Phonetics
Versie: 2014
Phonetics Programme
Period 1 (2 hrs per week)
Week
Reader Phonetics EPST
1, 2
3, (4), 5
6, 7, 8
Intro + Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
7
10
8&9
Transcription App. 2
The Production of Speech
The Consonants of RP
The Vowels of RP
A–C
Period 2 (2 hrs per week)
Week
Reader Phonetics EPST
Transcription App. 1
1
2, 3
4, 5, 6
7
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
1
2
6
5
8
Diagnostic Test
Theory en Transcription
Spelling and Pronunciation
Predictable Pronunciations
Vowel Duration
The Acquisition Process
1, 2
3, 4, 5, 6
7, 8, 9
10
Period 3 (2 hrs per week)
Week
Reader Phonetics EPST
1, 2, 3, 4
5, 6, 7, 8
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
4
3
9
Exam
Theory
Transcription App. 1+2
Gradation Words
Word Stress
11 – 15 + D – F
16 – 20 + G – H
Period 4 (3 hrs per week, PT 2 hrs)
Week
Reader Phonetics EPST
Transcription App. 1+2
1, 2, 3
3, 4
4, 5
6, 7, 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
11
12
13
14
9
10
11
Exam
Resit
Resit
Transcription
Theory
Transcription
Allophones of RP (Plosives)
Allophones of RP (Fricatives/Affricates)
Allophones of RP (Nasals/Approximants)
Assimilation
Note: order of chapters in reader are different to chapters in book.
21 – 24
I–J
Diacritics
Diacritics
HOW TO ACQUIRE A CHARMING ENGLISH ACCENT
If you would like to acquire a charming English accent, bully for you! Both you and your future
pupils will value this immensely. To acquire such an accent, study the reader, attend phonetics
classes, clock language lab hours, and attend Skills lessons. To prepare effectively for the exam,
the following is strongly recommended:
1. Immediately learn the phonetic symbols by heart. English words are frequently spelled
differently than they are pronounced. From the beginning, make the effort to memorise the
phonetic symbols so that you can read and write in phonetic script. You will then also be able
to consult pronunciation in a dictionary.
2. Consistently apply weak and strong forms. Native speakers are lazy speakers – They
don’t carefully pronounce everything! Sounding native means knowing which sounds you may
weaken.
3. Distinguish between syllable-final fortis and lenis consonants. What is the difference
between “bat” and “bad”? The “t” and the “d”, right? No, sorry. The difference is in the length
of the vowel. This is a very common Dutch mistake. Most Dutch people say: “The bat boy” for
“bad boy” or “He is a mat cat” for “He is a “mad cad”.
4. Make sure that / v, z / and / g / are voiced. Don’t say: “The ferry fast fehicle”.
5. Use a truly English / r /. Avoid trilling your /r/ or using a fricative /r/.
6.
Pronounce your “th”s correctly. The dentals / D / & / T / are often pronounced as /s, f/ or
/t/. A Dutch person might say: “ I tought I taw a puddy tat” or “I faught I taw a puddy tat.”
7. Aspirate syllable-initial, fortis plosives. Say: Phhat (pat) Khhat (cat) Thhab (tab).
8. Preglottalise syllable-final fortis plosives. Hold your breath shortly before /p,t,k/ at the end
of syllables.
9. Carefully dinstinguish between /&/ and /e/. Dutch Students frequently pronounce the
following words as if they were the same: bed-bad, bet-bad, head-hat, set-sat, said-sad.
10. Use RP / V / instead of AN / y / as in “cup, such, money”.
11. The absence of liaison, including linking /r/, may be so striking in a Dutch accent that
the listener’s attention is drawn to it.
12. Undesirable assimilations like regressive voicing before / b, d / and progressive
devoicing of / v, z / may be particularly conspicuous and should therefore be avoided.
13. Avoid “Trans-Atlantic” English. British and American pronunciations are both
internationally recognised accents. This phonetics course focuses on RP English. This
naturally does not mean that an American pronunciation is incorrect. However, please do be
consistent! (RP speakers, please note: No syllable-final /r/! = as in “borrrred”)
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
The Production of Speech
The Consonants of RP
The Vowels of RP: Monophthongs & Diphthongs
Spelling and Pronunciation
Predictable Pronunciations
Allophonic Duration
The Acquisition Process
Gradation Words
Word Stress
Allophones of RP (Plosives)
Allophones of RP (Fricatives/Affricates)
Allophones of RP (Nasals/Approximants)
Assimilation
Naar:
Gussenhoven & Broeders,
English Pronunciation for Student Teachers, Second Edition, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1997.
5
10
15
25
28
36
42
44
53
60
66
70
75
CHAPTER 1: THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH (Chapter 7 from EPST)
Phonetics is all about the pronunciation of sounds, words, phrases, and sentences. In this
course we will study the standard accent spoken in England. This accent is known as RP,
which is an abbreviation of Received Pronunciation (generally accepted pronunciation,
comparable to Dutch AN (Algemeen Nederlands)). RP is the accent most commonly taught
to foreign learners of English in Europe and in many other parts of the world.
In order to gain some understanding of the pronunciation of English sounds it is useful to
have a closer look at how speech is produced in general.
Before a speaker begins to speak, she first breathes in, taking in sufficient air to poduce an
utterance of reasonable length. The amount of speech produced on a single outgoing
airstream is called a breath group. Some people tend to use up too much air when they
speak, which forces them to break up their speech production rather frequently, and to
stumble a lot when reading a text. If you find that you do this, practice maintaining a vowel
sound (like the one the doctor might ask you to produce when he wants to look in your
mouth: aaah) for some twenty seconds without straining yourself and without taking an
abnormally deep breath before you start. Then try to read a fairly easy text on the same long
breath, again without straining yourself.
The first important organ the airstream will meet on its path from the lungs is the larynx
(Dutch: strottenhoofd). The outward part of this organ can be felt – and especially in men, be
seen – at the front of the neck (the Adam’s apple). The larynx is essentially a valve, which
can be opened and closed by moving two thickish flaps that run from back to front apart or
together. These flaps are primarily there to prevent food particles or saliva from entering the
lungs, but because they also have a function in speech they are known as the vocal folds or
the vocal cords (see the pictures below). The aperture (opening between the vocal cords is
called the glottis. No air can pass through when the glottis is closed, and when it is open, air
can flow through quite freely.
In the table (below the following pictures) you can see what types of sounds can be produced
with different states of the glottis.
a. Glottis held open during
ordinary breathing or while
producing voiceless (Du
stemloos) consonants.
b. Narrowed glottis
Loud whisper
c. Closing phase during
voiced sounds (vibrating
glottis) or a glottal stop / ʔ /
(closed glottis).
/ f /, / S / in fish
/ s / in say
/ h / in house
RP / h / is actually a
whisphered vowel
See below for explanation of
glottal stop.
-5-
d vibrating (no picture because we are talking about a moving image)
d. In the case of voiced
sounds the glottis is closed
and subjected to air pressure
which makes the vocal cords
vibrate: phonation (Du
stemhebbend).
/ m / in my
/ eI / in say
Many consonants and all vowels, except when whispered, are voiced.
The symbols used between slant lines in the table above are phonetics symbols that
represent a certain sound in RP English. The characters come form the IPA alphabet
(International Phonetic Association). In order to represent the pronunciation of English words
unambiguously we make use of a transcription system. Such a system is, in a way, an
improved alphabet: every consonant and every vowel (every phoneme) has its own symbol.
You will learn more about the symbols for the phonemes of RP in Chapter 2 and 3.
The vocal tract
From the larynx the airstream enters the vocal tract (Dutch: spreekkanaal), a tube extending
all the way from the vocal cords to the lips and/or nostrils. It consists of the pharynx (Dutch:
keel), the mouth, and – assuming that the soft palate (zachte gehemelte) is down – the
nasal cavity. The soft palate is a valve, which closes off the entrance to the nasal cavity
when it is pressed up, but opens the cavity when it is allowed to hang down, as in ordinary
breathing. (When we have a cold, the entrance to the nasal cavity may be blocked by mucus,
which forces us to breathe through the mouth).
In the vocal tract the airstream coming from the larynx is (further) modified so as to produce
all the different shades of sound – in vowels as well as in consonants – that we can produce.
The mouth
The mouth is the most important part of the vocal tract because it is there that the most
important modifications of its shape are achieved and that the majority of the articulatory
contacts are made. The roof of the mouth is formed by the soft palate, with the uvula (Dutch:
huig) at the extreme end, which can easily be seen with the aid of a mirror. To the front of the
soft palate lies the hard palate, or simply palate (Dutch: (harde) gehemelte): if you curl your
tongue up, you can feel the hard palate arching back to where the soft palate begins.
Immediately behind the front teeth is the alveolar ridge, which you touch with the tongue
when you say dada; then there are the front teeth themselves and the upper lip. Below
these parts there are the more active speech organs: the lower lip and the tongue. The
narrow zone immediately behind the tip of the tongue is called the blade. You use it when
imitating the sharp, hissing sound of a snake. The part of the tongue opposite the hard palate
is called the front, the part opposite the soft palate is called the back, and the part opposite
the back wall of the pharynx is the root. There is an additional valve, called the epiglottis,
positioned above the larynx where the root of the tongue begins. It normally points upward,
but it flaps down to channel food and saliva into the esophagus (Dutch: slokdarm) – the tube
behind the larynx leading to the stomach – when we swallow.
-6-
Lateral cross section of speech tract
Glottal stop / ʔ /
For the articulation of the glottal stop / ʔ /, the vocal cords are shut tightly so as to form a
complete closure beneath which the air from the lungs is compressed and which is
subsequently abruptly released (see also Chapter 11, p. 136 of EPST).
Dutch: ‘beoog’ / b@ ʔo:x /
Or sing along with Lenny Kravitz: “It aint over till it’s over” / Iʔ ʔeInʔ ʔ@Uv@ tIl ʔIts ʔ@Uv@ /.
Pitch
The number of times the vocal cords open and close per second or frequency of vibration is
expressed in Herz (Hz). Variations in the frequency of vibration are perceived as variations in
pitch (Dutch: toonhoogte). Pitch signals the intonation of the utterance in English and Dutch.
Pitch also signals important accents.
-7-
Three types of voicing
1. normal voice
produced when no particular adjustments are made (for most people).
2. creaky voice
produced when vocal cords are tensed, resulting in a type of phonation in which
the opening actions of the vocal cords can be heard separately. The effect is like
running a fingernail along the teeth of a comb. A relaxed type of creaky voice is
characteristic of (male use of) RP.
3. breathy voice
produced when part of the glottis is held open and part vibrates. Breathy voice
(Du lichthese stem) is very common in Dutch and seems to be typical of female
speech especially.
The Dutch vowel / h / is a vowel pronounced with breathy voice. In RP breathy
voice does not normally occur.
Some information on /h/
AN (Algemeen Nederlands) /h/ is a vowel said with breathy voice, and is therefore voiced.
RP /h/ is a whispered vowel and therefore voiceless. Compare Dutch ‘hoe’ with English
‘how’.
Assignments
1. Explain the terms in Dutch:
alveolar ridge
blade
pitch
breath group
back
larynx
pharynx
glottis
soft palate
voice
whisper
breathy voice
2. Fill in the following grid:
/h/
/r/
/ʔ /
/k/
/n/
/w/
/p/
/e/
Open glottis
Narrowed glottis
Vibrating glottis
Closed glottis
-8-
Breath groups:
How many breath groups are there in the first paragraph below (‘A breath group…’)? _____
Check your answer with the other members of your group.
A breath group (also called tone unit) is defined here as an amount of speech produced on a
single outgoing airstream. It may be one word, e.g. ‘Really!’ ‘Ah...’ ‘However’. Quite often a
breath group coincides with a grammatical clause, separated from other clauses by punctuation:
a comma, a colon, or a semi-colon. A full stop always indicates the end of a breath group.
Conjunctions (e.g. and, but) linking clauses usually herald the beginning of a new breath group.
It is usually the last accented syllable of a tone group that has the highest pitch. For reasons of
contrast, the highest pitch might be on a different syllable, however. Knowing which syllable has
the highest pitch will greatly improve your reading of English. So, normally the highest pitch will
be on the accented syllable ‘ta-‘ form ‘table’ in the sentence: ‘That’s when he left the table’. But
when the speaker wants to put the focus on the fact that now it was the turn of the man to leave
the table in contrast to the fact that the woman had already left the table (what, supposedly, had
already been mentioned), the highest pitch will be on ‘he’.
-9-
CHAPTER 2: THE CONSONANTS OF RP (Chapter 10 from EPST)
The articulation of consonants typically involves some sort of interference with the outgoing
airstream from the lungs. The air is not allowed to escape freely through the oral (and nasal)
cavity as it is in the case of vowels, but meets with a constriction (Dutch: vernauwing) at
some point in the speech tract. Consonants derive their quality from the type of constriction
made to form them.
In the case of consonants we describe their quality by specifying their place of articulation
(e.g. bilabial, alveolar, etc.), the type or articulatory contact made/manner of articulation (e.g.
plosive or fricative), and finally their laryngeal / l@’rIndZ@l / characteristics/state of the glottis
(fortis/lenis). We will discuss this in more detail in this chapter.
In the case of vowels we talk about the approximate tongue/jaw and lip positions involved in
their production (see Chapter 3).
The consonants of RP
The consonants of RP fall into the following groups:
Consonants
Obstruents
Plosives
Fricatives
/p,b/ Peter, Bridget
/t,d/ Ted, Daisy
/k,g/ Ken, Gertrude
/s,z/
/S,Z/
/f,v/
/T,D/
/h/
Sonorants
Affricates
Sam, Zelda
/tS,dZ/ Charles, Jill
Sean, Eugene
Frank, Vivien
Theodore, Heather
Harry
Nasals
/m/
/n/
/N/
Approximants
Molly
Nancy
Bing
/l/
/r/
/j/
/w/
The obstruents mentioned first in each pair are called fortis (Latin for ‘strong’), and the ones
that are mentioned second are called lenis (Latin for ‘weak’). The terms fortis and lenis refer
to the type of airstream that accompanies the production of consonants. Fortis consonants
have a strong airstream; lenis consonants have a weak airstream. Compare the strength of
the air that hits your upper lip when you pronounce /t/ (fortis) and /d/ (lenis).
The quality of consonants:
1. Manner of articulation
Obstruents
Obstruents have an obstruction of the air stream, which characterises their articulation.
The vocal tract may be blocked or narrowed, while for sonorants the air escapes freely.
 Plosives or stops (Dutch: plosieven)  are formed by creating a complete closure
somewhere in the vocal tract, behind which air pressure from the lungs builds up until
the closure is abruptly released so that the air explodes outwards: the closing,
compression and release stage.
/ p, t, k, b, d, g / pear, tell, cow, boar, door, gore
 Fricatives (Dutch: fricatieven)  formed by narrowing the vocal tract so that friction is
produced.
E.g. voiceless / T / thin, nothing and voiced / Z / vision, decision
 Affricates (Dutch: affricaten)  begin like plosives and end like fricatives.
E.g. / dZ / Roger
- 10 -
Lorna
Richard
Yorick
Winifred
Sonorants
Pronounced with a relatively free escape of air through the oral or nasal cavity. These
consonants sound a lot like vowels; we can use a sonorant consonant to hum a song.
 Nasals (Dutch: nasalen)  derive their name from the nasal escape of the airstream:
the soft palate is lowered and the oral cavity is blocked to prevent air from escaping
through the mouth.
/ m, n, N / more, never, king
 Approximants (Dutch: approximanten)  derive their name from the approximation
(=drawing together of articulators so that a light or near-contact arises), the airstream
being so weak that no friction is produced.
Lateral / l / later – here the airstream is partly blocked by the tongue, but allowed to
escape freely on one or both sides, i.e. laterally.
2. Place of articulation
The various places of articulation that influence the production of consonants are listed
below:
bilabial
two lips articulating: bumpy
labio-dental
lower lip articulates with upper teeth: fee
labio-velar
lips articulate, and back of the tongue with the velum: what
dental
tip of tongue articulates with upper teeth: / T / thing and / D / this
alveolar
tip articulates with alveolar ridge: RP / t, d, n, l / telly. Dolly, Lenny
blade-alveolars occur in: sissy, easy.
post-alveolar
tip articulates with rear edge of alveolar ridge: / r / Henry
palato-alveolar
blade articulates with alveolar ridge while front tongue is raised toward
hard palate: / S / shore, / Z / measure.
palatal
front of tongue articulates with hard palate: franje (Dutch)
velar
back of tongue articulates with soft palate: velar / k / key
glottal
vocal cords articulate with each other: / h / how
the glottal stop may be heard before a vowel: Au! (Dutch)
- 11 -
State of the glottis
Consonants may be voiced or voiceless. They are voiced if they are pronounced with vocal
cord vibration, like in mother, ago. They are voiceless if they are pronounced without
vibration like in fish or post.
It is possible that an otherwise voiced consonant can be partially devoiced in certain
environments: e.g. / l / in play, where the glottal opening needed to pronounce voiceless / p /
is carried through into the / l /. The context determines the otherwise voiced / l / to be
voiceless here.
The articulation of glottal stops involves a closed glottis.
Remember the four possible openings of the vocal cords:
A: open glottis resulting in voiceless sounds
B: narrowed glottis: /h/
C: closed glottis: glottal stop
D: vibrating glottis (no picture): resulting in voiced sounds
Fortis and lenis
Consonants divide into pairs whose place of articulation is the same: / p, b /, / t, d /, / s, z /,
etc. In Dutch the pairs consist of a voiceless and a voiced member: peer and beer, etc. In
English this is not the case, here we divide the pairs into fortis (strong) and lenis (weak). The
difference between RP price and prize is largely a matter of vowel duration in prize (see
Chapter 6).
Notice that the number of consonants in Dutch and English varies. English has / T, D, tS, dZ /
as in thin, this, chin and gin. Conversely Dutch has / x / (harde ‘g’) as is kachel, which does
not occur in RP, but does, however, occur in Scottish English loch, as in Loch Ness.
Notice that the glottal fricative RP / h / differs from other fricatives in that it does not have
fortis or lenis or voiced or voiceless versions. Where Dutch / h / is voiced, RP / h / is
voiceless (whispered).
Assimilation
When a consonant adopts certain features of pronunciation from a neighbouring consonant,
it assimilates to that consonant (see Chapter 13). Unlike RP, Dutch is rich in such
assimilations.
Examples:
Dutch / s / occurs in opzij instead of / z / under the influence of preceding / p /.
Dutch / z / occurs in losbol instead of / s / under the influence of following / b /.
The context determines whether this phenomenon occurs in Dutch.
- 12 -
Assignments
1. Give the symbol for:
a fortis bilabial plosive
a velar nasal
a fortis dental fricative
an alveolar approximant
a fortis velar plosive
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
2. Give the three term labels for the following consonants:
/ k /
/ j /
/ z /
/ m /
/ h /
3. Which is the odd one out and why?
/ p /, / d /, / b /, / S /
/ t /, / d /, / f /, / T /
/ d /, / S /, / s /, / t /, / z /
/ b /, / d /, / z /, / Z /, / h /
4. Which of the RP consonants (below) is/are not used in AN (Algemeen Nederlands)?
What would be the consequence of its/their absence on Dutch leaners of English?
___
The Consonant System of RP
fortis
lenis
nasal
bilabial
p
b
m
labio-dental
f
v
lateral
labio-velar
w
dental
T
D
alveolar
t
d
alveolar
s
z
post-alveolar
tr
dr
palato-alveolar
tS/ S
dZ / Z
n
glottal
l
r
palatal
velar
other
j
k
g
N
h
- 13 -
The consonant chart below summarises and structures the possible consonant qualities.
Consonant chart
symbol
fortis / lenis
p
Fortis
b
Lenis
place
manner
bi-labial
plosive
m
nasal
f
Fortis
v
Lenis
T
Fortis
D
Lenis
t
Fortis
d
Lenis
s
Fortis
z
Lenis
labio-dental
fricative
dental
fricative
plosive
alveolar
fricative
l
approximant
n
nasal
r
post-alveolar
S
Fortis
Z
Lenis
tS
Fortis
dZ
Lenis
j
k
Fortis
g
Lenis
approximant
fricative
palato-alveolar
affricate
palatal
approximant
velar
plosive
N
nasal
w
labio/velar
approximant
h
glottal
fricative
- 14 -
CHAPTER 3: THE VOWELS OF RP (Chapter 8 and 9 from EPST)
For a detailed description of English vowels compared to Dutch vowels you can read
the section TALKING ABOUT VOWELS, pp. 34 – 74, in Sounding Better, A practical
Guide for Speakers of Dutch, by Collins, a.o.
The vowels of RP
RP divides its vowel system into two classes, lax vowels and tense vowels. The lax vowels
are usually short, and do not change their quality (monophthongs). Tense vowels are long,
and can either be monophthongs (one sound units) like /i:/, /O:/, or diphthongs (two sound
units) like /aI/, /OI/.
Vowels
Lax (short)
Tense (long)
Monophthongs
Monophthongs
Diphthongs
/I/
/U/
/e/
/& /
/V/
/Q/
/@/
/i/
/u/
/ i: /
/ u: /
/ A: /
/ O: /
/ 3: /
/ eI /
/ aI /
/ OI /
/ aU /
/ @U /
/ I@ /
/ e@ /
/ U@ /
Linda
Woody
Fred
Ann
Douglas
Tom
Amelia
Shirley
Louise
Jean
Susan
Margaret
George
Herbert
Jane
Michael
Roy
Howard
Joan
Deirdre
Mary
Yuri
We will study vowels by means of a vowel diagram which is a longitudinal cross-section
(dwarsdoorsnede) of the mouth, in which the position of the tongue/jaw can be indicated. The
lip position is also indicated.
- 15 -
The quality of vowels can be described by means of three elements: the quality is the way
in which the shape of the speech tract can be modified to produce different vowels:
1. A raised soft palate will exclude the nasal cavity resulting in the production of oral vowels.
The soft palate can be lowered to include the nasal cavity as a resonator, which results in
the production of nasalised vowels.
Examples:
enfin (Dutch) / Afî /
un bon vin blanc (French) / 9 bï vî blì /
RP does not have nasalised vowels.
2. The lips can be spread, which results in unrounded vowels (as in ‘fit’).
The lips can be rounded, to produce rounded vowels (as in ‘food’).
In the vowel diagram rounded vowels are indicated by means of a circle, unrounded
vowel by means of a square.
3. There are four tongue-heights that matter in the production of vowels:
close, mid-close, mid-open, open; as well as three zones: front, central, and back.
(see p. 114 of EPST)
Before we move to the specific vowel diagrams of RP and AN we concentrate on the
difference between monophthongs and diphthongs.
Monophthongs
Vowels that are produced by means of a more or less stationary tongue and lip
position.
Diphthongs
Vowels that are produced by means of a movement of the tongue known as the
tongue glide, which may be accompanied by a change in lip position.
The starting point of a diphthongal glide is known as the first element and is indicated
in the vowel diagram in the same way as a monophthong, while the target of the glide
is called the second element, indicated by means of an arrow.
On the next page you will find four vowel diagrams. The top left one (Figure 2) shows the
position where the RP monophthongs are produced. The top right diagram (Figure 3)
focuses on the RP diphthongs. The bottom left vowel diagram (Figure 4) shows the
monophtongs of AN (Algemeen Nederlands = Dutch) and the bottom right diagram (Figure 5)
shows the diphthongs of AN.
- 16 -
The vowel diagrams:
All RP vowels are oral vowels. Therefore, we label a vowel as being either
- close, mid-close, mid-open, or open;
- front, central, or back, and;
- rounded or unrounded
Three-term labels for Vowels:
/i:/ and /i/
/I/
/u:/ and /u/
/U/
/e/
/&/
/V/
/Q/
/A;/
/O:/
/3:/
/@/
close/mid-close
mid-close
close/mid-close
mid-close
mid-open
open
mid-open
mid-open
open
mid-close
mid-open/mid-close
mid-open/mid-close
front
front
back
back
front
front
central/front
back
back
back
central
central
unrounded
unrounded
rounded
rounded
unrounded
unrounded
unrounded
rounded
unrounded
rounded
unrounded
unrounded
- 17 -
Smoothing
The tendency to weaken the diphthongal nature of RP / eI, aI, @U, aU, OI / before
vowels.
Example: chaos / ‘keIQs /
The tongue movement short-cuts the second element of / eI /, and goes straight from
the position of / e / to / Q /. Because the first element will be lengthened to make up
for the time normally spent on the pronunciation of the whole diphthong, the process
could be represented as: / ‘ke;Qs / This is called smoothing.
Very common smoothed forms are: / aI@ / sire and / aU@ / sour
sire / a@ /
sour / A@ /
Before / l /, a similar reduction of the second element occurs:
trail / treIl / sounds like portrayal / pO:’treI@l /, and
Nile resembles dial, and
owl resembles vowel, and finally
oil sounds like royal.
Monophthonging
The tendency for RP /I@, e@, U@ / to become monophthongs.
In accented syllables RP / I@ / tends to be monophthongised to its first element: a
vowel which is slightly opener than RP / I /.
RP / e@ / tends to be monophthongised to its first element: a mid-open, front,
unrounded vowel, much like AN / E: / (of crème).
When RP / U@ / is monophthongised, it merges with RP / O: /. It has become
monophthongised in the speech of many speakers, there being no difference
between poor and pore, pour, paw; between sure and shore, Shaw; between moor
and more, maw; between tour and tore. Similarly, you may pronounce bureau,
Europe, tourist as / ‘bjO;r@U, ‘jO:r@p, ‘tO;rIst/, etc.
The smoothed vowels / a@ / and / A@ / from sire and sour, respectively, are also
monophthongised. They become the monophthongised smooth vowels /a: / and /A:
/In non-final positions they may sound like the monophthong RP /A: /.
environment /In’vA:r@(n)m@nt /
Ireland /’A:l@nd /
overpowering /’@Uv@’pA:rIN /
showery /’SA:ri /
Dutch learners tend to produce a / j / between RP / i: / or an RP diphthong ending in /
I / and a following vowel, as in:
skiing, playing, crying, enjoying,
and a / w / between RP / u: / or an RP diphthong ending in / U / and a following vowel,
as in:
doing, going, allowing. DON’T DO THIS!
Weak vowels
Unstressed syllables allow a much smaller set of vowels than do stressed syllables. These
vowels are called weak vowels. RP / i /, / u /, and / @ / can only occur in unstressed
syllables. The commonest weak vowel is / @ / (schwa). However, vowels in unstressed
syllables are not always weak, e.g. /f&k’tIS@s, k@’mIz@reIt /. RP / I / (as in roses) and / U /
(as in popular) can occur in unstressed syllables, usually as alternatives for / @ /.
- 18 -
RP / i /
Used word finally:
city / ‘sIti /, coffee / ‘kQfi /, committee / kQ’mIti /, whisk(e)y / ‘wIski/, psyche / ‘saIki /
and before vowels, as in:
Mediocre / ‘mi:di’@Uk@ /, medium / ‘mi:di@m /.
RP / u /
In weak syllables word internally before weak vowels:
usual , influence,
or before stressed syllables:
Kuwait / ku’weIt /, educate / ‘edju’keIt /, innuendo / ‘Inju’end@U /.
Weak RP / I /
The past, genitive and plural suffixes have / I / as in:
She wanted George’s kisses / Si ‘wQntId ‘dZO:dZIz kIsIz / (see Chapter 5).
In word-final syllables before velar or palato-alveolar consonants ( / tS, dZ, k, g, N / ):
Spinach, village, toxic, eating.
Also in word-final –ket
pocket, market (even though non-finally / @ / may be used, as in villagers, pocketing).
As a result / I / and / @ / contrast in weak syllables, as in:
potted – pottered
villages – villagers
offices – officers
gimmick – stomach / ‘gImIk / - / ‘stVm@k /
Lenin – Lennon
So the plural of 'village' is to be pronounced /'vIlIdZIz/ and the plural of 'villager'
/'vIlIdZ@z/ (see also Chapter 5).
RP / @ /
RP / @ / is a central vowel (take a look at the vowel diagram), between mid-close and
mid-open, as in about, ago. In word-final position villa, banana.
Suffixes other than -age, -ing typically have / @ /, like -ace, -ate, -est, -ity, itive, -ily, less, -ness, as in:
menace / ‘men@s /
climate / ‘klaIm@t /
nicest / ‘naIs@st /
vanity / ‘v&n@ti /
repetitive / r@’pet@tIv /
merrily / ‘mer@li /
heartless / ‘hA:tl@s /
goodness / ‘gUdn@s /
Weak /I, U/ are used in careful styles where /@/ is used in more relaxed styles. Examples:
minimum /'mIn@m@m/, assimi'lation /@%sIm@'leISn /, binoculars /bI'nQkj@l@z/, stimulate
/'stImj@leIt/.
Before accented syllables /I/ is preferred. Examples: de'sign, pre'fer, ex'plain, re'port.
- 19 -
Assignment 1
As in Dutch, vowels are often weak in unstressed syllables. Use /I/, /i/ or /@/ for the
underlined vowels:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
coffee
spinach
pocket
buses
pretty
compare
wanted
village
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
Assignment 2
As was said earlier, vowels in unstressed syllables are not always weak. Give the correct
pronunciation of the underlined vowels in:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
access
commerce
peanut
comment
record (n)
adult
programme
proverb
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
Vowel substitution table
The table below specifies the most common phoneme substitutions that a Dutch learner of
English is likely to make during the acquisition process.
RP phoneme
Condition / context
e
&
+ fortis C
Q
before nasal
V
with o
unstressed
Dutch phoneme used Examples of English
by learner
words
bet
E (ets)
bat
E (ets)
bad
E: (crème)
common
A (pan)
borrow
O (bok)
other
O (bok)
bubble
Y of 9 (put of oeuvre)
unwise
@ (eten)
Clarification of Dutch phonetic symbols used in the third column:
/E /
ets
/ E: / crème
/A/
pan
/O/
bok
/Y/
put
/ 9 / oeuvre
/@/
eten, Joke
- 20 -
For a detailed vowel substitution table you can study p. 113 of EPST or read the
section Part V, Error Analysis pp. 102 – 106, in Sounding Better, A practical Guide for
Speakers of Dutch, by Collins, a.o.
Assignments:
1. What is smoothing –provide examples.
2. Transcribe the following words:
tonnage
divinity
terrace
merrily
renounce
hopeless
riches
richest
dialect
activity
programme
campaign
record (noun)
contain
robot
petition
fantastic
partition
- 21 -
MONOPHTHONGS - ASSIGNMENTS
It is essential for first year students to acquire a near-native pronunciation of RP
vowels. Particularly difficult vowel clusters are:
 RP /e/, /&/ and AN /e/, as in English ‘bet’, ‘bat’ and Dutch ‘bed’;
 RP /V/ and AN /Y/, as in English ‘hut’ and Dutch ‘hut’;
 RP /Q/, /O:/ and AN /O/, as in English ‘lot’, ‘bought’ and Dutch ‘lot’;
 RP /U/, /u:/ and AN /u/, as in English ‘foot’, ‘shoot’ and Dutch ‘voet’.
Assignment 1
For each cluster, find two more English and Dutch words containing the above vowels. This
time each set of English words is to be followed by a lenis obstruent!
Assignment 2
These clusters will inevitably cause problems to secondary learners of English. Find out what
Stepping Stones has to offer with respect to training these vowel clusters.
Assignment 3
Make a listening exercise bringing out the difference between
- the RP vowel sounds /e/ and /&/;
- the RP vowel sounds /Q/ and /V/;
- the RP vowel sounds /U/ and /u:/.
It is stated that ‘more recently, RP /e/ is increasingly being realised as a mid-open front
vowel, especially by younger speakers. What does such a pronunciation change tell you
about spoken language?
Assignment 4
Consult the vowel substitution table (p. 113, EPST) and state what Dutch words interfere in
the correct RP pronunciation of
beer
book
set
here
cram
lot
double
fat
front
Brooke
mother
suffered
dock
moot
soup
foot
moor
- 22 -
Centring and closing diphthongs
Diphthongs are vowels produced by means of a tongue glide. There are two subdivisions:
A - closing diphthongs: the tongue glide moves to a closer position for RP / aU, @U, OI, eI, aI /
(see the white vowels in Figure 6 and 8 below);
B - centring diphthongs: the tongue glide moves to a central position for RP / I@, e@, U@ / (see
Figure 7 below).
Dutch vowel sounds interfering with RP diphthongs are indicated in grey. E.g. /e. / as in
'pees'; /o. / as in 'boot', and /Ou/ as in 'vouw' are shown in Figure 6 and 8 above.
Assignment 1
1a. Check the above vowel diagrams to find out in what way a Dutch learner of English is
likely to mispronounce the starting-point of /eI/ as in ‘case’.
1b. What Dutch proper name is he/she likely to substitute for ‘case’?
1c. How would you advise the learner to correct this mistake?
2a. Check the above vowel diagrams to find out in what way a Dutch learner of English is
likely to mispronounce /@U/ as in ‘oak’.
2b. What Dutch word is he/she likely to substitute for ‘oak’?
2c. How would you advise the learner to correct this mistake?
3a. Check the above vowel diagrams to find out in what way a Dutch learner of English is
likely to mispronounce the starting-point of /aU/ as in ‘cow’.
3b. What Dutch word is he/she likely to substitute for ‘cow’?
3c. How would you advise the learner to correct this mistake?
- 23 -
4a. Check the above vowel diagrams to find out in what way a Dutch learner of English is
likely to mispronounce /I@/ as in ‘near’.
4b. What Dutch word is he/she likely to substitute for ‘near?
4c. How would you advise the learner to correct this mistake?
Assignment 2
Underline the closing diphthongs. Some diphthongs occur more than once!
a. Are all grey tights the same size?
b. Joyce was howled down by about a hundred people.
c. Kate said she would show them the ropes.
d. I am afraid there has been an awful mistake.
e. I doubt if the noise came as a surprise.
Assignment 3
Classify (three-term labels) the starting-point of
a. /aI/
b. /I@/
c. /eI/
Assignment 4
Underline the centring diphthongs. Some diphthongs occur more than once!
a. Why don’t you marry the merry mayor?
b. Surely you will never have your ears pierced, will you?
c. She was clearly scared by his fierce attack.
d. I scarcely know poor Vera.
e. Sarah has been to the Near East.
- 24 -
CHAPTER 4: SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION (Chapter 1 from EPST)
Imagine a Dutch speaker of English who pronounces ‘My country is very flat’ as something
like ‘My country (with an incorrect vowel in the first syllable) is ferry flat.’ This speaker’s
pronunciation deviates from an authentic English pronunciation for two different reasons.
First, the spelling has apparently led him to think that the word country contains the vowel of
now, instead of the vowel of sun. Second, he has translated the English sounds into the
sounds of his own language. This phenomenon is known as Phonological Interference.
This means that even though a Dutch speaker may well know that the word very begins with
a / v /, he actually pronounces an / f /, because this is how he normally pronounces Dutch
words like vaas, vader, vis.
The spelling as a confusing factor
We are inclined to attach more authority to the way words are spelt than to the way they are
pronounced. This is because we tend to think in terms of letters, instead of in terms of
sounds. When for example we are asked how many vowels English has, or Dutch has, for
instance, many people might say five, because of the alphabet. The correct answer to this
question depends on the particular variety of the language that is chosen. RP English has 22
different vowel sounds. So remember: phonetics is about sounds, not about spelling.
Spelling pronunciations
As native speakers of Dutch, we will have learnt this language ‘by ear’, and were only taught
how to write it when we went to school. When learning a foreign language, however, we
often first become familiar with a word in writing, and form an opinion of how it is pronounced
on the basis of how it is written.
Due to a large discrepancy between spelling and pronunciation of English, basing your
pronunciation on the spelling of English words can lead to disappointing results.
Try to say which of the following pairs are pronounced alike in English (homophones) – look
them up in the dictionary!):
cause – cores
seize – sees
son – sun
hues – Hughes
aunt – aren’t
air – heir
cease – seas
any – Annie
gone – gun
major – mayor
ice - eyes
full – fool
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/–/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
A pronunciation that is based on the spelling of a word is known as a spelling
pronunciation.
Using the pronunciation dictionary
The Cambridge Englsih Pronouncing Dictionary (CEPD) gives both RP and American
English pronunciations. The CEPD is an important source of information, since unlike most
other dictionaries that include transcriptions of their entries, it also gives the pronunciation of
proper names, geographical names, brand names, and anglicised pronunciations of foreign
expressions like ‘gesundheit, a priori and Concertgebouw’. Whenever the American English
- 25 -
pronunciation differs from the pronunciation in RP, the latter is given to the left of the symbol
‘US’. Moreover, for each variety, more than one pronunciation may be given for the same
word. One of these variant forms is the main pronunciation, while the others are
alternative pronunciations. The main pronunciation is obviously the one recommended to
foreign learners, and is printed in blue.
To familiarise yourself with the CEPD, read the ‘introduction’ on p. v – vii and study the
overview on p. xvi/xvii and do the following exercise.
Exercise
Look up the main pronunciation of the following words in the CEPD:
1. wart
2. what
3. yacht
4. done
5. gone
6. monkey
7. donkey
8. womb
9. woman
10. women
11. other
12. hovercraft
13. cigarette
14. characteristic
15. ploughshare
16. lifebuoy
17. Eton
18. London
19. Moscow
20. Berlin
21. Los Angeles
22. Canberra
23. Paris
24. Copenhagen
25. The Hague
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION - ASSIGNMENTS
What is the most common vowel sound in English? Would you say it is the o in hot, the a in cat,
the e in red, the i in in, or the u in up? In fact, it is none of these. It is the colourless murmur of
the schwa, represented by the symbol /@/. It is the sound of o in method, the a in about, the e in
agent, the i in animal, or the u in album. It is everywhere, but it is hidden behind all kinds of
spellings.
If there is one thing certain about English pronunciation it is that there is hardly anything certain
about it. No other language in the world has more words spelled the same way and yet
pronounced differently. Consider just a few:
heard - beard
early - dearly
ache - moustache
our - four - tour
break - speak
road - broad
beau - beauty
low - how
grieve - sieve
though - through - rough - plough
five - give
bear - fear
doll - roll
paid - said
- 26 -
Some letters sulk in silence, as the b in debt and in climb (but not in timber!), the g in sign (but
not in signature!), the n in autumn (but not in autumnal!), the t in whistle, the k in knight, the h in
honest and where (but not in hotel!), the p in psychology and the w in whom (but not in why!)
Assignments
1. Give English words with a pronunciation identical to that of
a. right
b. quay
c. board
d. a loan
e. there
-
2. Which of the above homophones or the ones mentioned in the reader are likely to occur in a
secondary school course?
3. The words 'bury', 'friend', 'Geoffrey', 'leisure', 'says', 'sweater', 'Thames' and 'better' all contain
the same vowel /e/. Which of these words have you always mispronounced?
4. Each of the words 'bone', 'done', 'gone', 'cord', 'word', 'womb', 'woman' and 'women' contains
a different vowel sound.
Look up in your pronunciation dictionary which vowels should be heard in these words.
a. bone
b. done
c. gone
d. cord
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
e. word
f. womb
g. woman
h. women
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
5. Which of the above words did you mistakenly think had an identical vowel sound?
6. Which letters of the alphabet constitute English words?
Examples: B = be/bee.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
be/bee
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
- 27 -
CHAPTER 5: PREDICTABLE PRONUNCIATIONS (Chapter 2 from EPST)
Introduction
As we have seen, there is a great inconsistency between the pronunciation and the spelling
of English. There are, however, a number of pronunciation rules, the most important of which
will be dealt with in this chapter. Obviously, in many cases you must simply learn the
pronunciation of a word by heart.
1. The plural, third person singular, and genitive endings
1.1



English has three regular plural endings: /Iz/, /s/, and /z/.
/Iz/ is used after /s/, /z/ /S/ and /Z/. Examples: ‘losses’, ‘roses’, ‘fishes’, and ‘bridges’.
/s/ is used after /p, t, k, f, T/. Examples: ‘cups’, ‘cats’, ‘locks’, ‘roofs’, and ‘myths’.
/z/ is used in other contexts. Examples: ‘ribs’, ‘legs’, ‘cows’, ‘seas’, ‘rooms’, 'pills'.
1.2 These rules also apply to the third person singular (he/she/it) present indicative of verbs.
 /Iz/ in ‘misses’, ‘loses’, ‘catches’, ‘dodges’.
 /s/ in ‘hopes’, ‘waits’, ‘knocks’, ‘laughs’
 /z/ in ‘bleeds’, ‘moves’, ‘does’, ‘calls’, ‘sins’.
1.3 These rules also apply to the genitive of nouns.
 Joyce’s /dZOIsIz/
 Jack’s /dZ&ks/
 Jim’s /dZImz/; Mary’s /me@riz/.
Paragraph 1.4 – 1.7 describe exceptions to the rules given in Paragraph 1.1 – 1.3.
1.4. The /f/ at the end of some nouns changes into /v/ in the plural:
calf
half
life
knife
wife
elf
-self
shelf
leaf
thief
sheaf
loaf
wolf
calves /kA:vz/
halves /hA:vz/
lives /laIvz/
knives /naIvz/
wives /waIvz/
elves /elvz/
-selves /-selvz/
shelves /Selvz/
leaves /li:vz/
thieves /Ti:vz/
sheaves /Si:vz/ [Du. (koren)schoven]
loaves /l@Uvz/
wolves /wUlvz/
1.4.1 The plurals of 'dwarf' /dwO:f/, 'scarf' /skA:f/, 'wharf' /wO:f/ have either /fs/ or /vz/.
1.5 The /T/ at the end of some nouns changes into /Dz/ in the plural:
path
mouth
youth
paths /pA:Dz/
mouths /maUDz/
/ju:Dz/
1.5.1The plurals of 'bath', 'lath' [Du. lat], 'oath' [Du. eed], 'sheath' [Du. schede], 'truth', 'wreath'
/ri:T/ [Du. krans] have /Ts/ or /Dz/.
- 28 -
1.6 The plural of 'house' /haUs/ is /'haUzIz/.
1.7 All nouns ending in -sis /-sIs/ have a plural -ses /si:z/, as in 'analyses' /@'n&l@si:z/ and
'syntheses' /'sInT@si:z/.
2. The past (participle) endings
2.1 English has three regular past endings: /Id/, /t/ and /d/.
 /Id/ is used after /t,d/, as in 'waited', 'nodded'.
 /t/ is used after /p,k,f,T,s,S/, as in 'hoped', 'locked', 'laughed', 'missed', 'pushed'.
 /d/ is used in other contexts, as in 'robbed', 'begged', 'moved', 'breathed', 'amazed',
'lodged', 'sinned', 'called'.
Note: -edly is always pronounced /Idli/ when the accent falls in the last syllable of the
infinitive:
marked /mA:kt/; markedly /mA:kIdli/;
assured /@'SO:d/ or /@'SU@d/; assuredly /@'SO:rIdli/ or /@'SU@rIdli/.
But: humoured /hju:m@d/; good-humouredly /'gUd'hju:m@dli/.
3. Vowels
3.1 a (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
/&/ in 'cat', 'gas', 'can', 'pal', 'carry', 'marry', 'swam'; 'Annie';
/eI/ in 'fake', 'face';
/A:/ in 'grass', 'draft', 'path', 'calm', 'half', 'star(t)', 'car(d)', 'are', 'father';
/Q/ in 'watch', 'what';
/O:/ in 'walk', 'chalk', 'stalk', '(c)all', 'war', 'warm';
/e@/ in 'parent' (also pronounced /'p&r@nt/), 'Sarah' and in all words ending in -are/-arian/arium/-arius: 'care', 'stare'; 'vegetarian', 'solarium', 'Sagittarius';
/e@/ in short words ending in -ary: 'vary', 'Mary'; (longer words have /ri/: 'secondary',
'stationary');
/@/ in unaccented positions only: 'about', 'ago'; 'villa'.
Exceptional /I/ in 'village', 'spinach' /spInIdZ/ or /spInItS/.
Exceptional /e/ in 'ate', '(m)any', 'Thames'.
3.2 ai/ay (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /eI/, as in 'rain', 'stay';
/e@/ before (silent) r in the spelling: 'fair', 'stairs'.
Exceptional /e/ in 'said', 'says', 'again(st)'.
Exceptional /&/ in 'plaid', 'plait'.
3.3 au/aw (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /O:/, as in 'author', 'autumn', 'law', 'straw'.
Exceptional /A:/ in 'laugh', 'aunt'.
Exceptional /Q/ in 'sausage'; 'cauliflower', 'Maurice', 'Lawrence', 'Austin'; 'Austria'.
3.4 e (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
/e/ in 'chess', 'self'; 'merry', 'very'
/i:/ in 'complete', 'cathedral';
/3:/ in 'serve', 'nervous';
- 29 -
/I@/ in 'here', 'severe'.
Exceptional /e@/ in 'there', 'where'.
Exceptional /A:/ in 'Derby', 'clerk', 'sergeant', 'Hertfordshire' /hA:(t)f@dS@/.
Exceptional /I/ in 'women', 'pretty', 'England', 'English'. This pronunciation is regular in the
unaccented prefix re-, as in 'report', 'review' / rI… /.
/@/ in unaccented positions only: 'agent', 'magnificence', 'later'.
3.5 ea (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /i:/, as in 'sea', 'speak'.
Exceptional /e/ in 'bread', 'sweat(er)', 'heaven(ly)'.
Exceptional /eI/ in 'great', break', 'steak', 'Yeats', 'Reagan'.
Exceptional /I@/ in 'idea', 'theatre'.
When followed by (silent) r in the spelling: regularly /I@/: 'near', 'fear', 'tear' [Du. traan],
'spear(mint)';
or, less regularly, /e@/: 'bear', pear', 'swear', 'wear', 'tear' [Du. scheur(en)].
Note that /i:/ never occurs before r!
Exceptional /3:/ in 'early', 'earth', 'heard'.
Exceptional /A:/ in 'heart'.
3.6 ee (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
/i:/, as in 'see', 'tree'.
/I@/ before (silent) r in the spelling: 'beer', 'peer'.
Exceptional /i/ in 'coffee'.
3.7 ei/ey (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /eI/, as in 'veil', 'freight', 'convey'.
Exceptional /i:/ in 'receive', 'key'.
Exceptional /aI/ in 'height', '(n)either'.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /e@/, as in 'their';
or /I@/: 'weird'.
3.8 eo (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
/e/ in 'leopard', 'Geoffrey'
3.9 eu/ew (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /ju:/, as in 'euphemism', 'few', 'news';
/u:/ in 'crew', 'rheumatism'.
Exceptional /@U/ in 'sew'.
Before r: /jU@/ in 'Europe'.
3.10 i (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /I/, as in 'sit', 'timid', 'miracle';
Regularly /aI/, as in 'time', 'ripe'.
Exceptional /i:/ in 'machine', 'police'.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /3:/, as in 'birth', 'stir', 'first';
or /aI@/, as in 'fire', 'virus'.
- 30 -
3.11 ie (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /i:/, as in 'piece', 'believe';
Regularly /aI/, as in 'tie', 'lie'.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /I@/, as in 'pierce'.
Exceptional /e/ in 'friend'.
Exceptional /I/ in 'sieve'.
3.12 o (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /Q/, as in 'hot', 'gone', 'cross', 'bother', 'sorry', 'moral', 'common';
Regularly /@U/, as in 'hope', 'bloke'.
Less frequently /V/, as in 'love', 'done', 'conjure(r)', 'come', 'company', 'worry', '(m)other',
'brother';
Less frequently /u:/, as in 'move', 'lose'.
Exceptional /U/ in 'woman', 'wolf'.
Exceptional /I/ in 'women'.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /O:/, as in 'north', 'transport'.
or /3:/ after w, as in 'work', 'worth', 'worse'.
Before an accented syllable o is pronounced /@U/, as in 'do'nation', 'vo'cation'.
Otherwise /@/, as in 'method', 'Oxford'.
3.13 oa (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /@U/, as in 'road', 'loan';
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /O:/, as in 'oar', 'board', 'roar', 'coarse'. Also in '(a)broad'!
Exceptional /@/ in 'cupboard'.
3.14 oe (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /@U/, as in 'toe'.
Exceptional /u:/ in 'shoe', 'canoe'.
Exceptional /V/ in 'does'.
Exceptional /i:/ in 'phoenix', 'Phoebe'.
3.15 oi/oy (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /OI/, as in 'noise', 'boy'. Also in 'buoy' [Du. boei].
3.16 oo (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /u:/, as in 'loose', 'food', 'fool', 'shoot', 'snooker', or
/U/, as in 'book', 'look', 'took', '(s)hook', 'foot', 'soot', 'good', 'stood', 'wood', 'wool'.
Exceptional /V/ in 'blood', 'flood'.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /O:/, as in 'door', 'floor', 'Moor' is also pronounced /mU@/.
Note that /u:/ never occurs before r!
3.17 ou, ow (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /aU/, as in 'round', 'bough', 'foul', 'cow'.
Less frequently /@U/, as in 'soul', 'though', 'own', 'growth'.
Exceptional /V/ in 'country', 'courage', 'touch', 'rough', 'enough'.
Exceptional /u:/ in 'group', 'through'.
Exceptional /U/ in the strong pronunciation of 'could', 'should', 'would'.
Exceptional /O:/ in 'thought'.
- 31 -
Exceptional /Q/ in 'cough' /kQf/.
Exceptional /@/ in 'borough', /bVr@/, 'thorough' /TVr@/.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /O:/ in 'four', /U@/ in 'tourist', /aU@/ in 'our', 'hour', 'flour' [Du.
meel/bloem], or /3:/ in 'adjourn' [Du verdagen], 'journey', 'courteous'.
3.18 u (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /V/, as in 'cup', 'fuss', 'shut', 'put' [Du. putten], 'hurry', 'sudden', or
/ju:/, as in 'usual', 'music'.
Less frequently /U/, as in 'put', 'push(y)', 'pull'.
Exceptional /I/ in 'busy', 'business', 'lettuce', 'minute' [Du. minuut].
Exceptional /e/ in 'bury', 'burial'.
Before (silent) r in the spelling: /3:/ in 'turn', 'burn', 'Turk(ish)'; or /U@/ in 'pure', 'sure' (also
pronounced /O:/.
Weak pronunciation /ju/ or /jU/ or /j@/ in 'stimulate', or
/@/ in 'album', 'Arthur', or
/j@/ in 'failure'.
3.19 ue (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /ju:/, as in 'cue', or
/u:/, as in 'blue', 'sue'.
3.20 ui (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Regularly /ju:/, as in 'nuisance', or
/u:/, as in 'fruit'.
Exceptional /I/ in 'build(ing)', biscuit'.
Exceptional /aI/ in 'guide'.
3.21 uy (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
/aI/, as in 'buy', 'guy'.
3.22 y (in spelling) may be pronounced as:
Syllable-initial y- is pronounced as the consonant /j/, as in 'you', 'beyond'.
Elsewhere, -y- is pronounced /I/, as in 'crystal', or
/aI/, as in 'type', 'Cyprus'.
Final -y is pronounced /i/, as in 'happy', 'regularly'.
4. Exercises
4.1 Complete the following transcriptions:
a. docks /dQk /
b. paths /pA: /
d. cores /kO: /
e. cases /keIs /
g. wives /waI /
h. houses /haU
/
c. diagnoses /daI@g'n@Us
f. myths /mI /
i. columns /'kQl@m /
/
4.2 Complete the following transcriptions:
a. he loves /hi lVv /
b. she hurries /Si hVri /
c. it bridges /It brIdZ /
d. she utters /Si Vt@ /
e. it tastes /It teIst /
f. he processes /hi pr@Uses /
g. he plays /hi pleI /
h. she breathes /Si bri:D / i. it diminishes /It dImInIS /
- 32 -
5. Pronunciation rules for consonants
5.1 th
5.1.1. initial th- is pronounced /T/, as in 'think', 'theme', 'thousand', 'through'.
In 'grammatical' words, however, initial th- is pronounced /D/, as in 'the', 'this', 'that', 'these',
'those', 'they', 'them', 'their(s)', 'there', 'then', 'than', '(al)though' (grammatical words are
pronouns, articles, prepositions, etc.).
5.1.2 medial -th- is pronounced /T/ in words of classical origin, as in 'method', 'cathedral'.
'Rhythm' is pronounced /rIDm/, however!
In words of Germanic origin -th- is pronounced /D/, as in 'father', 'mother', 'brother', 'other',
'leather', 'together'. 'North', 'south' and 'worth' end in /T/, but 'northern', 'southern', and 'worthy'
have /D/.
Although -th- in 'nothing' is medial, it is pronounced /nVTIN/. Why, do you think?
5.1.3 final -th is pronounced /T/, as in 'south', 'north', 'smith', 'mouth', 'breath'.
Exceptions: 'with' and 'smooth'.
Words ending in -the have /D/, as in 'breathe', 'scythe'.
5.1.4 In 'Anthony', 'Esther', 'Thames', 'Thomas', 'Theresa', 'Thom(p)son', 'thyme' and
'Thai(land) th is pronounced /t/.
5.2 medial -ssPronounced /s/, as in 'lesson', 'passive'.
Exceptions: 'dessert', 'dissolve', 'possess(ion)(ive)' and 'scissors', which have /z/.
5.3 Word-initial c- and scPronounced /s/ before e, i, and y. Examples: 'centre', 'city', 'cynical', 'scene', 'science',
'scythe'.
Exception: 'sceptic(al)' /sk/.
c- is pronounced /k/ in other contexts: 'car', 'cost', 'cool'.
sc- is pronounced /sk/ in other contexts: 'scar', 'scout', 'sculpture'.
5.4 Word-final -ce is always pronounced /s/, as in '(n)ice', 'advice', 'practice'.
5.5 ch
/tS/, as in 'chip', 'cheap', 'choke'; compare 'ship', 'sheep';
Exceptional /S/, as in 'machine';
In classical words /k/, as in 'character', 'chemistry'.
5.6 ng
/N/, as in 'sing(er)', 'singing', '(cliff)hang(er)', 'strong(ly)';
/Ng/, as in 'finger', 'hungry', 'single', 'anger', 'England', 'English', stronger'
/ndZ/, as in 'danger', 'ginger', 'stranger'
5.7 final -s
pronounced /s/, as in 'bus', 'gas', 'status', but many exceptions have /z/:
a. 'grammatical' words: 'is', 'was', 'has', 'does', 'his', 'as';
b. many proper names and geographical names: 'Dickens', 'Williams', 'Leeds';
- 33 -
c. classical names in -es: 'Socrates' /'sQkr@ti:z/, 'Ulysses' /ju'lIsi:z/ or /'ju:lIsi:z/, 'Achilles'
/@'kIli:z/.
d. words like 'lens', 'Mars', 'series', 'species', 'Mrs'.
5.8 final -se
/s/, as in 'paradise', 'concise', 'precise', (the verb!) 'practise', 'rinse', 'course', 'coarse', 'sparse',
'else', 'immense', 'horse', 'use' [Du. gebruik], 'close' [Du. dichtbij], 'promise', or
/z/, as in (the verb!) 'advise', 'wise', 'cleanse' /klenz/, 'parse' [Du. grammaticaal ontleden],
'phrase', 'use' [Du. gebruiken] 'close' [Du. sluiten/einde].
5.9 The prefix mis- is always pronounced /mIs/.
In the prefix dis- usage varies: 'disability', 'disadvantage', 'disagree' have /s/. When an
accented syllable follows, /z/ may be pronounced, as in 'dishonest' and 'disorder'. 'Dismal',
'disaster' and 'disease' have /z/.
5.10 The sequences -cian and -tion are pronounced /Sn/, as in 'musician', 'attention', 'nation'.
This is also true for the sequence -Csion, as in 'tension', 'expulsion', 'excursion'.
(C = consonant)
5.11 The sequence -Vsion is pronounced /Zn/, as in 'vision', 'evasion'.
(V = Vowel)
5.12 g
Pronounced /dZ/ before e, i, and y (in spelling). Examples: 'gentle', 'German', 'vegetable(s)',
'ginger', 'gipsy', 'gypsy', 'gymnasium'.
There are many exceptions, though: 'get', 'give', 'gyneacologist'.
g- is pronounced /g/ in other contexts: 'good', 'goal', 'bargain', 'ground'.
Exceptions: 'margarine', 'gaol' (which is usually spelled 'jail'), and 'veg' (short for vegetable).
5.13 ph
Normally pronounced /f/, as in 'Philip', 'photograph'.
Exceptional /v/ in 'Stephen(s)' [also spelled Steven(s)]. 'Nephew': the traditional
pronunciation with /v/ has been superseded by the spelling pronunciation with /f/.
Exceptional /p/ in 'shepherd'.
6. Silent letters











h- is not pronounced in ''heir', 'hour', 'honest', 'honour'.
-h- is not pronounced in 'exhaust', 'exhibit', 'exhibition', 'annihilate', 'forehead' /fQrId/,
'vehement' /vi:@m@nt/, 'vehicle'.
In word-initial wh- /h/ is not pronounced: 'what', 'why', 'whale', 'wheel'. In a few other
words /w/ is not pronounced: 'who(m)', 'whose', 'whole', 'whore', 'whooping-cough'.
Word-final -gm/-gn are pronounced /m/n/, as in 'diaphragm', 'sign', 'reign', 'foreigner'.
Word-initial kn-/gn-/mn- are pronounced /n/, as in 'knee', 'knock', 'gnat', 'mnemonic'
/nI'mQnIk/ [Du. ezelsbruggetje].
Word-final -mb/-mn are pronounced /m/, as in 'thumb' /TVm/, 'climb' /klaim/, 'comb'
/k@Um/, 'tomb' /tu:m/, 'womb' /wu:m/, 'lamb', 'autumn', 'condemn', 'solemn', 'column'.
Word-initial ps- is pronounced /s/, as in 'psychology', 'pseudo' /'sju:d@U/.
Word-final -ten is pronounced /n/ after s and f, as in 'hasten', '(g)listen', 'moisten',
'(s)often'. t is also silent in 'Christmas', 'postman', 'dustbin'.
Word-final -tle is pronounced /l/ after s, as in 'castle', 'mistletoe', 'hustle and bustle'.
Word-initial wr- is pronounced /r/, as in 'write', 'wrong'.
-bt in the same syllable are pronounced /t/, as in 'doubt', 'debt', 'subtle'.
- 34 -






c is silent in 'muscle', 'indict' /In'daIt/.
ch is silent in 'yacht' /jQt/.
l is silent in 'half', 'calf', 'walk', 'talk', 'chalk', 'stalker', 'salmon', 'p(s)alm', 'calm', 'could', '
should', 'would'.
Word-initial pn- is pronounced /n/, as in 'pneumonia', 'pneumatic'.
s is silent in 'island', 'isle', 'viscount' /vaIkaUnt/, 'chassis' /S&si/, 'Illinois' /'IlInOI/.
w is silent in 'answer', 'two'.
7. Placename suffixes








-borough/-burgh /-br@/, as in 'Middlesborough', 'Peterborough', 'Edinburgh';
-bury /-bri/, as in 'Canterbury', 'Salisbury' /'sO:lzbri/, 'Shaftesbury'; /-bri/ is also heard in
'strawberry', /'strO:bri/, 'raspberry' /'rA:zbri/;
-chester /-tSIst@/, as in 'Manchester', 'Dorchester', 'Chichester';
-ham /-@m/, as in 'Birmingham', 'Nottingham'. When s precedes, the pronunciation is
usually /S@m/, as in 'Lewisham';
-mouth /-m@T/, as in 'Bournemouth', 'Weymouth', 'Exmouth'. The latter word may also be
pronounced /'eksmaUT/;
-ford /-f@d/, as in 'Ashford', 'Bedford', 'Oxford';
-shire /-S@/, as in 'Worcestershire' /'wUst@S@/, 'Leicestershire' /'lest@S@/, 'Wiltshire';
-wick is often /Ik/, as in 'Alnwick' /'&nIk/, 'Berwick' /'berIk/, 'Keswick' /'kezIk/.
8. Exercises
8.1 Transcribe the following words:
a. thanks
b. though
d. thus
e. brother
g. thorough
h. ethical
c. breathe
f. smooth
i. sheath
8.2 Transcribe the following words:
a. false
b. science
d. hills
e. signs
g. Archimedes
h. Mrs Steeples
c. disbelief
f. gosling
i. mismanagement
8.3 Transcribe the following words:
a. ovation
b. collision
d. intrusion
e. pleasure
g. optician
h. pressure
c. pension
f. Persian
i. Asian
8.4 Transcribe the following words:
a. yellow
b. jumble
d. jelly
e. of
g. gamble
h. loafer
c. leave
f. goal
i. gaol
8.5 Transcribe the following words:
a. womb
b. fasten
d. whom
e. wrestle
g. bomb
h. psychiatry
c. phlegm
f. gnaw
i. Knorr
8.6 Transcribe the following placenames:
a. Aylesbury
b. Hailsham
d. Banham
e. Harwich
g. Hereford
h. Woodborough
c. Warwickshire
f. Winchester
i. Dartmouth
- 35 -
CHAPTER 6: ALLOPHONIC DURATION (Chapter 6 from EPST)
This aspect of English pronunciation is difficult for Dutch learners of English. It comprises the
difference in pronunciation in English of words like:
bed
bet
In Dutch both words are pronounced with a / t / at the end. In English this would be incorrect.
In this chapter you will learn why. First you will need to learn about syllable structure and
take a closer look at the consonant overview again:
Syllable structure
Rhyme
Onset
p
spj
pot
spew
ill
awe
awe-some
Peak
Q
u:
I
O:
O:
@
e
s
tw
twelfths
Coda
t
l
m
lfTs
The peak of a syllable is always a vowel.
The most important contrast between words like bet and bed and eight and aid is the
difference in duration of the vowel (peak in the syllable stucture).
Remember the consonant overview and notice that the obstruents in bold print are lenis and
that therefore the other obstruents are fortis:
Consonants
Plosives
/ p, b /
/ t, d /
/ k, g /
Obstruents
Fricatives
/ f, v /
/ T, D /
/ s, z /
/ S, Z /
/h/
Affricates
/ tS, dZ /
Sonorants
Nasals
Approximants
/m/
/l/
/n/
/r/
/j/
/N/
/w/
Phonemic duration and allophonic duration
Phonemic duration
tick / tIk /
teak
/ ti:k /
Phonemic duration simply states that there is a difference between short/lax / I / and
long/tense / i: /. When pronounced at the same speed of utterance and in the same
phonological context, the first will always be shorter than the second.
- 36 -
Allophonic duration
niece / ni:s /
knees /ni:z /
However, there can be a difference in duration of one and the same vowel depending on the
context. In the above example the vowel / i: / in the word niece has only half the length that
this vowel has in the word knees. Allophonic duration is determined by phonological context.
What do we mean by phonological context?
The allophonic duration difference in words like niece and knees is subject to the following
pronunciation rule of pre-fortis clipping:
vowels before syllable-final fortis obstruents are twice as short as syllable-final
vowels or vowels before syllable-final lenis obstruents.
syllable-final fortis
obstuents
beat /bi:t /
calf / kA:f /
purse / p3:s /
syllable-final vowels
bee / bi: /
car / kA: /
purr / p3: /
syllable-final lenis
obstruents
bead / bi:d /
carve / ka:v /
purrs / p3:z /
Overview
Fill in the phonetic type!
Phonemically short vowel
Short allophone
Long allophone
cot / kQt /
cod
/ kQd /
hiss / hIs /
his
/ hIz /
put / pUt /
good / gUd /
fetch
/
/ ledge /
/
stuff
/
/
love
/
/
myth
/
/
with /
/
shops /
/
robs /
/
bet
/
/
bed /
/
Phonemically long vowel
Short allophone
Long allophone
court / kO:t/
cord / kO:d /
lease / li:s /
lee
/ li: /
loot / lu:t /
lewd /lju:d/
larch
/
/
large /
/
staff /
/
starve /
/
faith /
/
bathe /
/
ropes/
/
robes/
/
Bert /
/
bird /
/
Clipped before fortis Lenis or weak
or strong obstruent obstruent
Clipped before fortis Lenis obstruent
obstruent
There is an addition to this rule. Up till now we looked at vowel duration only. But the
pre-fortis clipping rule also applies to voiced portions.
What is a voiced portion?
V + ( l ) (nasal)
When the syllable contains a vowel and a sonorant ( l ) or a nasal / m, n, N /
kilt / kIlt /
vowel + / l /
once / wVnts /
vowel + sonorant
the combination of the vowel plus sonorant is subject to the pre-fortis clipping rule.
- 37 -
Fill in the phonetic type. Underline the voiced portion.
Phonemically short voiced portion
Subject to clipping
Fully long nasal or
/l/
once
/ wVnts /
ones
/ wVnz /
sent
/ sent
/
send / send /
bent /
/
bend /
/
punts /
/
puns /
/
Felt
/
/ felled
/
/
lunched /
/ lunged /
/
humped /
/
hummed /
/
pulp
/
/
bulb
/
/
banks /
/
-
Phonemically long voiced portion
Subject to clipping
Fully long nasal or
/l/
dance
/ dA:ns / darns
/ dA:nz /
faint
/ feInt / feigned
/ feInd /
burnt
/
/
burned
/
/
pounce /
/
pounds
/
/
bolt
/
/
bold
/
/
lounged /
/
harmed /
/
bangs/
/
Voiced portion
Lenis or weak
clipped before fortis obstruent
or strong obstruent
Voiced portions
Lenis obstruent
clipped before fortis
obstruent
/&/ is phonemically short in fortis contexts and phonemically long in lenis contexts.
Finally, pre-fortis clipping also applies in unstressed syllables.
Fill in the phonetic type. Underline the unstressed vowel.
onus
rabbit
Clemence
crisis
crescent
complacent
tennis
/ ‘@Un@s
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
owners
rabid
Commons
spices
lessened
hastened
tenners
/ ‘@Un@z
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
Assignment 1
1. Give transcriptions of the following syllables. Divide them into onset/peak/coda and
underline the voiced portions. Then indicate whether these voiced portions are
allophonically short or long:
o
p
c
all
/
/
bent
/
/
ewe
/
/
scratch
/
/
sneak
/
/
none
/
/
Assignment 2
2. Determine whether the vowel in the following words has a long (l.) or a short (s.)
allophone, but first give the transcription:
case /
/ (l/s)
was /
/ (l/s)
haze /
/ (l/s)
book /
/ (l/s)
debt /
/ (l/s)
pay /
/ (l/s)
- 38 -
Assignment 3
Decide whether the underlined weak vowels are allophonically short or long:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
spices
rabbit
tennis
cities
planners
tulip
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
Assignment 4
Decide whether the following voiced portions (vowels/diphthongs + l/nasal) are long or
short:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
bounce
bold
hailed
foils
faint
rounds
lines
mailed
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
short/long
DURATION OF VOWELS / VOICED PORTIONS - ASSIGNMENTS
A correct rendering of the duration of vowels and voiced portions is essential in the
pronunciation of English. Very few Dutch speakers of English are aware of this, or can’t be
bothered. As a prospective teacher of English, however, you will act as a pronunciation
model, so your pupils will inevitably compare your pronunciation with that of the speakers on
the audio and video material used in the classroom. Glaring differences will automatically
prompt embarrassing questions!
a. Phonemically short vowels
sit, set, hut, pot, put
bid, bed, bud, cod, good
Say these words aloud. The vowels in the second set should be considerably longer than
the ones in the first. This, however, is not a matter of phonemic, but of allophonic duration!
(See below) Instead of ‘bid’, ‘bed’, ‘bud’, ‘cod’, what words is a native speaker of English
likely to hear if their vowel sounds are pronounced short?
Assignment 1
Find two words containing any of these vowels, ending in /k/;
Find two words containing any of these vowels, ending in /b/.
b. Phonemically long vowels
seat, part, sort, boot, hurt
bead, card, lord, mood, bird
(final) say, sigh, sow ('zeug'), sow ('zaaien'), soy
- 39 -
Say these words aloud. The vowels in the second and third sets should be considerably
longer than the ones in the first. This, however, is not a matter of phonemic, but of
allophonic duration! (See below) Instead of ‘bead’, ‘card’, ‘mood’, ‘bird’, what words is a
native speaker of English likely to hear if their vowel sounds are pronounced short?
Assignment 2
Find four words containing any of these vowels, ending in /f/;
Find two words containing any of these vowels, ending in /z/.
c. Allophonically short vowels
sit, set, sat, hut, pot, put
seat, part, sort, boot, hurt
Say these words aloud. These vowels have a duration similar to that of their Dutch
counterparts. The duration of the vowel in ‘sit’, for instance, is similar to that of ‘zit’, and
the duration of the vowel in ‘seat’ is similar to that of ‘ziet’. All the vowels are followed by
the same (fortis) obstruent, yet the vowels in the second set are longer than the ones in
the first. This, however, is a matter of phonemic duration! (See above)
Assignment 3
Find four words containing any of these vowels, ending in /s/.
d. Allophonically long vowels
kid, led, sad, mud, cod, good
see, seed, hard, bored, mood, heard
Say these words aloud. Their vowels have a duration very different from that of their
Dutch counterparts. The duration of the vowel in ‘kid’, for instance, is considerably longer
than that of ‘kit’, and the duration of the vowels in ‘see’ and ‘mood’ is considerably longer
than that of the ones in ‘zie’ and ‘hoed’. These vowels are either final (as in ‘see’) or
followed by a lenis obstruent. Still, the vowels in the second set are longer than the ones
in the first. This, however, is a matter of phonemic duration! (See above)
Assignment 4
Find four words containing any of these vowels, ending in /g/.
e. Allophonically short voiced portions
kilt, melt, cult
mint, meant, cant, can't, learnt
bolt
faint, taunt, don't
Say these words aloud. Their voiced portions have a duration very similar to that of their
Dutch counterparts. The duration of /ent/ in ‘meant’, for instance, is similar to /ent/ in
‘ment’.
Assignment 5
Find four words containing any of these vowels, ending in /mp/.
f. Allophonically long voiced portions
fill, filled, held, gulled, pulled
sin, sinned, send, gunned, donned
feel, field, called, fooled, hurled
- 40 -
mean, gleaned, warned, spooned, earned
mild, fouled, oiled, bold
mind, downed, groined, moaned
Say these words aloud. Their voiced portions have a duration very different from that of
their Dutch counterparts. The duration of /l/ in ‘held’, for instance, is considerably longer
than /l/ in (Dutch) ‘held’. Likewise, the duration of /i:l/ in ‘feel’ is much longer than in
Dutch ‘viel’. Again, the duration of /i:l/ in ‘field’ is much longer than in ‘hield’.
Note
In voiced portions containing a short phoneme, as in ‘fill’ and ‘send’, it is the /l/ or nasal
that is long. Compare Dutch ‘vil’ and ‘cent’. In voiced portions containing a long phoneme,
as in ‘feel’ and ‘field’, the whole voiced portion is long. Compare Dutch ‘viel’ and ‘hield’.
Assignment 6
Find six words containing any of these vowels, ending in /mz/.
6.3.3 The duration of /&/
This section explains that /&/ either has a duration similar to Dutch short vowels, as in
‘bat’, or ‘lap’, or a very long duration, as in ‘bad’, or ‘lab’.
Assignment 7
Find five words containing the vowel /&/ + /l/ or nasal. Example: ‘pal’.
Are these voiced portions short or long?
Find three words containing the vowel /&/ + /l/ or nasal + a fortis obstruent.
Example: ‘Ralph’.
Are these voiced portions short or long?
Find five words containing the vowel /&/ + /l/ or nasal + a lenis obstruent.
Example: ‘fans’.
Are these voiced portions short or long?
Teaching vowel duration in secondary classrooms.
Make an exercise bringing out the difference in duration between short and long vowels.
Do the same with short and long voiced portions.
Use first year vocabulary only.
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CHAPTER 7: THE ACQUISITION PROCESS (Chapter 5 from EPST)
The pronunciation of phonemes: allophones
In most cases the pronunciation of a phoneme will vary according to where it occurs in the
syllable (initially or finally) or to what other phonemes it combines with. Therefore, we can
say that: the pronunciation of a phoneme depends on the phonological context.
Examples:

RP / & / is very much longer in cab, than in cap
Remember the pre-fortis clipping rule.

RP / t / in style is very much like a Dutch [t] in ‘stijl’, whereas in tile it is aspirated
(Groninger accent: ‘Martinitoren’)
When / p, t, k / occur at the beginning of a syllable they are aspirated, as in par, tar, car;
but not when an / s / precedes in that syllable, as in Spa, star and scar.
The different pronunciations of a phoneme that are used in different phonological contexts
are known as its allophones. There are rules that determine which allophones of a phoneme
occur in which phonological context.
Some important definitions:
Phonemes, written between slashes: / /
the system of vowels and consonants that a language has.
Allophones, written between square brackets: [ ]
The different pronunciations of a phoneme in different phonological contexts.
RP / t / is pronounced [ tsh ] at the beginning of a syllable, but [ t ] when / s / precedes.
The acquisition process
Acquiring the pronunciation of a foreign language takes time and effort. That is why some
speakers are quite content to use their native phonological patterns when speaking foreign
languages.
Many Dutch learners of English like yourself have progressed some part of the way from
complete interference to an authentic pronunciation of English.
Often the sounds produced by the learner represent compromises between the target sound
and the native phoneme it is replaced with.
Occasionally a learner overshoots the mark. This happens when learners overgeneralise.
An example would be that learners overgeneralise the rule that is learned, and use aspirated
plosives in Spa, star, scar.
- 42 -
Assignments
Explain the following two terms and study the given answers:

Allophone

Overgeneralisation

Phonological interference
Interference applies to the whole phonology of the language: pronunciation, intonation,
rhythm, and accent. A learner has a natural tendency to translate foreign sounds into the
sounds of his or her native language. It is said that one’s native language ‘interferes’ with
the target sounds.
Realisation of a phoneme
The pronunciation of a phoneme

- 43 -
CHAPTER 8: GRADATION WORDS (Chapter 4 from EPST)
Introduction
In probably all languages, there will be some words whose citation pronunciation, i.e. the
form the word has when said in isolation, differs from its pronunciation in a longer utterance.
Such words are called gradation words, and English and Dutch have rather many of them.
The citation pronunciation of a gradation word is known as its strong form (SF), while the
other form (or forms) are its weak form(s) (WF).
An example in Dutch would be :
Ik heb haar gezien which will be pronounced in spontaneous speech as kepper or kepter
(WF) gezien.
An example in English would be:
She has been there before which will be pronounced as /Siz bIn De@ bIfO:/ instead of /Si:
h&z bi:n De@ bIfO:/
Like many other languages, English divides its vocabulary into two kinds of words. First there
are the major category words: adjectives (e.g. old) , nouns (e.g. soldiers), adverbs (e.g.
never), and main verbs (e.g. die). The second group consists of the minor category words,
also called function words. It comprises prepositions (e.g. at), the articles, pronouns (e.g.
her), auxiliaries (e.g. can), and conjunctions (e.g. and). The gradation words form a subset of
the latter group of words. That is, a main verb like do, as occurring in Let’s do /du:/ as she
says, cannot be a gradation word. By contrast, the auxiliary do, as used in Do they know
this?, is a gradation word, and is pronounced /d@/.
Gradation of the articles
SF
a
eI
an
&n
the
Di:
WF
@
@n
D@
Di before V
Example
a book
an ordeal
the milk
the oil
The SFs of the articles occur when they are accented, as in He is ‘the /Di:/man for the job.
Note, however that /D@/ may be the accented form of the as in I said ‘the /’D@/ or /’Di:/
book, not a /eI / book.
Gradation of (personal and possessive) pronouns
SF
WF
me
mi:
mi
you
ju:
ju
he
hi:
(h)i
him
hIm
(h)Im
his
hIz
(h)Iz
she
Si:
Si
her
h3:
(h)@
we
wi:
wi
us
Vs
@s
(let us: /lets/)
them
Dem
D(@)m
their
De@
D@r
(before V only)
Note / h/ is dropped between words; not at the beginning of a sentence.
Example
Tell me
I like you
What he says is true
You don’t know him
Is that his address?
She reads a lot
Her hat
We know that
It shouldn’t worry us
Tell them
their own fault
- 44 -
The words some, that and who are gradation words in certain functions only:
a Some when it is equivalent to Dutch wat, ‘n paar: some /s@m / cheese, some /s@m/
chairs. The SF /sVm / is used when some is accented, but also when it occurs finally, as
in I’d like some /aId ‘laIk sVm /. When some is equivalent to Dutch een of andere,enige,
sommige it is always /sVm/: some /sVm / woman or other, with some /sVm/ difficulty,
some /sVm /chairs are a bit wobbly. Also the adverb is always /sVm /: some /sVm /ten
years ago.
b That when it is a relative (betrekkelijk) pronoun or when it is a conjunction: I remember
the horse that / D@t/ finished second, I remember that / D@t/ he had a limp. Also as in
His excuse that he’d missed the train, was not accepted. When it is a demonstrative
(aanwijzend) pronoun, as in It isn’t all that difficult, it is always /D&t/.
c Who is a gradation word when it is a relative pronoun. I know the man who /(h)u/ said
this. When it is an interrogative (vragend) pronoun, it is always /hu:/; Who /hu:/ said
this? Whom, whose are always /hu:m, hu:z/.
Gradation of have, will and the present tense of be
The WFs of the auxiliaries have, will and be (present tense, both as an auxiliary and as a
copula (koppelwerkwoord) are usually contracted with the pronominal form of the subject
when this precedes. The word there, equivalent to Dutch er, also commonly contracts with
these verbs, and has therefore been included in the table.
I
you
he
she
it
there (sg)
(pl)
we
they
be
aIm
jO: (jU@)
hiz
Siz
Its
D@z
D@r@
wI@
De@
Have
aIv
juv
hiz
Siz
Its
D@z
D@v
wiv
DeIv
had or would
aId
jud
hid
Sid
It@d
D@d
will
aIl
jul
hil
Sil
Itl
D@l
wid
DeId
wil
DeIl
In informal writing the following spellings occur for these contracted auxiliaries: (I) ‘m, (you)
‘re, (he) ‘s, (I) ‘ve, (I) ‘d, and (I) ‘ll. These auxiliary WFs, which consist of a single consonant,
typically only occur after a pronominal subject, as in the table above. In other situations the
longer WFs of these auxiliaries are more usual. However, it sould be noted that:
a /s,z/ for is is quite common after other words too. (The form is the same as that of the
plural ending:/s/ after / p, t, k, f, T/, /Iz/ after /s, z, S, Z,/ and /z/ elsewhere).
How’s / haUz/ your father?
What’s /wAts/ up?
b /s, z/ for has, too, may occur after other words. (The form /s / occurs after / p, t, k, f, T/,
/@z/ after /s, z, S, Z,/ and /z/ elsewhere).
The book has / bUks/ or /’bUk@z/ been reprinted
Mary has /’me@ri(@)z/ done it
Madge has / ‘m&dZ@z/ given it up
c /l/ for will is also used more freely, especially when it is syllabic.
The others will / ‘VD@zl/ finish it
In the table below the longer WFs of these auxiliary-forms are given.
- 45 -
SF
am
has
have
had
would
will
Note 1
Note 2
&m
h&z
h&v
h&d
wUd
wIl
longer
WF
@m
(h)@z
(h)@v
(h)@d
(w)@d
(w)@l
Example
So am I
Neither has /naID@r@z/ Eric
Tom and Mary have moved
Where had they put it
Matthew would do it
Peter will tell you
/w/ is always pronounced when a pause precedes, while in other positions it is
usually left out: Would h elike what Joe will cook? / w@d i ‘laIk wQt dZ@U @l ‘kUk/.
In sentence-initial position it is not uncommon to find the SF:
Am / &m/ or /@m/ I going too?
Gradation of auxiliaries
In the table below the SFs and the WFs of the remaining auxiliary-forms are given.
are
be
been
was
were
do
SF
A:
bi:
bi:n
wQz
w3:
du:
does
can
could
must
dVz
k&n
kUd
mVst
shall
should
going to
S&l
SUd
‘g@UIN tu
WF
@
bI
bIn
w@z
w@
d@
du (before V)
d@z
k@n
k@d
m@s
m@st (before V)
Sl
S@d
g@n@
Example
The boys are feeling sick
I’ll be singing a song
It’s been done
Mary was singing a song
We were feeling sick
Do they know this?
Do I?
Does Alice like it?
They can go now
He could do it
Must John do it?
Must Uncle Arnold do it?
Shall I open it?
Mary should know better
It’s going to rain
Do not confuse the auxiliaries do and have with the lexical verbs do and have, which are not
gradation words.
He does /dVz/the cooking and I do /du:/ the washing up
She had /h&d/a hat on
He had /h&d/a house built
I have /h&v/a holiday once a year
- 46 -
Gradation of prepositions
The following prepositions have SFs and WFs:
at
for
from
of
SF
&t
fO:
frQm
Qv
till
to
tIl
tu:
until
VntIl
WF
@t
f@
fr@m
@v
@ in:
t(@)l
t@
tu (before V)
@ntIl
Example
At home
For William
From Angela
A head of a lettuce
A cup of tea, a pint of milk, etc.
Till Christmas
To go to London
To Ann, to eat
Until yesterday
Miscellaneous gradation words
The following gradations words have not been discussed so far:
SF
WF
Example
as
As white as snow
&z
@z
than
Better than ever
D&n
D@n
and
Black and blue
&nd
@n, @nd, nd, n
but
Poor but happy
bVt
b@t
because
Not because I like it
bIkQz
bIk@z
Note It is always /&z/ when it is equivalent to Dutch naarmate.
Learners tend to use too many strong forms (SFs), which may make their pronunciation
unnecessarily formal. Future teachers of English need to acquire a more natural way of
speaking.
What follows is an overview of gradations words. English does not have many gradation
words. Yet the ones it has are very common!
Gradation words in English:
 articles (nearly always pronounced weak);
 pronouns (demonstrative and interrogative pronouns have no weak forms);
 the copula ‘be’ (SF before a so-called deletion site!)
 auxiliary verbs (SF before a so-called deletion site!)
 prepositions
 some miscellaneous gradation words.
Contractions
Contractions are single word forms whose elements also exist as separate words. There are
two classes of contractions. One consists of verbs with the verbal particle to. In these forms,
verb-final consonants are replaced with their fortis counterparts, while /tt/ is reduced to /t/.
When these forms appear before vowels they have /u/.
Have to
Had to
Had to
Supposed to
Used to
Want to
(Have) got to
/h&ft@/
/h&st@/
/h&t@/
/s@p@Ust@/
/ju:st@/
/wQnt@/
/gQt@/
I have to go now
She has to do it
They had to do it
I’m supposed to know this
It used to be true
We want to go there
It’s got to be true
- 47 -
The other class of contractions concerns negated auxiliaries. The form /nt/, informally spelt
n’t, is suffixed to auxiliaries, as in He couldn’t /kUdnt/ come. In such cases the auxiliary
always has the SF, i.e. we cannot have /* k@dnt/, for example.
Are not or aren’t
Cannot or can’t
Do not or don’t
Shall not or shan’t
Will not or won’t
/A:nt/
/kA:nt/
/d@Unt/
/SA:nt/
/w@U:nt/
In questions, not is often written after the subject in formal writing, as in Is it not time Mrs
Selkirk took that step? When reading such a sentence out, however, not should be
contracted with the auxiliary: /Iznt It/, etc. The pronunciation /Iz It nQt/ whould be very
formal.
Note that in order to avoid the clumsy Am I not? one normally says /A:nt aI/ and writes
Aren’t I?, and that mustn’t is pronounced /mVsnt/.
The use of SFs of auxiliaries and prepositions
As always, the SF of auxiliaries and prepositions is used when these words are accented.
Note that in tags, it is the auxiliary rather than the personal pronoun that carries the accent
and, therefore, has the SF: I’m supposed to know this, am I? /’&m aI/ not /@m ‘aI/. There
is, however, another situation in which auxiliaries (and prepositions) must be given their SF.
Consider the following sentence:
I think we can do it today, but I don’t think we can do it tomorrow.
In such a sentence it is normal for the second occurrence of ‘do it’ to be deleted (left out).
You should observe that when this is done, the auxiliary, which must remain, has its SF:
I think we can /k@n/ do it today, but I don’t think we can /k&n/ tomorrow.
If we call the place where the words ‘do it’ have been deleted a deletion site, then the rule
can be phrased as follows: the auxiliary has its SF immediately before a deletion site. In the
following examples the deletion sites are marked [DS]:
We could /k@d/ all give a little help. At least I could /kUd/[DS], and I suppose Elsie
could/kUd/[DS], and Len could /kUd/[DS] at weekends…
Mary won’t believe this, but perhaps John will /wIl/[DS].
In the following example the [DS] does not immediately follow the auxiliary, which therefore
has its WF:
John doesn’t believe it. Do /d@/ you [DS]?
When be is a copula, the deletion rule applies to the subject complement (or: subject
attribute):
Is he the captain? I thought you were /w3:/ [DS] ?
Summarising: auxiliaries have their SF when they are accented or when they occur
immediately before a deletion site. In sentence-initial position the SF may also be used.
- 48 -
The same goes for the SFs of prepositions. They also occur immediately before a deletion
site:
The problem is being looked at /&t/ [DS] now.
The deep structure of this sentence is ‘they are looking at the problem now’.
Exception: The preposition ‘to’ and the verbal particle ‘to’ have the form /tu/ or / t@/ before
a deletion site (instead of the SF /tu:/), as in:
Marry you? You know I’d love to /tu/ [DS], but my husband wouldn’t let me.
Exercises
1. Account for the pronunciation of the transcribed words:
He /hi/ likes you /ju/ a lot.
If I had /h&d/ my portrait painted, I wouldn’t wear these glasses.
The /Di/ air that we breathe.
If they don’t ski, I wonder what they do! /du:/
That /D&t/ dress looks very nice.
Oh, a cup of /@/ tea. Lovely!
This is the house that my dad had /h&d/ built after the war.
2. Underline the Weak Forms in the following sentence.
1. The hotel looked all right.
2. The other one, please.
3. The lion and the unicorn.
4. I know him, and I like him.
5. He tore his shirt when he turned round to look at her.
6. He sends you his love.
7. I know that that won’t do!
8. Who is this?
9. I know who is responsible.
10. Shall I send him your regards?
11. There are no seats left.
- 49 -
12. Don’t you like him?
13. You are his cousin, aren’t you?
14. They are the ones who had asked me before.
15. I have invited John for six.
16. I have a terrible headache.
17. What have you got there?
18. They should have told us?
19. I can see them.
20. How do you do?
21. She gave me some comics to read.
22. John would have been shocked.
23. Where will it all end?
24. He will tell you that she has finished the lot.
- 50 -
3. Which gradation words are represented by the following WFs?




/d/
/s/
/@/
/D@/
STRONG AND WEAK FORMS / GRADATION - ASSIGNMENTS
In this first year, you may still use the citation pronunciation (the strong form SF) of minor
category words (also called function words) in your own pronunciation. Keep in mind, though,
that for these words the strong form is the exception rather than the rule! You will normally hear
their weak forms and you will be asked to use SFs and WFs correctly while pronouncing English
sentences.
a. articles
/@ / for ‘a’ a house
/@n/ for ‘an’ an apple
/D@/ for ‘the’ the house
Note: /Di/ for ‘the’ before vowels! the apple
b. weak forms indicated by an informal spelling:
I’m
You’re
He’s
She’s
It’s
We’re
They’re
What’s
I’ve
You’ve
He’s
She’s
It’s
We’ve
They’ve
They’d
I’d
You’d
He’d
She’d
Question: What does this ‘d‘ actually stand for?
I’ll
You’ll
We’ll
They’ll
aren’t
isn’t
wasn’t
weren’t
haven’t
hasn’t
can’t
couldn’t
won’t
wouldn’t
shan’t
shouldn’t
don’t
doesn’t
He’ll
She’ll
hadn’t
didn’t
Question: What are the SFs here and what the WFs?
- 51 -
c. Miscellaneous gradation words:
than
and
but
Assignment 1
Decide whether
 some
 that
 who
 am/is/are/was/were/be/been
 have/has/had
are subject to gradation in the following sentences:
1. I had no idea who had committed the crime.
2. What would you like to be, Daisy?
3. She has never had that kind of rash, doctor.
4. Some people can get away with anything.
5. We thought that we had told her.
6. Can I have some water, please?
7. Where is the student who is to give a speech?
8. They were cousins of mine, I assure you.
9. I do not believe they were.
10. It must have happened some ten years ago.
Assignment 2
Transcribe the following sentences, using weak forms wherever appropriate:
1. Can I have some more, please?
2. Is that what you are looking for?
3. I would love a cup of tea.
4. Does he know about us? I do not think he does.
5. It is obvious, isn’t it? I suppose it is.
6. Did he say that he was busy?
7. I do not think I can finish it myself. I am sure you can.
8. I am from Salisbury. Where are you from?
- 52 -
CHAPTER 9: WORD STRESS (Chapter 3 from EPST)
Unstressed syllables often contain weak vowels:
 The vowel /@/, as in ago, Canada;
 The vowel /i/, as in baby, happily, and the weak forms of (s)he, we;
 The vowel /I/, as in design, begin, where the prefix is followed by an accented syllable;
 The vowel /u/, as in to organise, to America, you know ('you' is a gradation word!);
 The vowel /U/, as in popular;
 Syllabic l or nasals, as in little, written.
Stressed syllables contain other (strong) vowels (they do not contain weak vowels):
 as in other, Africa, usual, awkward;
 The vowel /I/ in difficult, distant, where the /I/ is accented.
 The vowel /U/ in would, could, etc.
Stressed syllables either take
a. primary stress, as in
pronunci'ation
coa'lition
famili'arity
origi'nality
or b. secondary stress, as
in pro,nunciation
%coalition
fa%miliarity
o%riginality
Primary stress is more prominent than secondary stress.
Prominence is not only determined by the force of the outgoing air stream, but also by pitch.
In that case the term accent is used.
Cf. I never realised how much you meant to me.
I never realised how much you meant to me. (Instead of to my sister)
I never realised how much you meant to me. (Instead of your sister)
Stress in homographs
The spelling of many English nouns is identical with their corresponding verbs. Usually they
are stressed differently, though. Example: ‘import, to im’port.
A similar opposition is found between the adjective ‘perfect and the verb to per’fect.
Other homographic pairs are:
ADJECTIVE/NOUN
VERB
'abstract (adj. + noun)
to ab'stract (abstraheren)
'accent (noun)
to ac'cent (accentueren)
'addict (noun)
ad'dicted (verslaafd)
'attribute (noun: eigenschap)
to at'tribute (toeschrijven aan)
'compound (adj.: samengesteld; noun: samenstelling) to com'pound (samenstellen, erger maken)
'conduct (noun: gedrag)
to con'duct (dirigeren)
'conflict (noun)
con'flicting interests (tegenstrijdige belangen)
- 53 -
'contest (noun)
'contract (noun)
'convert (noun: bekeerling)
'convict (noun: veroordeelde)
'decrease (noun)
'defect (noun)
'desert (adj.: verlaten; noun: woestijn) /dez@t/
'digest (noun: samenvatting)
'discount (noun: korting)
'escort (noun)
'export (noun)
'extract (noun: extract, uittreksel)
'frequent (adj.)
'increase (noun)
'insult (noun)
'object (noun: voorwerp, bezwaar)
'permit (noun)
'present (adj.: aanwezig; noun: cadeau)
'produce (noun: opbrengst)
'progress (noun: vooruitgang)
'project (noun)
'protest (noun)
'rebel (noun)
'record (noun: record, document)
'refuse (noun: afval) /'refju:s/
'subject (noun: onderwerp, onderdaan)
'subject to (adj.: onderworpen/onderhevig aan)
'suspect (adj.: verdacht; noun: verdachte)
'torment (noun)
'transfer (noun: overdracht, overgang)
'transport (noun)
to con'test (betwisten, aanvechten)
to con'tract (samentrekken, oplopen (v. ziekte))
to con'vert (bekeren, ombouwen)
to con'vict (gerechtelijk veroordelen)
to de'crease (afnemen)
to de'fect (overlopen naar de vijand)
to de'sert (verlaten) /to dIz3:t/
to di'gest (verteren)
to dis'count (geen waarde/geloof hechten aan)
to es'cort (begeleiden)
to ex'port (uitvoeren)
to ex'tract ((uit)trekken)
to fre'quent ((vaak) bezoeken)
to in'crease (toenemen)
to in'sult (beledigen)
to ob'ject (bezwaar maken tegen)
to per'mit (toestaan)
to pre'sent (presenteren, schenken)
to pro'duce (produceren)
to pro'gress (vooruitgaan)
to pro'ject (projecteren)
to pro'test (protesteren)
to re'bel against (in opstand komen tegen)
to re'cord (opnemen)
to re'fuse (weigeren) /rI'fju:z/
to sub'ject (onderwerpen)
to sus'pect (verdenken)
to tor'ment (martelen, kwellen)
to trans'fer (overdragen)
to trans'port (vervoeren)
Some nouns and verbs have the same pronunciation though!
NOUN
'combat (gevecht)
'comment
'exile
'interview
'menace
'process
'purchase
'reprimand
And
de'bate
dis'grace
dis'guise
dis'pute
ex'haust (uitlaat) /Ig’zO:st/
re'sort (vakantieplaats, toevluchtsoord)
Volun'teer
VERB
to 'combat (bestrijden)
to 'comment on (commentaar geven op)
to 'exile (verbannen)
to 'interview (interviewen)
to 'menace (bedreigen)
to 'process (verwerken, ontwikkelen (van film))
to 'purchase ((aan)kopen)
to 'reprimand (berispen)
to de'bate (debatteren)
to dis'grace (te schande maken)
to dis'guise ((zich) vermommen)
to dis'pute (betwisten)
to ex'haust (uitputten)
to re'sort to (zijn toevlucht nemen tot)
to volun'teer (zich als vrijwilliger opgeven)
N.B. 1. Following the pronunciation of the verb 'use' (ju:z), 'abuse' (verb) is pronounced
/@'bju:z/; following the pronunciation of the noun 'use' (ju:s), 'abuse' (noun) is pronounced
/@'bju:s/. Comment on the duration of /u:/.
- 54 -
N.B. 2. The pronunciation /rI's3:tS/ for the verb and noun 'research' predominates in
universities; /'ri:s3:tS/ has increasingly displaced it in general usage both in Britain and the
US.
Assignment 1
Transcribe the following words:
1. subject (adj.)
2. process (v.)
3. transfer (n.)
4. extract (n.)
5. menace (v.)
6. exile (v)
The spelling -ate is pronounced /@t/ in nouns and adjectives, but /eIt/ in verbs.
Examples:
NOUN/ADJECTIVE
VERB
as'sociate /@t/
'desolate /@t/
'duplicate /@t/
'estimate /@t/
'graduate /@t/
'intimate /@t/; adverb 'intimately
'moderate /@t/; adverb 'moderately
'separate /@t/; adverb 'separately
to as'sociate /eIt/
to 'desolate /eIt/
to 'duplicate /eIt/
to 'estimate /eIt/
to 'graduate /eIt/
to 'intimate /eIt/
to 'moderate /eIt/
to 'separate /eIt/
More predictable pronunciations
Words ending in /-Ik/ or /-Ikl/ take their primary accent on the preceding syllable.
Examples:
1
%eco'nomic
fa'natic
%eco'nomical
po'litical
1
1
hi'storic
hi'storical
The seven exceptions are:
a. lunatic
/
/
b. catholic
/
/
c. arithmetic
/
/
d. Arabic
/
/
e. rhetoric
/
/
f. heretic1
/
/
g. politics
/
/
Assignment 2 Transcribe the above exceptions, putting in primary stress marks.
1
What do these words mean?
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Words of three or more syllables ending in /-Iti/ take their primary stress on the
preceding syllable and their secondary stress on the syllable that takes primary
stress in the root word. Examples:
fa'miliar
fa%mili'arity
o'riginal
o%rigi'nality
Assignment 3
What mistakes are Dutch learners of English likely to make in derivatives (dI'rIv@tIvz) like
'familiarity' and 'originality'?
Assignment 4
Now use a subscript stress mark and single underlining to mark secondary stress and a
superscript stress mark and double underlining to mark primary stress in:
similarity
(root word:
)
superiority
(root word:
)
partiality
(root word:
)
visibility
(root word:
)
Words of three or more syllables ending in /-'eISn/ or /-'ISn/ take their primary stress
on the penultimate syllable, (i.e. the last syllable but one; the last syllable being syllabic
/n/), and their secondary stress on the syllable that takes the primary stress in the
root word. Pronounce the word in the second row with the stress pattern of the Dutch word
'vertegenwoordiger', with secondary stress on 'te' and primary stress on 'woor'. Examples:
as'sociate
as%soci'ation
ad'minister
ad%mini'stration
Assignment 5
Now use a subscript stress mark and single underlining to mark secondary stress and a
superscript stress mark and double underlining to mark primary stress in:
consideration
(root word:
)
identification
(root word:
)
interpretation
(root word:
)
qualification
(root word:
)
pronunciation
(root word:
)
assimilation
(root word:
)
intimidation
(root word:
)
manipulation
(root word:
)
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N.B. If the application of the above pronunciation rule results in two consecutive
(k@n'sekj@tIv) accents, the secondary stress shifts backward. Examples:
con'firm
%confir'mation
/k@n'f3:m/
/%kQnf@'meISn/
pro'hibit
/pr@U'hIbIt/
%prohi'bition
/%pr@UI'bISn/
Assignment 6
Now use a subscript stress mark and single underlining to mark secondary stress and a
superscript stress mark and double underlining to mark primary stress in:
definition
(root word:
)
explanation
(root word:
)
Words ending in -able or -ible
As a rule, adjectives ending in /@bl/ take their primary stress on the same syllable as in the
root word:
de'sire
ex'haust
per'ceive
'navigate
e'radicate
'penetrate
ap'ply
ex'plain
de'sirable
inex'haustible (onuitputtelijk)
(im)per'ceptible ((on)merkbaar)
'navigable (bevaarbaar)
ine'radicable (onuitwisbaar, onuitroeibaar)
im'penetrable (ondoordringbaar)
ap'plicable (toepasbaar)
inex'plicable (onverklaarbaar)
N.B. The following words take their primary stress on the preceding syllable:
ad'mire
com'pare
la'ment
re'pair
re'voke
pre'fer
ne'glect
cor'rect
'admirable, 'admirably
'comparable
'lamentable (betreurenswaardig)
ir'reparable (fig. onherstelbaar)
ir'revocable (onherroepelijk)
'preferable, 'preferably (bij voorkeur)
'negligible (verwaarloosbaar)
in'corrigible (onhandelbaar)
N.B. 'Formidable' is traditionally pronounced /'fO:mId@bl/, but younger speakers
increasingly say /f@'mId@bl/. The great majority of RP speakers pronounce 'hospitable'
as /hQs'pIt@bl/, rather than /'hQspIt@bl/. 'Eligible' (verkieslijk, verkiesbaar) is
pronounced /'elIdZ@bl/.
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Stress in compounds
Compounds are words made up of other words, called constituents. Three types are
distinguished:
1. noun compounds; examples: 'schoolboy, 'housing problem, 'ring finger.2
2. verb compounds; example: to 'freelance, to 'window-shop.
3. adjective compounds; example: 'watertight, 'seaworthy, 'foolproof, 'bloodthirsty,
'colourfast (kleurecht).
The most frequent stress pattern in compounds is '… …, which means that the first
constituent takes primary stress. All the examples under 1, 2 and 3 follow this pattern,
which is called compound stress.
A compound has phrasal stress when the second constituent takes
primary stress: … '… This type of stress is used
1. in phrases; examples: next 'time, printed 'cards, several 'books, weekly 'lessons.
2. when the first constituent names the material or ingredient of which a thing is
made; examples: a rubber 'duck, cheese 'sandwiches, a gold 'ring.
N.B.: Expressions involving cake, juice and water are of the '… … type. examples:
'almond cake, 'orange juice.
3. in names of roads, streets, and buildings; examples: Penny 'Lane, Leicester
'Square, Tower 'Bridge, Victoria 'Station. Exception: 'Home Office.
N.B.: Names involving the word 'street' have compound stress: example: 'Baker Street.
4. when the first constituent is arch-, ex-, non-, self-, over- (= too much), under- (=
too little); examples: self-'discipline, ex-'husband, non-'profit, overre'act,
undera'chiever.
5. when the first constituent refers to place; examples: town 'hall, city 'centre, ground
'floor, world 'war.
6. in words where one would expect compound stress; examples: spring 'cleaning, family
'planning, good 'will, Middle 'Ages, shop 'window, back 'door, spin-'dryer, trade 'union,
week'end, zebra 'crossing.
N.B. 1. There are noun compounds with the primary stress on the first noun that might
wrongly be thought to have it on the second on the basis of their equivalents in Dutch.
Examples:
'black spot (gevaarlijke 'plek)
'blind spot (blinde 'vlek, dode 'hoek)
'dark room (donkere 'kamer)
2
Although many compounds are written as single words, others are written as two words. Examples:
'Christmas card, 'visitors' book, 'music lessons, 'beauty contest.
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N.B. 2. A noun compound that comes from a verb + particle combination always has
compound stress.
to pin 'up
to tip 'off
to tip 'in
to close 'up
to pick 'up
to feed 'back
to lay 'out
to make 'up
to stand 'by
to teach 'in
to try 'out
'pin-up
'tip-off (hint, wenk, tip aan de politie)
'tip-in (v.d. basketbal na rebound)
'close-up /'kl@UsVp/
'pick-up (vondst, herstel, acceleratievermogen)
'feedback
'lay-out
'make-up
'stand-by
'teach-in
'try-out
N.B. 3. An exception is to have a lie-'down (even gaan liggen).
N.B. 4. In a number of compounds the position of the accent varies, as in
cease-fire
eyewitness
high chair (kinderstoel)
ice cream ('ice cream being more popular)
short cut
Assignment 7 Transcribe, please:
1. They showed no consideration for her feelings.
2. The interrogation was conducted in his cell.
3. I like your formidable convertible car.
4. She is an undeniably hospitable woman.
5. There is nothing like a lovesick village idiot eating apple pies.
6. Aren't you over-reacting a little?
7. Please remember to give underachievers sufficient feedback.
8. I am doing some freelance work at Waterloo Station.
9. The close-up showed she had used too much make-up.
10. I do not think there was a housing problem in the Middle Ages.
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CHAPTER 10: ALLOPHONES OF RP PLOSIVES (Chapter 11 from EPST)
Introduction
In this chapter we are going to look in more detail at the pronounciation of RP plosives.
We may identify three stages when pronouncing the RP plosives:
a. closing stage
b. compression stage / hold stage
c. release stage
We will see that plosives like / b, d, g / will typically have vocal cord vibration during all three
stages when they are between voiced sounds, as in RP robber or AN adder. However, at
word beginnings, it is normal for RP / b, d, g / to have an almost completely voiceless stage
2. In other words, they are partially devoiced, and as such contrast with initial / b, d, (g) / of
Dutch, which typically have fully voiced compression stages. When both the compression
stage and the release stage are voiceless, i.e. when voicing only sets in some time after the
moment of release, the plosive is (voiceless) aspirated. In words like pill, tall, and curl the
RP plosives are aspirated. In contrast, syllable initial AN / p, t, k / are unaspirated, and
voicing begins almost immediately after release.
It is misleading to call RP / b, d, g / ‘voiced’ and / p, t, k / ‘voiceless’. The phonetically
nonspecific terms ‘lenis’ and ‘fortis’ are used for the plosives and fricatives. These and other
articulations will be described in this chapter.
Initial RP / p, t, k /: Aspiration
In syllable-initial (onset) position RP / p, t, k / and / b, d, g / differ in the onset of vocal cord
vibration. However, in both cases voicing sets in much later than in Dutch. In the case of
syllable-initial RP / p, t, k / vocal cord vibration does not start until some time after the
release, so that stage 3 is also completely voiceless. The result of this voice delay is that in
words like pay, tea, car we can clearly hear a puff of breath between the release of the
plosive and the following vowel. This is called aspiration. It is especially heard in accented
syllables. There is only one context in which the release of RP / p, t, k / is not followed by a
voice delay; this is when / s / precedes in the same syllable, as in sport, storm, skip. Initial RP
/ sp, st, sk / are not different from AN / sp, st, sk /. Example: / ph O:t/ - /spO:t/.
Devoicing of RP / l, r, j, w /
When accented syllable-initial RP / p, t, k / are followed by the approximants / l, r, j, w / the
voice delay will result in devoicing of the first portion of these sounds, so that we hear the
corresponding devoiced fricative followed by a (voiced) approximant. Examples are play,
pure, cry, twin, clean, cure:
/ pleI, pjO:, kraI, twIn, kli:n, kjO: /. Note that in this case the approximants are only partly
devoiced, except in the case of / tr /, which is normally pronounced as a completely
voiceless affricate. There is only one context in which the release of RP / p, t, k / is not
followed by a voice delay; this is when / s / precedes in the same syllable, as in split, strip,
screen. Devoicing is represented in transcription by placing a small circle below the devoiced
sound (/l, r, j, w/).
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Final RP / p, t, k /: Preglottalisation
When RP / p, t, k / are final in the syllable (coda position), especially when followed by a
non-syllabic consonant, as in six, much, football, inch, helps, the voicing of the immediately
preceding vowel, nasal or /l/ (voiced portion) is sharply cut off before the plosive is formed.
This is due to a sudden closure of the glottis, which precedes the formation of the oral
closure: the fortis plosive is reinforced by a glottal stop / ʔ /. The effect of preglottalisation is
especially marked in the case of pairs like lunch / lunge, cents / sends, and before following /
b, d / as in setback, switchboard, pipe dream, where Dutch has voiced obstruents. It is
represented as follows; / sIʔks, mVʔtS, fUʔtbO:l, InʔtS, helʔps, tSQʔpstIʔks,
mi: ʔtl@Uf /. When the voiced portion does not immediately precede syllable final / p, t, k /
there is no preglottalisation. Examples: must, left /mVst, left /.
Intervocalic plosives: voiceless / t / and voiced / d /
When / t / occurs before an unaccented vowel, as in water, Peter, sit-in or before an
accented vowel in the following word, as in not in the closure is normally very brief and not
quite airtight, so that friction may be produced. Try to make a light contact in these cases, but
avoid voicing the fortis plosives.
Plosive clusters: incomplete plosion
In cases like opt, coped, act, packed, rubbed, hugged, that guy, incomplete plosion, popcorn
the two plosives overlap, so that the release of the first plosive takes place during the
compression stage of the second and is inaudible. This is not normally the case in Dutch
when two plosives form a cluster, i.e. belong to the same syllable: the release of / p / and / k
/ in loopt and kijkt will normally be audible. However, when the two plosives do not belong to
the same syllable (i.e. when they form a sequence rather than a cluster), as in optocht, akte,
Dutch normally also has incomplete plosion for the first plosive. In transcription, incomplete
plosion is indicated by underlining: /D@ 'pVb kl@Uzd 'tu: '3:li/.
Summary of oppositions between RP fortis and lenis plosives
1 after /s/ or in unaccented syllables: no
aspiration or devoicing of / l, r, j, w/
onset
2 otherwise: aspiration or devoicing of /l,
r, j, w/
Fortis : always voiceless
/ p, t, k /
coda
3 preglottalisation
Examples:
1
spill
stool
squire
scream
2
pill
tool
choir
cream
3
taps
catch
sick leave
hunts
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4 after voicelessness: initial devoicing
Lenis:
/ b, d, g /
5 between voiced sounds: full voicing
6 before voicelessness: final devoicing
Examples
4
bill
bus-driver
silk gown
5
rubber
stand-up
big game
6
club
read
bagpipe
The glottal stop
Although [ʔ] is not an RP phoneme, it is nevertheless discussed here. In RP the glottal stop is
used in three ways.
1 preglottalisation of final fortis plosives.
2 replacement of a fortis plosive. In this case we speak of glottal substitution. In RP /t/
may be replaced with a glottal stop, but normally only when other consonants follow, as
in out there, fitness, not yet, football. In many types of regional speech glottal
substitution occurs much more frequently, however (e.g. Cockney).
3 occurence of glottal stop before a vowel. In RP, this generally happens when the vowel
is initial in syllable pronounced with great emphasis, as in But this is ʔawful! Not just
ʔany! However, the Dutch tendency for word-initial vowels to be preceded by a glottal
stop does not occur in RP. (e.g. Wordt ʔIne ʔeven ʔoud ʔals ʔAnton?) However, in an
English sentence like Is Anne’s uncle Eric as old as aunt Alice? , the last consonant of
each word is pronounced as if it was in the onset of the following syllable, i.e. without
any intervening glottal closure. This is known as liaison.
Exercises
1
How are obstruents subdivided?
2
How are sonorants subdivided?
3
List the RP plosives and the RP fricatives.
4
What three stages can be distinguished in the articulation of a plosive?
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5
What RP plosives are pronounced in the following ways, in what contexts?
1 with aspiration
2 with incomplete plosion
3 cause devoicing
4 preglottalised
6
Indicate by means of A, B, C, D or X for each plosive in the following words how it
is realised. Note that there may be more than one plosive in a word.
A. aspiration or devoicing of / l, r, j, w /
B. fortis unaspirated
C. preglottalisation
D. incomplete plosion
X. none of the above










skates
climber
peptalk
backstroke
stuntman
potato
blackboard
stockbroker
Piccadilly Circus
Hyde Park Corner
- 63 -
Assignment 1
No aspiration or devoicing will give your pronunciation an awful Dutch flavour and
may even give rise to misunderstandings in conversations with RP speakers.
Examples:
- no aspiration in ‘that park’ may sound like ‘that bark’
- no devoicing in ‘play’ will remind you of the Dutch word ‘plee’.
What misunderstandings are likely to occur in
- park
- tense
- coast
- peat
- time
- came
- pride
- clue
- peak
- tomb
- coat
- post
- tame
- cap
- toll
- peat
Assignment 2
Which of the following English words feature aspiration or devoicing of / l, j, r, w /?
- special
- supper
- clear
- couple
- twice
- expect
- Scarborough
- potter
- price
- discuss
Assignment 3
Transcribe the following words and phrases and say for each plosive if there is
a. aspiration
b. devoicing
c. preglottalisation
d. incomplete plosion
x. none of the above
- cockles
- Proctor and Gamble
- catfish
- sceptical
- jackpot
- Speakers’ Corner
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Assignment 4
Transcribe the following phrases, using liaison:
1.
this afternoon
2.
the British Isles
3.
South Africa
4.
with all my heart
5.
love and marriage
Assignment 5
Transcribe the following sentences, indicating aspiration (h), devoicing (a small
circle below the devoiced sound), preglottalisation (superscript ʔ) and incomplete
plosion (underline the two plosives):
1. They have put up the price of coffee and scones.
2. The pop concert ended quietly.
3. The play reached a climax in the fourth act.
4. We told them what they wanted to know about Wiltshire.
5. I can’t see what difference it makes.
6. Have you put the clock back yet?
7. They have got lots and lots of chocolate in that shop.
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CHAPTER 11: ALLOPHONES OF RP FRICATIVES/AFFRICATES (Chapter 12 from EPST)
Fricatives
RP /f, v/ are labio-dental fricatives, so the outgoing air escapes with friction between the
lower lip and the upper teeth. Take care not to unvoice RP /v/ in words like 'vast' (to be
distinguished from 'fast'), 'very' (should not sound like 'ferry'), 'shovel' (different from 'shuffle'),
and 'serving' (different from 'surfing').
As you know, final /v/ makes the preceding vowel or voiced portion much longer (compared to final
/f/ which causes pre-fortis clipping). Examples: 'leave' (with a long /i:/ allophone, to be distinguished
from the one in 'leaf') and 'involve' (with a long /Ql/).
RP /T, D/ are dental fricatives, so the outgoing air escapes with friction between the
tip of the tongue and the upper teeth. Remember the distribution of /T/ and /D/
(discussed in Chapter 5)? Here is an exercise to check if you do:
a. north
/ / because
b. leather
/ / because
c. thought
/ / because
d. that
/ / because
e. method
/ / because
f. smooth
/ / because
g. breathe
/ / because
h. cathedral
/ / because
i. nothing
/ / because
j. thatcher
/ / because
N.B.: /T/ and /D/ are often mispronounced, because they do not occur in Dutch.
/smIT/ is pronounced /smIs/,
/TO:t/ as /tO:t/;
/meT@d/ is pronounced /met@d/,
/O:T@/ as /O:t@/;
/Tri:/ is pronounced /tri:/;
/DIs/ is pronounced /dIs/,
/D@Uz/ as /d@Uz/;
/leD@/ is pronounced /led@r/,
/mVD@/ as /mOd@r/ and
/wID/ is pronounced /wIz/.
A teacher who cannot pronounce these sounds properly makes a very bad impression on
his pupils and cannot hope to correct their mispronunciations, so please carefully follow the
guidelines in paragraph 12.5 of the book (p. 141, EPST)!
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As you know, final /D/ makes the preceding vowel or voiced portion much longer.
Examples: 'smooth' (with a long /u:/) and 'tooth' (which has pre-fortis clipping).
When /D/ occurs initially, as it does in the 'grammar words', its fricative character is often
lost: the tongue tip and rims tap lightly against the inner edges of the upper teeth, without
friction being produced. This allophone of RP /D/ is therefore a dental approximant. The
only mistake you can make here is a strong /d/ plosive or /z/ fricative.
/T/ and /D/ are usually mispronounced when preceded by the alveolar sounds /t, d, l, n/,
as it is difficult for the tongue to move quickly from the alveolar to the dental position.
Transcribe the following examples:
a. I don’t know about them.
b. On board the Queen Elizabeth.
c. What’s all this about?
d. When the time comes.
e. You can think about it.
f. That thought hadn’t occurred to me.
g. The main theme of that novel.
h. What’s wrong with your health?
To correct this mistake, use a dental /t, d, l, n/. This adaptation of the alveolar sounds to
the following dental sound is called dentalisation, which is a type of assimilation. These
are cases of allophonic assimilation, because there is no phonemic, but allophonic
adaptation.
In fact, a full classification of this type of assimilation is regressive allophonic assimilation of
place (RAP).
So, if you use a dental allophone of /t, d, l, n/ before /T/or /D/, you will automatically
pronounce the latter sounds correctly!
In the language of many Dutch speakers, the phonemes /v/ and /z/ are missing. As a
result, they will say ‘fogel’, ‘gefaarlijk’, ‘saken’, ‘gesellig’. Make sure you never do this in
RP! So distinguish between
ferry /
fast /
seal /
sink /
/ and very
/ and vast
/ and zeal
/ and zinc
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/.
For RP /s, z/ the blade of the tongue articulates with the teeth ridge, allowing the air to
escape through a narrow tube-like groove in the centre of the tip and blade; the tip is raised in
- 67 -
the direction of the teeth ridge, and may or may not touch the inside of the lower teeth. As a
result, RP /s/, and to a lesser extent /z/, is a far more sharp and piercing sound than AN /s, z/.
This sharp /s/ sound is a very striking feature of (female) Southern British voices especially.
Take care not to unvoice RP /z/ in words like 'zeal' (to be distinguished from 'seal'), 'zap'
(should not sound like 'sap'), 'ozone', 'reason', and 'his back' (different from 'hiss back').
As you know, final /z/ makes the preceding vowel or voiced portion much longer.
Examples: 'peas' (with a long /i:/ allophone, to be distinguished from the one in
'piece' and 'peace') and 'falls' (with a long /O:l/, as opposed to 'false').
For RP /S,Z/ friction is produced between the blade of the tongue and the rear end of
the alveolar ridge, while the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard
palate. The tip of the tongue is near the alveolar ridge or touches it. Additionally, RP
/S,Z/ are pronounced with considerable lip protrusion and lip rounding. Take care
not to unvoice RP /Z/ in words like 'rouge' and 'measure'. 'Vision' should not sound like
'fission'!
As you know, final /Z/ makes the preceding vowel or voiced portion much longer.
Example: 'rouge' (with a long /u:/ allophone).
The glottal fricative /h/ is normally realised as a whispered -and therefore voicelessversion of the following vowel. Take care not to use voice, as is done in Dutch!
RP /h/ is voiceless, AN /h/ voiced (produced with a narrowed
glottis). Remember to pronounce
- ‘human’ as /hju:m@n/, not
/ju:m@n/;
- ‘huge’ as /hju:dZ/, not /ju:dZ/;
- ‘Hugh’ as /hju:/, not /ju:/.
Assignment: transcribe
a. Your voice sounded very faint over the phone.
b. The ovation the vet received was well-deserved.
c. Vivian says that jazz musicians do not know what music is.
d. After the explosion there was quite a commotion.
N.B. As far as /v, z, Z/ are concerned, where do you expect mispronunciations?
Affricates
For RP /tS, dZ/ a closure is made between the tip and blade of the tongue and the alveolar
ridge, which is followed by a slow release between the blade and the rear edge of the
alveolar ridge, causing friction.
Lip rounding and lip protrusion are quite common among RP speakers.
In sequences like 'much cheese', 'which church', 'Dutch gin', 'huge chests', 'large jars', 'rich
judges' make sure to pronounce two affricates!
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Take care not to unvoice RP /dZ/ in words like 'age', 'budget', and 'George'.
As you know, final /dZ/ makes the preceding vowel or voiced portion much longer.
Example: 'Scrooge' (with a long /u:/ allophone).
For RP /tr, dr/ the tip of the tongue is tense, slightly curled and raised to make contact
with the rear edge of the alveolar ridge, the rims of the tongue forming a complete closure
with the upper side teeth and gums. The closure is followed by a slow release of the tip,
resulting in friction.
Note that the affricates /tr, dr/ occur initially only. In different syllables /tr/ and /dr/ are
separate sounds,
/r/ being an approximant! Compare 'retrace' with 'ratrace' and 'bedraggled'
(verfomfaaid) with 'bedridden' (bedlegerig, achterhaald).
N.B. 1 Exceptionally, the affricate /dr/ is used in the compounds 'bedroom' and 'wardrobe'.
N.B. 2 The second element of the affricate /dr/ is a fricative, not an approximant!
Assignment
Underline the fricatives in the following words. Indicate where devoicing is likely
to occur in the pronunciation of Dutch learners of English. What mistakes is the
RP listener likely to hear?
sequence
your van
bad advice
fuzzy
university
age
Devoicing
likely?
Yes
mistake?
your fan
sequence
devoicing likely? Mistake?
a vision
jazz
very well
double glazing
zoom lens
Assignment: transcribe
1. Every cloud has a silver lining.
2. Arthur is at the end of his tether.
3. He wanted the money right there and then.
4. That interpretation of Measure for Measure was unusual.
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CHAPTER 12: ALLOPHONES OF RP NASALS/APPROXIMANTS (Chapter 13 from EPST)
In this chapter we will be looking in more detail at the specific characteristics of the
pronunciation of RP sonorants.
Like vowels, sonorants are generally produced with a voiced, freely escaping airstream.
The RP sonorants are the three nasals /m, n, N/, and the four approximants /l, r, j, w/.
Nasals differ from vowels in having a complete closure in the mouth (bilabial for /m/,
alveolar for /n/, and velar for /N/).
Approximants differ from vowels in having a relatively weak airstream.
Normally only vowels can be syllable bearers, i.e. the most prominent sound in a syllable.
Nasals and dark /l/, however, can be syllabic as well. Examples: prism /prIzm/, written
/rItn/, suddenly /sVdnli/, bottle /bQtl/, shuttles /SVtlz/.
As we saw in chapter VI, RP nasals and /l/ may constitute voiced portions, which are
subject to the same rules for pre-fortis clipping as vowels. Example: 'falls' has a long
voiced portion /O:l/ and 'false' a short one. Why?
Make up your mind about the duration of the voiced portions in
Short or long?
sins
rinse
called
damn
prince
Short or long?
Rooms
Lens
Colt
Lungs
Wall
For RP /m/, the lips articulate with each other, forming a complete closure as for /p, b/,
but in /m/ the soft palate is lowered, allowing the air to escape through the nose. /m/ is
labio-dental before /f, v/, as in 'comfort', 'symphony'. These are cases of regressive
assimilation (see Chapter 13).
For RP /n/, the tip of the tongue articulates with the alveolar ridge. The soft palate is
lowered, allowing the air to escape through the nose. Post-alveolar /n/ occurs before /r/
and /tr, dr/. Examples: 'sunrise', 'entrance', 'hundred'. These are cases of regressive
assimilation (see chapter XIV).
For RP /N/, the back of the tongue articulates with the lowered soft palate, forming a
complete closure as for /k, g/.
Syllabic /l, n/
When /l, n/ are syllabic, it means that they are syllable bearers, i.e. the most prominent
sounds of that syllable. In this respect, /l, n/ are like vowels. When the alveolar sounds /t,
d, s, z, S, Z/, the labio-dentals /f, v/ and the dentals /T, D/ precede, there is no schwa inbetween. Examples: 'metal' /metl/, 'television' /'tel@vIZn/. Transcribe, please:
a. shuttle
/
/
d. written
/
/
b. middle
/
/
e. suddenly /
/
c. mistletoe /
/
f. mason
/
/
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g. dazzle
/
/
l. reason
/
/
h. facial
/
/
m. station
/
/
i.
rifle
/
/
n. decision
/
/
j.
shovel
/
/
o. often
/
/
/
/
p. oven
/
/
k. Ethel
When /t, d/ precede /l/, we speak of lateral plosion. The tip of the tongue remains in the
same position and the air escapes along the sides of the tongue. Examples: 'shuttle' /SVtl/,
'puddle' /pVdl/. Remember that when final /t/ is followed by syllabic /l/, there is no
preglottalisation.
There is preglottalisation when /t/ and /l/ occur in different words (and /l/ is not dark and
syllabic!) as in ‘at last’ /@ʔt'lA:st/ and ‘that liar’ /Dæʔt'laI@/.
Assignment 1
Which of the above words a. to p. feature lateral plosion? Example: 'shuttle'.
When /t, d/ precede /n/, we speak of nasal plosion. The tip of the tongue remains in the
same position, the soft palate is lowered and the air escapes through the nose. Examples:
'written' /rItn/, 'sudden' /sVdn/. Remember that when final /t/ is followed by syllabic /n/,
there is no preglottalisation.
There is preglottalisation when /t/ and /n/ occur in different words (and /n/ is not syllabic!) as
in ‘at night’
/@ʔt'naIt/ and ‘that nincompoop’ /Dæʔt'nINk@mpu:p/.
Nasal plosion also occurs in sequences like ‘topmost’, ‘club match’.
Assignment 2
Which of the above words a. to p. feature nasal plosion? Example: 'written'.
Clear and Dark /l/
For RP /l/, the tip of the tongue articulates with the alveolar ridge, while the sides of the
tongue make no contact and allow the air to escape laterally. RP /l/ has two important
allophones: clear and dark /l/. The former occurs before vowels and /j/, the latter in all other
cases. Examples: clear /l/ in 'lovely', 'ceiling' and 'million' ('mIlj@n); dark /l/ in 'all', 'false',
'called' and 'muddle'. Dark /l/ is represented in transcription as follows: / L /.
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Assignment 2
Which /l/-sounds in the following passage are a) clear; b) dark?
'I wish you all, my dear friends, a happy Christmas. I have been deeply touched by the
greetings which in the last few days have reached me from all parts of the Empire. Let me
in response send to each of you a greeting from myself. My words will be very simple, but
spoken from the heart, on this family festival of Christmas.' (from King George V’s
message to the Empire, Christmas 1935)
As we have seen in Chapter 10, after syllable-initial /p, k/, RP /l/ is devoiced and
accompanied with considerable friction.
Since RP is not a rhotic (r-pronouncing) accent, the approximant /r/ can only occur when
a vowel follows. Hence 'car' is pronounced /kA:/ and 'read' /ri:d/.
Allophones of RP /r/
RP /r/ has two allophones:
a. a post-alveolar approximant. The tip of the tongue is raised towards the rear edge
of the alveolar ridge, while the front of the tongue is slightly hollowed and
contracted, the sides making contact with the upper
molars. This /r/ occurs initially before vowels, between vowels, and after lenis
obstruents except /d/. Examples: 'reason', 'borrow', and 'grow'.
b. as we have seen in Chapter 10, after syllable-initial /p, k/, RP /r/ is devoiced and
accompanied with
considerable friction.
N.B. /tr, dr/ are affricates, as in 'try, dream', except when /t, d/ and / r/ occur in different
syllables. Example: 'bedridden'.
Linking and intrusive linking /r/
When a word ending in /A:, O:, 3:, @, I@, e@, U@/ + r in the spelling is followed by a
word starting with a vowel, this r is pronounced. This /r/ is called linking r.
Examples:
'far away'
/'fA:r@'weI/
'your office'
/jO:r'QfIs/
'it does not occur in English' /it'dVznt@'k3:rIn'INglIS/
'for all I know' /f@r'O:laI'n@U/
'here I am' /'hI@raI'æm/
'there he is' /'De@ri'Iz/
'a tour of the city' /@'tU@r@vD@'sIti/
Some speakers generalise the distributional pattern of linking /r/ to words ending in /A:, O:, @,
I@/ that have never had an /r/ before. In that case /r/ intrudes in the pronunciation and is
therefore called intrusive linking r. Examples:
'the idea of writing a novel' /DiaI'dI@r@v'raItIN@'nQvl/
'law and order' /'lO:r@n'O:d@/
'Russia and China' /'rVS@r@n'tSaIn@/
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Schwa elision before /r/
RP /@/ before an unstressed syllable beginning with /r/, as in 'history' /'hIst@ri/, is normally
elided. Hence the word is pronounced /'hIstri/. Such elision is quite general, except after /l/.
Other examples:
'dictionary'
/'dIkSnri/
'general'
/'dZenr@l/
'laboratory'
/l@'bQr@tri/
Assignment 3
Where would you expect linking r to occur in the following phrases? Please indicate if this /r/
is intrusive:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
put a comma in
the doctor advised him to have a minor operation
the Shah of Persia
best wishes from Jill, Paula and Sue
honour where honour is due
the colour of your eyes
the idea as such
In RP /j/ there is an approximation of the front of the tongue and the hard palate. RP /j/ is
pronounced as a weak /I/ vowel.
One of the differences between RP and American accents is illustrated by words like
'student', 'duty', 'endure' and 'new': in RP these words have /ju:/, in American English /u:/
occurs after /t, d, n, l/ in accented syllables, as well as after /s, z/.
In RP there is variation after /s/ and /l/. After /l/, the rule is /u:/, certainly for younger
speakers, except when /l/ follows an accented vowel.
After word-initial /s/, the rule is /u:/, except in 'sure' (and its derivatives!) and
'sugar'. After non-initial /s/, use /ju:/.
N.B. 1. 'presume' and 'resume' have /zj/!
N.B. 2. 'issue' is either pronounced /'ISu:/ or /'Isju:/. Younger speakers and Americans say
/'ISu:/. Similarly, 'tissue' is either pronounced /'tISu:/ or /'tIsju:/.
N.B. 3. 'Zeus' is pronounced /zju:s/.
N.B. 4. The weak ending '-sure' is pronounced /-Z@/. Examples: 'leisure', 'pleasure'. However,
when another s precedes, we have /-S@/, as in 'pressure'.
Assignment 4
Choose between /ju:/ and /u:/ in
a. absolute
b. illuminate
c. volume
d. lucid
e. consume(r), consumption
f. suit
g. super
h. insulate
i. lunar
j. value
k. assume,
l.assumption
suicide
m. pursue, pursuit
n. revolution
o. suitable
p. insurance
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As we have seen in Chapter 10, after syllable-initial /p, t, k/, RP /j/ is devoiced and
accompanied with considerable friction.
For RP /w/ the lips are rounded closely and the back of the tongue is raised in the
direction of the soft palate, but no contact is made. RP /w/ is pronounced as a weak /U/
vowel.
As we have seen in Chapter 10, after syllable-initial /t, k/, RP /w/ is devoiced and
accompanied with considerable friction.
As we saw in Chapter 10, accented /p, t, k/ have a strong devoicing effect on following /l, j,
w, r/. Examples:
a. please
b. pewter
c. price
d. tune
e. twice
f. try (the affricate /tr/ is always fortis/voiceless!)
g. clear
h. cute
i. quite
j. cry
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/.
Transcribe the above words.
The approximants /l, j, w, r/ are naturally voiced, otherwise they would be inaudible. So what
happens when they are devoiced by preceding /p, t, k/? Do they become inaudible? No:
they become fricatives, and thus audible!
In the sequences /pl-/ and /kl-/, /l/ is a fricative;
in the sequences /pr-/, /tr-/ and /kr-/, /r/ is a fricative;
in the sequences /pj-/, /tj-/ and kj-/, /j/ is a fricative;
in the sequences /tw-/ and /kw-/, /w/ is a fricative.
Mind, that in words like ‘upright’, ‘Capwell’, ‘streetwise’ and ‘meatloaf’ /r/, /w/, and /l/ are
approximants, not fricatives. Explain why!
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CHAPTER 13: ASSIMILATION (Chapter 14 from EPST)
There is said to be assimilation /@%sIm@'leISn/ when two neighbouring sounds affect each
other in such a way that one of them comes to share one or more features of the other, so
they become more similar. Assimilation originates from economy of speech: it saves
articulatory effort.
Assimilation is far less common in RP than in Dutch. Avoid the following phonemic
assimilations of voice:
a. splashdown /splæZdaUn/
b. birthday /b3:DdeI/
c. this boat /DIz b@Ut/
d. if they /Iv DeI/
(should be
(should be
(should be
(should be
/'splæSdaUn/)
/'b3:TdeI/)
/DIs b@Ut)
/If DeI/)
e. this violin /DIs faI@'lIn/
f. black velvet /blæk felf@t/
(should be /DIs vaI@'lIn/)
(should be /blæk velv@t/)
g. what about /wQd @baUt/
h. if I were you /Iv aI w@ ju:/
i. this is wrong /DIz Iz rQN/
(should be /wQt @baUt/)
(should be /If aI w@ ju:/)
(should be /DIs Iz rQN/)
Assignment 1
Transcribe the following sentences:
a. I visited the party in disguise.
b. We have a different background.
c. If you know what I mean.
d. She has had a nervous breakdown.
e. You got value for your money with that van.
f.
This is unknown in the British Isles.
g. What else has happened since August?
h. The crisis at the university is a nuisance.
Assignment 2
What assimilation mistakes is a learner likely to make in the above utterances?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
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In the course of time, the following assimilations have become standard in RP:
- used to (ju:zd t@ → ju:st@; to refer to a past habit)
-
have to (hæv t@ → hæft@)
-
has to (hæz t@ → hæst@)
-
had to (hæd t@ → hætt@)
-
supposed to (s@'p@Uzd t@ → s@'p@Ust@)
-
of course (@v 'kO:s → @f'kO:s)
-
it is (It Iz → Itz → Its)
-
what's (wQt Iz → wQtz → wQts)
Note:
- newspaper ('nju:zpeIp@); assimilation in 'nju:speIp@
- raspberry: assimilation in 'rA:zbri no assimilation in rA:sbri
- congratulate (k@n'grætSUleIt); assimilation in k@N'grætSUleIt
Assimilation in RP
As we have seen, assimilation is much less common in RP than in Dutch. It may occur,
however, in the sequences -tp-, -tb-, dp-, -db-, -np-, -nb- and -nm-. Examples:
'white policeman' may be pronounced either /'waIʔpp@'li:sm@n/ or /'waIʔtp@'li:sm@n/;
'white blouse' may be pronounced either /'waIʔp'blaUz/ or /'waIʔt'blaUz/;
'bad pen' may be pronounced either /'bæb'pen/ or /'bæd'pen/;
'bad books' may be pronounced either /'bæb'bUks/ or /'bæd'bUks/
'fine pullover' may be pronounced either /'faIm'pUlEUv@/ or /''faIn'pUl@Uv@/
'fine boy' may be pronounced either /'faIm'bOI/ or /'faIn'bOI/
'one more' may be pronounced either /'wVm'mO:/ or /'wVn'mO:/
The above assimilations are classified as regressive phonemic assimilations of place because
a. the second sound influences the first;
b. a new phoneme replaces the old; it is a phonemic change;
c. it is the place of articulation that changes.
Regressive phonemic assimilation of place may also occur in the sequences -tk-, -tg-, -dk-, -dg-, -nk-,
and -ng-. Examples:
'white car' may be pronounced either /'waIʔk 'kA:/ or /'waIʔt 'kA:/;
'white guy' may be pronounced either /'waIʔk 'gaI/ or /'waIʔt 'gaI/;
'good question' may be pronounced either /'gUg'kwestS@n/ or /'gUd'kwestS@n/;
'good guy' may be pronounced either /'gUg'gaI/ or /'gUd'gaI/;
'one car' may be pronounced either /'wVN'kA:/ or /'wVn'kA:/;
'one guy' may be pronounced either /'wVN'gaI/ or /'wVn'gaI/.
Regressive phonemic assimilation of place may also occur in the sequences /-sS-/ and /-zS-/.
Examples: 'this ship' is pronounced /'DIS'SIp/; 'these ships' is pronounced /'Di:Z'SIps/.
Yod coalescence3 (or 'coalescent' assimilation) may occur in the sequences -t + j- and -d
+ j-. In this case two unaccented sounds coalesce into one. (tS is one sound; so is dZ)!
Examples:
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'I've got you under my skin!' may be pronounced either /aIv'gQtSju/ or /aIv'gQtju/;
'Would you be so kind as to…' may be pronounced either /'wUdZU/ or /'wUdju/;
'You want it badly, don't you?' may be pronounced either /'d@UntSu/ or /'d@Untju/;
'You did not go, did you?' may be pronounced either /'dIdZu/ or /'dIdju/.
In the course of time many more coalescent assimilations have taken place. When English
borrowed French words, their stress shifted to the first syllable and the -s + j-, -z + j-, -t + jand -d + j- sequences coalesced into /S/, /Z/, /tS/, and /dZ/ respectively. They may be
classified as historical coalescent assimilations. Examples:
nation /'neISn/
measure /'meZ@/
nature /'neItS@/
soldier /'s@UldZ@/
In contemporary English, too, yod coalescence may occur in these sequences:
(f)actual /'(f)æktSU@l/; educate /'edZUkeIt/.
Regressive phonemic assimilation may also occur in the sequence -T + s-.
Examples: both sides /'b@Us'saIdz/
twentieth century /'twentI@s'sentS@ri/
All the abovementioned cases concern phonemic assimilations, which are far less
common in RP than in Dutch. Allophonic assimilations are quite common in RP. So far
we have seen
a. Devoicing: progressive allophonic assimilations of voice (PAV), i.e. the devoicing of /l, r, j,w/
by preceding accented /p, t, k/, as in ‘price’, ‘tune’ and ‘clear’ (see Chapter 10). This is indicated
in transcription by a small circle below the devoiced sound;
b. Dentalisation: regressive allophonic assimilation of place (RAP), i.e. the use of dental /t, d,
n, l/ before /T, D/, as in ‘eighth’, ‘width’, ‘tenth’ and ‘health’ (see Chapter 11). This is indicated in
transcription by a small tooth below the dentalised sound.
Assimilations are classified as progressive when the first sound influences the second.
Allophonic assimilations also occur in
a. Retraction: the use of post-alveolar /t, d, n, l/ before /r/, as in ‘at rest’, bad rice’, ‘unrest’ and
‘allright’. They are examples of regressive allophonic assimilation of place (RAP). This is
indicated in transcription by a small arrow pointing backwards below the retracted sound;
b. Rounding: the rounding of the lips in /k, g/ before /w/, as in ‘quite’ and ‘Gwen’. They are
examples of regressive allophonic assimilation of rounding (RAR). This is indicated in
transcription by a small bow below the rounded sound.
3
Yod = the sound /I/ or /j/.
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Assignment 3
Transcribe the following sentences, indicating cases of allophonic assimilation (devoicing,
dentalisation, retraction and rounding):
a. Please come at the appointed time, is that clear?
b. All those questions caused an outcry of anger.
c. Henry refused the crown twice.
d. I thought he had both feet on the ground.
e. It is all in the game.
f.
Both sides may have a good point.
g. Your arguments do not sound unreasonable.
h. She was quite a good queen.
Elision
Elision can be defined as the deletion of a phoneme in rapid speech, and may occur either
within words or at word boundaries. Examples:
cost 'price /kQs'praIs/
postcard /'p@UskA:d/
test match /tesmætS/
first-class /f3:s'klA:s/
soft palate /sQf'pæl@t/
dustbin /dVsbIn/
they've left school /DeIv'lef'sku:l/
he's just left /hiz'dZVs'left/
standpoint /'stænpOInt/
landscape /'lænskeIp/
friendship /'frenSIp/
windscreen /'wInskri:n/
sandwich /'sænwIdZ/ or /'sænwItS/ (standard)
handbag /'hænbæg/
she loved Peter /Si'lVvpi:t@/
we got bogged down /wi'gQt'bQg'daUn/
Remember that final /t/ is preceded by preglottalisation. In the following examples /t/
may be elided, but preglottalisation indicates a t in the spelling!
She went mad /Si'wenʔ 'mæd/
I felt very bad /aI'felʔ 'veri'bæd/
I don't know /aI'd@Unʔ 'n@U/
They must have spent the night here /DeI'mVst@v'spenʔ D@'naIʔt 'hI@/
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Common elisions are
asked /A:st/
months /mVns/
clothes /kl@Uz/
A sequence of two identical consonants is not reduced to one, as in Dutch, but is about
1.5 times as long as a single consonant. This is called gemination. Transcribe two
identical consonants at word- or morpheme boundaries. Double letters in spelling are not
transcribed with double consonants when they do not indicate word- or morpheme
boundaries. The following words have two identical consonants in transcription:
bookcase
at ten
dress circle
still life
home made
with this
five voters
bad dream
unnecessary
we'll leave
she'd done it herself
N.B. In the sequence 'irre-', as in 'irrelevant', 'irresistible' only one r is pronounced. Likewise,
only one m is pronounced in the sequence 'imm-', as in 'immoral', 'immovable'.
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