Connected speech is the natural way people speak, where sounds flow into each other or disappear. Assimilation merges sounds, while elision removes them. Consonant-vowel and vowel-consonant sounds link or R-link, while adding an extra sound smooths vowel-vowel connections.
During conversation, people speak with a relaxed attitude towards the formal sounds that each word contains. If someone pronounced every sound the way it should be pronounced, the words would sound broken and robotic and awkward. Indeed, even during formal speeches, words have a tendency to run together. Words are pronounced more smoothly, allowing the initial and final sounds to transition smoothly into each other using a variety of methods. This phenomenon is called connected speech.
When we speak, sounds are created. They often flow into each other or disappear completely. What determines this is which sounds follow another: consonant followed by consonant, consonant followed by vowel, or vowel followed by vowel. When a word ends in a consonant and is followed by another consonant, the sounds may assimilate or elide during connected speech.
Assimilation occurs when the ending of the first word merges with the starting sound of the other. For example, in the sentence “Is Sally?” the /z/ sound in “is” softens to meet the soft /s/ of “Sally”. Anticipated assimilation occurs when the tongue naturally moves closer to the next sound. For example, “that kite” versus “hot meringue.” Assimilation is typically not a necessary technique in connected speech, but still tends to happen naturally during conversation.
“Elision” is the term for sounds or even an entire syllable that disappears completely. While this mostly occurs with consonant and consonant words, elision also occurs with small, unstressed words and vowels. The sounds /t/ and /d/ are usually the most affected, as in “next week” or “mold clay”.
Consonant-vowel or vowel-consonant provides an easier connection because these sounds transition naturally when pronounced. These will link or R-link. With linking, the final sound will simply fold into the next sound. R-linking refers specifically to British English, where the final /r/ sound is usually not pronounced. Only when following a vowel is /r/ pronounced in connected speech.
A vowel followed by a vowel is another combination that is unnatural for the language to pronounce. To make the connection smoother, this creates an extra sound. This is done in two main ways: using the intrusive /r/ or adding /j/ or /w/. An example is the sound /w/ added to the phrase “to it”.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
