Appunti di Antonella Gismundi

Phonetics and
Phonology
When we pronounce a word in isolation we pronounce it in its citation form, but
normally words are not pronounced in isolation. Changes in the pronunciation
of single words of phonemes vary from language to language and follow the
rules of the so called suprasegmental or prosodic features. The processes
which take place during connective speech are the following:

• Reduction
• Elision
• Assimilation
• Linking

Function words and weak form

On example of change in pronunciation caused by the context is given by weak
form. There are about 40 function words in English, and they include: articles,
prepositions, pronouns, modal verbs, auxiliary verbs. There words are
pronounce differentially according to their position or their function in a
sentence and they have weak or strong form.

We use strong form when the function word is stressed: the speaker wants to
emphasize it, it is quoted in commas, the speaker wants to express a contrast
between two words, when it is at the end of the sentence or an intonation
group.

We use weak forms when the function word is not in a relevant position.

Some examples about function words:

function word strong form weak form examples

for : ə I’m waiting for Bob
am ӕm əm I am late
of ɒv əv Fond of music
but bʌt bət Alone but happy
a eɪ ə Take a chance

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ʃd + voiced How should you know

should ʃʊd
ʃt + voiceless You should try
be bi: bɪ I will be there
been bi:n bɪn I’ve been waiting
an ӕn ən – n An interesting book
ənd - ən - nd -
and ӕnd Bread and butter
n
from frɒm frəm – frm She’s from Paris
are ɑ:r – ɑ: аr – а What are you looking for?
as ӕz əz As soon as possible
can kӕn kən – kn – kŋ I can swim
could kʊd kəd I could run very fast
də + consonant I always do my best
do du: dʊ + vowel I’ll do everything for you
d + you What do you feel?
does dʌz dəz How does she feel?
has hӕz həz - əz - z - s She has a cold
have hӕv həv - əv - v I have been waiting
many ‘menɪ mənɪ - mnɪ How many bottles?
You must analyze these
məst + vowel
essays
must mʌst
məs + You must do that
consonant
or : ͬ ə ͬ Water or wine?
shall ʃӕl ʃəl What shall we do?
some sʌm səm There are some candies left
such sʌtʃ sətʃ She is such an actress!
than ðӕn ðən - ðn He’s taller than him
that ðӕt ðət - ðt A machine that prints
there ðeə ͬ ðə ͬ - ðə Is there any butter?
were wз: ͬ wə ͬ We were late
was wɒz wəz I was wondering...
me mi: mɪ Talk to me
him hɪm ɪm Speak to him
her hз ͬ hə ͬ- ə ͬ- ə Finding her way
us ʌs əs What if God was one of us?
to tu: tʊ - tə I have to go

The changes that occur from strong to weak forms can be of the genres:
• Change in vowel quality: it is when a vowel becomes a “ə”
• Change in vowel quantity: it is when a vowel is pronounced with a shorter
length
• Loss (or elision) of a phoneme or more

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Exceptions:
⊕Mustn’t has no weak form
⊕With personal pronouns we can have weak forms also in final position.
⊕The function word “to” is used in its strong form when it occurs before a verb
that begins with a vowel. With the other verbs both forms are possible, even if
the weak form is better.

Lexical words and weak forms

There are also some lexical words that are pronounced with their weak form if
they are the second element of a compound word.

Examples Phonetic Script Compound Word Phonetic Script

ford (piccolo fiume) fɔ:d Oxford ‘ɑxfəd
board bɔ:d cupboard ‘kʌbəd
land lӕnd Scotland ‘skɒtlənd
mouth (foce) maʊθ Plymouth ‘plɪməθ
sense sens nonsense ‘nɒnsəns
shire (contea) ‘ʃaɪ ͬ Devonshire ‘devnʃə
yard jɑ:d vineyard ‘vɪnjəd – ‘vɪjɑ:d
some sʌm troublesome ‘trʌblsəm
pan pӕn saucepan ‘sɔ:spən

Exceptions:
⊕Blackboard is an exception: /blӕkbɔ:d/

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The syllable
In phonetic script, syllables are separated with a dot but there is disagreement
between linguists about how to divide syllable in English.
What about the shape of a syllable? The first element is called onset and it is
formed by one or two consonants. After the onset there is the peak or nucleus
or syllabic element. It generally consists of a vowel. The final part is called
coda. Peak and coda together compose an element which is called rime or
rhyme.

Syllables can be divided in two group:

We can define a syllable in different ways:

1. as a phonetic unit. In this case we study the syllable in relation with the way
in which the air comes out from our organs. According to the pulse theory
each syllable corresponds to a peak in the flow rate. So, the peak is a
moment when there is a maximum of sonority.
2. as a phonological unit. In this case we study the syllable according to the
complexity of the positions of the phonemes. English syllables are quite
complex, also because we need to consider phonetic scrip, and not the
spelling. One of the rules that we can follow to divide English words in
syllable is that if there is a consonant in intervocalic position, it tends to be
part of the preceding syllable and not of the following, as it is in Italian.

We can have also syllabic consonants: it is when the peak consists of a

consonants and not of a vowel, as it is generally.
Only these consonants can form a syllabic syllable: m, n, ŋ, l, r

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetic Script

rhythm ‘rið.m battle ‘bӕt.l
kitten ‘kɪt.n national ‘nӕʃ.n.l.

The Stress
Daniel Jones definition: he says that stress is the degree of force with which a
sound or syllable is uttered.
Gimson definition: he says that stress is strictly defined in terms of muscular
energy of articulation for the speaker (so that there is more sub-glottal
pressure) and of loudness for the listeners.

Stress is not quantified in absolute terms but it is a relative propriety and so w

have to consider which syllable is more or less prominent compared with the
other syllables of a word or sentence.

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Stress can be described in terms of:

1. greater loudness: a stressed syllable is perceived as louder by the listeners.
2. vowel quantity: in stressed syllables there are often long vowels or
diphthongs. Diphthongs can be found either in stressed and unstressed
syllables, but there is a difference in their pronunciation. In stressed
syllables the definition of the second element is quite clear (es: final), while
in unstressed syllables diphthongs tend to lose their second element (es:
insight).
In unstressed syllables we usually have short vowels.
3. vowel quality: English stressed syllables tend to have peripheral non-central
vowels, while unstressed syllables tend to have short – central vowels.
Vowels /ʊ, ə/ always occur in unstressed syllables. Syllabic consonants can
be generally found in unstressed syllables.
4. pitch variations
5. consonant quality: the difference between lenis and fortis consonants is
more prominent in stressed syllables than unstressed ones.

There are two type of stress:

• lexical stress or word stress: it concerns a single word and it occurs even if it
is pronounced in isolation.
• sentence stress: it is used in connected speech to emphasize a word against
the background of other neighboring words.

There are two kind of languages:

• languages which use fixed lexical stress. Stress is always placed on a
particular syllable. Some of these languages are: French, Turkish, Finnish,
Polish, Spanish and Italian.
• languages with variable lexical stress. Some of these languages are German,
Dutch, Russian and English.
There is a larger amount of languages with fixed lexical stress.

In English stress is not an easy matter because of this freedom in stress

placement. Rules concerning stress placement are rather complex and there
are lots of exceptions. Anyway, there are some things about stress that we can
consider:

1. the function of phonology (syllables division) is important in stress

placement. We need to know which syllables can be stressed (strong
syllables) and which syllables can’t (weak syllables). Strong syllables have a
long vowel or a diphthong, or a vowel followed by a coda formed by one or
more consonants. Instead, the peak of weak syllables is constituted by a
short vowel or /ɪ, ə/ followed or not by a coda.

2. the function of syntax and grammar is fundamental. Only lexical words can
be stressed. Function words usually do not carry any stress, except if they
are emphasized in a sentence. There is also a different in the stress
behavior for each category of lexical words.

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• For example verbs and adjectives tend to have their stress on their final
syllable.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

maintain meɪn’teɪn arrive ə’rаɪv
precise prɪ’sаɪs decide dɪ’sаɪd
entertain entə’teɪn correct kə’rekt

• Stress in verbs and adjectives is on the penultimate syllable when the

final is an open syllable (with no coda or with the coda constituted by only
a consonant phoneme) with a short vowel

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

determine dɪ’tз:mɪn surrender sə’rendə ͬ
astonish ə’stɒnɪʃ amusing ə’mju:zɪŋ

• There are some two-syllables words in English called “word pairs” which
use their stress to indicate a difference of grammar classes. If the stress
falls on the first syllable, the word is a noun or ad adjective. If the stress
falls on the second one, it is a verb.

Examples noun verb - adj Examples noun verb - adj

‘ӕbstrӕk accent ‘ӕksənt ək’sent
abstract əb’strӕkt
t absent ‘ӕbsənt əb’sent
digest ‘daɪdƹəst dɪ’dƹest ‘kɒmbаɪ kəm’bаɪ
combine
conduct ‘kɒndʌkt kən’dʌkt n n

There are also word pairs in which verbs and nouns are pronounced the
same. For example: reply, answer, picture, travel, promise, exercise,
substitute.

3. the function of morphology is to be considered too. From the morphological

point of view, words can be divided in simple, complex and compound.

• Simple words. These are words that have a single free morpheme (rote)
without prefixes or suffixes, and the number of syllables can be variable.

In short simple words, with 2 or 3 syllables, the stress is generally on the

first, if the second or the third syllables are weak.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

trousers ‘trаʊz.əz error ‘er.ə ͬ
product ‘prɒd.əkt husband ‘hʌz.bənd
window ‘wɪnd.əʊ table ‘teɪ.bl
punishment ‘pʌn.ɪʃ.mənt quantity ‘kwɑn.tə.tɪ
cinema ‘sɪn.ə.mə minimum ‘mɪn.ɪ.mən
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In the other cases stress generally falls on the second syllable.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

machine mə’ʃi:n design dɪ’zаɪn
career kə’rɪə ͬ event ɪ’vent

• Complex words. These are words in which the rote is preceded by a

prefix or followed by a suffix.

In complex words with prefix, usually the stress is in the syllable that
follows the prefix.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

demand dɪ’ma:nd inflation ɪn’fləɪʃən
oversee əʊvə’si: towards tə’w :dz
submit səb’mɪt deny dɪ’nаɪ

There are also exceptions: indolent, concept, exercise.

Suffixes in complex words can be derivational (they produce new words) or

inflectional (they have a grammatical function). The general rule is that if
we have a derivational suffix, the stress falls on it.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

maintain meɪn’teɪn picturesque pɪktʃə’resk
employee emplɔɪ’i: cigarette sɪgə’ret
technique tek’ni:k arabesque ӕrə’besk

Other times the stress falls upon the syllable preceding the suffix:

suffix Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetic Script

-ical sаɪkə’lɒdӡɪkəl
psychological phonological fɒnə’lɒdӡɪkəl
kəmju:nɪ’keɪʃɔ
-ion communication position pə’zɪʃən
n
-ity severity sɪ’verɪtɪ familiarity fəmɪlɪ’ӕrətɪ
-ian proletarian prəʊlɪ’teərɪən politician pəlɪ’tɪʃən
-ial special ‘speʃəl beneficial benɪ’fɪʃəl
-ient efficient ə’fɪʃɪənt proficient prə’fɪʃənt
ədvӕn’teɪdӡə
-eous advantageous piteous ‘pɪtɪəs
s
-ual individual ɪndɪ’vɪdjuəl eventual ɪ’ventjuəl
-ety propriety prə’prаɪətɪ variety və’rаɪətɪ
-ive affective ə’fektɪv effective ɪ’fektɪv

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-wards upwards ‘ʌpwədz inwards ‘ɪnwədz

-ic atomic ə’tɒmɪk economic i:kə’nɒmɪk

Here some exceptions:

suffix Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetic Script

-wards towards tə’wɔ:dz - -
-ic arabic ‘ӕrəbɪk rhetoric ‘retərɪk
lunatic ‘lu:nətɪk catholic ‘kӕθəlɪk
politics ‘pɒlətɪks arithmetic ‘ӕrɪθmətɪk

In complex words with 4 or more syllables, stress generally fall on the

syllable before the penultimate.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

representative reprɪ’zentətɪv emergency ɪ’mз:dӡənsɪ
calamity kə’lӕmɪtɪ cosmopolitan kəzmə’pɒlɪtn
establishment ɪ’stӕblɪʃmənt ironical аɪ’rɒnɪkl

There are also suffixes, which do not affect stress placement, so the
complex word maintains the same stress of the rote:

suffix Rote Phonetic Script Compound Phonetic Script

-age anchor ‘ӕŋkə ͬ anchorage ‘ӕŋkəɪdӡ
-al refuse rɪ’fju:z refusal rɪ’fju:zəl
music ‘mju:zɪk musical ‘mju:zɪkəl
-en wide ‘wаɪd widen ‘wаɪdən
-ful wonder ‘wʌndə ͬ wonderful ‘wʌndəfəl
-able comfort ‘kʌmfət comfortable ‘kʌmfətəbl
-ing amaze ə’meɪz amazing ə’meɪzɪŋ
-ish child ‘tʃаɪld childish ‘tʃаɪldɪʃ
-less help ‘help helpless ‘helpləs

This rule is valid only for adjective formation. In fact, if we consider verbs,
the stress falls on the syllable preceding the suffix also in these cases. For
example the verb “demolish”

• Compound words. They can be divided in two groups. There are

compound words with stress on the first element and others with stress
on the second element.

Most of compounds words have their stress on the first element (this can be
assumed as a general rule). We usually put the stress on the first element:
I. When the compound word denotes a single new idea rather than the
combination of the two ideas suggested by the original two words.

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Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

greenhouse ‘gri:nhаʊs grasshopper ‘gra:shɒpə ͬ

II. When the first element restrict the second in some important way.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

birthday ‘bз:θeɪ sheepdog ‘ʃi:pdɒg

III. When the first element is clearly contrasting with something else.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

flute player ‘fu:tpleɪə ͬ football player ‘fʊtbɔ:lpleɪə ͬ

IV. When the compound word is formed with two nouns and ends with “er”.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

proofreader pru:fri:də ͬ sleepwalker sli:pwɔ:kər

V. When the compound word is formed by a verb + noun.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

playboy ‘pleɪbɔɪ watchdog ‘wɒtʃdɒg

VI. When the compound word is formed by a verb + adverb.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

pick-up ‘pɪkʌp make-up ‘meɪkʌp
flashback ‘flӕʃbӕk feedback ‘fi:dbӕk

VII. When the compound word is formed by a noun + past participle.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

godforsaken ‘gɒdfəseɪkən weather-bitten ‘weðəbi:tn

There are also compound words which have their stress on the second
element. We usually put the stress on the second element:
I. When the first word indicates the material used in manufacturing the
object, especially in words concerning food.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

apple tart ӕpl’ta:t chicken soup tʃɪkɪn’su:p

II. When the compound word is formed by an adjective + past participle

and ends with “ed”.

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Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

thick-skinned θɪk’skɪnd quick-tempered kwɪk’tempəd
cold-blooded kəʊld’blʌdɪd evil-minded i:vəl’mаɪndɪd

There are also exceptions:

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

downcast thoroughbred
(depresso)
‘dаʊnka:st (raffinato)
‘θʌrəbred

III. When the compound word functions as a verb and has an adverb as its
first element.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

downgrade dаʊn’greɪd never-ending nevə’rendɪŋ

IV. When the compound word indicates part of a house or building.

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

kitchen window kɪtʃən’wɪndəʊ front door frʌnt’dɔ:r

Here some exceptions:

Examples Phonetic Script Examples Phonetics Script

bedroom bed’ru:m living-room lɪvɪŋ’ru:m

V. When the compound word has an adverbial function. Es: North-’East

VI. When the compound word has a number in some form that constitutes
its first element. Es: second ‘class, first ‘class, five-‘finger.

Stress shift phenomena. If a word of 2 or more syllables with stress on a

syllable near the end of the word is followed by a word beginning with a
stressed syllable, then we have stress shift phenomena. The stress may shift
to a syllable different from the one normally stressed.

Examples Phonetic Script Stress Shift Phonetic Script

fourteen fɔ:’ti:n fourteen pounds ‘fɔ:ti:n ‘pаʊndz
unknown ʌn’nəʊn unknown land ‘ʌnəʊn ‘lend
afternoon a:ftə’nu:n afternoon tea ‘a:ftənʊn ti:

Stress may also determine a change in meaning. Look at the examples:

‘blackbird = merlo, compound word

‘black ‘bird = uccello nero
an ‘English teacher = un insegnante di inglese

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an ‘English ‘teacher = un insegnante inglese

Reduction
Reduction is one of the prosodic features. We can call reduction the
substitution of a full vowel with /ə/ or /ɪ/ , when a syllable, which is stressed in
citation form, becomes unstressed in connective speech. For example,
reduction can occur:
• When we pronounce weak forms
• When the stress changes in case of word pairs
• When the stress changes in case of stress shift phenomenon

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Elision
Elision can be considerate an extreme case of reduction that may take to the
loss of a segment. This phenomenon is more present in English than in Italian.
Elision can happen both in function and lexical words. Sometimes it may
happen that a word can be pronounced in several ways using different kinds of
elision and reduction. For example the word “actually” can be pronounced in
seven different ways according to the level of formality of the speaker and of
the linguistic context.

There are two types of elision:

• historical elision
• contemporary (or contextual) elision

Historical elision. It is when a sound which existed in an earlier form was

omitted later and the non-elided form does not exist anymore.
Ex. cupboard = /’kʌpbɔ:d/ (non-elided form, incorrect)
/’kʌbəd/ (elided current form, correct)

Historical elision is involved in:

I. the loss of silent letters:

-l : calm, walk, should
-b : thumb, tomb
-h : honor, hour
- w : wrote, write, sword
-k : knight, knee, know
-t : watch, castle
-d : badge, edge
-g : gnome, design
-n : column, damn
-r : horse, iron, arm, cards, mother, brother
-p : cupboard, psalm, psychology

II. The loss of some unstressed vowel such /ə/ o /ɪ/:

-ə : history (/’hɪstərɪ/)
-ɪ : university (/ju:nɪ’vз:sɪtɪ/)

Contemporary elision. It happens only in certain phonetic context and in most

of the cases it isn’t compulsory. Cases of elision:

I. Elision of a weak vowel after plosive consonants (p, t, k) in unstressed

syllables. The vowel is substituted by an aspiration.
- potato : /p(ə)’teɪtəʊ/
- tomorrow : /t(ə)’mɒrəʊ/
- canoe : /k(ə)’nu:/

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II. Elision of /ə/ before syllabic l – n – r.

- balloon : /b(ə)’lu:n/ - /b’lu:n/ - /blu:n/
- police : /p(ə)’li:s/ - /p’li:s/ - /pli:s/
- canoe : /k(ə)’nu:/ - /k’nu:/ - /knu:/
- correct : /k(ə)’rekt/ - /k’rekt/ - /krekt/

III. Simplification of consonant clusters (gruppi consonantici) with elision of t –

d if they are between a stop (plosive or affricate consonants: b, p, g, k, dӡ, tʃ)
and a consonant (which is not h).
- stopped by : /stɒp(t)’bаɪ/
- looked back : /lʊk(t)’bӕk/
- bugged camera : /bʌg(d)’kӕmərə/
- bridged two : /brɪdӡ(d)tu:/

IV. Simplification of consonant clusters with elision of t – d if they are between

a fricative consonant (f, v, s, z, ʃ, ӡ, θ, ð) and another consonant (which is not
h).
- soft goods : /’sɒf(t)gʊdz/
- first class : /fз:s(t)’klɑ:s/
- amazed by : /ə’meɪz(d)bаɪ/
- lived long : /lɪv(d)lɒŋ/
- smashed potatoes : /mӕʃ(t)pə’teɪtəʊz/
- bathed the baby : /ba:θ(t)ðə’beɪbɪ/

V. Simplification of consonant clusters with elision of t – d if they are between a

nasal ( n, m, ŋ) and a consonant.
- brand new : /brӕn(d)’nju:/
- slammed the door : /’slӕm(d)ðə’dɔ: ͬ/
- stringed musical instrument: (strɪŋ(d)’mju:zɪkl’ɪnstrʊmənt/

VI. Simplification of consonant clusters with elision of t – d may happen also at

the end of the first element of a compound word.
- postcard : /’pəʊs(t)kɑ:d/
- dustbin : /’dʌd(t)bɪn/

VII. Elision of the sound “v” of the word “of” before consonants, especially m
or ð.
- a glass of milk : /ə glɑ:s ə(v) mɪlk/
- all of them : / :l ə(v) ðəm/

VIII. Elision of the sound “v” in general before “m”

- give me : /’gɪ(v)mɪ/
- leave me alone : /’lɪ(v)mɪ ə’ləʊn/

IX. Elision of one of two identical consonants at words or morphemes

boundary.
- bus stop : /bʌstɒp/
- call Linda : /kɔ:lɪndə/

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- keenness : /ki:nɪs/

X. Elision of the verb “going to”, “want to”, “have got to”.
- going to leave : /gɒnə li:v/
- want to go : /wɒntə gəʊ/
- I’ve got to leave: /аɪv gɒtə li:v/

XI. Elision inside a word.

- asked : /ɑ:skt / - /ɑ:st/
- months : /mʌnθs/ - /mʌns/
- clothes : /kləʊðz/ - /kləʊz/

XII. Elision of “ə” or other phonemes in certain suffixes, like -ory, -ary, -ery,
-ally.
- satisfactory : /sӕtɪs’fӕkt(ə)rɪ/
- temporary : /’temp(ə)rərɪ/ - /’temprɪ/
- literary : /’lɪt(ə)rərɪ/ - /’lɪtrɪ/
- stationery : /’steɪʃ(ə)n(ə)rɪ/
- laterally : /’lɪt(ə)rəlɪ/

Assimilation
Assimilation happens when neighboring segments influence each other
mutually in terms of articulation. We can suppose that this phenomenon, which
exists in all languages, reflexes strategies of neuromuscular control.
Assimilation is not compulsory, so foreign learners do not have to pronounce it
but of course to be aware of it.

There are two types of assimilation:

• historical assimilation
• contemporary (or contextual) assimilation

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Historical assimilation. It refers to changes in pronunciation which occurred

in the centuries and which have become fixed patterns, so now they are no
more optional (as they were when they appeared) but compulsory.
- ant : /ӕnt/ in the past: /ӕmtə/ - /ӕmt/
- picture : /’pɪktʃə ͬ/ in the past: /’pɪktʃʊr/

Contemporary assimilation. It is a process that can involve both vowels and

consonants. There are two types of assimilation:
• progressive assimilation: it is when the direction of the assimilation influence
is frontward. This phenomenon is not so common in English but it still exist.
Es. In the garden = /ɪn nə gɑ:dən/
• regressive assimilation: it is when the direction of the assimilation influence is
backward.
Es. On purpose = /ɒm ‘pз:pəs/
• coalescent assimilation: it is when the influence is exercised in both direction,
so two sound influence each other reciprocally.
Es. Bless you = /bleʃʃu:/

Assimilation affecting consonants. This phenomenon can involve:

I. Changes in the place of articulation
II. Changes in the manner of articulation
III. Changes in phonation or voicing (the vibration or not of the vocal chords)

I. Changes in the place of articulation. This happens when the sound that
substitutes the other sound has a different point of contact between the
speech organs. This type of assimilation is the most frequent in English. We
can apply some rules of assimilation:

1.Final alveolar t becomes bilabial when preceding a bilabial. (regressive)

t + p, b, m = /p/
- that painting : /θӕp peɪntɪŋ/
- light bulb : /lаɪp bʌlb/
- hot milk : /hɒp mɪlk/

2.Final alveolar d becomes bilabial when preceding a bilabial. (regressive)

d + p, b, m = /b/
- food processor : /fu:b ‘prəʊsesə ͬ/
- good brand : /gʊb brӕnd/
- good morning : /gʊb ‘m :nɪŋ/

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3.Final alveolar n becomes bilabial when preceding a bilabial. (regressive)

n + p, b, m = /m/
- on purpose : /ɒm ‘pз:pəs/
- in black : /ɪm blӕk/
- on Monday : /ɒm ‘mʌndeɪ/

4.Final alveolar t becomes velar when preceding a velar. (regressive)

t + k, g = /k/
- that carpet : /ðӕk kɑ:pɪt/
- that glass : /ðӕk glɑ:s/

5.Final alveolar d becomes velar when preceding a velar. (regressive)

d + k, g = /g/
- good character : /gʊg ‘kӕrəktə ͬ/
- good girl : /gʊg gз:l

6.Final alveolar n becomes velar when preceding a velar. (regressive)

n + k, g = /ŋ/
- in conclusion : /ɪŋ kən’klu:ӡən/
- ten girls : /teŋ gз:lz/

7.Final alveolar s becomes palatal alveolar when preceding a palatal alveolar.

(regressive)
s + ʃ, j = /ʃ/
- this show : /ðɪʃ ʃəʊ/
- this year : /ðɪʃ jɪə ͬ/

8.Final alveolar z becomes palatal alveolar when preceding a palatal alveolar.

(regressive)
z + ʃ, j = /ӡ/
- these shops : /ði:ӡ ʃɒps/
- these universities : /ði:ӡ ju:nɪvз:sətɪ/

9.Assimilation of “and” during fast speech. It can be pronounced as a nasal

syllabic consonant. (regressive)
ən + alveolar (t, d, s, z, n, l) = /n/
- high and dry : /hаɪ n drаɪ/

10. Assimilation of “and” during fast speech. It can be pronounced as a nasal

syllabic consonant. (regressive)
ən + velar (g, k) = /ŋ/
- dead and gone : /ded ŋ gɒn/
- town and country : /taʊn ŋ kʌntrɪ/

11. Assimilation of “and” during fast speech. It can be pronounced as a nasal

syllabic consonant. (regressive)
ən + bilabial (b, p, m) = /m/
- skin and bone : /skɪn m bəʊn/

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- high and mighty : /haɪ m mаɪtɪ/

II. Changes in the manner of articulation. It is the case of less notable

assimilation and, generally speaking, it especially can be found in casual and
rapid speech, when speakers have the tendency to change the manner of
articulation to pronounce an “easier” consonant sound. So the sound that
substitutes the other sound is produced releasing the air stream in a different
way. One case of changes in manner of articulation, is the progressive
assimilation of the article “the” In fact, when it follows alveolar sounds (n, l, s,
z), the dental fricative sound “ð” assumes the place and the manner of
articulation of the phoneme preceding.
- in the garden : /ɪn nə gɑ:dən/ (from dental fricative to nasal alveolar)
- all the same : / :l lə seɪm/ (from dental fricative to lateral alveolar)
- what’s the time : /wɒtz zə tаɪm/ (from dental fricative to fricative alveolar,
here there is only a change in places of articulation)

Anyway, there are also other cases in which we can register a change in
manner of articulation. For example:
- good night : /gʊn ‘nаɪt/

III. Changes in phonation or voicing (the vibration or not of the vocal chords).
This type of change is often concerned with progressive assimilation. There
are cases (for example plurals) in which this assimilation is compulsory.
• A voiceless consonant + s = /s/
- Pat’s book : /pӕts bʊk/
- It cracks : /ɪt krӕks/
• A voiced consonant + s = /z/
- Ted’s book : /tedz bʊk/
- He begs : /hi begz/

How do we have to pronounce final “s” (in verbs, plurals,...) ?

With sounds s, ʃ, tʃ, z, ӡ, dӡ = /ɪz/
With sounds p, t, k, f, θ = /s/
With the other sounds = /z/

Regressive assimilation of voiceless do not exist between word boundaries,

even if some foreign learners have the tendency to apply this assimilation and
this sounds very strange to English native speakers, so it is to be avoided. It
may happens only in Scottish English, for example in the word “birthday”.

There are some cases in which assimilation affecting consonants is compulsory.

• When have means necessity we use the sound “f” instead of “v”:
- I have to go : /аɪ hӕf tə gəʊ/
• When “used to” expresses a past or a present habit and not the simple past
of the verb “to use”, the sound “s” substitutes sound “z”:
- I am used to it : /аɪm ju:stə ɪt/

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- I used to get up: /аɪ ju:stə get ʌp/

In English long consonants do not exist but it may happen that with
assimilation we can have 2 identical consonant sounds next to each other. In
these cases we pronounce a sort of long vowel.

Linking
During fast connective speech, speakers sometimes link words together in
special ways. The two most interesting examples of linking are the “linking r”
and the “intrusive r”, with which the non-rhotic variety of English (such as BBC
English, Welsh, Australian) are concerned.

Linking r. The phoneme “r” is not pronounced when it is at the end of a word,
but we will hear English speaker pronounce it if there is a vowel following.
Rhotic language : a star = /ə stɑ:r/
Non-rhotic language : a star = /ə stɑ:/
Linking r : a star in the sky = /ə stɑ:r ɪn ðə skаɪ/

Intrusive r. This phenomenon is surely widespread among English speaker

but there are still some speaker and teacher that consider it incorrect or sub-
standard. BBC speakers often use “r” in a similar way to “linking r” to link
words ending and beginning with vowels.
- The idea of it : /ðɪ аɪdɪərɒv ɪt/
- I saw Elen : /аɪ s :r’Elən/
- Media event : /mi:dɪər ɪvent/
We as foreign speakers do not have to imitate this phenomenon, but we surely
have to be aware of it.

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Rhythm
We call rhythmic a sound of a movement which occurs at regular intervals of
time, and so it is isochronous. Human brain has a tendency to look for
rhythmic interpretations of auditory and visual materials. The fist person who
applied the theory of rhythm to languages was Kenneth Pike in 1946.
Depending on their rhythmic organization, languages can be divided into two
groups:
• Syllable-timed languages: In those languages syllables tend to occur at
regular (isochronous) intervals, regardless if they are stressed or unstressed.
Some languages of this group are: Italian, French, Turkish.
• Stress-timed languages: In those languages stressed syllables occur at
regular (isochronous) intervals of time, regardless of the number of
unstressed syllables in between. We call foot the language unit that begins
with a stressed syllables and includes all the following syllables up to the next
stressed syllable, which is not included and forms a new foot. Foot can be
constituted by a variable numbers of syllables (also only one). Some
languages of this group are: English, German, Arabic, Russian).

We should consider this example:

What’s the difference between a sick elephant and a dead bee?
‘Hwɒtz.ðə ‘dɪf.ər.ənts bɪ.twɪn ə ’sɪk ‘e.lɪ.fənt ən.ə ‘ded ‘bi: ?
2 6 1 5 1 1

Some theories about rhythm go further than this, and say that there are some
feet that are stronger than others. From this theory comes the definition of
word stress and sentence stress. In English there is the tendency to introduce
important information towards the end of the word. This tendency is called
“end focus”. For this reason sentence stress is generally placed on the stressed
syllable of the last lexical word.

The fact of English being a stress-timed languages, explains why unstressed

syllables are often involved in compressing phenomena, such as reduction,
elision, assimilation.

Intonation
There are not strict rules which define a correspondence between patterns of
intonation and their communicative function in English. If English learners want
to pronounce English speakers-like intonation, they have to depend on
imitation.

Intonation is the result of three main features that play in the production of
speech. They are:
• Pitch

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 Appunti di Antonella Gismundi

• Length
• Loudness

Pitch. It is the most centrally involved in intonation, which can be defined the
pattern of pitch variation of a sentence. The frequency of out voice varies
continually, alternating rising and falls, and the pitch is dependent on the rate
(frequency) of variation of our vocal chords. Frequency is measured in Hz and
it indicates the number of times our vocal chords completely open and close in
one second. The different sequences that pitch can have from high to low are
called tones.

Tones. In English there are at least 37 different tones to pronounce sentences.

We will consider only 5 of them:

0. (level)

1. (fall)

3. (rise)

4. (fall – rise)

5. (rise – fall)

A tone unit can involve just one syllable, but also a group or syllables or words.
All the words within a tone are pronounced as they were a single word.

Tones can have different functions:

• Grammatical function: thanks to intonation the listeners can better recognize
the grammar and syntactic structures of what is being said, such as word or
phrases boundaries, the differences between statements and questions, the
use of subordinated clauses, the differences between restrictive and non-
restrictive relative clauses.
• Attitudinal function: intonation can express the attitude and the emotions of
the speaking, adding a special kind of “meaning” to spoken language.
• Accentual function: intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence and
apply it to the syllable or word that carries the most important meaning of
the sentence.
• Discourse function: intonation may also make the listener understand
something more about what is being said, for example what is the new
information an what is already given, if something that is expressed is linked
or in contrast with something else, or also the way in which the speaker
expect the interlocutor to react and continue their conversation.

Some uses of the different tones:

• Level tone is not so frequent in English. It usually expresses lack of interest
or boredom.

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 Appunti di Antonella Gismundi

• Falling tone is very frequent, especially in formal speaking. It carries the idea
of finality and for example it can be used at the end of a conversation (as to
say that there is nothing more to add and in fact it is also used at the end of
a list) or to express a command. In question tags, falling tone is used when
the speaker is almost certain that the information is correct, and he simply
aspects a confirmation.
• Rising tone is more frequent in informal conversations. It shows interest and
encourages the interlocutors to continue. It is often used in general questions
and in compiling list. In question tags, rising tone is used when the speaker is
not completely certain that the information is correct.
• Falling and rising tone expresses a doubt or a limited agreement. It is also
used in requests to ask for a permission.
• Rising and falling tone expresses conviction, impression or surprise.

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