ASPECTS OF CONNECTED

SPEECH

1. Rhythm
2. Assimilation
3. Elision
4. Linking
 “Tale of a machine”

• Scientists tried to develop a machine that

would produce speech from a vocabulary of
pre-recorded words
• Result: negative (limited, at best)
• Reason: ?
-differences between human speech and
“mechanical speech”
 RHYTHM
• Noticeable event happening at regular intervals of time
(heart-beat, flashing light, piece of music)
• Rhythm in speech: regular occurrence of stressed
syllables (still, regularity is relative)
• English speech is rhythmical
• Stress-timed rhythm: stressed syllables tend to occur
at relatively regular intervals whether they are separated
by unstressed syllables or not (not characteristic for
“mechanical speech”)
 Stress-timed rhythm
theory
• The time from each stressed syllable to the next will
tend to be the same, irrespective of the number of
intervening unstressed syllables
Stress-timed rhythm
theory
 Syllable-timed rhythm
theory

• All syllables, whether stressed or unstressed,

tend to occur at regular intervals and the time
between stressed syllables will be shorter or
longer in proportion to the number of
unstressed syllables
• Japanese, Hungarian, Spanish are examples of
such languages
Syllable-timed rhythm
theory
 Foot

• A unit of rhythm
• Begins with a stressed syllable and includes all
following unstressed syllables up to, but not
including the following stressed syllable
 How rhythmically do we
speak?
• Very rhythmically – styles of public speech
• Arhythmically – if hesitant or nervous
• One always speaks with some degree of
rhythmicality, but the difference is in degree
• In a stress-timed language all the feet are supposed to
be of roughly the same duration
WHY?
HOW
HOW
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
 ASSIMILATION
● In linguistics, assimilation is a common phonological process by
which one sound becomes more like a nearby sound.
Or more easily, assimilation is when two sounds come together and
change or melt into a new sound.
● It can occur either within a word or between words when the final
sound of a word touches the first sound of the next word (because
when we speak we join all the words together)
● It varies in extent according to speaking rate and style, more found in
rapid, casual speech and less likely in slow, careful speech.
● General speaking, the cases that have most often been described are
assimilations affecting consonants.
 Examples
Words Transcription After assimilation

hand bag /hænd bæg/ /hæm bæg/

want to /wɔnt tu:/ /wɔn nə/

five pence /faiv pens/ /faif pens/

that girl /ðæt gɜːl/ /ðæk gɜːl/

 Types of Assimilation
The direction of changes
The diagram below describes the case where 2 words are combined

· · · · ·Cf | Ci · · · · ·
word
boundary
-Cf: the first of which ends with a single final consonant
-Ci: the second of which starts with a single initial consonant

●Regressive: the phoneme that comes first is affected by the one that comes after
it.
Ci affects to Cf
Ex: good bye: /gud bai/ → /gubbai/

● Progressive: the phoneme that follows is affected by the one that comes before
it.
Cf affects to Ci
Ex: read this: /ri:d ðis/ → /ri:ddis/
 The way phoneme changes
2.2. The way phoneme changes The way
The way phoneme
changes
phoneme
changes
Assimilation Assimilation
Assimilation
of place of manner
of voicing

Assimilation Assimilation Assimilation

of place of manner of voice
ASSIMILATION OF PLACE
 Notes:

-/s/ stands before /ʃ/ and /j/ → /ʃ/

Ex: nice shoe /nais ʃu:/ → /naiʃ ʃu:/

-/z/ stands before /ʃ/ and /j/ →/Ʒ/

Ex: those years /ðəuz jiəz/ → /ðəu Ʒjiəz/
 ASSIMILATION OF MANNER
● Assimilation of manner is typical of the most rapid and casual
speech, in which case one sound changes the manner of its
articulation to become similar in manner to a neighbouring sound.
● Rules
-plosive
+final plosive → fricative when it stands before a fricative
Ex: good song /gud sͻη/ → /gus sͻη/
+plosive → nasal when it stands before a nasal
Ex: good night /gud nait/ → /gun nait/
that night /ðæt nait/ → / ðæn nait/
>However, most unlikely that a final fricative or nasal would
become a plosive.
 ASSIMILATION OF MANNER
● Rules
-dentalized: when a word initial /ð/ follows a plosive or
nasal at the end of a preceding word, it is very common to
find that the Ci becomes identical in manner to the Cf but
with the dental place of articulation.
Ex: t hat t hi ng →/ðat ̪ θɪŋ/
get those →/gɛt ̪ ðʊz/
 ASSIMILATION OF VOICE
This may refer to assimilation involving the feature [+/- voice]. In a certain
environment we can consequently observe the voicing or devoicing of a
segment.
• If Cf is voiced and Ci is voiceless, the voiced consonant often has no voicing.
voiced + voiceless → voiceless (regressive)
(b,d,g) (p,t,k) => b,d,g → p,t,k
- b + p → p e.g: rob Peter /rͻb pi:tə/ → /rͻp pi:tə/
- d + t → t e.g: bad tongue /bæd tʌη/ → /bat tʌη/
- g + k → k e.g: big car /big ka:/ → /bik ka:/

• When Cf is voiceless and Ci is voiced, a context in which in many languages,

Cf would become “voiced”, assimilation of voice never takes place.
voiceless (A) + voiced → no assimilation (A 0)
E.g: sit down /sit0 daun/
black dog /blæk0 dͻg/
 Yod coalescence
Yod is the name of the smallest letter in the
Hebrew alphabet – it stands for the vowel /i/ or
the semi-vowel /j/. In English phonetics Yod
coalescence is a form of assimilation – it is a
phenomenon which takes place when /j/ is
preceded by certain consonants most
commonly /t/ and /d/:
 Yod coalescence
t/ + /j/ = /tʃ/
What you need. /wɒtʃu ni:d/
The ball that you brought. /ðə bɔ:l ðətʃu: brɔ:t/
But use your head! /bətʃu:z jɔ: hed/
Last year /lɑ:stʃɪə/

/d/ + /j/ = / dʒ/

Could you help me? /kʊdʒu help mi:/

Would yours work? /wʊdʒɔ:z wɜ:k/

She had university students /ʃi: hædʒu:ni:vɜ:sɪti stju:dənts/

 Yod coalescence
Identify places where Yod coalescence may occur in the following phrases

1 What you need is a good job!

2 You told me that you had your homework done.

3 She didn’t go to France that year.

4 Could you open the window please?

5 You’ve already had yours!

 Exercises
Exercise 1: What is the pronunciation of these words after assimilation?
1. Should win
A. /∫ubwin/ B. /∫udwin/ C. /∫utwin/ D. /∫upwin/
2.Bad gate
A. /bækgeit/ B. /bædgeit/ C. /bægeit/ D. /bætgeit/
3. This shop
A. /ðis∫ɔp/ B. /ði∫∫ɔp/ C. /ði∫ɔp/ D. /ðit∫ɔp/
4. seen Bill
A. /si:bil/ B. /si:nbil/ C. /si:mbil/ D. /si:ɳbil/
 Exercise 2
Find out the rules of assimilatlion in these sentences
• 1.He’s a rather fat boy.
• 2.He is a very good boy.
• 3.There are ten men in the class.
• 4.Can you see that girl over there?
 Exercise 3
Transcribe the following sentences. Mark stress and
use weak forms where necessary. Comment on all
assimilation cases and give rules.
1. Has your aunt taken them from that box?
2. The North Pole would be warmer, wouldn’t it?
3. Aren’t there some letters for her to open?
4. Don’t put your brakes on until the light turns to red.
 Elision is very simply the omission of certain sounds in

certain contexts. The most important occurrences of this

phenomenon regard:

1 Alveolar consonants /t/ and /d/ when ‘sandwiched’

between two consonants (CONS – t/d – CONS), e.g.

The next day….

The last car…

Hold the dog!

Send Frank a card. 

 Cases of elision
1) Loss of weak vowel after p/t/k: potato, tomato,
perhaps, etc.
2) Weak vowel + n/l/r = syllabic n / l / r : tonight,
police, correct, etc.
3) Avoidance of complex cons. clusters:
“George the Sixth´s throne”
4) 2/3 plosives + a fricative : the middle plosive
disappears: acts, looked back, scripts, etc.
5) Loss of final /v/ in of before consonants: lots of
them, waste of money, etc.
 Elision = disappearance of sounds

• This can also take place within affricates /t∫/

and /dζ/ when preceded by a consonant, e.g.
• lunchtime
• strange days

A phoneme may have zero realisation or be

deleted.
 Linking/ Liaison ?
• If we want to speak English fluently, we must try to
avoid pronouncing each word as if it were isolated. We
must try to link words together smoothly and naturally. In
English one word is not separated from another by pausing
or hesitating; the end of one word flows straight on to the
beginning of the next,
• e.g. First of all, some of us .
 1. Definition of liaison
• Liaison means the linking of sounds or words. In connected
speech, English words belonging to the same sense group
should be said in a united manner rather than pronounced
separately as if they were isolated. Only in this way can the
sequences of words (sounds )be said rapidly and smoothly.
 2. Types of liaison:
• The main types of liaison are:
• 1) Consonant (except r )+vowel ( The final consonant
of the preceding word is united to the initial vowel of the
next word in the same sense group).
• e.g. give it up
• half an hour
• a place of interest
• sit in the open air
• pick up an orange
2) –r or –re + vowel (When a word ending with the letter “-r” or
“-re” is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, a sound of /r/
is usually inserted in the pronunciation.) e.g.
after all far and wide over and over again
a country of their own a letter –opener
However, there are special circumstances in which a final “r ”
is silent even
when the following word begins with a vowel.

(1)When there is a /r/ in the same syllable, e.g. a roar of

laughter , a rare
animal , nearer and nearer.
(2)When a pause is permissible between the two words
(even if no pause is
actually made.)
e.g. He opened the door and walked in.
 Linking-R

This lesson is getting more and more funny.

more(1): mɔːr more(2): mɔː

=> in RP the sound [r] is only pronounced when

a word beginning with a vowel closely follows
Carter signed the bill

Carter almost refused

The Czar signed the bill

The Czar often refuses

 They saw us running...

Read out the following sentence and observe

the pronunciation of the bold words:

They saw us running with the stolen goods in

our hands.

Can you sense an intruder?

 Intrusive-R
In RP, words ending in a
schwa /-ə/; /ɑː/ or /ɔː/,
when followed by a word beginning with a
vowel, may get a linking /r/ even if there is
none in the
spelling.
This phenomena is optional and must be
indicated in transcription by an r in round
brackets.

saw us /sɔː(r) əs/ law and order /lɔː(r)/

a spa in France /spɑː(r)/
 Intrusive-R

Where can an Intrusive-R appear? Why?

vanilla ice – stay indoors

 Intrusive-R

Where can an Intrusive-R appear? Why?

vanilla(r) ice – stay indoors

So – does this always
happen between vowels?

Ø  r / V ___ V ?
Carter agreed to sign

The refugee agreed to sign

China opened the discussion

The cow opened the gate

Ø  r / V ___ V
 Linking Vowel to
Vowel
•