Descriptive Grammar of English Part 1: Phonetics and Phonology

1. Descriptive Grammarof EnglishPart 1:Phoneticsand Phonology dr Iwona Kokorniak (with contribution from dr Jarosław Weckwerth) 4thJanuary 2009

2. English assimilation • Alveolar plosive and nasal sounds (t d n) • Change their place of articulation • To that of the following sound – velar or bilabial

3. English assimilation: alveolar plosive • /t/ > /p/ before /p, b, m/ e.g.: • that person • sat boldly • fat mouse

4. English assimilation: alveolar plosive • /t/ > /k/ before /k, g/ e.g.: • fat king • smart girl

5. English assimilation: alveolar plosive • /d/ > /b/ before /p, b, m/ e.g.: • bad person • bad boy • bad mother

6. English assimilation: alveolar plosive • /d/ > /g/ before /k, g/ e.g.: • bad king • bad girl

7. English assimilation: alveolar nasal • /n/ > /m/ before /p, b, m/ e.g.: • sun bed • sun protector • sun movement

8. English assimilation: alveolar nasal • /n/ > /ŋ/ before /k, g/ e.g.: • run quickly • run gracefully

9. English assimilation: fricatives • Alveolar fricatives /s z/ can change only to post-alveolar fricatives • /s z/ >/ʃ ʒ/ • But no change in voicing!!! • /s/ > /∫/ before /∫, t∫, d, j/ • /z/ > /ʒ/ before /∫, t∫, d, j/

10. English assimilation: fricatives • /s/ > /∫/ before /∫, t∫, d , j / • E.g. this church • /z/ > /ʒ/ before /∫, t∫, d ,j/ • E.g. these churches

11. Alv. fricative place assimilation this shoe ðɪs ʃu:  ðɪʃ ʃu: only if a post-alv. fricativeon the right

12. English assimilation: summary • It is an optional process • In connected speech • More frequent in less formal situations • One ofphonostylistic processes

13. placeassimilation (?) coalescence A special case would you? wʊd ju wʊdʒ ju wʊdʒu

14. Coalescence • Alveolar plosive or fricative • Followed by /j/ • 1st step: post-alveolar affricate or fricative, /j/ stays • 2nd step: /j/ disappears

15. Coalescent assimilation • Frequent phrases with you: • what you, could you, did you • But may also occurwith other cases of /j/ • this year, bad Europe,is young, what use, etc. etc.

16. Other assimilations: manner • Assimilation of manner • Only in really fast speech in the ɪnðəɪnnə

17. Other assimilations: manner • Usually affects /ð/ in unstressed words • An example ofprogressive = perserverativeassimilation (left to right)

18. Other assimilations: voice • Very rare in English • Only for a few fixed phrases • have to, of course

19. Other assimilations: voice 'hæv tə'hæftə əv 'kɔːrs  əf'kɔːrs

20. Elision = deletion • Another phonostylistic process • Sounds are elided = deleted

21. Elision • Alveolar plosive /t d/ elision • The most frequent • Quite similar to Polish

22. Alv. plosive elision • An alv. plosive may be deleted • At the end of a syllable • After a consonant of the same voicing • If another consonant follows(but not /h/)

23. Alveolar plosive elision • In other words, elision is common when: • a voiceless continuant+ /t/ followed by a word with an initial consonant • /st, ft, ∫t/ + consonant • e.g.: ‘next day’, ‘just one’,

24. Alveolar plosive elision • a voiced continuant + /d/ followed by a word with an initial consonant • /nd, ld, zd, ðd, vd/ + consonant • e.g.:‘bend back’

25. Alveolar plosive elision • word final clusters • voiceless stop/affricate +/t/: /pt, kt, t∫t/ • voiced stop/affricate +/d/: /bd, gd/ • may lose the final alveolar stop • when the following word has an initial consonant, • e.g. ‘helped me’, lagged behind’, ‘judged fairly’

26. /h/ elision • the loss of /h/ in pronominal weak forms • e.g. ‘him, his’ and other consonantal elisions typical of weak forms • auxiliary ‘have’: could have

27. /h/ elision

28. Elision of /ə/ • weak vowels are dropped in casual speech, especially /ə/ • initial /ə/ is often elided • particularly when followed by a continuant and preceded by a word-final consonant • e.g. ‘not alone’ [not `ləυn], ‘he was annoyed’

29. Elision of /ə/ • When final /ə/ occurs with following linking /r/ and word initial vowel, /ə/ may be elided, e.g. • ‘father and son’

30. Elision of /ə/ • When a weak vowel precedes /w, l, r/ then the vowel is deleted and the next consonant will become syllabic.am

31. A good source • Maidment, J.and Garcia Lecumberri, M.L.:English transcription course

32. Another good source • Notes on pronunciationand phoneticsin Wells’ and Jones’ dictionaries

33. Yet another good source • Collins, B. and Mees, I.Practical phonetics and phonology • ‘The surprises of connected speech’

34. Connected speech • Assimilation and elision arephonostylistic processes • Because they depend on the style of speaking • Formal vs. informal, slow vs. fast • (But remember: voicing assimilationin Polish is obligatory)

35. Connected speech • But there are also other processes in connected speech • E.g. linking and intrusive R(examples of liaison) • And weak forms

36. Rhoticity • Standard British English, Australian, New Zealand etc.are non-rhotic • /r/ pronouncedonly before a vowel

37. All varieties right/raɪt/ pride/praɪd/ bury/'beri/

38. Non-rhotic varieties car/kɑː/ stored/stɔːd/ word/wɜːd/

39. Liaison –Linking R • British English– a non-rhotic variety • It retains word-final post-vocalic /r/ as a linking form • when the following word begins with a vowel and where ‘r’ occurs in the spelling • Thus, spelling justification needed for linking /r/

40. Linking R far out/fɑːr aʊt/ 4-8/fɔːr eɪt/

41. Intrusive R • By analogy to linking R... • ...in non-rhotic varieties only • /r/ may be pronounced if /ɑː ɜː ɔː ə/ • are followed by a vowel

42. Intrusive R • there is no spelling justification for /r/ to appear law and order /lɔːr ənd ɔːdə/

43. Intrusive R a spa in the UK/spɑːr ɪn/ drawing/drɔːrɪŋ/ the idea is/aɪdɪər ɪz/

44. Linking J • In vocalic junctures - where the first word ends in / i: ı eı aı oı/ • another word starts with a vowel • a slight linking /j / may be heard between two vowels, e. g. my arms

45. Linking J: Zoom

46. Linking J • not sufficient to be equated with phonemic /j/, e.g. ‘my ears’ vs. my years

47. Linking W • linking [ w ] may be heard between a final /u: υə aυ/ and a following vowel • e.g. ’two-eyed’, ’too wide’

48. Casual speech processes • Assimilation • Regressive vs. Progressive • Of place of articulation vs. Manner or art. Vs. voicing • Elision • Liaison

49. Weak forms • Consider the ‘theoretical’ form • This book is for John ðɪs bʊk ɪz fɔː dʒɒn • Actually, in connected speech ðɪs bʊks fə dʒɒn

50. Weak forms ðɪs bʊks fə dʒɒn • This may sometimes (but not always!)be reflected in the spelling: • This book’s for John