English Phonetics: Connected Speech Processes and Phoneme Analysis

Voice Onset Time (VOT)

The moment in which voicing starts, relative to the release of a closure. We can find three types of VOT: voice lead, short lag VOT, and long lag VOT. Phonetically voiced and voiceless sounds are determined by VOT.

Prefortis Clipping

A fortis (voiceless) sound following in the same syllable causes the following vowel to be shorter than it would be in another environment.

Connected Speech Assimilation

A type of adjustment in connected speech during which a given sound (the assimilating sound) takes on the characteristics of a neighboring sound (the conditioning sound). Types: partial or complete, adjacent or non-adjacent, progressive or regressive.

• Regressive: The assimilated sound precedes and is affected by the conditioning sound. It is related to the instability of final alveolars. Word-final /t, d, n, s, z/ readily assimilate to the place of the following word-initial consonant whilst retaining the original voicing.
• Progressive: The conditioning sound precedes and affects the following sound. This type of assimilation is relatively uncommon. It may occur when a plosive is followed by a syllabic nasal, and the nasal undergoes assimilation to the same place of articulation as the preceding plosive.
• Coalescence: The first sound and second sound in a sequence come together and mutually condition the creation of a third sound with features from both original sounds.

Elision

Consists of omitting either a vowel or a consonant, as can be seen in Eng. Postman /ˈpəʊstmən/.

Linking /r/

RP introduces word-final post-vocalic /r/ as a linking form when the following word begins with a vowel. For example: /'leɪtə/ - /'leɪtər `ɒn/.

Intrusive /r/

It is also possible for /r/ to be pronounced when no "r" appears in the spelling. Word-final /ə/ is generally the result of spelling "Vr," as in father, doctor, but when it is the result of spelling "a," many English speakers tend to insert /r/.

Compression

When a given articulation, either a vowel or consonant, is performed in a shorter space of time. This occurs, for instance, when vowels are reduced to semi-vowels, as in Eng. To open /’twəʊpən/.

Phoneme vs. Allophone

Phoneme

The smallest contrastive phonological unit which can produce a difference of meaning.

Allophone

The realization of a phoneme. Two or more phones can be:

• Contrastive distribution: Minimal pairs → different phonemes.
• Non-contrastive distribution (no minimal pairs).
• Complementary distribution: Never in the same context but in mutually exclusive contexts.
• Free variation: In the same context but no change in meaning.

The Phonemic Principle

Two or more sounds are realizations of the same phoneme if they are in complementary distribution or phonemically distributed. Two or more sounds are realizations of different phonemes if they are in parallel (overlapping) distribution and signal a semantic contrast.