Level 3 Connected speech

1 Introduction 58
2 Overview 58
3 Sounds and simplifications in connected speech 60
4 Rhythm in connected speech 69
5 Intonation 74

1 Introduction
Just as at Level 2 we found that a word is not just the sum of its individual
sounds, so at Level 3 we find that connected speech is not just the sum of its
individual words. Continuous connected speech consists of a flow of sounds
which are modified by a system of simplifications through which phonemes are
connected, grouped and modified. Stream of speech pronunciation brings
together the three branches of practical phonology: sounds, stress and intonation.
After the following overview these three areas are examined to the degree of
detail that I have found is of benefit to practical classroom work.

2 Overview
Sounds in connected speech
The modifications to dictionary pronunciation (Level 2) once isolated words are
embedded in connected speech are fairly syswnatic and include assimilation (the
changing of sounds), elision (the omission of sounds), vowel reduction, liaison,
linking and intrusive sounds, and juncture. We will explore all of these features in
Section 3.

Stress, accent and prominence in connected speech

Stress is an umbrella term used to cover both accent (or word stress), and
prominence (or sentence stress). The former belongs to the word, while the latter
is chosen by the speaker to highlight the intended meaning. Connected speech
contains both word accents (in a sense regardless of the speaker) and prominence
(because of the speaker). And what happens then is that individual word accent is
likely to be subordinated to the speaker's choice of prominence, and these
prominences form the major part of the rhythm of the whole utterance. Spoken
English has a characteristic tendency to be rhythmical. We will explore this
further in Section 4.

From A. Underhill. 2005. 'Sound Foundations: Learning & Teaching Pronunciation'. Oxford: Macmillan.

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