Phonetics and Phonology

                                                FF1B



                                        Lecture 8  Worksheet

   

                                ASPECTS  OF  CONNECTED  SPEECH   III

                                              ELISION

   

   Print this worksheet and bring it with you to the lecture.

   

   

   ·        Practical definition:

   under certain circumstances sounds disappear, ie in certain circumstances a phoneme may have
   zero realisation

   

   

   Examples in Czech

   srdce /srce/         jablko /japko/     džbán /ʒba:n/     dcera /cera/     francouzština
   /francouʃtina/

   

   

   1.     Historical elision

   - proper nouns

   Gloucester /                /     Worcester /                   /!!!     Leicester
   /                 /

   

   - consonant clusters

              

   +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |WH-       |where /weə/     when /wen/                                                 |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |WH-       |who /hu:/     whole /həʊl/                                           |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |WR-       |wrong /rɒŋ/     write /raІt/                                  |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |KN-       |know /nəʊ/     knife /naІf/                                   |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |PS-       |psychic /saІkІk/     psalm /sɑ:m/                            |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |PN-       |pneumonia /nju:ˈməʊnІə/                           |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |          |                                                                                 |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |-STL-     |castle /kɑ:sl/     whistle /wІsl/                                   |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |-STN-     |fasten /fɑ:sn/    chestnat /tʃesn∧t/                          |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |          |                                                                                 |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |-MB       |climb /klaІm/    bomb /bɒm/                                         |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |-MN       |hymn /hІm/     column /kɒləm/                                 |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |-BT       |doubt /daʊt/     debt /det/                                                |
   |----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |-PT       |receipt /rІˈsi:t/                                                   |
   +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

   

   

   

   2.     Colloquial elision

   

   VOWELS

   - loss of weak vowel after /p,t,k/

       /pˈteІtəʊ/, /tˈmɑ:təʊ/, /pˈhaeps/

   

   - weak vowel + /n,l,r/ becomes a syllabic consonant

      tonight /tˈnaІt/, national /naeʃnl̩/, correct /kˈrekt/

   

   CONSONANTS

   

   - /t,d/ in clusters

      acts /aeks/,   mostly /məʊsli/,  landlady /laenleІdІ/,  
   grandmother /graenm∧d-ə/

   

   - other consonants in clusters

      months /m∧ns/,  clothes /kləʊz/

   

   - /t/ at word boundaries

      last night /lɑ:s naІt/,   just now /dʒ∧s naʊ/

   

   - loss of final /v/ in “of” before consonants

      lots of them /lɒts ə d-əm/,   waste of money /weІst ə
   m∧ni/

   

   CONTRACTIONS

   = a special case; some experts do, some don’t regard them as cases of elision

   - “had” --> ‘d :  /d/, /əd/

      “not” --> n’t : /nt/

      “ are” --> ‘re : /ə/, etc.

   

   ---------------------------------------------

   

   3.     No elision

   what time /wɒt taІm/,   fresh shirt /freʃ ʃ3:t/,   half full
   /hɑ:f fʊl/,   with this /wІd-  d-Іs/

   

   - these sounds get articulated but are given no audible realisation, ie you “hold the first
   consonant but don’t release it until you articulater the other (following) consonant

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   The following exercises have been taken from