Why?

Sounds are influenced by their environments

Function: to promote regularity of rhythm
PRESENT-DAY ENGLISH CONSONANTS
 
Point of Articulation

Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Alveopalatal Velar

Manner of Articulation
Stops Voiceless /p/ . . /t/ . /k/
Voiced /b/ /d/ /g/
Affricates Voiceless . . . . /t∫/ .
Voiced /dʒ /
Fricatives Voiceless . /f/ /q/ /s/ /∫/ /h/
Voiced /v/ /ð/ /z/ / ʒ/
Nasals /m/ . . /n/ . //
Lateral . . . /l/ . .
Retroflex . . . /r/ . .

/w/ . . . /j/ .
Semivowels
 
LINKING
Connecting the final sound of one word with the
initial sound of the next.
It depends on:
- Informality of the situation
- Rate of speaking
- Individual speech profile
- e.g. sign_it
- give_up
1 - LINKING WITH A Y-GLIDE
One word / syllable ends in a tense vowel or diphthong
and the next word begins with a vowel.
e.g./iy/ + vowel = be+y+able
/ey/ + vowel = say+y+it
/ay/ + vowel = my+y+own
/oy/ + vowel = toy+y+airplane
2- Final consonant + Beginning vowel =
new syllable
e.g. Dog+eat+dog
pink+and+blue
3-LINKING R – New England, NYC,
England: Epenthesis
Add a linking /r/ to vowel + vowel sequences
e.g. Spa+r+owners
 vanilla+r+ice-cream
 saw+r+Ann
4-LINKING WITH A W-GLIDE
/u:/ + vowel = blue+w+ink
/əʊ/ + vowel = know+w+art
/aʊ/ + vowel = how+w+is it
Listen
Hello, everybody!
How much do you know about those new ideas?
I´d like to answer that question before I go on.
You´ll have to emphasize two of those points
5- VOWEL TO VOWEL LINKING
when certain vowels come next to each other an extra
sound is added to make the link smooth.
6- RESYLLABIFICATION

A word / syllable ending in a consonant cluster (two

consonants together) and followed by a vowel, the
final consonant is pronounced as if it belonged to the
next syllable.
e.g. Left+arm
adap+table
7- Two identical consonants in
juxtaposition
Elongate the consonant and pronounce it as one.
e.g. Stop pushing = stop:ushing
 short time = short:ime
 big gap = big:ap
 classroom management = classroom:anagement
8- LINKING 'R'

In standard British English (RP) the letter 'r' after a

vowel sound at the end of word is often not
pronounced. However, when the following word
begins with a vowel the /r/ sound is pronounced to
make a smooth link.

e.g. The water got cold.

The water is cold.
9- STOP CONSONANT FOLLOWED BY
STOP / AFFRICATE
Stops / p,b,k,g,t,d /
Affricates /t∫, dʒ /
The first stop is not pronounced.
e.g. Pet+cat
good+jury
big+dipper
big+church
ASSIMILATION
One sound takes characteristics of a neighboring
 ( conditioning ) sound.
It does not mean bad articulation or non-standard
speech pattern.
It occurs within a word and between words .
1-PROGRESSIVE ( PERSEVERATIVE )
The conditioning sound precedes the following
sound.
e.g. Final plural pronunciation
Bags, s = /z/
Backs, s=/s/
Final “ed” for simple past
Talked, ed=/t/
lived, ed=/d/
2- REGRESSIVE ( ANTICIPATORY )
The assimilated sound precedes and is affected by the
conditioning sound.
e.g. Grandpa, nd=/m/
pancake, n=/ŋ/
have to, ve+to=[hǽft∂]
has to = [hǽst∂]
used to = [just∂]
  

3- COALESCENT ASSIMILATION
Sound a + sound b = sound c
Final alveolar consonants /s,z/; /t,d/;/t∫,dʒ /, followed
by palatal /j/, become palatalized fricatives /f,v,Θ,
ð,s,z,∫, 3,h/ and affricates /t∫,dʒ /, respectively.
e.g. /s/+/j/=/∫/ issue, this+year
/z/+/j/=/ʒ / pleasure
/d/+/j/=/dʒ / did+you
/t/+/j/=/t∫/ suit+you /
/dz/+/j/=/dʒ / needs+you
/s/ + /∫/ = /∫:/
/z/ + /∫/ = /∫:/
e.g. Horse + shoe
his + shirt
4- FINAL /T/ OR /D/ ASSIMILATE TO
INITIAL STOP /P,K/ /B,G/

A final stop consonant /t/ or /d/ may assimilate to a

following initial stop /p,k/ or /b, g/, changing the
place of articulation but maintaining the voicing
quality.
e.g. Good+boy=gooboy
pet+kitten=pekitten
5- IN = UNMARKED NEGATIVE PREFIX
In+vowels/f/d/t
e.g. Inoperative / inflexible / indifferent / inexcusable /
intangible
Im+bilabials /m,p,b/
e.g. Impossible / imbalance / immeasurable / immortal
/ impartial
Il+liquid /l/, e.g.illogical / illegal
Ir+liquid /r/, e.g. Irresponsible / irrelevant
6 - DISSIMILATION

It occurs when adjacent sounds become more different

from each other.
A sequence of 3 fricatives is broken by replacing the
second one with a stop
e.g. Fifths [fifθs] = [fifts]
/fθs/=sequence of 3 fricatives
/fts/ = one stop /t/ between the two fricatives
DELETION OR OMISSION = ELISION

Sounds disppear or are not well articulated in some

contexts
e.g isn’t ( “o” in “not”is deleted )
Loss of /t/ when /nt/ is between two vowels or a
syllabic /ℓ/
winter=winer,
toronto=torono,enter=ener,mantle=manel
Loss of /t/ or /d/ when they are second in a cluster of
3 consonants.
e.g. Restless=resless, exactly=exacly,hands=hans
1- DELETION OF WORD FINAL /T/ OR /D/
It occurs in clusters of 2 consonants at a word
boundary when the next word begins with a
consonant.
East+ side= easide, blind+man=bliman
Loss of unstressed medial vowel (syncope) where /I,∂/
is dropped in multisyllabic words following the
strongly stressed syllable. e.g. Chocolate=choclat
[t∫‫כ‬kl∂t]
Every=evry, evening=evning, camera=camra
2- APHESIS = LOSS OF UNSTRESSED VOWEL
OR SYLLABLE IN HIGHLY INFORMAL SPEECH
e.g. Because=‘cause, about=‘bout
Loss of first noninitial /r/ in a word that has another /r/.
e.g. February=Febuary, governor=govenor,
surprise=suprise
Loss of final /v/ in “of”>reduction to schwa/∂/
Before words with initial consonants
e.g. lots of money=lots∂money, waste of
time=waste∂time
3- LOSS OF INITIAL /H/ AND /Θ/ in
pronominal forms in connected speech
e.g. Ask+her=asker, help+him=helpim
tell+them=tellem
EPENTHESIS

Insertion of a vowel or consonant within an existing

string of segments.
e.g. Place+s=places [pleis∂z]
buzz+s=buzzes [bΛz∂z]
plant+ed=planted [plǽnt∂d]
hand+ed=handed [hǽnd∂d]