SUMMARY OF CONNECTED SPEECH PROCESSES
Connected speech processes
Table 2 summarizes all the processes affecting pronunciation in rapidly articulated connected speech that we have discussed in this section.
| ASSIMILATION……………….. | |
| allophonic | Word-final alveolars are dentalized before dental fricatives. |
| Word-final nasals are labialized before labiodental fricatives. | |
| Word-final labiodental fricatives are labialized before bilabial plosives. | |
| Word-initial /l, r/ are de-voiced after voiceless consonants. | |
| Word-final /l/ is not velarized before a word-initial vowel. | |
| Word-final voiced plosives, fricatives and affricates are not de-voiced before a word-initial vowel or voiced consonant. | |
| phonemic | Word-final voiced fricatives and affricates become voiceless before voiceless consonants. |
| Word-final /t, d, n/ become bilabial before bilabial consonants. | |
| Word-final /nt, nd/ become bilabial before bilabial consonants. | |
| Word-final /t, d, n/ become velar before velar plosives. | |
| Word-final /nt, nd/ become velar before velar plosives. | |
| Word-final /t, d, s, z/ become post-alveolar before the post-alveolar approximant /j/, with possible disappearance of /j/. | |
| Word-final /s, z/ become post-alveolar before the voiceless post-alveolar fricative / ʃ/ and the post-alveolar approximant /j/, with possible disappearance of /j/. | |
| Word-final /d/ becomes nasal before a nasal, at the same place of articulation as the nasal. | |
| Word-final /v/ becomes nasal before a nasal, at the same place of articulation as the nasal. | |
| LIAISON……………….. | |
| Word-final vowels followed by word-initial vowels may be linked with /r/. | |
| ELISION……………….. | |
| Word-initial /h/ is frequently omitted. | |
| Word-final /t, d/ preceded by a consonant and followed by a consonant in word-initial position are omitted. | |
| REDUCTION………………. | |
| Vowels in monosyllabic function words are frequently reduced to /ə/ or /ɪ/. | |
| Vowels in unstressed syllables are frequently reduced /ə/ or /ɪ/, or omitted completely. | |
Table 2. Processes operating to affect pronunciation in connected speech.
This concludes Connected Speech 101