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Introduction to phonetics and
English phonology:
Sounds in Context
Stress
Sounds in context
Sounds in isolation are sometimes
different from sounds in words
Words in isolation are sometimes
pronounced differently from words in
sentences
Why doesn’t synthethic speech sound
natural?
• All sounds tend to be pronounced in all
words.
• The stress patterns are not natural, or all
words are stressed equally much
A sound in a word can be different from a
sound in isolation, because
neighbouring sounds affect each other.
In English, a sound in one word can also
affect a sound in a neighbouring word,
especially in rapid speech.
Some of the processes of change are
• linking /r/ and intrusive /r/ in RP
• assimilation
• elision
• weak forms of some words in connected
speech
Assimilation
Assimilation means that the
pronunciation of a sound is influenced by
a sound that comes immediately after
(regressive) or immediately before
(progressive).
Swedish example of regressive
assimilation: min bil where /n/ becomes
/m/ because of the following /b/.
Regressive assimilation
A sound is changed by the following
sound.
Examples:
light blue /laıp blu:/ /t/ → /p/
gunpoint /ˈgumpɔınt/ /n/ → /m/
ten cups /teŋ kʌps/ /n/ → /ŋ/
Progressive assimilation
A sound is changed by the previous sound.
Examples:
washed
loved
/wɒʃt/ /ıd/ → /t/
/lʌvd/ /ıd/ → /d/
Elision
Elision means that a sound is omitted
(removed), in particular in rapid or casual
speech. Especially noticeable in consonant
clusters. Elision makes a word or phrase
easier to pronounce.
don’t know /doʊnt noʊ/ → /dəˈnoʊ/
fifth
/fɪfθ/ → /fɪθ/
George the Sixth’s throne
/siksθs θrəʊn/ → /siksθrəʊn/
Weak forms of words
Many function words have a strong and a
weak form.
These words come from the following word
classes: Auxiliaries, conjunctions,
prepositions, determiners, pronouns.
There are about 40 such words in English.
Weak forms of words
• Reduced vowel to /ə/ or /ı/
• Reduced or removed /h/ at the
beginning of words
• End consonant reduced (esp. in and)
Strong and weak forms
The strong form is normally used
• at the end of a sentence (pronouns can
have the weak form at the end of
sentences)
• for emphasis or contrast
Strong and weak forms
The
• Weak forms: /ðə/ (before consonants) “Shut
the door”
/ðı/ (before vowels) “Wait for the end”
• Strong form: /ði:/ “He is the man to ask”
Strong and weak forms
and
• Weak forms: /ən/, /n/ “I’d like to meet
John and Jack.”
• Strong form: /ænd/ “I said that I’d like to
meet John and Jack, not John or Jack.”
Strong and weak forms
some
• Weak form: /səm/ “Have some more”
• Strong form: /sʌm/ “I’ve had some”
Strong and weak forms
him
• Weak form: /ım/ “I met him there.”
• Strong form: /hım/ “I asked him, not
her.”
Stress
When a syllable in a word is pronounced
more forcefully than the other syllables,
we say that the syllable is stressed.
Stress
• Word stress (which syllable in a word is
stressed)
• Sentence stress (which word(s) in a
sentence is/are stressed)
Word stress
Some words have a primary (stronger)
stress and a secondary (weaker) stress.
anthropology /ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒı/
appendicitis /əˌpendəˈsaıtıs/
beneficial
/ˌbenəˈfıʃəl/
Word stress
The placement of stress in English words
is so difficult to predict that it’s best to
learn the stress when one learns the
word.
Word stress
Words with two or three syllables are often stressed on
the first syllable.
ar•ti•cle
a•ve•rage
ba•lance
me•nu
mo•del
spe•ci•men
Note that “cafe” has different stress in RP and GA!
Word stress
Words with more than three syllables are
normally stressed on the third syllable
from the end.
a•ca•de•my
am•bi•gu•i•ty
de•mo•cra•cy
hy•po•the•sis
Word stress
These suffixes are stressed:
-ee (refugee)
-eer (mountaineer)
-ese (Japanese)
-esque (picturesque)
Regular stress shifts
Words with two syllables that can be both
a noun/adjective and a verb have a
regular stress shift pattern.
The noun/adjective is stressed on the first
syllable, the verb is stressed on the
second syllable.
con•duct (n)
ab•stract (adj or n)
in•sult (n)
ex•port (n)
per•fect (adj)
re•cord (n)
con•duct (v)
ab•stract (v)
in•sult (v)
ex•port (v)
per•fect (v)
re•cord (v)
Sentence stress
Typically, the lexical words (content
words) are stressed. Function words are
typically unstressed.
Thank you for listening!