Assimilations and Elisions in Phonetic Transcription

Introduction

The most significant goal in the phonetic theory is the formulation of an explicit account of the details of the phonetic characteristics of different languages, and subsequently to explore the relationship between the linguistic units that serve as the basis of production (Alderete & Kochetov, 2017). The comprehension of this relationship is the key to phonetics as is evidenced backed up by studies that seek to explain the link between phonetics and phonology.

Assimilation can best be defined as a sound becoming phonetically identical to another sound. In other words, sounds that belong to a word can influence a change in sound belonging to another word. So when pronunciation of a word is influenced by another word, we can term that as assimilation process. During assimilation, the speaker makes a change as he or she anticipates for the next pronunciation. Anticipation is influenced by the pronunciation of the preceding word.  The place of assimilation is defined as the area in the mouth where consonantal closure, constriction and change of consonants occur in the mouth describes assimilation as a common an observable fact for which a part of a word fully or partially foretastes the place of eloquence or rather articulation over the following part of the word (Hernández, 2011).   In contrast, elision refers to the vanishing of a sound in a word. It can best be described as an event during a speech where the speaker deliberately leaves or deletes a unit sound during pronunciation as an attempt to avoid difficulties in speech. Geigerich et al, confirms that elision often occurs before sonorant consonant which gives a chance to consonants to act as syllable so that they take the peak of syllable. This is known as consonant elision. The most prevalent elision in words is the neglect of the sounds /t/ and /d/.

 

Velarization of Alveolar Sounds

English language applies different places of articulation and assimilation as outlined below:

Alveolar: [t] [d] [s] [z] [l] [r] The production of these sounds involves a raise of the tongue to the alveolar ridge in a special conditioned way. The following is a highlight of the process of how these sounds are produced:

• [t d n]: these sounds are specially produced by the tip of the tongue just in front or touching the alveolar ridge.
• [ s z]: the production involves rising the sides of the tip of the tongue. During this process the tip of the tongue is lowered to give a room for air to escape.
• [l]: Producing this sound involves a slight raise of the tongue while the larger part of the tongue is low to allow for the air to escape by the sides of the tongue.
• [r]: the process of production of this sound tends to be complex because it involves air escaping from the central region of the mouth with either the tip of the tongue specially curled back just behind the alveolar ridge or the tip bunched at the front roof of the roof of the mouth.

The following are examples of words produced or rather articulated or rather made by alveolar sounds:

[t]        tub     boating      boat            [s]       sane       furious       face

[d]       dumb    boarding   board         [z]        zone        zodiac      zealous

[n]         know   boning        bone         [r]          run         terror          fear

Bilabialization of Alveolar Sounds.

Bilabial Assimilation during sound pronunciation takes place when both lips are brought together to stop the incoming wave of air stream. Examples of the sounds produced through this process are:

[p]       pie                   coping                         cope

[b]       by                    clubbing                      cub

[m]      mine                jamming                     jam

 

Palatalization of Alveolar Sounds and Place of Assimilation

Alveo-palatal sounds are produced by placing the blade of the tongue on or close to the alveo-palatal area of the roof of mouth to create spirants and aspirants. [              ] The first two sounds are produced when the blade of the tongue is arched near the alveolar area with a subsequent approximating of the tip of the tongue towards the front part of roof of the mouth (Kohlberger & Strycharczuk, 2015). Examples of words that are palatalized during pronunciation: shoe and genre. The pronunciation of the last two sounds involves a series of activities where the blade of the tongue not only touches the alveolar area of the tongue but also the tip of the tongue comes into close approximation with the hard palate. Example is the pronunciation of the first consonants in the words: Chair and John.

 

As in sheep, sharp, shenanigan, shop:

Possible positioning of these sounds during pronunciation is:

• Word initial for example shop, sheep, shit.
• Word medial for example fissure, mission, bishop.
• Word final for example wish, cash, finish.

Apparently, the sound has no voice. Hence, it is a challenge to distinguish between the part of the mouth it is articulated. Also, it tends to be between the alveolar area and palate-alveolar. This means the process of production of the sound involves forcing the sound between the tongue and palate-alveolar. The sound is thus referred to as fricative.

As in genre, leisure, seizure, measure.

Possible positioning;

• Word initial for instance genre.
• Word medial for instance measure, usual, confusion.
• Word final for instance prestige, rogue, beige.

By placing a finger on the throat, one can feel an apparent vibration of voice during the production of these sounds. Tongue is positioned in that it is somewhere around the hard palate and the alveolar ridge, thus making it a palato-alveolar consonant. Further, air that is being forced between the tongue and palato-alveolar area should be felt, this makes this sound fricative. In most cases, the sound is found in the middle of English words.

 

For instance: cheap, chairman, challenge, champ.

Possible Positioning

• Word initial for instance; cheese, cheap, chairman, champ.
• Word medial for instance; nature, feature, richer.
• Word medial (consonant preceding) for instance; mischief, juncture, capture.
• Word final for instance for instance: coach, match, catch, much.
• Word final (consonant preceding) for instance: inch, branch, bench.

During pronunciation of these sounds, if one placed their hand on the throat, one can apparently feel that the sound is voiceless (Vidal, 2019). Further, the sound is fricative which means that the tongue is spread over the palate and the alveolar ridge thus makes it a palate-alveolar sound

For example: jeans, jump, joust, jeep, gesture.

 

Possible positioning:

• Word initial for example: jar, jerk, jest, Jackson.
• Word medial for example: urgent, midget, fragile.
• Word medial (consonant preceding) for example: object, soldier, midget.
• Word final for example: age, ridge, large.
• Word final (consonant preceding) for example: hinge, sponge, change.

The voicing of the sound is identical or rather equivalent to that of [ ] sound. The sound is a fricative which means that during pronunciation, the tongue is spread over the hard palate and the alveolar ridge hence it is a palate-alveolar sound.

 

Voicing Assimilation.

It is demonstrated that voicing assimilation process has distinguished directions and extents in different languages. Thus, this means that phonological units with identical characteristics are phonetically applied differently across languages. This study further explores the cross-linguistic differences in the phonetic application and phonological units with the same characteristics. Also, the study intends to deeply consider the influence of speaking rate and articulatory overlap on voicing assimilation across different languages. In the past, linguistic examination indicates that the overall speaking tempo influences the assimilation processes in speeches. This postulates that there tends to be more assimilation in fast speech rates and lower assimilation in slow speech rates. It also demonstrated that voicing assimilation is a dynamic process which is dependent or rather which co-vary with different speech rates.

Arguably, the influence of the rate of speech on the processes of assimilation may aid in the determination of the automatic or phonological state of the phenomenon. Therefore, if the extent of assimilation is not affected by the rates of speech it may be attributed to the fact that it is a phonological phenomenon, where as if it is influenced by the speech rate it may be rooted to the fact that it is a phonetic process. Further, it has been observed that voicing assimilatory phenomenon may be rooted to identical sources or rather articulatory overlaps; but may reflect two distinguished processes. This means that, at one point of the range, gestural overlap may translate in to different extents of articulatory assimilation. While on the other set point of the range, the co-articulatory tendencies may be revealed in a more specific phonological process resulting to complete assimilation.

We will use the extract below to show assimilation and elision occurs:

ɪt wɒz ˈnɪərɪŋ ˈmɪdnaɪt ænd ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə wɒz ˈsɪtɪŋ əˈləʊn ɪn hɪz ˈɒfɪs, ˈriːdɪŋ ə lɒŋ ˈmiːməʊ ðæt wɒz ˈslɪpɪŋ θruː hɪzbreɪn wɪˈðaʊt ˈliːvɪŋ ðə ˈslaɪtɪst treɪs ɒv ˈmiːnɪŋ bɪˈhaɪnd. hiː wɒz ˈweɪtɪŋ fɔːr ə kɔːl frɒm ðə ˈprɛzɪdənt ɒv ə fɑː ˈdɪstəntˈkʌntri, ænd bɪˈtwiːn

ˈwʌndərɪŋ wɛn ðə ˈrɛʧɪd mæn wʊd ˈtɛlɪfəʊn, ænd ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː səˈprɛs ʌnˈplɛznt ˈmɛməriz ɒv wɒt hæd biːn əˈvɛri lɒŋ, ˈtaɪərɪŋ, ænd ˈdɪfɪkəlt wiːk, ðeə wɒz nɒt mʌʧ speɪs ɪn hɪz hɛd

fɔːr ˈɛnɪθɪŋ ɛls. ðə mɔː hiː əˈtɛmptɪd tuː ˈfəʊkəs ɒn ðəprɪnt ɒn ðə peɪʤ bɪˈfɔː hɪm, ðə mɔː ˈklɪəli ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə kʊd siː ðə ˈgləʊtɪŋ feɪs ɒv wʌn ɒv hɪz pəˈlɪtɪkəl əˈpəʊnənts. ðɪs pəˈtɪkjʊlər əˈpəʊnənt hæd əˈpɪəd ɒn ðə njuːz ðæt ˈvɛri deɪ, nɒt ˈəʊnli tuː ɪˈnjuːməreɪt ɔːl ðə ˈtɛrəbl θɪŋz ðæt hæd ˈhæpənd ɪn ðəlɑːst wiːk (æz ðəʊ ˈɛnɪwʌn ˈniːdɪd ˈrɪmaɪndɪŋ) bʌt

ˈɔːlsəʊ tuː ɪksˈpleɪn waɪ iːʧ ænd ˈɛvri wʌn ɒv ðɛm wɒz ðə ˈgʌvnmənts fɔːlt.

 

ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstəz pʌls ˈkwɪkənd æt ðə ˈvɛri θɔːt ɒv ðiːz ˌækju(ː)ˈzeɪʃ(ə)nz, fɔː ðeɪ wɜː

ˈnaɪðə feə nɔː truː. haʊ ɒn ɜːθ wɒz hɪzˈgʌvnmənt səˈpəʊzd tuː hæv stɒpt ðæt brɪʤ

kəˈlæpsɪŋ? ɪt wɒz aʊtˈreɪʤəs fɔːr ˈɛnɪˌbɒdi tuː səˈʤɛst ðæt ðeɪ wɜː nɒt ˈspɛndɪŋɪˈnʌf ɒn ˈbrɪʤɪz. ðə brɪʤ wɒz ˈfjuːə ðæn tɛn jɪəz əʊld, ænd ðə bɛst ˈɛkspɜːts wɜːr æt ə lɒs tuː

ɪksˈpleɪn waɪ ɪt hæd snæpt ˈklɛnliɪn tuː, ˈsɛndɪŋ ə ˈdʌzn kɑːz ˈɪntuː ðə ˈwɔːtəri dɛpθs ɒv

ðə ˈrɪvə bɪˈləʊ. ænd haʊ deər ˈɛnɪwʌn səˈʤɛst ðæt ɪt wɒz læk ɒvpəˈliːsmən ðæt hæd

rɪˈzʌltɪd ɪn ðəʊz tuː ˈvɛri ˈnɑːsti ænd wɛl ˈpʌblɪsaɪzd ˈmɜːdəz? ɔː ðæt ðə ˈgʌvnmənt ʃʊd hæv ˈsʌmhaʊfɔːˈsiːn ðə friːk ˈhʌrɪkən ɪn ðə wɛst ˈkʌntri ðæt hæd kɔːzd səʊ mʌʧ ˈdæmɪʤ tuː bəʊθ ˈpiːpl ænd ˈprɒpəti? ænd wɒz ɪt

hɪz fɔːltðæt wʌn ɒv hɪz ˈʤuːnjə ˈmɪnɪstəz, ˈhɜːbət tʃɔ:lɪ, hæd ˈʧəʊzn ðɪs wiːk tuː ækt

səʊ pɪˈkjuːliəli ðæt hiː wɒz naʊ ˈgəʊɪŋ tuː biːˈspɛndɪŋ ə lɒt mɔː taɪm wɪð hɪz ˈfæmɪli?
“ə grɪm muːd hæz grɪpt ðə ˈkʌntri,” ði əˈpəʊnənt hæd kənˈkluːdɪd, ˈbeəli kənˈsiːlɪŋ hɪz

əʊn brɔːd grɪn.

ænd ʌnˈfɔːʧnɪtli, ðɪs wɒz ˈpɜːfɪktli truː. ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə fɛlt ɪt hɪmˈsɛlf; ˈpiːpl ˈrɪəli dɪd

siːm mɔː ˈmɪzərəbl ðæn ˈjuːʒʊəl. ˈiːvənðə ˈwɛðə wɒz ˈdɪzməl; ɔːl ðɪs ˈʧɪli mɪst ɪn ðə ˈmɪdl ɒv ʤu(ː)ˈlaɪ. . . ɪt wɒznt raɪt, ɪt wɒznt ˈnɔːməl. . .
hiː tɜːnd ˈəʊvə ðə ˈsɛkənd peɪʤ ɒv ðə ˈmiːməʊ, sɔː haʊ mʌʧ ˈlɒŋgər ɪt wɛnt ɒn, ænd geɪv ɪt ʌp æz ə bæd ʤɒb. ˈstrɛʧɪŋ hɪzɑːmz əˈbʌv hɪz hɛd hiː lʊkt əˈraʊnd hɪz ˈɒfɪs ˈmɔːnfʊli. ɪt wɒz ə ˈhænsəm ruːm, wɪð ə faɪn ˈmɑːbl ˈfaɪəˌpleɪs ˈfeɪsɪŋ ðə lɒŋ sæʃˈwɪndəʊz, ˈfɜːmli

kləʊzd əˈgɛnst ði ʌnˈsiːznəbl ʧɪl. wɪð ə slaɪt ˈʃɪvə, ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə gɒt ʌp ænd muːvd

ˈəʊvə tuː ðəˈwɪndəʊ, ˈlʊkɪŋ aʊt æt ðə θɪn mɪst ðæt wɒz ˈprɛsɪŋ ɪtˈsɛlf əˈgɛnst ðə glɑːs. ɪt wɒz ðɛn, æz hiː stʊd wɪð hɪz bæk tuː ðə ruːm, ðæthiː hɜːd ə sɒft kɒf bɪˈhaɪnd hɪm.

 

• ɪt wɒz ˈnɪərɪŋ ˈmɪdnaɪt ændðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə wɒz ˈsɪtɪŋ əˈləʊn ɪn hɪz ˈɒfɪs

Elision of /d/ in /ænd/ to /æn/

Elision of /m/ in/ praim/ so that we have / praɪˈmɪnɪstə /

Assimilation of /z/ in was to /s/ due to the next /s/ in sitting so that we have /wɔ:s/

• ˈriːdɪŋ ə lɒŋ ˈmiːməʊ ðæt wɒz ˈslɪpɪŋ θruː hɪzbreɪn wɪˈðaʊt ˈliːvɪŋ ðə ˈslaɪtɪst treɪs ɒv ˈmiːnɪŋ bɪˈhaɪnd

Assimilation of /z/ in was due to the next /s/ in slipping so that we have /wɔ:s/

Elision of /t/ in without because it comes word finally before a consonant starting word

elision of /  /t/ in slightest so that we have /ˈslaɪtɪs treɪs /

• hiː wɒz ˈweɪtɪŋ fɔːr ə kɔːl frɒm ðə ˈprɛzɪdənt ɒv ə fɑː ˈdɪstəntˈkʌntri, ænd bɪˈtwiːn ˈwʌndərɪŋ wɛn ðə ˈrɛʧɪd mæn wʊd ˈtɛlɪfəʊn, ænd ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː səˈprɛs ʌnˈplɛznt ˈmɛməriz ɒv wɒt hæd biːn əˈvɛri lɒŋ, ˈtaɪərɪŋ, ænd ˈdɪfɪkəlt wiːk, ðeə wɒz nɒt mʌʧ speɪs ɪn hɪz hɛd fɔːr ˈɛnɪθɪŋ ɛls

Elision of /t/ in distant due to the presence of a starting consonant in the next word

Assimilation of /d/ to /b/ in wretched due to the next /m/ in man which is a bilabial so that we have /ˈrɛʧɪb mæn/

Elision of /d/ in and so that we have /æn/ because both /d/ and /n/ are alveolar sounds

Elision of o in memories due its unstressed nature so that we have /ˈmɛmriz /

Assimilation of /d/ in had to /m/ due the next /b / in been . The /d/ is bilabialised.

Elision of /d/ in and due the next /d/ in difficult so that we have / æn ˈdɪfɪkəlt /

 

• ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstəkʊd siː ðə ˈgləʊtɪŋ feɪs ɒv wʌn ɒv hɪz pəˈlɪtɪkəl əˈpəʊnənts

Elision of /m/ in prime so that we have /praɪˈmɪnɪstə / because the next sound is /m/ like the first hence causing redundancy repeatng the same as they are both labials

• (æz ðəʊ ˈɛnɪwʌn ˈniːdɪdˈrɪmaɪndɪŋ)

Elision of /n/ in anyone because of the next /n/ in needed so that we have /ˈɛnɪwʌˈniːdɪd /

• bʌt ˈɔːlsəʊ tuː ɪksˈpleɪn waɪ iːʧ ænd ˈɛvri wʌn ɒv ðɛm wɒz ðə ˈgʌvnmənts fɔːlt.

Elision of /d/ in and so that we have /  æn/ as both /d/ and /n/ are alveolar sounds.

 

• ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstəzpʌls ˈkwɪkənd æt ðə ˈvɛri θɔːt ɒv ðiːz ˌækju(ː)ˈzeɪʃ(ə)nz

Elision of /m/ in prime due the next/m/ in minister which would cause redundancy and difficulty in pronunciation. As a result,we have / praɪˈmɪnɪstəz /

Elision of the schwa in actualization  so that we have / ˌækju(ː)ˈzeɪʃnz/ because the unstressed nature of the vowel might make it be left out during articulation.

• ˈsɛndɪŋ ə ˈdʌzn kɑːz ˈɪntuː ðə ˈwɔːtəridɛpθs ɒv ðə ˈrɪvə bɪˈləʊ. ænd haʊ deər ˈɛnɪwʌn səˈʤɛst ðæt ɪt wɒz læk ɒvpəˈliːsmən ðæt hæd rɪˈzʌltɪd ɪn ðəʊz tuː ˈvɛri ˈnɑːsti ænd wɛl ˈpʌblɪsaɪzd ˈmɜːdəz?

Elision of schwa in watery so that we have / ˈwɔːtri / as schwas are most likely to be left out due to their unstressed nature

Elision of /d/ in and so that we have / ænd/ due the fact that both /n/ and /d/ are alveolar sounds

• “ə grɪm muːd hæz grɪpt ðə ˈkʌntri,” ði əˈpəʊnənt hæd kənˈkluːdɪd, ˈbeəli kənˈsiːlɪŋ hɪz əʊn brɔːd grɪn.

Elision of /m/ in grim due the presence of another /m/ in mood which follows it, so we have ə/grɪmuːd/

Assimilation of /n/  in own to /m/ because of the next /b/ in broad which is  a bilabial. so the word is sounded as /əʊmbrɔːd / the aleveola /n/ becomes a bilabial by changing to /m/

• ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə fɛlt ɪt hɪmˈsɛlf; ˈpiːpl ˈrɪəli dɪd siːm mɔː ˈmɪzərəbl ðæn ˈjuːʒʊəl.

Alision of /m/ in prime because of nother /m/ in minister so that we have / praɪˈmɪnɪstə /

Elision of /m/ in seem as there is another /m/ that follows in more so that we have / siːmɔː /

• ɪt wɒz ə ˈhænsəm ruːm, wɪð ə faɪn ˈmɑːblˈfaɪəˌpleɪs ˈfeɪsɪŋ ðə lɒŋ sæʃˈwɪndəʊz, ˈfɜːmlmkləʊzd əˈgɛnst ði ʌnˈsiːznəbl ʧɪl. wɪð ə slaɪt ˈʃɪvə, ðə praɪm ˈmɪnɪstə gɒt ʌp ænd muːvdˈəʊvə tuː ðəˈwɪndəʊ

Assimilation of /n/ in fain to /b/ because of the next /m/ which is a bilabial so that we have / faɪbˈmɑːbl /. The /n/ has been assimilated through bilabialisation.

Elision of /m/ in prime because of the next /m /in minister so that we have /praɪˈmɪnɪstə /

Conclusively, an in-depth study into voicing assimilation processes have demonstrated to be of interest for descriptive reasons and lead to an appropriate understanding the processes of connected speech.  A deeper analysis of the coordination of oral and glottal gestures in consonant sentences maybe a source of hope for the nature of voicing assimilation in different languages and has an effect on the linguistic theory.

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