ELISION OF CONSONANT.

Many phonological processes present in connected speech are designed to ease

the articulation of sequences of sounds. One of the most radical things that we
can do to make a string of sounds easier to articulate is to omit one of them. 

This is known as elision.

Cases of elision

 established in the language for a long time OR

 those which have become current only recently (typical of rapid,
colloquial speech, although more formal speech tends to retain the fuller
form under the preservative influence of the spelling. )

In present English, cases of established elision are found in words such

as “talk” / ˈtɔːk /, “fasten” / ˈfɑːsn̩ /, etc.

There are also contextual elisions in which a sound present in a word said by
itself is dropped in a compound or in connected speech, for example: 

postman /ˈ pəʊs(t)mən /

old-fashioned /ˌəʊl(d)ˈfæʃn̩ d /

he stopped shouting [ hi ˈstɒp(t) ˈʃaʊtɪŋ ].

Elision of Consonants (Word Internal)

A) Established

 Initial “wr, kn, gn” in write, knee, gnaw; 

 Medial “t” + “n” or “l” in fasten, listen, thistle, castle; 
 Final “mb, mn” in lamb, climb, hymn, autumn, etc. 

Also in this category: reign, subtle, doubt, debt

B) Present Colloquial.

1) Sequence C + plosive + C

Elision of / t – d /

Simplification of clusters is a common feature in present English, especially

involving the loss of / t – d / when medial in a cluster of three consonants. In
the following examples, retention of the alveolar plosive is characteristic of
careful speech:
handbag – landlord – friendship – postpone – dustbin – restless – exactly –
perfectly – facts – sounds – students

B) Present Colloquial.

Elision of / k / in:

instinct – asked – thanked – precinct – anxious

Elision of / p / in:

assumption – attempt – temptation – empty

B) Present Colloquial.

2) Sequence C + / ð / + C

      / f /

                                               / θ /

e.g. months – isthmus – asthma – twelfths – fifths – clothes

B) Present Colloquial.

3) Sequence /ɔː/ + / l /

The lateral is apt to be lost when preceded by / ɔː /, e.g.:

always – although – already – alright

It should be observed that the loss of / l / is established in words such as:

talk – walk – half – should –Lincoln – calm – salmon – folk –

yolk 

AT WORD BOUNDARY – Contextual Elisions

For /t/ and /d/ to be elided certain conditions must be met:

 The alveolar plosive must be in the coda of the syllable, not in the onset.
 It must be preceded by a consonant of the same voicing. Thus /t/ must
be preceded by a voiceless consonant and /d/ by a voiced consonant.
 The following sound must be a consonant other than /h/.

 a) Sequence 🡪 Continuant Consonant + / t / + C 

           / d / 
 Sequence continuant consonant + / t / or / d / 
  (e.g.: -st, -ft, -ʃt, - nd, -md, -ld, -zd, - ðd, - vd) followed by a word with an
initial consonant.
 /st/ + C  next day last chance
 /ft/ + C drift by soft toy
 / ʃt/ + C mashed potatoes finished quickly
 /nd/ + C bend back sound nice
 /md/ + C skimmed milk seemed convinced
 /ld/ + C hold firmly old man
 /ld/ + C hold firmly old man
 /zd / + C refused both caused losses
 / ðd / + C loathed beer breathed deeply
 /vd / + C moved back loved children
 🡪 Plosive or Affricate + / t – d /
 Similarly, word final clusters of plosive or affricate + / t / or / d / 
 (e.g.: /-pt, -kt, -tʃt, - bd,  -gd, -dʒd /) may lose the final alveolar stop 
 when the following word has an initial consonant,  e.g.: 
 /pt / + C kept quiet helped me
 /kt/ + C liked games thanked them
 🡪 Plosive or Affricate + / t – d /
 Similarly, word final clusters of plosive or affricate + / t / or / d / 
 (e.g.: /-pt, -kt, -tʃt, - bd,  -gd, -dʒd /) may lose the final alveolar stop 
 when the following word has an initial consonant,  e.g.: 
 /pt / + C kept quiet helped me
 /kt/ + C liked games thanked them
 / tʃt / + C fetched me lunched together
 /bd / + C robbed both rubbed gently
 /gd / + C lagged behind dragged down
 / dʒd / + C changed colour urged them

In many cases, e.g.: 

“I walked back” /aɪ wɔːkt ˈbæk/ 

“they seemed glad”  /ðeɪ siːmd ˈglæd/, 

elision of word final / t / or / d / eliminates the phonetic cue   

(signal) of past tense, compensation for which is made by the 

general context.

CASES OF NO ELISION 
a) Final / t – d / followed by a word beginning with / j / are usually 

kept in a coalesced form  with / j /, i.e. /tʃ / or /dʒ /, e.g.: 

helped you – lost you – left you – liked you – grabbed you – lend you –
send you – told you

⮚ This is a type of economy of articulation in which a fusion of phonemes

takes place.

b) Elision of final / t – d / is rare before initial / h /. 

The / h / is regarded as a kind of “breathy vowel”, i.e. it is like a vowel 

produced with strong breath instead of with voice. The alveolar stops, 
therefore, are regularly retained in, for example: 

kept hold – rushed home – changed horses –  round here 

A case in which /h/ could be elided is in weak forms (he, him, her, etc.) ,
after a 

consonant, e.g.: reached him – pushed her

c) The final sequence / lt / also tends to keep / t /, e.g.:

felt like – spoilt child – built near – salt lake

d) A double consonant at a junction of words must not be reduced by

elision, e.g.:
what time – black cat – with this – this seat
In such sequences the two consonants should be run together smoothly,
without break.