Suprasegmental phonology
In connected speech, especially in fast and
fluent speech, there are several phenomena of
articulary accommodation and effort economy,
such as
• similitude
• linking
• assimilation
• elision
• vowel reduction and weak forms
Similitude
• eighth []
[] is dental because of its proximity to dental //
• can’t BrE []
the vowels are nasalized because of the presence of nasal
[]
Similitude is the accommodation of a sound segment to an
adjacent segment, so that they become similar
Linking
• r-linking
for example [ ʳ

• black cat ( linking between the same
consonant in final and initial position)
• Linking is a smooth transition across
word boundaries
Assimilation
• this shop [  ]
• bad boys [ 
]
• shut your eyes [  
 ]
Elision
• the dropping of a sound which once existed (historical
elision) or which exists in slow speech (contextual elision)
• know []
• Tell him [ tel ɪm] with the elision of <h>
• first class [  ]
• didn’t think [
 ]
• I am going to buy some (I’m gonna buy some)
[ 
]
Vowel reduction and weak forms
• remarkable differences between the
pronunciation of words in isolation and in
connected speech
• the reduction of strong, longer vowels and
diphthongs to a weak vowel, to the neutral
schwa sound [] or to the short vowels []
and [], in a weak, unstressed position
Rhythm
• English is a stress-timed language, based on the regular
alternation of stressed or prominent syllables and unstressed or
weak ones
children believe in fairies
a week at the seaside is just what I need
• The prominent syllables are one-syllable words of major word classes
(e.g. nouns, verbs) and the stressed syllables of polysyllabic words of
major word classes
• The non-prominent, or weak, syllables are words of minor word
classes (e.g. articles, auxiliaries, prepositions) and weak syllables in
polysyllabic words
VOWEL REDUCTION: TYPICAL OF GRAMMATICAL WORDS IN
UNSTRESSED POSITION
auxiliaries (are, have), modals (can, must), articles (a,
the), conjunctions (and, but), personal pronouns
(you, he) and prepositions (to, from)
e.g. she must try harder
[]
he comes from Boston
[]
wait and see [ 
Transcribed passage
Idioms are not a separate part of the
language which one can choose either
to use or to omit. Instead they form an
essential part of the general vocabulary
of English. Present-day English is
changing and becoming more idiomatic
Passage in phonetic transcription




 
ʷ
 
 

 


Difficulties for Italian speakers
Speakers of languages( like Italian)
which do not require a weakening of
unstressed syllables tend to pronounce
all the syllables as if they were
prominent.
• eg. * ‘The ‘cat ‘is ‘on ‘the ‘chair
• Rather than The ‘cat is on the ‘chair
Intonation
• where do you come from
Intonation is the variation in voice pitch (acutezza,
altezza) in connected speech. Together with gestures and
facial expressions, intonation helps communication
• Intonation phrase is an utterance having it own intonation
pattern or tone ( usually a simple sentence) and
containing a nucleus
• The nucleus is the syllable which receives the greatest
prominence and is normally the most prominent lexical
word in an intonation phrase
Tones
• falling: finality, definiteness
Our English friends are coming round todinner
• rising: questions and incompleteness
would you like a cup of tea
I phoned her several times  but she was never
there
• fall-rise: uncertainty
are you sure you won’t
 mind
• rise-fall: surprise
that was a marvellous idea
Grammatical function of intonation
• I fed her  dog biscuits
(I gave her biscuits for dogs)
• I fed her dog  biscuits
(I gave her dog some biscuits)
• the houses which were de stroyed  were of great
historical interest
• the houses  which were de stroyed  were of
great historical interest
Discourse function of intonation
• The standard type of intonation phrase is a clause with the
nucleus on the last lexical item, which is the expected new
information.
• foregrounding: the nucleus is placed elsewhere in the
sentence to stress important new information
are you flying to Rome
no I’m flying to Milan
are you flying to Rome
no there’s a strike tomorrow
American English vowels
• BrE and AmE are becoming more similar in the 21st century
• BrE //  AmE //
e.g. not
[] BrE
clock
[] BrE
[] AmE
[] AmE
• ‘bath’-words BrE //  //
e.g. bath [] BrE
[] AmE
class
[] BrE
[] AmE
American English vowels
• BrE /, , /  AmE [, , ]
e.g. severe
[] BrE []
AmE
• BrE // + /r/  AmE /ɜ/
e.g courage [] (BrE),
[ɝ] (AmE)
American consonants
• elision of post-nasal [t]
twenty []  []
• assimilation of some plosives and fricatives followed
by [j]
e.g. education [,
-] BrE [] AmE
issue [, ] BrE [] AmE
American consonants
• rhoticity: orthographic <r> is always pronounced
• the omission of the sound [j] after dental and
alveolar consonants and followed by the phoneme
/u:/ (yod dropping):
e.g. tune [] BrE
[] AmE
news [] BrE
[] AmE
• t-tapping: intervocalic // is voiced
latter [] rhymes with ladder
[]
Differences in the pronunciation of words in
AmE
• -ile
e.g. missile [] (BrE), [] (AmE)
BrE
[]
either
AmE
[]
ate
[, ]
Muslim
[]
[]
schedule
[]
[]
advertisement []
[]
leisure
[]
[]
More differences in the placement of stress in
AmE
•
stress placement
e.g. address [] cigarette []
AmE
[] [] BrE
•
pronunciation of the endings -ary -ery -ory
e.g. library [] laboratory
[] BrE
[]
[] AmE
PRONUNCIATION IN DICTIONARIES
• Most dictionaries for EFL learners use IPA, but some
dictionaries use different conventions: e.g. door ()],
[], [*]
• British English is usually favoured with respect to American
English (always read the dictionary Introduction!!!)
• Many dictionaries for native speakers use a simplified
transcription, called “respelling”, e.g. Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com
• Pronunciation dictionaries are devoted to pronunciation, e.g.
include syllabification, the pronunciation of inflected forms;
proper, geographical or historical names; different varieties of
pronunciation and usage notes
Dictionaries (paper, electronic, online)
• http://dictionary.cambridge.org
(with phonetic transcription)
• http://www.ldoceonline.com
(without phonetic trascription)
http://dizionari.hoepli.it/Default.aspx
italiano-inglese, inglese-italiano
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 2008
(specialised dictionary)
MacMillan English Dictionary (MED) secon edition 2009
The pronunciation of English as a
lingua franca: a controversial issue
A Lingua Franca Core (Jenkins 2000) of phonological features
that are essential in communication:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The /r/ sound should always be pronounced, according to
the American model
Pronunciation should be kept as close as possible to
spelling, e.g. matter or twenty
Correct pronunciation of most consonants (except for 
and ), aspiration of [, , ], distinction between short
and long vowels and use of /ɝ/
Stress-timed rhythm and placement of nuclear stress
from Wells’ Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 2008
• Proper names
Rachel
[]
Anthony
[]
Aileen
[]
Burton
[]
Hirst
[]
Vaughan
[]
• Geographical names
Galapagos
[]
Caribbean

]
Yorkshire
[]
Kuwait
[]
Piedmont
[]
Example of exam question
( see many more in the book)
• What are minimal pairs? Give one example for
vowels and one for consonants in English
• Minimal pairs are words that are made up of
the same phonemes but one
e.g.
for vowels fit [fɪt] and feet [fɪ:t]
for consonants tin [tɪn] and thin [ɪn]
Example of phonetic transcription 1



 





 

Trascription and spelling


I’ve been reading some interesting research
 
 

about how people’s moods are affected by


Transcription and spelling

 

from the north. Some scientists have shown



that, if you are not exposed to a certain



minimum amount of sunlight,
TRANSCRIBED PASSAGE
I’ve been reading some interesting research
about how people’s moods are affected by
sunlight. People from southern countries are
supposed to be more outgoing than those
from the north. Some scientists have shown
that, if you are not exposed to a certain
minimum amount of sunlight, you may well
become depressed
Example of phonetic transcription 2
  
 
 
 

ʳ   
 
  
 
TRANSCRIBED PASSAGE
A passionate Peruvian boyfriend
was arrested and jailed for
twenty-four hours for kissing his
fiancée inside the palace of
justice. The man was accused of
not showing the building proper
respect