Teach Me Linking and Connected Speech Rules

Native speakers sound nothing like your study audio because real speech runs words together. This explains the connected-speech processes at work in your target language, catenation, assimilation, elision and the rest, so fast audio stops being a wall. For learners who can read fine but lose the thread the moment people talk at normal speed.

I am studying {TARGET_LANGUAGE} at {PROFICIENCY_LEVEL} level. Native speakers often sound very different from textbook recordings because of connected speech phenomena, and I struggle to follow fast, natural audio.

Explain the following linking and connected speech processes as they operate in {TARGET_LANGUAGE}:
1. Catenation (consonant-to-vowel linking)
2. Assimilation (sounds changing to match neighbours)
3. Elision (sounds that disappear in fast speech)
4. Intrusion (sounds inserted between words)
5. Weak forms of common function words

For each process: define it, give three natural example phrases showing before and after, and provide a phonemic transcription. Then suggest one listening activity and one production drill I can do independently.

Finish with a 50-word passage in {TARGET_LANGUAGE} where you annotate all the connected speech features.