Connected Speech: Rhythm, Weak Forms, and Linking Devices in English, Apuntes de Idioma Inglés

¡Descarga Connected Speech: Rhythm, Weak Forms, and Linking Devices in English y más Apuntes en PDF de Idioma Inglés solo en Docsity! UNIT 5: CONNECTED SPEECH Rhythm and weak forms are relevant when talking about natural connected speech. We understand English rhythm as a stress-timed rhythm in which stressed syllables will tend to occur at relatively regular intervals whether they are separated by unstressed syllables or not. In English all the feet are supposed to be of roughly the same duration, something that could not be done without the presence of weak forms and some linking devices that are produced when speaking naturally. A native speaker's aim in connecting words is maximum ease and efficiency of tongue movement when getting our message across. In it, phonemic patterns of words may be altered or changed, and their stylistic implications. 3 5.1 Linking devices One linking processes require no modifications at the edges of words, and yet they are difficult for the Sp learner, because they involve consonant sequences to which he is unaccustomed. For example, in cases where one word ends in a consonant cluster and the next one begins with a vowel, the student tends to WRONGLY omit the final consonant. So as to avoid the omission of, for instance, final /t/ or /d/ in He stopped and looked around. the student should be encouraged to think of the utterances reorganized as /hi "stOp ten "luk te raund/ - This is CATENATION, a process in which the last consonant of the first word is joined to the vowel sound at the start of the second word. = The linking /r/, which consists in pronouncing word final spelling <r> when the next word begins with a vowel, as in later on. > However, it is also possible for /1/ to be pronounced when no <r> appears in the spelling. This is called intrusive or intruding /r/ and it is the result of a process of analogy. Father-and mother. Law -r- and order. > Elision. In trying to minimize our efforts in connected speech, we weaken our articulation (economy articulation). If this is weakened too much, the sound may disappear altogether, a process known as elision (internally or accross word) It is the vowels from unstressed syllables which are the first to be elided in non-precise pronunciation_(int(e)rest, sim(i)lar, lib(a)ry, diffle)rent, t(o)night), but also consonants are affected, as can be seen in_E postman /pausmon/, secretary /sekrotri/, or Sp extranjero /estranxero/. Elision of consonants inside words mainly affects alveolars, especially when preceded and followed by other consonants. Handsome, Postpone, Grandma, Sandwich, Directly, Postcard, Postman, Temptation, Prehistoric The word final alveolars /t, d/ are generally elided when preceded and followed by a consonant, especially when this is a stop: Next turn, next stop, best thing, cold day, served drinks, didn't call > Assimilation. Unconscious articulatory adjustment by which sounds are influenced by neighbouring sounds and come to share some or all of their phonetic characteristics (internally or across words).