The Surprises of Connected Speech PDF

1 e surprises of connected spee All languages modify complicated sequences in connected spee (and in word-formation, e.g. compounds and inflections) in order to simplify the articulation process – but the manner in whi this is done varies from one language to another, and even from one accent to...

1 e surprises of connected spee All languages modify complicated sequences in connected spee (and in word-formation, e.g. compounds and inflections) in order to simplify the articulation process – but the manner in whi this is done varies from one language to another, and even from one accent to another within the same language. Furthermore, most native speakers are totally unaware of su simplification processes and are oen surprised (or even shoed!) when these are pointed out to them. e differences between the citation forms and the modified connected spee forms are not just a maer of ance: clear paerns are distinguishable. Activity B2.1 Recording 2.1 Try saying these English words and phrases, first following the transcription in column 1 and then in column 2. 1 Citation forms 2 Connected spee forms headquarters /hed ˈkwɔːtǝz/ /heɡ ˈkwɔːtǝz/ main course /ˈmeɪn ˈkɔːs/ /ˈmeɪŋ ˈkɔːs/ matched pairs /ˈmӕʧt ˈpɛːz/ /ˈmӕʧ ˈpɛːz/ perhaps /pǝˈhӕps/ /prӕps/  2 Phonetic conditioning Phonetic conditioning is a term used to cover the way in whi spee segments are influenced by adjacent (or near- adjacent) segments, causing phonemes to vary in their realisation according to the phonetic context. We can distinguish three main types: (1) allophonic variation; (2) assimilation; (3) elision. roughout the sections on English segments, we have discussed deviations from the target forms of phonemes. ese result from phonetic conditioning and are responsible for mu of any range of allophones occurring in complementary distribution. We shall now proceed to deal with the two other types of phonetic conditioning.  3 Assimilation Where, as a result of phonetic conditioning, one phoneme is effectively replaced by a second under the influence of a third, we term the process assimilation. Take the English word broadcast, whi in careful pronunciation is / ˈbrɔːdkɑːst/, but in connected spee may well become /ˈbrɔːɡkɑːst/. Here, one phoneme /d/ has been replaced by a second /ɡ/ under the influence of a third /k/. is could be stated as a rule: /d/ → /ɡ/ before /k/ We can distinguish here the two forms of the word broad: (1) /brɔːd/, (2) /brɔːɡ/, where form (1) can be considered the ideal form, corresponding to the target that native speakers have in their minds. is is what is produced in the slowest and most careful styles of spee; it oen bears a close resemblance to the spelling representation. Form (2), more typical of connected spee, is termed the assimilated form.  4 Patterns of assimilation in English Direction of influence 1. Features of an articulation may lead into (i.e. anticipate) those of a following segment, e.g. English white pepper /ˈwaɪt ˈpepǝ/ → /ˈwaɪp ˈpepǝ/. We term this leading assimilation. 2. Articulation features may be held over from a preceding segment, so that the articulators lag in their movements, e.g. English on the house /ɒn ðǝ ˈhaʊs/ → /ɒn nǝ ˈhaʊs/. is we term lagging assimilation. In some cases there is a two- way exange of articulation features, e.g. English raise your glass /ˈreɪz jɔ: ˈɡlɑːs/ → /ˈreɪӡ ӡɔː ˈɡlɑːs/. is is termed reciprocal assimilation. Types of influence 1. assimilations. For instance, final alveolars in ideal forms are oen replaced by bilabials (preceding /p b m/) or velars (preceding /k ɡ/) or palato- alveolars (pre ceding /ʃ/), e.g.woodpecker /ˈwʊdpekǝ/ → / ˈwʊbpekǝ/,wet blanket /wet ˈblӕŋkɪt/ → /wep ˈblӕŋkɪt/,statement / ˈsteɪtmǝnt/ → /ˈsteɪpmǝnt/,night- cap /ˈnaɪtkӕp/ → / ˈnaɪkkӕp/,weed- killer /ˈwiːdkɪlǝ/ → /ˈwiːɡkɪlǝ/,horseshoe /ˈhɔːsʃuː/ → /ˈhɔːʃʃuː/. Place assimilation is very common in English. Note that fortis/voiceless alveolars remain fortis/voiceless, and lenis/voiced alveolars remain lenis/ voiced, so – unlike many learners – native speakers would never pronounce wet blanket as */web ˈblӕŋkɪt/ or woodpecker as */ˈwʊppekǝ/.  5 2. Assimilations may involve a reduction of the fortis/lenis contrast, a type whi is termed energy assimilation. In stressed syllables, energy assimilations are less frequent in English than in most other languages, but lenis to fortis assimilations do occur in a few common words and phrases, e.g. absolutely /æbsəˈluːtli/ → /æpsə ˈluːtli/. In a small number of verb forms,have to/has to/had to (meaning ‘must’),supposed to and used to, this type of assimilation is so common as to be effectively obligatory:I have to do it /aɪ ˈhӕǝ ˈduː ɪt/,He has to do it /hi ˈhӕstǝ ˈduː ɪt/,We had to do it /wi ˈhæə ˈduː ɪt/,You’re supposed to do it /jɔː səˈpəʊstə ˈduː ɪt/,I used to do it /aɪ ˈjuːstǝ ˈduː ɪt/. 3. Assimilations may involve a ange in the manner of articulation, e.g. an ideal form containing a fricative may be replaced by a nasal or a lateral. is is termed manner assimilation. Nasal and lateral assimilations occur in English, mainly affecting initial / ð/ in unstressed words, e.g. join the army /ˈʤɔɪn ði ˈɑːmi/ → /ˈʤɔɪn ni ˈɑːmi/ fail the test /ˈfeɪl ðǝ ˈtest/ → /ˈfeɪl lǝ ˈtest/ till they meet again /tɪl ðeɪ ˈmiːt ǝˈɡen/ → /tɪl leɪ ˈmiːt ǝˈɡen/ Nasal assimilations are especially common in Fren, e.g.un demi /œ̃ dəmi/ → /œ̃ nmi/,on demande /ɔ̃ dǝmɑ̃d/→/ ɔ̃ nmɑ̃d/. Co-occurrence of assimilations Assimilations of different types may occur simultaneously, e.g.behind you /bǝˈhaɪndjuː/ → /bǝˈhaɪnʤuː/. Here both place and manner assimilation affects /d/ and /j/ of the ideal form:  6 More than one phoneme may be affected by an assimilation, e.g.point- blank range /pɔɪnt blӕŋk ˈreɪnʤ/ → /pɔɪmp blӕŋk ˈreɪnʤ/.  7 Elision A ange from the ideal form in connected spee may involve the deletion of a phoneme, e.g. English tasteless /ˈteɪstlǝs/ → /ˈteɪslǝs/. e phoneme is said to be elided and the process is termed elision. Frequently, assimilation processes also involve elision, e.g. English mind- boggling /ˈmaɪndbɒɡlɪŋ/ → /ˈmaɪmbbɒɡlɪŋ/ → /ˈmaɪmbɒɡlɪŋ/.  8 Historical assimilation and elision We can distinguish between contemporary assimilation and elision vs. historical assimilation and elision processes. In contemporary assimilation/elision (using ‘contemporary’ in the sense of ‘present- day’), there is an ideal form. e assimilation (or elision) takes place only in a certain phonetic context and, in most cases, assimilation (or elision) is optional. Once the original ideal forms become extinct, and the assimilated/elided forms are fixed, we term su cases historical assimilation and elision, e.g.cupboard /ˈkʌbǝd/, where the form */ˈkʌpbɔːd/ has died out. e ‘silent leers’ of English spelling provide frequent reminders of historical elision, e.g.talk, comb, know, could, gnome, whistle, wrong, iron; more examples can be found in Unit A9. See Section B5 for a more general discussion of language ange. ere is a tendency nowadays for some historical elisions and assimilations to revert to the original forms as a result of the influence of spelling. For instance, in modern GB English, /t/ is frequently pronounced in often (formerly /ˈɒfn̩/).  9 Liaison e converse of elision is liaison, i.e. the insertion of an extra sound. We have seen (Unit A6) that accents of English can be divided into two groups according to /r/ distribution, namely rhotic accents where /r/ is pronounced in all contexts, as opposed to non- rhotic accents (like GB) where /r/ is pronounced only preceding a vowel. In these laer varieties, orthographic r is regularly restored as a link across word boundaries, e.g. sooner /ˈsuːnǝ/ sooner or later /ˈsuːnǝ r ɔː ˈleɪtǝ/ sure /ʃɔː/ sure enough /ˈʃɔː r ɪˈnʌf/ is is termed linkingr. With most speakers of non- rhotic English, it is also possible to hear linking r when there is no r in the spelling. is is termed intrusiver. the sofa in the catalogue /ðə ˈsǝʊfǝ r ɪn ðǝ ˈkӕtǝlɒɡ/ my idea of heaven /maɪ aɪˈdɪǝ r ǝv ˈhevǝn/ we saw a film /wi ˈsɔː r ǝ ˈfɪlm/ bourgeois immigrants /bʊǝӡwɑː r ˈɪmɪɡrǝnts/ via Australia /vaɪǝ r ɒˈstreɪliǝ/ Intrusive r is heard aer the vowels /ɑː ɔː ǝ/ and the diphthongs terminating in /ǝ/. Instances with other vowels hardly ever occur: /εː/ is invariably spelt with r (except possibly in the word yeah as a form of yes); final /ɜː/ almost always has r in the spelling. Formerly, many native speakers, at least those in the habit of writing leers to newspapers, were aware of the existence of intrusive r and made a point of avoiding it. Nowadays people appear to be less conscious of the phenomenon and use it more freely in their spee, although they would probably condemn it as ‘incorrect’ if it was brought to their aention and deny that they did it themselves. us it is a  10 aracteristic feature of GB, and is also heard from the overwhelming majority of those who use any non- rhotic variety of English. Fren is notable for an elaborate system of liaison, e.g.Il est assez intelligent, where ‘est’ and ‘assez,’ pronounced /e/ and /ase/ in citation form, recover the final consonants when they occur pre- vocalically in connected spee:/il εt asεz ε͂tεliʒɑ͂/. Related to liaison is epenthesis, whi is the insertion into a word of a segment whi was previously absent. In all varieties of English, including GB, speakers oen insert a homorganic plosive between a nasal and a fricative in examples su as the following:once /wʌnts/,length /leŋkθ/,something /ˈsʌmpθɪŋ/. As a result, words like sense and scents may be pronounced identically as /sents/. Activity B2.4 Some English native speakers distinguish the following pairs. Others, pronouncing an epenthetic consonant, say them identically:mince – mints; prince – prints; patience – patients; chance – chants; tense – tents; Samson – Sampson; Thomson – Thompson. What do you do? Che with friends. Can you think of any other examples of the same phenomenon? In some accents of English, particularly Irish English, an epenthetic /ǝ/ is inserted in sequences su as /lm/ and /rm/, e.g.film /ˈfɪlǝm/,alarm /ǝˈlarǝm/.  11 Patterns of assimilation in English General observations Assimilation and elision tend to be more frequent in: ❑ rapid rather than slow tempo; ❑ informal rather than formal registers. 1 Leading assimilation of place of final alveolars Alveolar → bilabial in context preceding bilabial footpath /ˈfʊppɑːθ/,madman /ˈmӕbmǝn/,pen pal /ˈpem pӕl/,in March /ɪm ˈmɑːʧ/,runway / ˈrʌmweɪ/. Alveolar → velar in context preceding velar gatecrash /ˈɡeɪkkrӕʃ/,kid- gloves /kɪɡ ˈɡlʌvz/,painkiller /ˈpeɪŋkɪlǝ/. Note that in GB the allophone of /p k/ representing orthographic t can be pregloalised and never has audible release: [ʔ p ʔ k], e.g.footpath [ˈfʊʔ  12 ppɑːθ],gate-crash [ˈɡeɪʔ kkrӕʃ]. Oen there will be complete gloal replacement [ˈfʊ ʔ pɑːθ], [ˈɡeɪ ʔ krӕʃ]. Alveolar → palato- alveolar in context preceding palato- alveolar spaceship /ˈspeɪʃʃɪp/,news sheet /ˈnjuːӡ ʃiːt/. Coalescent assimilation with /j/ e plosives /t d/ merge regularly with you and your in a process of coalescent assimilation of place and manner. e fricatives /s z/ have similar coalescence, though less frequently, with any word- initial /j/: /t/ + /j/ → /ʧ/ /d/ + /j/ → /ʤ/ /s/ + /j/ → /ʃ/ /z/ + /j/ → /ӡ/ suit yourself /ˈsuːʧɔːˈself/,find your umbrella /ˈfaɪnʤɔː r ʌmˈbrelǝ/.is this your pen /ɪz ˈðɪʃɔː ˈpen/,where’s your cup? /ˈwɛːӡɔː ˈkʌp/. Assimilations of this sort are especially common in tag- questions with you: You didn’t do the washing, did you? /ˈdɪʤu/. You should contact the police, shouldn’t you? /ˈʃʊdn̩ʧu /. Assimilation is also frequent in the phrase Do you. is is oen wrien d’you in informal representations of dialogue:D’you come here often? /ʤu ˈkʌm hɪə r ˈɒfn̩/. 2 Lagging assimilation involving /ð/  13 Initial /ð/ in unstressed words may be assimilated following /n l s z/: on the shelves /ɒn nǝ ˈʃelvz/,all the time /ɔːl lǝ ˈtaɪm/,what’s the matter? /ˈwɒts sǝ ˈmӕtǝ/,how’s the patient? /haʊz zǝ ˈpeɪʃn̩t/. Lagging assimilations are most frequent preceding the. Nevertheless, a difference is still to be heard (except at very rapid tempo) between the and a as a result of the lengthening of the preceding segment and possible differences in rhythm. With words other than the, assimilation of this type is less frequent – though by no means uncommon, particularly in unstressed contexts. in this context /ɪn nɪs ˈkɒntekst/,when they arrive /wen neɪ ǝˈraɪv/,will theyremember? /ˈwɪl leɪ rǝ ˈmembǝ/,was there any reason for it? /wǝz zɛː r ˈeni ˈriːzn̩ fɔː r ɪt/. 3 Energy assimilation In English, energy assimilation is rare. Two obligatory assimilations are used to and have to (where equivalent to ‘must’), e.g. I used to play cricket /aɪ ˈjuːstǝ ˈpleɪ ˈkrɪkɪt/, cf.I used two (main verb) /aɪ ˈjuːzd ˈtuː/.I have to write him a letter /aɪ ˈhӕǝ ˈraɪt ɪm ǝ ˈletǝ/, cf.I have two (main verb ˈpossessˈ) /aɪ ˈhӕv ˈtuː/. ere are also some word- internal energy assimilations, generally with free variation between two possible forms: absolute /ˈӕpsǝluːt/ or /ˈӕbsǝluːt/;obsession /ǝpˈseʃn̩/or /ǝbˈseʃn̩/. Note that fortis to lenis assimilations, e.g.back door */bӕɡ ˈdɔː/,not bad */nɒd ˈbӕd/ are not found in English. Su assimilations are common in many languages, e.g. Fren and Dut.  14 Patterns of elision in English Elision of /t d/in consonant sequences Elision of /t/ or /d/ is common if they are central in a sequence of three consonants: past tense /ˈpɑːs ˈtens/,ruined the market /ˈruːɪn ðǝ ˈmɑːkɪt/,left luggage /ˈlef ˈlʌɡɪʤ/,failed test /ˈfeɪl ˈtest/. Elisions su as these may remove the /t d/ marker of past tense in verbs, but the tense is usually (not always) clear through context. Elision of /t d/ is not heard before /h/:smoked herring /ˈsmǝʊkt ˈherɪŋ/. If /nt/ or /lt/ are followed by a consonant, there is normally no elision of /t/ (except at very rapid tempo), though /t/ will be gloally reinforced [ʔ t] or replaced by [ʔ]. Note that the vowel before /nt/ and /lt/ is shortened:spent time /ˈspent ˈtaɪm/ [ˈspenʔ t ˈtaɪm] or [ˈspenʔ ˈtaɪm];Walt Disney /wɔːlt ˈdɪzni/ [wɔlʔ t ˈdɪzni] or [wɔlʔ ˈdɪzni]. Sequences of consonant + /t + j/ and consonant + /d + j/ generally retain /t/ and /d/, but oen have reciprocal assimilation to /ʧ/ and /ʤ/: I’ve booked your flight /aɪv ˈbʊkʧɔː ˈflaɪt/,I told your husband /aɪ ˈtəʊlʤɔː ˈhʌzbǝnd/. e verb forms wouldn’t you, didn’t you, etc. are regularly heard with this assimilated form: /ˈwʊdn̩ʧu, ˈdɪdn̩ʧu/(see p. 127). e sequence /skt/ has elision of /k/ instead of, or if preceding consonants, in addition to /t/: masked gunman /mɑːst ˈɡʌnmǝn/ or /ˈmɑːs ˈɡʌnmǝn/,they asked us /ðeɪ ˈɑːst ǝs/.  15 Other notable elisions e following are examples of connected spee forms not covered by what has been stated already: 1. /h/ is regularly elided from the weak forms of function words (see also Section A3), e.g.I think he will have told her /aɪ ˈθɪŋk i wɪl ǝv ˈtǝʊld ə/. is is to be heard even in formal spee registers in all varieties of English. Because of the linguistic insecurity aaed to h- dropping in England and Wales (see Unit C2), it is not uncommon for ildren to be, quite wrongly, corrected by parents, teaers or spee trainers for eliding /h/ in this context. 2. Another notable elision connected with weak forms is the deletion, in informal registers, of the dental fricative /ð/ in them – oen condemned as slipshod spee, this form in fact has a long history going ba hundreds of years and is to be heard in GB and all other accents of English. 3. Two common words have frequent alternative forms with elision of dental fricatives /θ ð/:months /mʌns/,clothes /klǝʊz/. 4. Forms of numerals, e.g.fifth, twelfth, do not elide /θ/ but may instead elide the preceding consonant: /fɪθ, twelθ/. 5. Elision of /v/ in of is especially common before /ð/, e.g.three of the websites /ˈθriː ǝ ðǝ ˈwebsaɪts/,one of the lads /ˈwʌn ǝ ðǝ ˈlӕdz/. It is also heard at more rapid tempo before other consonants:a piece of paper /ǝ ˈpiːs ǝ ˈpeɪpǝ/,as a matter of fact /ǝz ǝ ˈmӕtrǝ ˈfӕkt/. In more rapid spee, /v/ is sometimes elided before /m/ in the verbs give, have, leave: give me a chance /ˈɡɪ mi ǝ ˈʧɑːns/,do you have my number /du: ju ˈhӕ maɪ ˈnʌmbǝ/,leave me alone /ˈliː mi ǝ ˈlǝʊn/. 6. e sequence // is normally reduced to /t/ in two common verbal forms, i.e.want to, got to: I want to leave /aɪ ˈwɒntǝ ˈliːv/ (some speakers will further reduce this to /aɪ ˈwɒnǝ ˈliːv/ in more rapid spee),they’ve got to go now /ðeɪv ˈɡɒtǝ ˈɡəʊ naʊ/.  16 7. When going to is used as a tense- former, it is typically pronounced /ɡənə/, e.g.What’s going to happen /ˈwɒts ɡənə ˈhӕpǝn/. is form (sometimes shown as ‘gonna’ in dialogue) is oen criticised by prescriptivists, but is in fact the norm in colloquial GB and all other varieties of native- speaker English.