The Libyan Academy, Misurata

School of Languages
English Language Department

Elision in Connected Speech: Patterns,

Classifications, and Articulatory Factor

Inspector: Dr. Yousef Elramli

Presented by: Ameera F. Alargat
?What is an ELISION

According to Crystal (2008), elision is a phonological process in which one or

.more sounds are completely left out during rapid speech

Elision aims at facilitating pronunciation and making the language easier and
faster to say
:Classifications and Types

:According to Lass (1984), elision can be divided into three types

.Aphaeresis: omitting sounds at the beginning of a word -1

:Ex

naɪf/ knife/

.Syncope: omitting vowels in unstressed syllables -2

:Ex

/Dictionary /dɪkʃənɛri/ /dɪkʃnrɪ

.Apocope : dropping a final element in a word -3

:Ex

last time [læs tʰaɪm]

:Skandera and Burleigh (2005) propose a different classification

:Based on the kind of the omitted sounds -1

Consonants: to simplify consonant clusters, plosives and fricatives are commonly
.omitted
:Ex
./old man [əʊl mӕn] instead of /əʊld mӕn

Vowels: elision occurs in unstressed syllables of polysyllabic words, before or after a

.stressed syllable
:Ex

Permit [pˈmit]

.Whole syllables: the whole syllable is dropped in rapid speech

:Ex

.Library /laibrәri/ / laibri/ /rә/ are elided

:Types of Elision

Elision of Consonants

:/Elision of alveolar plosives /t/ and /d

.It takes place when /d/ or /t/ mediate two consonants *
/landmark /ˈlænd.mɑːk/ → /ˈlæn.mɑːk -
/postcard /ˈpəʊst.kɑːd/ → /ˈpəʊs.kɑːd -

.Voiceless /t/ is commonly elided in coda position *

/respects /rɪˈspekts/ → /rɪˈspeks -
/aspects /ˈæspekts/ → /ˈæspeks -

t/ at the end of a word is clustered with /d/ or /t/ at the beginning of another / *
.word, the sequence of /td/ or /tt/ is shortened to /d/ or /t/ respectively
/last time /læst taɪm/ → /læs taɪm -
/what does /wɑt dʌz/ → /wʌdəz -
In negative (-nt), /t/ is elided when followed by a consonant and in some cases even *
.vowels, particularly in disyllables
/shouldn't let /ʃʊd.ənt let/ → /ʃʊd.ən let -
/couldn't go /kʊdənt ɡəʊ/ → /kʊdən ɡəʊ -

/Elision of Dental Fricatives /ð/and /θ

/months /mʌnθs / → /mʌns -

/clothes /kləʊðz / → /kləʊz -

:In some cases both /f/ and /s/ are elided in rapid speech
/fifths /fɪfθs/ → /fɪs -
/Elision of Labiodental Fricative /v

v/ in a final position is elided as it is followed by a consonant in the following/

word

/of men /əv men/ → /ə men-

./v/ in the word ‘of’ is elided if it is followed by /p/, /f/ or /ð/

/of them /əv ðəm/ → /ə ðəm -
/of people /əv piːpl/ → /ə piːpl -

.'v/ is also elided when followed by /m/ in the words 'have', 'leave' and 'give/
/have married /hæv mærɪd/ → /hæ mærɪd -
/Elision of Glottal Fricative /h

.h/ is elided in function words realized in weak forms/

/I think he will have told her /ai θɪŋk i wɪl əv təʊld ə -

/Elision of Velar Plosive /k

k/ is omitted when it mediates a cluster involving three consonants where /s/ is /

.preceding and /t/ is following

/tasked /tɑːskt/ → /tɑːst -

/Elision of Velar /l

./:l/ is more likely to be elided when preceded by /ɔ/

/alright /ɔ:ɫrait/ → /ɔ:rait -
/already /ɔ:ɫredi / → /ɔ:redi -
Elision of Vowels

/The omission of the schwa sound /ə

It is observed in unstressed syllables within words of multiple syllables, especially when

neighbouring a stressed syllable or following one of the plosive consonants (/p, t, k/). In
such instances, the schwa (/ə/) is omitted, and there is a release of air following the
.articulation of the preceding plosive, indicating aspiration

/potato /pəˈteɪtəʊ/ → /phˈteɪtəʊ -

Elsion of the schwa sound (/ə/) frequently occurs when it precedes the consonants /l/, /n/,
.or /r/ in disyllabic words

/cattle /kӕt.əl/ → /kӕt.ḷ -

/tonight /tə.nait/ → /tṇ.ait -
‫‪Elision in Standard Arabic and Libyan Dialect‬‬

‫ذا‬ ‫هذا‬
‫لم يرم‬ ‫يرمي‬

‫عبسالم‬ ‫عبد السالم‬

‫نا‬ ‫أنا‬
‫جا‬ ‫جاء‬
‫هيفا‬ ‫هيفاء‬