American English Phonetic Transcription 2020055650, 2020055651, 9780367442156, 9780367441715, 9781003008088

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AMERICAN ENGLISH PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION

American English Phonetic Transcription provides an accessible introduction to phonemic, phonetic, and intonational transcription with a focus on American English. Featuring exercises, revision tasks, and recordings to help students gain hands-​on practice, the book takes a learning-​by-​doing approach and ensures students gain practice using each new symbol or concept introduced before moving on to the next. Consisting of three parts, the book covers: • transcribing individual words, including consonants, vowels, primary stress, secondary stress, syllabic consonants, and inflections; • transcribing phrases and sentences, including weak forms, elision, and assimilation; • transcribing intonation, including the structure of English intonation and recognizing pitch patterns. Ideally suited as a standalone workbook or for use alongside British English Phonetic Transcription, American English Phonetic Transcription is key reading for undergraduate students of linguistics as well as anyone teaching or learning English as a foreign language. Paul Carley has held posts at the University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, the universities of Bedfordshire and Leicester, UK, and the Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, Jeddah. He is a regular lecturer on the UCL Summer Course in English Phonetics and an examiner for the International Phonetic Association. Inger M. Mees is Associate Professor Emeritus at the Copenhagen Business School and a part-​time lecturer in the Department of English, Germanic, and Romance Studies, Copenhagen University. She has formerly held lectureships at the universities of Leiden and Copenhagen. She is on the academic staff of the UCL Summer Course in English Phonetics.

AMERICAN ENGLISH PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION

Paul Carley and Inger M. Mees

First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Paul Carley and Inger M. Mees The right of Paul Carley and Inger M. Mees to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-​in-​Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data Names: Carley, Paul (Linguist), author. | Mees, Inger M., author. Title: American English phonetic transcription / Paul Carley and Inger M. Mees. Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2020055650 (print) | LCCN 2020055651 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367442156 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367441715 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003008088 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: English language–United States–Phonetics. | English language–United States–Pronunciation. | English language–United States–Phonetic transcriptions. Classification: LCC PE2815 .C36 2021 (print) | LCC PE2815 (ebook) | DDC 421/.58–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055650 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055651 ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​44215-​6  (hbk) ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​44171-​5  (pbk) ISBN: 978-​1-​003-​00808-​8  (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Newgen Publishing UK Access the Support Material: paulcarley.com

To our friend and colleague Geoff Lindsey, an inspiring and original thinker.

CONTENTS

Symbols for phonemic transcription  Phonetic symbols and diacritics  The International Phonetic Alphabet  Preface and acknowledgments  Before you start transcribing… 

xiii xiv xvi xvii xviii

PART A

Transcribing words 

1

1 The familiar consonants /p b t d k ɡ f v s z h m n w l r/ and the vowels /ɪ æ ɛ ə ʊ/ 

3

2 Primary stress, unstressed schwa /ə/, unstressed schwar /ər/, and unstressed kit /ɪ/ 

9

1.1 Consonants with familiar symbols  3 1.2 The kit /ɪ/ vowel  4 1.3 The trap /æ/ vowel  5 1.4 The dress /ɛ/ vowel  5 1.5 The schwa /ə/ vowel  6 1.6 The foot /ʊ/ vowel  7 1.7 Chapter revision  7

2.1 Word stress  9 2.2 Unstressed schwa /ə/  9 2.3 Unstressed schwar /ər/  10 2.4 The unstressed kit /ɪ/ vowel  11 2.5 Chapter revision  12

viii Contents

3 Consonants with unfamiliar symbols /ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ ŋ j θ ð/ and /t/-​voicing 

13

3.1 The unfamiliar consonant /ʃ/  13 3.2 The unfamiliar consonant /ʒ/  14 3.3 The unfamiliar consonant /ʧ/  14 3.4 The unfamiliar consonant /ʤ/  15 3.5 The unfamiliar consonant /j/  15 3.6 The unfamiliar consonant /ŋ/  16 3.7 The unfamiliar consonants /θ/ and /ð/  16 3.8 /t/-​voicing  17 3.9 Chapter revision  17

4 The fleece /i/ and the goose /u/ vowels 

19

4.1 The fleece /i/ vowel  19 4.2 The unstressed fleece /i/ vowel  20 4.3 The goose /u/ vowel  21 4.4 The unstressed goose /u/ vowel  22 4.5 Chapter revision  23

5 The palm /ɑ/, thought /ɔ/, sport [o], stressed schwar /ər/ vowels, and dress /ɛ/ and trap /æ/ before /r/ 

24

6 The face /eɪ/, price /aɪ/, and choice /ɔɪ/ vowels 

31

7 The goat /oʊ/ and mouth /aʊ/ vowels 

35

5.1 The palm /ɑ/ vowel  24 5.2 The thought /ɔ/ vowel  25 5.3 The cloth words  26 5.4 The sport [o]‌vowel  26 5.5 The palm /ɑ/ and sport [o]‌vowels before intervocalic /r/  27 5.6 Stressed schwar /ər/  28 5.7 The dress /ɛ/ and trap /æ/ vowels before /r/  28 5.8 Chapter revision  29

6.1 The face /eɪ/ vowel  31 6.2 The price /aɪ/ vowel  32 6.3 The choice /ɔɪ/ vowel  32 6.4 face /eɪ/, price /aɪ/, and choice /ɔɪ/ before vowels  33 6.5 Chapter revision  33

7.1 The goat /oʊ/ vowel  35 7.2 The mouth /aʊ/ vowel  36 7.3 goat /oʊ/ and mouth /aʊ/ before vowels  36 7.4 Chapter revision  37

Contents  ix

8

fleece

/i/ and goose /u/ before /r/ 

38

8.1 fleece /i/ before /r/  38 8.2 goose /u/ before /r/  39 8.3 Diphthong and fleece/goose + /r/ revision  39

9 Syllabic consonants 

40

9.1 Syllabic consonants  40 9.2 Syllabic /l/  41 9.3 Syllabic /n/  42 9.4 Sequences of syllabic consonants  44 9.5 Syllabic /m/ and /ŋ/  44 9.6 Desyllabification  44 9.7 Chapter revision  45

10 Secondary stress 

46

10.1 Secondary stress before the primary stress  46 10.2 Secondary stress after the primary stress  48 10.3 Word-​stress pairs  50 10.4 Sequences of unstressed syllables  51 10.5 Stressing of compounds  52 10.6 Chapter revision  53

11 Inflections and epenthesis 

55

11.1 The -​ed inflection  55 11.2 The -​s inflection  57 11.3 Epenthesis  59 11.4 Optional consonants  60 11.5 Chapter revision  61 PART B

Transcribing connected speech 

63

12 Connected speech and liaison 

65

12.1 Introducing connected speech  65 12.2 Liaison  67 12.3 Liaison in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)  67

13 Stress and weak forms  13.1 Transcribing stress in connected speech  68 13.2 Weak forms and contractions  69 13.3 Weak forms and contractions: personal pronouns  69

68

x Contents

13.4  Weak forms and contractions: possessive adjectives  70 13.5  Weak forms and contractions: articles and quantifiers  71 13.6  Weak forms and contractions: prepositions  72 13.7  Weak forms and contractions: BE  74 13.8  Weak forms and contractions: auxiliary HAVE  75 13.9  Weak forms and contractions: auxiliary DO  77 13.10 Weak forms and contractions: modal verbs  78 13.11 Weak forms and contractions: conjunctions  80 13.12 Weak forms and contractions: miscellaneous  81 13.13 Use of strong forms  82

14 Elision 

84

14.1  Elision  84 14.2  Elision of /t/  85 14.3  Elision of /t/ in /st/ + consonant  86 14.4  Elision of /t/ in /kt/ + consonant  86 14.5  Elision of /t/ in /ft/ + consonant  86 14.6  Elision of /t/ in /pt/ + consonant  87 14.7  Elision of /t/ in /ʃt/ and /ʧt/ + consonant  87 14.8  Elision of /d/  87 14.9  Elision of /d/ in /nd/ + consonant  88 14.10 Elision of /d/ in /ld/ + consonant  88 14.11 Elision of /d/ in /md ŋd bd ɡd ʤd vd ðd zd ʒd/ + consonant  89 14.12 Elision of /k/ in /sk/ + consonant  89 14.13 Elision of /p/ and /k/ in /mpt/ and /ŋkt/  90 14.14 Chapter revision  90

15 Assimilation 

91

15.1  Assimilation  91 15.2  Assimilation of /n/ to /m/  92 15.3  Assimilation of /n/ to /ŋ/  92 15.4  Assimilation of syllabic /n/ to syllabic /m/ or /ŋ/  93 15.5  Assimilation of /d/ to /b/  93 15.6  Assimilation of /d/ to /ɡ/  94 15.7  Assimilation of /t/ to /p/  95 15.8  Assimilation of /t/ to /k/  95 15.9  Assimilation of /s/ and /z/  96 15.10 Coalescent assimilation  96 15.11 Variable coalescent assimilation  97 15.12 Assimilation or elision  98 15.13 Multiple assimilations, or elision combined with assimilation  99 15.14 Assimilation of /ð/  102 15.15 Assimilation of /ən/ in happen, taken, etc.  102

Contents  xi

15.16 Simplification of fricative clusters  102 15.17 Voicing in obstruent + obstruent clusters  103 15.18 Irregular assimilations and elisions  103 15.19 Chapter revision  104

16 Connected speech: extended practice 

105

PART C

Transcribing intonation 

111

17 An introduction to intonation 

113

17.1 Transcribing intonation  113 17.2 The anatomy of intonation: the nucleus  114 17.3 The anatomy of intonation: nuclear tones  114 17.4 The anatomy of intonation: the tail  115 17.5 The anatomy of intonation: the head  115 17.6 The anatomy of intonation: the pre-​head  116

18 Nucleus and tail 

117

18.1 The nucleus and the nuclear tones  117 18.2 Short syllables  119 18.3 Tails  120 18.4 Chapter revision  122

19 Head and pre-​head 

123

19.1 Heads  123 19.2 Pre-​heads  125 19.3 Chapter revision  126 19.4 Intonation revision I  127 19.5 Intonation revision II  127

20 Intonation: extended practice 

129

Appendices A Summary of consonant and vowel theory 

133

A.1 The vocal tract  133 A.2 Consonants  133 A.3 Vowels  140

B Phonetic transcription  B.1 Phonemic and phonetic transcription  144

144

xii Contents

B.2  Accurate IPA symbols  144 B.3  Variation in length  146 B.4  Nasalization  147 B.5  Aspiration and fricative /r/  147 B.6  Devoicing of obstruents  148 B.7  Glottal reinforcement and glottal replacement  149 B.8  Fronting, retracting, and lip-​rounding  149 B.9  Dark /l/  150 B.10 Release stage of plosives  151 B.11 Labio-​dental nasal [ɱ] and allophones of /h/  151 B.12 Chapter revision  152

References and suggested reading  Index 

153 155

SYMBOLS FOR PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION

Consonants

Vowels

/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /ɡ/

pie, spot, tip buy, rob tie, stop, bat dim, said cat, skip, pick go, pig

/ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ɛ/ /æ/ /ə/

busy, build, pretty, myth put, wolf, could dress , bed, hair, carry trap , gas, bath schwa, hut, sir, ago, never

chin, nature, fetch gin, judge

/f/ /v/ /θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /h/

fan, rough, photo van, river, give thing, bath that, father, clothe sit, circle, miss zoo, cousin, rose ship, mission, nation treasure, vision hat, behind

/i/ /u/ /ɑ/ /ɔ/ [o]‌

fleece ,

/ʧ/ /ʤ/

/m/ /n/ /ŋ/

man, summer, hum not, run finger, singer, rang

/j/ /w/ /r/ /l/

yes, unit, yard wet, one, queen red, rare lost, silly, bill

/eɪ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /aʊ/ /oʊ/

kit ,

foot ,

tea, be, leer, police do, lure, lose, new palm , hot, father, car thought , law, all, cloth sport , course, more goose ,

face ,

faint, they, day, break die, cry, high, buy choice , toy, noise, oyster price ,

mouth , goat ,

now, mouse, brown go, toe, flow, loaf, roll

PHONETIC SYMBOLS AND DIACRITICS

// [ ]‌

* [ː] [ ]̯ [ˑ] [ ̃] [h] [˭] [˳] [ ]̬ [ʔ] [ ]̪ [ ̟] [ ]̠ [ ]̈ [ʷ] [ɫ] [ⁿ] [ˡ] [⁰] [˺] [   ̩ ] [ˈ] [ˌ]

phonemic transcription phonetic transcription spelling incorrect form long, e.g. flee [fliː] non-​syllabic, e.g. pie [päːɪ ̯] half-​long, e.g. heat [hiˑt] nasalized, e.g. sing [sɪ ̃ŋ] aspirated, e.g. pit [pʰɪt] unaspirated, e.g. spit [sp˭ɪt] devoiced, e.g. bit [b̥ɪt] voiced, e.g better [ˈbɛt ə̬ r] glottal plosive, as glottal reinforcement, e.g. background [ˈbæʔkˌɡraʊnd], or glottal replacement, e.g. at school [əʔ ˈskul] dental, e.g. tenth [tɛn̪θ] fronted, e.g. keen [k̟in] retracted, e.g. hunch [həṉʧ], score [sḵor] centralized, e.g. hard [hɑ̈rd] labialized (lip-​rounded), e.g. twin [tʷwɪn] voiced velarized alveolar lateral approximant (“dark /l/”), e.g. lull [ɫəɫ] nasal release, e.g. hidden [ˈhɪdⁿn̩] lateral release, e.g. atlas [ˈætlˡəs] unreleased, e.g. take care [ˈteɪk⁰ ˈkɛr] inaudible release, e.g. take part [ˈteɪk˺ ˈpɑrt] syllabic, e.g. Britain [ˈbrɪtn̩] primary stress, e.g. intend [ɪnˈtɛnd] secondary stress, e.g. entertain [ˌɛntərˈteɪn]

Phonetic symbols and diacritics  xv

[ɱ] [ɦ] [ç] [ɹ] [ɛ̝] [ɜ] [ɚː] [ʊ̈] [iː] [ ɪ ̝ːi]̯ [ɑ̈ː] [ɔ̞ː] [ɘ] [üː] [ʊːu̯] [e̞ːɪ]̯ [äːɪ ̯] [ɔ̞ːɪ ]̯ [ö̞ːʊ̯] [äːʊ̯]

voiced labio-​dental nasal, e.g. invent [ɪɱˈvɛnt] voiced glottal fricative, e.g. ahead [əˈɦɛd] voiceless palatal fricative, e.g. huge [çjuʤ] phonetic transcription of /r/ phonetic transcription of dress /ɛ/ phonetic transcription of stressed schwa /ə/ phonetic transcription of schwar /ər/ phonetic transcription of foot /ʊ/ phonetic transcription of monophthongal variant of fleece /i/ phonetic transcription of diphthongal variant of fleece /i/ phonetic transcription of palm /ɑ/ phonetic transcription of thought /ɔ/ phonetic transcription of retracted kit /ɪ/ phonetic transcription of monophthongal variant of goose /u/ phonetic transcription of diphthongal variant of goose /u/ phonetic transcription of face /eɪ/ phonetic transcription of price /aɪ/ phonetic transcription of choice /ɔɪ/ phonetic transcription of goat /oʊ/ phonetic transcription of mouth /aʊ/

THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

American English Phonetic Transcription is a comprehensive and thorough transcription course, consisting of three parts teaching the transcription of words, connected speech, and intonation. Within each part, new symbols and concepts are systematically introduced, thoroughly practiced, and integrated into future practice. Revision exercises are included at the end of each chapter. Two appendices 1) introduce the basics of English consonant and vowel theory, and 2) provide practice in narrow phonetic transcription for advanced learners. Further practice, recordings, and a key to exercises are available online (at paulcarley.com). We’d like to thank Geoff Lindsey, Director of the University College London (UCL) Summer Course in English Phonetics (SCEP), for inviting us to lecture and teach at SCEP and for sharing his many valuable phonetic insights. Among other phonetic colleagues, we’d like to thank Luke Nicholson (of improveyouraccent.co.uk) in London, Petr Rösel in Germany, Alex Rotatori in Italy, and Hiroshi Miura in Japan, for their continuing support of our phonetic endeavors. A special note of thanks goes to Andrés Asiático for his meticulous reading of the manuscript and for his many perceptive comments. Finally, we’re grateful to our copy editor Rosemary Morlin for doing such a great job on what is such a difficult manuscript. Paul Carley and Inger M. Mees Pant Farm and Copenhagen, Thanksgiving, 2020

BEFORE YOU START TRANSCRIBING…

Why transcribe? Transcription clarifies what the sounds of English are and how they combine to form words, something that both native and non-​native speakers have very confused ideas about because of the complex, irregular, and misleading English spelling system. Without a clear understanding of the English sound system and what sounds occur in what words, it’s impossible to discuss, teach, or learn English pronunciation effectively. The same is true of connected speech processes and intonation –​transcription provides a means of understanding what are otherwise confusing and misunderstood aspects of pronunciation.

The structure of the book This book consists of three parts, each part presenting a progressive, step-​by-​ step course in a different aspect of transcription: • • •

Part A will teach you how to make phonemic transcriptions of individual words, like those in a dictionary. Part B will teach you how to transcribe phrases and sentences, known as ‘connected speech’. Part C will teach you about the structure of English intonation and how to transcribe it.

You should study the parts in order. Part B in particular can’t be tackled without having mastered the contents of Part A. The chapters within each part should also be studied in order because the practice material for each new topic includes and revises all the previous topics. Copious practice material is

Before you start transcribing…  xix

included, while a key to all exercises, further practice, and recordings are available online (at paulcarley.com). Two appendices are also included. Appendix A consists of a concise summary of the phonetics of English consonants and vowels, and should be considered optional background reading. In particular, it’ll support your understanding of the connected speech processes met in Part B. Appendix B consists of an additional advanced chapter suitable for the most ambitious learners. It’ll teach you how to use the full resources of the alphabet of the International Phonetic Association to make detailed phonetic transcriptions of English sounds.

Phonemic transcription vs. phonetic transcription We use the term “phonetic transcription” in the title of this book because that’s how non-​linguists usually refer to transcription and because we want people who are searching for a book like this to be able to find it easily. In linguistics, however, and especially in phonetics and phonology (the areas of linguistics that deal with sounds), the term “phonetic transcription” is reserved for a specific kind of transcription, a kind of transcription that’s different from what non-​linguists usually have in mind when they think of “phonetic transcription.” In non-​ specialist usage, “phonetic transcription” means using special symbols to indicate the sounds of English unambiguously without the irregularities and complexities of normal English spelling. In its purest form, this means having one symbol for each of the sounds in the English sound system. In linguistics, this one-​symbol-​per-​sound approach to transcription is called phonemic transcription, because the significant sounds in the sound system of a language are called phonemes. To linguists, phonetic transcription means using more than one symbol for each of the significant sounds in the sound system of a language. It means using extra symbols to indicate the subtle ways in which phonemes can vary in different contexts. It’s called phonetic transcription because it shows more phonetic details than are strictly necessary to distinguish one phoneme from another. The majority of this book is devoted to phonemic transcription (Parts A and B), while one chapter (Appendix B) deals with the rather advanced technical question of phonetic transcription. Note that phonemic transcriptions are enclosed within slanted brackets (i.e. / /) and phonetic transcriptions within square brackets (i.e. [ ]‌), and that when we quote spellings, we put them in angle brackets (i.e. ).

The type of practice Over the years, we’ve experimented with many different kinds of activity for teaching transcription and have come to the conclusion that the best

xx  Before you start transcribing…

way to learn to transcribe is by transcribing. Exercises that involve reading transcriptions, matching them with words, grouping them in different ways, finding mistakes, etc., can be fun, but they tend to result in a vague, passive understanding of transcription. In practice, it’s far better for learners to transcribe words and/or phrases with the newly introduced symbols and then to receive feedback either from an instructor or by checking the key. In fact, this is the essence of the learning process –​making an attempt at a transcription, and then immediately getting feedback that confirms or corrects the attempt. Learning to transcribe means going through this process of transcribing and checking again and again, and thereby building up an understanding of the sounds of English words and utterances.

Use of recordings Transcription can be done either from text or from dictation. When done from text, the aim is to produce one of perhaps many possible correct transcriptions. There can be more than one correct answer because many words can be pronounced in more than one way, especially longer words, and in connected speech, there are further equally correct alternatives. When transcribing from dictation, however, the aim isn’t only to show your knowledge of words and connected speech processes, but to show your ability to hear which particular variant is used on this particular occasion and to transcribe it correctly. In this book, we provide recordings for Part A (transcribing words) and Part C (transcribing intonation). In the case of transcribing words, this provides the non-​native learner with the option of gaining additional exposure to English sounds while transcribing. When it comes to intonation, recordings are essential because this part of the book does more than just explain the structure of English intonation and provide symbols for its transcription –​it teaches you to recognize the pitch patterns that make up English intonation, and so it’s impossible to study this section without the recordings. In contrast, Part B on connected speech and Appendix B on phonetic transcription don’t require recordings because in these cases, transcription is more about demonstrating understanding of connected speech processes and English allophones than recognizing them when heard.

Accent The accent we transcribe in this book is General American (GA), also known as “Standard North American English” (SNAE) (Boberg 2015). This is an accent familiar to everyone in North America as the kind of English accent that’s common in broadcasting and which enjoys the most prestige. It’s also the accent used in dictionaries and as the North American model for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL).

Before you start transcribing…  xxi

Native and non-​native English speakers We expect this book to be used by non-​native students and teachers of English as well as by native speakers studying TEFL, speech-​language pathology, and drama. These two groups will approach this book in different ways. Non-​natives will be looking to improve and correct their pronunciation to make it more like the model provided, while native speakers will be learning about their own pronunciation through comparison with a well-​known reference accent. This will sometimes make a difference to how you approach the transcription exercises. When there are equally acceptable alternative pronunciations and you are directed to transcribe your own usage, native speakers should transcribe the variant they themselves use. Non-​ native speakers, on the other hand, should consider what variant they usually use and whether it is an acceptable one, according to the guidance provided. If so, they should transcribe it. If not, they should adopt and transcribe one of the acceptable variants.

Symbols When transcribing, you should take care to get the shapes of the symbols just right because some of them are rather similar and tend to look the same when written in everyday handwriting. It is best, therefore, to draw each symbol slowly and carefully, aiming to make it as close as possible to its printed form, and paying attention to the relative heights of symbols and how they extend above and below the line. See the following chart for examples.

xxii  Before you start transcribing…

American pronunciation compared with British For the benefit of instructors using this book in combination with its General British (GB) counterpart (British English Phonetic Transcription), we include a concise comparison of the two accents, taking General American as our starting point. The two consonant systems are virtually the same, with the following exceptions: •

• •

• •

In GA, /r/ is pronounced in all positions, i.e. before a vowel, consonant, or pause, while in GB it only occurs before a vowel, i.e. not before a consonant or a pause. In GA, /t/-​voicing is the norm in certain contexts, while in GB, /t/-​voicing is only an occasional variant. Where GA has /t d n/ + goose /u/ spelled with a or (e.g. tune, duke, during, news), GB typically has /j/ after the /t d n/, and in modern GB, /tj/ and /dj/ tend to be replaced with /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ respectively. Where GA has syllabic /n/, GB can have /ən/ in certain contexts (e.g kitten, sudden). Where GA has unstressed /ərn/, GB can have syllabic /n/ in certain words (e.g. pattern, govern).

When considering the vowel systems, it’s convenient to take thought-​ful GA accents as our reference point because the vowel system is more similar to that of GB. •

•

•

• • •

•

Where GA thought-​ful accents have the palm /ɑ/ vowel, GB has the lot /ɒ/ vowel (usually spelled , e.g. rock) or the palm vowel (usually spelled , e.g. father). Where GA thought-​ful accents have the thought /ɔ/ vowel, GB also has the thought vowel (with a different realization), except in the cloth words, where GB has the lot /ɒ/ vowel. Where GA varies before intervocalic /r/ between the sport [o]‌vowel and the palm /ɑ/ vowel, GB usually has the lot /ɒ/ vowel + /r/ (e.g. forest), and occasionally the thought vowel + /r/ (e.g. historian). Where GA has only the sport [o]‌vowel (and no alternative with the palm /ɑ/ vowel) + intervocalic /r/, GB has the thought vowel + /r/ (e.g. story). Where GA has the sport [o]‌vowel + preconsonantal or word-​final /r/, GB has the thought vowel without /r/ (e.g. course, four). Where GA has the fleece /i/ vowel + intervocalic /r/ (e.g. hero), GB has the near /ɪə/ vowel + /r/ in most words, and the kit /ɪ/ vowel + /r/ in words spelled with or (e.g. mirror, myriad). Where GA has the fleece /i/ vowel + preconsonantal or word-​final /r/ (e.g. pierce, fear), GB has the near /ɪə/ vowel without /r/.

newgenprepdf

Before you start transcribing…  xxiii

• •

•

• •

• • •

•

• • •

Where GA has the dress /ɛ/ vowel + preconsonantal or word-​final /r/ (e.g. scarce, fair), GB has the square /ɛː/ vowel without /r/. Where GA has the dress /ɛ/ vowel + intervocalic /r/, GB has the dress vowel + /r/ or the square /ɛː/ vowel + /r/. Words with the GB dress vowel + /r/ are nearly all spelled , (e.g. very), except for in the -​ ary/-​arily suffix (e.g. primarily) and in bury, while words with other spellings have the square /ɛː/ vowel + /r/ (e.g. vary, fairy). Where GA traditionally has the trap /æ/ vowel + intervocalic /r/, which now tends to be replaced by the dress /ɛ/ vowel + /r/ (e.g. carry), GB has the trap vowel + /r/. Where GA has the stressed schwa /ə/ vowel (e.g. bus), GB has the strut /ʌ/ vowel. Where GA has the stressed schwa /ə/ vowel + intervocalic /r/, GB has the strut /ʌ/ vowel + /r/ within a morpheme (e.g. hurry), or the nurse /ɜː/ vowel + /r/ at a morpheme boundary (e.g. furry). Where GA has stressed schwa /ə/ + preconsonantal or prepausal /r/ (e.g. worst, fur), GB has the nurse /ɜː/ vowel without /r/. Where GA has unstressed schwa /ə/ + preconsonantal or prepausal /r/ (e.g. lizard, clever), GB has schwa /ə/ without /r/. Where GA traditionally has the goose /u/ vowel + intervocalic /r/, GB has the cure /ʊə/ vowel + /r/ (e.g. jury). But note that both goose + /r/ in GA and cure /ʊə/ in GB tend to be replaced by other vowels in present-​ day English. Where GA traditionally has the goose /u/ vowel + preconsonantal or prepausal /r/, GB has the cure /ʊə/ vowel without /r/ (e.g. toured, lure). But note that both goose + /r/ in GA and cure /ʊə/ in GB tend to be replaced by other vowels in present-​day English. Where GA has the unstressed schwa /ə/ vowel, GB sometimes has the unstressed kit /ɪ/ vowel (e.g. rocket). Where GA has the trap /æ/ vowel, GB has the palm vowel in a set of words known as the bath words (e.g. grass, dance). Where GA has the palm /ɑ/ vowel in certain loanwords, GB has the trap vowel (e.g. pasta).

Connected speech: • •

Where GA has word-​final /r/ (e.g. beer, care, far, sir, door, lure, finger), GB can have /r/-​liaison. Where GA has a word-​final schwa /ə/ (e.g. extra), thought /ɔ/ (e.g. law) or palm /ɑ/ (e.g. bra), GB can have analogical /r/-​liaison.

PART A

Transcribing words

1 THE FAMILIAR CONSONANTS /p b t d k ɡ f v s z h m n w l r/ AND THE VOWELS /ɪ æ ɛ ə ʊ/

1.1  Consonants with familiar symbols Of the 24 English consonant phonemes /ˈfoʊˌnimz/, 16 are transcribed with symbols that are the same as letters commonly used to represent the same phonemes in normal English spelling. They are: /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /ɡ/ /f/ /v/

post, top, happy big, job, hobby top, cat, watt dog, bad, add cut, look, lack, quit go, leg, maggot fit, phone, stiff van, give

/s/ /z/ /h/ /m/ /n/ /w/ /l/ /r/

sit, miss, city please, zoo, maze house, who moon, ram, hammer now, ten, dinner wet, when like, still run, very, hurry, car

It’s very convenient that so many of the phonemic symbols for English consonants are like the letters used in ordinary spelling, but there are still a number of potential pitfalls to be remembered when transcribing these consonants. 1) We don’t use the letters , or in English phonemic transcription. We don’t need them because they are used in English spelling to represent sounds that we already have phonemic symbols for:  is a spelling of /k/ and /s/ (e.g. cut, city), is a further alternative spelling of /k/ when it occurs before /w/ (e.g. queen), and usually represents /ks/ (e.g. box, extra) or /ɡz/ (e.g. exam, exist). 2) We don’t use capital letters in phonemic transcription. The symbol for a sound remains the same at the beginning of sentences, names, place-​ names, etc. (e.g. Tim /tɪm/, London /ˈləndən/).

4  Transcribing words

3) The phonemic symbol /s/ is only used for the /s/ sound, but in ordinary spelling the letter is often used for /z/ (e.g. his, these, noise, lose) as well as /s/. You must be careful when transcribing /s/ that the word you’re transcribing really does have /s/, not /z/. 4) The digraphs (two-​letter spellings) and in words like back and phone represent single phonemes, /k/ in back and /f/ in phone. 5) In English, consonant letters are often doubled even though they represent a single consonant phoneme. For example, in happy, hobby, watt, add, stiff, hammer, dinner and hurry, the letters , , , , , , and represent single /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /f/, /m/, /n/ and /r/. Sequences of the same phoneme, such as /mm/ in roommate, /dd/ in midday and /nn/ in unnamed, are rare in English words and are clearly made up of separate word elements (room + mate, mid + day, un + named), each contributing one of the phonemes. 6) Naturally, there are no “silent” letters in phonemic transcription as there are in normal English spelling. Knit, for example, is transcribed /nɪt/, and debt is /dɛt/. 7) We don’t use the letter shape in transcriptions. The phonemic symbol for the consonant at the beginning and end of gag is /ɡ/. On the subject of symbol shapes, note also that the symbol for the /w/ phoneme has pointed bottoms and that this is also how we write it by hand in order not to confuse it with a similar IPA symbol with rounded bottoms, namely [ɯ]. The symbols for vowels are more difficult to learn than those for consonants, so first we’ll limit ourselves to these 16 familiar consonants in this and the next chapter before introducing the remaining eight unfamiliar consonants in Chapter 3. This way we’ll be able to concentrate on transcribing each of the new vowel symbols without the distraction of any unfamiliar consonant symbols.

1.2  The kit /ɪ/ vowel The first of the five vowels that we’ll be transcribing in this chapter is known as the kit vowel and has the phonemic symbol /ɪ/, a small version of the capital letter , which is at the same height as the letters . Be careful not to make this symbol too tall. Note that in the Times New Roman font, the [ɪ] symbol isn’t very satisfactory. The serifs /ˈsɛrəfs/, the additional small lines at the ends of the main line, are an essential part of this symbol and should be more prominent. When transcribing by hand, you should give the kit /ɪ/ symbol the shape indicated on p. xxi. In stressed syllables, the kit vowel /ɪ/ is usually spelled with the letter (e.g. lip, tin) and sometimes with (e.g. cyst, gym). It is spelled in

Familiar consonants and short vowels  5

England, English, and pretty, in sieve, in women, and in busy and business (see Section 2.3 for kit in unstressed syllables). Homophones: which, witch /wɪʧ/; gilt, guilt /ɡɪlt/; gild, guild /ɡɪld/; in, inn /ɪn/; Finn, fin /fɪn/; sick, sic /sɪk/; tic, tick /tɪk/.

Transcribe these words with the KIT /ɪ/ vowel. 1 ) big, still, list, film, win, trip, pick, six, give, quick 2) kid, skin, hill, miss, hit, bit, risk, tip, bill, mix 3) sick, split, twin, fit, sit, hip, tin, kill, stick, lift The key and recordings for all exercises in Part A can be downloaded at paulcarley.com.

1.3  The trap /æ/ vowel The next vowel is known as the trap vowel and its phonemic symbol is /æ/. This can be tricky to write neatly, so you should practice writing it with a single stroke, starting at the top left and finishing at the bottom right. This kind of symbol, made from joining two letters together, is known as a ligature /ˈlɪɡəʧər/. Other ligatures used in the IPA alphabet include [œ] ( plus ), [ɶ] (small capital plus ) and [ɮ] ( plus ). The trap vowel /æ/ is nearly always spelled with the letter (e.g. black, cat, chance). In plaid it is spelled . Another exceptional spelling is in aunt and laugh. Homophones: dam, damn /dæm/; rap, wrap /ræp/; knap, nap /næp/; rack, wrack /ræk/; aunt, ant /ænt/.

Transcribe these words with the TRAP /æ/ vowel. 1 ) man, back, tax, plan, mass, track, tag, add, van, fact 2) brand, fat, stand, act, vat, pack, tab, black, rant, snack 3) fan, wrap, gas, lab, ban, lack, cat, flat, hand, snap

Transcribe these words with the KIT /ɪ/ vowel or the TRAP /æ/ vowel. 1 ) tap, mat, trim, strand, tick, rack, lip, drag, pin, rim 2) lap, grin, lad, wig, scrap, grill, bat, wit, span, lid 3) valve, stiff, skim, wax, wrist, grip, trap, pill, knit, tram

1.4  The dress /ɛ/ vowel The phonemic symbol for the next vowel, the letter epsilon.

dress

vowel, is /ɛ/, the Greek

6  Transcribing words

The most common spelling is (e.g. men, test, left). The spelling is also quite common (e.g. dead, sweat) and exceptional spellings include in many, any, Thames, in said and again(st), in jeopardy and leopard, in says, in friend, and in bury. See Section 5.7 for the dress /ɛ/ vowel before /r/. Some works, especially those published in Britain for TEFL purposes, transcribe the dress vowel as /e/ in order to make GA transcriptions easier to compare with General British (GB) transcriptions, which traditionally use /e/ for the dress vowel. Homophones: cell, sell /sɛl/; cent, scent, sent /sɛnt/; bread, bred /brɛd/; lead (metal), led /lɛd/; read, red /rɛd/; rest, wrest /rɛst/; step, steppe /stɛp/; whet, wet /wɛt/.

Transcribe these words with the DRESS /ɛ/ vowel. 1 ) best, next, web, help, set, well, press, red, let, end 2) bread, rent, text, pet, head, den, rest, friend, step, dress 3) bed, bell, neck, desk, spread, pen, wet, mess, hell, ten

Transcribe these words with the KIT /ɪ/, TRAP /æ/, or DRESS /ɛ/ vowels. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

nest, wag, vet, lick, bent, limb, melt, flint, ax, pest drift, rag, drip, clam, sift, vent, fig, tract, skid, tread din, nip, sap, deck, gift, dam, frisk, crest, glint, ramp kilt, plaid, lilt, nick, glen, kit, damp, lag, sniff, crab

1.5  The schwa /ə/ vowel The next vowel in this chapter doesn’t have a special keyword (written in small capitals) because it already has a well-​established name:  schwa /ʃwɑ/. The schwa vowel has the phonemic symbol /ə/, which is the letter turned upside down. It is best written by starting in the middle, drawing a straight line to the left, then drawing almost a complete anti-​clockwise circle. Starting at the top and moving in a clockwise direction usually results in a symbol that is too “curly” and is too easily confused with the symbol [a]‌(which is used in the phonemic symbols for two other English vowels, see Sections 6.2 and 7.2). The most common spelling of the schwa /ə/ vowel is (e.g. gutter), while the spelling is also quite common (e.g. cover). In a dozen or so words, the schwa /ə/ vowel is spelled (e.g. country, southern). Exceptional spellings include in flood and blood, and for /wə/ in one and once. Schwa is also common in unstressed syllables, in which case it has a wider range of spellings (see Section 2.2). Note that some works use the /ʌ/ symbol for schwa when it’s stressed and /ə/ when it’s unstressed (for more information, see Section 2.2).

Familiar consonants and short vowels  7

Homophones:  rough, ruff /rəf/; son, sun /sən/; none, nun /nən/; one, won /wən/; done, dun /dən/; plum, plumb /pləm/; scull, skull /skəl/.

Transcribe these words with schwa /ə/. 1 ) up, run, love, son, plus, front, club, trust, rough, stuff 2) hub, drug, pub, cut, hull, tough, cup, hunt, plug, blood 3) bus, bump, fund, truck, bulk, gun, ton, sum, tub, puff

Transcribe these words with the KIT /ɪ/, TRAP /æ/, DRESS /ɛ/, or schwa /ə/ vowels. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

dull, delve, hum, quack, crypt, lust, dance, dove (n.), tusk pass, staff, runt, scrub, when, scuff, snag, none, swill cuff, glove, task, cyst, muck, glass, bulb, whack, tug, rib bud, half, buck, dread, blimp, France, mask, elk, beg, trance

1.6  The foot /ʊ/ vowel The foot vowel has the phonemic symbol /ʊ/, which is the Latin alphabet version of the Greek letter upsilon . It’s a difficult symbol to write neatly, so make sure you practice until you get it just right. The most common spelling of the foot vowel is (e.g. wooden), followed by (e.g. cushion). Exceptional spellings include in bosom, wolf, and woman, in could, should, and would, and in worsted. The foot /ʊ/ vowel doesn’t occur in many words, but this doesn’t mean that it isn’t an important vowel because, as you can see from the practice material below, many of the words it occurs in are very common everyday words. Homophones: wood, would /wʊd/

Transcribe these words with the FOOT /ʊ/ vowel. 1 ) look, put, good, book, full, woof, hook 2) nook, wood, pull, took, wolf, stood, cook 3) foot, crook, hood, rook, brook, bull, wool

1.7  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with the KIT /ɪ/, TRAP /æ/, DRESS /ɛ/, schwa /ə/, or FOOT /ʊ/ vowels. 1 ) quit, ram, wolf, egg, trick, buzz, scant, bask, cliff, flood, quest, skull 2) guess, squid, helm, rub, scab, draft, peg, snug, quilt, crack, pluck, bull 3) kick, strut, mast, scrum, book, sweat, wimp, slam, duck, sieve, trek, twist

8  Transcribing words

4) gulf, spell, brass, foot, clump, flask, scan, fix, twelve, grit, hymn, drum 5) hook, knack, sculpt, whelk, plum, frizz, gut, gram, quell, slant, slick, hem 6) stud, breast, class, build, pat, milk, realm, blitz, pull, sulk, cramp, ant 7) fib, crumb, stress, grant, spill, smell, pulse, grunt, flex, clan, lapse 8) graph, mud, swim, hump, scamp, grass, wool, raft, cull, lamb, dent, zip 9) swift, stamp, pant, mug, kiss, weld, quip, script, dud, stood, sand, silk 10) craft, slab, sprint, plump, crust, whip, peck, disk, rook, mill, gland

2 PRIMARY STRESS, UNSTRESSED SCHWA /ə/, UNSTRESSED SCHWAR /ər/, AND UNSTRESSED kit /ɪ/

2.1  Word stress In words of more than one syllable (polysyllabic /ˌpɑlisəˈlæbɪk/ words), it’s noticeable that one particular syllable stands out from the rest because it’s stressed, i.e. pronounced with more force than the surrounding unstressed syllables. For example, the first syllable is stressed in RIVer and ABacus, and the second syllable is stressed in forGET, proFESSor, and aMERican, while the remaining syllables are unstressed. All English words contain at least one stressed syllable. The IPA symbol for stress is [ˈ], known as the “stress mark,” and it is placed before the stressed syllable, e.g. river /ˈrɪvər/, abacus /ˈæbəkəs/, forget /fərˈɡɛt/, professor /prəˈfɛsər/, American /əˈmɛrəkən/. When transcribing words of only one syllable (monosyllabic /ˌmɑnəsəˈlæbɪk/ words) like those in Chapter 1, the stress mark isn’t usually used because it’s self-​evident that a word’s only syllable must be its stressed syllable. Most short words have only one stress, called the primary stress, while many longer words have one or sometimes more additional stresses known as secondary stresses. For the moment we’ll practice transcribing words with only primary stress before moving on to words with secondary stresses in Chapter 10.

2.2  Unstressed schwa /ə/ So far, we’ve only seen the schwa /ə/ vowel in stressed syllables (see Section 1.5), but it’s also very common in unstressed syllables. In fact, it occurs so frequently in unstressed syllables that this makes it the most common vowel and the most common phoneme in English.

10  Transcribing words

Unstressed schwa has a wide range of spellings, for example in pivot /ˈpɪvət/, in amend /əˈmɛnd/, in talent /ˈtælənt/, in tennis /ˈtɛnəs/, in famous /ˈfeɪməs/, in villain /ˈvɪlən/, in campus /ˈkæmpəs/. One consequence of unstressed schwa being spelled in so many different ways is that learners, both native and non-​native speakers, don’t realize that these different spellings all represent schwa. You should take extra care, therefore, when transcribing unstressed syllables and ask yourself whether you’re giving the normal, natural pronunciation of the word or a pronunciation that is influenced by the vowel the spelling represents in stressed syllables. Don’t imagine, for example, that breakfast /ˈbrɛkfəst/ has the trap /æ/ vowel in the second syllable just because fast is /fæst/, or that planet /ˈplænət/ has the dress /ɛ/ vowel in the second syllable just because net is /nɛt/. Note that some works use two symbols for the schwa phoneme, /ʌ/ in stressed syllables, and /ə/ in unstressed syllables, for example above /əˈbʌv/. In this course, we prefer to stick to a one-​symbol-​per-​phoneme style of transcription as much as possible because using two symbols for the same phoneme is confusing. Native speakers find it counter-​intuitive, and it often misleads non-​native learners into thinking that the two different symbols represent two different phonemes, which they don’t. Homophones:  gorilla, guerrilla /ɡəˈrɪlə/; assent, ascent /əˈsɛnt/; callous, callus /ˈkæləs/; cannon, canon /ˈkænən/; canvas, canvass /ˈkænvəs/.

Transcribe these words with schwa /ə/ in the unstressed syllables. Use the stress mark to show which syllable is stressed. 1) gallon, above, panda, villain, collapse, cannon, lemon, protect, extra, canal 2) arrest, tenant, connect, alpha, campus, welcome, lapel, cactus, collect, bullock 3) stomach, bonanza, correct, woolen, villa, husband, assess, heron, breakfast, atlas 4) Christmas, maggot, acid, cadet, felon, aghast, possess, melon, hammock, adapt 5) Emma, gazette, gammon, dragon, ligament, salad, gallop, stigma, ballad, attract

2.3  Unstressed schwar /ər/ Unstressed schwa is often followed by /r/ in the same syllable (e.g. differ /ˈdɪfər/). In such cases, the two phonemes are pronounced as a single r-​colored vowel, known as schwar. Note that schwar, which is phonetically transcribed as [ɚ], isn’t a phoneme, but merely a special way of realizing a combination of the two phonemes /ər/. See also Appendix B.2.

Primary stress, schwa, and unstressed /ɪ/  11

Schwar can be spelled in a number of ways, for example in winner /ˈwɪnər/, in beggar /ˈbɛɡər/, in color /ˈkələr/, in sulfur /ˈsəlfər/, in cupboard /ˈkəbərd/, in elixir /ɪˈlɪksər/, zephyr /ˈzɛfər/. In some works, unstressed schwar is transcribed using the phonetic symbol [ɚ] instead of the phonemic symbols /ər/. In this course, we prefer a phonemic style of transcription because this agrees with the intuitions of native speakers, who feel that schwar is a sequence of two phonemes even though they are realized as a single merged sound. A further disadvantage of transcribing with the [ɚ] symbol is that it gives the impression that there’s one more phoneme in the sound system than there really is. Note that schwar also occurs in stressed syllables (see Section 5.6). Homophones: censer, censor, sensor /ˈsɛnsər/; cellar, seller /ˈsɛlər/; lumbar, lumber /ˈləmbər/; manner, manor /ˈmænər/; succor, sucker /ˈsəkər/; tenner, tenor /ˈtɛnər/.

Transcribe these words with schwar /ər/ in the unstressed syllables. Use the stress mark to show which syllable is stressed. 1 ) under, lizard, terror, wizard, cellar, sector, forgive, cover, hover, blizzard 2) river, liquor, silver, forget, rigor, grammar, actor, suffer, plaster, desert (n.) 3) persist, whisper, master, vulgar, sulfur, forbid, wonder, never, permit (v.), standard 4) plumber, percent, leopard, glamour, custard, timber, cupboard, effort, differ, rubber

Transcribe these three-​syllable words with schwa /ə/ or schwar /ər/ in the unstressed syllables. Use the stress mark to show which syllable is stressed. 1 ) wilderness, professor, banister, customer, abacus, consider, vanilla 2) minister, instrument, propeller, similar, savannah, charisma, surrender 3) conundrum, gorilla, hazardous, prospectus, adamant, abdomen, adaptor

2.4  The unstressed kit /ɪ/ vowel The kit /ɪ/ vowel is also relatively common in unstressed syllables, particularly in the suffixes (e.g. captive) and (e.g. receptionist) and when followed by palato-​alveolar /ʃ ʧ ʤ/ and velar /k ɡ ŋ/ consonants. In such cases, the spelling of kit /ɪ/ is often (e.g. epic, singing, finish), just as in stressed syllables, but it can also be spelled (e.g. cottage). You’ll notice that certain unstressed word elements commonly have unstressed kit /ɪ/, such as , , , , , , and  .

12  Transcribing words

Transcribe the following words with unstressed KIT /ɪ/. 1 ) sexist, invest, epic, captive, intent, classic, laxative 2) instructor, plastic, missive, statistic, pensive, passive 3) insist, rustic, activist, relic, festive, public, intend, picnic

2.5  Chapter revision 1) custom, rabbit, assessment, women, rapid, adequate, visit, puffin, mantra 2) pumpkin, plunder, pigment, offender, planet, calendar, bucket, limit, napkin 3) summer, cricket, cylinder, packet, veranda, wagon, minute (n.), mechanic 4) paddock, crevice, discipline, buzzard, balance, patella, resin, ultimate, sinister 5) tremendous, hammer, suspend, summon, cement, exodus, pessimist, sister 6) magnet, bullet, mustard, corrupt, compass, member, fuller, magnum, rivet 7) succumb, testament, tandem, necklace, mallet, talent, attend, canvas, massacre 8) offend, pivot, cooker, hazard, splendor, pelvis, haggis, tractor, woman, bandit 9) element, summit, placenta, specific, palace, menace ballot, maximum, analysis 10) syllabus, obstruct, clever, suppress, pilgrim, minimum, citrus, commit

3 CONSONANTS WITH UNFAMILIAR SYMBOLS /ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ ŋ j θ ð/ AND /t/-​VOICING

3.1  The unfamiliar consonant /ʃ/ The first of the consonants with unfamiliar symbols that we’ll be transcribing in this chapter is /ʃ/, the sound at the beginning and end of the word sheepish. The symbol for this consonant is known as “esh” and is similar to the letter but with an additional short tail and no crossbar. The most familiar spelling of /ʃ/ is , which occurs particularly at the beginnings (e.g. ship /ʃɪp/) and ends (e.g. fish /fɪʃ/) of words. Within words, there’s a much greater variety of spellings, including for example in station, in special, in pension, in session, in ocean, in conscious, in issue. Other notable spellings include in sugar and sure, and in relatively recent French loanwords, like chef and machine. In German loanwords, /ʃ/ is spelled , but such words aren’t very common and we need only mention schwa, a very popular word among students of English phonetics and pronunciation! Homophones: cache, cash /kæʃ/; fisher, fissure /ˈfɪʃər/.

Transcribe the following words with the unfamiliar consonant /ʃ/. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

shaft, push, dish, pressure, shrub, finish, mesh, sugar, shipment, shun gnash, shin, sham, wish, shelter, radish, bush, shudder, shelf, flash Welsh, shiver, chef, usher, shepherd, fisher, lush, shell, shift, slasher ship, blush, shred, shove, brush, sheriff, shed, fissure, smash, cash

14  Transcribing words

3.2  The unfamiliar consonant /ʒ/ The least common English consonant is the consonant in the middle of the word measure /ˈmɛʒər/, which has the phonemic symbol /ʒ/, known as “ezh” /ɛʒ/. This symbol is like the letter with a tail. /ʒ/ typically occurs word-​medially, in which case it is usually spelled (e.g. fusion) or (e.g. measure). It occurs at the beginnings and ends of words only in a small number of relatively recent French loanwords (e.g. genre, rouge) that often have alternative pronunciations with /ʤ/.

Transcribe the following words with the unfamiliar consonant /ʒ/. 1) pleasure, measure, treasure

3.3  The unfamiliar consonant /ʧ/ Our third consonant with an unfamiliar symbol is /ʧ/, the sound at the beginning and end of the word church. The phonemic symbol for this consonant is often written as two separate symbols, /tʃ/, which is the usual IPA approach to representing affricates, i.e. using the symbol for a plosive followed by the symbol for a fricative. We prefer to use the ligature form, where the two elements are joined together to make a single symbol. We do this to emphasize to learners that although affricates can be analyzed phonetically as having plosive and fricative elements, /ʧ/ is a single consonant phoneme in English and not a sequence of the /t/ and /ʃ/ phonemes. Strictly speaking the correct IPA usage to indicate an affricate is to connect the two symbols with a “tie-​bar” [t͡ ʃ ], but the ligature form is easier in word-​ processing and typesetting. The usual spellings of /ʧ/ are (e.g. chop, bachelor, lunch), (e.g. catch, butcher) and within words (e.g. nature). Homophones: retch, wretch /rɛʧ/

Transcribe the following words with the unfamiliar consonant /ʧ/. 1 ) chest, match, vulture, witch, hatchet, chip, rich, inch, lecture, signature 2) butcher, twitch, bunch, patch, which, latch, lunch, chimp, culture, branch 3) wrench, hatch, quench, chicken, itch, check, bachelor, scratch, touch, catch 4) sculpture, glitch, squelch, venture, pitch, batch, fracture, drench, zilch, crutch

Consonants with unfamiliar symbols  15

3.4  The unfamiliar consonant /ʤ/ Our fourth consonant with an unfamiliar symbol is /ʤ/, the sound at the beginning and end of the word judge. Like /ʧ/, this consonant is an affricate and so it’s often written as two separate symbols, /dʒ/, which is the usual IPA approach to representing affricates, i.e. using the symbol for a plosive followed by the symbol for a fricative. We prefer to use the ligature form, where the two elements are joined together to make a single symbol. We do this to emphasize to learners that although affricates can be analyzed phonetically as having plosive and fricative elements, /ʤ/ is a single consonant phoneme in English and not a sequence of the /d/ and /ʒ/ phonemes. Strictly speaking the correct IPA usage to indicate an affricate is to connect the two symbols with a “tie-​ bar” [d͡ ʒ], but the ligature form is easier in word-​processing and typesetting. At the beginning of words, /ʤ/ is usually spelled with (e.g. jar) or (e.g. gentle). In other positions (e.g. bridge), (e.g. badger), (e.g. change, gorgeous) and (e.g. procedure) are also possible. Homophones: jam, jamb /ʤæm/; Jim, gym /ʤɪm/.

Transcribe the following words with the unfamiliar consonant /ʤ/. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

badge, vintage, algebra, jet, suggest, jacket, gin, jab, package, binge hedge, digit, ninja, syringe, judgment, jazz, edge, spillage, wedge, jam singe, bandage, gadget, agenda, jump, fudge, plunger, image, register nudge, gist, cabbage, pledge, fidget, Japan, passage, avenger, smudge

3.5  The unfamiliar consonant /j/ The phonemic symbol for the voiced palatal approximant /j/ isn’t completely new like those for /ʃ ʧ ʤ/, but its use is new. In English spelling, the letter stands for the /ʤ/ consonant, as in joke. In the IPA alphabet, however, /j/ is the consonant at the beginning of the words like yes. In the minds of English speakers, the /j/ consonant is associated with the letter and so you must be careful not to transcribe /y/ when you mean /j/. In fact, we don’t use at all in English phonemic transcription, so you shouldn’t include it anywhere. Another difficulty with /j/ is that it’s often represented by no consonant letter at all, as in the first sound of unit and the second sound of few, see Section 4.3.

Transcribe the following words with the unfamiliar consonant /j/. 1 ) figure, canyon, yap, yet, yelp, configure 2) yak, yam, yell, yuck, yum, Yen, yes

16  Transcribing words

3.6  The unfamiliar consonant /ŋ/ Our sixth consonant with an unfamiliar symbol is /ŋ/, the sound at the end of the word thing /θɪŋ/, and before the /ɡ/ and /k/ in finger /ˈfɪŋɡər/ and thinker /ˈθɪŋkər/. The symbol for this consonant is known as “eng” /ɛŋ/ and is formed by combining the letter with the tail of the letter , which reflects the fact that the most common spelling of /ŋ/ is (e.g. singing /ˈsɪŋɪŋ/). The other main spelling is when the following sound is /k/ or /ɡ/, as in bank /bæŋk/, zinc /zɪŋk/, lynx /lɪŋks/, anchor /ˈæŋkər/, anger /ˈæŋɡər/. The words strength and length are often pronounced with /n/ despite the spelling. The adjectives long, strong, and young have a /ɡ/ inserted in the comparative (longer, stronger, younger) and superlative (longest, strongest, youngest). In a few words where /ŋɡ/ is followed by /l/ or /w/ (notably England, English, language, distinguish), a minority of speakers drops the /ɡ/, pronouncinɡ them with /ŋ/ only. Homophones:  ring, wring /rɪŋ/; napping, knapping /ˈnæpɪŋ/; rapping, wrapping /ˈræpɪŋ/; resting, wresting /ˈrɛstɪŋ/; wet, whet /ˈwɛt/; ranker, rancor /ˈræŋkər/; fungous, fungus /ˈfəŋɡəs/.

Transcribe the following words with the consonant /ŋ/. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

bank, pudding, sing, drunk, anchor, gang, young, link, rank, kink, ping tongue, king, twang, monk, wink, bring, slang, kingdom, flank, shipping bung, linger, tank, sibling, stink, booking, wedding, punk, pang, yank finger, spring, clink, fling, drink, shilling, hang, hunger, swing, prank

3.7  The unfamiliar consonants /θ/ and /ð/ /θ/ and /ð/ are the two consonant sounds that are represented by the spelling. Because they share a spelling, English speakers are often unaware of the difference between them until it’s pointed out to them. /θ/ is the sound at the beginning of the word thin and /ð/ is the sound at the beginning of that. /ð/ tends to occur at the beginning of grammatical words (e.g. the) and in the middle of Germanic words (e.g. mother) and is usually spelled at the ends of words (e.g. bathe). The symbol is the Greek letter theta in its lower-​case form. Be careful not to replace it with the upper case form, which is the same height but wider, i.e. . The symbol is called eth /ɛð/ and is taken from Old English. Don’t confuse it with the Greek lower-​case delta, i.e. . Homophones: weather, whether /ˈwɛðər/; wither, whither /ˈwɪðər/.

Transcribe these words with /θ/ or /ð/ as appropriate. 1 ) this, with, other, weather, thatcher, health, thing, think 2) another, together, thank, death, whether, smith, mother, leather, threat

Consonants with unfamiliar symbols  17

3 ) method, thumb, thread, brother, thick, nothing, thin, theft, that 4) thriller, gather, thus, wealth, hither, thrill, depth, myth, rather

3.8  /t/-​voicing For most practical purposes, particularly for learning and teaching English as a foreign language, it’s best to adopt a strictly phonemic style of transcription that uses only one symbol for each phoneme. We depart from this principle, however, in the case of /t/-​voicing and use an extra symbol for this variant of the /t/ phoneme because it’s such a remarkable, frequent and characteristic feature of North American English. /t/-​voicing involves /t/ becoming voiced and the tongue tip striking the alveolar ridge very rapidly when /t/ occurs between vowels, the second of which is unstressed (e.g. sitting). It can also occur between /r/ and an unstressed vowel (e.g. dirty, reported, starting) or /n/ and an unstressed vowel (e.g. ninety, counted). Voiced /t/ sounds rather like a short [d]‌or even like the one-​strike version of the trilled [r] found in many languages, and this is why some works refer to /t/-​voicing as “/t/-​tapping.” /t/-​voicing is transcribed by combining the IPA “voicing” symbol [ ̬] with [t] to make [t ]̬ . Strictly speaking, when we transcribe /t/-​ voicing, we should use non-​ phonemic square brackets, i.e. [ˈsɪtɪ̬ ŋ], but in practice we don’t because it’s too much trouble to constantly switch from phonemic slanted brackets to non-​ phonemic square brackets every time a voiced /t/ turns up in a transcription, i.e. /ˈsɪt ɪ̬ ŋ/. /t/-​voicing doesn’t only occur within words, but, as we’ll see later in the connected speech sections, it can also occur between words, for example get away /ˈɡɛt̬əˈweɪ/, get out /ˈɡɛt ̬ˈaʊt/. As our second example demonstrates, when /t/-​voicing occurs between words, the following vowel doesn’t have to be unstressed, but can also be stressed. For /t/-​voicing before syllabic /l/, see Section 9.2.

Transcribe these words with voiced /t/ where appropriate. 1 ) British, letter, atom, critic, static, setting, matter, dramatic, flatter, bitter 2) debtor, fitting, pattern, gutter, veteran, mutter, footage, lettuce, stutter 3) scatter, clutter, fetish, sweater, fanatic, phonetic, repetitive, platter

3.9  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with the unfamiliar consonants /ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ j ŋ θ ð/. 1) breath, chapter, yet, wing, midge, petting, tether, bulge, hush, filth, building 2) treasure, adventure, blemish, ginger, mammoth, anger, shimmer, strutting

18  Transcribing words

3) challenge, bishop, shatter, spelling, glitter, punch, shutter, plethora, junk 4) stricture, sponge, spitting, winch, damage, meringue, feather, pleasure, thug 5) relish, scrunch, canyon, ligature, message, gangster, ethnic, wither, shrimp 6) belch, gender, measure, attachment, butter, inkling, quitting, splash 7) smother, yak, stretcher, percentage, better, ruthless, chill, genetic, putting 8) conjecture, fledgling, chunk, knitting, stealth, lung, ash, chick, sweating 9) shutting, attach, shrink, litter, attic, ranking, slither, shunt, jilt, pink, chin 10) rapture, cutter, bang, footer, heather, yank, shrill, switch, lunge, string

4 THE fleece /i/ AND THE goose /u/ VOWELS

4.1  The fleece /i/ vowel The first of the two vowels introduced in this chapter is the monophthong /ˈmɑnəfˌθɑŋ/ fleece and its phonemic symbol is /i/. Common spellings for the fleece /i/ vowel include (e.g. deep), (e.g. seat), (e.g. meter), (e.g. chief) and (e.g. ceiling). In relatively recent French loanwords, occurs (e.g. liter), while in people and in quay are exceptional spellings. Some works, especially those published in Britain for TEFL purposes, include the IPA length mark [ː] in the phonemic symbol for the fleece vowel (i.e. /iː/) and the other long vowels to facilitate comparison with the corresponding British vowels, which are by tradition transcribed with length marks. Homophones:  heal, heel /hil/; key, quay /ki/; leak, leek /lik/; meat, meet, mete /mit/; peace, piece /pis/; peak, peek, pique /pik/; scene, seen /sin/; sea, see /si/; seam, seem /sim/; sweet, suite /swit/; weak, week /wik/; cede, seed /sid/; freeze, frieze /friz/; knead, need /nid/; beach, beech /biʧ/; ceiling, sealing /ˈsilɪŋ/; cheap, cheep /ʧip/; creak, creek /krik/; feat, feet /fit/; flea, flee /fli/; be, bee /bi/; beat, beet /bit/; mean, mien /min/; peel, peal /pil/; read, reed /rid/; steel, steal /stil/; tea, tee /ti/; team, teem /tim/.

Transcribe the following words with the FLEECE /i/ vowel. 1) machine, please, liter, ski, seize, thief, police, squeeze, chief, ceiling, visa, scheme 2) these, beef, field, beat, cheese, grieve, scene, week, fever, scream, key, gene, shield

20  Transcribing words

3) league, meeting, team, peach, sheet, grease, teeth, vegan, green, each, fatigue, siege 4) queen, feast, plead, shriek, jeep, need, beak, leech, pizza, sleek, quay, keep, quiche 5) cheetah, marina, street, breathe, perceive, cease, squeak, sneeze, theme, freeze, niece

4.2  The unstressed fleece /i/ vowel Like kit /ɪ/, fleece /i/ is a vowel that’s often found in unstressed syllables as well as stressed syllables. It occurs at the end of many common words (e.g. city /ˈsɪt i̬ /, money /ˈməni/) and also before vowels (e.g. react /riˈækt/, media /ˈmidiə/). At the ends of words, unstressed fleece /i/ can be spelled (e.g. hilly), (e.g. monkey), (e.g. toffee), (e.g. babies), (e.g. taxi), (e.g. acne). Before vowels, the spelling is usually (e.g. serious), and occasionally (e.g linear). Those British publications that transcribe the UK and US fleece vowels with a length mark do so only in stressed syllables, while in unstressed syllables they leave it out, e.g. easy /ˈiːzi/. We don’t recommend this practice because it means using two different symbols (i.e. /iː/ and /i/) for the same phoneme, which is confusing. Native speakers find it counter-​intuitive, and it often misleads non-​native learners into thinking that the two different symbols represent two different phonemes, which they don’t. This problem doesn’t arise in publications, like this one, that follow the North American tradition of not using length marks with the fleece vowel.

Transcribe these symbols with unstressed FLEECE /i/. 1) country, jelly, ready, nasty, wealthy, dizzy, bully, pity, honey, leaky, bury, easy 2) pretty, busy, cookie, chili, frequency, agony, city, sixty, steady, belly, allergy 3) cheeky, puppy, valley, taxi, thrifty, dummy, fifty, stuffy, study, reality, filthy 4) whiskey, kitty, monkey, needy, melody, pulley, sneaky, tummy, wacky, tricky 5) penny, galaxy, tacky, rally, energy, lily, envy, academy, treaty, brandy, apathy When a word contains an unstressed fleece /i/ vowel followed by schwa, there is often an alternative pronunciation with /j/ instead of fleece /i/. The more common a word is, the more likely the /j/ variant is. The /i/ variant is more usual after /r/ and certain consonant clusters.

fleece

and goose vowels  21

Transcribe the following words with either FLEECE /i/ or /j/ according to your own speech habits. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

media, idiot, million, India, senior, medium, onion, premium brilliant, immediate, Libya, champion, opinion, pedestrian, stallion genius, Daniel, familiar, Latvia, previous, genial, spaniel, industrial deviant, trivial, chameleon, tedious, comedian, convenient, linear

Unstressed , , , , and at the beginning of words like evade, reply, prepare, decline, and before can be pronounced with the fleece /i/ vowel, although schwa /ə/ or kit /ɪ/ are more common.

Transcribe these words with unstressed FLEECE /i/, schwa /ə/, or KIT /ɪ/ in the first syllable according to your own speech habits. 1 ) event, began, reject (v.), repent, delete, eject, enough, depravity, befriend 2) remember, beneath, pretend, become, receipt, predict, begrudge, republic 3) reflect, effect, detract, repeat, elect, revenge, evict, believe, regret, deliver, release 4) between, resist, prevent, depend, degree, erect, bequest, detach, relax, relief, defend

4.3  The goose /u/ vowel The second vowel introduced in this chapter is the monophthong goose and its phonemic symbol is /u/. Spellings for the goose /u/ vowel include (e.g. moon), (e.g. tune), (e.g. who), (e.g. blue); (e.g. flew), (e.g. group), (e.g. shoe) and (e.g. juice). Some works, especially those published in Britain for TEFL purposes, include the IPA length mark [ː] in the phonemic symbol for the goose vowel (i.e. /uː/) and the other long vowels to facilitate comparison with the corresponding British vowels, which are by tradition transcribed with length marks. Homophones: blew, blue /blu/; flew, flu, flue /flu/; loot, lute /lut/; shoe, shoo /ʃu/; threw, through /θru/; too, two /tu/; coo, coup /ku/; shoot, chute /ʃut/; moose, mousse /mus/; knew, new /nu/; do, dew, due /du/.

Transcribe the following words with the GOOSE /u/ vowel. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

movement, soothe, super, blue, school, room, move, group, moon, suit pool, two, Jew, zoom, crude, true, saloon, tool, juice, roof, cool, spooky boost, cruise, approve, tooth, zoo, fruit, loose, scooter, proof, prove, doom lagoon, maroon, sue, crew, root, loser, lunacy, boom, soup, chew, June

22  Transcribing words

5 ) 6) 7) 8) 9)

screw, tomb, fool, groom, prude, ooze, rooster, clue, shoe, canoe, bloom consumer, new, resume, stew, duty, nutrient, tube, duke, tuna, puma produce (v.), stupid, tutor, dew, tulip, dune, tuba, induce, Tudor, nude tumor, seduce, tunic, dubious, intuitive, newt, astute, dupe, subdue gratuitous, conducive, knew, reduce, steward, assume, drew, rune, blew

When there’s a or in the spelling of the goose /u/ vowel, there’s often an additional /j/ in the pronunciation that you should be careful not to overlook. Food and feud, for example, don’t sound the same; feud /fjud/ has a /j/ and food /fud/ doesn’t. The same is true of moot /mut/ and mute /mjut/. Homophones: hew, hue /hju/; humorous, humerus /ˈhjumərəs/; mews, muse /mjuz/; ewe, yew, you /ju/; cue, queue /kju/.

Transcribe these words with the GOOSE /u/ vowel preceded by /j/. 1) human, computer, cue, use (v.), view, queue, abuse (v.), humerus, beauty,  fuse 2) hue, user, feud, puce, mute, fuel, union, putrid, skewer, amusement, cube 3) puke, future, commuter, fume, use (n.), muse, confuse, humor, accuser, yew 4) puny, eulogy, eunuch, mule, abuse (n.), pewter, continue, music, value, pew

4.4  The unstressed goose /u/ vowel Like the kit /ɪ/ and fleece /i/ vowels, the goose /u/ vowel also occurs in unstressed syllables. goose /u/, however, is much less common in unstressed syllables than kit /ɪ/ and fleece /i/. Those British publications that transcribe the UK and US goose vowels with a length mark do so only in stressed syllables, while in unstressed syllables they leave it out, e.g. usual /ˈjuːʒuəl/. We don’t recommend this practice because it means using two different symbols (i.e. /uː/ and /u/) for the same phoneme, which is confusing. Native speakers find it counter-​intuitive, and it often misleads non-​native learners into thinking that the two different symbols represent two different phonemes, which they don’t. This problem doesn’t arise in publications, like this one, that follow the North American tradition of not using length marks with the goose vowel. One position in which unstressed goose /u/ occurs is before another vowel.

Transcribe these words with unstressed GOOSE /u/. 1 ) continuous, graduate (n.), effluent, affluent, annual, genuine 2) conspicuous, manual, strenuous, sinuous, tenuous, vacuous When unstressed goose /u/ appears before a consonant, it can often be replaced by schwa /ə/. Common words are more likely to have schwa /ə/, while infrequent words tend to have goose /u/.

fleece

and goose vowels  23

Transcribe the following words with GOOSE /u/ or schwa /ə/ in the underlined syllable according to your own speech habits. 1) 2) 3) 4)

executive, cumulus, accurate, deputy, meticulous, regular, curriculum immaculate, fabulous, stimulant, scrupulous, prejudice, ridiculous muscular, particular, succulent, tabular, stimulus, nebula, singular secular, vernacular, contributor, vascular, jugular, credulous, truculent

4.5  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with stressed and unstressed FLEECE /i/ and GOOSE /u/. 1) hoop, weave, theta, dippy, emit, prune, glue, compete, cream, womb, numerous 2) three, platoon, canopy, baboon, belief, flu, empathy, huge, procedure, sleeping 3) complete, fantasy, begin, maneuver, achievement, smoothie, cheek, piggy, loot 4) creature, thesis, buffoon, jealousy, unit, heating, ferry, smooth, freedom, sweet 5) breeze, muddy, verruca, chimney, bruise, detect, bleach, catty, balloon, leadership 6) antipathy, taboo, affluent, bunny, lean, treatment, felony, fetus, brew, cute 7) kidney, sheathe, flatly, salute, agreement, breed, raccoon, retrieve, dream, knee 8) few, balcony, demon, feature, teddy, ghoul, industry, defeat, teacher, stream, fluid 9) booze, therapy, booster, alley, remove, wreath, greeting, tease, succeed, rudeness 10) tweet, healthy, legacy, snooze, feeling, messy, crease, noose, calorie, cheap, ravine

5 THE palm /ɑ/, thought /ɔ/, sport [ o ], STRESSED SCHWAR /ər/ VOWELS, AND dress /ɛ/ AND trap /æ/ BEFORE /r/

5.1  The palm /ɑ/ vowel The first vowel in this chapter is the palm vowel, which has the phonemic symbol /ɑ/. This is the handwritten form of the letter . As we shall see for price /aɪ/ and mouth /aʊ/ (see Sections 6.2 and 7.2), in the IPA alphabet [a]‌ and [ɑ] are separate symbols and should not be confused. The palm vowel /ɑ/ is frequently spelled with the letter (e.g. pocket, stop). In a number of common words it is spelled with the letter preceded by /w/ spelled (e.g. swan, swallow) or (e.g. quality, squander). Some works, especially those published in Britain for TEFL purposes, include the IPA length mark [ː] in the phonemic symbol for the palm vowel (i.e. /ɑː/) and the other long vowels to facilitate comparison with the corresponding British vowels, which are by tradition transcribed with length marks. Homophones: profit, prophet /ˈprɑfət/; knot, not /nɑt/.

Transcribe these words with the PALM /ɑ/ vowel. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

top, want, stop, bronze, stock, wand, rock, hot, clock, box flock, bomb, spot, god, mop, block, crop, plot, cod, swan rob, squad, bond, fox, knock, drop, lock, posh, pot, watt font, blot, otter, robin, anonymous, dolphin, dollar, blotch, blockage squat, fob, collar, tonic, solace, mollusk, swat, monitor, Gothic, comedy comma, astronomer, wallet, socket, problem, notch, throb, zombie mahogany, honor, photographer, closet, dodge, yonder, chop, jolly

In a small number of basic English words (e.g. father /ˈfɑðər/) and a larger number of foreign loanwords, the palm /ɑ/ vowel is spelled without a preceding /w/.

palm , thought ,

and sport vowels  25

Homophones: llama, lama /ˈlɑmə/; pa, pah /pɑ/; baa, bah /bɑ/.

Transcribe these words with the PALM /ɑ/ vowel. 1) palm, pasta, lager, ah, massage, kebab, lava, calm, shah, lasagna, salami, Bali 2) schwa, father, spa, garage, blah, facade, iguana, yacht, psalm, bra, sonata, Nazi When the palm /ɑ/ vowel occurs before /r/, as it often does, it is nearly always spelled (e.g. car). Exceptions include in sergeant and in heart and hearth. Homophones: heart, hart /hɑrt/; arc, ark /ɑrk/.

Transcribe these words with the PALM /ɑ/ vowel. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

part, star, carcass, car, farther, barber, bar, charge, mark, smart, park harbor, march, heart, start, card, sharp, shark, cart, farm, chart, starch bazaar, spark, arch, karma, guard, army, harm, barn, party, sergeant tart, marsh, art, farmer, spar, scar, marker, carbon, dark, harmony, bark 5) safari, aria, starring, Ferrari, sparring, charring, sari, marring 6 ) scarring, tamara, tarry (adj.), jarring, czarist, guitarist, starry, barring

5.2  The thought /ɔ/ vowel Speakers from the Inland North and the East Coast of the USA can have an additional vowel phoneme, thought /ɔ/, in certain words where speakers from other parts of the country (and Canada) use the palm /ɑ/ vowel. Speakers of what we call thought-​ful accents (i.e. those that have a thought /ɔ/ vowel) pronounce the words cot /kɑt/ and caught /kɔt/ differently, while speakers of thought -​less accents pronounce them the same, both /kɑt/. The symbol for the thought vowel is the letter written backward. The thought /ɔ/ vowel is usually spelled or (e.g. cause, law), and also before (e.g. salt, tall, walk). Other spellings include (e.g. brought), (e.g. broad), (e.g. water). Some works, especially those published in Britain for TEFL purposes, include the IPA length mark [ː] in the phonemic symbol for the thought vowel (i.e. /ɔː/) and the other long vowels to facilitate comparison with the corresponding British vowels, which are by tradition transcribed with length marks. Homophones: ball, bawl /bɑl/ or /bɔl/; hall, haul /hɑl/ or /hɔl/; faun, fawn /fɑn/ or /fɔn/; mall, maul /mɑl/ or /mɔl/.

26  Transcribing words

Transcribe the following words with the THOUGHT /ɔ/ or PALM /ɑ/ vowel according to your own habits. 1) shawl, small, call, law, talk, saucer, walk, wall, saw, slaughter, ball, fall, water 2) laundry, stalker, yawn, draw, fraud, jaunt, pauper, straw, sauce, lawn,  pause 3) haul, stall, walker, crawl, hawk, August, paw, clause, chalk, prawn, thought

5.3  The cloth words Speakers of thought-​ful accents may also use the thought /ɔ/ vowel in a set of words known as the cloth words where speakers of thought-​less accents have the palm /ɑ/ vowel. The cloth words are usually spelled with the letter before a voiceless fricative (i.e. before /f/ off, /θ/ cloth, /s/ loss, /ʃ/ gosh) or a voiced velar consonant (i.e. before /ɡ/ dog, /ŋ/ song). Other spellings include after /w/ in wasp, squash, etc., in sausage, and in cough.

Transcribe the following words with the THOUGHT /ɔ/ or PALM /ɑ/ vowel according to your own habits. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

long, fog, wasp, cloth, cough, wash, swamp, toss, donkey, hog watch, gosh, off, lost, clog, wrong, log, broth, soft, office, song honk, strong, scoff, moth, floss, trough, offer, slosh, solve, gloss slog, boss, coffin, smog, across, frog, moss, belong, dog, frost, bog

5.4  ‌ vowel The sport [o] In thought-​ful accents, the thought /ɔ/ vowel often occurs before word-​ final or preconsonantal /r/, and is realized phonetically as [o]‌in this context (e.g. door /dɔr/ [dor], board /bɔrd/ [bord]). In thought-​less accents, the same [o] pronunciation is used as in the thought-​ful accents, but in this case it counts as an allophone of the goat /oʊ/ vowel (e.g. door /doʊr/ [dor], board /boʊrd/ [bord]); see Section 7.1. This unusual vowel with two possible phonemic interpretations, we refer to as the sport [o] vowel. We recommend using the non-​phonemic sport vowel symbol [o]‌in our otherwise phonemic transcription instead of /ɔ/ for thought-​ful accents and /oʊ/ for thought-​less accents because 1) it conveniently acts as a cover symbol for both vowel systems, 2) [o] as a pre-​/r/ allophone of thought or goat is strikingly different than the allophones these vowels have in other contexts. This means transcribing words like door and board as [dor] and [bord] instead of /dɔr/ or /doʊr/ and /bɔrd/ or /boʊrd/. Note that this represents our second departure from a strictly phonemic style of transcription (see /t/-​voicing, Section 3.8).

palm , thought ,

and sport vowels  27

Strictly speaking, when we transcribe the sport [o]‌vowel, we should use non-​phonemic square brackets, i.e. door [dor] and board [bord], but in practice we don’t because it’s too much trouble to constantly switch from phonemic slanted brackets to non-​phonemic square brackets every time a sport [o] vowel turns up in a transcription, and so we transcribe door as /dor/ and board as /bord/. The sport vowel has a wide range of spellings, all of them followed by , for example (e.g. form), (e.g. four), (e.g. board), (e.g. door), and after /w/ (e.g. warm, quartz). Homophones:  oar, or, ore /or/; boar, bore /bor/; coarse, course /kors/; hoarse, horse /hors/; morning, mourning /ˈmornɪŋ/; pour, pore /por/; soar, sore /sor/; war, wore /wor/; warn, worn /worn/; core, corps /kor/; chord, cord /kord/; board, bored /bord/; boarder, border /ˈbordər/; hoard, horde /hord/.

Transcribe the following words with the SPORT [o] vowel. 1) corner, fourth, sport, source, order, scorch, reform, war, shore, four, store, torch 2) score, torture, chore, force, ward, form, court, thorn, porch, board, before, course 3) port, reward, horse, warm, afford, storm, border, floor, door, ford, thwart, sword 4) cork, porter, north, core, forty, former, norm, fort, wharf, horn, orchard, pour

5.5  ‌ The palm /ɑ/ and sport [o] vowels before intervocalic /r/ When the /r/ following the sport vowel is intervocalic, some words can have only the sport [o]‌vowel while others have an alternative pronunciation with the palm /ɑ/ vowel, which is more common in some words than in others.

‌ vowel Transcribe the following words with the SPORT [o] before intervocalic /r/. 1 ) memorial, tutorial, victorious, glorious, thesaurus, gory, soaring 2) forum, floral, explorer, storage, boring, chorus, ignoring, Victorian 3) restoring, story, flooring, aura, roaring, scorer, emporium, porous

‌ Transcribe the following words with either the SPORT [o] vowel or the PALM /ɑ/ vowel before intervocalic /r/ according to your own habits. 1 ) coral, orange, forest, authority, quarrel, warrior, coroner, sorry, Florida 2) florist, historic, horror, majority, origin, foreign, torrent, historian, moral

28  Transcribing words

5.6  Stressed schwar /ər/ We saw in Section 2.3 that schwar, i.e. /ə/ + /r/, very frequently occurs in unstressed syllables as in after /ˈæftər/, but it also occurs in stressed syllables as in burn /bərn/. Common spellings for stressed schwar include (e.g. verb), (e.g. stir), (e.g. burn, cure), (e.g. nourish), (e.g. earn), and when preceded by (e.g. worth). There is almost always a letter in the spelling of stressed schwar, but one notable exception is colonel /ˈkərnl̩ /. Just as some works use different symbols for stressed and unstressed schwa, i.e. /ʌ/ and /ə/ (see Section 2.2), they also use different symbols for stressed and unstressed schwar, i.e. /ɝ/ and /ɚ/. We don’t follow this practice because it goes against native-​speaker intuitions and gives the impression that stressed and unstressed schwar are independent phonemes, which is not the case. Some works, especially those published in Britain for TEFL purposes, include the IPA length mark [ː] in the symbol for stressed schwar (i.e. /ɝː/ or /ɜːr) in order to facilitate comparison with the corresponding British vowel (i.e. /ɜː/). Homophones: berth, birth /bərθ/; earn, urn /ərn/; pearl, purl /pərl/; heard, herd /hərd/; fir, fur /fər/; per, purr /pər/; serf, surf /sərf/; tern, turn /tərn/; current, currant /ˈkərənt/.

Transcribe the following words with stressed schwar /ər/. 1) murder, world, emerge, third, work, first, observe, term, learner, birth, turn 2) clergy, learn, word, thirsty, burglar, sir, urge, firm, converse, birth, girl, curtsy 3) worst, serve, merger, reserve, nurse, girth, skirt, jerk, pearl, earl, occur, purpose 4) surf, earn, sermon, search, bird, attorney, return, sperm, murmur, verge, purse 5) thirst, perch, earth, burn, hearse, worth, turkey, burglary, further, stern, nerve 6) church, stir, assert, verse, shirt, turf, fur, nurture, curve, spur, reverse, germ, urn 7) referral, occurring, recurring, stirring, furry, preferring, erring, purring 8) inferring, whirring, spurring, deterring, blurry, slurring, conferring 9) curry, currant, clerk, worry, courage, flourish, Berkeley 10) nourish, hurry, scurry, current, derby, currency, turret

5.7  The dress /ɛ/ and trap /æ/ vowels before /r/ So far we haven’t transcribed the dress /ɛ/ or trap /æ/ vowels before /r/. The dress /ɛ/ vowel occurs before both intervocalic /r/ (e.g. merit /ˈmɛrət/) and non-​intervocalic /r/ (e.g. square /skwɛr/, scared /skɛrd/), while the trap /æ/

palm , thought ,

and sport vowels  29

vowel only occurs before intervocalic /r/ (e.g. carrot /ˈkærət/). In fact, it is very common these days for trap /æ/ to be replaced by dress /ɛ/ before intervocalic /r/ (e.g. carrot /ˈkɛrət). Before /r/, the dress /ɛ/ vowel is often spelled quite differently than in other contexts. In addition to (e.g. America), it can also be spelled (e.g. vary), (e.g. hair), (e.g. bear), and (e.g. theirs). Before /r/, the trap /æ/ vowel (now usually replaced by the dress /ɛ/ vowel) is spelled in the same way as in other contexts, that is (e.g. carry). Homophones: air, heir /ɛr/; bare, bear /bɛr/; fair, fare /fɛr/; hair, hare /hɛr/; pair, pare, pear /pɛr/; there, their, they’re /ðɛr/; ware, wear, where /wɛr/; stair, stare /stɛr/; flair, flare /flɛr/; tear, tare /tɛr/; Mary, merry, marry /ˈmɛri/; vary, very /ˈvɛri/; fairy, ferry /ˈfɛri/; berry, bury, Barry /ˈbɛri/; Beryl, barrel /ˈbɛrəl/; Kerry, carry /ˈkɛri/; herald, Harold /ˈhɛrəld/; perish, parish /ˈpɛrɪʃ/; Terry, tarry /ˈtɛri/; hairy, Harry /ˈhɛri/.

Transcribe these words with DRESS /ɛ/ + /r/. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

air, share, square, beware, there, prepare, care, fair, rare, chair spare, mare, wear, scare, dare, bear, compare, pair, prayer, swear repair, affair, heir, scarce, stair, aware, laird, hair, snare, glare, declare hilarious, canary, various, variant, wary, dairy, parent, hairy, aquarium prairie, malaria, scary, baring, aerial, fairy, garish, area, Mary, preparing sharing, vary, rarer, sierra, daring, caring, staring, swearing, rarity bury, heritage, fare, terrace, cherry, inherit, America, therapy, very blare, perish, imperative, error, stare, merry, herring, Jerry, terrier

Transcribe these words with DRESS /ɛ/ + /r/ or TRAP /æ/ + /r/ according to your own habits. 1 ) asparagus, parody, embarrass, apparent, Paris, Arabic, tariff, larynx 2) marriage, character, arid, parrot, arrogant, charity, barrel, narrative 3) barren, carriage, barrier, carol, parish, carrot, carry, clarity, marry

5.8  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with the appropriate vowels. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

prong, char, author, dwarf, snoring, prefer, theirs, precarious, courtesy autumn, oral, pharmacy, cross, performance, swerve, impairment, airy prepare, circus, flurry, quarter, throng, Austria, garment, mirth, warp mafia, daughter, parchment, observer, morgue, declare, warring, deserve supporter, barium, alarm, trauma, journey, slurry, curse, hoard, glory fairest, squirm, performer, guardian, repair, award, birch, mercy, gnaw, verb

30  Transcribing words

7) ornament, hearth, smirk, swarm, staunch, spurt, glaring, gorge, charm 8) worthy, swarthy, cursor, yarn, choral, twirl, daunt, err, dirty, coffee, thaw 9) flaunt, suave, blaring, burp, organ, quirk, cost, chirp, mourn, sprawl, purr 10) purge, despair, roar, maul, aren’t, corpse, yearn, broad, flora, llama, scorn

6 THE face /eɪ/, price /aɪ/, AND choice /ɔɪ/ VOWELS

6.1  The face /eɪ/ vowel The first of the three diphthongs we introduce in this chapter is the face vowel, which has the phonemic symbol /eɪ/. This is the letter followed by the symbol that we use for the kit /ɪ/ vowel, which is the second element of the phonemic symbols of the diphthongs in this chapter. The three most common spellings of the face /eɪ/ vowel are (e.g. take), (e.g. say) and (e.g. paint). Less usual spellings include (e.g. beige), (e.g. break) and (e.g. they). Some American works follow a tradition of transcribing the face vowel as /e/ (cf. the goat vowel, Section 7.1). We don’t recommend this practice because it gives the impression that the face /eɪ/ vowel is a monophthong. Homophones: place, plaice /pleɪs/; plain, plane /pleɪn/; rain, reign, rein /reɪn/; raise, raze /reɪz/; saver, savor /ˈseɪvər/; slay, sleigh /sleɪ/; stake, steak /steɪk/; vain, vane, vein /veɪn/; waist, waste /weɪst/; wait, weight /weɪt/; way, weigh, whey /weɪ/; brake, break /breɪk/; faze, phase /feɪz/; grate, great /ɡreɪt/; lain, lane /leɪn/; made, maid /meɪd/; main, mane /meɪn/; pain, pane /peɪn/; fate, fête /feɪt/; gait, gate /ɡeɪt/; maize, maze /meɪz/; ail, ale /eɪl/; bale, bail /beɪl/; bait, bate /beɪt/; faint, feint /feɪnt/; knave, nave /neɪv/; mail, male /meɪl/; nay, neigh /neɪl/; pail, pale /peɪl/; sail, sale /seɪl/; tail, tale /teɪl/; veil, vale /veɪl/; whale, wail /weɪl/; waive, wave /weɪv/.

Transcribe the following words with the FACE /eɪ/ vowel. 1) lady, name, shake, sailor, make, day, jade, space, scathing, persuade, take, baby, tailor 2) relate, maze, painting, rain, rate, stadium, complaint, bathe, play, grave, claim, age

32  Transcribing words

3) shade, case, stranger, break, race, eighth, state, swathe, trade, lake, date, wave, stay 4) faith, parade, taste, alien, waist, await, container, cake, create, base, train, eight, ace 5) danger, flavor, shame, fate, radius, raise, array, navy, plain, tape, nature, waste, bay

6.2  The price /aɪ/ vowel Our second diphthong is price, which has the phonemic symbol /aɪ/. This is the letter followed by the symbol that we use for the kit /ɪ/ vowel, which is the second element of the phonemic symbols of the diphthongs in this chapter. Note that the symbol for the first element is [a]‌and not [ɑ]. Although we usually think of these two symbols as variants of the same letter, in the IPA alphabet they are separate symbols representing different sounds. The price /aɪ/ vowel is usually spelled with (e.g. time) or (e.g. cry), but note height and sleight with . Homophones:  right, rite, wright, write /raɪt/; rye, wry /raɪ/; thyme, time /taɪm/; whine, wine /waɪn/; buy, by, bye /baɪ/; cite, sight, site /saɪt/; die, dye /daɪ/; miner, minor /ˈmaɪnər/; aisle, isle /aɪl/; eye, I /aɪ/; knight, night /naɪt/; might, mite /maɪt/; climb, clime /klaɪm/; hi, high /haɪ/; lichen, liken /ˈlaɪkən/; pi, pie /paɪ/; sign, sine /saɪn/; sleight, slight /slaɪt/; stile, style /staɪl/.

Transcribe the following words with the PRICE /aɪ/ vowel. 1) shine, like, chide, provide, thine, time, oblige, site, Viking, style, advise, decline 2) type, child, night, find, thigh, shy, line, fighting, guide, writer, white, size, five, rely 3) chime, hiking, mind, shrine, writhe, bike, prize, kind, prime, ice, sky, rise, irony 4) ride, fight, China, surprising, smile, jibe, island, guy, nine, eye, strike, survivor 5) jive, spy, lightning, sight, lithe, pride, virus, item, supply, flight, hide, spice, ivy

6.3  The choice /ɔɪ/ vowel Our third diphthong is choice, which has the phonemic symbol /ɔɪ/. This is the symbol [ɔ], which is the letter written backwards, followed by the symbol that we use for the kit /ɪ/ vowel and for the second element of the diphthongs in this chapter. The choice /ɔɪ/ vowel is nearly always spelled (e.g. coin) or (e.g. toy), usually within words and at the end of words.

face , price ,

and choice vowels  33

Transcribe these words with the FACE /eɪ/, PRICE /aɪ/, and CHOICE /ɔɪ/ vowels. 1 ) point, boy, avoid, voice, toy, noise, coin, boiler, annoy, poise, noisy, deploy 2) oyster, ploy, hoist, toilet, loiter, appointment, foist, loin, moist, joy, join, Roy 3) coy, goiter, void, groin, embroider, employ, choice, moisture, enjoy, joist, joint

6.4 

face

/eɪ/, price /aɪ/, and choice /ɔɪ/ before vowels

When /eɪ/, /aɪ/, or /ɔɪ/ are followed by a vowel (usually /ə/ or /ɪ/) in words like player, fire or employer, learners often make the mistake of transcribing a /j/ between the diphthong and the following vowel (i.e. */ˈpleɪjər/, */ˈfaɪjər/, */ɪmˈplɔɪjər/; note that the symbol * indicates an incorrect transcription). This is because they mistake the glide of the diphthong, which is similar to a weak [j]‌sound, for a separate /j/ phoneme. The correct transcription of such words is /ˈpleɪər/, /ˈfaɪər/, and /ɪmˈplɔɪər/. Homophones: liar, lyre /ˈlaɪər/; higher, hire /ˈhaɪər/; choir, quire /ˈkwaɪər/; dire, dyer /ˈdaɪər/; friar, fryer /ˈfraɪər/; shire, shyer /ˈʃaɪər/.

Transcribe the following words with the FACE /eɪ/, PRICE /aɪ/, and CHOICE /ɔɪ/ vowels before another vowel. 1) giant, riot, joyous, hire, inspire, layer, tire, quiet, lawyer, iron, fire, buyer, conveyor 2) wire, diet, saying, liar, lion, voyage, choir, diary, portrayal, trying, prior, boyish 3) client, highest, paying, bias, society, soya, proprietor, variety, weighing, buying 4) supplier, annoying, shire, crying, displaying, squire, flying, buoyant, entire, priory

6.5  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with the FACE /eɪ/, PRICE /aɪ/, and /ɔɪ/ vowels.

CHOICE

1) vacancy, combine, loiter, lying, cage, pine, skate, climb, moist, lay, scythe, wage 2) traitor, mileage, annoy, pyre, brave, stride, chamber, deny, rake, rhyme, noise 3) radiant, slight, voice, sleigh, mime, stage, faint, attire, pie, behave, mire, trait 4) die, neighbor, dire, oyster, arrange, bait, sigh, goiter, design, lathe, plague, ape

34  Transcribing words

5) placement, steak, point, acquire, gauge, jail, kite, groin, savor, spade, payment 6) employing, moisture, shave, fly, praise, blaze, pilot, hoist, aid, labor, diving 7) noisy, complain, major, subscribe, detain, appoint, blame, choice, sway, pariah 8) fake, waiter, knife, poise, attain, pipe, enjoy, favor, tray, hike, mining,  scrape 9) embroider, hay, chain, driver, page, strain, laying, confide, brace, drain, avoid 10) behind, grain, boiler, trace, painter, minor, decide, spire, bribe, flake, phase, aim

7 THE goat /oʊ/ AND mouth /aʊ/ VOWELS

7.1  The goat /oʊ/ vowel The first of the two diphthongs we introduce in this chapter is the goat vowel, which has the phonemic symbol /oʊ/. This consists of the letter followed by the symbol we use for the foot /ʊ/ vowel. Spellings for the goat /oʊ/ vowel include (e.g. bone), (e.g. toe), (e.g. low), (e.g. boat), (e.g. soul). Note in brooch and in sew. Some American works follow a tradition of transcribing the goat vowel as /o/ (cf. the face vowel, Section 6.1). We don’t recommend this practice because it gives the impression that the goat /oʊ/ vowel is a monophthong. Homophones:  broach, brooch /broʊʧ/; groan, grown /ɡroʊn/; loan, lone /loʊn/; pole, poll /poʊl/; road, rode /roʊd/; roe, row /roʊ/; role, roll /roʊl/; sew, so, sow /soʊ/; sole, soul /soʊl/; throne, thrown /θroʊn/; yoke, yolk /joʊk/; do, doe, dough /doʊ/; know, no /noʊ/; bow, beau /boʊ/; bole, bowl /boʊl/; bolder, boulder /ˈboʊldər/; flow, floe /floʊ/; moan, mown /moʊn/; moat, mote /moʊt/; oh, owe /oʊ/; Rome, roam /roʊm/; wrote, rote /roʊt/; slow, sloe /sloʊ/.

Transcribe the following words with the GOAT /oʊ/ vowel. 1) clothing, bonus, oak, own, evoke, close (adj.), moment, post, lotus, road, show, low 2) phone, whole, oath, hope, role, vote, hold, elope, doze, motor, load, soldier, stone 3) control, loathe, rose, mode, quote, below, focus, code, host, row, poster, roll, snow

36  Transcribing words

4) opium, coast, brooch, sofa, poll, growth, smoke, joke, loan, zone, corrode, Roman 5) throw, home, over, no, nose, remote, bolt, sober, soap, sodium, stroke, tone, choke

7.2  The mouth /aʊ/ vowel Our second diphthong is mouth, which has the phonemic symbol /aʊ/. The first part of the symbol is the same as that for the price /aɪ/ vowel, while the second part is the same as the foot /ʊ/ vowel and the second part of the goat /oʊ/ vowel. Remember not to confuse the [a]‌symbol with the [ɑ] symbol. In the IPA alphabet, they are separate symbols representing different sounds. The two main spellings for the mouth /aʊ/ vowel are (e.g. sound) and (e.g. down). Homophones: foul, fowl /faʊl/; bow, bough /baʊ/.

Transcribe the following words with the MOUTH /aʊ/ vowel. 1) lounge, south, house (n.), town, account, down, brown, scrounge, found, sound, foul 2) round, confound, ground, row, without, browse, pound, crowd, mouse, allow, crown 3) meow, mouth, slouch, count, joust, bounty, bound, gown, county, shout, cloud, cow 4) out, owl, scout, blouse, surround, amount, shroud, hound, plow, crouch, brow, rowdy

7.3 

goat

/oʊ/ and mouth /aʊ/ before vowels

When /oʊ/ or /aʊ/ is followed by a vowel in words like going or flower, learners often make the mistake of transcribing a /w/ between the diphthong and the following vowel (i.e. */ˈɡoʊwɪŋ/, */ˈflaʊwər/; note that the symbol * indicates an incorrect transcription). This is because they mistake the glide of the diphthong, which is similar to a weak [w]‌sound, for a separate /w/ phoneme. The correct transcription of such words is /ˈɡoʊɪŋ/ and /ˈflaʊər/. Homophones: flour, flower /ˈflaʊər/.

Transcribe the following words with the GOAT /oʊ/ and PRICE /aɪ/ vowels before another vowel. 1) shower, flour, hour, knowing, poetry, power, mower, tower, sour, slower, boa 2) lower, showing, snowing, grower, coward, plowing, throwing, sewing, scour

goat

and mouth vowels  37

7.4  Chapter revision Transcribe the following words with the GOAT /oʊ/ and MOUTH /aʊ/ vowels. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5)

folder, coat, drown, component, provoke, lout, trophy, robe, jolt, cower loaf, boulder, cobra, vouch, propose, folk, crow, frown, blowing, poach oppose, moat, ghost, patrol, howl, odor, toast, blow, composer, devour coma, shoulder, coach, compose, vogue, bone, voucher, toe, owe, scroll flowing, drone, goal, pony, snout, float, probe, cozy, pose, prowl, bowl

8 fleece

8.1 

/i/ AND goose /u/ BEFORE /r/

fleece

/i/ before /r/

So far we haven’t transcribed the fleece /i/ vowel before /r/. fleece /i/ occurs before both intervocalic /r/ (e.g. weary /ˈwiri/) and non-​intervocalic /r/ (e.g. fear /fir/, fierce /firs/). Spellings for fleece before /r/ include (e.g. mere), (e.g. beer), (e.g. fear), (e.g. weird), (e.g. pier), (e.g. mirror), and (e.g. lyric). Traditionally in GA, the pre-​/r/ vowel in words like fear, fierce, and weary was transcribed with the kit /ɪ/ vowel, i.e. /fɪr/, /fɪrs/ and /ˈwɪri/. Nowadays, however, this vowel is more similar to fleece than to kit and so speakers feel that it belongs phonemically with fleece and that such words should be transcribed with /ir/. This is especially true when the following /r/ is word-​final (e.g. fear) or preconsonantal (e.g. fierce), while more variation can be heard before intervocalic /r/ (e.g. weary). Homophones: cereal, serial /ˈsiriəl/; dear, deer /dir/; hear, here /hir/; peer, pier /pir/; shear, sheer /ʃir/; tear, tier /tir/; serious, Sirius /ˈsiriəs/.

Transcribe the following words with FLEECE before non-​intervocalic  /r/. 1 ) tier, beer, veer, pier, shear, cheer, ear, beard, spear, smear, weir, severe 2) jeer, peer, fear, gear, mere, pierce, here, queer, weird, fierce, leer, career, appear 3) near, sphere, clear, steer, year, dear, sheer, rear, sneer, deer, hear, veneer, sincere

fleece

and goose before /r/  39

Transcribe the following words with FLEECE before intervocalic /r/. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5)

imperial, superior, steering, material, appearance, query, clearing series, zero, weary, eerie, cheering, smearing, serial, period, dreary cereal, hero, interior, spearing, mysterious, hearing, clearance, bleary bacteria, shearing, delirious, experience, inferior, serious, nearer conspiracy, mirror, spirit, lyric, tyranny, myriad, virulent, virile

8.2 

goose

/u/ before /r/

The goose /u/ vowel isn’t as common before /r/ as it used to be. In many words it’s nowadays replaced by schwa /ə/ (which combines with /r/ to form stressed schwar /ər/) or, in a small number of words, by the sport [o]‌ vowel. Spellings for the set of words that formerly always had goose before /r/ include (e.g. lure), (e.g. tour) and (e.g. boor).

Transcribe these words with GOOSE /u/, schwa /ə/, or SPORT ‌ before /r/ according to your own habits. [o] 1 ) plural, during, moor, rural, poor, jury, pure, sure, tour, assure 2) contour, mature, obscure, procure, security, alluring, curious 3) cure, endurance, Europe, furious, insurance, neural, spurious

8.3  Diphthong and fleece/goose + /r/ revision Transcribe these words with the appropriate vowel. 1) opponent, savior, ninety, boy, dying, clown, lower, zero, decay, vapor, daisy 2) Jamaica, psyche, noisy, loathing, noun, experience, pavement, query, mysterious 3) training, appearance, embroider, thrown, insurance, approach, thrive, beard, poor 4) zany, erase, piracy, destroyer, flounder, serious, why, appoint, aroma, desire, cheer 5) comply, oyster, podium, tower, inferior, radiant, basement, annoy, sphere, Europe 6) stadium, spider, straight, betray, avoid, suppose, doubt, clearance, require, gnome 7) tour, deflate, ache, remain, advice, enjoy, hoax, fury, promote, career, pirate, cry 8) sincere, degrade, chase, change, delight, thy, boiler, counter, smear, precise, retire 9) curious, maim, remind, loiter, sailing, brain, sire, throat, pouch, mower, both, hero 10) racing, choice, beer, razor, cone, height, gray, owner, rage, appear, phrase, sprayer

9 SYLLABIC CONSONANTS

9.1  Syllabic consonants In this work, we present an almost completely phonemic style of transcription, this being best for most practical purposes, particularly for learning and teaching English as a foreign language. So far, we’ve departed from the phonemic principle in only two cases:  /t/-​voicing (see Section 3.8) and the sport [o]‌vowel (see Section 5.4). Our third and final departure from a strictly phonemic style of transcription is in the case of syllabic consonants, which aren’t separate phonemes, but for which we recommend using additional non-​ phonemic symbols. In words like final /ˈfaɪnəl/, mission /ˈmɪʃən/ and blossom /ˈblɑsəm/, it’s common for the schwa /ə/ to be lost from the syllables /əl/, /ən/, and /əm/. The articulators move directly from the position for the preceding consonant to the positions for /l/, /n/, and /m/ without passing through the position for schwa /ə/. In such cases, the number of syllables in the word remains the same, the consonants [l]‌, [n], and [m] counting as alternative pronunciations of /əl/, /ən/, and /əm/ in these contexts. The IPA symbol to show that a consonant is syllabic is [ ̩ ], a small vertical line below the consonant symbol (or sometimes above if the consonant symbol has a tail), for example [l ̩ n̩ m̩ ŋ̍]. In a strictly phonemic style of transcription, words like final, mission, and blossom would be transcribed /ˈfaɪnəl/, /ˈmɪʃən/, and /ˈblɑsəm/ even though the schwas /ə/ would often not be pronounced. This is rather misleading and it is for this reason that we transcribe them /ˈfaɪnl̩/, /ˈmɪʃn̩/, and /ˈblɑsm̩ /. Strictly speaking, when we transcribe syllabic consonants, we should use non-​ phonemic square brackets, i.e. [ˈfaɪnl ̩], [ˈmɪʃn̩], and [ˈblɑsm̩], but in practice we don’t because it’s too much trouble to constantly switch from phonemic

Syllabic consonants  41

slanted brackets to non-​phonemic square brackets every time a syllabic consonant turns up in a transcription.

9.2  Syllabic /l/ We’ll start with syllabic /l/ because it’s the most common of the syllabic consonants and occurs in the greatest range of contexts with the fewest restrictions. Syllabic /l/ occurs freely after plosives /p b t d k ɡ/ (e.g. apple /ˈæpl ̩/, table /ˈteɪbl ̩/, total /ˈtoʊt ̬l ̩/, model /ˈmɑdl ̩/, cycle /ˈsaɪkl̩/, eagle /ˈiɡl ̩/), after affricates /ʧ ʤ/ (e.g. satchel /ˈsæʧl ̩/, cudgel /ˈkəʤl ̩/), after fricatives /f v θ ð s z ʃ / (e.g. rifle /ˈraɪfl ̩/, travel /ˈtrævl ̩/, lethal /ˈliθl ̩/, betrothal /bɪˈtroʊðl ̩/, fossil /ˈfɑsl ̩/, puzzle /ˈpəzl ̩/, social /ˈsoʊʃl ̩/), and after nasals /n m ŋ/ (e.g. final /ˈfaɪnl ̩/, camel /ˈkæml ̩/, king’ll /ˈkɪŋl ̩/). The fricative /ʒ/ doesn’t occur before the syllable /əl/ in English words except when the /u/ is dropped in the everyday pronunciation of words like casual /ˈkæʒl̩ / and usual /ˈjuʒl ̩/. Since syllabic /l/ is a realization of /əl/, the /t/ in words like little and metal is intervocalic before an unstressed vowel, which means it’s usually realized as a voiced /t/, i.e. /ˈlɪt l̬ ̩/ and /ˈmɛt l̬ ̩/. Syllabic /l/ doesn’t occur after approximants /r l j w/ (e.g. barrel /ˈbɛrəl/, molal /ˈmoʊləl/, spaniel /ˈspænjəl/, equal /ˈikwəl/), and in any case, with the exception of /r/, approximants rarely occur before the syllable /əl/ in English words. Note that besides the words practiced in this chapter and words like them, syllabic /l/ also frequently occurs as a realization of the weak form of will (see Section 13.10). The /əl/ syllable that’s realized as syllabic /l/ is often spelled (e.g. people) or with preceded by a vowel letter such as (e.g. local), (e.g. panel), (e.g. pencil) or (e.g. faculty). Homophones:  bridal, bridle /ˈbraɪdl ̩/; colonel, kernel /ˈkərnl ̩/; cymbal, symbol /ˈsɪmbl ̩/; idle, idol /ˈaɪdl ̩/; marshal, martial /ˈmɑrʃl ̩/; medal, meddle /ˈmɛdl ̩/; metal, mettle /ˈmɛt l̬ ̩/; muscle, mussel /ˈməsl ̩/; naval, navel /ˈneɪvl ̩/; pedal, peddle /ˈpɛdl ̩/; principal, principle /ˈprɪnsəpl ̩/; council, counsel /ˈkaʊnsl ̩/

Transcribe these words with syllabic /l/ after plosives /p b t d k ɡ/ and affricates /ʧ ʤ/. 1) burgle, breathable, frugal, apple, yodel, chuckle, crystal, jumble, sparkle, table 2) tribal, gospel, saddle, obstacle, ogle, circle, allowable, thimble, yokel, waddle 3) vegetable, purple, foible, startle, satchel, label, snorkel, legal, cobble, miracle

42  Transcribing words

4) wearable, gentleman, rabble, poodle, theatrical, gobble, juggle, example, noble 5) vigil, avoidable, scruple, nautical, herbal, icicle, frontal, drinkable, feudal, local

Transcribe these words with syllabic /l/ after fricatives /f v θ ð s z ʃ/ and nasals /m n/. 1) kennel, shovel, thermal, awful, marvel, crucial, proposal, bushel, powerful, evil 2) arrival, shrapnel, refusal, colossal, cheerful, lethal, arousal, normal, specialty 3) careful, tousle, novelty, flannel, betrothal, official, thistle, formal, phrasal, oval 4) dismissal, maternal, doubtful, hazel, partial, fossil, animal, chivalry, jostle, axle 5) fearful, brothel, journal, hustle, primal, nasal, shrivel, weasel, wonderful, useful

Transcribe these words with syllabic /l/ after plosives /p b t d k ɡ/, affricates /ʧ ʤ/, fricatives /f v θ ð s z ʃ/, and nasals /m n/. 1) Nigel, grovel, jungle, channel, verbal, carousal, brutal, social, throttle, optimal 2) council, myrtle, rehearsal, vehicle, spatial, immortal, angel, colorful, cycle 3) vocal, approval, accountable, puzzle, raffle, uncle, marble, faithful, scribble 4) penalty, reprisal, bauble, facial, mingle, camel, sprinkle, commercial, notable 5) funnel, curdle, diesel, total, travel, gerbil, shingle, final, topple, harmful, noodle

9.3  Syllabic /n/ Syllabic /n/ occurs in a narrower range of contexts than syllabic /l/. Like syllabic /l/ it occurs after plosives /p b t d k ɡ/, fricatives /f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ/, and affricates /ʧ ʤ/, but not after approximants /r l j w/ (e.g. parent /ˈpɛrənt/, melon /ˈmɛlən/, canyon /ˈkænjən/, frequent /ˈfrikwənt/). However, unlike syllabic /l/, syllabic /n/ doesn’t occur after nasals /m n ŋ/ (e.g. salmon /ˈsæmən/, cannon /ˈkænən/, Tongan /ˈtɑŋən/). Syllabic /n/ is also more variable than syllabic /l/. While syllabic /l/ is the norm in the contexts in which it occurs, we can’t say the same about syllabic /n/. Pronunciations with /ən/ commonly alternate with pronunciations with syllabic /n/, and their relative frequencies vary according to the consonant

Syllabic consonants  43

they follow. Syllabic /n/ appears to be most common after alveolar plosives /t d/ (e.g. kitten /ˈkɪtn̩/, sadden /ˈsædn̩/), alveolar fricatives /s z/ (e.g. listen /ˈlɪsn̩/, reason /ˈrizn̩/), palato-​alveolar fricatives /ʃ ʒ/ (e.g. action /ˈækʃn̩/, vision /ˈvɪʒn̩/), and /f/ (e.g. soften /ˈsɑfn̩/). After the remaining fricatives /v θ ð/, affricates /ʧ ʤ/, and the bilabial /p b/ and velar /k ɡ/ plosives, non-​syllabic pronunciations seem to be more common (e.g. seven /ˈsɛvən/, Nathan /ˈneɪθən/, heathen /ˈhiðən/, merchant /ˈmərʧənt/, region /ˈriʤən/, happen /ˈhæpən/, ribbon /ˈrɪbən/, reckon /ˈrɛkən/, dragon /ˈdræɡən/). Syllabic /n/ usually doesn’t occur after a nasal + /d/ (e.g. Camden /ˈkæmdən/, London /ˈləndən/, Kingdon /ˈkɪŋdən/), or after consonant + /t/ (e.g. reluctant /rɪˈləktənt/, acceptance /əkˈsɛptəns/, distant /ˈdɪstənt/, Washington /ˈwɑʃɪŋtən/, Hampton /ˈhæmtən/) except /n/ + /t/ (e.g. sentence /ˈsɛntn̩s/), /l/ + /t/ (e.g. Milton /ˈmɪltn̩/) and /r/ + /t/ (e.g. carton /ˈkɑrtn̩/). When /tən/ and /dən/ are preceded by an unstressed syllable, syllabic /n/ is the less common realization (e.g. militant usually /ˈmɪlətənt/, confident usually /ˈkɑnfədənt/). The /ən/ syllable that’s realized as syllabic /n/ is often spelled (e.g. cotton), (e.g. worsen), (e.g. cousin), (e.g. ocean) and (e.g. certain). Homophones:  lessen, lesson /ˈlɛsn̩/; session, cession /ˈsɛʃn̩/; cousin, cozen /ˈkəzn̩/; Britain, Briton /ˈbrɪtn̩/; tighten, titan /ˈtaɪtn̩/.

Transcribe these words with syllabic /n/ after alveolar fricatives /s z/ and plosives /t d/, palato-​alveolar fricatives /ʃ ʒ/, and /f/. 1) frozen, fusion, oxen, isn’t, creation, excursion, cushion, arson, soften, musician 2) Russian, deafen, exertion, thousand, innocent, notion, auction, collision, ashen 3) occasion, magician, portion, assertion, dozen, infant, moisten, adoption, seclusion 4) decent, compulsion, poison, corrosion, mutation, hyphen, mustn’t, raisin, session 5) doesn’t, prescription, mason, delusion, compassion, worsen, contortion, Persian 6) mutton, hadn’t, broaden, cotton, ardent, sweeten, prudent, wouldn’t,  eaten 7) forbidden, tighten, maiden, curtain, couldn’t, threaten, deaden, rotten, needn’t 8) avoidance, Latin, student, important, shouldn’t, glutton, beaten, rodent

Transcribe these words, according to your own usage, with either /ən/ or syllabic /n/ after affricates /ʧ ʤ/, dental fricatives /θ ð/, and /v/. 1) driven, religion, Ethan, haven’t, region, servant, congestion, agent, heathen

44  Transcribing words

2) shaven, seven, legend, Nathan, merchant, raven, question, Devon, oven, surgeon 3) forgiven, solvent, emergency, proven, heaven, suggestion, fervent, convent 4) eleven, sergeant, haven, dungeon, relevant, Steven, luncheon, even, urgent

9.4  Sequences of syllabic consonants Certain English words can have two syllabic consonants in a row (e.g. optional /ˈɑpʃn̩l ̩/). This is always in the order /n̩/ + /l̩/ because syllabic /n/ doesn’t occur after /l/.

Transcribe these words with a sequence of two syllabic consonants. 1) emotional, occasional, personal, traditional, seasonal, conditional, rational 2) professional, national, additional, arsenal, notional, confessional, optional

9.5  Syllabic /m/ and /ŋ/ Syllabic /m/ is a possibility after fricatives /f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ/, but apart from those formed with the “-​ism” suffix (e.g. tourism, realism), very few words exist that demonstrate the required context, and the /əm/ variant appears to be more usual. The most productive source of syllabic /m/ is the weak form of some (see Section 13.5). Syllabic /ŋ/ only occurs as a result of assimilation of syllabic /n/ (see Sections 15.4 and 15.15).

Transcribe these words, according to your own usage, with either /əm/ or syllabic /m/. 1) ransom, spasm, anthem, ovum, irksome, bosom, gruesome, cumbersome, chasm 2) bothersome, fearsome, blossom, dorsum, possum, gypsum, jetsam, prism, rhythm

9.6  Desyllabification When a syllabic consonant is followed by an unstressed vowel in the same word (e.g. traveling /ˈtrævl ɪ̩ ŋ/, listening /ˈlɪsn̩ɪŋ/), it can become non-​ syllabic (e.g /ˈtrævlɪŋ/, /ˈlɪsnɪŋ/). The more common a word is, the more likely desyllabification is to occur. Since the syllabic /l/ in the sequence /n̩l /̩ is a realization of the syllable /əl/, the syllabic /n/ of /n̩l ̩/ can also undergo desyllabification (e.g. national /ˈnæʃnl̩/).

Syllabic consonants  45

Transcribe these words, according to your own usage, either with or without desyllabification. 1) gardening, reasonable, stapler, personal, gambling, poisoning, ticklish, prisoner 2) wrestling, professional, conditioner, fashionable, sprinkler, seasoning, rambling 3) impressionable, commissioner, emotional, traveler, frightening, sweetener 4) poisonous, simpler, gardener, traditional, toddler, struggling, cycling, christening

9.7  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with or without syllabic consonants as appropriate. 1) orphan, barrel, needle, mammal, strangle, cousin, scalpel, woven, cudgel, station 2) parable, wrestler, explosion, shuffle, garden, recital, felon, person, ladle, spectacle 3) carnal, vital, waffle, stolen, injection, shuttle, positioning, cavalry, possession, feral 4) wooden, onion, hospital, fruition, faculty, nitrogen, eternal, vixen, foreign, possible 5) espousal, mongrel, horizon, wobble, dawdle, given, blatant, kettle, jackal, Rachel 6) oracle, England, mumble, intelligent, vandal, projection, lingual, castle 7) probable, elephant, fathom, twinkle, ration, emotion, squirrel, Stilton, woodland 8) essential, mutant, attraction, woolen, forgotten, libel, carnival, indulgent, rural 9) morsel, quibble, certain, eloquent, bottle, didn’t, cannibal, referral, diffusion, able 10) trouble, burden, syphon, frequent (adj.), bobble, reaction, plural, focal 11) carton, squabble, swollen, easel, roughen, musical, bugle, viral, equation, turtle 12) doodle, global, Britain, infantry, Scotland, fatal, loathsome, spiral, pardon, wasn’t 13) island, assemble, tiresome, collusion, turbulent, shorten, mural, chronicle, erosion 14) scandal, delightful, warren, beetle, awesome, chosen, gentle, affordable 15) kitten, pebble, villain, rivalry, distortion, Martin, hurtle, tunnel, subsequent

10 SECONDARY STRESS

10.1  Secondary stress before the primary stress So far we have looked at words with only one stress, the primary stress, on either the first (e.g. lemon /ˈlɛmən/, syllabus /ˈsɪləbəs/) or second syllable (e.g. correct /kəˈrɛkt/, vanilla /vəˈnɪlə/, astronomer /əˈstrɑnəmər/) of a word. When the primary stress is on the third syllable or later, there will always be an additional less prominent secondary stress on one of the first two syllables. The IPA symbol for secondary stress, the secondary stress mark, is [ˌ], like a lower version of the primary stress mark [ˈ], and it’s also placed before the syllable it relates to. The English tendency is to alternate between stressed and unstressed syllables, so when the primary stress is on the third syllable, the secondary stress is usually on the first syllable (e.g. disappear /ˌdɪsəˈpir/).

Transcribe these three-​syllable words with primary stress on the third syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable. 1) kangaroo, persevere, afternoon, supersede, mountaineer, saboteur, overwork (v.) 2) disappear, overlook, mispronounce, volunteer, reassure, rationale, reinforce, referee 3) submarine, decompose, questionnaire, undercharge (v.), disappoint, interfere

Transcribe these four-​syllable words with primary stress on the third syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable. 1 ) disadvantage, panorama, circulation, motivation, automatic, correlation 2) constitution, education, supervision, conversation, population, academic

Secondary stress  47

3 ) ballerina, persecution, allegation, obligation, paramedic, publication 4) corporation, reproduction, disappointment, alcoholic, institution

Transcribe these five-​syllable words with primary stress on the third syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

university, hippopotamus, crematorium, methodology, vegetarian ambiguity, editorial, personality, ideology, inconvenience, jocularity auditorium, periodical, terminology, possibility, redevelopment ceremonial, sanatorium, territorial, bibliography, opportunity

When the primary stress is on the fourth syllable, the secondary stress is on the first (e.g. qualification /ˌkwɑləfəˈkeɪʃn̩/) or second syllable (e.g. accommodation /əˌkɑməˈdeɪʃn̩/).

Transcribe these words with primary stress on the fourth syllable and secondary stress on the second syllable. 1) interpretation, communication, pronunciation, appreciation, illumin ation, affiliation 2) examination, contamination, extermination, evaporation, consolidation, humiliation 3) hallucination, abbreviation, assassination, aperitif, evacuation, congratulation

Transcribe these words with primary stress on the fourth syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable. 1) organization, aquamarine, characteristic, entrepreneur, qualification, interdependence 2) modification, interconnect, notification, specification, multiplication, justification 3) interconnection, verification, purification, magnification, simplification, classification It’s also possible, but less common, for there to be a secondary stress on the syllable directly before the one containing the primary stress. Such words are often compounds (e.g. upstairs /ˌəpˈstɛrz/) or include a stressed suffix (e.g. attendee /əˌtɛnˈdi/) or prefix (e.g. malpractice /ˌmælˈpræktɪs/).

Transcribe these words with adjacent secondary and primary stresses. 1 ) homemade, outspoken, lukewarm, misnomer, straightforward 2) trainee, backdoor, malnourished, alongside, satsuma, archbishop, UK

48  Transcribing words

3 ) longstanding, outshine, retry, LA, bestseller, misjudge, postmodern 4) misplace, reuse, cross-​country, mankind, prejudge, downwind, offshore 5) midsummer, nearby, malfunction, IQ, downhill, maltreatment, backyard

Transcribe these words with various stress patterns. 1) forthcoming, imagination, intermediate, memorandum, midday, abomination 2) tangerine connotation, manipulation, operation, chandelier, masquerade 3) observation, capability, approximation, satisfaction, reputation 4) reservation, engineer, overwhelm, disapprove, correspond, outdo 5) upfront, competition, reassess, recollect, uproot, preheat, calculation, etymology 6) fundamental, contravene guarantee, combination, trustee, contradiction 7) politician, reconsider, interruption, accusation, probability, understand, uphill 8) occupation, overrule, mismanagement, outweigh, comprehend, manufacture

10.2  Secondary stress after the primary stress When secondary stresses occur after the primary stress, they are less noticeable than pre-​primary secondary stresses. In fact, British dictionaries don’t usually indicate post-​primary secondary stresses, but American dictionaries do show them. This isn’t because there’s a difference in stress between the two types of English, but only reflects different traditions of transcription. Post-​primary secondary stresses often occur in compounds (e.g. eggshell /ˈɛɡˌʃɛl/, paperback /ˈpeɪpərˌbæk/) but also in other kinds of words (e.g. index /ˈɪnˌdɛks/, acrobat /ˈækrəˌbæt/).

Transcribe the following two-​syllable words with post-​primary secondary stress. 1) password, eggshell, teapot, countdown, contact, keyboard, anthrax 2) archive, website, airplane, backpack, toothache, warehouse, housebound 3) alloy, cowboy, hotdog, ambush, voodoo, nightmare, footprint, eyelash 4) welfare, farmyard, comment, airport, jawbone, thyroid, floorboard 5) essay, hallmark, suburb, mermaid, shoehorn, airfare, memoir, jigsaw 6) earthquake, footstool, passport, snowball, viewpoint, profile, sunburn 7) gateway, playground, headache, workshop, namesake, snowplow 8) outlook, lightweight, footpath, corkscrew, likewise, framework, contour 9) homework, aspect, thighbone, access, pylon, blowtorch, hormone 10) eyebrow, moron, background, combat, suntan, forearm, program 11) asset, shotgun, transport, tripod, cuckoo, lunchbox, cockroach 12) headline, email, crossword, mothball, surfboard, lifeboat, bookmark

Secondary stress  49

Transcribe the following three-​, four-​, and five-​syllable words with post-​primary secondary stress. 1 ) celebrate, kaleidoscope, motorcycle, collaborator, crocodile, boomerang 2) reservoir, paranoid, parasol, molecule, paradox, alphabet, aptitude, irritate 3) telephone, dialogue, thunderstorm, hurricane, dynamite, monologue, occupy 4) motorway, seminar, communicate, suffocate, horoscope, diagram, magnitude 5) interview, microwave, activate, paradigm, infrastructure, episode, attitude 6) compromise, accelerator, manipulate, investigator, extrovert, commemorate 7) sabotage, unicorn, melodrama, accelerate, alcohol, diplomat, watermelon 8) parachute, memorize, latitude, solitude, multitude, constitute, destitute, isolate When a word ends with the goat /oʊ/ vowel and the preceding syllable has primary stress, the syllable isn’t considered to have a secondary stress. Words like follow, therefore, are transcribed /ˈfɑloʊ/, not */ˈfɑlˌoʊ/, while words like radio are transcribed /ˈreɪdiˌoʊ/, not */ˈreɪdioʊ/.

Transcribe these words with stressed or unstressed final GOAT /oʊ/ as appropriate. 1) borrow, tobacco, photo, motto, bungalow, shallow, marrow, shadow, tomato 2) arrow, halo, limbo, patio, logo, fellow, ratio, echo, jumbo, follow, video 3) potato, elbow, hero, tempo, window, cello, judo, willow, polo, disco, barrow 4) piano, cargo, audio, narrow, ego, radio, stereo, veto, rhino, sparrow, buffalo 5) yellow, bingo, mellow, casino, sorrow, solo, tango, cocoa, rainbow, pillow 6) borough, thorough, tomorrow, indigo, burrow, furrow, mojo, lingo, wino

Transcribe the following words with pre-​primary and post-​primary secondary stress where appropriate. 1 ) peppermint, facilitate, supervisor, snowball, wigwam, offbeat, malpractice 2) escapee, catwalk, investigation, consolation, misconstrue, recuperation, organize 3) eyesore, climax, forecast, disobey, anagram, decorator, watchdog, demonstration 4) wardrobe, metropolitan, crossbow, outwit, consideration, introduction, platform

50  Transcribing words

5) regularity, convoy, entertain, generation, undermine, recapitulate, appointee 6) network, backbone, misspell, introvert (n.), hesitation, revelation, execute, nylon 7) overheat, compensate, peacock, paradise, calculator, stockpile, accommodation 8) acrobat, catalog, outline, speculation, showcase, cocktail, contradict, lunchtime

10.3  Word-​stress  pairs A number of words have different stressings depending on whether they are used as nouns, adjectives, or verbs. As nouns or adjectives, the primary stress is usually on the first syllable, but as verbs it’s on the second syllable. Since there’s a close relationship in English between stress and vowel quality, the change in stress is often accompanied by a change in vowel. For example, as a noun contract is /ˈkɑnˌtrækt/, but as a verb it is /kənˈtrækt/.

Transcribe these words according to their word class. 1 ) desert (n.), rebel (v.), refuse (n.), convict (v.), upgrade (n.), affect (n.) 2) overlap (v.), fragment (v.), permit (n.), conduct (v.), project (v.), conscript (n.) 3) overflow (n.), compress (n.), console (n.), frequent (adj.), rebel (n.), construct (v.) 4) pervert (n.), progress (v.), contest (v.), incense (n.), commune (n.), insult (v.) 5) content (adj.), attribute (v.), insult (n.), overhang (v.), entrance (n.), subject (n.) 6) incline (n.), desert (v.), object (v.), produce (n.), present (adj.), attribute (n.) 7) record (v.), consort (n.), exploit (v.), proceeds (n.), progress (n.), commune (v.) 8) upgrade (v.), affect (v.), overlap (n.), fragment (n.), conduct (n.), overhang (n.) 9) conscript (v.), overflow (v.), compress (v.), frequent (v.), construct (n.) A number of words ending with -​ate have two pronunciations: /ət/ as a noun or adjective, and /eɪt/ as a verb. The word estimate, for example, is /ˈɛstəmət/ as a noun and /ˈɛstəˌmeɪt/ as a verb. The /eɪt/ pronunciation results in a post-​ primary secondary stress.

Secondary stress  51

Transcribe the following words with /ət/ or /eɪt/ according to their word class. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

elaborate (v.), animate (v.), predicate (n.), deliberate (v.), advocate (n.) appropriate (adj.), syndicate (v.), moderate (v.), delegate (n.) duplicate (v.), legitimate (adj.), articulate (adj.), subordinate (adj.) delegate (v.), separate (v.), intimate (adj.), degenerate (v.), intimate (v.) approximate (v.), animate (adj.), advocate (v.), appropriate (v.) subordinate (v.), graduate (v.), predicate (v.), syndicate (n.), graduate (n.)

A small number of words ending with -​ment behave similarly to those ending in -​ate. As nouns their -​ment suffix is /mənt/, but as a verb it is /mɛnt/, with a post-​primary secondary stress. Ornament, for example, is /ˈornəmənt/ as a noun and /ˈornəˌmɛnt/ as a verb.

Transcribe the following words with /mənt/ or /mɛnt/ according to their word class. 1 ) supplement (v.), complement (n.), document (v.), implement (n.) 2) document (n.), implement (v.), complement (v.), supplement (n.)

10.4  Sequences of unstressed syllables When a word contains a schwa /ə/ followed by /r/ and then another unstressed syllable, there’s often a pronunciation variant without the schwa. The word ivory, for example, can be pronounced /ˈaɪvəri/, with three syllables, or /ˈaɪvri/, with two syllables. The likelihood of the schwa being dropped depends on the frequency of the word, the sound preceding the schwa, and individual habits.

Transcribe the following words with or without a schwa before /r/ according to your own habits. 1 ) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

barbarous, favorite, coverage, factory, nursery, desperate, discovery average, bakery, mystery, beverage, cookery, dangerous, elaborate (adj.) conference, glamorous, anniversary, general, adventurous, separate (adj.) accessory, reference, preferable, bravery, memory, camera, memorable emerald, history, boundary, documentary, rigorous, degenerate (adj.) maverick, miserable, delivery, corporate, recovery, admiral, honorable admirable, funeral, natural, generous, different, boisterous, considerable

The endings -​ary and -​ory (and in a few words, -​ery and -​ony) behave in a way that avoids sequences of unstressed syllables. When the syllable before them is stressed, they are pronounced without secondary stress and with schwa (e.g.

52  Transcribing words

salary /ˈsæləri/, memory /ˈmɛməri/, surgery /ˈsərʤəri/, agony /ˈæɡəni/), but when the syllable before them is unstressed, they are pronounced with secondary stress and a corresponding change of vowel (e.g. planetary /ˈplænəˌtɛri/, predatory /ˈprɛdəˌtori/, confectionery /kənˈfɛkʃəˌnɛri/, patrimony /ˈpætrəˌmoʊni/).

Transcribe these words with the appropriate stressings of -​ary, -​ory, -​ony, and -ery. 1) balcony, legendary, voluntary, testimony, cemetery, alimony, rotary, summary 2) honorary, missionary, literary, obligatory, grocery, vocabulary, matrimony 3) mandatory, glossary, military, momentary, itinerary, ceremony, commentary 4) inventory, burglary, monastery, colony, necessary, temporary, secondary 5) savory, gallery, ordinary, rosary, arbitrary, sensory, territory, advisory, felony

10.5  Stressing of compounds As the practice material in Sections 10.1 and 10.2 demonstrates, there are many compound words in English, and the primary stress can be on either the first element (e.g. on grand in granddad /ˈɡrænˌdæd/) or the second element (e.g. on aunt in grandaunt /ˌɡrændˈænt/). All the compound words we have seen so far are written as one word, but many others are written as two words (e.g. bus stop /ˈbəs ˌstɑp/), and some are written with hyphens (e.g. sit-​in /ˈsɪt ˌɪn). Compound words written as one word nearly always have the primary stress on the first element, but those written as two words are more variable, some having the primary stress on the first element (e.g. Christmas card /ˈkrɪsməs ˌkɑrd/), and some on the second element (e.g. Christmas Eve /ˌkrɪsməs ˈiv/).

Transcribe these compound words with the correct stressing. 1) birthday cake, Christmas dinner, alarm clock, golf ball, pet food, swear word, pet cat 2) cottage cheese, blood pressure, brain scan, village idiot, field trip, bank robber 3) body language, boiling point, carrot cake, feather duster, book review, fountain pen 4) careers adviser, germ warfare, bath plug, polo shirt, city center, jigsaw puzzle 5) skipping rope, bank manager, mother tongue, chess champion, lump sum, bath tap 6) fruit salad, case study, duck egg, dress rehearsal, chat show, pig farm, hard hat

Secondary stress  53

7) Christmas present, carving knife, paper napkin, beauty contest, pressure cooker 8) cabbage patch, paint stripper, fridge freezer, bone marrow, ego trip, holiday cottage 9) Morse code, arson attack, peace treaty, tooth decay, tomato sauce, birthday card 10) art gallery, learner driver, cocoa powder, guard dog, banana skin, leather jacket 11) soup spoon, gift voucher, frying pan, world war, love affair, garden path, bus pass 12) code word, childhood hero, life cycle, egg white, oven glove, pet hate, time bomb 13) paper airplane, birthday party, cash machine, jam tart, tennis coach, back pain

10.6  Chapter revision Transcribe these words and compounds with primary and secondary stress where appropriate. 1) showroom, disagreement, content (n.), banjo, simulator, legitimate (v.), murderer 2) entrance (v.), outlive, outsmart, scarecrow, cement mixer, foghorn, shooting star 3) surname, popcorn, domino, death threat, mousetrap, exploit (n.), crystal vase 4) commissionaire, python, incense (v.), picket fence, birthmark, celebration, ransack 5) leather armchair, coursework, disappearance, object (n.), muscle spasm, dictionary 6) present (n.), correspondent, blood loss, detective novel, airline pilot, toothbrush 7) assessment method, fascination, compost, drug habit, proceeds (v.), sheep shearing 8) fruit juice, surcharge, produce (v.), parking ticket, intervene, tin whistle, sugar cube 9) head injury, project (n.), love song, reappear, costume, blackmail, best man 10) presuppose, herb garden, cookbook, record (n.), expert, deliberate (adj.), portfolio 11) refuse (v.), outrank, bicycle chain, primary, robot, apple pie, consort (v.), headset 12) oblong, bathtub, hollow, padlock, approximate (adj.), subject (v.), flash flood

54  Transcribing words

13) canine, hippo, interject, conflict (n.), think tank, mango, war zone, folklore, zero 14) fanfare, duplicate (n.), century, category, invoice, present (v.), widow, airbag 15) gas leak, pronoun, conflict (v.), bookworm, kilo, neon, telescope, apprehend 16) workforce, torso, cursory, articulate (v.), smoke alarm, convict (n.), kiosk 17) contest (n.), stairwell, memo, disregard, incline (v.), fresco, pervert (n.), hate mail

11 INFLECTIONS AND EPENTHESIS

11.1  The -​ed inflection The English -​ed suffix has three different pronunciations:  /əd/ (e.g. waited /ˈweɪt̬əd/), /d/ (e.g. filled /fɪld/) and /t/ (e.g. pressed /prɛst/). These three variants depend on the sound at the end of the word that the -​ed suffix is added to: • •

•

When a word ends in /t/ or /d/, the pronunciation is /əd/ (e.g. stated /ˈsteɪtə̬ d/, landed /ˈlændəd/); when a word ends in one of the remaining voiceless consonants (i.e. /p k ʧ f θ s ʃ/), the pronunciation is /t/ (e.g. stopped /stɑpt/, parked /pɑrkt/, reached /riʧt/, sniffed /snɪft/, berthed /bərθt/, forced /forst/, wished /wɪʃt/); when a word ends in one of the remaining voiced consonants (i.e. /b ɡ ʤ v ð z ʒ m n ŋ l r/) or a vowel, the pronunciation is /d/ (e.g. rubbed /rəbd/, dragged /dræɡd/, caged /keɪʤd/, saved /seɪvd/, breathed /briðd/, gazed /ɡeɪzd/, massaged /məˈsɑʒd/, formed /formd/, planned /plænd/, banged /bæŋd/, failed /feɪld/, feared /fird/, showed /ʃoʊd/, flawed /flɑd/, weighed /weɪd/).

For some speakers, the form after /t d/ is /ɪd/ not /əd/. Note the adjectives:  blessed /ˈblɛsəd/, crooked /ˈkrʊkəd/, dogged /ˈdɑɡəd/, -​legged /ˈlɛɡəd/, wicked /ˈwɪkəd/, learned /ˈlərnəd/, naked /ˈneɪkəd/, wretched /ˈrɛʧəd/, ragged /ˈræɡəd/, rugged /ˈrəɡəd/, beloved /bɪˈləvəd/, jagged /ˈʤæɡəd/, aged /ˈeɪʤəd/. Homophones:  aloud, allowed /əˈlaʊd/; bald, bawled /bɑld/; band, banned /bænd/; bard, barred /bɑrd/; build, billed /bɪld/; board, bored /bord/; bold, bowled /boʊld/; braid, brayed /breɪd/; chord, cord, cored /kord/; coward, cowered

56  Transcribing words

/ˈkaʊərd/; crude, crewed /krud/; duct, ducked /dəkt/; find, fined /faɪnd/; fold, foaled /foʊld/; guest, guessed /ɡɛst/; hold, holed /hoʊld/; least, leased /list/; mind, mined /maɪnd/; mist, missed /mɪst/; mode, mowed /moʊd/; mood, mooed /mud/; mustard, mustered /ˈməstərd/; ode, owed /oʊd/; pact, packed /pækt/; past, passed /pæst/; paste, paced /peɪst/; pride, pried /praɪd/; road, rowed /roʊd/; side, sighed /saɪd/; sold, soled /soʊld/; staid, stayed /steɪd/; sword, soared /sord/; tide, tied /taɪd/; toad, towed /toʊd/; told, tolled /toʊld/; trust, trussed /trəst/; ward, warred /word/; wield, wheeled /wild/; word, whirred /wərd/; world, whirled /wərld/.

Transcribe these words with the /əd/ variant of the -​ed suffix. 1) squirted, sorted, hunted, crowded, guarded, needed, decorated, paraded, quoted, melted 2) painted, promoted, provided, threaded, committed, sounded, surrounded, persuaded 3) voted, chatted, awarded, graded, skated, fainted, ended, shaded, hated, invited, minded 4) headed, yielded, hinted, looted, spouted, prodded, handed, welded, tended, coated, rotted

Transcribe these words with the /t/ variant of the -​ed suffix. 1) helped, liked, watched, laughed, taxed, rushed, kidnapped, quacked, approached 2) stuffed, collapsed, abolished, wiped, panicked, thatched, garnished, launched, pierced 3) stepped, stopped, kicked, shocked, quenched, screeched, belched, chased, balanced 4) tripped, popped, sucked, mocked, poked, licked, dashed, flushed, missed, fixed

Transcribe these words with the /d/ variant of the -​ed suffix. 1) robbed, hugged, charged, loved, squeezed, camouflaged, copied, chewed, plowed 2) blurred, starred, stored, cared, sprayed, cried, toyed, snowed, covered, feared, toured 3) named, charmed, cleaned, rained, scared, bored, jeered, grabbed, sobbed, dragged 4) zoomed, streamed, harmed, ruined, snubbed, bribed, managed, barged, raved, craved

Inflections and epenthesis  57

Transcribe these words with the /əd/, /t/, and /d/ variants of the -​ed suffix as appropriate. 1) worked, added, waved, addressed, washed, adored, warmed, agreed, wagged 2) appeared, typed, approved, tugged, archived, tricked, argued, trapped 3) transcribed, astounded, attacked, throbbed, avoided, themed, axed,  glared 4) booked, studied, boxed, stored, caged, stirred, cared, starved, carried, stared 5) compared, sparred, concerned, snored, conferred, sniffed, coughed, sneered 6) drenched, shouted, dropped, served, commanded, seized, ducked, searched 7) queued, hoped, purchased, ignored, puffed, included, proved, intended 8) pocketed, joked, plugged, judged, pinned, landed, phoned, longed, packaged 9) occurred, marketed, observed, mopped, nodded, mugged, taped, saved 10) thawed, carved, crushed, jogged, marched, proposed, edged, astonished When -​ly is added to -​ed, the resulting -​edly suffix is pronounced /ədli/ after a stressed syllable, e.g. markedly /ˈmɑrkədli/ (but not after an unstressed syllable, e.g. biasedly /ˈbaɪəstli/). The three most common words that this affects are alleged /əˈlɛʤd/, supposed /səˈpoʊzd/ and marked /mɑrkt/, which become /əˈlɛʤədli/, /səˈpoʊzədli/ and /ˈmɑrkədli/ with the addition of the -​ly suffix. In fact, these three words are so frequently used with the -​edly ending that their -​ed forms (when used as adjectives) are often pronounced alleged /əˈlɛʤəd/, supposed /səˈpoʊzəd/ and marked /ˈmɑrkəd/ through analogy with the -​edly forms.

Transcribe these words with /ədli/ for -​edly. 1 ) deservedly, unashamedly, unreservedly, avowedly, fixedly, professedly 2) confusedly, confessedly, shamefacedly, assuredly, advisedly, dazedly

11.2  The -​s inflection Like the -​ed suffix, the English -​s suffix has three different pronunciations depending on the sound at the end of the word that it’s added to. The three different uses of this suffix, also spelled or , are to form the plurals (e.g. churches) and possessives of nouns (e.g. Paul’s) and the third-​person singular in the present tense of verbs (e.g. eats). The three pronunciations are: • /əz/ after /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/, e.g. kisses /ˈkɪsəz/ Liz’s /ˈlɪzəz/, wishes /ˈwɪʃəz/, camouflages /ˈkæməˌflɑʒəz/, scratches /ˈskræʧəz/, merges /ˈmərʤəz/;

58  Transcribing words

• •

/s/ after the remaining voiceless consonants /p t k f θ/, e.g. taps /tæps/, fits /fɪts/, Jack’s /ʤæks/, cliffs /klɪfs/, myths /mɪθs/; /z/ after the remaining voiced consonants /b d ɡ f ð m n ŋ l r/ and vowels, e.g. sobs /sɑbz/, needs /nidz/, tags /tæɡz/, dives /daɪvz/, bathes /beɪðz/, farms /fɑrmz/, John’s /ʤɑnz/, lungs /ləŋz/, bowls /boʊlz/, cars /kɑrz/, days /deɪz/, goes /ɡoʊz/.

For some speakers, the form after /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/ is /ɪz/ not /əz/. Some nouns, of course, have irregular plurals and this is usually reflected in the spelling (e.g. knives, wives). A small number of nouns, however, have irregular plurals that aren’t obvious from the spelling. These are houses /ˈhaʊzəz/, mouths /maʊðz/, youths /juðz/, paths /pæðz/, truths /truðz/, baths /bæðz/, oaths /oʊðz/, sheaths /ʃiðz/, wreaths /riðz/. Homophones: adze, adds, ads /ædz/; baize, bays /beɪz/; booze, boos /buz/; braise, brays /breɪz/; bruise, brews /bruz/; browse, brows /braʊz/; cause, caws /kɑz/; clause, claws /klɑz/; copse, cops /kɑps/; cruise, crews /kruz/; daze, days /deɪz/; ease, Es /iz/; flex, flecks /flɛks/; freeze, frieze, frees /friz/; graze, grays /ɡreɪz/; guise, guys, Guy’s /ɡaɪz/; hertz, hurts /hərts/; hose, hoes /hoʊz/; jeans, genes, Jean’s /ʤinz/; lapse, laps /læps/; lax, lacks /læks/; laze, lays /leɪz/; lynx, links /lɪŋks/; minx, minks /mɪŋks/; missus, misses /ˈmɪsəz/; nose, knows /noʊz/; pause, paws /pɑz/; pores, pours /porz/; phlox, flocks /flɑks/; phrase, frays /freɪz/; please, pleas /pliz/; praise, prays /preɪz/; prose, pros /proʊz/; quartz, quarts /kworts/; raise, raze, rays /reɪz/; rose, rows /roʊz/; rouse, rows /raʊz/; ruse, rues /ruz/; seize, seas, sees /siz/; size, sighs /saɪz/; tax, tacks /tæks/; tease, teas, tees /tiz/; use, ewes, yews /juz/; Wales, wails, whales /weɪlz/; wax, whacks /wæks/.

Transcribe these words with the /əz/ variant of the -​s suffix. 1) touches, beaches, matches, doses, ceases, sinuses, pushes, finishes, bashes, pages 2) bridges, plunges, pleases, closes, sizes, George’s, Alice’s, Rose’s, horses, loses 3) patches, punches, guesses, losses, dishes, ambushes, changes, badges, pauses, hoses 4) torches, catches, dresses, places, radishes, mashes, fridges, binges, fuses, noses

Transcribe these words with the /s/ variant of the -​s suffix. 1) keeps, shops, groups, fights, parents, profits, shuts, pilots, throats, marks, hooks, picks 2) chefs, giraffes, deaths, turnips, sprouts, looks, moths, surfs, experts, scoops 3) boots, belts, weeks, talks, sharks, smokes, ropes, stamps, kites, efforts, cooks, clocks

Inflections and epenthesis  59

4) secrets, mints, banks, cakes, bikes, aches, meets, rabbits, pipes, lumps, gates, rats, scouts

Transcribe these words with the /z/ variant of the -​s suffix. 1) stories, continues, questionnaires, saboteurs, jigsaws, stars, disappears, problems 2) contains, tongues, absorbs, methods, catalogs, survives, soothes, Jane’s, Joe’s 3) teams, crimes, lines, stones, babies, cookies, crews, stairs, chores, jabs, tribes, pads 4) lessons, trees, swears, flaws, pubs, clubs, clogs, digs, thugs, drives, gives, moves

Transcribe these words with the /əz/, /s/, and /z/ variants of the -​s suffix as appropriate. 1) years, achieves, workshops, advises, woofs, affairs, affords, welcomes 2) orchards, lights, nodes, churches, souvenirs, invents, gloves, sleuths whirs 3) wars, announces, warns, armies, walks, arrives, wages, attaches, volunteers 4) relaxes, guitars, frees, raises, horoscopes, prizes, items, percentages, kebabs 5) bags, varnishes, barracks, varies, beaks, valves, bears, values, belches, turns 6) charities, splashes, cottages, cuffs, sleeves, ebbs, ships, screeches, browses 7) towns, blushes, topics, breaks, tissues, breathes, times, brews, thumbs,  rocks 8) vases, blames, trades, blockages, things, budges, surfaces, carriages, storms 9) thanks, bugs, terms, bulges, taxis, bushes, targets, captives, sweeps, careers 10) nightmares, mazes, natives, memoirs, muses, menus, alarms, wears, avenges

11.3  Epenthesis When a nasal consonant (i.e. /m n ŋ/) is followed by a voiceless fricative (i.e. f θ s ʃ) in the same syllable, a voiceless plosive (i.e. /p t k/) with the same place of articulation as the nasal is usually inserted (i.e. /p/ after /m/, /t/ after /n/, /k/ after /ŋ/). Sense, for example, is usually pronounced /sɛnts/, the same as scents or cents, a voiceless alveolar plosive /t/ being inserted between the alveolar nasal /n/ and the following /s/. The insertion of a sound in a word in this way is known as epenthesis /ɪˈpɛnθəsəs/ (or /ɪˈpɛntθəsəs/). Epenthesis is most common in /ns/ because there are many words with this combination of sounds. Other combinations of nasal and voiceless fricative are rather rare, occurring in relatively few words. When /t/ is inserted between /n/ and /ʃ/, it can result in /ʧ/ (e.g. ancient /ˈeɪnʧn̩t/). For a minority of speakers, /t/ can be inserted between /l/ and /s/ (e.g. else /ɛlts/).

60  Transcribing words

Homophones:  sense, scents, cents /sɛnts/; prince, prints /prɪnts/; mince, mints /mɪnts/; presence, presents /ˈprɛzn̩ts/; patience, patients /ˈpeɪʃn̩ts/; incidence, incidents /ˈɪnsədənts/; dependence, dependents /dɪˈpɛndənts/; innocence, innocents /ˈɪnəsn̩ts/; adolescence, adolescents /ˌædəˈlɛsn̩ts/.

Transcribe the following words with epenthesis. 1) once, month, hamster, rinse, attention, sense, council, ninth, fancy, conscious 2) monster, difference, youngster, strength, cancer, experience, warmth,  dance 3) essential, panther, lymph, science, offence, invention, answer, pension, tenth 4) audience, conscience, sentence, millionth, currency, since, amongst, silence 5) hyacinth, balance, sequence, gangster, mention, influence, violence, plinth 6) prince, reference, response, nymph, tension, announce, cancel, assistance

11.4  Optional consonants When /mp/ and /ŋk/ are followed by /t/, /ʃ/ or /ʧ/, the /p/ and /k/ are often not pronounced. For example tempt is /tɛmpt/ or /tɛmt/, and junction is /ˈʤəŋkʃn̩/ or /ˈʤəŋʃn̩/.

Transcribe these words with or without /p/ and /k/ depending on your own habits. 1) instinct, empty, exemption, function, punctuation, assumption, extinct, prompt 2) distinctive, temptation, plankton, sanction, sanctuary, anxious, sumptuous 3) attempt, precinct, puncture, distinction, symptom, extinction, consumption 4) juncture, contempt, sacrosanct, punctual, redemption, subjunctive,  exempt 5) presumptuous, conjunction, distinct, presumption, contemptuous, resumption When /nt/ is followed by an unstressed vowel, the voiced /t/ isn’t always pronounced, especially in a number of high-​frequency words and after short vowels. For example, printer can be pronounced /ˈprɪnt̬ər/ or /ˈprɪnər/.

Inflections and epenthesis  61

Transcribe these words with or without /t/ depending on your own habits. 1) mental, winter, twenty, internet, dentist, enter, Santa, center, wanted, plenty, painter

11.5  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with appropriate forms of the -​ed and -​s suffixes, epenthesis where appropriate, and with or without optional consonants, according to your habits. 1) rogues, license, suburbs, cars, practiced, strikes, angst, causes, intrigued, streets 2) opinions, length, limits, roses, opens, loads, involved, pre-​empt, maintenance, obtains 3) itched, sanctum, statues, cheers, polished, mansion, standards, chiefs, sacked, squats 4) gears, keys, generated, pegs, defunct, kings, rubbed, parishes, lakes, roared, chance 5) glued, cigars, speeches, rented, defense, cliffs, spears, guaranteed, cloths, sparks 6) robes, gossips, intention, raided, rises, gouges, heralded, ribs, grooves, guidance 7) exercised, songs, labyrinth, crabs, scratched, snatches, crashes, feared, snacks, cribs 8) relatives, hairs, filmed, scoffed, seventh, reeks, scarred, hangs, reasons, folded 9) advance, gazed, dodges, sleeps, staged, dogs, skips, appearance, challenged, doors 10) races, hues, stabbed, purrs, igloos, potential, charred, purposes, inches, triumph 11) celebrities, posed, notices, gangs, screamed, reservoirs, smears, draws, shoots 12) squashed, proverbs, scrumptious, clues, hatches, sides, loathes, choices, parasites

PART B

Transcribing connected speech

12 CONNECTED SPEECH AND LIAISON

12.1  Introducing connected speech So far, we’ve been transcribing only individual words (including compound words). When we transcribe words, we transcribe the pronunciation they have when we say them in isolation, i.e. with a pause before and after, and with stress. This is known as the citation form /saɪˈteɪʃn̩ ˌform/ of a word and is the form found in dictionaries. In everyday connected speech, however, we don’t pause between words and we don’t stress every word. We speak in bursts of several words at a time without pausing, and certain types of words are frequently unstressed. Consequently, the connected speech forms of words can differ from their citation forms because of the influence of neighboring words and because of lack of stress. Look at the following example of a transcription of connected speech. /ˈθɪŋz əv ˈɡɑtn̩ ə ˈlɑp ˈbɛt̬ər | ət ˈhoʊm ˈrisn̩tli || maɪ ˈɛldəs ˈdɑt ə̬ r | huz ˈfor | əz ˈstɑrt ə̬ d ˈskul | ən ˈðæt ˈteɪks ə ˈlɑt̬ə ðə ˈprɛʃər ˈɑf || ɪk ˈkips ər ˈɑkjəpaɪd | ˈmoʊst ə ðə ˈdeɪ | ən ʃi ˈləvz ɪt ˈðɛr || ɑr ˈəðər ˈdɑt ə̬ rz | ˈtu ən ə ˈhæf || ˈnaʊ ðət ʃiz ə ˈtɑdlər | ʃi ˈteɪks ə ˈlɑt ˈlɛs ˈlʊkɪŋ ˈæftər || ʃi kŋ̍ ˈkəm əŋ ˈɡoʊ əˈbaʊt ðə ˈhaʊs | ˈtɛl əs ˈwət ʃi ˈwɑnts | əŋ ˈkip ərˈsɛlf ˈbɪzi | wɪθ ər ˈtɔɪz || ɪts ˈɑl ə ˈlɑt ˈdɪfrənt | frəm ðə ˈlæs ˈfju ˈhɛktɪk ˈjirz || aɪ hæv ˈməʧ ˈmor ˈtaɪm fər ˈwərk | ən əm ˈʤəs ˈfɪnɪʃɪŋ ˈɑf | ˈðoʊz trænˈskrɪpʃm̩ bʊks aɪ ˈtoʊlʤu əˈbaʊt/ Things have gotten a lot better at home recently. My eldest daughter, who’s four, has started school, and that takes a lot of the pressure off. It keeps her occupied most of the day and she loves it there. Our other daughter’s two and a half. Now that she’s a toddler, she takes a lot less looking after.

66  Transcribing connected speech

She can come and go about the house, tell us what she wants, and keep herself busy with her toys. It’s all a lot different from the last few hectic years! I have much more time for work and am just finishing off those transcription books I told you about. Notice that some of the conventions for transcribing connected speech differ from those for citation forms: 1) When transcribing the citation forms of monosyllabic words, we take for granted that the obligatory stress must be on the one and only syllable and so we don’t mark it. In connected speech, however, monosyllabic words aren’t always stressed and so it is necessary to use the stress mark to show whether they’re stressed or not. 2) When transcribing connected speech, we use only the primary stress mark [ˈ]. 3) When transcribing connected speech, we don’t use capital letters or punctuation marks. For the sake of legibility, however, we do put spaces between words even though we don’t often pause between words. 4) The text is divided up into intonation phrases (IPs) using the single | and double || intonation boundary markers. We’ll see in Chapter  17 what exactly an IP is, but for the moment it’s enough to treat the intonation boundaries as places where there is a potential for a pause. We use the double marker at the end of sentences and the single marker in other positions. Our sample transcription also contains examples of three connected speech processes that can cause connected speech forms to differ from citation forms. They are: 1) Weakening:  when a word has a different pronunciation in connected speech because of lack of stress, for example have /əv/, a /ə/, at /ət/, is /z/ or /s/, and /ən/, of /ə/ or /əv/, the /ðə/, her /ər/, that /ðət/, have /v/, for /fər/, am /əm/ (see Chapter 13); 2) Elision /ɪˈlɪʒn̩/: when a sound that appears in the citation form of a word is lost in connected speech, for example eldest /ˈɛldəst/ vs. eldest daughter /ˈɛldəs ˈdɑt̬ər/; last /læst/ vs. last few /ˈlæs ˈfju/; just /ʤəst/ vs. just finished /ˈʤəs ˈfɪnɪʃt/ (see Chapter 14); 3) Assimilation /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃn̩/:  when a sound in the citation form changes into another sound in connected speech, for example lot /lɑt/ vs. lot better /ˈlɑp ˈbɛt̬ər/; it /ɪt/ vs. it keeps /ɪk ˈkips/; can /kn̩/ vs. can come /kŋ̍ ˈkəm/; and /ən/ vs. and go /əŋ ˈɡoʊ/; transcription /trænˈskrɪpʃn̩/ vs. transcription books /trænˈskrɪpʃm̩ bʊks/; told /toʊld/ you /ju/ vs. told you /ˈtoʊlʤu/ (see Chapter 15).

Connected speech and liaison  67

12.2  Liaison A connected speech process that didn’t appear in our sample transcription is liaison /liˈeɪˌzɑn/. This can be thought of as the opposite of elision, i.e. instead of a sound that occurs in the citation form of a word being lost in connected speech, a sound that doesn’t occur in the citation form is added in connected speech. Liaison isn’t found in General American, but is found in accents like General British and many East Coast American accents where /r/ has been lost word-​finally. Words like far, pour, dear, and fur end in a vowel in their citation forms in such accents, but an /r/ is inserted in connected speech when they are followed by a word beginning with a vowel. For example, far has no final /r/ in its citation form, but in connected speech, as in far away, it does.

12.3  Liaison in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) In TEFL, liaison is referred to as “linking,” and “linking /j/” and “linking /w/” are included alongside “linking /r/.” Linking /j/ is said to occur when words ending in fleece /i/, face /eɪ/, price /aɪ/, or choice /ɔɪ/ are followed by a word beginning with a vowel (e.g. see out, pay off, tie up, boy actor), while linking /w/ is said to occur when words ending in goose /u/, goat /oʊ/, and mouth /aʊ/ are followed by a word beginning with a vowel (e.g. new era, go on, how easy). This, however, is merely a teaching device. There is no linking or liaison of /j/ or /w/. This is demonstrated by the fact that: three ears /ˈθri ˈirz/ isn’t the same as three years /ˈθri ˈjirz/; they ooze /ðeɪ ˈuz/ isn’t the same as they use /ðeɪ ˈjuz/; my awning /maɪ ˈɑnɪŋ/ isn’t the same as my yawning /maɪ ˈjɑnɪŋ/; destroy earnings /dɪˈstrɔɪ ˈərnɪŋz/ isn’t the same as destroy yearnings /dɪˈstrɔɪ ˈjərnɪŋz/; and: two eyes /ˈtu ˈaɪz/ isn’t the same as too wise /ˈtu ˈwaɪz/; no oars /ˈnoʊ ˈorz/ isn’t the same as no wars /ˈnoʊ ˈworz/; now eight /ˈnaʊ ˈeɪt/ isn’t the same as now wait /ˈnaʊ ˈweɪt/. The impression some people have of so-​called linking /j/ and /w/ is caused by the same misunderstanding that leads learners to mistakenly transcribe words like layer /ˈleɪər/, tire /ˈtaɪər/, joyous /ˈʤɔɪəs/, lower /ˈloʊər/ and tower /ˈtaʊər/ as */ˈleɪjər ˈtaɪjər ˈʤɔɪjəs ˈloʊwər ˈtaʊwər/ (see Sections 6.4 and 7.3).

13 STRESS AND WEAK FORMS

13.1  Transcribing stress in connected speech When we transcribe the citation forms of words, we indicate word stress as an essential part of the makeup of a word. In connected speech, however, stress is more variable, and words may or may not be stressed depending on such factors as speech rate, the stressing of surrounding words, and individual habits. When we transcribe connected speech, therefore, we indicate which words are likely to be stressed and which are not, while accepting that other stressings will be possible. Our approach to transcribing word stress in citation forms has been that we indicate all primary stresses (except for those in monosyllabic words) and all secondary stresses before the primary stress in a word. When it comes to secondary stresses after the primary stress, there’s variation in their treatment (see Section 10.2). So far, we have followed the convention of not indicating primary stress in the citation forms of monosyllabic words because we can assume that a word’s one and only syllable is stressed. In connected speech, however, we can’t make this assumption and have to use the stress mark to indicate whether monosyllabic words are stressed or not. Words like sheep, fly, and can’t, for example, are usually transcribed /ʃip/, /flaɪ/, and /kænt/ as citation forms, but in connected speech (e.g. in Sheep can’t fly.) they are likely to be stressed and so would be transcribed /ˈʃip/, /ˈflaɪ/, and /ˈkænt/ accordingly (e.g. /ˈʃip ˈkænt ˈflaɪ/). As we’ll see in Sections 17.2 and 17.5, the difference in prominence between primary and secondary stress is not really due to different degrees of stress, but due to different types of intonation. When transcribing connected speech,

Stress and weak forms  69

therefore, we use only the primary stress mark to indicate stressed syllables. Words like communication and US, for example, would be transcribed /kəˌmjunəˈkeɪʃn̩/ and /ˌjuˈɛs/ as citation forms, while in connected speech they would be transcribed /kəˈmjunəˈkeɪʃn̩/ and /ˈjuˈɛs/. Furthermore, post-​ primary secondary stresses, like those in compost /ˈkɑmˌpoʊst/ and analyze /ˈænəˌlaɪz/, are not marked in connected speech, and the same goes for those in compound words whether they’re written as a single word, like mousetrap /ˈmaʊsˌtræp/ and armchair /ˈɑrmˌʧɛr/, or as more than one word, like blood type /ˈbləd ˌtaɪp/ and oven glove /ˈəvən ˌɡləv/. In connected speech we would transcribe these words /ˈkɑmpoʊst/, /ˈænəlaɪz/, /ˈmaʊstræp/, /ˈɑrmʧɛr/, /ˈbləd taɪp/ and /ˈəvən ɡləv/. Such an approach is useful in a TEFL context (international students of English being the main consumers of phonemic transcriptions) because it makes clear that the last marked stress in a word or compound word is the primary stress, which is the most important stress for learners to be aware of.

13.2  Weak forms and contractions A number of monosyllabic words, mostly grammatical words, are usually unstressed in connected speech. Through being so frequently unstressed, many of these words have developed different pronunciations when unstressed, known as weak forms, from the pronunciations they have when stressed, known as strong forms. The modal verb can, for example, is usually unstressed and pronounced /kən/. It’s only in a small number of special contexts (see Section 13.13) that can is stressed and pronounced /kæn/. Some weak form words can be so weakened that they are reduced to a single consonant that attaches to a neighboring word, usually the preceding word, to form a contraction. The modal verb would, for example, weakens to /d/ after I and combines with it to form the contraction I’d /aɪd/.

13.3  Weak forms and contractions: personal pronouns The personal pronouns that have weak forms are:

he him her us them

Weak

Strong

/i/ /ɪm/ /ər/ /s/ /ðəm ðm̩ /

/hi/ /hɪm/ /hər/ /əs/ /ðɛm/

70  Transcribing connected speech

Note: 1) He keeps its /h/ after a pause, and so we can say that in this context he doesn’t have a weak form, the unstressed form being the same as the strong form. (In theory, the pronouns him and her also keep their /h/ after a pause, but in reality they hardly ever appear unstressed at the beginning of an utterance after a pause.) For example: After a pause: He left. /hi ˈlɛft/ Elsewhere: I bet he left. /aɪ ˈbɛt ̬ i ˈlɛft/; Hit him. /ˈhɪt ̬ ɪm/; Tell her. /ˈtɛl ər/ 2) When us occurs directly after let as the first person plural imperative, it reduces to /s/ and combines with let to form the contraction let’s /lɛts/. In other contexts, both stressed and unstressed, us is /əs/. For example: Let’s go. /ˈlɛts ˈɡoʊ/; Let us go! /ˈlɛt ̬ əs ˈɡoʊ/; Tell us all. /ˈtɛl əs ˈɑl/; Stop boring us. /ˈstɑp ˈborɪŋ əs/ 3) The /əm/ of them /ðəm/ can be realized as a syllabic /m/, giving /ðm̩ /. For example: Release them now. /rɪˈlis ðm̩ ˈnaʊ/ or /rɪˈlis ðəm ˈnaʊ/ In more casual speech, the /ð/ of /ðəm/ is often dropped when the preceding word ends in a consonant. For example: Grab them! /ˈɡræb əm/ or /ˈɡræb ðəm/ 4) Of the remaining personal pronouns (I, me, you, she, it, we, they), you has the occasional weak form /jə/ before a word beginning with a consonant, especially in more casual speech. For example: Do it if you like. /ˈdu ɪt̬ ɪf jə ˈlaɪk/ or /ˈdu ɪt ̬ ɪf ju ˈlaɪk/

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. It surprised them. She knows him. We paid her yesterday. Tell them all. I told him. He drank it. She said he met him. He saw me. I found her. They followed us. We knew them. They like us. I  bought him dinner. You tricked us. We copied them. You think he likes us? He hardly noticed her. I believe he knows. Now he hates us. It suits him. We spotted them. He said he knows her. He fascinated her. She found us. I followed him.

13.4  Weak forms and contractions: possessive adjectives The possessive adjectives that have weak forms are:

his her your

Weak

Strong

/ɪz/ /ər/ /jər/

/hɪz/ /hər/ /jor/

Stress and weak forms  71

Note: 1) His and her keep their /h/ after a pause. For example: After a pause: His boat sank. /hɪz ˈboʊt ˈsæŋk/; Her leg hurt. /hər ˈlɛɡ ˈhərt/ Elsewhere: I heard his boat sank. /aɪ ˈhərd ɪz ˈboʊt ˈsæŋk/; Then her leg hurt. /ˈðɛn ər ˈlɛɡ ˈhərt/ 2) Your has the weak form /jər/. For example: Take your time. /ˈteɪk jər ˈtaɪm/ 3) Of the remaining possessive adjectives (my, its, our, their) my occasionally has the weak form /mə/. For example: Call my mom. /ˈkɑl maɪ ˈmɑm/ or /ˈkɑl mə ˈmɑm/ 4) The two pronunciations of our, /ɑr/ and /ˈaʊər/, are not a weak form/ strong form pair. The /ɑr/ pronunciation is much more common than the /ˈaʊər/ pronunciation in both stressed and unstressed contexts. 5) The reflexive pronouns are myself /maɪˈsɛlf/ (occasionally /məˈsɛlf/), yourself /jərˈsɛlf/, himself /ɪmˈsɛlf/ (/hɪmˈsɛlf/ after a pause), herself /ərˈsɛlf/ (/hərˈsɛlf/ after a pause), ourselves /ɑrˈsɛlvz/ (occasionally /aʊərˈsɛlvz/), yourselves /jərˈsɛlvz/, and themselves /ðəmˈsɛlvz/. 6) The possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) are usually stressed and don’t have weak forms.

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. His book bored her mother. Help yourself! Your dog bit her father. He wet himself. His wife knew his secret. She cut herself. Her friend did his work. I did it myself. It made his day. They look after themselves. His son broke his heart. Her boss crashed her car. Do it yourselves. His dog took your keys. Her brother gave me his number. His dog chased your cat. Her brother took her toy. Its tail hit our legs. Their pet ruined her skirt. We saw your show. Know your enemy. We made ourselves comfortable.

13.5  Weak forms and contractions: articles and quantifiers The articles and quantifiers that have weak forms are:

a an the some

Weak

Strong

/ə/ /ən/ /ðə/ /sm̩ sə/

/eɪ/ /æn/ /ði/ /səm/

72  Transcribing connected speech

Note: 1) The only has a weak form when the next word begins with a consonant. For example: Before consonants: Watch the game. /ˈwɑʧ ðə ˈɡeɪm/ Before vowels: Watch the end. /ˈwɑʧ ði ˈɛnd/ 2) Some /səm/ is unstressed when it means “an indefinite number or amount” and is used with uncountable and plural nouns as the equivalent of the indefinite article a/an. In such cases, the /əm/ of /səm/ is frequently realized as a syllabic consonant, resulting in /sm̩ /. The phrase some more is usually pronounced /sə ˈmor/. For example: Take some pictures. /ˈteɪk sm̩ ˈpɪkʧərz/ or /ˈteɪk səm ˈpɪkʧərz/; Get me some water. /ˈɡɛt mi sm̩ ˈwɑt̬ər/ or /ˈɡɛt mi səm ˈwɑt ̬ər/; I want some more. /aɪ ˈwɑnt sə ˈmor/. Other uses of some are stressed, which stops /əm/ becoming syllabic /m/, for example: as a pronoun (e.g. Take some. /ˈteɪk ˈsəm/), and with the meanings “a certain subgroup of the whole” (e.g. Some people like it. /ˈsəm ˈpipl ̩ ˈlaɪk ɪt/), “a large number or amount” (e.g. We slept for some time. /wi ˈslɛpt fər ˈsəm ˈtaɪm/), “something or someone unknown or unspecified” (e.g. He’s just some guy I know. /hiz ˈʤəst ˈsəm ˈɡaɪ aɪ ˈnoʊ/), “an impressive instance of something” (That was some night out! /ˈðæt wəz ˈsəm ˈnaɪt ˈ̬ aʊt/).

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. A farmer planted an oak tree. I  found some money. A  boy smashed the windows. The teacher bought some chalk. Give the cat some more food. The author wrote the book. The thief stole an apple. Get some more water. A man drank some coffee. Is that the answer? Take some more time off. An elephant crushed a nut. Pull the other one. I want some tea. It took an hour. The owner left in an instant. Is it a problem? We need some more sugar. Bring some more people. The actor learned some lines.

13.6  Weak forms and contractions: prepositions The prepositions that have weak forms are:

to for at of

Weak

Strong

/tə/ /fər/ /ət/ /ə/

/tu/ /for/ /æt/ /əv/

Stress and weak forms  73

Note: 1) To has a weak form both as a preposition and as the to-​infinitive, and also as part of into. For example: Preposition: Go to hell. /ˈɡoʊ tə ˈhɛl/, Drive to the end. /ˈdraɪv tə ði ˈɛnd/, Fly to Paris. /ˈflaɪ tə ˈpɛrəs/ To-​infinitive: Try to think. /ˈtraɪ tə ˈθɪŋk/, I hope to win. /aɪ ˈhoʊp tə ˈwɪn/, Help to lift him. /ˈhɛlp tə ˈlɪft ɪm/ Into: I crept into work. /aɪ ˈkrɛpt ɪntə ˈwərk/; I fell into the sea. /aɪ ˈfɛl ɪntə ðə ˈsi/ 2) To only has a weak form when the next word begins with a consonant. For example: Before consonants: I went to school. /aɪ ˈwɛnt tə ˈskul/; I learned to drive. /aɪ ˈlərnd tə ˈdraɪv/; I went into space. /aɪ ˈwɛnt ɪntə ˈspeɪs/ Before vowels: I went to England. /aɪ ˈwɛnt tu ˈɪŋɡlənd/; I learned to act. /aɪ ˈlərnd tu ˈækt/; I went into action. /aɪ ˈwɛnt ɪntu ˈækʃn̩/ 3) There’s a tendency for unstressed of to lose its final /v/ when followed by a word beginning with a consonant. This is most common in high-​ frequency phrases and when a function word beginning with /ð/ follows. For example: Phrase: a piece of cake /ə ˈpis ə ˈkeɪk/; a point of view /ə ˈpɔɪnt ə ˈvju/; hall of fame /ˈhɑl ə ˈfeɪm/; sort of strange /ˈsort ̬ə ˈstreɪnʤ/; kind of music /ˈkaɪnd ə ˈmjuzɪk/; lots of room /ˈlɑts ə ˈrum/ Before /ð/: one of the best /ˈwən ə ðə ˈbɛst/; some of these /ˈsəm ə ˈðiz/; all of them /ˈɑl ə ðəm/; most of theirs /ˈmoʊst ə ˈðɛrz/; none of that /ˈnən ə ˈðæt/ 4) The remaining monosyllabic prepositions (e.g. with, on, in, by, etc.) are also usually unstressed, but have no regular weak forms.

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. Go to work. Try to study. Buy it for Tom. Take it from Jack. Don’t sleep at work. Get a can of beer. Wait at the back of the line. Is he from Spain? Is it for Bob? Walk to the top. Look at the side of the box. Stay at home for an hour. Get into the car. I spoke to him for ages. One of them left. I work from nine to five. Eat it for lunch. Be nice to others. Take a book from the pile. Stand at the back of the room. You fell from a roof ? Look into the future. I like to win.

74  Transcribing connected speech

13.7  Weak forms and contractions: BE The forms of BE that have weak forms are:

am are you’re we’re is

Weak

Strong

/əm m/ /ər/ /jər/ /wər/ /z s/

/æm/ /ɑr/ /jor/ /wir/ /ɪz/

Note: 1) When am occurs directly after I, it reduces to /m/ and combines with I to form the contraction I’m /aɪm/. In other positions, am is /əm/. For example: I’m waiting. /aɪm ˈweɪt ɪ̬ ŋ/; He knows I’m ill. /hi ˈnoʊz aɪm ˈɪl/ Am I right? /əm aɪ ˈraɪt/; Where am I going? /ˈwɛr əm aɪ ˈɡoʊɪŋ/ 2) The weak form of are is /ər/. When are occurs directly after you, we, and they, it combines with them to form the contractions you’re /jər/, we’re /wər/, and they’re /ðɛr/. Note that you’re is pronounced like your (see Section 13.4). For example: Are you there? /ər ju ˈðɛr/; People are waiting. /ˈpipl̩ ər ˈweɪt̬ɪŋ/; What are they doing? /ˈwət ̬ ər ðeɪ ˈduɪŋ/ Now you’re ready. /ˈnaʊ jər ˈrɛdi/; We’re winning. /wər ˈwɪnɪŋ/; They’re coming. /ðɛr ˈkəmɪŋ/ 3) After a pause or a word ending in /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, or /ʤ/, is doesn’t form a contraction, but remains /ɪz/, the same as the strong form. For example: Is John home? /ɪz ˈʤɑn ˈhoʊm/; Is that all. /ɪz ˈðæt ̬ ˈɑl/ This is fine. /ˈðɪs ɪz ˈfaɪn/; The prize is huge. /ðə ˈpraɪz ɪz ˈhjuʤ/; My fish is cold. /maɪ ˈfɪʃ ɪz ˈkoʊld/; A massage is nice. /ə məˈsɑʒ ɪz ˈnaɪs/; The church is closed. /ðə ˈʧərʧ ɪz ˈkloʊzd/; The page is blank. /ðə ˈpeɪʤ ɪz ˈblæŋk/ After a word ending in one of the remaining voiceless consonants /p t k f θ/, is is /s/, which forms a contraction with the preceding word. For example: My soup’s cold. /maɪ ˈsups ˈkoʊld/; The hat’s black. /ðə ˈhæts ˈblæk/; My fork’s bent. /maɪ ˈforks ˈbɛnt/; The chef’s angry. /ðə ˈʃɛfs ˈæŋɡri/; The moth’s gray. /ðə ˈmɑθs ˈɡreɪ/ After a word ending in one of the remaining voiced consonants /b d ɡ v ð m n ŋ l r/ or a vowel, is is /z/, which forms a contraction with the preceding word. For example:

Stress and weak forms  75

Bob’s hungry. /ˈbɑbz ˈhəŋɡri/; The bird’s wet. /ðə ˈbərdz ˈwɛt/; My dog’s tired. /maɪ ˈdɑɡz ˈtaɪərd/; Dave’s here. /ˈdeɪvz ˈhir/; The scythe’s blunt. /ðə ˈsaɪðz ˈblənt/; My thumb’s sore. /maɪ ˈθəmz ˈsor/; The bin’s empty. /ðə ˈbɪnz ˈɛmti/; The ring’s expensive. /ðə ˈrɪŋz ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/; The bell’s loud. /ðə ˈbɛlz ˈlaʊd/; The car’s slow. /ðə ˈkɑrz ˈsloʊ/; The key’s over there. /ðə ˈkiz ˈoʊvər ˈðɛr/ 4) The other monosyllabic forms of BE, be /bi/ and been /bɪn/, are also frequently unstressed, but have no regular weak forms.

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. That’s that. Are you ready? I’m fine. They’re there. We’re thinking about it. Is Jack here? Am I right? You’re wrong. What am I doing? Who’s coming? What’s that? They’re waiting. Where are we going? He’s left. Are people complaining? We’re shocked. You’re awful. Which is which? They’re lost. I’m worried. What’s wrong? They’re going. Is John at home? I’m certain. When are they coming? Now you’re talking. When am I speaking? The store’s closed. Now we’re in trouble. I hope they’re safe. The rest are broken. When am I due? Some are gone. Time’s running out. The judge is out. I said we’re finished. Pretend I’m not here. I  think you’re mistaken. The job’s done. This time they’re better. I  heard they’re fine. That’s right. Am I  better? We’re slowing down. Is that enough? Where are the keys? Tomorrow I’m working. It’s serious. You’re here at last. They’re all drunk.

13.8  Weak forms and contractions: auxiliary HAVE The forms of auxiliary HAVE that have weak forms are:

have has had

Weak

Strong

/əv həv v/ /əz həz z s/ /əd həd d/

/hæv/ /hæz/ /hæd/

Note: 1) After I, you, we, they, who (relative pronoun) and there (existential there, see Section 13.12) auxiliary have reduces to /v/ and forms the contractions I’ve /aɪv/, you’ve /juv/, we’ve /wiv/, they’ve /ðeɪv/, who’ve /huv/ and there’ve /ðərv/. For example: I’ve never seen it. /aɪv ˈnɛvər ˈsin ɪt/; You’ve made a mess. /juv ˈmeɪd ə ˈmɛs/; We’ve done our best. /wiv ˈdən ɑr ˈbɛst/; They’ve turned it down. /ðeɪv ˈtərnd ɪt ˈdaʊn/; The people who’ve seen it /ðə ˈpipl ̩ huv ˈsin ɪt/; There’ve been loads. /ðərv bɪn ˈloʊdz/

76  Transcribing connected speech

After other words, have is /əv/, and after a pause have is /həv/. For example: People have complained. /ˈpipl ̩ əv kəmˈpleɪnd/; Times have changed. /ˈtaɪmz əv ˈʧeɪnʤd/; The kids have eaten. /ðə ˈkɪdz əv ˈitn̩/ Have you done it? /həv ju ˈdən ɪt/; Have I passed? /həv aɪ ˈpæst/; Have we left? /həv wi lɛft/ Have sometimes loses its final /v/ when followed by a consonant in the structure modal verb + have + past participle. This is more frequent when the past participle is been, and in more casual speech. For example: You must have been crazy. /ju ˈməst ə bɪn ˈkreɪzi/; I should have known. /aɪ ˈʃʊd ə ˈnoʊn/; It might have been worse. /ɪt ˈmaɪt ̬ə bɪn ˈwərs/ 2) After a word ending in /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/ or /ʤ/, has is /əz/, and after a pause has is /həz/. For example: Chris has gone. /ˈkrɪs əz ˈɡɑn/; My size has changed. /maɪ ˈsaɪz əz ˈʧeɪnʤd/; My cash has gone. /maɪ ˈkæʃ əz ˈɡɑn/; Her rouge has run out. /hər ˈruʒ əz ˈrən ˈaʊt/; My watch has stopped. /maɪ ˈwɑʧ əz ˈstɑpt/; The stage has collapsed. /ðə ˈsteɪʤ əz kəˈlæpst/ Has John left? /həz ˈʤɑn ˈlɛft/; Has the bus arrived? /həz ðə ˈbəs əˈraɪvd/ After a word ending in one of the remaining voiceless consonants /p t k f θ/, has is /s/, which forms a contraction with the preceding word. For example: My soup’s gone. /maɪ ˈsups ˈɡɑn/; The hat’s been stolen. /ðə ˈhæts bɪn ˈstoʊlən/; My fork’s fallen on the floor. /maɪ ˈforks ˈfɑlən ɑn ðə ˈflor/; The moth’s flown away. /ðə ˈmɑθs ˈfloʊn əˈweɪ/; The chef’s gone home. /ðə ˈʃɛfs ˈɡɑn ˈhoʊm/ After a word ending in one of the remaining voiced consonants /b d ɡ v ð m n ŋ l r/ or a vowel, has is /z/, which forms a contraction with the preceding word. For example: Bob’s gone. /ˈbɑbz ˈɡɑn/; The bird’s flown away. /ðə ˈbərdz ˈfloʊn əˈweɪ/; My dog’s disappeared. /maɪ ˈdɑɡz ˈdɪsəˈpird/; Dave’s left. /ˈdeɪvz ˈlɛft/; The scythe’s gotten rusty. /ðə ˈsaɪðz ˈɡɑtn̩ ˈrəsti/; My thumb’s gotten infected. /maɪ ˈθəmz ˈɡɑtn̩ ɪnˈfɛktəd/; The bin’s fallen over. /ðə ˈbɪnz ˈfɑlən ˈoʊvər/; The ring’s gone. /ðə ˈrɪŋz ˈɡɑn/; The bell’s started to crack. /ðə ˈbɛlz ˈstɑrt̬əd tə ˈkræk/; The car’s cooled down. /ðə ˈkɑrz ˈkuld ˈdaʊn/; The key’s gone missing. /ðə ˈkiz ˈɡɑn ˈmɪsɪŋ/ 3 ) After I, you, he, she, we, they, who, and there (see existential there, Section 13.12), had reduces to /d/ and forms the contractions I’d /aɪd/, you’d /jud/, he’d /hid/, she’d /ʃid/, we’d /wid/, they’d /ðeɪd/, who’d /hud/ and there’d /ðərd/. For example: I’d finished. /aɪd ˈfɪnɪʃt/; You’d gone. /jud ˈɡɑn/; He’d lost. /hid ˈlɑst/; She’d left. /ʃid ˈlɛft/; We’d started. /wid ˈstɑrt̬əd/; They’d forgotten. /ðeɪd fərˈɡɑtn̩/; Who’d resigned? /ˈhud rɪˈzaɪnd/; people who’d left /ˈpipl ̩ hud ˈlɛft/; There’d been an accident. /ðərd bɪn ən ˈæksədənt/ Had is /əd/ after other words, and /həd/ after a pause. For example:

Stress and weak forms  77

It’d helped. /ɪt ̬əd ˈhɛlpt/; People had understood. /ˈpipl ̩ əd ˈəndərˈstʊd/; Those had gone. /ˈðoʊz əd ˈɡɑn/ Had he waited? /həd i ˈweɪt̬əd/; Had Sam arrived? /həd ˈsæm əˈraɪvd/

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. Have you tried it? My brother had left early. Paul’s stayed behind. I wish I’d known. Had you seen it? The boss has gone. The police have arrived. Has it happened yet? If only they’d listened. There’d never been a problem before. My mother’s fallen ill. His wife’s lost it. Our teacher had read it all. What have they done? The time had come. Where’s he gone? The others have escaped. I’ve never met him. They said she’d disappeared. My fear had vanished. The lights have gone out. The snow’s melted. The bar’s closed down. My children have eaten. The floor had been polished.

13.9  Weak forms and contractions: auxiliary DO The forms of DO that have weak forms are:

do does did

Weak

Strong

/də d/ /z s/ /d/

/du/ /dəz/ /dɪd/

Note: 1) Do only has a weak form before consonants. For example: Before consonants: Do they like it? /də ðeɪ ˈlaɪk ɪt/; Where do we go? /ˈwɛr də wi ˈɡoʊ/ Before vowels: Where do I  go? /ˈwɛr du aɪ ˈɡoʊ/; Do ants sleep? /du ˈænts ˈslip/ 2) After question words, does occasionally reduces to /z/ and combines with the question word, forming a contraction. After what, does reduces to /s/, the voiceless equivalent of /z/, matching the voiceless final /t/ of what, and forming the contraction what’s /wəts/. For example: How’s (does) it feel? /ˈhaʊz ɪt ˈfil/; Where’s (does) he get it? /ˈwɛrz i ˈɡɛt̬ ɪt/ What’s (does) that mean? /ˈwəts ˈðæt ˈmin/; What’s (does) it look like? /ˈwəts ɪt ˈlʊk ˈlaɪk/ 3) In more casual speech styles, did sometimes reduces to /d/ after question words, forming the contractions how’d /haʊd/, where’d /wɛrd/, why’d /waɪd/ and who’d /hud/. For example:

78  Transcribing connected speech

How’d (did) it go? /ˈhaʊd ɪt ˈɡoʊ/; Where’d (did) he get it? /ˈwɛrd i ˈɡɛt̬ ɪt/; Why’d (did) she do it? /ˈwaɪd ʃi ˈdu ɪt/; Who’d (did) he tell? /ˈhud i ˈtɛl/ When you follows these contractions, the /d/ can combine with you to form how’d’you /ˈhaʊʤu/, where’d’you /ˈwɛrʤu/, why’d’you /ˈwaɪʤu/ and who’d’you /ˈhuʤu/. For example: How’d’you find it? /ˈhaʊʤu ˈfaɪnd ɪt/; Where’d’you leave it? /ˈwɛrʤu ˈliv ɪt/; Why’d’you take it? /ˈwaɪʤu ˈteɪk ɪt/; Who’d’you meet? /ˈhuʤu ˈmit/

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. What does he do? Where do they go? Do I need it? Does it matter? Where do they live? Where does it hurt? How does it work? Do animals dream? Why do they do it? Why does it happen?

13.10  Weak forms and contractions: modal verbs The modal verbs that have weak forms are:

will we’ll she’ll there’ll would can could shall should

Weak

Strong

/əl l ̩ l wəl/ /wəl/ /ʃəl/ /ðəl ðərl/ /əd d wəd/ /kən kn̩/ /kəd/ /ʃəl ʃl ̩ ʃə/ /ʃəd/

/wɪl/ /wil/ /ʃil/ /ðɛr əl/ /wʊd/ /kæn/ /kʊd/ /ʃæl/ /ʃʊd/

Note: 1) After I, you, he, and who, will reduces to /l/ and forms the contractions I’ll /aɪl/, you’ll /jul/, he’ll /hil/, and who’ll /hul/, while she’ll and we’ll reduce further to /ʃəl/ and /wəl/, and they’ll varies between /ðeɪl/ and /ðəl/. There’ll (as existential there, see Section 13.12) is /ðərl/ or even more commonly /ðəl/. For example: I’ll try. /aɪl ˈtraɪ/; You’ll forget. /jul fərˈɡɛt/; He’ll stay. /hil ˈsteɪ/; She’ll go. /ʃəl ˈɡoʊ/; We’ll stop. /wəl ˈstɑp/; They’ll wait. /ðeɪl ˈweɪt/; Who’ll help? /ˈhul ˈhɛlp/; I know someone who’ll help. /aɪ ˈnoʊ ˈsəmwən hul ˈhɛlp/; There’ll be lots to eat. /ðəl bi ˈlɑts tu ˈit/ After other words, will is /əl/, which is readily realized as syllabic /l/ after every consonant except /l/ and /r/ (see Section 9.2). For example:

Stress and weak forms  79

2)

3)

4) 5)

/l ̩/: It will work. /ɪ t̬l ̩ ˈwərk/; This will help. /ˈðɪsl ̩ ˈhɛlp/; Time will tell. /ˈtaɪml̩ ˈtɛl/; These will break. /ˈðizl ̩ ˈbreɪk/; Not much will happen. /ˈnɑt ˈməʧl ̩ ˈhæpən/ /əl/: The school will be closed. /ðə ˈskul əl bi ˈkloʊzd/; The car will break down. /ðə ˈkɑr əl ˈbreɪk ˈdaʊn/ After a pause, will is /wəl/ or /wɪl/. For example: Will that work? /wəl ˈðæt ˈwərk/ or /wɪl ˈðæt ˈwərk/; Will you do it? /wəl ju ˈdu ɪt/ or /wɪl ju ˈdu ɪt/ After I, you, he, she, we, they, who, and there (see existential there, Section 13.12), would reduces to /d/ and forms the contractions I’d /aɪd/, you’d /jud/, he’d /hid/, she’d /ʃid/, we’d /wid/, they’d /ðeɪd/, who’d /hud/ and there’d /ðərd/. For example: I’d like it. /aɪd ˈlaɪk ɪt/; You’d need it. /jud ˈnid ɪt/; He’d find it. /hid ˈfaɪnd ɪt/; She’d know. /ʃid ˈnoʊ/; We’d go. /wid ˈɡoʊ/; They’d remember. /ðeɪd rɪˈmɛmbər/; Who’d want it? /ˈhud ˈwɑnt ɪt/; Find somebody who’d know. /ˈfaɪnd ˈsəmbədi hud ˈnoʊ/; There’d be too much. /ðərd bi ˈtu ˈməʧ/ After other words, would is /əd/. For example: It’d help. /ɪt̬ əd ˈhɛlp/; People would understand. /ˈpipl ̩ əd ˈəndərˈstænd/; These would fix it. /ˈðiz əd ˈfɪks ɪt/ After a pause, would is /wəd/ or /wʊd/. For example: Would he wait? /wəd i ˈweɪt/ or /wʊd i ˈweɪt/; Would Sam like to come? /wəd ˈsæm ˈlaɪk tə ˈkəm/ or /wʊd ˈsæm ˈlaɪk tə ˈkəm/ Shall has the weak form /ʃəl/, which readily becomes /ʃl ̩/, and is /ʃə/ before we. For example: Shall I help? /ʃl ̩ aɪ ˈhɛlp/; What shall I say? /ˈwət ʃl ̩ aɪ ˈseɪ/ Shall we try? /ʃə wi ˈtraɪ/; Where shall we go? /ˈwɛr ʃə wi ˈɡoʊ/ The /ən/ of can is readily realized as syllabic /n/. For example: You can try. /ju kən ˈtraɪ/ or /ju kn̩ ˈtraɪ/ Unstressed should and could vary between /ʃəd/ and /ʃʊd/, and /kəd/ and /kʊd/ respectively. For example: We should stay at home. /wi ʃəd ˈsteɪ ət ˈhoʊm/ or /wi ʃʊd ˈsteɪ ət ˈhoʊm/ They could take it all. /ðeɪ kəd ˈteɪk ɪt ˈ̬ ɑl/ or /ðeɪ kʊd ˈteɪk ɪt ̬ˈɑl/

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. That will help. Jack would understand. I can swim well. Where shall we go? Should everybody go? You should go at once. He could die. He’ll see. The chair would collapse. We’ll try harder. The car will break down. When shall we start? That should do it. How can he do it? We’ll survive. That can take a lot of time. It would take all day. Will Luke help? That should help. Shall I tell him? Who could afford it? He can take his time. This will do it. Shall we give it a try? Would anybody care? Could Tom do it? Time will tell. How could he know? You should stop smoking. Where can he go? Where will we go? Can

80  Transcribing connected speech

Tom speak French? That would really hurt. How could I do it? Shall I open the window? There’ll be lots more. He’d like to go.

13.11  Weak forms and contractions: conjunctions The conjunctions that have weak forms are:

and that as than

Weak

Strong

/ən n̩ ənd/ /ðət/ /əz/ /ðən/

/ænd/ /ðæt/ /æz/ /ðæn/

Note: 1) It’s sometimes said that the /ənd/ weak form of and occurs before vowels while the /ən/ variant occurs before consonants. In fact, while there may be a slight tendency towards this patterning, the /ən/ variant is much more frequent in fluent conversational speech than the /ənd/ form. Furthermore, /ən/ readily becomes syllabic /n/ when preceded by an appropriate consonant (see Section 9.3). For example: fish and chips /ˈfɪʃ ən ˈʧɪps/ or /ˈfɪʃ n̩ ˈʧɪps/; knife and fork /ˈnaɪf ən ˈfork/ or /ˈnaɪf n̩ ˈfork/; food and drink /ˈfud ən ˈdrɪŋk/ or /ˈfud n̩ ˈdrɪŋk/ 2) That has a weak form as a conjunction or relative pronoun, but not as a demonstrative. For example: Conjunction: She knows that I went. /ʃi ˈnoʊz ðət̬ aɪ ˈwɛnt/; I think that they were right. /aɪ ˈθɪŋk ðət ðeɪ wər ˈraɪt/ Relative Pronoun: The man that I saw /ðə ˈmæn ðət̬ aɪ ˈsɑ/; The dog that bit him /ðə ˈdɑɡ ðət ˈbɪt ̬ ɪm/ Demonstrative: I know that. /aɪ ˈnoʊ ˈðæt/; Shut that door. /ˈʃət ˈðæt ˈdor/; I can’t run that fast. /aɪ ˈkænt ˈrən ˈðæt ˈfæst/ 3) As has a weak form not only as a conjunction, but also as a preposition or an adverb. For example: Conjunction: He stood as I entered the room. /hi ˈstʊd əz aɪ ˈɛntərd ðə ˈrum/ Preposition: He works as a teacher. /hi ˈwərks əz ə ˈtiʧər/ Adverb: He’s as big as a whale. /hiz əz ˈbɪɡ əz ə ˈweɪl/ When as is a conjunction and occurs after a pause, it tends to be stressed and therefore have its strong form. For example: As I entered the room, he stood. /ˈæz aɪ ˈɛntərd ðə ˈrum | hi ˈstʊd/ or /əz aɪ ˈɛntərd ðə ˈrum | hi ˈstʊd/ 4) Or occasionally has the weak form /ər/ in certain high-​frequency phrases. For example: whether or not /ˈwɛðər ər ˈnɑt/ or /ˈwɛðər or ˈnɑt/; two or three /ˈtu ər ˈθri/ or /ˈtu or ˈθri/; once or twice /ˈwənts ər ˈtwaɪs/ or /ˈwənts or ˈtwaɪs/

Stress and weak forms  81

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. Go and try. It’s as cold as ice. That’s more than enough. I know that I’m right. I tried and failed. This is the pen that I used. It’s less than that. He’s dressed as a pirate. I go now and then. It was smaller than that. I’m stronger than you. He kept it short and sweet. It’s not as bad as you think. She said that it was over. It ran and ran. He came and went. It’s better than ever. They found the gun that he used. Be as quiet as a mouse. He said that that “that” that that student transcribed was wrong.

13.12  Weak forms and contractions: miscellaneous

there who so

Weak

Strong

/ðər/ /u/ /sə/

/ðɛr/ /hu/ /soʊ/

1) There has a weak form only in its existential use, not as an adverb. For example: Existential: There’s a chair in the corner. /ðərz ə ˈʧɛr ɪn ðə ˈkornər/; Is there a break? /ɪz ðər ə ˈbreɪk/; There are more. /ðər ər ˈmor/ Adverb: Sit there. /ˈsɪt ˈðɛr/; It’s over there. /ɪts ˈoʊvər ˈðɛr/; I said “here” not “there.” /aɪ ˈsɛd ˈhir ˈnɑt ˈðɛr/ 2) Who occasionally has a weak form as a relative pronoun, but not as an interrogative pronoun. For example: Relative: The man who left /ðə ˈmæn u ˈlɛft/; The one who did it /ðə ˈwən u ˈdɪd ɪt/ Interrogative: Who left? /ˈhu lɛft/; Who did it? /ˈhu ˈdɪd ɪt/ 3) So is sometimes stressed and sometimes unstressed. When unstressed, it occasionally has the weak form /sə/. For example: You shouldn’t drive so fast. /ju ˈʃʊdn̩t ˈdraɪv ˈsoʊ ˈfæst/ or /ju ˈʃʊdn̩t ˈdraɪv soʊ ˈfæst/ or /ju ˈʃʊdn̩t ˈdraɪv sə ˈfæst/

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate weak forms. There’s a book on the table. So where are you staying? There are many saints. So that’s Sir John? I met a girl who can sing. There’ll be many people there. David’s not so smart as you think. There were too many. They found the guy who did it.

82  Transcribing connected speech

13.13  Use of strong forms In the following contexts, the weak form words are stressed, resulting in the use of their strong forms: 1) When a word is cited or quoted: • • •

A-​M spells “am.” This is the word ‘at’. I said “by” not “for.”

/ˈeɪ ˈɛm ˈspɛlz ˈæm/ /ˈðɪs ɪz ðə ˈwərd ˈæt/ /aɪ ˈsɛd ˈbaɪ | ˈnɑt ˈfor/

2) When a word is stressed for emphasis or contrast: • • • •

I really am interested. He’s near the bank, not at the bank. It’s for him, not her. He has gone.

/aɪ ˈriəli ˈæm ˈɪntrəstəd/ /hiz ˈnir ðə ˈbæŋk | ˈnɑt ˈæt ðə ˈbæŋk/ /ɪts fər ˈhɪm | ˈnɑt ˈhər/ /hi ˈhæz ˈɡɑn/

3) When prepositions are separated from the noun phrases they refer to: • • •

He was stared at. Who are you looking for? He’s a man I look up to.

/hi wəz ˈstɛrd ˈæt/ /ˈhu ər ju ˈlʊkɪŋ ˈfor/ /hiz ə ˈmæn aɪ ˈlʊk ˈəp ˈtu/

4) When auxiliary verbs are used without their main verbs and BE is used without a complement: • • • • •

Yes, I will. Yes, we can. They do. We’re right. You know we are. They’re lost. I’m sure they are.

/ˈjɛs aɪ ˈwɪl/ /ˈjɛs wi ˈkæn/ /ðeɪ ˈdu/ /wər ˈraɪt || ju ˈnoʊ wi ˈɑr/ /ðɛr ˈlɑst || aɪm ˈʃər ðeɪ ˈɑr/

But have can be weak when preceded by a modal verb: • •

Yes, he might have. I think she should have.

/ˈjɛs i ˈmaɪt̬ əv/ or /ˈjɛs i ˈmaɪt ˈhæv/ /aɪ ˈθɪŋk ʃi ˈʃʊd əv/ or /aɪ ˈθɪŋk ʃi ˈʃʊd ˈhæv/

5) When auxiliary verbs and BE are used in tag questions: • So I’m stupid, am I? • He can’t swim, can he? • They aren’t here, are they?

/soʊ aɪm ˈstupəd | ˈæm aɪ/ /hi ˈkænt ˈswɪm | ˈkæn i/ /ðeɪ ˈɑrnt ˈhir | ˈɑr ðeɪ/

6) When DO has its emphatic use: • They really do eat a lot. • Oysters do cost a lot.

/ðeɪ ˈriəli ˈdu ˈit̬ ə ˈlɑt/ /ˈɔɪstərz ˈdu ˈkɑst ə ˈlɑt/

Stress and weak forms  83

7) At the ends of sentences, sequences of preposition + pronoun tend to have a stressed preposition if one or more unstressed syllables precede it, and an unstressed preposition if a stressed syllable precedes it: • • • •

Don’t look at it. Don’t stop looking at it. I’ve got a book for him. I’ve got a document for him.

/ˈdoʊnt ˈlʊk ət̬ ɪt/ /ˈdoʊnt ˈstɑp ˈlʊkɪŋ ˈæt̬ ɪt/ /aɪv ˈɡɑt̬ ə ˈbʊk fər ɪm/ /aɪv ˈɡɑt̬ ə ˈdɑkjəmənt ˈfor ɪm/

8) In yes/no questions, auxiliary verbs tend to be stressed in slower, more deliberate styles and unstressed in freer, conversational speech. The stressing of the following syllables also has an effect. If multiple unstressed syllables follow, the auxiliary verb tends to be stressed. For example: • Can Tom come? • Can he come? • Can he forget it?

/kən ˈtɑm ˈkəm/ /kən i ˈkəm/ /ˈkæn i fərˈɡɛt̬ ɪt/

Transcribe these sentences with the appropriate strong forms and weak forms. I can and I will. They’ve taken it for him. Did you say “can” or “could”? They really do smell. “And” has a weak form. We’ve won, have we? He has done it and I will do it. This is the one I’ve been looking at. They do look tasty. “An” is the indefinite article. I can. He has. Do we? He was laughed at. Who’s it for? Of course we are. I don’t know if he can. Do sit down. You’ve finished, have you? It’s worth waiting for. Can you believe it? I’ve been carrying it for her. So we do do it, do we?

14 ELISION

14.1  Elision Sounds that appear in the citation forms of words can be lost in connected speech. First, for example, can lose its /t/ in the first signs /ðə ˈfərs ˈsaɪnz/, and second can lose its /d/ in the second night /ðə ˈsɛkən ˈnaɪt/. This process is called elision /ɪˈlɪʒn̩/, and we say /t/ and /d/ are elided /ɪˈlaɪdəd/ in such cases. Elision occurs not only in connected speech, but also in word formation. Sounds can be elided when suffixes are added to words, and when words are combined to form compounds. Exactly, for example, can be pronounced /ɪɡˈzækli/ without a /t/, and hands can be pronounced /hænz/ without a /d/; software can be pronounced /ˈsɑfˌwɛr/ without a /t/, and childcare can be pronounced /ˈʧaɪlˌkɛr/ without a /d/. As our examples demonstrate, elision most commonly affects the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/. The pattern is that elision can occur when they are preceded by a consonant (except /r/) in the same syllable and followed without a pause by another consonant (which may or may not be in the same syllable or word). The elided /t/ or /d/ can represent the -​ed ending, e.g. mixed pairs /ˈmɪks ˈpɛrz/, trained dogs /ˈtreɪn ˈdɑɡz/. Loss of the -​ed ending may seem potentially confusing, but in practice, when such elision does happen, it goes unnoticed and doesn’t interfere with communication. Not all elisions are equally likely to occur. They’re influenced by factors such as: • •

Frequency:  the more frequent a word or combination of words is, the more likely it is for elision to occur; -​ed suffix:  when /t/ or /d/ represent the -​ed suffix, elision is less likely to occur;

Elision  85

• •

Context: elision is less likely to occur after and before certain consonants, e.g. elision of /d/ after /l/, and elision of /t/ or /d/ before /h/. Individual habits: the likelihood of various elisions can vary from person to person, speakers varying in how likely they are to elide in different contexts.

14.2  Elision of /t/ The consonants that can precede /t/ in the same syllable without an -​ed ending are: /s/ /f/ /k/ /p/

first floor left side perfect storm scriptwriter

/ˈfərs ˈflor/ /ˈlɛf ˈsaɪd/ /ˈpərfɪk ˈstorm/ /ˈskrɪpˌraɪtə̬ r/

In the case of the -​ed ending, in addition to /s f k p/, /t/ can also be preceded by /ʃ/ or /ʧ/: /s/ /f/ /k/ /p/ /ʃ/ /ʧ/

sliced bread stuffed turkey smoked salmon chopped nuts mashed potato thatched cottage

/ˈslaɪs ˈbrɛd/ /ˈstəf ˈtərki/ /ˈsmoʊk ˈsæmən/ /ˈʧɑp ˈnəts/ /ˈmæʃ pəˈteɪto̬ ʊ/ /ˈθæʧ ˈkɑtɪ̬ ʤ/

/t/ and /d/ aren’t elided when they’re preceded by /r/, and this is also the case for /t/ when it’s preceded by /l/ or /n/. For example, Fort Knox continues to be /ˈfort ˈnɑks/ and doesn’t become /ˈfor ˈnɑks/ (which would sound the same as four knocks); I felt down continues to be /aɪ ˈfɛlt ˈdaʊn/ and doesn’t become /aɪ ˈfɛl ˈdaʊn/ (which would sound the same as I fell down); and joint forces continues to be /ˈʤɔɪnt ˈforsəz/ and doesn’t become /ˈʤɔɪn ˈforsəz/ (which would sound the same as join forces). An exception to this exception is the negative contractions (didn’t, couldn’t, won’t, can’t, shouldn’t, hadn’t, etc.), especially those with two syllables, which regularly lose their final /t/ even though it is preceded by /n/, for example I didn’t know /aɪ ˈdɪdn̩ ˈnoʊ/, you shouldn’t say /ju ˈʃʊdn̩ ˈseɪ/. In fact, /t/ can be dropped from these words even when a vowel follows, as in I couldn’t eat /aɪ ˈkʊdn̩ ˈit/ and it doesn’t open /ɪt ˈdəzn̩ ˈoʊpən/. Before a pause, however, /t/ is retained, as in I won’t /aɪ ˈwoʊnt/ and he wasn’t /hi ˈwəzn̩t/. Note that from this point on, exercises will often include compounds and phrases side by side. The compounds should be transcribed following the conventions for citation forms (see Section 13.1), and the phrases transcribed according to the conventions for connected speech.

86  Transcribing connected speech

14.3  Elision of /t/ in /st/ + consonant Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with elision of /t/ in /st/ + consonant. the best part, chestnuts, coastguard, dust bowl, frostbite, investments, mostly, postcard, postman, restless, taste buds, tasteless, best practice, fast food, guest speaker, ghost town, next year, test drive, a lost cause, roast chicken, tests, wrists, a forced smile, mixed feelings, a boxed set, a last stand, my best friend

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /t/ in /st/ + consonant. I’m making some adjustments. She took his wristwatch. I’ve met her best friend. Do they live next to Sam? They fled the dust bowl. We’ve got the same first name. You’re sending mixed messages. That was the last straw. Soon he’ll finish the first draft. That’d be my first thought. I sent a postcard. She shared her roast pork. It costs a fortune. My friend will buy the textbook. We were reading ghost stories. Have you got mixed feelings? There’s an increased risk of death. Beth’s always getting into fistfights. Joan’s suffering with chest pains. Fred’s a well-​dressed man. Be on your best behavior. It’s a room for guests. There was a forest fire. We could eat some roast chicken.

14.4  Elision of /t/ in /kt/ + consonant Transcribe these words and phrases with elision of /t/ in /kt/ + consonant. strictly, correctness, perfect condition, fact sheet, acts, products, backed down, a parked car, baked beans, the correct password

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /t/ in /kt/ + consonant. Check the facts. We walked back to the car. I  can make an exact copy. He neglects his duties. Frank would like a baked potato. Our friends have booked tickets. My contact lenses are dirty. I’m one of the select few. Shall we go to the derelict cottage? We’re going directly home. It’s a locked door. There was a respectful silence.

14.5  Elision of /t/ in /ft/ + consonant Transcribe these words and phrases with elision of /t/ in /ft/ + consonant. softly, aircraft carrier, a soft-​boiled egg, lifts, a soft drink, gift vouchers, lift the lid

Elision  87

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /t/ in /ft/ + consonant. She’s got a soft spot for me. We were working in the gift shop. You could buy a stuffed toy. He’s a craftsman. Does he work split shifts? We’d like some stuffed peppers. They were collecting driftwood. I got lots of gifts and presents. My mother’s interested in arts and crafts.

14.6  Elision of /t/ in /pt/ + consonant Transcribe these words and phrases with elision of /t/ in /pt/ + consonant. bankruptcy, a corrupt politician, a well-​kept secret, scripts, accepts, adopts, kept quiet, stopped breathing, striped pajamas, chopped tomatoes, a slipped disk, a chipped tooth

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /t/ in /pt/ + consonant. Get some more whipped cream. Power corrupts. Can you give me something for chapped lips? They stopped abruptly. The mayor’s stepped down. The boy was kept busy. We stepped back from the edge. Ripped jeans are back in fashion. Her lies were stripped bare.

14.7  Elision of /t/ in /ʃt/ and /ʧt/ + consonant Transcribe these words and phrases with elision of /t/ in /ʃt/ or /ʧt/ + consonant. a polished floor, an accomplished musician, a thatched roof, hunched shoulders, clenched teeth

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /t/ in /ʃt/ or /ʧt/ + consonant. I crouched down. We rented a fully-​furnished property. He’s as helpless as a beached whale. The twins switched places. It’s a well-​established tradition. He was a distinguished scholar. We’ve got some unfinished business.

14.8  Elision of /d/ The consonants that can precede /d/ in the same syllable without an -​ed ending are: /n/ /l/

second time old man

/ˈsɛkən ˈtaɪm/ /ˈoʊl ˈmæn/

88  Transcribing connected speech

Note that elision of /d/ is more common after /n/ than after /l/, and remember that elision is not possible after /r/ (e.g. card payments continues to be /ˈkɑrd ˌpeɪmənts/ and doesn’t become /ˈkɑr ˌpeɪmənts/, which would sound the same as car payments). In the case of the -​ed ending, in addition to /n/ and /l/, /d/ can also be preceded by /m ŋ b ɡ ʤ ð v z ʒ/: /n/ /l/ /m/ /ŋ/ /b/ /ɡ/ /ʤ/ /ð/ /v/ /z/ /ʒ/

refined sugar pulled together armed guard prolonged drought barbed wire dragged down damaged goods breathed deeply received wisdom closed door massaged gently

/rɪˈfaɪn ˈʃʊɡər/ /ˈpʊl təˈɡɛðər/ /ˈɑrm ˈɡɑrd/ /prəˈlɑŋ ˈdraʊt/ /ˈbɑrb ˈwaɪər/ /ˈdræɡ ˈdaʊn/ /ˈdæmɪʤ ˈɡʊdz/ /ˈbrið ˈdipli/ /rɪˈsiv ˈwɪzdəm/ /ˈkloʊz ˈdor/ /məˈsɑʒ ˈʤɛntli/

14.9  Elision of /d/ in /nd/ + consonant Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with elision of /d/ in /nd/ + consonant. blindness, friendly, handstand, landscape, mind set, a soundtrack, hand signals, wind speed, the grand total, sounds, funds, a tree-​lined street

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /d/ in /nd/ + consonant. He put the blindfold on. I’d have made thousands of dollars. I can see it in my mind’s eye. It was bound to happen. I thought that it was a blind date. I’m going round the bend. Thank you for your kindness. This watch is brand new. Dave’s a trendsetter. He spends too much. The two joined together. Stop and stand still. She works around the clock. It was a warm handshake. We were soundly beaten. They lost their hand luggage. It was theft on a grand scale. He was a famous band leader.

14.10  Elision of /d/ in /ld/ + consonant. Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with elision of /d/ in /ld/ + consonant. childbirth, cold-​blooded, gold-​dust, old-​fashioned, wildlife, world-​famous, wild card, World Cup, a bold plan, builds, held back, an old friend, childlike

Elision  89

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /d/ in /ld/ + consonant. I’m getting a bald patch. It was spreading like wildfire. We’re worlds apart. Does he claim child support? You’re a dirty old man. She suffers from cold sores. The fight will be no holds barred. They were kept in a sealed container. It was different in the good old days. Look at my goldfish. It was a bold move. It’s time we settled down. It’s nothing but a wild-​goose chase.

14.11  Elision of /d/ in /md ŋd bd ɡd ʤd vd ðd zd ʒd/ + consonant Transcribe these phrases with elision of /d/ in /md ŋd bd ɡd ʤd vd ðd zd ʒd/ + consonant. a condemned man, webbed toes, dragged down, a middle-​aged man, a double-​ edged sword, improved performance, organized crime, an enclosed space

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /d/ in /md ŋd bd ɡd ʤd vd ðd zd ʒd/ + consonant. He says he’ll join the armed forces. A sheep’s got stuck in some barbed wire. Tom had flagged down a passing car. Claire will always get bogged down in details. You should buy a used car. It was a greatly improved performance. They’re selling damaged goods. There was a prolonged drought. Her uncle’s a confirmed bachelor. They hid behind closed doors.

14.12  Elision of /k/ in /sk/ + consonant Elision of consonants other than /t/ and /d/ is less common because there are fewer words presenting the relevant phonetic contexts. When a word ends with /sk/, the /k/ can be elided if a consonant follows in a suffix (e.g. ask /æsk/, asked /æst/) or at the beginning of the next word (e.g. ask /æsk/, ask Tom /ˈæs ˈtɑm/). When /skt/ is reduced to /st/, this can be further reduced to /t/ when a word beginning with a consonant immediately follows, for example They asked me again /ðeɪ ˈæs mi əˈɡɛn/.

Transcribe these sentences with elision of /k/ in /sk/ + consonant. We asked him again. He was whisked away. He was asked to leave. She risked it. The seals basked in the sun. The spy was unmasked. I’m a real risk-​taker. She’s looking for a desk job. The masked gunmen opened fire. He’s a disc jockey.

90  Transcribing connected speech

14.13  Elision of /p/ and /k/ in /mpt/ and /ŋkt/ Words ending in /mp/ or /ŋk/ can lose their /p/ or /k/ when the -​ed inflection is added (e.g. jump /ʤəmp/, jumped out /ˈʤəmt ˈaʊt/; link /lɪŋk/, linked up /ˈlɪŋt ˈəp/). When a following consonant causes the /t/ to be elided, however, the /p/ and /k/ are retained (e.g. jumped /ʤəmt/, jumped twice /ˈʤəmp ˈtwaɪs/; linked /lɪŋt/, linked together /ˈlɪŋk təˈɡɛðər/).

14.14  Chapter revision Transcribe these sentences with elision where appropriate. He’s a wild west cowboy. The water was waist-​deep. Don’t hold back. We need to build bridges. I’m covered in insect bites. Make an informed decision. Stay in the left lane. The students exchanged gifts. It was ripped to shreds. I’m pleased to hear it. That’s my most cherished possession. Do ducks have webbed feet? He won a landslide victory. I asked him again. My daughter’s afraid of noisy hand-​dryers. Diamond’s are forever. Close the blinds. I’m out of funds. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing. You’re a second-​rate writer. He’s a world-​class player. Now that’s a firm handshake.

15 ASSIMILATION

15.1  Assimilation Sounds that appear in the citation forms of words can change into other sounds in connected speech. For example, /n/ can become /m/ in in bed /ɪm ˈbɛd/, or /ŋ/ in in case /ɪŋ ˈkeɪs/; /d/ can become /b/ in bad breath /ˈbæb ˈbrɛθ/, or /ɡ/ in bad credit /ˈbæɡ ˈkrɛdət/; /t/ can become /p/ in hot potato /ˈhɑp pəˈteɪt̬oʊ/, or /k/ in hot coals /ˈhɑk ˈkoʊlz/. This process is called assimilation /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃn̩/, and we say /n/, /d/, and /t/ assimilate /əˈsɪməˌleɪt/ in such cases. Assimilation occurs not only in connected speech, but also in word formation. Sounds can assimilate when affixes are added to words, and when words are combined to form compounds. The /n/ of un-​, for example, can become /m/ in unpack /ˌəmˈpæk/, or /ŋ/ in unclear /ˌəŋˈklir/; the /t/ of treat can become /p/ before the suffix -​ment in treatment /ˈtripmənt/; the /d/ of head can become /b/ in headbut /ˈhɛbˌbət/, or /ɡ/ in headquarters /ˈhɛɡˌkwort ̬ərz/. As our examples demonstrate, assimilation most commonly involves the alveolar nasal /n/, and the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/. These alveolar sounds change their place of articulation to match that of a following sound. So when /n t d/ are followed by bilabial sounds, they become their bilabial equivalents, i.e. /m p b/, and when they’re followed by velar sounds, they become their velar equivalents, i.e. /ŋ k ɡ/. For some speakers, /n t d/ can become their bilabial equivalents before /w/ as well as /m p b/, e.g. in Wales /ɪm ˈweɪlz/, white wine /ˈwaɪp ˈwaɪn/, red wine /ˈrɛb ˈwaɪn/. Note that in the contexts in which assimilation of /t/ occurs (i.e. before /m p b k ɡ/), the use of a glottal allophone of /t/ is an alternative possibility, e.g. [ˈwɛʔ ˈpeɪnt], phonemically /ˈwɛt ˈpeɪnt/ (see Appendix B.7), and so is glottal reinforcement of the assimilated consonant, e.g. [ˈwɛʔp ˈpeɪnt], phonemically /ˈwɛp ˈpeɪnt/ (see Appendix B.7).

92  Transcribing connected speech

15.2  Assimilation of /n/ to /m/ When the alveolar nasal /n/ is followed by one of the bilabial consonants /m p b/, its place of articulation changes from alveolar /n/ to bilabial /m/ in anticipation of the following bilabial consonant. For example: lean meat brown paper a thin book

/ˈlim ˈmit/ /ˈbraʊm ˈpeɪpər/ /ə ˈθɪm ˈbʊk/

Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with assimilation of /n/ to /m/ before /m p b/. entertainment, gunpowder, rainbow, lawn mower, signpost, sunburn, Denmark, chickenpox, beanbag, man-​made, pinpoint, inbox, assignment, screenplay, cranberry, ten minutes, green peppers, broken bones, bone marrow, opinion poll, a clean break, fan mail, drain pipe, brown bread, stolen property, wine bottle

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /n/ to /m/ before /m p b/. Keep an open mind. I can earn money. It was wrapped in brown paper. He was dressed as an airline pilot. The town meeting finished early. I forgot to read the fine print. My mountain bike’s been stolen. It’s a down-​market area. I’m learning to play the pan-​pipes. It was merely a routine procedure. He can’t stand his twin brother. I’m saving for a fountain pen. We ran from a brown bear.

15.3  Assimilation of /n/ to /ŋ/ When the alveolar nasal /n/ is followed by one of the velar consonants /k ɡ/, its place of articulation changes from alveolar /n/ to velar /ŋ/ in anticipation of the following velar consonant. For example: green covers twin girls

/ˈɡriŋ ˈkəvərz/ /ˈtwɪŋ ˈɡərlz/

Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with assimilation of /n/ to /ŋ/ before /k ɡ/. include, ingredient, pancake, sunglasses, painkillers, ungrateful, conclusion, machine gun, pine cone, wine glass, raincoat, green grass, a stolen car, stun gun, concussion, congratulate

Assimilation  93

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /n/ to /ŋ/ before /k ɡ/. Sit still and remain calm. He said that it’s a fun game. What’s the pollen count? Can I join the fan club? I applied a thin coat of paint. Jeff’s as nimble as a Alpine goat. Those are stolen goods. Green grapes are her favorite. It’s time for the main course. There were some hairline cracks in it.

15.4  Assimilation of syllabic /n/ to syllabic /m/ or /ŋ/ When a word ends with a syllabic /n/, the syllabic /n/ can assimilate to syllabic /m/ before /m p b/, or assimilate to syllabic /ŋ/ before /k ɡ/. For example: fashion model lesson plan prison break collision course session guitarist

/ˈfæʃm̩ ˌmɑdl ̩/ /ˈlɛsm̩ ˌplæn/ /ˈprɪzm̩ ˌbreɪk/ /kəˈlɪʒŋ̍ ˌkors/ /ˈsɛʃŋ̍ ɡɪˌtɑrɪst/

For assimilation of syllabic /n/ after /t/ and /d/, see Section 15.13.

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of syllabic /n/ to syllabic /m/ or syllabic /ŋ/. One person could do it. Please listen carefully. I’ll loosen my shoelaces. What’s the reason behind it? The prison guards were friendly. It’s his chosen profession. Buy some frozen peas. He’s afraid of poison gas. There were more than a dozen people there. We need a new action plan. The election campaign has just been launched. She’s changed her pension plan. He’s suffering from vision problems.

15.5  Assimilation of /d/ to /b/ When the voiced alveolar plosive /d/ is followed by one of the bilabial consonants /m p b/, its place of articulation changes from alveolar /d/ to bilabial /b/ in anticipation of the following bilabial consonant. For example: red meat a bad person a loud bang

/ˈrɛb ˈmit/ /ə ˈbæb ˈpərsn̩/ /ə ˈlaʊb ˈbæŋ/

94  Transcribing connected speech

Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with assimilation of /d/ to /b/ before /m p b/. badminton, tadpole, feedback, admiral, blood pressure, a married man, woodpecker, blood bank, powdered milk, proud parents, a dead body, admire, a potted plant, road block

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /d/ to /b/ before /m p b/. I never eat red meat. It’ll cost a hundred pounds. There was a loud bang. Red peppers are the best. Have you ever used a record player? I need some cardboard boxes. I’m surprised at his odd behavior. Can you pass me the colored paper? They live a hundred miles away. Let’s watch the speedboat race. She drives a hard bargain. He collects hardback books. Our birdbath was stolen from the yard. It was a mistake to press the red button. It’s a valid point.

15.6  Assimilation of /d/ to /ɡ/ When the voiced alveolar plosive /d/ is followed by one of the velar consonants /k ɡ/, its place of articulation changes from alveolar /d/ to velar /ɡ/ in anticipation of the following velar consonant. For example: a bad cold a red gate

/ə ˈbæɡ ˈkoʊld/ /ə ˈrɛɡ ˈɡeɪt/

Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with assimilation of /d/ to /ɡ/ before /k ɡ/. vodka, floodgates, breadcrumbs, birdcage, mustard gas, weedkiller, solid gold, the Red Cross, mudguards, the United Kingdom, card game, crowd control, a wide grin, a good guess, broadcast, a married couple

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /d/ to /ɡ/ before /k ɡ/. It’s a flawed concept. You should add garlic. He was a talented guy. Make an educated guess. We heard a bloodcurdling scream. Back on solid ground! Stop making rude comments. It’s true that he’s a bad guest. Peter’s had a varied career. They put frosted glass in the windows. They rolled out the red carpet for me. There was widespread concern.

Assimilation  95

15.7  Assimilation of /t/ to /p/ When the voiceless alveolar plosive /t/ is followed by one of the bilabial consonants /m p b/, its place of articulation changes from alveolar /t/ to bilabial /p/ in anticipation of the following bilabial consonant. For example: white mice wet paint jet black

/ˈwaɪp ˈmaɪs/ /ˈwɛp ˈpeɪnt/ /ˈʤɛp ˈblæk/

Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with assimilation of /t/ to /p/ before /m p b/. nightmare, footprints, football, statement, outpatient, skateboard, department, footpath, whiteboard, treatment, notepad, heartburn, excitement, riot police, heartbeat, sheet music, rat poison, meatballs, bulletproof, white paint

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /t/ to /p/ before /m p b/. Her business will generate money. That’s one of my pet peeves. It’s time for a hot bath. He only drinks goat milk and water. He retired because of heart problems. Can I  have a chocolate brownie? What’s your favorite movie? Don’t sit on the wet paint. She’s a cute baby. They said Tim had attended a secret meeting. This is private property. That light bulb needs to be changed. Slot machines are a waste of money. It’s a great place to be. Throw it at the dartboard.

15.8  Assimilation of /t/ to /k/ When the voiceless alveolar plosive /t/ is followed by one of the velar consonants /k ɡ/, its place of articulation changes from alveolar /t/ to velar /k/ in anticipation of the following velar consonant. For example: hot coffee quite good

/ˈhɑk ˈkɑfi/ /ˈkwaɪk ˈɡʊd/

Transcribe these compounds and phrases with assimilation of /t/ to /k/ before /k ɡ/. shortcut, shotgun, nightclub, suitcase, nightgown, outcast, secret garden, carrot cake, secret code, sweetcorn, pet cat, wet grass, credit card, gate-​crasher

96  Transcribing connected speech

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /t/ to /k/ before /k ɡ/. I can’t join the yacht club. I ordered a hot curry. He was wearing a bright green shirt. The root cause will never be understood. Bright colors are attractive. The guide will meet us at the portrait gallery. The elaborate costume was ruined. The budget cuts will start soon.

15.9  Assimilation of /s/ and /z/ The alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ can also undergo assimilation, but not as frequently as /n t d/ because the necessary contexts are less common. /s/ can assimilate to /ʃ/, and /z/ can assimilate to /ʒ/, when they are immediately followed by /ʃ/, for example a close shave /ə ˈkloʊʃ ˈʃeɪv/, his shoes /hɪʒ ˈʃuz/. In theory, these assimilations can also occur before /ʒ/, but in practice, words beginning with /ʒ/ are very rare, for example this genre /ˈðɪʃ ˈʒɑnrə/, these genres /ˈðiʒ ˈʒɑnrəz/. These assimilations can occur within words as well as between words, for example spaceship /ˈspeɪʃˌʃɪp/, newssheet /ˈnuʒˌʃit/.

Transcribe these compounds and phrases with assimilation of /s/ and /z/ to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ before /ʃ/. horseshoe, skills shortage, a famous shipwreck, dangerous sharks, mass shooting, arms shipments, overseas shipping, men’s shoes, a sleeveless shirt, bus shelter, lion’s share, homeless shelter, Christmas shopping, cruise ship, cheese shop, quiz show, a nice shape, less sugar

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation of /s/ and /z/ to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ before /ʃ/. Where was she last seen? Are his shoes clean? Where was she living? Is his shoulder better? He’s sure. Was she late again? Where has she gone? He’s shopping for food. How was she able to do that? When was she hired? Has she finished it? Where has she been all day? She does as much as she can. These shoes don’t fit. When’s she coming? Those shops are closed. How’s she doing? It’s shocking. Who’s she meeting? Please share this information. Where’s she going? Peter’s shy. What’s she doing? They heard us shouting. Has she left? A cobbler fixes shoes. Does she know? He’s shown us. Is she here? Who has she told? This should do it. She’s shocked. Who was she talking to?

15.10  Coalescent assimilation Two adjacent consonants can influence each other and combine to produce a third phoneme, a process called coalescent /ˌkoʊəˈlɛsn̩t/ assimilation. When a

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word ending in /t/ or /d/ is followed without a pause by a word beginning with /j/, /t/ and /j/ can coalesce /ˌkoʊəˈlɛs/ to form /ʧ/ (e.g. got you /ˈɡɑʧu/), and /d/ and /j/ can coalesce to form /ʤ/ (e.g. did you /ˈdɪʤu/). Since the two coalescing consonants are in different words, we are obliged to write the two words together, which can look a little odd. Note that the second word is nearly always one of the high-​frequency words you or your in their usual unstressed forms, and while coalescence is possible with other words beginning with /j/, this tends to be less common and the coalescence less complete.

Transcribe these sentences with coalescence of /t/ and /j/ to /ʧ/, and /d/ and /j/ to /ʤ/. Couldn’t you go? Did you know? I’ll let you know. Would you help? Mind your head. Could you tell us? Can’t your brother come? I’ll send you a picture. I’ll get you a drink. I found your keys. We’re glad you could come. Didn’t your teacher know? I told you everything. I’ve heard a lot about you. Wouldn’t you do it? We need you. Shouldn’t you report it? I’ve read your book. They heard you. Is that your house? I’m surprised you remember. I want you to come. He said that you would. Look at your hands. I know what you mean. I can’t look at you. Haven’t you met him? I could but you won’t let me. Pleased to meet you. I need your help. Can’t you see? I heard about your accident. Didn’t you understand? Get your things. Won’t you give it a try? That’s what your friend said. Don’t you like it?

15.11  Variable coalescent assimilation When a word ending in /s/ or /z/ is followed without a pause by a word beginning with /j/, both simple assimilation and coalescent assimilation are possible. /s/ and /z/ can assimilate to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ respectively before /j/ (e.g. miss you /ˈmɪʃ ju/, cause you /ˈkɑʒ ju/) or coalescent assimilation can take place, /s/ and /j/ combining to make /ʃ/, and /z/ and /j combining to make /ʒ/ (e.g. miss you /ˈmɪʃu/, cause you /ˈkɑʒu/).

Transcribe these sentences with either simple assimilation or coalescent assimilation of /s/ or /z/ before /j/. Take as much as you like. This year I’ve accomplished a lot. Is your brother at home? It allows you to work faster. Not unless you say so. It lets you relax. It means you make more money. It makes you sick. Sometimes you need it. Perhaps you forgot. Does your phone work? I guess you could. It keeps you fit. Do it because you can. Take it in case you need it. Of course you can! Don’t close your eyes. I suppose you could. Place your bets. Since you say so.

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15.12  Assimilation or elision Since the contexts for assimilation and elision overlap, it is often possible for either to occur. When /st kt ft pt ʃt ʧt/ or /ld md ŋd bd ɡd ʤd vd ðd zd ʒd/ are followed by a bilabial /m p b/ or velar /k ɡ/ consonant, /t/ and /d/ can either assimilate to /p k/ and /b ɡ/ respectively, or /t/ and /d/ can be elided. In such cases, elision appears to be more common than assimilation, except when the -​ed ending is involved (see Section 14.1). For example: the best part the World Cup a soft glow finished goods seemed better

/ðə ˈbɛs ˈpɑrt/ or /ðə ˈbɛsp ˈpɑrt/ /ðə ˈwərl ˈkəp/ or /ðə ˈwərlɡ ˈkəp/ /ə ˈsɑf ˈɡloʊ/ or /ə ˈsɑfk ˈɡloʊ/ /ˈfɪnɪʃk ˈɡʊdz/ or /ˈfɪnɪʃ ˈɡʊdz/ /ˈsimb ˈbɛtə̬ r/ or /ˈsim ˈbɛt̬ər/

Transcribe these compounds and phrases with assimilation or elision according to your own habits. childproof, cold-​blooded, wild mushrooms, informed consent, stained glass, a strict policy, a mixed bag, minced meat, a lost cause, chopped garlic, a civilized country, the finished product

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation or elision according to your own habits. They’ve made a detailed plan. It was gone the next morning. I’ll have a soft-​ boiled egg. I  collect abstract paintings. He’s a postmodern artist. She only wears bold colors. They sell at fixed prices. We joined a protest march. She had a distinguished career. It’s made from recycled plastic. We’re coming under increased pressure. He’s making a fortune in pest control. An iced coffee will cool you down. I’m a very experienced player. The situation is similar in the case of coalescent assimilation. When /st kt ft pt ʃt ʧt/ or /ld md ŋd bd ɡd ʤd vd ðd zd ʒd/ are followed by /j/ (especially in you and your), /t/ and /d/ sometimes combine with the /j/ to form /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ respectively, or /t/ and /d/ can be elided. For example: Lift your arms. Finished your lunch? I told you. We informed you.

/ˈlɪfʧər ˈɑrmz/ or /ˈlɪf jər ˈɑrmz/ /ˈfɪnɪʃʧər ˈlənʧ/ or /ˈfɪnɪʃ jər ˈlənʧ/ /aɪ ˈtoʊlʤu/ or /aɪ ˈtoʊl ju/ /wi ɪnˈformʤu/ or /wi ɪnˈform ju/

Transcribe these sentences with assimilation or elision according to your own habits. He massaged your feet. At first you agreed. It caused you to miss. I expect you to come. It’s soothed your nerves. He stole the gift you gave me. I’ve carved

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your name on it. I’ve ripped your jacket. You’ve smudged your makeup. They’ve washed your car. Sorry I dragged you here. She watched you leave. Someone robbed you? He called you a fool. You’ve banged your head? She rammed your car.

15.13  Multiple assimilations, or elision combined with assimilation When words ending in /tn̩/ or /dn̩/ are followed by bilabial /m p b/ or velar /k ɡ/ consonants, both the plosive and the syllabic consonant can assimilate, /tn̩/ becoming /pm̩ / before /m p b/ and /kŋ̍/ before /k ɡ/, and /dn̩/ becoming /bm̩ / before /m p b/ and /ɡŋ̍/ before /k ɡ/. written permission cotton candy a sudden movement hidden costs

/ˈrɪpm̩ pərˈmɪʃn/ /ˈkɑkŋ̍ ˈkændi/ /ə ˈsəbm̩ ˈmuvmənt/ /ˈhɪɡŋ̍ ˈkɑsts/

When /nt/ is followed by bilabial /m p b/ or velar consonants /k ɡ/, both consonants can assimilate, becoming /mp/ before /m p b/, and /ŋk/ before /k ɡ/. For example: a giant monster a bent pin sent back instant coffee front gate

/ə ˈʤaɪəmp ˈmɑnstər/ /ə ˈbɛmp ˈpɪn/ /ˈsɛmp ˈbæk/ /ˈɪnstəŋk ˈkɑfi/ /ˈfrəŋk ˈɡeɪt/

This is also true for /nd/, which can become /mb/ before /m p b/ and /ŋɡ/ before /k ɡ/. In the case of /nd/, however, a combination of the elision of /d/ and assimilation of /n/ is more likely, except in the case of -​ed endings, where elision is less common and assimilation of both consonants more usual. For example: a kind message grand plans a round brush mind control stand guard

/ə ˈkaɪm ˈmɛsɪʤ/ or /ə ˈkaɪmb ˈmɛsɪʤ/ /ˈɡræm ˈplænz/ or /ˈɡræmb ˈplænz/ /ə ˈraʊm ˈbrəʃ/ or /ə ˈraʊmb ˈbrəʃ/ /ˈmaɪŋ kənˌtroʊl/ or /ˈmaɪŋɡ kənˌtroʊl/ /ˈstæŋ ˈɡɑrd/ or /ˈstæŋɡ ˈɡɑrd/

gained power turned brown a signed copy

/ˈɡeɪmb ˈpaʊər/ or /ˈɡeɪm ˈpaʊər/ /ˈtərmb ˈbraʊn/ or /ˈtərm ˈbraʊn/ /ə ˈsaɪŋɡ ˈkɑpi/ or /ə ˈsaɪŋ ˈkɑpi/

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Another possible variant is for syllabic /n/ to be followed by /t/ or /d/, giving /n̩t/ and /n̩d/, which can assimilate to /m̩ p/ and /m̩ b/ before bilabial /m p b/ consonants, and to /ŋ̍k/ and /ŋ̍ɡ/ before velar /k ɡ/ consonants. For example: the present moment the recent past a pleasant beach sufficient cash a patient guy

/ðə ˈprɛzm̩ p ˈmoʊmənt/ /ðə ˈrism̩ p ˈpæst/ /ə ˈplɛzm̩ p ˈbiʧ/ /səˈfɪʃŋ̍k ˈkæʃ/ /ə ˈpeɪʃŋ̍k ˈɡaɪ/

poisoned meat a seasoned professional a thousand bucks an old-​fashioned Christmas

/ˈpɔɪzm̩ ˈmit/ or /ˈpɔɪzm̩ b ˈmit/ /ə ˈsizm̩ prəˈfɛʃnl ̩/ or /ə ˈsizm̩ b prəˈfɛʃnl /̩ /ə ˈθaʊzm̩ ˈbəks/ or /ə ˈθaʊzm̩ b ˈbəks/ /ən ˈoʊl ˈfæʃŋ̍ ˈkrɪsməs/ or /ən ˈoʊl ˈfæʃŋ̍ɡ ˈkrɪsməs/ /ən ˈoʊl ˈfæʃŋ̍ ˈɡeɪm/ or /ən ˈoʊl ˈfæʃŋ̍ɡ ˈɡeɪm/

an old-​fashioned game

When /n̩t/ and /n̩d/ are preceded by /t/ or /d/ (giving /tn̩t/, /dn̩t/, /tn̩d/, /dn̩d/), all three consonants can assimilate together. This results in /pm̩ p/, /bm̩ p/, /pm̩ b/, and /bm̩ b/ before bilabial /m p b/ consonants, and /kŋ̍k/, /ɡŋ̍k/, /kŋ̍ɡ/, and /ɡŋ̍ɡ/ before velar /k ɡ/ consonants. For example: an important part a potent cocktail a prudent person student group

/ən ɪmˈporpm̩ p ˈpɑrt/ /ə ˈpoʊkŋ̍k ˈkɑkteɪl/ /ə ˈprubm̩p ˈpərsn̩/ /ˈstuɡŋ̍k ˌɡrup/

a frightened kitten threatened by it saddened by it hardened glass

/ə ˈfraɪkŋ̍ ˈkɪtn̩/ or /ˈfraɪkŋ̍ɡ ˈkɪtn̩/ /ˈθrɛpm̩ ˈbaɪ ɪt/ or /ˈθrɛpm̩ b ˈbaɪ ɪt/ /ˈsæbm̩ ˈbaɪ ɪt/ or /ˈsæbm̩ b ˈbaɪ ɪt/ /ˈhɑrɡŋ̍ ˈɡlæs/ or /ˈhɑrɡŋ̍ɡ ˈɡlæs/

In the case of /tn̩d/ and /dn̩d/, it’s more common for /d/ to be elided and for /tn̩/ and /dn̩/ to undergo assimilation than for all three consonants to be assimilated together. Although interesting, these assimilations of groups of three consonants are rather rare and only occur commonly with the high-​frequency negative contractions (wouldn’t, couldn’t, etc.), and even these often lose their /t/ to become two-​consonant clusters (see Section 14.2). When /st/ and /zd/ are followed by /ʃ/, the /t/ and /d/ can be elided and the /s/ and /z/ assimilate to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ respectively. For example:

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my first shot increased sharply a bruised shoulder

/maɪ ˈfərʃ ˈʃɑt/ /ɪŋˈkriʃ ˈʃɑrpli/ /ə ˈbruʒ ˈʃoʊldər/

When /st/ and /zd/ are followed by /j/, the /t/ and /d/ sometimes coalesce with /j/ to form /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ respectively (i.e. /st/ + /j/ = /sʧ/, /zd/ + /j/ = /zʤ/), or the /t/ and /d/ can be elided (i.e. /st/ + /j/ = /sj/, /zd/ + /j/ = /zj/). If elision occurs, the /s/ and /z/ can assimilate to /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ respectively (i.e. /s/ + /j/ = /ʃj/; /z/ + /j/ = /ʒj/) or the /s/ and /z/ to coalesce with the /j/ to form /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ respectively (i.e. /s/ + /j/ = /ʃ/, /z/ + /j/ = /ʒ/). When the /st/ or /zd/ cluster includes the -​ed ending, elision is less likely. For example: last year missed you caused you

/ˈlæsˈʧir/ /ˈmɪsʧu/ /ˈkɑzʤu/

/ˈlæs ˈjir/ /ˈmɪs ju/ /ˈkɑz ju/

/ˈlæʃ ˈjir/ /ˈmɪʃ ju/ /ˈkɑʒ ju/

/ˈlæˈʃir/ /ˈmɪʃu/ /ˈkɑʒu/

Transcribe these words, compounds, and phrases with elision and/or assimilation according to your own habits. giant pandas, grandparents, a quaint cottage, handbag, lost sheep, a brilliant mind, grandmother, handcuffs, currant bun, my best shoes, Saint Mary, handgun, a silent partner, sandpit, second class, windmill, the front page, background music, paintbrush, the largest university, handbrake, appointment, Saint Kevin, a closed shop, windpipe, rent collector, a frequent guest, a decent guy, a televised show, violent crime, sandpaper, handbook, resentment, landmark, ghost ship, a pleasant breeze, sandcastle, tent pole, hand grenade, Saint Paul, an oversized shirt

Transcribe these sentences with elision and/or assimilation according to your own habits. He’s a stunt pilot. That’ll cost a thousand pounds. Breakfast shows are boring. He doesn’t care. How do you play handball? Please send money at once. It’s a profound question you’re asking. They’ve recognized you. He was found guilty and sentenced. Take your best shot. Look at the results of this recent poll. This is an excellent book. The silent majority have spoken. She’s a distant cousin. I suggest you leave. It’s the story of a peasant girl. I’m amazed she knew. Buy us some ground pepper. It isn’t Paul. The results were mind-​ blowing. It’s all handmade. The sound quality was very poor. I’m pleased you noticed. It happened in the distant past. He hasn’t brought it. This is the best show. She was mentioned in a recent book. I’ve been promoted to assistant manager. He’s been suffering from a persistent cough. He expected an instant cure. Can’t pay, won’t pay. She wasn’t gone long. That’s most useful.

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15.14  Assimilation of /ð/ When /ð/ is directly preceded by /n/, /l/, /s/, or /z/, it can assimilate and become identical to the preceding consonant. For example: in the end all the time across the road Is that it?

/ɪn ni ˈɛnd/ /ˈɑl lə ˈtaɪm/ /əˈkrɑs sə ˈroʊd/ /ɪz ˈzæt̬ ɪt/

Note that this kind of assimilation differs from the simple assimilation of /n t d s z/ that we’ve seen so far. Here the direction of influence is different, a later sound changing under the influence of an earlier sound, and the type of change is different, the manner of articulation of the consonant changing (and the voicing too when /ð/ becomes /s/). We only occasionally include this kind of assimilation in our transcriptions.

15.15  Assimilation of /ən/ in happen, taken, etc. When /ən/ occurs after a bilabial /p b/ or velar /k ɡ/ plosive, the plosive can be released by lowering the soft palate (nasal release, see Appendix B.10), which results in syllabic /m/ after /p b/ and syllabic /ŋ/ after /k ɡ/, for example open /ˈoʊpm̩ /, urban /ˈərbm̩ /, taken /ˈteɪkŋ̍/, organ /ˈorɡŋ̍/. Not many words present the required context, and only the most frequent of them (i.e. open, happen, taken, broken, can) assimilate with any regularity. Can in its weak form is probably the most frequent example of this kind of assimilation, especially when it’s followed by a velar consonant /k ɡ/, as in I can go /aɪ kŋ̍ ˈɡoʊ/. When opened /ˈoʊpm̩ d/ and happened /ˈhæpm̩ d/ assimilate in this way, the final /d/ doesn’t assimilate.

15.16  Simplification of fricative clusters The fricative clusters /fs/ (e.g. laughs /læfs/) and /vz/ (e.g. leaves /livz/) are stable, but other clusters of fricatives aren’t, and often undergo simplification processes. In /θs/ and /ðz/, the dental fricatives tend to assimilate to the following fricatives, becoming /ss/ and /zz/, and these tend to further simplify to /s/ and /z/. These processes are most complete in the high-​frequency words months and clothes, which are usually pronounced /mənts/ (note the epenthetic /t/, see Section 11.3) and /kloʊz/ (the same as the verb close). Other words, such as deaths, myths, births, moths for /θs/ and mouths, paths, smooths, truths, soothes for /ðz/, are more variable, alternating between /θs/, /ss/, /s/ and between /ðz/, /zz/, /z/ depending on speaker, speech rate, and speech-​consciousness.

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Other frequently simplified fricative clusters include fifth, sixth, and twelfth, which are /fɪθ/ (i.e. without the second /f/), /sɪks/ (i.e. without the final /θ/), and /twɛlθ/ (i.e. without the /f/) in unselfconscious speech.

15.17  Voicing in obstruent + obstruent clusters When obstruents (i.e. plosives, affricates, and fricatives) occur next to each other within the same syllable, they nearly always agree in voicing, either all voiced or all voiceless. In the few words where there’s a difference of voicing, voiced + voiceless, there’s an alternative voiceless + voiceless pronunciation that is as common or more common than the voiced + voiceless form suggested by the spelling. These few words are width /wɪtθ/ or /wɪdθ/, breadth /brɛtθ/ or /brɛdθ/, hundredth /ˈhəndrətθ/ or /ˈhəndrədθ/, thousandth /ˈθaʊzn̩tθ/ or /ˈθaʊzn̩dθ/, and (a)midst /mɪtst/ or /mɪdst/ (/əˈmɪtst/ or /əˈmɪdst/).

15.18  Irregular assimilations and elisions Certain phrases are so common that they have developed forms with idiosyncratic elisions and assimilations. When they mean “must,” have to and has to are pronounced /ˈhæf tə/ and /ˈhæs tə/ (/ˈhæf tu/ and /ˈhæs tu/ before vowels), and had to is occasionally /ˈhæt tə/ (/ˈhæt tu/ before vowels). This represents a kind of devoicing assimilation, which is otherwise uncommon in English. When (have/has) got to is used with the meaning of “must,” the got to element is pronounced /ˈɡɑt̬ ə/ (or /ˈɡɑt̬ u/ before a vowel) with the loss of a /t/ and voicing of the remaining /t/ (except before a pause, e.g. I’ve really got to /aɪv ˈriəli ˈɡɑt ˈtu/). When it means “accustomed to” or is used for the past, used to is pronounced /ˈjus tə/ before consonants and /ˈjus tu/ before vowels (i.e. with loss of /t/ and /z/ assimilating to /s/). Similarly, supposed to is pronounced /səˈpoʊs tə/ before consonants and /səˈpoʊs tu/ before vowels when it is used for obligations and expectations (but not when it means “believed to”). When used for the future, going to has a range of reduced pronunciations, the two most usual being /ɡoʊnə/ and /ɡənə/. Note that the “gonna” spelling for going to is misleading as there is no palm /ɑ/ vowel in the pronunciation. Before a pause, going to doesn’t reduce (except in the most casual speech), for example yes, I’m going to /ˈjɛs aɪm ˈɡoʊɪŋ ˈtu/. The high-​frequency phrases want to, trying to, let me, and give me also commonly have reduced pronunciations, namely /ˈwɑnə/, /ˈtraɪnə/, /ˈlɛmi/, and /ˈɡɪmi/. Want to and trying to are like going to in that they don’t reduce before a pause, for example I don’t want to /aɪ ˈdoʊnt ˈwɑnt ˈtu/, and but I’m trying to /bət̬ aɪm ˈtraɪɪŋ ˈtu/.

104  Transcribing connected speech

15.19  Chapter revision Transcribe these words with various kinds of assimilation (and/or elision) according to your own habits. He’s very laid back. You have to request permission first. He’s a chess grand master. My watch is gold-​plated. They’re in a privileged position. We hunt wild birds. I got it for cheaper than the list price. I stepped on broken glass. You’re supposed to make a lesson plan. Where’s the rent money? This place is a gold mine! I promised you. She’s involved in organized crime. Have some chocolate cake. They’re out of alignment. I’m going to tell her everything. I  love roast pork. It’s nothing but a wild-​goose chase. I’m going to buy a treadmill. I’m a third-​class citizen. She lost a finger to frostbite. Start filling sandbags. I was sold damaged goods. Do people still have pen pals? I have to buy a lawn mower. The exhaust gases are poisonous. I want a dozen more. He was expelled for violent behavior. See you next month. He used your idea. Don’t forget to send a postcard. It used to be unpopular. Get some peanut butter. Call the coast guard! It doesn’t taste good. It instantly became a cult classic. I was surprised she bothered. You’re not the target market. Give me a break! They built on a flood plain. I forgot to bring the tent pegs. That’s a common problem. I prefer instant coffee. You’re supposed to encourage me. I want to go first. They hired a servant girl. He collects Roman coins. Pass me that iron bar. The police found a loaded gun. You’re supposed to wear oven gloves. I’m almost sure he did it. It’s an interesting thought process. There were a thousand people there. It got better in the second quarter. I’m trying to do it.

16 CONNECTED SPEECH Extended practice

Transcribe the following jokes and humorous quotations. Remember to include weak forms, elision, and assimilation where appropriate. 1) I’m going to make a long speech because I haven’t had time to prepare a short one. (Winston Churchill) 2) I’ve tried lately to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me. (Charles Darwin) 3) Everybody’s a pacifist between wars. It’s like being a vegetarian between meals. (Colman McCarthy) 4) I’ve always wanted to write a book that ended with the word “mayonnaise.” (Richard Brautigan) 5) I knew I was going bald when it was taking longer and longer to wash my face. (Harry Hill) 6) There’s one advantage to being a hundred and two. No peer pressure. (Dennis Wolfberg) 7) When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees. (Abraham Lincoln) 8) The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. (Albert Einstein) 9) When I was born I was so surprised that I didn’t talk for a year and a half. (Gracie Allen) 10) A father’s a man who has photos in his wallet where his money used to be. (Anon) 11) The most effective way to remember your wife’s birthday is to forget it once. (Anon)

106  Transcribing connected speech

12) The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day, you’re off it. (Jackie Gleason) 13) My daughter thinks I’m nosy. At least that’s what she wrote in her diary. (Jenny Abrams) 14) Saying, “I apologize,” is the same as saying, “I’m sorry.” Except at a funeral. (Demetri Martin) 15) It isn’t necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It’s only necessary to be rich. (Alan Alda) 16) When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife. (Prince Philip) 17) Always remember that you’re absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. (Margaret Mead) 18) They say cheese gives you nightmares. Ridiculous! I’m not scared of cheese. (Ross Noble) 19) When a woman behaves like a man, why doesn’t she behave like a nice man? (Edith Evans) 20) There are three kinds of people. Those who can count, and those who can’t. (George Carlin) 21) If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research, would it? (Albert Einstein) 22) A bank’s a place that’ll lend you money if you can prove you don’t need it. (Bob Hope) 23) Paradise Lost is a book that, once put down, is very difficult to pick up again. (Samuel Johnson) 24) Real happiness is when you marry a girl for love and find out later she’s got money. (Bob Monkhouse) 25) If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of bill payments. (Anon) 26) My conscience never stops me from doing anything. It just stops me from enjoying it. (Anon) 27) A classic is a book that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read. (Mark Twain) 28) Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don’t know which half. (Viscount (William) Leverhulme) 29) We must believe in luck. How else can we explain the success of people we don’t like? (Jean Cocteau) 30) A man loses his dog, so he puts an ad in the paper. And the ad says, “Here, boy!” (Spike Milligan) 31) I went to buy some camouflage pants the other day, but I couldn’t find any. (Anon) 32) Now I’m no longer President, I find I no longer win every game of golf I play. (George Bush Sr) 33) I’m sure it was my two-​year-​old son who stole my pen. It’s written all over his face. (Anon)

Connected speech: extended practice  107

34) When you said you went to university, presumably it was to be studied by others. (Anne Robinson) 35) I called my lawyer and said, “Can I  ask you two questions?.” He said, “Yes. What’s the other one?” (Anon) 36) Money isn’t the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, I love money. (Jackie Mason) 37) The restaurant was so bad that on the menu, there were even flies in the pictures. (Anon) 38) I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies. Now I’m good at everything. (Anon) 39) My neighbors love it when I play the piano. They break my windows to hear better. (Les Dawson) 40) I’ve been smoking for thirty years now and there’s nothing wrong with my lung. (Freddie Starr) 41) There are two kinds of statistics: the kind you look up, and the kind you make up. (Bob Mortimer) 42) If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research. (Wilson Mizner) 43) Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. (Margaret Thatcher) 44) A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the word you first thought of. (Burt Bacharach) 45) Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. (C S Lewis) 46) I had my car serviced the other day. The mechanic advised me to keep the oil and change the car. (Anon) 47) The only thing my husband and I have in common is that we were married on the same day. (Phyllis Diller) 48) Show me a man who enjoyed his schooldays and I’ll show you a bully and a bore. (Robert Morley) 49) Don’t worry about avoiding temptation  –​as you grow older it starts avoiding you. (Anon) 50) I was reading this book the other day, The History of Glue. I couldn’t put it down. (Anon) 51) It’s not enough to have every intelligent person in the country voting for me. I need a majority! (Adlai Stevenson) 52) When I was young, I was scared of the dark. Now when I see my electricity bill, I’m scared of the lights. (Anon) 53) English spelling would seem to have been designed chiefly as a disguise for pronunciation. (Jerome K Jerome) 54) For her birthday, my wife said she wanted to go somewhere expensive. So I took her to a gas station. (Anon) 55) Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other, “Does this taste funny to you?” (Anon)

108  Transcribing connected speech

56) The only time a fisherman tells the truth is when he calls another fisherman a liar. (Anon) 57) I was so ugly as a kid that when I  played in the sand pit, the cat kept covering me up. (Rodney Dangerfield) 58) The old believe everything. The middle-​aged suspect everything. The young know everything. (Oscar Wilde) 59) My biggest worry is that my wife, when I’m dead, will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it. (Koos Brandt) 60) There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I’m old there’s no respect for age. (J B Priestley) 61) No matter what diet you’re on, you can usually eat as much as you want of anything you don’t like. (Walter Slezak) 62) You can live to a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to a hundred. (Woody Allen) 63) Photography isn’t art. It’s pressing buttons. People take it up because they can’t draw. (Lord Snowdon) 64) My friend’s in jail. He got five years for something he didn’t do. He didn’t run fast enough. (Daman Wayans) 65) In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that no one else has thought of. (Robert Schumann) 66) If you lend someone twenty pounds and you never see them again, it was probably worth it. (Anon) 67) The average PhD thesis is nothing but a transfer of bones from one graveyard to another. (Frank Dobie) 68) The first half of your life is ruined by your parents, and the second half by your children. (Clarence Darrow) 69) I spent an hour fixing a broken clock yesterday. At least, I think it was an hour. (Anon) 70) What are we going to do about ignorance and apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care. (William Safire) 71) Falling asleep during a job interview is an excellent way to show you’re calm under pressure. (Anon) 72) Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door, of course. (George Bernard Shaw) 73) Before I got married, I had six theories about bringing up children. Now I have six children and no theories. (John Wilmot) 74) Save a little money each month, and at the end of the year, you’ll be surprised at how little you have. (Ernest Haskins) 75) I loathe people who keep dogs.They’re cowards who haven’t got the guts to bite people themselves. (August Strindberg) 76) Television is very educational. Every time it comes on, I go into another room and read a book. (Groucho Marx) 77) The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they sleep at night. (Otto von Bismarck)

Connected speech: extended practice  109

78) I never really mind bad service in a restaurant. It makes me feel better about not leaving a tip. (Bill Bryson) 79) My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn’t pay the bill, he gave me another six months. (Walter Matthau) 80) The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was. (Anon) 81) Money doesn’t make you happy. I’ve got fifty million dollars, but I was just as happy when I had forty-​eight million. (Arnold Schwarzenegger) 82) Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that’s good is not original, and the part that’s original is not good. (Samuel Johnson) 83) If in a hundred years, I’m only known as the man who invented Sherlock Holmes, then I’ll consider my life a failure. (Arthur Conan Doyle) 84) I’ve just bought a guard dog and he’s really good. I haven’t been able to get inside my house for the past three days. (Anon) 85) If my books had been any worse, I  wouldn’t have been invited to Hollywood, and if they’d been any better, I wouldn’t have come. (Raymond Chandler) 86) If you owe the bank a hundred dollars, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank a hundred million dollars, that’s the bank’s problem. (John Paul Getty) 87) Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important. (Eugene McCarthy) 88) A psychologist’s selling a video that teaches you how to test your dog’s IQ. Here’s how it works:  if you spend twelve ninety-​nine on the video, your dog’s smarter than you. (Jay Leno) 89) To suppose, as we all suppose, that we could be rich and not behave as the rich behave, is like supposing that we could drink all day and keep absolutely sober. (Logan Pearsall Smith) 90) We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve years telling them to sit down and shut up. (Phyllis Diller) 91) He does fifteen drafts of each of his books. If you read one and don’t think it’s very good, remember it’s been improved fifteen times. What must the first draft be like? (Paul Merton) 92) I’m trying to decide whether or not to have children. My time’s running out. I  know I  want to have children while my parents are still young enough to take care of them. (Rita Rudner) 93) I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me. (Dave Barry) 94) I don’t believe people would ever fall in love or want to be married if they hadn’t been told about it. It’s like abroad: no one would want to go there if they hadn’t been told it existed. (Evelyn Waugh)

110  Transcribing connected speech

95) The tragedy of travelling first class is that however comfortable you are, and however many free drinks you get, you still arrive at your destination at the same time as the second-​class passengers. (Miles Kington) 96) I’ve lectured on campuses for a quarter of a century, and it’s my impression that after taking a course on The Novel, it’s an unusual student who would ever want to read a novel again. (Gore Vidal) 97) I was never married because there was no need. I  have three pets at home which serve the same purpose as a husband. I  have a dog that growls every morning, a parrot that swears all afternoon, and a cat that comes home late at night. (Marie Corelli) 98) A man walks past a table in a casino and sees three men and a dog playing cards. “That’s a very smart dog,” says the man. “He’s not so clever,” says one of the players. “Every time he gets a good hand, he wags his tail.” (Anon) 99) Happiness is like a cat. If you coax it or call it, it’ll avoid you. It won’t come. But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you’ll find it rubbing against your legs and jumping into your lap. (William J Bennett) 100) At a job interview: Interviewer:  What would you say was your greatest weakness? Candidate:   Honesty. Interviewer:  I don’t think honesty’s a weakness. Candidate:   I don’t care what you think. For further practice transcribing connected speech in longer texts, you can also transcribe the passages in Chapter 20.

PART C

Transcribing intonation

17 AN INTRODUCTION TO INTONATION

17.1  Transcribing intonation Here’s an example of an English text marked for intonation: ˈSomething that happens a /lot | when I’m ˈteaching pronunci/ation | is that ˈlearners /tell me | that what they ˅really need to learn | is ˈinto\nation. || They ↘ feel they’ve got their consonants and ˅vowels right, | but there’s ˈstill this vague /thing | called ˈinto\nation | that’s ˈtripping them \up. || It’s ↘very difficult to get a˅cross to them | that their ↘into˅nation, | the ↘pitch of their ˅voices, | is ˈmore or less \fine. || ˅Often, | it’s ˈvery \good. || \Great! || The ˅real problem | is their ˈconsonants and \vowels. || But they ˈdon’t be\lieve it. The ˅essence of the problem | is that we ˈhear the sounds of a new /language | in ˈterms of the sounds of our \first language. || ↘That’s why it’s ˅difficult | to ˈget them \right, | and ↘that’s why we can’t ˅hear | when we’re ˈgetting them \ wrong. || So ↘when I tell ˅learners | that the ˅difficulty they’re having | is the ˈcumulative e/ffect | of the ˈdozens and dozens of little /ways | in which their ↘ consonants and ˅vowels | are ↘mispro˅nounced, | and ↘not caused by a mysterious phe˅nomenon | called ↘into˅nation, | they ˈdon’t be\lieve me. || If they ↘ can’t ˅hear something, | they ˈdon’t believe it’s \there. || It’s ˈhuman \nature, | I su/ppose. || One of the ˈfirst lessons they have to /learn | is to ˈtrust their \teacher, | ˈnot their \ears. Notice that: 1) Our text isn’t in phonemic transcription. When focusing on intonation, we usually work with the ordinary spelling. 2) Our system of in-​text intonation marks requires only a small number of additions to the basic text, namely underlining and [ˈ], [↘], [\], [\], [/], [/], [˅].

114  Transcribing intonation

3) The text is divided into intonation phrases (see Section 17.2) by the intonation boundary symbols | and ||. The difference between the single and double boundaries isn’t a strictly phonetic one. We merely use the double boundary when the IP boundary coincides with the end of a sentence, and the single boundary in other positions.

17.2  The anatomy of intonation: the nucleus English utterances are divided into intonation phrases (IPs). The structure of an IP can be summarized as follows: (pre-​head) (head) nucleus (tail) The nucleus /ˈnukliəs/ consists of a single syllable, and as the bracketing indicates, it’s the only obligatory element of an IP. In our sample text, for example, there’s one IP (\Great!) that consists of a nucleus alone. Such cases are common. The nucleus is the syllable on which a number of nuclear tones /ˈnukliər ˈtoʊnz/ are realized or begin their realization. To identify the nucleus, we underline it. Sometimes the nucleus consists of a monosyllabic word (e.g. lot, tell, thing), but often it is just one syllable of a polysyllabic word (e.g. pronunciation, really, intonation). Note that the nucleus always occurs on the primary stressed syllable of a word. In fact, we can define the primary stress in a word as the stress on which the nucleus occurs when the nucleus occurs on that word. This can either be in connected speech, where the word appears alongside others within an IP, or in the citation form of a word, where the word forms a complete IP. What we call primary and secondary stress, therefore, are not different degrees of stress, but stresses combined with different types of intonation, which make them appear more prominent than neighboring stresses.

Identify the nucleuses of the 42 IPs in the sample text above. The first four have been done for you. 1) lot; 2)  the fourth syllable of pronunciation; 3)  tell; 4)  the first syllable of really

17.3  The anatomy of intonation: nuclear tones The nuclear tones are a set of accents. We use the word “accent” here in the sense of a significant pitch change. The five nuclear tones and their symbols are the high fall [\], the low fall [\], the high rise [/], the low rise [/], and the fall-​rise [˅] (other works may recognize a small number of additional, less important nuclear tones). We place nuclear tone symbols directly before the nucleus (e.g. /lot, pronunci/ation, ˅really, a˅cross).

An introduction to intonation  115

Identify the nuclear tones of the 42 IPs in the sample text above. The first four have been done for you. 1) low rise; 2) low rise; 3) low rise; 4) fall-​rise

17.4  The anatomy of intonation: the tail Any syllables coming after the nucleus in an IP are known as the tail. If we take the first three IPs of our sample text, the first IP has no tail, the last syllable of the word pronunciation makes up the tail of the second IP, and the tail of the third IP consists of the word me.

Identify the tails of the 42 IPs in the sample text above. The first four have been done for you. 1) no tail; 2) the last syllable of pronunciation; 3) me; 4) last syllable of really + need to learn

17.5  The anatomy of intonation: the head The head of an IP consists of the first accented syllable and any syllables between it and the nucleus. The first syllable of the head is known as the onset of the head. The two types of head and their symbols are the high head [ˈ] and the falling head [↘] (other works may recognize a small number of additional, less important heads). The symbol for the onset of the high head is the same as the primary stress mark. We place the head symbol directly before the onset of the head. The head of the first IP in our sample text consists of something that happens a, the head of the second IP consists of teaching and the first three syllables of pronunciation, the head of the third IP consists of learners, and the fourth IP has no head. Note that the reason a secondary stressed syllable before the primary stress in a word is easy to identify is that such syllables are accented as the onset of a head when the word is given its citation form and pronounced as a single IP. The citation forms, for example, of intonation and mispronounce are /ˌɪntəˈneɪʃn̩/ and /ˌmɪsprəˈnaʊns/, or in intonational terms ˈinto\nation and ˈmispro\nounce, with the secondary stresses receiving the onset accent.

Identify the heads of the 42 IPs in the sample text above. The first four have been done for you. 1) something that happens a; 2) teaching + the first three syllables of pronunciation; 3) learners; 4) no head

116  Transcribing intonation

Identify the head types of the 42 IPs in the sample text above. The first four have been done for you. 1) high head; 2) high head; 3) high head; 4) no head

17.6  The anatomy of intonation: the pre-​head The pre-​head of an IP consists of any unaccented syllables at the beginning of the IP. If the IP has a head, then the pre-​head ends with the last syllable before the onset of the head. If the IP doesn’t have a head (a pre-​head can occur without a head), then the pre-​head ends with the last syllable before the nucleus. We don’t have any special symbol for the pre-​head because there is only one common type and we can take any unmarked syllables at the beginning of an IP to be the pre-​head. In our sample text, the first IP has no pre-​ head, the second IP has the pre-​head when I’m, the third IP has the pre-​head is that, and the fourth IP has the pre-​head that what they.

Identify the pre-​heads of the 42 IPs in the sample text above. The first four have been done for you. 1) no pre-​head; 2) when I’m; 3) is that; 4) that what they

18 NUCLEUS AND TAIL

18.1  The nucleus and the nuclear tones The nucleus, a single syllable, is the most important and only obligatory element of an IP. The nucleus is the syllable on which a nuclear tone is realized or begins its realization. When there are no syllables after the nucleus, i.e. when there’s no tail, the nuclear tone is realized completely on the nucleus. The five nuclear tones involve the following pitch movements: High fall: a glide from a high pitch to a low pitch:

\

No.

Listen to these words pronounced with a high fall and transcribe them intonationally. The first is done for you. 1) \No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow. The key and recordings for all exercises in Part C can be downloaded at paulcarley.com. Low fall: a glide from a mid pitch to a low pitch:

\No.

118  Transcribing intonation

Listen to these words pronounced with a low fall and transcribe them intonationally. The first is done for you. 1) \No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow.

Transcribe these words with either a high fall or low fall according to how they are pronounced in the recording. 1 ) No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow. High rise: a glide from a mid pitch to a high pitch:

/

No.

Listen to these words pronounced with a high rise and transcribe them intonationally. The first is done for you. 1) /No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow.

Transcribe these words with either a high fall, low fall or high rise according to how they are pronounced in the recording. 1 ) No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow. Low rise: a glide from a low pitch to a mid pitch:

/No.

Listen to these words pronounced with a low rise and transcribe them intonationally. The first is done for you. 1) /No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow.

Nucleus and tail  119

Transcribe these words with either a high fall, low fall, high rise, or low rise according to how they are pronounced in the recording. 1 ) No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow. Fall-​rise: a glide from a high pitch to a low pitch and then to a mid pitch:

˅

No.

Listen to these words pronounced with a fall-​rise and transcribe them intonationally. The first is done for you. 1) ˅No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow.

Transcribe these words with either a high fall, low fall, high rise, low rise, or fall-​rise according to how they are pronounced in the recording. 1 ) No. Who. Four. How. Fine. Now. Why. Stay. There. Five. 2) Go. More. Where. Nine. Free. Sure. Slow. Two. Far. Snow.

Each word is said with the five nuclear tones in different orders. Transcribe them intonationally. 1) No. No. No. No. No. Who. Who. Who. Who. Who. Four. Four. Four. Four. Four. How. How. How. How. How. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Stay. Stay. Stay. Stay. Stay. There. There. There. There. There. Five. Five. Five. Five. Five. 2) Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. More. More. More. More. More. Where. Where. Where. Where. Where. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Free. Free. Free. Free. Free. Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. Slow. Slow. Slow. Slow. Slow. Two. Two. Two. Two. Two. Far. Far. Far. Far. Far. Snow. Snow. Snow. Snow. Snow.

18.2  Short syllables Intonation depends on the vibration of the vocal folds, i.e. voicing. When there’s no voicing, there’s no sensation of pitch or intonation. So far we’ve practiced the nuclear tones on syllables with long vowels and (mostly) voiced

120  Transcribing intonation

consonants because these demonstrate the nuclear tones in their fullest realizations. In syllables where the duration of voicing is shorter, there’s less time for the full pitch movements to take place and so they tend to be less extensive and sound a little different from the full variants.

First listen to these short-​syllable words each pronounced with the high fall, low fall, high rise, low rise, and fall-​rise nuclear tones. Then listen to them each pronounced once and transcribe them intonationally. 1 ) Step. If. Check. Foot. Sit. Push. Crust. Kick. Fetch. Fish. 2) Chess. Hit. Shut. Click. Six. Fit. Hut. Test. Kiss. Shook.

18.3  Tails Any syllables following the nucleus at the end of an IP are known as the tail. There are no special symbols for tails or names for different types of tail because the behavior of the tail is entirely predictable from the nucleus. Note that in our diagrams we use large dots for stressed syllables and small dots for unstressed syllables. After a falling nucleus, the tail remains on the same low pitch reached by the nucleus:

\Nobody.

\Somebody.

\

Baby

pictures.

\Baby

formula.

If the nucleus has little voicing, then the glide down to the low pitch will be less extensive than shown in our diagrams and the pitch change will be realized as more of a step down to a low pitch on the first syllable of the tail with little or no glide. This is why we say the pitch movement of the nuclear tone is not always completely realized on the nucleus, but is sometimes only initiated on the nucleus. When there is a step down from the nucleus to the first syllable of the tail, the pitch movement occurs between the nucleus and the first syllable of the tail, not on the nucleus alone.

\

Ticket.

\Ticketless.

\

Ticket office.

\Ticket

inspector.

In the case of rises, the tail takes part in and realizes the pitch movement initiated on the nucleus. Again, this demonstrates that nuclear tones are not

Nucleus and tail  121

necessarily realized on the nucleus, but their pitch movement sometimes merely begins with the nucleus:

/

/Somebody.

Nobody.

The more syllables there are in the tail, the more gradual and spread out the rise will be. Learners often mistakenly identify the last syllable of the tail as the nucleus because it has the highest pitch, which makes it rather prominent. When it comes to rises, however, the nucleus is where the rise starts, which is not necessarily a very prominent syllable.

/

Baby

formula

/Baby

ingredients.

formula

ingredients.

Like the rises, the pitch movements of the fall-​rise nuclear tone are spread over the tail (when there is one). The fall takes place between the nucleus and the first syllable of the tail and then the pitch stays low before rising at the end.

˅

Somebody.

If the tail has only one syllable, the rise occurs on that syllable. If the tail has many syllables, it stays low after the initial fall and only rises noticeably at the very end, which may be a long way from the initial fall. Again, this demonstrates that when an IP has a tail, the nucleus is the point at which the final pitch contour begins.

˅

Careful.

˅

Baby

formula

ingredients.

In the following exercises, listen first to the words, phrases, and sentences pronounced with the 1) high fall, 2) low fall, 3) high rise, 4) low rise, 5) fall-​rise nuclear tones. Then listen to them each pronounced once and transcribe them intonationally with the correct nuclear tone.

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Exercise 1: one-​syllable  tails 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

Ticket. Take it. Tailor. Tell her. Eating. Larger. Find him. Basket. Ask him. Help me. Happy. Table. Later. Neighbor. Get it. Learner. Lazy. Meet us. Suitcase. Football. Armchair. Monday. Water. Maybe. Bus stop. Money. Pet food. Perfect. Music. Try it. Brain scan. Summer.

Exercise 2: two-​syllable  tails 1) Property. Carry it. Motorbike. Strategy. Follow him. Carrot cake. Saturday. 2) Open it. Analyze. Buffalo. Frying pan. Comfort her. Recipe. Goldfish  bowl. 3) Satellite. Marry me. Bus driver. Newspaper. Wonderful. Flatter him. 4) Energy. Capable. Overview. Boiling point. Visit us. Comedy. Tennis coach.

Exercise 3: three-​syllable  tails 1) Supervise it. Fire fighter. Innovative. Supermarket. Activate it. Energy drink. 2) Satisfying. Minimalist. Liberator. Complicated. Edinburgh. Counter attack. 3) Mother-​ in-​ law. Agriculture. Helicopter. Irritated. Power failure. Exercise bike. 4) Lion tamer. Border control. Christmas presents. Powerlessness. Airline pilot.

18.4  Chapter revision Listen to the recordings and transcribe these IPs with the correct nuclear tones. 1) Better. Satisfied. Speak to him. Golf ball. Bone marrow. Childish. Messy. 2) Birthday party. Telescope. Peppermint. Friday. Rabbit. Arson attack. 3) Peer pressure. Bedtime story. Tasty. Yesterday. Swimming. Cocoa powder. 4) German. Calculator. Leave it. Measurement. Easy. Printer. Panic attack. 5) Train station. Give it to him. Milkshake. Bank statement. Stamp album. 6) Christmas presents. Pop music. Window cleaner. Smart. Swimming goggles. 7) Door handle. Calm. Monster. Variable. Grab it. Bubble gum. Nursing home. 8) Birthday party. Large. Confidence trickster. Have one. Bungee jumping. 9) Search. Questionable. Ironing board. Challenge us. Air conditioning unit. 10) Fireworks. Surface. Furniture. Wallpaper. Talk to me. Plumbing supplies.

19 HEAD AND PRE-​HEAD

19.1  Heads The head consists of the first accent in an IP (called the onset of the head) and any other syllables between it and the nucleus. If there’s no accent before the nucleus, there’s no head. We define an accent as a significant pitch movement, the onset accent of a head consisting of a step up to a high pitch. Even when there’s no pre-​head in an IP to step up from, the first syllable of an IP beginning with a head is still felt to be accented because a lowish pitch level is the norm at the beginning of an IP, and a high level beginning noticeably deviates from this. The most common type of head is the high head. It starts with an onset on a high pitch and any following syllables continue on more or less the same level. The symbol used to indicate the start of a high head is [ˈ], the same as the symbol used to indicate primary stress in phonemic transcriptions.

A ˈbeautiful

ˈWill

\picture.

it be ready

by /Friday?

He’s a

ˈvery

important

The Uˈnited

\

person.

States of A/ merica.

Before the fall-​rise nuclear tone, a falling head typically occurs, which involves a fall from high to low spread out over the head. The more syllables

124  Transcribing intonation

there are in the head, the more gradual the fall is, and the fewer syllables, the steeper it is. When there’s only one syllable in the head, the fall takes place on that syllable. The symbol for the falling head is [↘].

But I

↘

only

did what I thought was ˅best.

↘

Not a˅gain.

↘

Hold

˅

on!

In the following exercises, first listen to each of the words, phrases, and sentences pronounced in the order 1) high head + high fall, 2) high head + low fall, 3) high head + high rise, 4) high head + low rise, 5) falling head + fall-​rise, and then listen to them pronounced once each and transcribe them intonationally.

Exercise 1: one-​syllable  heads 1) Mankind. Malnourished. Retry. Outspoken. UK. Not now. Misjudge. Get lost. 2) Reuse. Outshine. Upfront. Outsmart. Bestseller. Why not? That’s right. Red hot. 3) Come here. Stand still. IQ. Keep quiet. Downhill. Take two. Get down. 3D.

Exercise 2: two-​syllable  heads 1) Entertain. Overweight. Rearrange. Disobey. Misbehave. Understand. Middle-​class. 2) Coincide. Tambourine. Referee. Trampoline. Japanese. Engineer. Kangaroo. 3) Take a break. Bring it back. Tell the truth. Have a go. Drive a car. Eat a meal.

Exercise 3: three-​syllable  heads 1) Interrelate. Carry the bag. Overreact. Go to the bank. Misunderstood. Aquamarine. 2) Overexcite. Stand at the back. Stop at the end. Take it in turns. Nevertheless. 3) Sleep on the floor. Interconnect. Four for a pound. Entrepreneur. Cover your eyes.

Exercise 4: four-​syllable  heads 1) Underrepresent. Take me to the door. Multimillionaire. When did he escape?

Head and pre-head  125

2 ) Antipersonnel. Big dogs bury bones. Overrepresent. How did he survive? 3) Thousands of replies. Ask him to repeat. Buy a box of nails. Thirty yellow flags.

19.2  Pre-​heads The pre-​head consists of any unaccented syllables at the beginning of an IP and can be directly followed either by a head or the nucleus. Pre-​heads are usually on a mid to low pitch. In the following exercises, first listen to each of the words, phrases, and sentences pronounced in the order 1) pre-​head (+ high head) + high fall, 2) pre-​ head (+ high head) + low fall, 3) pre-​head (+ high head) + high rise, 4) pre-​ head (+ high head) + low rise, 5)  pre-​head (+ falling head) + fall-​rise, and then listen to them pronounced once each and transcribe them intonationally.

Exercise 1: one-​syllable pre-​head + nucleus (+ tail) 1) Away. Domestic. Astronomy. Suggest. Adventure. Photographer. Complain. 2) The end. An answer. It’s hazardous. A  crocodile. He’s ignorant. She’s popular. 3) At home. Surprise. A  bachelor. Some alcohol. The alphabet. It’s permanent.

Exercise 2: one-​syllable pre-​head + head + nucleus (+ tail) 1) Alongside. Apologetic. Pronunciation. Exaggeration. Materialistic. Availability. 2) Enthusiastically. Personification. Aromatherapy. Inevitability. He found it later. 3) I met them at the barbecue. So give them what they’re asking for. Apply later.

Exercise 3: two-​syllable pre-​head + nucleus (+ tail) 1) At a loss. In a minute. It’s an airplane. I was cold. I’m a teacher. It was terrible. 2) Is he here? He’s asleep. It was yesterday. Can we go? A  banana. It’s suspicious. 3) Shall we tell him? We can visit them. It’s a tragedy. Shall I demonstrate it?

Exercise 4: two-​syllable pre-​head + head + nucleus (+ tail) 1) I forgot to mention it. We can do it again. You remember doing it. I enjoy nothing.

126  Transcribing intonation

2) Is it good to eat? I’m about to leave. So we left very early. It’s a great exercise. 3) He replied immediately. It was too big. She can swim well. I suggest we go.

Exercise 5: three-​syllable pre-​head + nucleus (+ tail) 1) I’m a survivor. You can forget it. It was a bargain. In a review. I  can return it. 2) I could repeat it. We were surprised. There was a problem. It was destroyed. 3) It’s for the best. You should appeal. Did he remember. Will you forgive me?

Exercise 6: three-​syllable pre-​head + head + nucleus (+ tail) 1 ) It’s a surprising fact. He’s an annoying little boy. We can at last relax a bit. 2) You should apply for a license. It’ll provide a little shelter. It was a nice day. 3) It’ll begin to give us a healthy profit. It’s an abuse of power. In the exact way.

19.3  Chapter revision Listen to the recordings and transcribe these IPs with the appropriate combinations of pre-​head, head, nucleus, and tail. 1) Surprise me. You did what? That’s the best I can do. Where did you get that idea? 2) This is as far as I can go. It hardly matters any more. I like it. Will you put it back? 3) Time to go back to the start. My account’s overdrawn again. Do it later. Who’s that? 4) Pass me the vinegar. I can’t comment. Is he ready? How many days till Christmas? 5) Another wasted journey! Don’t bother asking. I can’t get it wrong. Have they gone? 6) Don’t stop now. Now’s the time to make your move. I  can’t believe it. Forget it. 7) We should slow down. It’s your turn to cut the grass. I’ve had enough. Can I try? 8) It’s a secret. I’m expecting a delivery. They’ve done it again. I’m under arrest? 9) I haven’t even unpacked yet. He’s always exaggerating. Not now. What’s that for? 10) It’s a case of mass hysteria. They can’t help themselves. Stand still. Which is it?

Head and pre-head  127

19.4  Intonation revision I Listen to the recordings and transcribe these IPs with the appropriate combinations of pre-​head, head, nucleus, and tail. 1) I’ve been doing it for a while. You can see for yourself. Who do you think you are? 2) I missed it. Is it time to go? How does it work? He said it’s fine. Whose turn is it? 3) Who’s paying this time? This is the best book of its kind. The twins look different. 4) Peter’s the favorite grandchild. The country’s been brought to its knees. That’s it. 5) Trevor’s a controversial figure. He can do no wrong. The truth hurts. It’s not fair. 6) Chocolate tastes good. My kite’s crashed. Don’t forget to floss. He isn’t interested. 7) You can say that again. She drinks too much. It isn’t my fault. Can we sit here? 8) It doesn’t make sense. You’re joking! He married well. I’m tired. Good night. 9) Stop complaining. Have you tidied your room? It’s nearly over. It’s good news! 10) He’s a very charismatic leader. I  didn’t mean it that way. You speak in platitudes.

19.5  Intonation revision II Listen to the recordings and transcribe these IPs with the appropriate combinations of pre-​head, head, nucleus, and tail. 1) I’m a happy man. He’s here? This might be it. Is it safe? Give me a minute. 2) What now? At least I found something. Get it. We’ll get there before it gets dark. 3) I was here about a year ago. Is it working? It’s holding the chimney up. Try again. 4) Here you go. It sounds great. You never know. I  know. We’re close to the house. 5) It’s a piece of junk. Is it real? Look at that! That looks nice. It’s broken. It’s fun. 6) Is that you? What’s the time? Does he work there? It costs a lot. You’ll hurt yourself. 7) It’s better than nothing. At least it’s something. He’s a cool guy. Why does it matter?

128  Transcribing intonation

8) It was the first time I met him. I was horrified. These are English words. Four more? 9) Here’s the real reason. I  find it utterly astonishing. It’s a bit late. Don’t panic. 10) That’s precisely what’s been happening. They’re leading. Where’s the entrance?

20 INTONATION Extended practice

Listen to the recordings and transcribe the following passages intonationally. Passage 1 Believe it or not, I used to be quite a good juggler in my younger days. I’m probably still pretty good now. It’s not the kind of thing you completely forget. You get rusty, but after a bit of practice, you’re back to your old self. I did a few different types of juggling, but preferred juggling with three balls. That was most satisfying, because there are endless variations and tricks you can do. And three balls are easier to carry around and practice with than a lot of other juggling gear. I’ve still got my juggling balls somewhere around the house. They’re mixed in with my daughters’ toys now, and sometimes I impress them with a simple three ball cascade. I think it’s the satisfaction I get from learning little tricks, repetitive practice, and attention to detail that eventually led me to phonetics. Want to see how I can wiggle my ears?

Passage 2 Let me give you some tips for hitchhiking in the UK. Firstly, it’s easier than you think. There are lots of people driving around the country for their work or recreationally who don’t mind doing someone a favor or wouldn’t mind a bit of company on their drive. Secondly, it isn’t dangerous. Often, the person picking you up is as concerned for their own safety as you are for yours. I wouldn’t recommend women to hitchhike on their own, though. A lone woman should never get in a stranger’s car, except perhaps another woman’s car, and even then you never know. But two women, or a man and a woman, are ideal. Those are best combinations. A man on his own looks

130  Transcribing intonation

a little threatening, and two men haven’t got a chance. Make sure you know where you’re going, so you’re facing the right way on the right road, and make a cardboard sign with your destination on it. Oh, and only wait at places where there’s a safe place for cars and trucks to stop, otherwise nobody’ll pick you up.

Passage 3 I did a shift at a factory once. It was just one shift because I never went back. One shift was more than enough for me. The factory belonged to a well-​ known Japanese electronics company, and they made televisions there, traditional televisions, not the modern flat-​screen ones. Maybe they made other things too, but I was working with televisions. It was long time ago, so I can’t remember the details very clearly, but I think my job was to attach television screens to vacuum hoses before they went through some kind of oven. And then I had to detach them when they came back out. It was something like that. The line of televisions kept moving, and I had to keep up with it. It was horrible. It was hot, and I hate being hot. And boring. It was very boring. After the first hour, I’d learned everything I had to learn, and had eleven more hours ahead of me. We had a couple of breaks, and I fell asleep during each one. Eventually the shift finished, and I managed to escape.

Passage 4 My two oldest and best friends are brothers. The older brother was in the same year as me at school, so I got to know him first. I didn’t get to know the younger brother, he was just two years younger, until we’d left school. Those boys have interesting characters. I don’t think they mind me saying that the older brother was a bit of a rebel in his younger days and caused his family a lot of worry, while the younger brother was always quite conventional and a good student. But as time has gone on, their roles have reversed. The older brother has settled down, and the younger brother has gone off the rails a bit. I think we all have a tendency to want to rebel, and if you don’t do it when you’re younger, you’ll end up doing it later in life.

Passage 5 Once, not long after I left school, I applied for a job farming leeches. These were medical leeches, and they were farmed in a lab at the local hospital. It was the only place in the country where they did it. It turns out, that leeches are very good for preventing blood clots during grafts and things like that. When they suck your blood, they produce a substance that keeps the blood flowing and stops it clotting, and that keeps the graft alive. The interview process took half a day because they wanted to make sure that the people applying weren’t

Intonation: extended practice  131

squeamish. I got to see the whole process. It was very interesting, but in the end, I didn’t get the job. I suppose I was still young and shy, and didn’t make a very good impression.

Passage 6 I suddenly remembered yesterday that I once tried to join the navy. I’d completely forgotten about it. I was totally serious at the time. My plan was join up, train as an engineer, spend a few years seeing the world, and then get a job as a marine engineer. So I had an interview at the recruiting office in the nearest big city. The guy I  spoke to was very encouraging. He said there’s a whole range of careers in the navy. It’s like a world in miniature. And no doubt there’d be something for me. One thing I had to tell him, though, was that my eyesight isn’t very good. I’m short-​sighted and color blind. He gave me a form for my doctor to fill in, and said that he’d get back to me about what kind of navy jobs were open to me. A couple of weeks later I got a phone call. It turned out that with my eyes, there was nothing I could do in the navy. I couldn’t be an engineer or anything else, not even a cook or deck-​scrubber. So that was the end of that.

Passage 7 For nearly two years, I’ve been regularly listening to audiobooks on my phone. It’s really made a big difference to my life. Before then, I hadn’t read anything for pleasure for years, but since then, according to my phone, I’ve spent one month, fourteen days, two hours and nine minutes listening to audiobooks. It’s so much easier to listen to books as I’m doing other things than to find time to sit down and read. And there are loads of audiobooks to choose from, these days. Personally, I prefer autobiographies read by the author. That way, I  get a chance to hear the voice of a real person, not an actor with a predictable standard accent. And people read better when they’re reading their own words. Apart from that, I tend to listen either to books that I read when I  was young, just for the sake of nostalgia, or to classic English literature, not because I’m a literature buff, but just because I like to hear about how people lived their lives in the past. I’m off to bed now. That’s another thing audiobooks are good for –​helping you fall asleep.

Passage 8 One problem with phonetics is that people always confuse it with phonics. Phonetics is the study of the sounds of speech, while phonics is a technique for teaching children to read. It’s a bit like mixing up astronomy and astrology, but perhaps not as bad because phonetics is quite an obscure subject, and we can’t really blame people for not knowing what it is and for mixing it up

132  Transcribing intonation

with the better-​known and similar-​sounding phonics. And phonics isn’t like astrology, of course. Phonics is much more respectable, especially these days. It’s more popular than it’s ever been. There are lots of studies to support it, and it’s being used in schools all over the English-​speaking world, including at my daughter’s school.

Passage 9 One of the other things I was interested in as a teenager was metal detecting. I don’t know where I first got the idea from, but I suppose all kids are interested in buried treasure, and it was an extension of that. I found out all about it by reading books and magazines. There was no internet then. In the end though, I never got any further than reading about it. I just didn’t have the money for that kind of hobby. Metal detectors are expensive, and you have to have your own transport. You have to get permission from landowners too, and I was just a kid at the time, so there was no chance of that. Now that I’m older, I could do all that if I wanted to, but I prefer to watch videos of people metal detecting online. It’s really satisfying to see them wasting their time finding nothing instead of me.

Passage 10 I once experimented with a top-​down approach to teaching transcription. Instead of introducing and practicing one new symbol at a time, I gave my students a presentation on the consonant and vowel symbols, and then set them the task of de-​coding some short sentences written in phonemic transcription. I thought that it might be an advantage for them to get an overall idea of the symbols and a passive familiarity with transcription before having to do it themselves. The experiment wasn’t a success. You might think it’s hard to read whole sentences in transcription, but actually it’s quite easy because most of the consonant symbols are the same as in the normal spelling. They provide the outline of the words, and you can guess the rest. It’s harder when you’re only given a single word. That way there’s no context to guess from, and you can only work out the word if you know the symbols. Sometimes the simple, logical, traditional way of learning something one step at a time from the bottom up really is the best way.

APPENDIX A Summary of consonant and vowel theory

In this chapter we give a brief summary of English consonants and vowels and how they’re formed. The fine details of articulatory phonetics are beyond the scope of this work. For further information, readers are advised to consult the phonetics textbooks in the References and Suggested Reading section.

A.1  The vocal tract Speech sounds are formed in the vocal tract (see Figure A.1), which extends from the larynx to lips and nostrils, usually using airflow from the lungs.

A.2 Consonants Consonants are speech sounds that involve an obstruction to the airflow as it travels from the lungs and through the vocal tract. We describe and categorize consonants in terms of: 1) Voicing: the action of the vocal folds while the obstruction is being made; 2) Place of articulation: the place in the vocal tract where the obstruction is made; 3) Manner of articulation: the kind of obstruction involved. Voicing depends on the action of the vocal folds. The vocal folds are two lip-​ like structures in the larynx, the lump at the front of the neck. These lips act like a valve in the windpipe to stop food and other matter entering the lungs when we swallow. The vocal folds are held apart for normal breathing, or held tightly together for swallowing. A third possibility is to hold them lightly

134  Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory

4

2

1

5

3 8 7

9

6 1

2

10

1. Lips 2. Teeth 3. Alveolar ridge 4. Hard palate 5. Soft palate (also termed ‘velum’) FIGURE A.1  

6. Tip of tongue 7. Blade of tongue 8. Front of tongue 9. Back of tongue 10. Larynx, containing vocal folds

The vocal tract

together and let them vibrate in the airstream leaving the lungs. The two possibilities for the voicing of consonants are: 1) Voiced: made with the vocal folds vibrating, i.e. /b d ɡ ʤ v ð z ʒ m n ŋ l r j w/ 2) Voiceless: made with vocal folds apart and not vibrating, i.e. /p t k ʧ f θ s ʃ h/ There are ten places of articulation for GA consonants: 1) Bilabial /ˌbaɪˈleɪbiəl/: the two lips against each other, i.e. /p b m/; 2) Labio-​dental /ˌleɪbioʊˈdɛntl ̩/: the lower lip against the upper front teeth, i.e. /f v/; 3) Dental /ˈdɛntl /̩ :  the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth, i.e. /θ ð/; 4) Alveolar /ælˈviələr/: the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, i.e. /t d n l s z/;

Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory  135

5) Post-​alveolar /ˌpoʊst ælˈviələr/: the tip of the tongue against the rear of the alveolar ridge, i.e. /r/; 6) Palato-​alveolar /ˌpæləˌtoʊ ælˈviələr/: the tip, blade, and front of tongue against the alveolar ridge and hard palate, i.e. /ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/; 7) Palatal /ˈpælətl̬ ̩/: the front of the tongue against the hard palate, i.e. /j/; 8) Velar /ˈvilər/: the back of the tongue against the soft palate, i.e. /k ɡ ŋ/; 9) Glottal /ˈɡlɑtl̬ /̩ : the vocal folds against each other, i.e. /h/; 10) Labial velar /ˌleɪbiəlˈvilər/: the back of the tongue against the soft palate, and the two lips against each other, i.e. /w/. There are six manners of articulation for GA consonants: 1) Plosive /ˈploʊsɪv/: a complete closure is formed in the vocal tract, blocking the airstream, and then released, i.e. /p b t d k ɡ/; 2) Fricative /ˈfrɪkət̬ɪv/: a narrowing is formed in the vocal tract, causing turbulence and friction noise as the airstream is forced through, i.e. /f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h/; 3) Affricate /ˈæfrɪkət/:  a complete closure is formed in the vocal tract and then released slowly, resulting in turbulence and friction noise, i.e. /ʧ ʤ/; 4) Nasal /ˈneɪzl ̩/:  a complete closure is formed in the oral cavity, the soft palate is in the lowered position, and air exits via the nose, i.e. /m n ŋ/; 5) Approximant /əˈprɑksəmənt/: a narrowing is formed in the vocal tract, but one not narrow enough to cause turbulence and noise as in the case of a fricative, i.e. /r j w/. 6) Lateral approximant /ˌlæt ̬ərəl əˈprɑksəmənt/:  a closure is formed at a point along the midline of the vocal tract, diverting the airflow along one or both sides of it, without causing turbulence or noise, i.e. /l/. Plosives and affricates are grouped together and called stops because they involve a complete stoppage of the airflow. The plosives, fricatives, and affricates, which involve the greatest degree of obstruction to the airflow, are known as obstruents /ˈɑbstruənts/, while the nasals and approximants are known as sonorants /ˈsɑnərənts/, and involve a freer flow of air through the vocal tract (like vowels, which are also sonorants). The grid below summarizes the three defining features of consonants, showing the place of articulation in columns, the manner of articulation in rows, and the voicing in the position of symbols within cells, voiceless consonants on the left and voiced consonants on the right.

136  Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory

Bilabial Labio-​ Dental Alveolar Post-​ Palato-​ Palatal Velar Glottal Labial dental alveolar alveolar Velar Plosives

 p  b

 k  ɡ

 t   d   ʧ   ʤ

Affricates Fricatives Nasals

  f 

v

θ

   m

Approximants

ð  s   z

  ʃ   ӡ

 h

    n    

  ŋ

l     r

   j

  w

Combining the voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation of GA consonants gives us the following three-​part labels for each consonant: /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /ɡ/ /ʧ/ /ʤ/ /f/ /v /θ/ /ð/

voiceless bilabial plosive voiced bilabial plosive voiceless alveolar plosive voiced alveolar plosive voiceless velar plosive voiced velar plosive voiceless palato-​alveolar affricate voiced palato-​alveolar affricate voiceless labio-​dental fricative voiced labio-​dental fricative voiceless dental fricative voiced dental fricative

/s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /h/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /j/ /w/ /r/ /l/

voiceless alveolar fricative voiced alveolar fricative voiceless palato-​alveolar fricative voiced palato-​alveolar fricative voiceless glottal fricative voiced bilabial nasal voiced alveolar nasal voiced velar nasal voiced palatal approximant voiced labial velar approximant voiced post-​alveolar approximant voiced alveolar lateral approximant

Now study the vocal tract diagrams for each of the consonants (Figures A.2 –​ A.17) and confirm the voice/place/manner labels given for each. Note that in the diagrams voicing is indicated by a plus (+) at the larynx for voiced

FIGURE A.2  

English bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/

FIGURE A.3  

English alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/

Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory  137

FIGURE A.4  

English velar plosives /k/ and /ɡ/

FIGURE A.5  

English palatoalveolar affricates /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ showing closure stage

FIGURE A.6  

English palatoalveolar affricates /ʧ/ and /ʤ/ showing release stage

and a minus (−) for voiceless, while pairs of consonants that are distinguished by voicing alone (e.g. /p b/, /ʧ ʤ/, /f v/, etc.) are shown by a single diagram with the “plus or minus” symbol ±.

138  Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory

FIGURE A.7  

English labio-dental fricatives /f/ and /v/

FIGURE A.8  

FIGURE A.9  

English alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/

FIGURE A.10  

FIGURE A.11  

FIGURE A.12  

English bilabial nasal /m/. The arrow indicates the escape of the airstream through the nose

English dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/

English palatoalveolar fricatives /ʃ/ and /ʒ/

English alveolar nasal /n/. The arrow indicates the escape of the airstream through the nose

Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory  139

FIGURE A.13  

English velar nasal /ŋ/. The arrow indicates the escape of the airstream through the nose

FIGURE A.14  

English palatal approximant /j/: sequence /jæ/ as in yak

FIGU RE A.15  

FIGURE A.16  

FIGU RE A.17  

English postalveolar approximant /r/. The arrow indicates the raising of the sides of the tongue towards the back teeth

English labial velar approximant /w/: sequence /wɑ/ as in wok

English alveolar lateral approximant /l/. The arrow indicates the passage of the airstream along the lowered sides of the tongue

140  Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory

A.3 Vowels Vowels are voiced speech sounds that involve no obstruction to the airflow as it travels through the vocal tract, different vowel qualities being formed by different combinations of tongue position and lip shape. We can describe vowel quality in terms of: 1) Tongue height: the extent to which the tongue is raised or lowered in the mouth, ranging from close /kloʊs/ (or “high”), to mid, to open (or “low”); 2) Tongue frontness/backness: the extent to which the tongue is pushed forward or drawn back in the mouth, ranging from front, to central, to back; 3) Lip shape: whether the lips are rounded or unrounded. Taking the vertical (i.e. height) and horizontal (i.e. frontness/backness) positions of the tongue, we can create a four-​sided diagram, known as the vowel quadrilateral /ˌkwɑdrəˈlæt̬ərəl/ to show the different tongue positions, and therefore qualities, of vowels. Figure A.18 shows the vowel quadrilateral from the chart of the IPA alphabet, which provides symbols for vowels of various combinations of vertical and horizontal tongue positions together with unrounded or rounded lips. The GA vowels and the keywords used for them (based on Wells 1982) are: /ɪ/ /æ/ dress /ɛ/ schwa /ə/ foot /ʊ/

/i/ /u/ palm /ɑ/

/eɪ/ /aɪ/ choice /ɔɪ/ goat /oʊ/ mouth /aʊ/

kit

fleece

face

trap

goose

price

FIGURE A.18  

thought

/ɔ/

Vowel quadrilateral from the IPA chart

schwa + /r/ palm + /r/ sport + /r/ dress + /r/ fleece + /r/ goose + /r/

Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory  141

Note that vowel keywords are conventionally written in small capitals and that the schwa /ə/ vowel doesn’t need a keyword because the name “schwa” /ʃwɑ/ is so well established. The GA vowels can be categorized in a number ways: 1) The vowels in the first column are short vowels because, all other things being equal, they are usually shorter than the long vowels in the second and third columns. 2) The vowels in the first column are checked /ʧɛkt/ vowels, while the vowels in the second and third columns are free vowels. In stressed syllables, the checked vowels are always followed by a consonant, while the free vowels can occur either with or without a following consonant. Schwa /ə/ is very common in unstressed syllables. 3) The vowels in the first two columns are monophthongs /ˈmɑnəfˌθɑŋz/, and the vowels in the third column are diphthongs /ˈdɪfˌθɑŋz/. During the pronunciation of monophthongs, the vowel quality doesn’t change, while for diphthongs, the tongue and lips move from one vowel position to another. This is why the symbols for diphthongs have two elements: the first shows the starting position, and the second shows the direction of movement. 4) All five GA diphthongs are closing /ˈkloʊzɪŋ/ diphthongs, involving a movement towards the top of the vowel space that closes the gap with the roof of the mouth. 5) face /eɪ/, price /aɪ/, and choice /ɔɪ/ are closing-​fronting diphthongs, which move towards the front of the vowel space, while goat /oʊ/ and mouth /aʊ/ are closing-​backing diphthongs, which move towards the back of the vowel space. 6) The thought /ɔ/ vowel doesn’t occur in all GA accents. Those accents that have the thought /ɔ/ vowel (which we call thought-​ful accents) have different vowels in pairs such as caught/cot (i.e. caught /kɔt/, cot /kɑt/) and walk/wok (i.e. walk /wɔk/, wok /wɑk/). Accents that don’t have the thought /ɔ/ vowel (which we call thought-​less accents) have the same vowel, palm /ɑ/, in both words in each pair (i.e. caught /kɑt/, cot /kɑt/, walk /wɑk/, wok /wɑk/). 7) Only the vowels in the fourth column can occur before /r/, for example start /stɑrt/, sport /sport/, nurse /nərs/, square /skwɛr/, near /nir/ and tour /tur/. a) Schwa + /r/ is very common in unstressed syllables as well as stressed syllables (e.g. burger /ˈbərɡər/), so much so that it is generally referred to as “schwar” /ʃwɑr/. b) The vowel before /r/ in words like sport is analyzed as an allophone of thought /ɔ/ in thought -​ful accents and as an allophone of goat /oʊ/ in thought-​less accents. We refer to this vowel as the sport vowel and use the symbol [o]‌in transcription to cover both possibilities (i.e. four [for] = /fɔr/ or /foʊr/).

142  Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory

c) Formerly, it was usual to pronounce words like marry and carrot with trap /æ/ before (intervocalic) /r/, i.e. /ˈmæri/ and /ˈkærət/. Nowadays, however, it’s increasingly common to replace trap with dress in such words so that marry is pronounced like Mary/merry /ˈmɛri/, and carrot is /ˈkɛrət/. d) Formerly, it was more usual to pronounce the vowels before /r/ in words like near and tour as kit /ɪ/ and foot /ʊ/ respectively. Nowadays, however, these vowels are usually replaced with fleece /i/ and goose /u/ respectively (e.g. formerly /nɪr/ and /tʊr/; nowadays /nir/ and /tur/). e) Words which formerly had foot /ʊ/ + /r/ don’t all now have goose /u/ + /r/. In many cases, the goose /u/ vowel has been replaced by schwa /ə/ (e.g. sure /ʃər/), and in a small number of words by the sport [o]‌vowel (e.g. your /jor/). The choice of vowel also varies a lot from speaker to speaker. Now study the vowel diagrams for the GA short monophthongs, long monophthongs, closing-​fronting diphthongs, and closing-​backing diphthongs (Figures A.19–​A.22) and confirm their positions relative to each other and the movements of the diphthongs. In these diagrams, vowels with rounded lips are shown in circles and vowels with unrounded lips in squares. When a diphthong goes from unrounded to rounded lips, the left side of the shape is square and the right round, and vice versa.

Appendix A: Consonant and vowel theory  143

i

u

ʊ

ɪ

o ε

e c æ

ɑ

FIGURE A.19  

English short monophthongs

FIGURE A.20  

English long monophthongs

eɪ oʊ ɔɪ aɪ FIGURE A.21  

English closing-​ fronting diphthongs

aʊ FIGURE A.22  

English closing-​ backing diphthongs

APPENDIX B Phonetic transcription

B.1  Phonemic and phonetic transcription The two main kinds of transcription are phonemic transcription, which uses only one symbol per phoneme, and phonetic transcription, which uses extra symbols in order to show the different variants (called allophones /ˈæləˌfoʊnz/) of phonemes in different contexts. Phonemic transcription is also known as broad transcription, and phonetic transcription as narrow or allophonic /ˌæləˈfɑnɪk/ transcription. The style of transcription we teach in this book is phonemic with three exceptions: • •

•

we use the symbol [t ̬] to indicate /t/-​voicing. See Section 3.8; we use the cover symbol [o]‌for the sport vowel, which can be analyzed as either an allophone of the thought /ɔ/ vowel or an allophone of the goat /oʊ/ vowel. See Sections 5.4 and A.3; we use the symbols [l̩ n̩ m̩ ŋ̍] to indicate that the phoneme sequences /əl ən əm əŋ/ are realized as syllabic consonants. See Section 9.1.

In this chapter we will briefly explain, demonstrate, and practice transcribing with the appropriate IPA symbols some of the most important allophones of the GA phonemes. Detailed articulatory descriptions of English sounds are beyond the scope of a book such as this. For further information, readers are advised to consult the phonetics textbooks in the References and Suggested Reading section.

B.2  Accurate IPA symbols It may seem surprising, but sometimes the phonemic symbols that are used for transcribing languages are not used with their specific IPA values. The reason for this is that there’s a tradition of avoiding the more exotic symbols

Appendix B: Phonetic transcription  145

in favor of the nearest non-​exotic symbol in order to make phonetic works cheaper and simpler to publish. There is one such case in the transcription of GA, namely: /r/  → [ɹ] In some cases, we have to combine IPA symbols with IPA diacritics /ˌdaɪəˈkrɪt ɪ̬ ks/ to represent sounds. These are marks added above and below the main symbol to modify the value of the symbol. We use the “opener” [ ̞ ], “closer” [ ̝ ], and “centralized” [ ̈ ] diacritics in order to more precisely specify the qualities of the GA vowels: /ɑ/  → [ɑ̈]

/ɔ/  →  [ɔ̞]

/ʊ/  → [ʊ̈]

/ɛ/  → [ɛ̝]

As mentioned in Section 2.3, when schwa /ə/ is followed by /r/ in the same syllable, the two phonemes /ər/ are realized as a single r-​colored vowel, known as “schwar.” The IPA symbol for this sound is [ɚ]. Whereas schwar has the same vowel quality in both stressed and unstressed syllables (i.e. [ɚ]), schwa has different qualities in stressed and unstressed syllables, stressed schwa having the opener quality represented by the IPA symbol [ɜ]. The length of the long vowels is indicated by using the IPA length mark [ː] after the vowel symbol, giving us the following symbols for the monophthongs: /ɑ/  → [ɑ̈ː]

/ɔ/  → [ɔ̞ː]

[o]  →  [oː]

/eɪ/  → [e̞ːɪ ̯] /oʊ/   → [ö̞ːʊ̯]

/aɪ/  → [äːɪ ̯] /aʊ/  → [äːʊ̯]

/ɔɪ/  → [ɔ̞ːɪ ̯]

Stressed schwar is also long and therefore accompanied by a length mark, i.e. [ɚː]. Note that the phonetic symbols for the kit and trap vowels are the same as those used for phonemic transcription, i.e. /ɪ/ = [ɪ], /æ/ = [æ]. In the case of the diphthongs, we include the length mark after the first element and add the IPA “non-​syllabic” diacritic [ ̯ ] under the second element to indicate that the [ɪ] and [ʊ] elements represent glides and not syllables in their own right. And so in a more precise phonetic transcription, the diphthongs are written:

In the case of the fleece and goose vowels, the choice of phonetic symbols is more complicated because they commonly have both monophthongal and diphthongal variants. While fleece and goose have phonemic symbols that suggest that they are monophthongs, diphthongal variants are not unusual, and so fleece can be transcribed phonetically as either [iː] or [ɪ ̝ːi̯ ], and goose can be transcribed as either [üː] or [ʊːü̯ ]. They tend to have their monophthongal realizations before intervocalic /r/ and voiceless consonants (see Section B.3).

146  Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1 ) Superman. Aberdeen. Observation. Elsewhere. Understated. Thighbone. 2) Cowboy. Snowplow. Forearm. Footprint. Aboard. Password. Toothbrush. The key to all exercises in Appendix B can be downloaded at paulcarley.com.

B.3  Variation in length There are more influences on vowel length than we can go into here, but three factors are worth integrating systematically into our phonetic transcriptions. First, there’s inherent length. All other things being equal, some GA vowels are longer (fleece, goose, palm, thought, sport, face, price, choice, mouth , goat and schwar), and we indicate this with the length mark [ː], while others are shorter (kit, dress, trap, foot, schwa), and so we don’t use a length mark with them. Second, there’s a phenomenon known as pre-​fortis clipping, which means that GA vowels are shorter when followed by a voiceless consonant in the same syllable. In such cases, we indicate the shortening of the inherently short vowels by using the “extra short” diacritic [ ̆ ], and indicate the shortening of the long vowels by using the IPA “half-​long” symbol [ˑ]. In the case of the fleece and goose vowels, there is a tendency for their shortened realizations to be monophthongal and their long realizations to be diphthongal, so we recommend following this patterning in phonetic transcriptions, i.e. transcribing [ɪ̝ːi̯ ] in bead, [iˑ] in beat, [ʊːü̯] in rude, [üˑ] in root. Pre-​ fortis clipping also affects sonorant consonants (i.e. nasals and approximants), and so in words like help and hint the sonorants are shortened together with the vowels. We show this shortening with the “extra short” diacritic [ ̆ ], for example [l̆ r̆ m̆ n̆ ŋ̆]. The third factor affecting vowel length that we recommend including in phonetic transcriptions is stress, vowels being shorter when unstressed. Because of the distribution of English vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables, it is really only the fleece and goose vowels of the inherently long vowels (together with schwar), and schwa and kit of the short vowels, that occur in unstressed syllables in the citation forms of words with any real frequency. We show this shortening with the half-​long mark [ˑ] for inherently long vowels and the extra short diacritic [ ̆ ] for the inherently short vowels (e.g. [iˑ] in happy, [üˑ] in fatuous, [ɚˑ] in letter) and the extra short diacritic [ ̆ ] for the inherently short vowels (e.g. [ɪ̆ ] in panic, [ə̆] in about).

Appendix B: Phonetic transcription  147

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1) Fleece. Kit. Goose. Foot. Scarce. Dress. Purse. Trap. Cart. Strut. Goat. Horse. 2) Lot. Face. Pricey. Voicing. About. Pierce. Continuous. Thought. Meaty. Ever.

B.4 Nasalization When vowels or approximants (i.e. /l r j w/) are next to a nasal consonant, i.e. /m n ŋ/, they tend to be somewhat nasalized. This is particularly true when the nasal consonant follows, and so we usually indicate this nasalization in phonetic transcriptions. The IPA diacritic for nasalization is a tilde [ ̃] placed above the symbol(s) (e.g. kiln [kɪl̃ ñ ], coin [kɔ̞ ːɪ ̃ ̯ n]). ̃

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far.

1) Theme. Sing. Doom. Woman. Elm. Gong. Fame. Line. Coin. Cairn. Men. Fern. 2) Hand. Farm. Corn. Cunning. London. Morning. Moment. Mountain. Film.

B.5  Aspiration and fricative /r/ In certain phonetic contexts, the voiceless plosives /p t k/ are aspirated, which means that voicing for the following sound begins with a slight delay, during which air from the lungs travels through the vocal tract giving the impression of a short [h]‌sound. The IPA diacritic for aspiration is [ʰ], and /p t k/ are aspirated [pʰ tʰ kʰ] at the beginning of stressed syllables, as in pick, tea, car. When /p t k/ are preceded by /s/ in the same syllable, they are unaspirated, as in spot, stick, skin. There’s no IPA diacritic for “unaspirated” because the default interpretation of the [p t k] symbols is that they are unaspirated. When dealing with English, however, phoneticians find it convenient to indicate more explicitly when [p t k] are unaspirated by using the non-​IPA diacritic [˭] and writing them [p˭ t˭ k˭]. At the end of syllables and at the beginning of unstressed syllables (as in mop, rat, lack; perform, tomorrow, career), /p t k/ can be accompanied by a certain amount of weak aspiration, but we don’t usually indicate this because it’s of lesser importance.

148  Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

When aspirated /p t k/ are followed by /r l j w/ in the same syllable (as in cross, play, cute, twin), the aspiration takes place during the articulation of /r l j w/ and takes the form of partial or complete devoicing of them. We indicate devoicing using the IPA diacritic for voicelessness [ ̥ ], for example [kɹ̥ pl̥ kj̊ tw̥ ] (not *[kʰɹ̥ pʰl̥ kʰj̊ tʰw̥]). There’s no devoicing of /r l j w/, of course, when /s/ precedes /p t k/ (as in spray, splint, skew, square) because there’s no aspiration. Note, however, that the /str/ cluster (as in street) is exceptional in that the /r/ is devoiced despite the presence of the /s/. When transcribing /r/ after /t/ and /d/ in the same syllable, it’s enough to transcribe /tr/ phonetically as [tɹ̥ ] to show that the /r/ is both voiceless and fricative since devoiced approximants are usually somewhat fricative. In the case of voiced /dr/, however, there is a significant distinction between voiced approximants and voiced fricatives, and so to specify that the /r/ in /dr/ is realized as a fricative, we use the “closer” diacritic [ ̝], which in this context transforms the symbol for a voiced approximant into the next narrower (or “closer”) manner of articulation, which is a voiced fricative, giving [dɹ̝].

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1) Stop. Drown. Support. Spin. Attain. Skid. Prop. Drip. Spew. Quit. Pin. Squint. 2) Cute. Drill. Top. Twin. Square. Plain. Screw. Kid. Cry. Spring. Account. Dry.

B.6  Devoicing of obstruents The voiced obstruents, i.e. /b d ɡ ʤ v ð z ʒ/, become somewhat devoiced when they are adjacent to a pause or a voiceless consonant, i.e. /p t k ʧ f θ s ʃ h/. Devoicing is shown using the “voiceless” diacritic [ ̥ ], for example [b̥] and [d̥] in bad. In clusters of voiced obstruents at the ends of words (e.g. /ɡd/ in begged, /ʤd/ in bridged), the first obstruent is partially devoiced and the second completely devoiced, both being shown with the voiceless diacritic (e.g. [ɡ̊d̥ ʤ̊d̥ ]).

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1) Outdoors. Judged. Badge. Football. Dog. Breakdown (n.). Daze. Cheesecake. 2) Inkjet. Latvia. Bathe. Lobster. Rouge. Robbed. Hardship. Vegetable. Pleased.

Appendix B: Phonetic transcription  149

B.7  Glottal reinforcement and glottal replacement When the voiceless stops, i.e. /p t k ʧ/, occur at the end of a syllable, are preceded by a vowel, approximant, or nasal, and are followed by a consonant or pause, they are often accompanied by a glottal stop, a phenomenon known as glottal reinforcement. In the case of /ʧ/, glottal reinforcement is possible even if a vowel follows. We indicate glottal reinforcement with the IPA symbol for a glottal stop [ʔ], for example [ʔp ʔt ʔk ʔʧ]. In the case of /t/, glottal reinforcement often goes a step further and becomes glottal replacement, meaning that the /t/ phoneme is realized as a glottal stop [ʔ]. We indicate glottal replacement by replacing [t]‌with [ʔ].

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1 ) Hot water. Hop. Kept. Roots. Bitch. Football. Technical. Hatchet. 2) Start. Not that. Look down. Look. Locked. Upbeat. Walk. Flat tire.

B.8  Fronting, retracting, and lip-​rounding Certain consonants tend to be influenced by the place of articulation of surrounding sounds, particularly following consonants. When /l n t d/ are followed by a dental consonant, i.e. /θ ð/, in either the same word or a following word, their alveolar place of articulation becomes a fronter, dental place of articulation. We show this with the IPA “dental” diacritic [ ̪ ], for example [l̪ n̪ t̪  d̪]. When /l n t d/ are followed by /r/, their place of articulation becomes post-​ alveolar, and when /n t d/ are followed by /ʧ/ or /ʤ/, their place of articulation becomes palato-​alveolar. Both changes involve a more retracted place of articulation and so we use the IPA “retracted” diacritic [ ̠ ] to indicate this, for example [ḻ n ṯ ḏ]. When /k/ and /ɡ/ are followed by /j/ or a front vowel, i.e. fleece, kit, face , trap , their place of articulation moves forward a little. We indicate this with the IPA “advanced” diacritic [ ̟ ], for example [k̟ ɡ̟]. When /k/ and /ɡ/ are followed by a back vowel, i.e. palm, thought, sport, choice, goat, their place of articulation moves back a little. We indicate this with the IPA “retracted” diacritic [ ̠ ] for example [ḵ ɡ̠]. When consonants or consonant clusters precede the lip-​rounded phonemes /w/, /u/, /oʊ/, /ɔɪ/, /ɔ/, or [o]‌, they become lip-​rounded in anticipation of the following sound. The technical term for lip-​rounding is labialization and the IPA diacritic for “labialization” is [ʷ], for example [tʷ] in twin, too, toe, toy, taught, torn.

150  Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

The palato-​alveolar consonants /ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/ and post-​alveolar /r/ include lip-​ rounding as an inherent part of their articulation and are therefore transcribed phonetically as [ʃʷ ʒʷ ʧʷ ʤʷ ɹʷ].

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

In June. Walrus. Eat this. Sunrise. Tall. Kiss. Bad results. Core. Lunch. Bloodthirsty. Geese. Well, then. Brown rice. Tenth. Quiz. Chitchat. Go. Ten things. Godchild. Swim. Guard. Dwell. Good job. Children. Country. Get ready. Well read. Eighth. Fall. Hot chocolate. Healthy. Red thread.  Do.

B.9  Dark /l/ Since /l/ is articulated with the tip of the tongue, the rest of the tongue is able to take a variety of positions. For GA /l/, particularly before a consonant or pause, the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate, a process called velarization. The IPA symbol for velarized /l/ is [ɫ], as in belt. Velarized /l/ is also known as dark /l/. When /l/ occurs before a consonant or a pause, its velarization can noticeably affect the realization of an immediately preceding vowel. Because of the raising of the back of the tongue for velarized /l/, the front vowels kit and dress (e.g. in pill, bell) are retracted to more centralized positions (i.e. [ɘ] and [ɛ̈]), while the central mid vowels foot and schwa (e.g. pull, dull) are retracted to backer positions (i.e. [ʊ] and [ʌ̈]). When the strongly velarized preconsonantal and prepausal /l/ follows the fleece vowel (e.g. field/feel) and the closing-​fronting diphthongs face , price , and choice (e.g. fails/fail, files/file, foils/foil), which glide toward the fleece vowel position, a brief non-​syllabic schwa can sometimes be inserted between the vowel and the velarized /l/. This process is known as breaking, and we transcribe it [iːə̯] for fleece, [e̞ːɪ ̯ə̯] for face, [äː ɪ ̯ə̯] for price, and [ɔːɪ ̯ə̯] for choice . Breaking can also occur with the goose vowel (e.g. fooled/fool) and the closing-​backing diphthongs goat and mouth (e.g. rolled/foal, howled/foul), which glide towards the goose vowel position, but there are more alternatives than in the case of fleece and the closing-​fronting diphthongs. While mouth tends to undergo breaking in the same way as fleece and the closing-​fronting diphthongs, resulting in [äːʊ̯ə̯], both the broken and non-​broken variants of goose have a retracted vowel, i.e. [uːə̯] and [uː]. For the goat vowel, breaking, which results in [ö̞ːʊ̯ə̯], is relatively rare, a monophthong [ɔ̝̈ː] being the most common variant before velarized /l/. Breaking of fleece and goose can also occur before preconsonantal and prepausal /r/, e.g. [iːə̯] in fear and [üːə̯] in lure.

Appendix B: Phonetic transcription  151

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1) Dear. Rule. Meal. Pull. Pale. Still. Bell. Moor. Coil. Howl. Mile. Cull. Coal.

B.10  Release stage of plosives Plosives involve a complete closure in the vocal tract, stopping the airflow from the lungs. The closure can be released in a number of ways. When a plosive is followed by a nasal, which can be syllabic, with the same place of articulation (i.e. /p b/ + /m/, /t d/ + /n/, /k ɡ/ + /ŋ/), it can be released by lowering the soft palate, a process known as nasal release. The IPA diacritic for “nasal release” is [ⁿ], for example [pⁿ] in stop me, [dⁿ] in red nails. When /t/ or /d/ are followed by /l/, including syllabic /l/, they are released by lowering the sides of the tongue, a process known as lateral release. The IPA diacritic for “lateral release” is [ˡ], for example [tˡ] in butler, [dˡ] in bad luck. When a plosive is followed by a stop (i.e. plosive or affricate) with the same place of articulation (including retracted [ṯ ḏ] before /ʧ ʤ/), the first plosive is not released and instead the two plosives share a single long closure. There is no IPA diacritic for “unreleased plosive,” but phoneticians often use a superscript zero [0], for example [p0p] in ripe pair, [d0t] in red tie, [ɡ0k] in big cat, [ḏ0ʧ] in hard cheese (note that in this last example, /d/ has the same place of articulation as /ʧ/, see Section B.8). When a plosive is followed by a stop (i.e. plosive or affricate) with a different place of articulation, the release of the first plosive is masked by the closure made for the second plosive and therefore inaudible. The IPA diacritic for “inaudible release” is [˺], for example [k˺t] in lack time, [k˺b] in thick book, [p˺ɡ] in cheap gift, [b˺ʤ] in superb job. Inaudible release of plosives can also occur utterance-​finally before pauses, for example [p˺] in stop, [d˺] in hide.

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1 ) 2) 3) 4)

Sick. Submerge. Dig. Partner. Rub. Kidney. Hop. Slightly. Midday. Padlock. Eggplant. Top pocket. Drugged. Nighttime. Big toe. Bad joke. Bookcase. Sector. Egypt. Jukebox. Lapdog. Cockpit. Napkin. Sick child. Scapegoat. Robbed. Inspect. Rugby. Weekday. Shipment. Subculture.

B.11  Labio-​dental nasal [ɱ] and allophones of /h/ When /n/ or /m/ are followed by labio-​dental fricatives /f v/, they can be realized as a labio-​dental nasal [ɱ], e.g. in invent, symphony.

152  Appendix B: Phonetic transcription

When /h/ is between vowels, as in ahead or a head, it can have a voiced allophone. The IPA symbol for a voiced glottal fricative is [ɦ]. When /h/ is followed by /j/, as in huge, it can be realized as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], i.e. [çjuʤ], or the /h/ and /j/ can merge to form [ç], i.e. [çuʤ].

Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1) Human. Comfy. A  hat. Let him. Humid. Infant. A  hand. Humane. Influence. 2) In fact. Behind. A lot of. Humor. Emphasis. Hue. Warehouse. Pamphlet. Better.

B.12  Chapter revision Transcribe these words phonetically, including all the phonetic details covered so far. 1) Overwhelmed. Driving. Beauty. October. Thwarted. Hue. Squirming. Accept. 2) Victim. Sponge. Cold. Whilst. Jogged. Indulged. Cabbage. Skeptic. Plectrum. 3) Lightning. Popcorn. Imperial. Strategy. Traumatic. Atlas. Chipmunk. Proudly.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READING

Phonemic and phonetic transcription Edwards, Harold T. & Gregg, Alvin L. (2003) Applied Phonetics Workbook:  A Systematic Approach to Phonetic Transcription. San Diego: Singular Publishing Group. Garn-​ Nunn, Pamela G. (2015) Calvert’s Descriptive Phonetics and Transcription Workbook. Fourth edn. New York: Thieme. Harbers, Heidi (2013) A Phonetics Workbook for Students: Building a Foundation for Transcription. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. IPA (1999) Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pronunciation dictionaries Jones, Daniel, Roach, Peter, Esling, John, & Setter, Jane (2011) Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary. Eighteenth edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University  Press. Perrault, S. J. (Ed.) (2008) Merriam-​Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-​Webster. Upton, Clive & Kretzschmar Jr, William A. (2017) The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English. Second edn. Abingdon: Routledge. Wells, J. C. (2008) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Third edn. Harlow:  Pearson Education.

Intonation Cruttenden, Alan (1997) Intonation. Second edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. O’Connor, J. D. & Arnold, G. F. (1973) Intonation of Colloquial English. Second edn. London Longman. Wells, J. C. (2006) English Intonation:  An Introduction. Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press.

154  References and suggested reading

English phonetics Boberg, Charles (2015) “North American English.” In: Reed, Marnie & Levis, John M. (eds). The Handbook of English Pronunciation (pp. 227–​250). Chichester; Malden, MA: Wiley-​Blackwell. Carley, Paul & Mees, Inger M. (2020) American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice. Abingdon: Routledge. Collins, Beverley, Mees, Inger M., & Carley, Paul (2019) Practical English Phonetics and Phonology. Fourth edn. Abingdon: Routledge. Ladefoged, Peter & Johnson, Keith (2014) A Course in Phonetics. Seventh edn. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth. Wells, J. C. (1982) Accents of English 1:  Introduction. Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press. Yavaş, Mehmet (2020) Applied English Phonology. Fourth edn. Chichester: Wiley-​Blackwell.

General phonetics Ashby, Patricia (2011) Understanding Phonetics. Abingdon: Routledge. Catford, J. C. (2001) A Practical Introduction to Phonetics. Second edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ladefoged, Peter, & Disner, Sandra Ferrari (2012) Vowels and Consonants:  An Introduction to the Sounds of Language. Third edn. Oxford: Blackwell.

INDEX

accent (variety) 25–​27, 67, 141 accent(ed) (intonation) 114–​116, 123 affricate 14, 15, 41–​44, 103, 135–​137, 151 allophone 26, 91, 141, 144, 151–​152 allophonic transcription 144 alveolar 11, 17, 43, 59, 84, 91–​96, 134–​137, 149, 150 American English 17 approximant 15, 41, 42, 135, 136, 139, 146–​149 articles 71–​72, 83 aspiration 147–​148 assimilation 44, 66, 91–​105 back vowel 149 backing diphthong 141–​143, 150 bilabial 43, 91–​93, 95, 98–​100, 102, 134, 136 brackets xix breaking 150 broad transcription 144 central vowel 140, 145, 150 centralized vowel 145, 150 checked vowel 141 citation form 65–​69, 84, 85, 91, 114, 115, 146 close vowel 35 closing diphthong 141–​143, 150 closing-​backing diphthong 141–​143, 150 closing-​fronting diphthong 141–​143, 150 coalescent assimilation 96–​98 compound 47, 48, 52–​53, 65, 69, 84–​86, 88–​89, 91, 92, 94–​96, 98, 101

conjunctions 60, 80–​81 connected speech 17, 65–​69, 84, 85, 91, 105–​110 consonants: familiar 3–​8; unfamiliar 13–​18 contraction 69–​81, 84, 100 dark l 150–​151 dental 43–​44, 102, 134, 136, 149–​151 desyllabification 44–​45 devoicing (of obstruents) 103, 148 diacritic 145–​149, 151 digraph 4 diphthong 31–​33, 35, 36, 39, 141–​143, 145–​147, 150 elision 66, 67, 84–​90, 98–​99, 101, 103–​110 epenthesis 55–​61 fall-​rise (intonation) 114, 115, 119–​121, 123–​125 falling head (intonation) 115, 123–​125 free vowel 141 fricative 14, 15, 26, 41–​44, 59, 96, 102–​103, 135, 136, 138, 147–​148, 151, 152 front vowel 141, 149, 150 fronting 149–​150; diphthong 141–​143, 150 General American (GA) 6, 38, 67, 134–​136, 140–​142, 144–​146, 150 General British (GB) 6, 67

156 Index

glottal 91, 135, 149, 152; reinforcement 91, 149; replacement 149 head (intonation) 115–​116 high fall (intonation) 114–​115, 117–​121, 124, 125 high head (intonation) 115, 116, 123–​125 high rise (intonation) 114, 118–​121, 124, 125 high vowel 33, 103 homophone 5–​7, 10, 11, 13–​16, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27–​29, 31–​33, 35, 36, 38, 41, 43, 55, 58, 60 inaudible release (of plosives) 151 inflection: -​ed 55–​57; -​s 57–​59 International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) 4, 5, 9, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 28, 32, 36, 40, 46, 140, 144–​152 intonation 66, 68–​9, 113–​121, 124, 125, 129–​132 intonation phrase (IP) 66, 114–​117, 120, 121, 123, 125 labial velar 135, 136 labialization see lip-​rounding labio-​dental 134, 136, 151–​152 labio-​dental nasal [ɱ] 151–​152 lateral approximant 135, 136 lateral release 151 length mark 19–​22, 24, 25, 28, 145, 146 liaison 65–​67, 105–​110 ligature 5, 14, 15, 18 linking /​j/​ and /​w/​ 67 lip-​rounding 149–​150 low fall (intonation) 114, 117–​121, 124, 125 low rise (intonation) 114, 115, 118–​121, 124, 125 low vowel 35, 114, 115, 118 manner of articulation 102, 133, 135, 136, 148 mid vowel 150 modal verbs 69, 70, 78–​80, 82 monophthong 19, 21, 31, 35, 141–​143, 145, 146, 150 monosyllabic 9, 66, 68, 69, 73, 75, 114 narrow transcription 144 nasal 41–​43, 59, 91, 92, 102, 135, 136, 138, 139, 146, 147, 149, 151–​152; release 102, 151 nasalization 147

non-​syllabic 43, 145, 150 nuclear tones 114–​115, 117–​123 nucleus 114–​123, 125–​127 obstruent 103, 135, 148 onset (intonation) 115, 116, 123 open vowel 85, 92, 102 palatal 15, 135, 136, 152 palato-​alveolar 11, 43, 135–​137, 149, 150 personal pronouns 69–​70 phoneme 3, 4, 9–​11, 14, 15, 17, 20, 22, 25, 28, 33, 36, 40, 96, 144, 145, 149; transcription 3, 4, 15, 26, 69, 113, 123, 132, 144 phonetic transcription 144–​152 place of articulation 59, 91–​95, 133, 135, 136, 149, 151 plosive 14, 15, 41–​43, 59, 84, 91, 93–​95, 99, 102, 103, 135–​137, 147, 151 polysyllabic 9, 114 possessive adjectives 70–​71 post-​alveolar 135, 136, 150 pre-​fortis clipping 146 pre-​head (intonation) 114, 116, 123–​128 prepositions 72–​73, 80, 82, 83 primary stress 9–​12, 46–​50, 52, 66, 68, 69, 114, 115, 123 quantifiers 71–​72 r-​colored vowel 10, 145 release stage of plosives 151 retracting 149–​151 schwa 6–​11, 13, 20–​23, 25, 28, 39, 40, 51–​52, 140–​142, 145, 146, 150 schwar 9–​11, 24–​30, 39, 141, 145, 146 secondary stress: pre-​primary 48–​50, 69; post-​primary 48–​51 serif 4 sonorant 135, 146 stress 4, 6, 8–​12, 17, 20, 22–​30, 39, 46–​54, 57, 65, 66, 68–​83, 114, 115, 120, 123, 141, 145–​147 strong form 69–​71, 74, 80, 82–​83 suffix: -​ed 55, 57, 84; -edly 57; -​s 58, 59, 61; -​ment 51, 91; -ate 51, 52; -ary 51, 52; -ory 51, 52; -ery 51, 52; -ony 51, 52 syllabic consonant 40–​45, 72, 99, 144 tail (intonation) 13, 14, 16, 31, 40, 71, 110, 114, 115, 117–​122, 125–​127

Index  157

teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) 6, 19, 21, 24, 25, 28, 67, 69 to-​infinitive 73 tongue height 140 transcription 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 15, 17, 26, 37, 33, 36, 40–​41, 48, 65–​67, 69, 102, 113, 123, 132, 141, 144–​152 t-​tapping see t-​voicing t-​voicing 13–​18, 26, 40, 144, 147 unreleased plosive 151 unstressed 5, 6, 9–​12, 17, 20–​23, 28, 41, 43, 44, 46, 49, 51–​52, 57, 60, 65, 69–​73, 75, 79, 81, 83, 97, 120, 141, 145–​147

velar 11, 26, 43, 91, 92, 94, 95, 98–​100, 102, 135, 136 velarization 150 vocal folds 119, 133–​135 vocal tract 133–​136, 140, 147, 151 voiced 15, 17, 26, 41, 55, 58, 60, 74, 76, 93, 94, 103, 119–​120, 134–​136, 140, 148, 152 voiceless 26, 55, 58, 59, 74, 76, 77, 95, 103, 134–​137, 145–​149, 152 voicing 17, 102, 103, 119–​120, 133–​137, 144, 147 weak form 41, 44, 68–​83, 102, 105–​110 weakening 66, 69 word stress 9, 50–​51, 68