Lecture 9

Aspects of connected speech

• Assimilation
• Elision

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 ASSIMILATION

 A significant difference in natural connected

speech is the way that sound belonging to one
word can cause changes in sounds belonging to
neighbouring words
 More likely to be found in rapid, casual
speech and less likely in slow, careful speech
Assimilation of
(1) place of articulation
(2) manner of articulation
(3) voicing
 Assimilation
1. Definition:
Assimilation is the process which takes place when
one sound adapts itself to become similar to a
neighbouring sound in one or more aspects.
In other words, assimilation is the influence of one
phoneme upon another neighbouring phoneme, so that
they become more alike.
• Assimilation may occur across word boundaries or
between words, across morpheme boundaries or within
a morpheme or a word. E.g.

light blue good girl

cats beds
bent bank
 2. Kinds of assimilation across word boundaries

a. In terms of the direction of change

• Regressive assimilation: Cf → Ci (a phoneme is affected by
one that comes later in the utterance)
E.g. /faiv/ (five) → /faifpens/ (five pence)
• Progressive assimilation: Ci → Cf (a phoneme is affected by
one that comes earlier in the utterance)
E.g. students /-s/ v.s girls /-z/

b. In terms of the way in which phonemes change

• Assimilation of place: Cf → Ci
• Assimilation of manner: Cf → Ci
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• Assimilation of voice: Cf → Ci
 1. Alveolar + Bilabial  Bilabial
/t/ + /p, m, b, w/  /t//p/ Right place
might make
white bird
might win
/d/ + /p, m, b, w/ /d//b/ Should put
Good morning
Good boy
Should win
/n/ + /p, m, b, w/  /n//m/ Seen Peter
Ten men
Seen Bill
Seen Walter
2. Alveolar + Velar  Velar
Examples
/t/ + /k, g/  /t//k/ White coat
Might come
That girl
Might go
/d/ + /k, g/  /d//g/ Bad cold
Should come
Should go
/n/ + /k, g/  /n//ŋ/ One cup
Main gate
3. Alveolar + Palato-alveolar or Palatal
 Palato-alveolar

Examples
/s/ + /ʃ, j/  /s//ʃ/ Nice shoes
This year
/z/ + /ʃ, j/  /z//Ʒ/ These sheeps
Where’s yours
/t, d/ + /j/  /tʃ, dƷ/ Want you
Did you?
4. Alveolar + dental  Dentalized

Examples
Get there [getð̪ eə]
Bad things [bæd̪Ɵıŋz]
 No assimilation With assimilation
P 1 Cat burglar
r 2 Sit back
3 Harvest moon
a 4 Great Britain
c 5 Gold mind
6 Gold medal
t 7 Blood bank
i 8 Iron man
9 Chicken breast
c 10 Credit card
e 11 Hard copy
12 Tin can
13 Space shuttle
14 Cheese shop
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 Elision

1. Definition:
Elision is the disappearance of sounds in
speech.
A phoneme may be realized as zero or have
zero realization.

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1. Elided Weak vowel /ə/
a. Weak vowel /ə/ disappears after aspirated stops
/t, p/

b. Weak vowel /ə/ disappears before syllabic

consonants/n, l, r/
2. Elided Stops /t, d/
a. Stops + (stops) + Stops Looked back
Stopped killing
b. Stops + (stops) + Fricative Acts
Scripts
Killed sons
c. Fricative + (stops) + fricative Guests
Desks
d. /s/ + (/t/) + stop, nasal, fricative Last time
Last man
Last song
e. /f/ + (/t/) + stop, nasal, fricative Left door
Left knee
Left shoe
f. /n/ + (/d/) + lenis, stop, nasal Kind nurse
Canned bacon
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g. /m/ + (/d/) + lenis, stop, nasal Skimmed milk
Seemed good
3. Elided Final /v/ in OF + Consonant

4. Dropping -h
give her/give him,[gɪvɜ:]/[gɪvɪm]
tell her/tell him, [tɛlɜ:]/[tɛlɪm]
would have, [wʊdəv],should have, [ʃʊdəv]
Practice
 word/combination no elision elision
1. Asked *ɑ:skt+
2. Lecture *ˈlɛktʃə+
3. Desktop *ˈdɛskˌtɒp]
4. hard disk *ˌhɑ:dˈdɪsk+
5. kept quiet *ˌkɛptˈkwaɪət]
6. kept calling *ˌkɛptˈkɒ:lɪŋ]
7. kept talking *ˌkɛptˈtɒ:kɪŋ]
8. at least twice *əˌtli:stˈtwaɪs+
9. straight towards *ˌstɹeɪtˈtʊwə:dz]
10. next to *ˈnɛkstˌtʊ+
11. want to *ˈwɒntˌtʊ]
12. seemed not to notice *ˈsi:mdˌnɒttəˈnəʊtɪs]
13. for the first time [fəðəˌfɜ:stˈtaɪm]