English consonants in connected speech

Cases of consonant modifications in a speech chain are described more often than those of vowel modifications. Phoneticians usually identify assimilation of place, manner and voicing in consonants.

Now let us see what qualitative features of consonant sounds may be changed in the process of their interrelation.

The most common sounds which undergo assimilation of place are plosives and nasals:

• the alveolar [t – d - n] followed by the interdental [θ - ð] become dental as in a t t he, i n t he, seve nth, sai d t hat;
• the alveolar [t - d] become post-alveolar under the influence of the post-alveolar [r] as in tr ee, dr y, ge t r id of;
• the alveolar [t - d] become affricates if followed by the palatal [j] (as in fortune [ˈfɔ:ʧu(:)n], did you [ˈdɪʤu(:)];
• the alveolar [t - d] are bilabial before a bilabial consonant (in rapid casual speech) as in meat pie [ˈmi:p-paɪ];
• the bilabial [m] is actually labio-dental followed by the labio-dental [f-v] as in some fruit;
• the alveolar [n] assimilates to the velar consonants, becoming velar [η] as in donkey [ˈdɒηkɪ];
• the alveolar [n] is palato-alveolar followed by [ʧ-ʤ] (bunch, change);
• the alveolar [s-z] are post-alveolar before [ò] as in does she [ˈdʌʃʃi], horse-shoe [ˈhɔ:ʃʃu:].

The manner of articulation also changes as a result of assimilation. We observe:

• loss of plosion as in gla d t o see you, grea t t rouble
• lateral plosion as in se ttl e, a t l ast
• nasal plosion as in no t n ow, a t n ight

Assimilation of voice is also found in English but in a very limited way compared to the Russian language. Only regressive assimilation of voice is found across word boundaries and then only of one type: if the following consonant is voiceless fortis it influences the preceding voiced lenis consonant and makes it devoiced (as in of course [ə f ˈkɔ:s], but the voiceless fortis consonant will never become voiced and lenis (as in I like this [aɪ ˈlaɪ k ðɪs]). It should be noted that it is typical of many foreign students of English to allow regressive assimilation of voicing, thus creating a very strong impression of a foreign accent, and this is something that should obviously be avoided.

The pronunciation of the suffixes “-ed” of regular verbs, “-s” of plural nouns and possessives is based on progressive assimilation. It is pronounced as [t] after voiceless consonants (except t) and [d] after vowels and voiced consonants (except d), for example, described [dɪsˈkraɪbd] – passed [pa:st], cats [kæts] - dogs [dɒgz], Ptl’s [pɪts] - David’s [ˈdeɪvɪdz].

Lip position may be affected by the accommodation: consonants become labialized under the influence of the neighbouring back vowels, as in boot, moon, etc.

The position of the soft palate is also involved in the process of accommodation. Slight nasalization is sometimes heard in vowels under the influence of the neighbouring nasal sonorants [m][n] as in meaning, end, some interesting men.

Elision or complete loss of sounds is characteristic of rapid, casual speech. Here are some typical examples of consonant elision:

• in clusters of three plosives or two plosives plus a fricative, the middle plosive may disappear as in next day [neksˈdeɪ], acts [æks];
• [l] tends to be lost when preceded by [ɔ:] as in all right [ɔ:ˈraɪt], always [ˈɔ:wɪz];
• final –f is often lost in of before consonants as in waste of time [ˈweɪst əˈtaɪm];
• the initial h- may be lost in the pronouns and auxiliary verbs in casual speech as in What has he said? [ˈwɒt əz i ˈsed];
• examples of historical elision are quite numerous in English: know [nɜʊ], castle [ka:sl], listen [ˈlɪsn].

It is important for foreign students of English to be aware of the fact that when native speakers of English talk to each other, quite a number of phonemes that the foreigner might expect to hear are not actually pronounced or their pronunciation is changed. Selective, analytic listening will help to recognize what is being said and will bring more confidence to students.

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