CONNECTED SPEECH Sounds and simplifications in connected speech 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. ASSIMILATION. ELISION. VOWEL REDUCTION. LINKING AND INTRUSIVE. JUNCTURE.

WEAK AND STRONG FORMS; CONTRACTIONS.

1.- Assimilation Assimilation occurs when a phoneme changes its quality due to the influence of a neighbouring sound. It changes to become more like the neighbouring sound, or even identical to it. Here are examples of the main kinds of assimilation in English. See if you can identify them. Say the following phrases first as isolated words and then several times as connected speech. Do you change any of the sounds at the word boundaries? ten pin bowling in bed good boy hit man tin man good girl this shop these shops have to go how d'you do don't you know

Assimilation is the natural result of the various speech organs 'cutting corners as they perform their complex sequence of movements, and this occurs mostly at word boundaries and affects mainly consonant sounds. Although assimilation follows fairly regular patterns, the most common of which are set out above, it is different in different languages. Learners cannot therefore simply apply then mother tongue assimilations to English. Learners who do not assimilate at all may sound finicky, over-precise, too careful, and where their mother tongue assimilation patterns intrude they may be difficult for English listeners to follow. Lack of appropriate assimilation in the stream of speech can inhibit the use of English rhythm and intonation patterns, leading to a loss of both fluency and clarity of meaning. I don't think it is necessarily helpful for learners to learn the rules governing assimilation. What is much more important is that you, the teacher, draw your learners' attention to examples of assimilation when they arise, either in recordings or while speaking in class.

2.- Elision: Elision occurs when a sound which would be present in a word spoken in isolation is omitted in connected speech. Discovery activity 61 Elision It is mainly fx/ and /d/ that are elided in English, particularly when they are between two other consonants. Experiment yourself with the possible omissions in these phrases:

Like assimilation, elision is a natural result of the speech organs 'cutting comers' in connected speech, mainly at word boundaries. It applies particularly to consonant sounds, and as with assimilation, speakers who do not elide may sound over-meticulous and rather crisp in their articulation. It may also be more difficult for them to use intonation and rhythm patterns with fluency. When learners become aware that a number of phonemes they might expect to hear are not actually produced, and when they discover that they can make these sounds disappear in then own speech, they begin to gain an insight which helps them when they listen to rapid connected English. Elision and assimilation together Learners of English often remark on the way English speakers seem to 'swallow' the sounds. Usually what they are observing is the combined action of assimilation, elision and vowel reduction.

3.- Vowel reduction Unaccented vowels in the stream of speech are characterized by a reduction in length, and a change in quality towards a less distinct, more central vowel sound. Most monophthongs reduce towards //. This process is sometimes called centralization since the // sound is produced with the lips and jaw relaxed and the tongue in a central, neutral position. However, the two monophthongs /i:/ and /u:/are often only partially centralized, /i:/ reducing towards /I/ and /u:/ reducing towards //. Say these two sentences rapidly, stressing the underlined syllables and unstressing the others: You and me I wish you would tell me How does the vowel sound in you change from the first to the second sentence? And how does me change?

4.- Linking and intrusive

5.- Juncture

5.- Weak and strong forms

7.contractions