rhythm and connected speech

Question 1

rhythm

Answer 1

= the recurrence of prominent elements of speech at what are perceived to be regular intervals of time These prominent elements can either be stressed syllables or all syllables!

Question 2

stressed syllables are

Answer 2

● higher or lower pitch
● longer duration
● more intensity (loudness)
● vowels articulated towards the periphery of the vowel space

Question 3

syllable-timed rhythm

Answer 3

= equal numbers of syllables occur within time intervals, regardless of stress

Question 4

stress-timed rhythm

Answer 4

= stressed syllables tend to follow each other in roughly similar time intervals
● the times from each stressed syllable to the next tend to be the same, regardless of the
number of unstressed syllables

Question 5

foot

Answer 5

= unit of rhythm that begin with a stressed syllable and include all the following unstressed syllables → tend to be equally long
“GIVE it to me now”

Question 6

strong-weak pattern

Answer 6

→ some feet are stronger than others, producing strong-weak patterns in larger pieces of speech above the level of the foot

Question 7

metrical grid

Answer 7

= the strength of any particular syllable is measured by counting up the number of times an s symbol occurs above it
→ applies to slow speech, but not necessarily to normal speech

Question 8

stress-shift

Answer 8

= tendency towards a regular alternation between stronger and weaker syllables
→ it is easiest to maintain stress-timing (= equally long time intervals between stressed syllables, if stressed (strong) and unstressed (weak) syllables alternate)

compact (adjective) kəm’paekt but compact disk ‘kompaekt ‘disk

Question 9

variation in rhythm

Answer 9

→ degree of rhythmicality varies between a minimum value (arrhythmical) and maximum value (completely stress-timed rhythm)
example: very rhythmical in public speaking but arrhythmical when we are hesitant or nervous

Question 10

assimilation

Answer 10

= a major consequence of co-articulation; a sound can become more like a neighbouring sound in fast connected speech
assimilation can turn a given phoneme into a different one (Cf (final consonant) and Ci (initial consonant))

Question 11

regressive assimilation

Answer 11

= the first sound is influenced by the second
Cf changes to become like Ci

Question 12

progressive assimilation

Answer 12

= the second sound is influenced by the first
Ci changes to become like Cf

Question 13

coalescent assimilation

Answer 13

= assimilation in both directions: the combination of two sounds produces a “new” sound

“Don’t you” → /dəʊnt ju/ → /dəʊntʃu/

Question 14

assimilation of place

Answer 14

can be regressive/ progressive assimilation

Question 15

assimilation of manner, regressive

Answer 15

final plosive becomes a fricative or nasal
“Good night” → /ɡʊd naɪt/ → /ɡʊn naɪt/

Question 16

progressive assimilation of manner

Answer 16

initial ð follows a plosive or nasal at the end of a preceding word
→ Ci becomes identical in manner to Cf but with a dental place of articulation
“Have” → /hæv/ → /hæf/

Question 17

coalescent assimilation of voice

Answer 17

if Cf is voiced and Ci is voiceless → voiced Cf has no voicing

/hæv tu/ → /hæf tu/

Question 18

assimilation within morphemes

Answer 18

• place of articulation of nasal consonants is always determined by the following consonants voice with suffixes /s/ and /z/

input -> imput

Question 19

elision

Answer 19

= in rapid, casual speech certain sounds disappear, in a certain circumstance a phoneme may be realised as zero/ have zero realisation/ be deleted

Question 20

weak vowels (fortis plosives)

Answer 20

loss of weak vowels after fortis plosives

the vowel in the first syllable may disappear, the aspiration of the initial plosive replaces the vowel
“Subtle”

Full form: /ˈsʌbtl̩/
Reduced form: /ˈsʌtl̩/
The /ə/ is dropped after the /t/, which is a fortis plosive.

Question 21

weak vowels + n, l, r

Answer 21

become syllabic

Question 22

consonants in (complex) clusters elision

Answer 22

in a cluster of three plosives or two plosives and one fricative, the middle plosive may disappear
examples: acts /aeks/, facts /faeks/, vastness /vasness/

loss of /v/ in “of” before consonants
examples: lots ə them, waist ə money

loss of vowel in “of”
before voiced consonant → voiced /v/ before voiceless consonant → voiceless /f/
→ ɔːl v maɪn → bɛst f θriː

Question 23

linking

Answer 23

= a transition between sounds; a sound is introduced at the end of the word if the following syllable begins with a vowel.
“The idea of it” → /ðə aɪˈdɪər əv ɪt/
The intrusive /r/ occurs between “idea” and “of”, even though “idea” doesn’t naturally have an /r/.

Question 24

linking r

Answer 24

= transition between the vowel at the end of a word and another vowel at the beginning of the next word.

Question 25

intrusive r

Answer 25

[r] is inserted only in BrE where there is no historic justification in the spelling system for doing so. → There is no intrusive r in American English. examples: a. we saw [r]a film b. visa [r]application c. law [r]and order d. India [r]and Pakistan

Question 26

juncture

Answer 26

= boundary signals that mark the beginning and the end of linguistic units (words and clauses) 1. pauses: most obv. boundary, filled or unfilled 2. phonotactic restrictions: phonemes or phomene combi. never at beginning, sounds at boundaried never where would produce illicit onset or coda 3. phonetic processes: listeners rely on vowel length, stress patterns, and subtle phonetic cues to understand meaning.