The document discusses different aspects of connected speech including weak forms, elision, and assimilation. It focuses on assimilation, explaining that it refers to the influence one sound has on another, making them more similar or identical. Examples of assimilation of place and voicing are provided, such as /t/ becoming /k/ before /k/, /g/ and /n/ becoming /ŋ/ before velars. Assimilation can occur between or within words and helps in understanding spoken English. It is an important aspect of connected speech.

1. Aspects of Connected
Speech
Group members:
SANA
&
SIDRA

3. Aspects of Connected Speech
• Weak Forms
• Elision
• Assimilation

25. Assimilation
• A general term phonetics which refers to the
influence exercised by one sound segment
upon the articulation of another so that the
sound become more alike, or identical.

26. /t/ + /j/ = /tS/
…but use your head! /b@tSu:z j@ hed/
what you need…. /wotSuni:d/
the ball that you brought /th@bo:lth@tSu:bro:t/
last year…. /la:stSi@/

27. /d/ + /j/ = /dZ/
could you help me? /kudZu:helpmi:/
would yours work? /wudZo:zw3:k/
she had university
exams
/Si:hadZu:ni:versItijigzamz

28. • Coalescent assimilation is common in colloquial
speech and is becoming ever more so. Note that it can
occur:
- between word boundaries (as above examples)
- within words
e.g. tube /tju:b/ = /tSu:b/

29. The fact that two extremely recurrent words in
English, you and your, start with /j/ means that
understanding of this simple mechanism is
vital to the understanding of spoken English.
Do you and also did you are often pronounced
as /dZ@/:
Do you live here? /dZ@ liv hi@/
Did you live here? /(di)dZ@ liv hi@/

30. Assimilation can be:
• of Place
• of Voicing
• of Manner
We will look at the first two

31. Assimilation of Place
The most common form involves the movement of place of
articulation of the alveolar stops /t/, /d/ and /n/ to a position
closer to that of the following sound.
For instance, in the phrase ten cars, the /n/ will usually be
articulated in a velar position, /teN ka:z/ so that the tongue
will be ready to produce the following velar sound /k/.
Similarly, in ten boys the /n/ will be produced in a bilabial
position, /tem boIz/ to prepare for the articulation of the
bilabial /b/.
This phenomenon is easy to find also in Italian: think of the
different pronunciations of the ‘n’ in Gian Paolo, Gian Franco
and Gian Carlo.

32. BEFORE A VELAR (/k/, /g/)
/n/  /ng/
e.g. bank = /baNk/
/d/  /g/
e.g. good girl = /gug g3:l/
/t/  /k/
e.g. that kid = /thak kid/

33. BEFORE A BILABIAL (/m/, /b/, /p/)
/n/  /m/
e.g. ten men /tem men/
/d/  /b/
e.g. bad boys /bab boiz/
/t/  /p/
e.g. hot mushrooms /hop muSru:mz/

34. ASSIMILATION OF VOICING
The vibration of the vocal folds is not something that can be
switched on and off very swiftly, as a result groups of
consonants tend to be either all voiced or all voiceless.
Consider the different endings of ‘dogs’ /dogz/ and ‘cats’
/kats/, of the past forms of the regular verbs such as
‘kissed’ /kist/ and ‘sneezed’ /sni:zd/.

35. The assimilation of voicing can radically
change the sound of several common
constructions:
have to
has to
/hav tu:/
/haz tu:/
/
haft@/,
/hast@/
e.g. I have to go! /aihaft@ g@U/
used to /ju:zd tu:/ /ju:st@/
e.g. I used to live near you.
/aiju:st@lIvni@ju:/