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Thirty nations, including China and Russia, have gathered in Paris for talks about the threat posed by the terrorist group Islamic State. (Aussie ABC; original)

Is the ‘have’ pronounced? It seems like there’s no sound at all about ‘have’, or it sounds like RUSSIA’VE [rʌ́ʃə(v)]. I don’t want to know how to pronounce like him but how he is pronouncing now. Which way does he pronounce?

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    This question should be OT. It is not about the English usage (whether "have" is needed or not), but about whether the announcer and transcription agree. Unpronounced whole words would be unlikely.
    – user3169
    Sep 16 '14 at 0:03
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    @user3169, I'm not asking about the agreement, I'm asking about his (a native's) pronouncing a word is how. It should be a theme for learners, I think. Why should it be excluded? It's rather a kind of Pronunciation (phonetics), or Practical problems you encounter while learning English right?
    – Listenever
    Sep 16 '14 at 0:18
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    I do hear a very light 've before gathered. Consider it to be a contraction not unlike the contraction in "I've."
    – Jim
    Sep 16 '14 at 0:55
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    @HowardPautz I hear it, too.
    – user230
    Sep 16 '14 at 2:06
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    @Jim, snailboat, It’s like a lingering resonance than a sound. But, at least there seems a space for the word, have. Thank you.
    – Listenever
    Sep 16 '14 at 3:00
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The written text next to the recording link you provided sounds different to me, but others above say they can hear it. If he had left it out, the difference would be in verb tense. Essentially, if he didn't say it, we would have:

Thirty nations ... gathered

Which is simple past tense.

The written text says

Thirty nations ... have gathered.

Which is present perfect.

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  • @snailboat - thx for correcting the tense.
    – Howard Pautz
    Sep 16 '14 at 20:26

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