Modifications of Consonants in Connected Speech

MODIFICATIONS OF
CONSONANTS IN
CONNECTED SPEECH.
By: Karimova Leyla

 Language in every day use is performed in
connected sequence of words, phrases and
longer utterances. There are some remarkable
differences between the pronunciation of a word in
isolation and of the same word in a block of
connected speech. These changes are mostly
quite regular and predictable. Numerous
modifications of sounds are observed both within
words and at word boundaries because speech
sounds influence each other in the flow of speech.
As a result of the intercourse between consonants
and vowels and within each class there appear
such processes of connected speech
as assimilation, accommodation, vowel
reduction and elision which is sometimes
termed deletion.
 Assimilationis the adaptive modification of a consonant
by a neighbouring consonant in the speech:
 1) the alveolar [t], [d],[s], [z], [l], [n], followed by the
interdental [D] / [T] sounds (partial regressive
assimilation when the influence goes backward from a
“later” sound to an “earlier” one) become dental.
 For example, at the desk.
 2) [t], [d] become post-alveolar under the influence of
the post-alveolar [r] (partially regressive assimilation).
 For example, try, dry, that right rule, the third room. The
sonorant [r] after the voiceless [t] is partially devoiced.
 3) [s], [z] become post-alveolar before [S] (complete
regressive assimilation)
 4)the combinations [t+j], [d+j] tend to be affricative
(incomplete regressive assimilation).
 The place of articulation of nasals also varies according
to the consonant that follows
 The place of articulation of nasals also varies
according to the consonant that follows
 For example, camp [m] remains bilabial before
another bilabial as well as in man before a
vowel.
 cent [n] is alveolar before another alveolar as
well as in net.
 symphony [m] is actually labio-dental followed by
the labio-dental [f].
 seventh [n] becomes dental, before the
interdental [T].
 pinch [n] is palato-alveolar corresponding to the
following affricate [C].
 thank [n] assimilates to the velar consonant
becoming velar [N].
 The manner of articulation is also changed as a result of
assimilation, which may be illustrated as follows:
 1. Loss of plosion. In the sequence of two plosive
consonants the former loses its plosion.
 For example, glad to see you, great trouble, an
old carpet. (partial regressive assimilation)
 2.Nasal plosion. In the sequence of a plosive followed by
a nasal sonorant the manner of articulation of the plosive
sound and the work of the soft palate are involved, which
results in the nasal character of plosion release.
 For example, garden, mad Mary, not now, let me see.
(partial regressive assimilation)
 3.Lateral plosion. In the sequence of a plosive followed
by the lateral sonorant [l] the noise production of the
plosive stop is changed into that of the lateral stop.
 For example, people, little, at last. (partial regressive
assimilation)
 Accommodation denotes the
interchange of “vowel + consonant
type” or “consonant + vowel type”, for
example, some slight degree of
nasalization of vowels preceded or
followed by nasal sonorants: never,
men; or labialization of consonants
preceding the vowels [o], [y] in
 Lip position may be affected by the
accommodation, the interchange of
consonant + vowel type. Labialization of
consonants is traced under the influence of
the neighbouring back vowels
(accommodation).
 For
example, pool, moon, rule, soon, whose, c
ool.
 It is possible to speak about the spread lip
position of consonants followed or preceded
by front vowels [i:], [i].
 For example, tea – beat, meat – team, feet
– leaf, keep – leak.
 The position of the soft palate is also
involved in the accommodation. Slight
nasalization as the result of prolonged
lowering of the soft palate is
sometimes traced in vowels under the
influence of the neighbouring
sonants [m] and [n].
 For example, and, morning, come
in, mental.
 Elisionor complete loss of sounds, both
vowels and consonants is often observed in
English. Elision is likely to be minimal in
slow careful speech and maximal in rapid
relaxed colloquial forms of speech and
marks the following sounds:
 1. Loss of [h] in personal and possessive
pronouns he, his, her, him and the forms of
the auxiliary verb have, has, had is wide
spread.
 2. [l] tends to be lost when preceded by [L].
 3. Alveolar plosives are often elided in case
the cluster is followed by another consonant.
 Examples of historical elision are also known.
They are initial consonants in write, know, the
medial consonant [t] in fasten, listen, whistle,
castle.
 While the elision is a very common process in
connected speech, we also occasionally find
sounds being inserted.
 - When a word ends in a vowel, the so-called
intrusive “r” is sometimes pronounced between
the vowels.
 - The so-called linking “r” is a common example
of insertion
 - In case of the [V]-gliding diphthongs [EV],
[aV] the bilabial sonorant [w] is sometimes
inserted.
 By way of conclusion we may say that
we understand the sound quality as a
set of characteristics which are in
constant interrelation and
compensation. In case one of the
features of a phoneme is lost there
remain a sufficient number of
characteristics of a phoneme and its
status and function are not lost. Thus
modifications of sounds in a speech
chain are of allophonic character, that is
they are realizations of allophones of
phonemes.

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MODIFICATIONS OF

By: Karimova Leyla

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