How to pronounce speech in American English
SPEECH
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Americans pronounce speech as SPEECH (/spitʃ/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "speech" sounds like SPEECH.
The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, what turns word-by-word reading into actual conversation. It comes out as SPEECH.
In real conversation
Hear "speech" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Censorship of the press is considered a violation of free speech."
SEHN·ser·shihp uhv dhuh PREHS uhz kuhn·SIH·derd uh vahy·uh·LAY·shuhn uhv FREE SPEECH
"She made a beautiful speech thanking everyone for their support."
shee MAYD uh BYOO·tuh·fuhl SPEECH THANG·kuhng EHV·ree·wuhn fer dhair suh·PORT
"The politician gave a famous speech."
dhuh pah·luh·TIH·shuhn GAYV uh FAY·muhs SPEECH
"Touch the peach and teach me the speech."
TUHCH dhuh PEECH and TEECH mee dhuh SPEECH
"Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment."
FREE·duhm uhv SPEECH ihz gair·uhn·TEED bahy dhuh FURST uh·MEHND·muhnt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "speech" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "SPEECH" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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