Speed and pronunciation

Native speakers of any language can, of course, speak much more rapidly than beginners. Part of learning to speak fluently is to learn to speak rapidly. This takes practice, because the phonemes (or pronunciation style) you use at a slow rate of speed are modified when speaking rapidly. With less time to differentiate between syllables, a fast speaker takes pronunciation shortcuts, for example by slurring or by dropping letters. Usually, these modifications take place according to certain common rules and practices.

For an English example, compare the difference between "What do you know?" spoken slowly -- where there is separation between "what" and "do" and the "t" of what is enunciated -- and "Whad'ya know?" -- with slurring and elimination of the "t".

Here are slow and fast examples of three common Swedish phrases:

Phrase	.WAV examples
Vad heter du? What's your name?	slow fast
Kommer du ihåg den? Do you remember it?	slow fast
Vad då? What?	slow fast