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Today I'm going to go over a few phrases you might say when ordering or asking for something.  When I've lived abroad, I've always worried about being polite enough when I ask such questions.  So, that's why I'm going to go over it today.  Let's take, for example, when you're ordering something at a restaurant or a grocery store, the deli counter, something like that.  You can say, I'd like.  I'd like the spaghetti, whatever.  I'd like.  This has the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong [].   The tongue then moves up into position for the D.  I'd, I'd like. the L consonant sound, ll, ai, the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong, I'd like.  And the K sound, where the tongue comes up and releases.  I'd like, I'd like.

You can also say "I'll have."  I'll have a pound of turkey.  I'll, again, the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong followed by the L consonant sound, have.  Followed by the unvoiced H sound, hh, hh, ha-, the 'aa' as in 'bat vowel [] where the tongue is high in the back.  I'll ha- vv.  Bottom lip moves up to vibrate against the bottom of the front top teeth. Have, I'll have.  You can also say I'll have, I'll have.  I think that's what I generally say.  That has the 'aw' as in 'law' vowel [] sound, where the lips are a little rounded and the cheeks come in a little bit.  I'll, I'll have, I'll have.

A very polite way to ask for something would be to say, "Could I please have ..." or "May I please have ..."  May I please have the hamburger, medium.  Could begins with the K consonant sound, kk, where the tongue moves up and releases from the back of the throat, could.  The 'uh' as in 'pull' vowel [] sound, cou-ou-ou-ld, the tongue moves up, dd, and pulls away to make the D, could, or may, which begins with the M consonant sound, mm.  Ay, followed by the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong [].  Could/May I, I, the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong, and then please.  The P consonant sound, pp, pl-, pl-, followed by the L consonant sound.  Plea-, the 'ee' as in 'she' vowel [], plea-se.  And finally, the voiced zz sound.  Could I please, may I please.  Have, the H, 'aa' as in 'bat' [], and V sound, have.  Could I please have?  May I please have?

If you want to use something that belongs to someone else, you can say, could I borrow ...? Or could I please borrow?  Could I borrow your pencil?  Borrow begins with the B consonant sound, bb.  The 'ah' as in 'father' [], bo-, bo-, borr-.  The R consonant [] sound, so the tongue pulls back and up.  Barr-ow.  Ow, the 'oh' as in 'no' diphthong [].  Borrow.  Stress is on the first syllable.  Bor-row.

If you want to use something that belongs to someone else or that someone else is using, you can say, can I see that when you're done?  Can I have that when you're done?  Can I use that when you're done?  The word can, which has the 'aa' as in 'bat' vowel sound, is reduced here to kn, with the schwa [].  Can, can, can I? The 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong.  Can I have that?  The H consonant sound, hh, 'aa' as in 'bat', and vv, V consonant sound. Can I have -- that begins with the voiced TH [] sound, so the tongue comes through the teeth, th, and you make a sound with your vocal cords.  Can I have that?  The 'aa' as in 'bat' vowel sound, that.  Can I have that?  Can I have that?  The T here is a stop, and it's not actually, tt, released, Can I have that when?  That - so the tongue does move up into position for the T, can I have that, when, but then the mouth just goes straight into the next sound, which is the W sound, ww, where the lips make a very tight circle.  Can I have that when - 'eh' as in 'bed' [] followed by the N sound.  Can I have that when you're done.  You're is reduced here, and it has just the schwa, you're, so that would be the Y consonant [] sound, schwa and R sound.  Can I have that when you're done.  The D consonant sound, dd, the 'uh' as in 'butter' [], uh, very relaxed sound, do-ne.  And the tongue moves up into position for the N.  Can I have that when you're done?

That's it, and thanks for using Rachel's English.