Introduction to English
pronunciation and phonetics
Lecture 4
Sounds in context
Why doesn’t synthetic speech sound
natural?
• All sounds tend to be pronounced in all
words
• Stress patterns are not natural, or all
words are stressed equally much
• Pauses between words tend to be of
same length
Sounds in context
• Sounds in isolation are sometimes
different from sounds in words
• Words in isolation are sometimes
pronounced differently from words in
sentences
• Neighbouring sounds affect each other
Some important sound
changes in English are...
• Assimilation
• Elision
• Strong and weak forms in connected
speech (vowel reduction)
• Word stress
Assimilation
• the pronunciation of a sound is influenced
by a sound that comes immediately after
or before it
• the sounds become more similar
• can be regressive or progressive
• assimilation also common in Swedish
Regressive assimilation
• A sound is influenced by the following
sound
Examples:
gunman /'gummæn/
/n/ → /m/
can be
/kæm bi:/
pancake /pæŋkeık/
/n/ → /ŋ/
this shop /ðıʃ ʃɒp/
/s/ → /ʃ/
have to /hæf tu:/
/v/ → /f/
Progressive assimilation
• A sound is influenced by the previous
sound
Examples:
washed /wɒʃt/
tricks
/trıks/
happen /hæpm/
/d/ → /t/
/z/ → /s/
/n/ → /m/
Assimilation pun:
”Why do you spend so much time with the
mushroom?”
”He’s such a fungi!”
Elision
• one sound is omitted (or several
sounds)
• common in rapid or casual speech
• especially noticeable in consonant
clusters
• to “economise”; make a word or phrase
easier to pronounce
Elision
Examples:
fifth
clothes
dustbin
asked
handbag
don’t know
/fıfθ/
→
/kləʊðz/ →
/dʌstbın/ →
/ɑ:skt || æskt/
/hændbæg/ →
/'dəʊnt 'nəʊ/ →
/fıθ/
/kləʊz/
/dʌsbın/
/ɑ:st || æst/
/hæmbæg/
/də'nəʊ/
Strong and weak forms
• most function words have a strong and
a weak form
• closed word classes:
auxiliary verbs (e.g. do, has, can)
conjunctions (and, but, as)
prepositions (to, from, of)
determiners (the, a, some)
pronouns (him, her, them)
Strong forms
• used at the end of sentences (but
pronouns can have weak form here too)
• used for emphasis or contrast
Compare:
Have some more. vs.
We must meet. vs.
He’s so nice. vs.
I’ve had some.
Must I do this?
How nice he is!
Weak forms
Characterised by:
• omitted or reduced vowel to /ə/ or /ı/
• omitted or reduced /h/ initially
• omitted end consonant (esp. in and)
Examples:
Do you know him?
/djə/
You and me
/ən, n/
I’d love some coffee
/səm/
Strong and weak forms
strong
weak
Ask her, not him.
I can do it, but I won’t.
I said fish and chips, not
fish or chips!
I know where he’s from.
I said I didn’t want to!
But I have told you!
Have you asked her?
Can you pass the milk?
I’d like fish and chips.
Did you hear from him?
Do you want to go?
I’ve quit smoking.
Stress
• syllable = a sound unit with a vowel
sound at the centre
Examples:
one syllable: stress, sound, with
two syllables: unit, centre, English
• one syllable in a word pronounced more
strongly = stressed syllable
Word stress
• stress is marked with a vertical line
before the stressed syllable in the
transcription
Examples:
England
/'ıŋglənd/
sofa
/'səʊfə/
machine
/mə'ʃi:n/
police
/pə'li:s/
Word stress
• Words with two or three syllables are often
stressed on the first syllable
Examples:
'balance
'menu
'model
'article
'principle
'democrat
Word stress
• more than three syllables = normally stressed
on third syllable from the end
Examples:
a'nalysis
pa'renthesis
de'mocracy
ther'mometer
bi'ology
• a few exceptions: propa'ganda, dia'gnosis,
peni'cillin
Word stress
• Words with Romance suffixes normally
stressed on the last syllable.
Examples:
refer'ee
train'ee
chimpanz'ee
shamp'oo
tab'oo
kitchen'ette
• Words ending in –ry and –ny are normally
stressed on fourth syllable from the end.
Examples:
'February
'temporary
'category
'dictionary
'ceremony
Word stress
• words ending in suffixes = stressed on
syllable before suffix (e.g.-ic, -ian,-ial, ion)
Examples: ener'getic, phy'sician, col'lision
• a few words have two main stresses
Examples:
'thir'teen, 'four'teen (cf. thirty, forty)
'Chin'ese, 'Japan'ese
Double or single stress?
Note the difference between compounds
and phrases!
Compound
Phrase
a 'blackbird
a 'black 'bird
a 'redneck
a 'red 'neck
a 'French teacher a 'French 'teacher
the 'White House the 'white 'house
Regular stress shifts
• words with two syllables that can be
both a noun/adjective and a verb
have a regular stress shift
• the noun/adjective is stressed on the
first syllable
• the verb is stressed on the second
syllable
Examples:
'export (n)
'present (n)
'progress (n)
'perfect (adj)
'conduct (n)
'suspect (n)
ex'port (v)
pre'sent (v)
pro'gress (v)
per'fect (v)
con'duct (v)
sus‘pect (v)
Stress shift in related words
Note!
'origin
'physics
'industry
'grammar
o'riginal
physi'ology
in'dustrial
gram'matical
origin'ality
physio'logical
industriali'sation
grammaticali'sation