PHONETICS II

UNIT I
PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES

(linking, elision, haplology, assimilation,

coalescence, metathesis, gemination

Lic. Aurimar Hernández

What is
Phonology?

It’s a field of linguistics which

studies the distribution of
sounds in a language as well as
the interaction between those
different sounds.
What is
Phonology?

Phonology tackles the

following questions:

 What sounds in a
language are
predictable?
 What is the phonetic
context that predict the
occurrence of these
sounds?
 Which sounds affect
the meaning of words?
Phonology

 Phonology is
concerned with the
organization of the
system underlying the
speech sounds

 The phonemic level

represents native
speakers’ knowledge
of the sound system
of their language
Phonetics vs.
Phonology

 Phonetics: studies how

speech sounds are
produced, their physical
properties & how they
are interpreted.

 Phonology: studies the

organization of speech
sounds in a particular
language.
Phonology vs.
phonetics

 Phonology: is a
cognitive study
that deals with
the representation
of knowledge in
the mind

 Phonetics: deals
with the physical
properties of
speech sounds.
Phonological
Processes

 They are changes that occur when

we produce and combine sounds
into words or in larger linguistic
forms in the chain of speech.
 The most common phonological
processes are:

Linking

Gemination Elision

Metathesis Assimilation

Haplology Coalescence
Linking

 It is a process by which groups of

words are connected together
within the same phrase or sentence
in connected speech.
 Types of linking:
 LINKING CONSONANTS TO
VOWELS
 LINKING STOP CONSONANTS (p, t,
k, b, d, g) TO CONSONANTS (t, d, z, s,
l)
 LINKING IDENTICAL CONSONANTS
(Gemination)
 LINKING VOWELS TO VOWELS
Gemination

 It happens when a Calm [kɑːˈmːæn]

spoken consonant is man
pronounced for an
audibly longer period of This [ðɪˈsːædəl]
time than a short saddle
consonant.

 Gemination does occur Black [blæˈkːoʊt]

across words when the
coat
last consonant in a
given word and the first Back [ˈbækːɪk]
consonant in the kick
following word are the
Orange [ˈɒrɪndʒ
same fricative, nasal or dʒuːs]
juice
plosive.
Elision

 A process by which sounds

within or between words are
simplified in connected speech.
This simplification depends on
the following sound and on the
nature of the cluster. If the
following word begins with a
vowel, then the final consonant
of the cluster will be linked to
that following vowel and,
therefore cannot be deleted as
the examples below show:
Elision
The following table illustrates the phenomenon of
elision using common combinations of two- or
three-word bundles. Elision itself is often a
precursor to, or occurs in conjunction
with, assimilation.

word/combination no elision elision

asked [ɑːskt] [ɑːst]
lecture [ˈlɛktʃə] [ˈlɛkʃə]
desktop [ˈdɛskˌtɒp] [ˈdɛsˌtɒp]
hard disk [ˌhɑːdˈdɪsk] [ˌhɑːˈdɪsk]

kept quiet [ˌkɛptˈkwaɪət] [ˌkɛpˈkwaɪət]

kept calling [ˌkɛptˈkoːlɪŋ] [ˌkɛpˈkoːlɪŋ]

kept talking [ˌkɛptˈtoːkɪŋ] [ˌkɛpˈtoːkɪŋ]

at least twice [əˌtliːstˈtwaɪs] [əˌtliːsˈtwaɪs]

straight towards [ˌstɹeɪtˈtʊwoːdz] [ˌstɹeɪˈtəwoːdz]

next to [ˈnɛkstˌtʊ] [ˈnɛksˌtə]
want to [ˈwɒntˌtʊ] [ˈwɒnˌtə] or [ˈwɒnə]

seemed not to notice [ˈsiːmdˌnɒttəˈnəʊtɪs] [ˈsiːmˌnɒtəˈnəʊtɪs]

for the first time [foːðəˌfɜːstˈtaɪm] [fəðəˌfɜːsˈtaɪm]

Haplology

 It is defined as the elimination of a

syllable when two consecutive identical
or similar syllables occur. Also, it is
defined as the dropping of one of two
similar or identical successive syllables or
sounds in a word.

Library (Amer. ˌlaɪˈbrəri) > ˌlaɪˈbri

Particularly Particuly

Probably Probly

Morphophonemics Morphonemics
Did You Know?

Try to say "pierced-ear earrings" three times

fast. That exercise will demonstrate why
haplology happens: sometimes it's just easier
to drop a syllable and leave yourself with
something that's easier to say (such as
"pierced earrings"). American philologist
Maurice Bloomfield recognized the tendency
to drop one of a pair of similar syllables a little
over a hundred years ago. He has been
credited with joining the combining form
"hapl-" or "haplo-" (meaning "single") with "-
logy" (meaning "oral or written expression") to
create "haplology" as a name for the
phenomenon. Haplology is quite common in
English, and often the contracted forms it
generates spread into the written language. In
fact, haplology played a role in naming the
nation that is the cradle of English: "England"
was condensed via haplology from "Engla
land."
Assimilation

Assimilation is the process

by which two (or more)
sounds become more
similar to each other. This
similarity is achieved by
one of the sounds taking
characteristics from the
other one. This term refers
to the influence of one
sound segment upon the
articulation of another, so
that they become more
alike or identical.
Types of
Assimilation

There are three types of assimilation:

 Progressive assimilation (A sound
becomes more like the preceding sound)
 Regressive assimilation (A sound
becomes more like a following sound)
 Coalescent assimilation (two adjacent
sounds combine to form a new sound)
 Examples of
Assimilation

 / t / changes to / p / before / m / / b / or / p /
basket maker mixed bag

 / d / changes to / b / before / m / / b / or / p /
bad pain good cook
 / n / changes to / m / before / m / / b / or / p /
action planning iron man

 / t / changes to / k / before / k / or /g/

cigarette card short cut

 / d / changes to / g / before / k / or / g /

bad girl hard cash

Examples of
Assimilation

 / n / changes to /ŋ/ before / k / or / g /

action group open court
 / s / changes to /ʃ/ before /ʃ/ or / j /
bus shelter nice yacht
 / z / changes to /ʒ/ before /ʃ/ or / j /
cheese shop where's yours?
 /θ/ changes to / s / before / s /

bath salts earth science

Confusion?

"In some situations, elision and assimilation can

apply at the same time. For example, the word
'handbag' might be produced in full as
/hændbæg/. However, the /d/ is in a site where
elision is possible, so the phrase could be
produced as /hænbæg/. Furthermore, when the
/d/ is elided, it leaves /n/ in a position for
assimilation. So, we frequently hear /hæmbæg/.
In this final example, we see again that connected
speech processes have the potential to
influence meaning. Is /hæmbæg/ a rendition of
'handbag' with elision and assimilation, or is it
simply 'ham bag'? In real life, the context and
knowledge of the speaker's habitual patterns and
preferences would help you to decide, and you
would probably opt for the most likely meaning.
Coalescence
Coalescence

Speech sounds rarely have clear-cut

boundaries that mark them off from their
neighbors. It sometimes happens that
adjacent phonemes slide together so that
they seem to happen simultaneously. In
English phonetics coalescence is a form of
assimilation, that most commonly takes
place when /j/ is preceded by certain
consonants most commonly /t/ and /d/

The clusters [dj], [tj], [sj],

and [zj] become [dʒ], [tʃ], [ʃ],
and [ʒ], respectively, through
mutual assimilation.
Coalescence

The sound /j/ is usually found in the letter Y, the

letter I and the letter U (when it is or was in the past
pronounced /ju:/)
 1- /t/ + /j/ = /tʃ/ (T+Y=CH)
Nice to meet you meet + you /mi:t ju:/ = /mi:tʃu:/

 2- /d/ + /j/ = /dʒ/ (D+Y=J)

 would you like some tea? would + you /wʊd
ju:/ = /wʊdʒu:/
 3- /s/ + /j/ = /ʃ/ (S+Y=SH)
special /spesjəl/ = /speʃəl/
it's just you = it's jus' you /dʒʌs ju:/ = /dʒʌʃu:/ (in
conversational English "just" often loses its final T and
it sounds "jus", so S + Y = SH)
 4- /z/ + /j/ = /ʒ/
learning centres such as universities as +
universities /əz ju:nɪvɜ:*sɪtɪz/ = /əʒu:nɪvɜ:*sɪtɪz/
Confusion?

 Assimilation is the process by which

two (or more) sounds become more
similar to each other.
 That phenomenon is usual in rapid
natural speech and it is a result of
coarticulation (same organs)
 Even though it affects vowel sounds
as well, the effect is better
appreciated among consonants.
 Another type of assimilation is a
related process known as coalescence.
 Among others, assimilation varies
according to speaker rate and style.
Metathesis

This phenomenon involves the reversal of

linear order with two segments. It most
commonly occurs with a vowel and /r/
and is attested widely across many
languages.
“Wasp used to be waps, bird
used to be brid and horse
used to be hros. Remember
this next time you hear
someone complaining about
aks for ask or nucular for
nuclear.” Shariatmadari
(2014)
Speech Sound Disorders

 Dyslalia means difficulties in talking due

to structural defects in speech organs.

SPEECH IMPEDIMENTS
 A lisp, also known as sigmatism, is
a speech impediment in which a person
cannot articulate sibilants:
[s], [z], [ʒ], [ʃ], [tʃ], [dʒ].

 Rhotacism may refer to an excessive or

idiosyncratic use of the letter r, the
inability to pronounce (or difficulty in
pronouncing) r, or the conversion of
another consonant into r.
“ A rough-coated,
dough-faced,
thoughtful ploughman
strode through the
streets of Scarborough;
after falling into a
slough, he coughed,
and hiccoughed.
”
Hooray for English spelling!

“The group “ough” can be pronounced in

nine different ways in English. This
sentence contains all nine.
/rʌf/ /doʊ/ /ˈθɔːtfl/ /ˈplaʊmən/ /θruː/
/'skɑ:brə/ /sləuː/ /kɒft/ /'hɪkʌp/