Language Matters : Connected Speech - Suggested Answers
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1. Catenation : Two different types of catenation occur in English and both are
exemplified in the sentence below. What are they? Write the sentence in
phonemic script, indicating where catenation would occur:
Go and see if "Law and Order" is still on TV or if
it's already over.
/gəʊ w
ən siː j ɪf lɔː r ən ɔːdə r ɪz stɪl ɒn
ti: vi: j ɔː r ɪf ɪts
ɔːlredɪ j əʊvə/
a) Consonant Vowel Catenation – occurs when a syllable finishes
with a consonant sound and the next starts with a vowel sound. Examples
underlined above
b) Vowel-Vowel liaison – occurs when a syllable finishes with a
vowel sound and the next starts with a vowel sound. The two are joined by an
“intrusive” consonant – one of the approximants /j/, /w/ and /r/. Seven examples indicated above.
2. Elision: How many
examples of elision might occur in the following sentence if spoken at normal
conversational speed? I thought we
might have smoked salmon first, then roast pork and various different
vegetables, and finish it all off with chocolate mousse and cream.
Transcribe the sentence in its citation form first and then
again, deleting any phonemes you think might not be pronounced.
In its citation form in a non-rhotic accent, the sentence would
be :
/
aɪ θɔːt wiː maɪt hæv sməʊkt sæmən fɜ:st ðen rəʊst pɔːk ænd veəriːjəs
dɪfərent veʤətəblz ænd fɪnɪ∫ ɪt ɔːl ɒf wɪð ʧɒkələt muːs ænd kriːm/
In connected speech it would become :
/
aɪ θɔː wɪ maɪt æv sməʊk sæmən fɜːs ðen rəʊs pɔːk n veəriːjəs dɪfren veʤtəblz n
fɪnɪ∫ ɪt ɔːl ɒf wɪð ʧɒklət muːs n kriːm /
There are three frequently encountered types of
elision here :
a) elision of /t/ - up to six possible occurrences: see the
transcriptions of thought, smoked, first, roast, different. (Alternatively
the /t/ might be transformed to a glottal stop rather than disappearing all
together, including before vowels – eg might,
it.) Both /t/ and /d/ (here twice elided in "and") are frequently
elided when they occur at the end of a syllable and are not followed by a vowel
at the beginning of the next.
b) Elision of /h/ (at the beginning of the syllable - but that's
the only position in which it ever occurs in English) - have
c) Elision of the vowel in an unstressed syllable – see the
transcription of different,
vegetables, chocolate. Again, very common. Other examples : memory,
library,
temporary,
secretary,
family,
camera,
buttoning
- where the vowel in bold would often be elided.
In
addition, the vowel sound in "and" would either be weakened to a
schwa, or elided all together. This, together with the elision of /d/ leaves
just the syllabic consonant [n̩] (note the diacritic under the symbol which
indicates a syllabic consonant).
3. Assimilation
1. Transcribe the
following phrases in phonemic script in their citation form, and then comment
on and transcribe the instances of assimilation.
a) a white bag
b) a pet guinea pig
c) he's in Peru
d) he's in Korea
The more similar sounds are to each other, the easier they are
to pronounce consecutively - and conversely, the more difference
there is between them the harder they are to pronounce consecutively. They can
be similar or different in three ways : voicing, place of articulation or
manner of articulation.
Take for example /b/ and /m/ and /k/ and /m/.
/b/ = voiced bilabial plosive
/m/ = voiced bilabial nasal
/k/ = unvoiced velar plosive
/b/ and /m/ therefore share two out of the three characteristics, and are more similar than /k/ and /m/ which are different in all three respects. Try saying /mb/ and /mk/ - the latter takes more muscular effort (= is more difficult to pronounce) because you have to completely change the position of your tongue.
Assimilation (literally, making more similar) occurs when two
phonemes which are very different are juxtaposed like this. One will change to
become more similar to the other.
So, in the examples given :
a) a white bag
Citation
form : /ə waɪt bæg/ Connected
speech : /ə waɪp bæg/
/t/ = unvoiced alveolar plosive
/b/ = voiced bilabial plosive/p/ = unvoiced bilabial plosive
/t/ shares only one characteristic with /b/ whereas /p/ shares
two. the /t/ therefore asimilates to /p/ to make pronunciation easier. The
change affects the first sound (/t/ becomes /p/) and is therefore
regressive (the second sound influences the first) and the change is one of
place of articulation (the alveolar /t/ becomes a bilabial /p/). This is
therefore described as regressive
assimilation of place.
Regressive assimilation of place occurs in examples b-d too.
b) a pet guinea
pig
Citation form : /ə pet gɪniː pɪg/ Connected
speech :/ə pek gɪniː pɪg/
/t/ = unvoiced alveolar plosive
/g/ = voiced velar plosive
/k/ = unvoiced velar plosive
Alveolar /t/ assimilates to velar /k/ before velar /g/
c) he's in Peru
Citation form : /hiːz ɪn pəruː/
Connected speech : /hiːz ɪm pəruː/
/n/ = voiced alveolar nasal
/p/ = unvoiced bilabial plosive
/m/ = voiced bilabial nasal
Alveolar /n/ changes to bilabial /m/ before bilabial /p/
d) he's in Korea
Citation
form : /hiːz ɪn kəriːjə/ Connected speech
: /hiːz ɪŋ kəriːjə/
/n/ = voiced alveolar nasal
/k/ = unvoiced velar plosive
/ŋ/= voiced velar nasal
Alveolar /n/ changes to velar /ŋ/ before velar /k/
2. The highlighted
words in the following two examples show
a different type of assimilation from those in examples a-d. Why? Choose one of
the six underlined examples, transcribe the word(s) in their citation form,
then and comment on and transcribe the
changes caused by assimilation.
a) I have to go, but he has to stay.
b) Cats and dogs mewed and barked.
- Citation forms : /hæv tuː/ /hæz tuː/
- Connected speech : /hæf tə/ /hæs tə/
/v/ = voiced labiodental fricative
/t/ = unvoiced alveolar plosive
/f/ = unvoiced labiodental fricative
/z/ = voiced alveolar fricative
/t/ = unvoiced alveolar plosive
/s/ = unvoiced alveolar fricative
The /v/ and the /s/ both assimilate to the /t/ sound. But this time,
what becomes the same is not the place but the voicing. This is therefore
regressive assimilation of voicing.
Notice that again, when –s and -ed suffixes are
pronounced, they change in voicing. In Cats
and dogs mewed and barked, look at the pronunciation of the suffix:
/kæts/ /dɒgz/ /mjuːd/ bɑːkt/
/s/
= unvoiced alveolar fricative
/z/ = voiced alveolar fricative
/d/
= voiced alveolar plosive /t/
= unvoiced alveolar plosive
But this time it is the second consonant that changes to
assimilate to the first rather than vice versa :
§ /t/ is unvoiced so followed by the
unvoiced /s/
§ /g/ is voiced so followed by the voiced /z/
§ the vowel /u:/ is voiced so followed by the voiced
/d/
§ /k/ is unvoiced so followed by the unvoiced /t/.
This is therefore progressive assimilation
of voicing.
4. Putting it all together : Comment on, and illustrate in
phonemic script, the features of connected speech that might occur in the
following sentence: What
do you want me to do about Tom's e-mail?
Then send the points you made about one (and
only one, please) of the following : What
do /
do you / want me
/ to do about /
about Tom’s / Tom’s email.
Choose one that illustrates a different feature to the one you chose
to comment on in parts 1-3 above
§
What
do - possible elision of /t/ or reduction to a
glottal stop (consonant lenition); possible vowel reduction of /u:/ to schwa : /wɒ
də/ or /wɒʔ də/
§
do
you - possible yod
coalescence - the /d j/ sequence is
replaced by /ʤ/; possible vowel
reduction of /u:/ to schwa : /ʤə/
- want me –
assimilation : alveolar /t/ changes to bilabial /p/ before bilabial
/m/, and alveolar /n/ than changes to bilabial /m/ before bilabial /p/: possible
vowel reduction of /i:/ to / ɪ/: /wɒmp
mɪ/ or possible elision of /t/, followed by
assimilation of /n/ to /m/ and gemination of the two /m/ sounds /wɒmɪ/
§
to
do about - possible vowel reduction of /u:/ in to to schwa; V-V liaison between the two adjacent vowels in do about, using
the “intrusive consonant /w/ : /tə du:wəbaʊt/
§
about
Tom’s - probable gemination
of the two adjacent /t/ sounds : /əbaʊtɒmz/
§
Tom’s
email – possessive suffix pronounced as /z/ because following a
voiced consonant. Probable CV catenation between the syllable final /z/ and
syllable initial /i:/ : /tɒmzi:meɪl/
Resulting in : /wɒ ʤə wɒmp mɪ tə du:wəbaʊtɒmzi:meɪl / or the variations indicated above.
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