Fonética y Fonología Inglesa 1

UNIT 1: Introduction to the Subject – The Production of Speech Sounds Focus on

Theory:
1-Definition of Language.
2-The Linguistic Sciences: Linguistics, Phonetics and Phonology.
3-The Speech Chain.
4-Received Pronunciation (RP)/ General British (GB).
5-The Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) - Introducing the sounds of English: vowels, diphthongs,
triphthongs, other vowel sequences and consonants.
6-Articulatory Phonetics: The Speech Mechanism. 7-The Lungs.
8-The Larynx.
9-The Resonating Cavities.
10-The articulators.

Unit 1
-Language ✓
-Linguistic sciences ✓
-Linguistics ✓
-Phonetics ✓
-Phonology ✓
-RP/Gb ✓
-IPA ✓
-Speech chain
-Seech mechanism
-Lungs
-Larynx
-Resonators
-Articulators ✓

Language:

Language can be defined as "human vocal noise" (or the graphic representation of this noise
in writing) used systematically and conventionally by a group or community for purposes of
communication.

Systematical: because it has rules(grammar, phonetics, etc)

Conventional: because it is agreed

When we wish to transmit a message, we give it a substantial form (it can be phonetic
substance in spoken or graphic substance in written language)
In the case of spoken language, we make use of a series of conventional sounds that we
combine.

According to Edward Sapir

Language is the human method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by using a
system of voluntarily produced symbols. These symbols

Linguistic sciences:

2 main sciences have always been interested in language.

People since the times of the Greek and Roman empires were interested in the origins of
Language. During the 19th century, linguists directed their attention to Historical Linguistics
and they studied and analyse the origins and developments of language. It was not until the
end of the 19th century that European linguists began to concentrate on languages in their
present state.
Descriptive Linguistics study language as we know it today. Ferdinand De Saussure is the
father of linguistics, a Swiss philologist born in Geneva in 1857.

Linguistics: studies how language is structured grammatically and semantically.

Phonetics: studies the relationship between spelling and sounds, and how they are
organized and transmitted. Deals with allophones, how the various phonemes are actually
pronounced.

Phonology: studies the selection and organization of phonic substances, and is the link
between phonetics and linguistics.

The Speech Chain.

The speech communication process is a complex series of events that take place at different
levels and stages. It is a chain between the speaker's brain and the lister's brain.

(Image)

The whole process begins when a speaker has a message to transmit to a listener. This
means activity in the speaker's brain, ie activity at a psychological level, which allows him to
arrange his thoughts into linguistic form. He does this by choosing both the correct words
and sentences in accordance with the grammatical rules, and the correct sounds in
accordance with the phonological rules of the language (Linguistic stage). Thus, the
message is encoded.

The next type of activity occurs at a physiological level, which implies the action of nerves
and muscles. The motor nerves that link the speaker's brain with his speech mechanism
activate the corresponding muscles. The movements of the tongue, lips and vocal folds, etc
constitute the articulatory stage of the chain, and the area of phonetics that deals with it is
articulatory phonetics. The movement of the articulators produce disturbances in the air
pressure called "sound waves", which are physical manifestations. This is the acoustic stage
of the chain, during which the sound waves travel towards the listener's ears. The study of
speech sounds waves corresponds to acoustic phonetics.
The first kind of activity on the listener's part occurs at a physiological level. The sound
waves activate the listener's ear-deam, and his sensory nerves carry the message. The
hearing process is the domain of auditory phonetics, the hearer's brain decodes the
message in order to make it recognizable, which means physiological activity.

IPA(International Phonetic Alphabet)

Was developed by the International Phonetic Association (an association that promotes the
science of phonetics and its practical applications, founded in 1886 in France) to provide
suitable symbols for the sounds of any language. The symbols are based on the Roman
alphabet, with further symbols created by inverting or reversing Roman letters or taken from
the Greek alphabet.
The main characters are supplemented (when necessary) by diacritics (a symbol that
attaches to a sound so as to alter its value or provide some other information).
The first version of the alphabet was developed in the late 19th century by A.E Ellis, Paul
Passy, Henry Sweet, and Daniel Jones from a concept proposed by Otto Jespersen, It has
been revised from time to time.

The symbols that represent phonemes of the English language:

VOWELS:
Short
/ɪ/ half-close, retracted short vowel
/ɒ/ open, back short vowel
/ʌ/ half-open, central short vowel
/ʊ/ half-close, back short vowel
/ə/ mid, central short vowel (schwa)
/e/ mid, front short vowel
/æ/ half-open, front short vowel
-Long
/ɪː/ close, front long vowel
/ɔː/ half close, back long vowel
/ɑː/ open, back long vowel
/uː/ close, back long vowel
/ɜː/ mid, central long vowel

DIPHTHONGS:
-/aɪ/ wide, front-closing diphthong
-/eɪ/ narrow, front-closing diphthong
-/ɔɪ/ wide, front-closing diphthong
-/ɪə/ centring diphthong
-/eə/ centring diphthong
-/ʊə/ centring diphthong
-/aʊ/ wide, back-closing diphthong
-/əʊ/ narrow, back-closing diphthong

TRIPTHONGS:
-/aɪə/
-/eɪə/
-/ɔɪə/
-/aʊə/
-/əʊə/

CONSONANTS:
Plosives
-Bilabial /p/ /b/
-Alveolar /t/ /d/
-Velar /k/ /g/

Fricatives
-Labiodental /f/ /v/
-Dental /θ/ /ð/
-Alveolar /s/ /z/
-Palato Alveolar /ʃ/ /ʒ/
-Glottal /h/

Africates(Plosive+Fricative)
-Palato Alveolar /tʃ/ /dʒ/
-Post Alveolar /tr/ /dr/

Nasals
-Alveolar /n/
-Bilabial /m/
-Velar /ŋ/

Semi vowels:
/j/ /w/

/r/ /l/

Received Pronunciation:

In most languages, there are different accents, depending on which region the speaker
comes from.
Although none of the accents are intrinsically superior to the others.
First, the accent must be widely intelligible to all the communities where the language is
spoken.
Secondly, it should be socially acceptable. There are two varieties that fill these requisites,
and they are commonly known as General American and Received Pronunciation.
General American is a variety of English spoken by educated speakers in the USA, which
has no regional characteristics.
RP has rather complex origins. Before the nineteenth century, this accent was spoken by
educated speakers of South Eastern England and the London region.

The RP is probably the most famous and the most studied variety of spoken English in the
world.
Yet it's only spoken by 2 % of the UK's population.
The word “received” comes from the fact that it's “received wisdom”. The 2 % of the
population that speaks with RP have only learned it from the education in private school,
which means that there was a very small minority that actually “received” it.
Which is why nowadays it's an accent that is likely less desirable in the UK.

RP is constantly evolving, the RP that was used by the BBC all those years ago is vastly
different from the RP pronunciation that is used nowadays.
Almost every British dictionary uses RP so it is important to remember while you are reading
a phonetic transcription that you are learning how to say the word in RP.
Nearly all English dictionaries will give you the phonetic transcription in received
pronunciation, so it is important to know and understand it to be able to use those.

So which accent should we learn? It is a personal decision. However, you should always
include received pronunciation in your English British studies because it is a really good
basis for standard eloquent English.

Articulatory Phonetics:
The Speech Mechanism

The speech mechanism is not exclusively used for the production of sounds, but also for
breathing and eating. Speech is only a secondary activity and it is closely connected with
breathing.

The entire speech apparatus is made up of a series of organs and cavities that form a
passage from the lungs to the lips and nostrils. The section of this passage extending from
the larynx upwards is called the vocal tract.
When we inhale, the air enters through the nose and/or mouth, then passes through the
pharynx, the larynx and the trachea, into the lungs.

(Image of the speech mechanism)

The Lungs:

These have the consistency of two large sponges which are made to expand to take in
air(inhalation) and contract to let it out (exhalation).
They are situated within the rib cage or thorax.
Below the lungs, and separating them from the stomach, is a flat muscle called the
diaphragm.
The lungs are incapable of any active movement, and expansion or contraction must be
carried out by the muscles that join them to the rib cage and/or by lowering the diaphragm.

Function: the function of the lungs is that of a motor or activator that sets the passage of air
into the movements of inhalation and exhalation. When we speak, exhaling is controlled,
therefore, it normally takes longer than inhaling.

The Larynx:

The larynx is a rigid structure, situated at the top of the trachea and below the pharynx.
The larynx in speech contains the first valve or trap that can interfere with the passage of the
air-stream, the vocal folds. These are two bands or muscles lying across the center of the
larynx. At the front they are fixed side by side to the inside of the thyroid cartilage, at the
back they are attached to the two arytenoid cartilages, which thanks to muscular action can
bring the vocal folds close together or drawn them apart, and make them either tense or lax.
The epiglottis, an elastic pierce of cartilage, has no function in speech but act as a valve. It is
raised during speech and lowered during swallowing, preventing food from going into the
lungs.
For normal breathing the vocal folds are open forming a v-shape, the back ends forming the
two points of the v. The space between is called glottis.

When the vocal folds come into light contact the air passing through them causes them to
vibrate, this vibration is what we call voice.
All sounds without vibration of the vocal folds are called voiceless sounds (they are
produced with only breath) those produced with vibration are called voiced sounds.

(Image of the vocal folds opening)

The vocal folds of the adult male are longer and thicker than the female, and therefore
vibrate at lower rates, generally causing men's voice to have (high pitch?)

The Cavities or Resonators

Any hollow space containing air can act as a resonator, i.e, it can change the quality of an
existing sound.
The human speech mechanism has three resonators:

(Draw of the pharynx here)

-The Pharynx:
The pharynx is the passage situated at the top of the larynx, communicating with the oral
and nasal cavities. Its front wall is formed by the root of the tongue.
The pharynx can change its shape slightly.

(Drawn of the NC here)

-The Nasal Cavity:
The nasal cavity extends from the pharynx to the nostrils, and is separated from the oral
cavity by the palate. The entrance to the nasal cavity is controlled by the velum.
The NC is constant in shape and size

(Drawn of the OC here)

-The Oral cavity:
The oral cavity due to the great mobility of its organs and consequent changes of size and
shape is the most important resonator. The base is occupied by the tongue and the front is
bounded by the lips.

The Articulators:

These are all situated in or surrounding the oral cavity. They are:
The tongue, the palate, the teeth, and the lips.

Articulators are called active when they are capable of movement, passive when they are
incapable of movement.
The vocal folds can also act as articulators, as they are capable of producing two consonant
sounds, a plosive (the glottal stop) and two fricatives (/h/ and /r/)

(Drawn of the articulators)

The palate is a concave structure, separating the mouth from the nasal cavity.
Although the palate is not physically separated into parts, it is useful to divide it when
describing speech sounds into:
-Alveolar ridge: the prominence just behind the upper teeth.
-Hard palate: the bony, immovable part that lies over the center of the mouth.
-Soft palate (also called velum): the moveable part at the back, which can be raised or
lowered.

The tip of the velum is called the uvula.

When the velum is raised and pressed against the back wall of the pharynx, it closes the
entrance to the nasal cavity, and the air escapes through the mouth. When it is lowered it
doesn't completely close the passage into the oral cavity.

The tongue is the most agile speech organ, it is principally made of muscle. It is useful to
think of the tongue as being divided in different parts:

-The tip: the extreme end

-The blade: lying immediately under the alveolar ridge
-The front: lying under the hard palate.
-The back: lying under the velum.

The blade and tip can be moved independently or the rest.

The whole tongue moves backwards and forwards, and up and down.
It can interfere with the air stream by coming into light contact with the palate causing
friction, or it can make complete contact with the palate producing a stop.
The upper teeth are used in speech to interfere with or stop the air-flow with the help of the
tongue or the lower lip. The lips constitute the very mobile outer edges of the mouth, and can
adopt different shapes.

INTRODUCING THE SOUNDS OF ENGLISH:

A vowel sound is a sound in the production of which the air stream comes out through the
mouth(or mouth and nose) centrally over the tongue, and meets a stricture of open
approximation.
This definition covers all vowel sounds(voiced, voiceless, and nasalized), approximants, and
semi-vowels.

The term vowel has traditionally designated a sound produced with open approximation of
the articulators and with syllabic function.
UNIT 2: The Function of Speech Sounds Focus on Theory:
1-Linguistic Hierarchy. ✓
2-Allophone and Phoneme. ✓
3-Complementary distribution and free Variation. 4-Allophonic and Phonemic transcription. ✓ 5-
Gradation: Weak form words.
6-Neutralization.
7-Morphophonemic rules: plural endings, genitive case, Present Simple -s endings, regular
past endings. Affixes.
8-Homonyms, homophones and homographs.

Unit 2
Theory:
Weak/Strong forms
-Linguistic Hierarchy 💛
-Allophone ✓
-Phoneme ✓
-Complementary Distribution
-Free Variation
-Gradation ✓
-Neutralization✓ 💛
-Morphonemic rules💛
-Plural ✓
-Present simple
-Reg Past simple
-Homonyms✓ 💛
-Homophones✓
-Homographs ✓

The Linguistic Hierarchy:

What do speech and language require in their analysis?

Speech and language require different types of units in their analysis.

But, what do we understand by speech?
Speech is a constantly changing flow of sounds influencing one another.

But at the Linguistic level, we might find that the previous utterance we've utterated can be
analyzed as a sentence consisting of 2 clauses.
The extensive sequences occurring within an utterance can be meaningfully replaced by
other sound sequences. These are capable of standing by themselves and are called words.
In written form, they're separated by spaces but this isn't reflected in speech.

An utterance on the concrete speech level, will consist of the continuous physiological
activity which results in a continuum of sound, the largest or will therefore, be the span of
sound occurring between 2 silences (a sentence) within this unit of varying extent may be
possible to find smaller segments.
But it's from a linguistic level that we receive guidance as to how the utterance may be
segmented in the case of a particular language.

We might find, for instance, that an utterance such as "The boys ran quickly away and were
soon out of sight" is spoken without a pause or interruption for breathing. On the Articulatory
level it consists of one breath-group.

On the linguistic level, we know that this utterance is capable of being analyzed as a
sentence consisting of 2 clauses

A Clause is a group of words that contain a subject and a verb but which is usually only part
of a sentence. It is a shirt structure that carries ideas.
Certain extensive sequences occurring within the utterance might be meaningfully replaced
by other sounds sequences.

These replaceable sound sequences are able to stand by themselves and are called words.
In written form of language, it usually happens that words are separated from each other by
spaces.
In speech we don't use this convention, but sometimes we separate spaces by making a
pause.

Every utterance is a continuous changing pattern of sound quality with associated features
of:
STRESS - RHYTHM - INTONATION - QUALITY.

When we say words in isolation it's abstracted but not in context it is influenced by the
environment. Words have concrete realization when said in isolation but when in connected
speech, subjected to the pressure of its sound environment.

There are meaningful units that are smaller than words. They are Morphemes.
There are morphemes that can stand by themselves but others can not. They may
correspond with words.

Morphemes that stand by themselves are called Free Morphemes.

Morphemes that cannot stand by themselves are called: Bound Morphemes.

A Phoneme is the smallest contrastive Linguistic unit which may bring about a change of
meaning

Phoneme:
Contrastive=change the meaning

PHONEMES AND Allophones

Phonemes can be defined as:

The smallest contrastive phonological unit which can produce a difference of meaning.

Not all sounds are "contrastive" when substituted for each other, not all of them produce
changes in meaning.
For example:

The /l/ phoneme has 4 allophones.

-Clear /l/ before vowels and /j/

Ex: /laɪk/ /liːf/

-Dental [l̪ ] when followed by a dental sound.

Ex: health /hel̪ θ/

-Voiceless [l̥ ] following accented (aspirated) /p/ and /k/. Less considerable devoicing
occurs after /s/ /f/ /θ/ /ʃ/ or weakly accented /p/ /t/ /k/
Ex: class /kl̥ ɑːs/ climb /kl̥ aɪm/

-Dark [ɫ] before consonants, países and /w/ and as a syllabic sound following a
consonant.
Ex: Milk /mɪɫk/

But what are allophones?

Allophones can be defined as:

"The variants of each phoneme"
They are realizations of the same abstract sound unit called phoneme.

Phonetics(1) and Phonology(2)

-(1) deals with Allophones

-(2) deals with Phonemes. Phonology studies the selection and organization of phonic
substances into a given form or pattern.

The wrong use of phonemes may lead to a different meaning.

The wrong use of allophones will lead to a foreign accent or another dialect

It is important to differentiate between Phonetics and Phonology on theoretical grounds, we

must combine them for our practical purposes.

It is essential to know which sounds produce differences in meaning between words

(Phonological Study)

Allophonic and Phonetic Transcription

Allophones, which belong to the field of phonetics, are always represented by symbols
enclosed in [brackets] while phonemes, which belong to the field of phonology, are always
represented by symbols between /stant lines/

No matter which type of transcription we adopt, we can use it at two different levels, for two
different purposes:

Allophonic or Narrow transcription:

Where details of articulation are accounted for visually.

Phonemic or Broad transcription:

Where details such as devoicing, secondary articulators, variations of vowel length, etc, are
not accounted for.

A phonemic transcription recordé only the order in which segments occur; it consists of a set
of symbols and series of rules, or conventions, which we must know in order to be able to
give each symbol its correct value.

Gradation

Gradation is known as the process of phonemic change during which strong vowels are
weakened, and vowel or consonant sounds are elided.
It's clearly evident in a few cases where words exist on their own:

Man /mæn/
Board /bɔːd/
Fast /faːst/
Pan /pæn/

And the same form part of compounds:

Gentleman /ˈdʒentlmən/
Cupboard /ˈkʌbəd/
Breakfast /ˈbrekfəst/

Many English place names provide further examples of this process.

Plymouth /ˈplɪməθ/
Scotland /ˈskɒtlənd/
Oxford /ˈɒksfəd/

An examination of the phonetic composition of polysyllabic content words like there reveals
that about eight cut of every ten unaccented syllables contain either a vowel of a centralized
quality (i.e: /ə/ /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ɪə/) or none at all.

Historical evidence points out that many of these syllables originally contained strong vowels
that were gradually weakened or elided.
The group of structural words which can undergo gradation, on the other hand, present
different phonemic patterns depending on accentuation or prominence and in some cases,
position in the utterance.

Structural words:

Weak-forms words

They have 1 or more WF which will always be unaccented or non prominent in an utterance.

Content words:

Strong forms

Will always be accented or prominent.

This is, however, an important difference between gradation in content and structural
words.

Content or Lexical words:

-Nouns
-Verbs
-Adjectives
-Adverbs

Function/Structural grammatical words:

-Articles
-Empty carriers
-Modals
-Auxiliary verbs
Prepositions
-Pronouns
-Connectives

Forms such as breakfast and cupboard, which have undergone a historical process of
gradation, remain unchanged no matter if they are accented or unaccented in an utterance.

The weak forms are the most frequent pronunciation of structural words. WF words are
characterized by obscuration towards a centralized vowel quality and/or elision of a vowel or
consonant.

The Essential Weak/Strong Forms:

And
Wf /ənd/ (before vowels)
/ən/ (before consonants)
/n/ /ŋ/ /nd/ /m/ (in more rapid speech when it occurs between consonants the pronunciation
may be a syllabic nasal consonant, with place of articulation assimilated to the neighboring
consonants)
Sf /ænd/ (for emphasis, for contrast, for citation)

But
Wf /bət/
Sf /bʌt/ (when used contrastively) (for sake of emphasis) (in sentence final position)

His
Wf /ɪz/ (it can be pronounced without the /h/ except at the beginning of the sentence)
Sf /hɪz/ (when used as a possessive pronoun)

Her
Wf /hər/ /ər/ (before vowels)
/hə/ /ə/ (before consonants)
Sf /hɜː/ (mainly used for emphasis and contrast)

She
Wf /ʃi/
Sf /ʃiː/ (used to express emphasis or contrast, when used with contractions)

He
Wf /hi/ /i/ (not used at the beginning of a sentence)
Sf /hiː/ (used to express emphasis or contrast, when used with contractions)

Him
Wf /ɪm/ (not used at the beginning of a sentence)
Sf /hɪm/ (for contrast of emphasis)

That
Wf /ðət/ (when used in a relative clause or as a conjunction)
Sf /ðæt/ (when used in its demostrative sense)

Than
Wf /ðən/ /ðn/ (the syllabic form is only used in more rapid speech)
Sf /ðæn/ (very low frequency of occurrence, when cited, in exposed position)

Your
Wf /jər/ (before vowels)
/jə/ (before consonants)
Sf / /jɔː/ (for emphasis or contrast)

We
Wf /wi/
Sf /wiː/

You
Wf /ju/ (before vowel sounds, in final position)
/jə/ (before consonants, unusual in RP)
Sf /juː/

Sometimes when you is weakly stressed and is preceded by a word ending in /d/ or /t/, the
two words coalesce and form a single word with the affricate sound /dʒ/ and /tʃ/

For example:
-Did you /ˈdɪdʒu/
-Behind you /biˈhaɪndʒu/
-Could you /ˈkʊdʒu/
-Would you /ˈwʊdʒu/
-Don't you /ˈdəʊntju/

Her
Wf /hə/ /ə/ (not used at the beginning of a sentence.)
Sf /hɜː/ (for contrast or emphasis)

Them
Wf /ðəm/ /ðm/
Sf /ðem/ (to express emphasis or contrast)

Us
Wf /əs/
Sf /ʌs/ (for contrast)

Of
Wf /əv/
Sf /ɒv/ (when used in final/exposed position or when accented)

As
Wf /əz/
Sf /æz/ (when used in final position) (when used contrastively or as a coordinating
conjunction)

Some
Wf /səm/ /sm/ (when working as a determiner: some+plural countable nouns-"unspecified
number", some+uncountable nouns-"unspecified amount")
Sf /sʌm/ (in exposed position or when functioning as a pronoun when meaning an unknown
individual)

Could
Wf /kəd/
Sf /kʊd/ (when accented or in final position)

At
Wf /ət/
Sf /æt/ (when used in exposed position, when accented)

For
Wf /fə/ (before consonants)
/fər/ (before vowels)
/fr/ (in very rapid speech)

Sf /fɔː(r)/ (when used in exposed position, when accented)

From
Wf /frəm/ /frm/
Sf /frɒm/ (used contrastively or in final position)

To
Wf /tə/ (before consonants) /tu/ (before vowels)
Sf /tuː/ (when used contrastively or in final position)

There
Wf /ðə/ (before consonants) /ðər/ (before vowels when it functions as an anticipatory
subject) "there's /ðəz/"
Sf /ðeə/ (when this word has demonstrative function) /ðeər/ (before vowel sounds)
Can
Wf /kən/ /kn/
Sf /kæn/ (for emphasis) (for contrast) (when final in the sentence)

Have
Wf /həv/ (when used as the perfect auxiliary) /əv/ (when not in initial position) /v/ (only used
after vowel)
Sf /hæv/ (when used in final/exposed position, when used contrastively) (when used as a
main verb/full verb) (for emphasis) (it is also quite often used in initial position, when
accented)

Shall
Wf /ʃəl/ /ʃl/
Sf /ʃæl/ (in final position)

Should
Wf /ʃəd/
Sf /ʃʊd/ (in final position)

Must
Wf /məs/ (before consonants) /məst/ (before vowels)
Sf /mʌst/ (logical deduction) (in final position)

Do
Wf /də/ (before consonants) /du/ (before vowels)
Sf /duː/ (as a main verb) (for emphasis in final position)

Am
Wf /əm/ (as an auxiliary) /m/ (after I)
Sf /æm/ (for emphasis) (contrast)

Has
Wf /həz/ (when used as auxiliary) /əz/ (after /s/ /z/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/) /s/ (after a voiceless consonant)
/z/ (after a vowel voiced consonant)
Sf /hæz/ (when it means possess or eats) (when stranded or accented) (used to express
emphasis or contrast) (when used in final position)

Had
Wf /həd/ (when used as auxiliary, with /h/ in initial position) /əd/ (without /h/ when in initial
position) /d/ (usually used only … vowels)
Sf /hæd/ (when used as a main verb) (contrastively, in final position) (quite frequently in
initial position) (for emphasis)

Are
Wf /ə/ (before consonants) /ər/ (before vowels)
Sf /ɑː/ (for emphasis) (for contrast) (in final position)

Is
Wf /z/ (after voiced consonants) /s/ (after voiceless consonants)
/Sf /ɪz/

Was
Wf /wəz/
Sf /wɒz/ (when stranded or accented)

Were
Wf /wə/ (before consonants) /wər/ (before vowels)
Sf /wɜː/ (when stranded or accented)

Pronoun verb contractions

-Let's
-(d'you)
-I'm
We're
You're
They're
I'd
You'd
He'd

I'll
You'll
He'll
She'll
We'll
They'll
She'd
We'd
They'd

There'll
I've
You've
We've
They've
There'd
Who'd

Neutralization of Phonemes

The opposition between phonemes /iː/ and /ɪ/ may in certain phonetic environments not be
distinguishable. We say the opposition between them is neutralized.

1) When the vowel is in a weak syllable at the end of a word (or at the end of part of a
compound word or of a stem) as in:

Happy /ˈhæpi/
Valley /ˈvæli/
Easygoing /iːziˈgəʊɪŋ/
Easier /ˈiːziə/

2) When the vowel is in a weak syllable before another vowel, as in:

Radiation /reɪdiˈeɪʃn/
Glorious /glɔːriəs/
Wikipedia /wɪkiˈpiːdiə/

3) In a prefix such as re-, pre-, de- if unstressed, as in:

-react /riˈækt/
-reorganize /riˈɔːgənaɪz/
-preoccupation /pri ɒkjuˈpeɪʃn/
-predominate /priˈdɒmɪneit/
-deactivate /diˈæktɪveɪt/
-degenerate (v) /diˈdʒenəreɪt/

4) In the words he, she, we, me, be and the (when unstressed and before a vowel
sound).

-he /hi/
-she /ʃi/
-we /wi/
-me /mi/
-be /bi/
-the apple /ðiˈæpl/
Similarly, the symbol /u/ represents the neutralization of the opposition between /uː/ and /ʊ/ .
This neutralization is found:

1) in words such as who, do, you (in all positions when unstressed), to and into when
unstressed and followed by a vowel.

who /hu/
you /ju/
do /du/
to /tu/
into /ˈɪntu/

2) Before another vowel within the same word as in:

evacuation /ivækjuˈeɪʃn/
influenza /ɪnfluˈenzə/

Watch out(!!!)
a) The neutral sound /u/ is not only found in /i/ environments, but also in certain others, for
example in one pronunciation of stimulate /ˈstɪmjuleɪt/.
b) Do not confuse neutralization with the term neutral vowel, a name used for the vowel
sound /ə/ schwa /ˈjwɑː/.

Morphophonemic /mɔːrfoʊfəˈnɛmɪk/ Rules:

Plural endings:

/ɪz/ when the last consonant of the word is:

-Alveolar fricative sound /s/ /z/

-Palato Alveolar fricative sound /ʃ/ /ʒ/
-Palato Alveolar affricate sound /dʒ/ /tʃ/

Ce= races
S= buses
X= boxes
Z= prizes
Ss= kisses
Ch= watches
Sh= dishes
Ge= changes

/s/ when the last consonant of a sound is a:

-Fortis plosive sound /p/ (bilabial) /t/ (alveolar) /k/ (velar)

-Fortis labiodental fricative sound /f/
-Fortis dental fricative sound /θ/

/z/ When the last consonant of a word is:

-a vowel sound
-Lenis plosive sound /b/ (bilabial) /d/ (alveolar) /g/ (velar)
-Lenis fricative labiodental sound /v/
-Lenis fricative dental sound /ð/
-Voiced alveolar lateral /l/
-Nasal sound /m/ (bilabial) /n/ (alveolar) /ŋ/ (velar)

Genitive Case—> the forms of genitive inflection:

The -s form of regular nouns is realized in speech only in the singular, where takes one or
the forms /ɪz/ /z/ and /s/ following the rules for S inflection (=the s forms)

In writing, the inflection or regular nouns is realized in the singular by -s and in the plural by
putting an apostrophe after the plural s.

For example; the spoken form /spaɪz/ may be related to the noun spy as follows:

1) The SPIES were arrested

2) The SPY'S companion was a woman.
3) Th SPIES' companions were women in each case

The ZERO GENITIVE occurs with:

a) Greek names of more than one syllable, as in:

-Euripides' plays -Achilled'heel -Achilles' tendon
b) Many other names ending in /z/ where, in speech, the "zero genitive" is a variant of
the regular /ɪz/ genitive.
-Charles (or Charles's)
-James (or James's)
-Chris (or Chris's)

*There is a variation both in the production and spelling of these names, but most commonly
the pronunciation is the /ɪz/ form and the spelling an apostrophe only.

c) Fixed expressions of the form for(…) sake as in:

-For goodness' sake -For conscience' sake.

Present Simple
/ɪz/: If the verb ends in one of the following sounds:

/s/ miss
/z/ lose
/ʃ/ wash
/tʃ/ watch
/dʒ/ manage

/s/: If the verb ends in any other voiceless consonant sound.

-makes
-bakes

/z/: If the verb ends in any other voiced consonant sound or a vowel sound.

-rains
-does

-Ed past tenses:

/ɪd/: If the verb ends in the sound /t/ or /d/ we pronounce the -ed ending.

/d/: If the verb ends in a voiced consonant sound apart from(b, g, v, z, dʒ, l, m, n, ŋ) or a
vowel.

/t/: if the verb ends in a voiceless consonant sound apart from /t/ (p,k,f,s,θ,ʃ,tʃ)

L—->inkin—->g

When we speak quickly, a word that begins with a vowel sound is linked to the consonant
sound at the end of the word before it.

For example:
-Greek~alphabet
-Modern~email.

Linking also happens if a consonant is usually silent at the end of a word:

For example:
-New/u/~idea
-Computer/r/~information

The letter y links to the following vowel sound as a /j/

-14th century/j/~English.
Homonyms:

Words that sound and look alike, BUT are different in meaning.

-He sat on the river bank

-She keeps her savings in the bank

/bæŋk/

Homographs:

They are identical in spelling BUT different in meaning and pronunciation.

-These are my lead soldiers

-He always takes the lead in any group

1-/led/
2-/liːd/

Homophones:

They are identical in sound BUT different in spelling and meaning.

-Remove the peel of a pear or apple

-A new pair of shoes

/peə/

The sounds /s/ /z/ /ɪz/ (For PLURAL NOUNS)

If the nouns are countable they can be/have a plural. In most cases, in ordinary spelling we
add "s" in order to form the plural (though is not always the case)

For example:

Ship-Ships
Computer-Computers
Change-Changes

When it comes to pronunciation, there are three possible ways of pronouncing the ending,
depending on the final sound of the base noun

/d/ /t/ /ɪd/

Homonyms:
Words that sound the same (homophones) or are spelled the same (homographs) but have
different meanings. They can be a source of confusion in language because their identical
form can make it challenging to determine the intended meaning in context.
In other words, they are words that sound and look alike, but are different in meaning.
Ex:
1) He sat on the bank
2) She keeps her money in the bank
/bæŋk/

There are two types of homonyms:

Homophones:
Homophones are identical in sound but different in spelling and meaning.

For example
For example, “knew” /nju:/ and “new” /nju:/ are homophones. Or "Son" /sʌn/ and "Sun" /sʌn/,
or pear and pair /peə/

Homographs
Homographs are identical in spelling but different in meaning and pronunciation.

For example
The word "Letter" can have two different meanings:
-It can make reference to the letters of the alphabet
-It can make reference to the piece of paper with a written message, often sent in a packet

Or
1) These are my lead /led/ soldiers
2) He always takes the lead /liːd/ in any group

UNIT 3: Description and Classification of Speech Sounds (I) Focus on Theory:

Articulatory and Auditory Phonetics:
1-Vowels: definition.
2-Cardinal vowels. ✓
3-The English vowels: description and Classification.
4-The English pure vowels in detail.
Diphthongs.
5-The English diphthongs +/ə/.

Cardinal Vowels:

In 1917 Daniel Jones took the vowel area as the basis for establishing a vowel diagram and
devised a system of Cardinal Vowels

(Draw of the vowel area)

The system is based on two articulatory selected vowel sounds

CV1[ i ] is produced by raising the tongue as close as possible to the palate without causing friction→
the result is the sound [ i ]

CVs 2 [ e ], 3 [-] and 4 [ a ] are produced at auditorily equidistant points between [ i ] and
[ ɑ? ] by gradually lowering the front of the tongue

CV5 [ ɑ ] is produced by placing the tongue as low and as far back as possible. The result is
the sound [ ɑ ]

CVs 6 [ ɔ ], 7 [ o ] and 8 [ u ] are produced at auditorily equidistant points between [ ɑ ] and

[?] by gradually raising the back of the tongue [ ɔ, o , u ]

The advantage of using Cardinal Vowels is that their quality is invariable and permits
accurate comparison.

CVs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are pronounced with spread or open lips.

CVs 6, 7, 8 are pronounced with lip rounding.

The CV are on the limits of the vowel diagram, i.e they occupy peripheral, extreme positions.
If the tongue exceeds this límit, friction will be heard.

[Pic of the CV diagram)

UNIT 4: Description and Classification of Speech Sounds (II) Focus on Theory:

The English Consonants, Phonetic and Phonemic Features:
Energy.
Voicing.
Aspiration.
Types of plosive release.
Consonant length.

The English Consonants

In an articulatory definition a consonant is a sound in the production of which the air-

stream meets a (?) or a stricture of close approximation (fricatives)

In a phonological description, consonants are those segments which, in a particular

language, occur at the edges of syllables (as in "red" or "web")
When they are phonetically described, they follow a criterion of stricture that say that all
other sounds necessitating a closure or narrowing involving friction are consonants.

Consonants are most easily described in terms of ARTICULATION because we can feel the
contact and movements involved in their production.
They may be produced with or without vocal fold vibration and they often have a "noise"
component in the acoustic sense.

Consonants have "Non-syllabic " or "Marginal" function in the syllable.

Certain consonants like the voiced alveolar nasal and the voiced alveolar lateral, can have
"VOWEL QUALITY" in certain positions(final position). For example, they can be Syllabic

Difficulties arise in English with consonant definition because voiced palatal approximant
semivowel /j/ voiced labio-velar approximant semivowel /w/ and voiced post-alveolar
approximant semivowel /r/ which are consonants phonologically, are vowels phonetically.
Because of this, these sounds are often called "Semi-Vowels".

Classification of Consonants

The 24 consonantal English phonemes can be classified into 2 general categories

Obstruents:
Those articulations in which there is a total closure or a stricture causing friction.

-Plosives
-Fricatives
-Affricates

Sonorants:
Those articulations in which there is only a partial closure or an unimpeded oral or nasal
escape of air. Ex: without a noise component they (?) share many phonetic characteristics
with vowels.

-Nasal
-Oral Approximants

To differentiate these phonemes many types of criteria can be taken into account.
Energy: English consonants can be grouped as either Fortis or Lenis. According to the
energy with which they are articulated and perceived.

Fortis→ produced with great breath force and muscular effort.

Lenis→ produced with a small degree of breath force and muscular effort.

Fortis: /p/ /t/ /k/ /tʃ/ /tr/ /f/ /θ/ /s/ /ʃ/
Lenis: /b/ /d/ /g/ /dʒ/ /dr/ /v/ /ð/ /z/ /ʒ/
No Opposition: /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /l/ /r/ /j/ /w/

Special case: /h/

-Does not participate in the opposition.
-Does not share the voicing feature typical of the sounds in group 6(?)

Length: can be defined as the aspect of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds may
be ordered on a scale running from "long" to "short".
English Fortis consonants shorten the preceding vowel sound, whereas, English Lenis
consonants lengthen it.

Voicing: consonants fortis and lenis can lose either part or all of their voice, according to the
phonetic environment.

-Lenis consonants and "No oppositional" consonants are voiced between vowels and other
consonants of the same groups.
-On the other hand /h/ may become voiced
-Lenis consonants are devoiced after and before pauses and fortis consonants.
-/l, r, w, j/ are devoiced when preceded by a Fortis plosive in an accented syllable.
-/n, l/ slightly devoiced when preceded by a Fortis consonant in unaccented syllables.

Aspiration: can be defined as the voiceless interval between the release of a plosive and
the voicing of a following vowel.

How many degrees of aspiration should be taken into account for teaching purpose:
-Presence
-Absence

-What happens to /p, t, k/ when they are in accented syllables?

They are strongly aspirated.

When these accented Fortis plosives precede a vowel sound, the voicing of the vowel does
not begin together with the release stage of the plosive, but some time later, as in "purse".
This delay between the release of the primary closure of the articulators and the beginning of
voicing for the sound that follows can be allophonically transcribed
/pʰɜrs/
/pɜ˘ːrs/ (hay una bolita abajo de la long schwa)
-Are they strongly aspirated in unaccented syllables?
They are weakly aspirated in that phonetic context. / ði ˈʌpʌ lɪp/
If they are in final position they are weakly aspirated too. /ði ˈʌpʌ lɪp/

-When /p, t, k/ are followed by /l, r, w, j/ especially in accented syllables, the aspiration of
the former makes the latter devoiced. [ˈpl()ɪːz ˈtr()aɪ tə ˈkl()ɪːn ˈkw()ɪtli]

I wrote the () to indicate that the sound has the diacritic that looks like a small ball below the
phoneme, it represents "voiceless" (according to the power point "Linguistic Hierarchy ", at
least with the lateral approximant sound l)

Types of release

English plosives are not always released in the same way, they may present the following
alternatives:

"Oral release"

Plosives have quick oral release when followed by vowels, semi vowels, or a pause.

Ex:
"Pure tobacco"
/pjʊə təˈbæk əʊ/
|
The release stage is present with or without the aspiration period

"Non-Audible release"

Final plosives before pauses is lack of audible release caused by a weak opening of the
stop, or absence of release

[ɔːɫ ˈraɪt^]
(Inaudible release)=unexploded

[ɔːɫ ˈraɪt]
(Audible release)=exploded

In clusters formed by two consecutive plosives

"Plosive+Plosive"

He grabbed it too
[hi ˈgræb^d ɪt^ 'tuː ]
You dropped it
[ju ːdrɒp^t ɪt]

In clusters formed by a plosive and an affricate.

"Plosive+Affricate"
He has a big chin
[hi ˈhæz ə ˈbɪg^ tʃɪn]

Unidentified flying object

[ʌnaɪˈdentɪfaɪd ˈflaɪŋ ˈɒb^dʒekt]

In general a plosive has delayed release, whenever it is followed by a stop made with the
same articulators.

Midday [ˌmɪdˈdeɪ ]
(Double consonants are known as Geminates)

"Nasal release"

When a plosive is followed by a homorganic nasal, (i.e a nasal produced with the same
articulators) ex: /p, b/ /t, m/ the release stage is performed nasally.

The soft palate is lowered, so the air compressed behind the closure escapes through the
nose.

You can get nine

[ju kn ˈget ˈnaɪn]
kn (plosive+nasal)
ng (velar sound)
tn (plosive+nasal) (alveolar sounds)

Another type of release occurs in "Non-Homorganic Sequences"

Happen /ˈhæpn/ [pn]

Frogman /ˈfrɒgmən/ [gm]
Stepmother /ˈstepmʌðə/ [pm]

The oral release must be preceded by a complete articulation of the nasal, otherwise some
oral release may be perceived…(?)

With "Glottal reinforcement"

Fortis plosives and affricates can be reinforced with a glottal stop.

Glottalization of /p/ /t/ /k/

-Before pauses and consonants

-NOT between vowels
/ˈteɪk ðət ˈaʊt/ [ˈteɪʔk ðət ˈaʊʔt]

With /tʃ/ /tr/, glottalization is possible between vowels as well.

/ˈmætʃɪz/ [ˈmæʔtʃɪz]

"Lateral Release"

When /t, d/ are followed by /l/ both plosives are released laterally (E.x: their release stage
consists in the lowering of one or both sides of the tongue)

Lateral release, is marked ⟨l⟩ (it's like drawing a smile /~/ in the original notes that goes
below the phonemes, I couldn't find a way of doing that in word) can occur inside words or
at word boundary, and the result can be either a syllabic or a Non-syllabic lateral.

Gentle and friendly

/ˈdʒentl~ ən ˈfrendl~i/

Articulatory and Auditory Phonetics:

1-Consonants: definition.
2-The English consonants: description and classification.
3-Plosives.
4-The Glottal Stop: description and RP/GB usage. 5-Affricates.
6-Fricatives.
7-Nasals.
8-Approximants.

Description and Classification of Consonants sounds.

Consonant sounds can be described and classified according to both articulatory and
auditory criteria.
An auditory description makes use of labels which describe the kind of auditory impression
perceived by the heater.

Are the vocal folds in action or not?

Vocal fold activity determines whether consonant sounds are voiced or voiceless.

Voiced consonant:
Are produced with the vocal folds in light contact, vibrating.

Voiceless consonant:
The vocal folds are wide apart, so that only breath goes through.
How strong are the breath force and muscular effort involved in the articulation?

Vibration of the vocal folds may not be the only difference between voiced and voiceless
consonant sounds.
The latter are generally produced with more breath force and muscular effort than voiced
consonant sounds.

Consonant sounds produced with greater force are called Fortis.

Consonant sounds produced with less force are called Lenis.

The opposition voiced / voiceless, is variable, since the so called voiced consonant sounds
may lose their voice either partially or completely, thus becoming DEVOICED.

*Voiced and devoiced sounds are Lenis.

-Voiceless are Fortis.

Is the velum up or down?

The position of the velum causes consonant sounds to be:

Mainly Oral (when it is raised)
Nasal (when it is lowered)

Where does the interference of the air-flow occur?

The articulators are called ACTIVE if they are capable of movement, and PASSIVE if they
were incapable of it.
If we locate each active articulator in combination with its corresponding passive one, we
shall obtain a classification according to "place of articulation".

1) The first part of articulators going from bottom to top is the vocal folds.
The space between is called glottis, the consonant sounds produced here are called
Glottal. Sometimes a voiced [h] is used between vowel sounds.
2) Back of tongue and velum produce velar sounds [k g ŋ]
3) Front of the tongue and hard palate produce palatal sounds.
4) Blade (or tip and blade) and alveolar ridge, accompanied by a raising of the front of
the tongue towards the hard palate produce palato-alveolar sounds.
5) Tip of the tongue and back part of the alveolar ridge produce alveolar sounds.
6) Tip of the tongue and upper teeth produce dental sounds.
7) Tip of the tongue and back part of the alveolar ridge produce post alveolar sounds.
8) Lower lip and upper teeth produce labio-dental sound
9) Lower lip and upper lip produce bilabial sounds.

Most of these articulators are carried out alone, a few of them are accompanied by what is
called a SECONDARY ARTICULATOR, which involves the simultaneous approximation of
another part of articulators.
The secondary articulation is more open and less important than the primary one. For
example, [ ʃ ] and [ ɫ ]
A third case of secondary articulation in English occurs with the sounds [ ʃ, ʒ ] which are
normally articulated with lip protrusion. Secondary articulations are generally named with a
term ending in "-ization". Thus, we speak of palatalization (as in /ʃ/ ) velarization (as in [ɫ])
and labialization.

What kind of interference is it?

Another way of classifying consonant sounds is according to the type of stricture made
between each pair of articulators. I.e, according to the manner of articulation:

Plosives:
When an active articulator comes into firm contact with a passive one, forming a stricture of
complete closure, the air-stream is built up behind the closure. The articulators separe
suddenly producing an explosive sound called plosion.
When we pronounce a [p] sound the two lips come together, air pressure is built up behind
them and suddenly released. The sound produced in this way is called plosive.

The articulation of a plosive has:

3 stages: closure-stop-release.

Fricatives:
When an active articulator comes into light contact with a passive one, forming a stricture of
close approximation, the air has to force its way out, making a noise called friction.
Two stages: approximation and friction.
In the case of [ f ] sound. Other examples are [ ʃ, s, θ, v ]. In the case of [h] two active
articulators (the vocal folds) form the stricture.

Affricates:
Are formed by a succession of a plosive+fricative. The active articulator forms a stricture of
complete closure with the passive one, they come into the fricative position.
Ex: [ tʃ, dʒ ]

Taps:
An active articulator taps once against a passive one.

Rolls:
A roll is produced by the vibration of an active articulator against a passive one. It is a rapid
succession of taps, and technically it is a stricture of intermittent closure.

Laterals:
The active articulator (tongue) comes into firm contact with the passive one (generally the
alveolar ridge or palate) and the air escapes down one or both sides of the contact, one or
both side(s) of the palate.
Ex: [ l ]
Nasals:
In a nasal sound the velum must be lowered, and there must be a stricture of complete
closure somewhere in the mouth, so the air escapes through the nose.
Eg: [ ŋ ]

Approximants and Semi-vowels:

Are produced with an approximation of the articulators which is too open to cause any
friction. Can be represented by the diacritic [similar to ^ but below the sound, es como una
patita] indicating "open" placed under the fricative symbol. Ex: [ ð con la patita abajo ].
Semi vowels [ j, w ]

Glottal Stop:
In this case the obstruction to the air stream is formed by the closure of the vocal folds,
interrupting the passage of air into the supr glottal organs. The air pressure below the glottis
is reduced by the sudden separation of the vocal folds. The compression stage of its
articulation consists of silence. There's no acoustic manifestation of the glottal plosive other
than the …of the coalesce sound.

RP usage—>Glottal Stop

The glottal stop ja not a significant sound in the RP system. A distinction must be made
between: —>"to eat" [ tu ʔiːt ]

A) Regular glottal reinforcement in RP: the glottal stop serves regularly for many RP
speakers of a syllable boundary when the initial sound of the second syllable is a
vowel.
B) Extended glottal reinforcement in RP: in RP, /t, k, p/ may be reinforced by a glottal
closure which generally precedes it. The glottal closure takes place just before the
mouth closure and the glottal release just before the oral release.
This type of reinforcement occurs in syllable final position where a vowel, nasal, or
lateral precedes where a pause or consonant follows. Reinforcement is more likely to
occur at the end of an accented syllable.
C) Glottal replacement in RP: some RP speakers replace final syllable /p, t, k/ by a
glottal stop when a constant follows, no oral closure is made.

UNIT 5: Connected Speech Processes Focus on Theory: Features of connected speech:

1-Linking features.
2-Elision.
3-Assimilation: types

Linking Features
Sometimes the linking process will require modifications at the beginning and ends of words
in connected speech.

The case of the so-called linking /r/ which consists in pronouncing word-final spelling r
when the word begins with a vowel.
/ˈleɪtə/ vs /ˈleɪtər ɒn/

It is also possible for /r/ to be pronounced when no r appears in the spelling.

This so-called intrusive /r/ is the result of a process of analogy- a sort of extension of the
linking /r/ rule to situations where it is not present in the spelling.
/ˈfɑːðər ən mʌðə/

Other linking processes require no modification at the edges of words. They are difficult for
the Spanish learner, because they involve consonant sequences which he is unaccustomed
to. In cases where one word ends in a consonant cluster or the next one begins with a
vowel, the student tends to omit the final consonant.
"He reached out and changed it"--> /hi ˈritʃ taut ən tʃeɪndʒ dɪ/

When a final cluster is followed by an initial consonant or consonant cluster, certain

simplifications take place.

Word internal Phonemic Variations

In all languages pronunciation is in a contrast state of evolution, although for the last few
hundred years English spelling has not reflected these changes. Many words have
undergone processes of elision, assimilation and compression and there is evidence to think
that some modern spelling stand for old pronunciations.
We want to focus on the language spoken today by the present two or three generations.
An analysis of current English reveals that sometimes two, and less frequently three,
alternative lexical pronunciations of the same word may exist simultaneously.
CPD dictionary offers nearly 450 words with two pronunciations of almost equal common
usage, 350 correspond to either vowel or consonant elision, and the rest to consonant
assimilation.
A descriptive pronouncing dictionary (EPD) also offers assimilated and elided
pronunciations, but which are not always of common use.
The younger generations tend to adopt elided, assimilated, and compressed forms which
would even be considered negligent by their elders.
Phonemic variations inside words, help to determine different generational variates of RP
and are also closely connected with styles of pronunciations: lexical forms containing
elisions, assimilations and compressions represent a less formal style of delivery.

Elision:

The omission of sounds is known as elision. It consists of omitting either a vowel or a

consonant.
If the word of expression is perfectly intelligible, people tend to omit that sound.
Elision of the /ə/:

-Allows the information of Affricates in (secretary) /trɪ/ or (secondary) /drɪ/

-/ə/ may be elided, but the syllable is not lost when the resulting word will be disyllabic.
Lottery-mystery.

Examples:

Elision of /ə/—> /ˈməʊʃn/ common pronunciation / ˈməʊʃən/

Elision of /d/
-/ˈtuː ən ˈsɪks/
-/ˈweɪt ən ˈsɪː/

Elision of /nt/
/ˈaɪ dəʊ ˈnəʊ/

Elision of /t/
-/ˈkrɪsməs/
-/ˈtʃesnʌt/
-/ˈpəʊsmən/
-/ˈdʌsbɪn/

Some elisions—> are regarded as particular kinds of assimilation.

Formula: sound A is replaced by ZERO under the influence of sound C.

Kindness /ˈkaɪnnəs/—> sound /d/ is replaced by ZERO under the influence of the kindness.
Adjoining nasal consonants.
The elision of /d/ in "kindness" is one of this nature: /d/ in such a position naturally tends to
become nasalized /d/= /n/.

Elision of vowels (at word boundaries)

Not alone /ˈnɒt əˈləʊn/—>/ˈnɒtl ˈləʊn/

-Elision of preceding /ə/ when preceded by a word final consonant and followed by a
continuant /l/
-Compensation for that loss made by the syllabicity of the continuant.

Get another /ˈget əˈnʌðə/ /ˈgetn nʌðə/

-Word initial /ə/ coalesces with a preceding vowel /əʊ/ + /ə/ —-> /ɜː/

Go away /ˈgəʊ əˈweɪ/ —> /gɜː ˈweɪ/

-Word initial /ə/ coalesces with a preceding vowel /aɪ/ + /ə/ —-> /ɑː/
Try again /traɪ əˈgen/ —> /trɑːˈgen/

-Elision of final /ə/ when followed by a linking /r/ and word initial vowel.

Father and son /ˈfɑːðər ən ˈsʌn/ —> /ˈfɑːðrən ˈsʌn/

After a while /ˈɑːftər ə waɪl/ —> /ˈɑːftrə ˈwaɪl/

Elision (word internal)

Preferable /ˈprefərəbɫ / > /ˈprefrəbɫ/

Temporary /ˈtempərəri/ > /ˈtemprəri/

History /hɪstəri/ > /hɪstri/

Murderer /ˈmɜːdərə/ /ˈmɜːdrə/

Natural /ˈnætʃərəɫ/ /ˈnætʃrəɫ/

Reduction of a weak vowel following a consonant preceding

Carefully /ˈkeəfəli/ > /ˈkeəfli/

Family /ˈfæməli/ > /ˈfæmli/
Reasonably /ˈrɪːzənəbli/ > /ˈrɪːznbli/

Loss of /ə/ or /ɪ/ in prenuclear positions (i.e in weak syllable preceding the accent)
particularly in rapid speech when the stressed tonic syllable begins with /p/ or /r/

Probably /ˈprɒbəbli/ → /ˈprɒbli/

Difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəɫt/ → /ˈdɪfkɫt/
Police /pəˈlɪːs/ → /pˈlɪːs/

Parade /pəˈreɪd/ → pˈreɪd//

Correct /kəˈrekt/ → /kˈrekt/

Fasten /ˈfɑːsn/

Listen /ˈlɪsn/

Write /raɪt/

Know /nəʊ/

-Simplification of clusters
-In clusters of three consonants, alveolar /t,d /

Kindness /ˈkaɪnnəs/
Dustman /ˈdʌsmən/
Friendsh /ˈfrenʃɪp/

-[ ɫ ] apt to be lost when preceded by /ɔː/

Already [ ɔːɫˈredi] → [ ɔːˈredi]

Always [ ɔːɫ weɪz] → [ ɔː weɪz]
All right [ɔːɫˈraɪt ] → [ɔːˈraɪt ]

# Established: Walk /wɔːk/ - talk /tɔːk/

-Whole syllables may be elided in rapid speech, specially in the vicinity of /r/

Library /ˈlaɪbrəri/ → /ˈlaɪbri/

February /ˈfebʊəri/ → /ˈfebri/
Literary /ˈlɪtərəri/ → /ˈlɪtri/
Secretary /ˈsekrətəri/ → /ˈsekrətri/

Elision of consonants

Next day /ˈnekst ˈdeɪ/ → /ˈneks ˈdeɪ/

Soft shoes /ˈsɒft ˈʃuːz/ → /ˈsɒf ˈʃuːz/

Finished now /ˈfɪnɪʃt ˈnaʊ/ → /ˈfɪnɪʃ ˈnaʊ/

Tinned meat /ˈtɪnd ˈmɪːt/ → /ˈtɪnˈmɪːt/

Hold tight /ˈhəʊld ˈtaɪt/ → /ˈhəʊl ˈtaɪt/

Gazed past /ˈgeɪzd ˈpɑːst/ → /ˈgeɪz ˈpɑːst/

Loathed beer /ˈləʊðd ˈbɪə/ → /ˈləʊð ˈbɪə/

Loved flowers /ˈlʌvd ˈflaʊəz/ → /ˈlʌv ˈflaʊəz/

Kept quiet /ˈkept ˈkwaɪət/ → /ˈkep ˈkwaɪət/

Reached Rome /ˈrɪːtʃt ːrəʊm/ → /ˈrɪːtʃ ːrəʊm/

Begged one /ˈbegd ˈwʌn/ → /ˈbeg ˈwʌn/

Judged fairly /ˈdʒʌdʒd ˈfeəli/ → /ˈdʒʌdʒ ˈfeəli/

Helped you /ˈhelpt ju/ → /ˈhelpʃu/

Lost you /ˈlɒst ju/ → /ˈlɒstʃu/

Told you /ˈtəʊld ju/ → /ˈtəʊldʒu/

Lend you /ˈlend ju/ → /ˈlendʒu/

-when a juxtaposition of words brings together a cluster of consonants, elision of a plosive

medial in 3 or more is to be expected.

I walked back
/aɪ ˈwɔːkt ˈbæk/

They seemed glad

/ˈðeɪ ˈsɪːmd ˈglæd/

You mustn't lose it

/ju ˈmʌsnt ˈluːz ɪt/

Doesn't she know?

/ˈdʌznt ʃi ˈnəʊ/

Wouldn't he come?
/ˈwʊdnt hi ˈkʌm/

Assimilation

Assimilation can be defined as the process by which sounds are influenced by neighboring
sounds and come to share some or all of their phonetic characteristics.
Assimilation is the result of an unconscious propensity towards ease of articulation and
economy of effort. More important assimilations can occur at a phonemic level.
Example: don't you /ˈdəʊntʃu/

Similitude

Similitude in connected speech is one of the normal sounds of language, however is a

subsidiary member (i.e, another wound rather like it) but partaking some characteristics of
adjoining sound—>which it shows similitude.

A subsidiary member (allophones)

/l/ voiced alveolar lateral

Phoneme: the smallest contrastive phonological unit which can produce a change of
meaning.
Allophone: "realizations of the same abstract sound unit called phoneme".

[ l ] clear before vowels and /j/

[ ɫ ] dark before consonants, pauses and
[L con bola] devoiced place-class

Lenis consonants (i.e, the ones produced with a small degree of breath force and muscular
effort) are devoiced after and before pauses and fortis plosives.

That good cause [ ð(devoiced, con bolita abajo) æt ˈgʊd(devoiced, con bolita abajo)
ˈkɔːz(devoiced, con bolita abajo) ]

devoiced consonant [small circle symbol, yo le digo bolita debido a que no tengo ese
diacritic en mi teclado]

[ l̪ ] dental wealth-although

-The alveolar /t, d, n, l/ are articulated dentally when followed by /θ/ /ð/.
-The alveolars /t, s, n, l/ are articulated in the post-alveolar region when followed by /r/ /tr/
/dr/.

All the interest [ ˈɔːl ði ˈɪn(_)t(_)r(bolita)əst]

The diacritics [ + ] [ _ ] [ símbolo que parece pisito abajo de los phonemes] ← Reserved
exclusively for dental variations.

[ l con rayita abajo ] post-alveolar "baker articulation" when followed by /r, tr, dr/ .
Ball-room, children, poultry.

A partially breathed [ l con bolita abajo] → [ pl(con bolita)ɪːz ] [ p(con bolita) eɪ ] shows
similitude with [p]

The term SIMILITUDE —> refers to/is only used in "subsidiary members" = Allophones of
phonemes.

The subsidiary type (the allophone) B belonging to the phoneme whose principal member is
the sound A is used when the sound C is adjacent or near to it.

A partially breathed [ ]--> belonging to the phoneme whose principal member is the fully
voiced /l/—> /p/ precedes it in a stressed syllable.
Conjunctions(4)
✅ And
Sf=/ænd/
-For emphasis
-For contrast
-For citation

Wf=/ənd/(before vowels) /ən/(before consonants)

in rapid speech, when it occurs between consonants, it may be a syllabic nasal consonant
with place of articulation assimilated to the neighboring consonants:
/n/ (I've seen it between consonants)
/ŋ/ (I've seen it between vowels and consonants, and between consonants)
/nd/ (I've seen it between vowels and consonants, and between consonants)
/m/ (I've seen between consonants)

✅ But
Sf=/bʌt/
-when used contrastively
-for the sake of emphasis
-in sentence final position)

Wf=/bət/

Pronouns (11)
His