [?æ?ks] are usually [?æ?s]. No.
"think so" [?i?k-so] tends to be pronounced [?i?-so]. No. That's "thing so".
In a consonant group, the consonants, such as k, p, t. are omitted. ???
if you look at the most famous Merriam Webster dictionary in the United States,
"thanks" can be '[tha?(k)s] omitted by 'k'. I don't know where they got that from. Every audio button in that entry has a pronunciation that includes the 'k'.
It's explained. I did not see an explanation of the k-less pronunciation on that web page.
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thanks )
In that sense,
"thank-you" [?æ?k-ju?]
( As the principle that k pronunciation is omitted) ??? But it's not omitted in that example.
Do you use pronunciation that omits k as in [?æ?-ju?]? No, and I've never heard it. "Thang you"? Maybe from someone who is drunk.

CJ

Pronunciation of "thank you"

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