SCAN0091 (3)

292 Introduction to the Pronunciation of English

11.09 Phonemic assimilations involving nasality (i.e. anticipation or prolongation of the lowered soft palate position) would be likely to show /b/ (or /v/) > /m/, /d/ (or /z/ or /ó/) > /n/, /g/ > /rj/, such changes being based on roughly homorganic mouth articulations; nasalization of other sounds, e.g. /I/ or vowels, is never phonemic, there being no nasalized counterpart with approximately homorganic mouth articulation. Such phonemic nasalization as does occur concerns mainly the alveolars, especially adjacent to the negative ’nt /n(t)/, and is characteristic of very rapid speech, often as a popular form unaccept-able in RP (marked * in the examples below), e.g.:—

/d. > n/—He wouldnt do it /hi 'wonn(t) ,du: it/ good news /'gun jijuiz/

/d > g > r)—He wouldnd go /hi 'wor)r)(k) ,gao/

/d > b > m/—Good morning /,gom 'momig/

/v > m/:—You can have minę /jo kg ,hasm 'main/

(In the above examples, the nasalized assimilated form may be elided altogether.)

/z > n/—He doesn7 know /hi 'dAnn(t) ,noo/ *

/5 > n/—He wasn't there /hi 'wonn(t) _snca/ * to win the race /ta 'win na _xreis/ *

The extension of labialization produces no changes of a phonemic kind, sińce lip-position is not a distinctive feature opposing any two phonemes in RP. /d/ and /a:/ come nearest to having an opposition of lip action, but the lip-rounding for /o/ is very slight and open and, in any case, there is some difference of tongue position and considerable difference of length. Where /w/ precedes a vowel of the /a:/ type (and, therefore, might be expected to exert a rounding influence), either labialization has become established at an earlier stage of the lan-guage’s development (e.g. in was, what, war, water, etc.) or two pro-nunciations are to-day permitted, e.g. ąualm /kwa:m/ or /kwo:m/, ąuaff /kwof/ or /kwa:f/. Labialization of /ar/ involving a phonemic change to /d/ or /o:/ does not extend beyond word boundaries, e.g. in two arms or the car won’t go. Some confusion may, however, occur between a strongly centralized form of /au/ and /31/ in a labial context, cf. they weren't wantedand they won't want it; also, with the influence of a strongly labialized form of /r/ in such a pair as they w er en 7 right, they won't write.

11.10 Elision

Apart from word internal elisions (see §9.06) and those associated with weak forms, sounds may be elided in rapid, colloąuial speech, especially at or in the vicinity of word boundaries.

The Word in Connected Speech 293

(1)    Vowels.—Initial /a/ is often elided, particularly when followed by a continuant and preceded by a word finał consonant (compensa-tion for the loss of /a/ freąuently being madę by the syllabicity of the continuant), e.g. not alone /'nDtl daon/, get another /'getn 'nAdo/, run along /'rAnl dog/, he was annoyed /hi wazn 'noid/; or again, when an appropriate vowel precedes, word initial /a/ may coalesce with the preceding yowel,¹ e.g. go away /,g3i 'wei/, try again [,tra: 'gen), or, when finał /a/ occurs with following linking /r/ and word initial vowel, /a/ may be elided, e.g. after a while /‘cuftra /wali/, as a matter offact /az a jmaetrav ,faskt/, father and son /'faióran _vSAn/, over and above /'aovran a,bAv/.

(2) Consonants.—In addition to the loss of /h/ in pronominal weak forms and other consonantal elisions typical of weak forms,² the alveolar plosives are apt to be elided. Such elision appears to take place most readily, in rapid speech, in the seąuence continuant consonant + /t/ or /d/ (e.g. /-st, -ft, -Jt, -nd, -ld, -zd, -5d, -vd/) followed by a word with an initial consonant e.g. next day, raced back, last chance,first light, west region, just one; left tum, soft centres, left wheel, drift by, soft roes; mashed potatoes, finished now, finished late, pushed them; bend back, tinned meat, lend-lease, found five, send round, dined well; hołd tight, old man, cold lunch, boldface, world religion; refused both, gazedpast, caused losses, raisedgently; loathed beer; moved back, loved fiowers, saved runs, served sherry, etc. Similarly, word finał clusters of plosive or affricate + /t/ or /d/ (e.g. /-pt, -kt, -tjt, -bd, -gd, -d3d/) may lose the finał alveolar stop when the following word has an initial consonant, e.g. kept quiet, helped me, stopped speaking, jumped well; likedjam, thankedme, lookedlike, lookedfine, pickedone; reached Paris, fetched me, reached Romę, parched throat; robbed both, rubbed gently, grabbed them; lagged behind, dragged down, begged one; changed colour, urged them, arranged roses, judged fairly, etc. (In the seąuence /-skt/, /k/ rather than /t/ is often elided, e.g. risked prison, asked them.) Elision of finał /t/ or /d/ is rarer before initial /h/, e.g. the alveolar stops are morę regularly retained in kept hołd, worked hard, East Ham, reached home, gift horse, rushed home, grabbed hołd, round here, bald head, jugged hctre, changed horses, raised hands, moved house, etc. Finał seąuences /-nt, -lt/ tend to keep either /t/ or [?], the appropriate reduction of preceding sounds being retained as a result of the finał fortis plosive, e.g. in sent back, count them, can't fail; felt bad, built near, salt lakę, etc. Finał /t, d/ followed by a word beginning with /j/ are usually kept in a coalesced form with /j/, i.e. /tf/ or /d3/, e.g. helped you, liked you, lost you, left you, grabbed you, lend you, told you,

^xFor the absorption of the second element of a diphthong before another vowel, see §7.27.

² See also §8.07.