3. Devoicing of the sonants.
The sonants become devoiced after voiceless consonants (progressive assimilation affecting the work of the vocal cords).
| e.g. | smoke, snake, fly, twice, dry, plosive, cjure |
4. [t, d, s, z] + [j]
In contemporary English the clusters [tj], [dj], [sj], [zj] can be pronounced as [t4, d4, 4, 5] respectively either within words or at word boundaries. English pronouncing dictionaries register two fixed forms:
tune [tju:n]/[t4u:n];
situation [s$tju`e$49n]/[s$t4u`e$49n];
gradual ['gr#d5u9l]/['gr#dju9l];
issue [`$4u:]/[`$sju:];
visual ['v$5u9l]/['v$zju9l];
educate ['ed53ke$t]/['edj3ke$t];
[t + j] not yet ['n&t4`et]; didn’t you [`d$dnt43]
[d + j] would you [`w3d53]; could your son [k3d5@:s2n]
[s + j] kiss your mum ['k$4@:`m2m]
[z + j]as yet[9'5et]; has your son come ['h#5@:s2nk2m]
At the junction of words this phenomenon most frequently occurs in question tags.
- Aspiration. Degrees of Aspiration.
- Sound Drills.
- 1. Practise different degrees of aspiration in the following words:
- In a department store
- Leisure
- Loss of Plosion.
- Sound Drills.
- 3. Practise the following fragments of connected speech focusing on loss of plosion.
- Nasal Plosion.
- Sound Drills.
- Duty of the student
- Lateral Plosion
- Sound Drills
- 1. Pronounce the following words and phrases observing lateral plosion.
- 2. Practise lateral plosion in connected speech.
- Fricative Plosion.
- 1. Pronounce the following words and phrases observing close coarticulation of plosive and fricative consonants.
- 2. Practise fricative plosion in connected speech.
- To a False Friend
- Making a Cake
- Alveolar consonants before [0, 8].
- Sound Drills
- 1. Practice the following words and phrases. Be sure to make the sounds [t, d, n, l, s, z] dental before [0] and [8]
- 2. Practise the clusters of alveolar consonants preceding [0, 8] in connected speech.
- Boiled Eggs
- Sonants
- General Remarks
- 1. Modifications of the length of English sonants.
- 2. The syllabic function of the sonants in English
- 3. Devoicing of the sonants.
- Consonant sounds that link words.
- Linking [r]
- Consonantal glides [w] and [j]
- Sound Drills.
- 1. Practise the linking [r], [w] and [j] at the junction of words. Be sure to make the glides [w] and [j] sound very short.
- 2. Practise linking at word-boundaries in connected speech.
- Rain dying out
- Combinations of consonants with [w]
- Sound Drills.
- 1. Practice the following words and phrases observing assimilation in the consonant clusters with [w]
- 2. Practise consonant clusters with [w] in connected speech.
- Consonant clusters with [r]
- Sound Drills.
- 1. Practice the following words and phrases observing assimilation in the consonant clusters with [r]
- 1) Complete devoicing of [r]
- 2) Partial devoicing of [r]
- 3) Double assimilation
- 2. Practise consonant clusters with [r] in connected speech.
- Airport announcements.
- Travelling by train.
- Absence of assimilation in some consonant clusters.
- No assimilation according to the place or manner of articulation of English consonants
- No assimilation according to the work of the vocal cords
- Sound Drills.
- 2. Practise the difficult consonant clusters in the following contexts. Observe absence of assimilation.
- Monday’s child
- The House That Jack Built
- A vacant seat