CHAPTER THREE: SOUNDS IN CONNECTED SPEECH

In the previous chapters, English sounds have been looked at from different

perspectives. The approach taken was the individual approach, that is to say

that each sound was described as a single unit. However, the truth is

language learners of English often get confused when they listen to native

speakers. They soon realize that even familiar words are not understood

because the sounds are no longer the same as what they have learnt. Then

many questions may be posed: Why does a native speaker pronounce some

words differently? Why does s/he seem to be omitting particular sounds?,

etc. This chapter aims to provide a further look beyond the sounds

themselves and thus the answers to what have been questioning learners’

minds. Specifically, it will shed light on how sounds behave when they are

together and how sound are actually modified in connected speech. Ways in

which sounds are modified in everyday spoken English are many and varied

but this chapter will only look at the most common three phenomena

namely, assimilation, elision and liaison.

Assimilation

This phenomenon happens when a certain sound is changed to become

identical or to resemble the neighbouring sounds. Assimilation is found in

fast and casual speech and more often than not affects consonants (Roach,

2009). In terms of the direction, assimilation is divided into two types,

progressive and regressive assimilation (Ashby, 2012).

Progressive assimilation is the case in which the preceding sound

assimilates the following sound. An example for this is the phrase could
you. If these two words are separated, they will be pronounce /kʊd / and

/ju:/. However, it is not like that in real life and pronouncing each word

clearly, in fact, sounds very awkward and mechanical. In no particular

context, a native speaker will say / kʊdʒu:/, which means the sound /j/ is

changed by the influence of /d/, the preceding sound and becomes /ʒ/.

Another example is not yet, which is pronounced /nɒtʃet/. Such changes can

also be called coalescence : a final /t/, /d/ and an initial /j/ following often

combine to form /tʃ/, /dʒ/ like in the two previous examples (Roach, 2009).

Regressive assimilation is the case in which the following sound

assimilates the preceding sound. This happens very frequently in casual

spoken English in phrases such as good morning, that person, or meat pie.

In the very common greeting good morning, you will never hear the /d/

because this sound has been changed in to /b/. The more usual and

comfortable way to say this is /ɡʊbmɔ:nɪŋ/. What actually happens is that

/d/ an alveolar sound is assimilated by the following sound /m/, a bilabial

consonant. As a result /d/ turns into /b/ which is also a bilabial consonant.

This is an example of not only regressive assimilation but also assimilation

in place of articulation. With the similar principle, that person is pronounced

as /ðæp pɜ:sn/, and meat pie pronounced as /mi:p pɑɪ/.

With regard to the degree of assimilation, there are three levels at which

assimilation may happen, complete, partial and intermediate.

Complete assimilation happens when a sound is changed to become

identical to its neighbouring sound. For example, good boy is usually

pronounced as /gʊb bɔɪ/ with the sound /d/ in good turning into /b/ which
is exactly the same as the initial sound of boy the next word. You can find

more evidence in phrases such as good girl - /ɡʊɡ ɡɜ:l/, cut cost - /kʌk

kɒst/, that pen - /ðæp pen/.

Partial assimilation is the case in which a sound is changed to become

similar to the neighbouring sound to some certain extent. Let us now get

back to good morning as an instance. As mentioned before, this phrase is

often pronounced as /ɡʊbmɔnɪŋ/, which means the sound /d/ in good is

changed into /b/. If you compare /b/ and /m/ which is the initial sound of

the next word, you will see that they share some similarities. They have the

same place of articulation – bilabial, and they are both voiced consonants.

However, they are not the same since /b/ is a plosive and /m/ is a nasal.

Intermediate assimilation is a bit tricky since the term itself is quite vague.

To illustrate this level of assimilation, would you can be a good example. A

native speaker often says /wʊdʒu:/ because this way it is so much easier for

the speaker and it creates a smooth transition between words. You will

notice that the /j/ in /ju:/ is replaced by /ʒ/. In terms of place of

articulation, /ʒ/, a palato- alveolar sound is somewhere in between of /d/,

an alveolar consonant and /j/, a palatal consonant. That explains why in this

example, assimilation does happen but just at an intermediate level.

When it comes to assimilation, one frequently asked question is whether

there are any rules for assimilation so that non-native speakers will know

when a sound is changed and in what way. The best answer to this question

is, sadly no. The so-called rules do not actually exist because assimilation is

a language behavior and it happens when native speakers speak fast,

naturally and instinctively. As non-native speakers, it is not our job to create

rules for native speakers to follow. What we should do is to listen to them

with a critical and analytical mind so that we can spot certain points at which

assimilation happens. Then, what is left for us to do is to imitate until

assimilation becomes something that we feel comfortable with. It is not a

must but if you can really do that, your English will sound very natural.

Elision

The omission of certain sounds in fast and casual speech is called elision.

There is, again, no rule for elision since this is what frequently happens in

everyday speech. Sometimes consonants will be omitted, sometimes vowels

will. Normally, consonants will be left out in case of consonant cluster (Kats,

2013). In an utterance like ask me, the /k/ will not be heard and the actual

pronunciation is just /ɑsmi/. The reason is that when there are three

consonants next to each other, it will be very hard to pronounce since your

organs of speech have to move quickly to different places of articulation

(Roach, 2001). Therefore, a certain consonant, usually the one in between,

will be naturally omitted to ease the movement from one sound to another.

The same thing goes with first kiss - /fɜ:skɪs/, last one - /lɑswʌn/, or sixth

grade - /sɪksɡreɪd/. As for vowels, the most common case of elision is the

loss of /ə/ after /p/, /t/, /k/. In words like police, tomato or correct, if there

is no particular intention of emphasizing, the /ə/ which should be

pronounced in the first syllable will not be heard. In fast and casual speech,

these words become /p'li:s/, /t'meɪtəʊ/ and /k'rekt/.

It is not a must for non-native speakers to simplify their speech this way;

however, lack of awareness of elision can cause troubles in listening.

Therefore, it is still better to be aware of and familiar with this modification

of English sounds.

Liaison

Liaison, or in other words, sound linking, is something that English is very

famous for. It is so popular that when it comes to connected speech, it is the

only thing that people think about. Sounds in English are basically linked in

two ways, consonant – vowel and vowel – vowel (Tatham & Morton, 2011).

There is not much to say about the link between the final consonant of a

word and the initial vowel of the following word because it is something too

obvious to be questioned. Some examples are still needed though. Look at

me, that’s enough, don’t lose it, or spell it are some among millions of

examples for the consonant-vowel link. What is indeed often overlooked is

the link between vowel and vowel. It is quite difficult to pronounce one vowel

directly after another and very naturally some consonants will be employed

as a bridge to smooth the path between vowels. We use the sound /w/,

and /j/ to link a vowel at the end of a word with a vowel at the beginning of

the next word (Marks, 2007). If the first word ends with /i:/ or /ɪ/, we can

use /j/ to link it with the initial vowel of the next word. For example, the end

- /ði:jend/, I see it - /aɪsi:jɪt/, or my eyes /maɪjaɪz/. In other cases, when

the words end with /u:/ or /ʊ/ and the next word starts with a vowel, /w/ is

used to link. Instances are blue eyes - /blu:waɪz/, let’s do it - /lets du:wɪt/

or a new one /ənju:wʌn/.

Assimilation, elision and liaison are ways in which sounds can be modified in

everyday spoken English. They all happen naturally and for the convenience

of speech. Students should not think that it is an obligation to produce

speech in those three ways. Instead, they should be able to notice the

changes, try to understand them and imitate if possible. There is no shortcut

to success. It will take a lot of time to familiarize yourself with the

modifications of English sounds and practice them. However, you will soon

realise that the outcome is well worth all of your efforts because once you

are successful, your spoken English is significantly levelled up.

REVISION QUESTIONS

Question 1: Can you give a general definition of assimilation?

Question 2: Which type(s) of sounds is/are usually affected by assimilation?

Question 3: Under which circumstances does assimilation often happen?

Prove your points with relevant examples.

Question 4: Can you explain the distinction between regressive assimilation

and progressive assimilation? Prove your points with relevant examples.

Question 5: How is complete assimilation different from partial

assimilation? Analyse some examples to clarify your explanation.

Question 6: Give and analyse 3 examples of intermediate assimilation in

English?

Question 7: Give and analyse 2 examples of assimilation of place of

articulation in consonants?
Question 8: Can assimilation of voicing happen to English consonants?

Examples are needed to clarify your argument.

Question 9: How can you define elision?

Question 10: Give and analyse examples in which consonants disappear in

fast and casual speech.

Question 11: Give and analyse examples in which vowels are elided in

colloquial English speech.

Question 12: What is liaison? Illustrate your understanding with relevant

examples

Question 13: How many ways are there to link two vowels when they are

next to each other in an utterance? Give examples to prove your point of

view.

Question 14: Make a comparison between assimilation and liaison then give

relevant examples to illustrate your point of view.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Consider the following phrases and anticipate how assimilation

will probably happen? Provide transcriptions to clarify your argument.

1 meat ball / /

2 good guy / /

3 green grass / /
Exercise 2: The phrase “that picture” is often pronounced as /ðæp pɪktʃə/

in fast and casual speech. Explain the principle for the change from /t/

into /p/ in the word “that”.

Exercise 3: The letter “s” is added to verbs in case of third person singular

or to nouns in case of plural form. Please clarify when it should be

pronounced as /s/ and when it should be pronounced as /z/. Give relevant

examples to clarify your point. How do you account for such different ways

of pronouncing the “s” on the basis of assimilation?

Exercise 4: Give 2 examples of regressive assimilation in which an alveolar

nasal is turned into a bilabial nasal.

Exercise 5: Give 2 examples of regressive assimilation in which a voiced

alveolar stop is turned into a voiced velar stop.

Exercise 6: Give 2 examples of progressive assimilation and explain the

change(s) of sound(s) in each example.

Exercise 7: Consider the pronunciation of the “-ed” ending in past tense

regular verbs. When is it pronounced as /t/, and when is it realized as /d/? Is

this, in your opinion, a case of assimilation? Why or why not?

Exercise 8: In fast and casual speech, the word “police” is often pronounced

as /p’li:s/, “correct” as /k’rekt/. Can you explain the phenomenon?

Exercise 9: Consider the following utterances and clarify how liaison can

possibly happen in each utterance.

“They are so in love with each other”

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“A rose by any name would smell as sweet”

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“Does he like it?”

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Exercise 10: Listen carefully to the following text and write a transcription

that reflects actual assimilation, elision and liaison.

“Once upon a time in winter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers

from heaven, a beautiful queen sat sewing at her window which had a frame

of black ebony wood. As she sewed, she looked up at the snow and pricked

her fingers with the needle. Three ruby red drops of blood fell into the soft

white snow...”

From “Snow White and Seven Dwarfs”

Read by Hugo Driver

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Use the space below to write any further comment or explanation you have

about what you hear.

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Exercise 11: Sing to learn – learn to sing

Look at the song’s lyrics and its transcription in which assimilation,

elision and liaison are shown. Listen to the music and try singing

along!

“You are my sunshine”

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

/juwa: maɪ sʌnʃaɪn maɪ j ˈəʊnli sʌnʃaɪn/

You make me happy when skies are grey

/ju: meɪb mi hæpi wen skaɪzə: greɪ/

You never know dear how much I love you

/ju: nevə nəʊ dɪə haʊ mʌtʃaɪ lʌv ju:/

Please, don’t take my sunshine away

/ pliz dəʊnteɪk maɪ sʌnʃaɪnəweɪ/

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping

/ðijʌðə naɪdɪə əzaɪ leɪ sli:pɪŋ/

I dreamt I held you in my arms

/aɪ dremtaɪ heldʒu in maɪja:mz/

When I awoke dear, I was mistaken

/wenaɪ əwəʊk dɪə aɪ wəz mɪsteɪkn/

So I held my head and cried

/səʊwaɪ held maɪ hedən craɪ/