This document discusses several linguistic concepts relating to English phonetics and phonology, including: - Stress-timed rhythm and syllable-timed rhythm in different languages. - The concept of "foot" as a unit of rhythm beginning with a stressed syllable. - Stress-shift and how stress levels are adjusted based on context. - Assimilation processes like regressive and progressive assimilation that cause sounds to change between words. - Elision or deletion of sounds in casual speech like weak vowels and consonant clusters.

1. English Phonetics And Phonology

2.  Stress-timed rhythm
 Syllable-timed rhythm
 Foot
 Stress-shift
M.Mahdipour

3.  The notion of rhythm involves some
noticeable event happening at regular
intervals of time.
 It has often been claimed that English
speech is rhythmical and that the rhythm is
detectable in the regular occurrence of
stressed syllables.
M.Mahdipour

4.  This theory implies that stressed syllables will
tend to occur at relatively regular intervals
whether they are separated by unstressed
syllables or not.
 It states that in languages like English,
Russian, Arabic the times from each stressed
syllable to the next will tend to be the same,
irrespective of the number of intervening
unstressed syllables.
Ex/ `Walk `down the `path to the `end of the caǹal
M.Mahdipour

5.  The theory also claims that there is another
kind of rhythm in some languages (French)
called syllable-timed rhythm in which all
syllables whether stressed or unstressed tend
to occur at regular time intervals and the time
between stressed syllables will be shorter or
longer due to the number of unstressed
syllables.
M.Mahdipour

6.  Foot is a unit of rhythm. It begins with a
stressed syllable and includes all following
unstressed syllables up to the next stressed
syllable.
 `walk `down the `path to the `end of the ca `nal
M.Mahdipour

7.  Some feet are stronger than others,
producing strong-week patterns in larger
pieces of speech above the level of the foot.
For example; the word “twenty” has one
strong and one weak syllable, forming one
foot. And so does the word “places”.
 S W S W
 twen ty pla ces
M.Mahdipour

8.  Now consider the phrase ‘twenty places’
where ‘places’ normally carries stronger
stress.
W S
 s w s w
 twen ty pla ces
M.Mahdipour

9.  Looking at this phrase in the context of a
longer phrase “twenty places further back”,
we’ll have:
w
 w w
w w w
twen ty pla ces fur ther back
 The strength of any particular syllable can be measured by counting
up the number of times an S symbol occurs above.
M.Mahdipour

10.  English speech tends towards a regular
alternation between stronger and weaker, and
tends to adjust stress levels to bring this
about. This is the effect called stress-shift. As
you can see below, the stresses are altered
according to context.
 Compact (adj) /kəm`pækt/
 Compact disk /kɒmpækt disk/
 Westminster /west`mɪnstə/
 Westminster Abbey /`westmɪnstə `æbi/
M.Mahdipour

11.  In speaking English we vary in how
rhythmically we speak: sometimes we speak
very rhythmically (like in public speaking)
while at other times we may speak
arhythmically if we are hesitant or nervous.
 Stress-timed rhythm is characteristic of one
style of speaking, not of English speech as a
whole.
M.Mahdipour

12.  Regressive
 Progressive (Coalescent)
 Assimilation of place
 Assimilation of voice
M.Mahdipour

13.  In natural connected speech, sounds belonging
to one word can cause changes in sounds
belonging to neighbouring words. we call this
difference assimilation.
……. Cf Ci ……..
word boundary
 Assimilation is sth which varies in extent
according to speaking rate and style and is
more likely to be found in rapid, casual speech.
M.Mahdipour

14.  If Cf changes to become
like Ci in some way, the
assimilation is called
regressive.( The
following phoneme
affects on its preceding)
 If Ci changes to become
like Cf, then the
assimilation is called
progressive. This kind of
assimilation is sometimes
called Coalescence.
 In words like:
 Not yet & could you
 A final t,d and an initial j
following often combine to
form tʃ, ʤ, so that ‘not yet’
 Is pronounced /nɒʧet/
and ‘could you’ is /kʊʤu/.
2.1 Regressive assimilation 2.2 Progressive assimilation
M.Mahdipour

15.  This is the case parallel to regressive/progressive where
a Cf with alveolar place of articulation is followed by an
Ci with a place of articulation that is not alveolar.
 ex/ that person is /ðæp pɜ‫׃‬sn/
that man /ðæp mæn/
meat pie /mi‫׃‬p paı/
that case /ðæk keıs/
bright colour /braık kΛlə/
good boy /gʊb bɔı/
bad thing /bæd̥ Ɵıŋ/
card game /kɑ‫׃‬g geım/
green paper /gr‫׃‬m peıpə/
ten girls /teŋ gɜ‫׃‬lz/
this shoe /ðıʃ ʃu‫/׃‬
those years /ðəʊʒ jıəz/
M.Mahdipour

16.  It is important to know the consonants that have
undergone assimilation have not disappeared; the
duration of consonants remains more or less what
one would expect for a two-consonant cluster.
 The change in the manner of articulation is most
likely towards an easier consonant which makes less
obstruction to the airflow.
A case of progressive assimilation where Ci
becomes identical in manner to the Cf.
ex/ in the /ın ðə/ /ın̥n̥ə/
get them /get ðəm/ /gettəm/
read these /ri‫׃‬d ði‫׃‬z/ /ri‫׃‬ddi‫׃‬z/
M.Mahdipour

17.  This is found in a limited way and there is only regressive
assimilation of voice.
 If Cf is a lenis (voiced) consonant and Ci is fortis (voiceless)
the lenis consonant often becomes voiceless too.
 ex/ I have to /aı hæf tu/
 A type of assimilation that has become fixed is the
progressive assimilation of vioce with the suffixes s,z
 (3rd person singular, plural, possessive) where S is
pronounced as /S/ if the preceding consonant is fortis
(voiceless) and as /Z/ if the preceding consonant is lenis
(voiced).
 Cats /kæts/ dogs /dɒgz/
 Jumps /dʒΛmps/ runs /rΛnz/
 Pat’s /pæts/ pam’s/pæmz/
M.Mahdipour

18.  Assimilation creates sth of a problem for
phoneme theory:
 For example when d in good/gʊd/ in the context
‘good girl’ gives /gʊg gɜ‫׃‬l/ or b in the context
‘good boy’ /gʊb bɔı/ should we say that one
phoneme has been substituted for another?
 English has no dental or labiodental plosive
phonemes, so in these cases, although there is
clearly assimilation , there could not be said to
be a substitution of one phoneme for another.
The alternative is to say that assimilation causes
a phoneme to be realized by a different
allophone. This would mean that the phoneme d
of ‘good’ has velar and bilabial allophones.
M.Mahdipour

19.  In certain circumstances a phoneme
may be realised as zero or have zero
realisation or be deleted, this is called
Elision.
 It is typical of rapid, casual speech.
M.Mahdipour

20. 1. Loss of weak vowel after p,t,k:
potato, tomato, canary, perhaps, today.
2. Weak vowel + n, l, r becomes syllabic
consonant:
tonight /tn̥aıt/ police/pl̥i‫׃‬s/ correct/kr̥ekt/
3. Avoidance of complex consonant clusters:
acts/æks/ looked back/lʊk bæk/ scripts/skrıps/
4. Loss of final v in ‘of’ before consonants:
Lots of them/lɒts ə ðəm/ west of money/weıst ə mΛni/
M.Mahdipour

21.  Had, would (‘d) : pronounced /d/ (after vowels), /əd/ (after
consonants)
 Is, has (‘s): pronounced /s/ (after fortis consonants), /z/
(after lenis consonants)
 Will (‘ll): pronounced /l/ (after vowels), /l̥/ (after consonants)
 Have (‘ve): pronounced /v/ (after vowels), /əv/ (after
consonants)
 Are (‘re): pronounced /ə/, /ər/(after vowels)
M.Mahdipour

22.  In real connected speech we link words
together in a number of ways. The most
familiar case is the use of linking r.
 ‘Here’ /hıə/ but ‘here are’/hıər ə/
 ‘Four’ /fɔ‫/׃‬ but ‘four eggs’/fɔ‫׃‬r egz/
M.Mahdipour

23.  It is using r for linking words ending with a
vowel, even when there is no justification.
 Formula A /fɔ‫׃‬mjələr eı/
 Australia all out /ɒstreıliər ɔ‫׃‬l aʊt/
 Media event /mi‫׃‬diər ıvent/
M.Mahdipour

24.  Linking r and intrusive r are special cases of juncture. Take a look at
some other examples:
 my turn /maı tɜ‫׃‬n/ long aı, aspirated t
 might earn/maıt ɜ‫׃‬n/ shortened aı, unaspirated t
 my train /maı treın/
 might rain /mait rein/
 Tray lending /treı lendiŋ/ long eı, clear l
 Trail ending /treıl endiŋ/ shortened eı, dark l
 keeps ticking t aspirated in ticking
 keep sticking t unaspirated after s
M.Mahdipour

25. M.Mahdipour