Reductions In English Speech
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Introduction 1. Reasons for choosing the themetopic: English learners may have many troubles in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Most of them have been discussed quite clearly in many courses, studies, and English teachers’ lectures. However, from my own troubles, I see it is possible that the systems of listening facilities still have a few about reductions in spoken English. As a freshman, I feel confused in front of dealing with a fast English tape or, of course, English speakers as well. This topic is chosen for my scientific research in the hope that it will, to some extents, help others like me overcome this kind of challengeSo it is not reasonable to pay less attention to the troubles, most of us don’t know much, systematically than those we know well. These are the reasons I choose this theme.
2. Aims Purposes of the study: It is necessary to know as much about English as possible. Therefore, I do this research with the aims of helping the freshmen overcome the troubles in the
first steps of
listening. In addition, English teachers may have more facilities in their lectures.
3. Scope of the study: As a small scientific research themetopic in English, the study's themename
is also the its scope of the study:
Reductions in English speech.
4. Methods of the study:
4
The main methods in my study are choicematerial collection, analysis, systematization, and classification. Firstly, I have collected all materials from different sources such as Internet, reference books, etc. Then, I have analyzed all the collected materials with consulted much much help from my supervisor and many other enthusiastic teachers in English department without whom I cannot complete the research.
Literature Review When speaking, English speakers use stress, intonation, and aspects of connected speech, etc. One of the most difficulties for those who learn English learners as a foreign language is how to listen to English speech. Reductions are an important part of informal English speech that requires learners must know well many efforts to make a progress in listening, and speaking. Reduction is much in many ways related with to stress, and intonation. If you stress words in English, English speakers may misunderstand you because you may give too much information. English speakers are used to hearing stress on some words and not the others. You may sound angry, impatient, or unfriendly. English speakers usually only stress all words only when they are impatient or angry. When you listen to English, you hear some words more clearly than the others word. These clear words are usually information key words and, they are stressed. The
5
others are function words and , they are unstressed. Therefore, stress makes helps us understand the speakers. To make stress correctly, we must use reductions are needed and will . Reductions make a contrast between grammatical words and content words. Reduction is a progress that speakers speak faster, make sounds shorter, weaker and more unstressed more clearly. There are three kinds of reduction in English speech: 1) Qualitative reductions 2) Quantitative reductions 3) Zero reductions
Chapter 1: Qualitative reductions The reductions of the length of a vowel without changing its quality are called quantitative reduction. In English speech, some pronouns have strong forms with / : /, / : /, or / u: / sound may be a little reduced to / / u /. Here is a chart of common cases: Words be been he me she the
Strong forms /b :/ / b : n/ /h :/ /m :/ / :/ /ð :/
Weak forms /b / / b n/ /h / /m / / / /ð /
to
/ tu: /
/ tu / 6
/, /
/, or
we who you your
/w :/ / hu: / / ju: / / j :r /
/w / / hu / / ju / /j r/
Chapter 2: Quantitative reductions "Many monosyllabic form words are subject to quantitative variation according to whether they receive the accent or not"(Gimson, 1980: 175) In spoken English, “unstressed syllables sound softer, are usually shorter, and are frequently reduced or centralized. This means that the vowels tend to become /
/, /
/, /
/
and the consonants are weaker” (Dauer, 2002: 93) 2.1. The schwa /
/:
The vowels in most unstressed syllables tend to be pronounced the same. The symbol for this sound is /
/ and English speakers often call it as
the weak vowel, the reduced vowel or the schwa. In English, the schwa is the most common of all sounds. The schwa /
/ is a relaxed and easy sound: keep your voice going
when you pronounce the schwa /
/.
Note: Any written English vowel can be pronounced with the schwa /
/ (Zawadzki, 1996: 42). 7
E.g.: Woman / w m n / Women / w m n / Holiday / h l de / Person / p : s n / Success / s kses / The schwa /
/ is pronounced unclearly so that it is very
difficult for English learners to hear without knowing it well. 2.2.1. The schwa /
/ with function words:
Speaking English with only strong forms sounds wrong. The use of weak forms of English if you want your English to sound English (OConnor, 1980: 92). Here is a chart of grammatical words that are reduced with the schwa /
/:
Words
Weak forms
Examples
A
with / / / /
I have a hat
Am An
/ m/ / n/
I am listening She has an umbrella
And
/ n/+consonant
O and I Black and
Phonemic /
h„v h„t / / m l sn ŋ / / i: h„z n m brel / / w nd / / bl„k n w /
white Are
As
/ /+ consonant
/ z/
Where are you
/ we j
now?
/ ðe j re
They are awful As good as gold 8
/ z
n
d zg ld /
/ :fl/
At But Can Could Do (aux) Does
/ t/ /b t/ /k n/
At last But why not? How can I
/k d/
help? She could
/
come What do they
/d z/
do? What does he
/d
(aux) For
/ t l : st / /b tw n t/ /h k n /
help / i: kv d k m
/
/ w td
/
d / w td z
do? /f /+consonant
/ ti: f
/ fr m /
She is from L.A.
tu: /
/
„ŋks f r
/
sk ŋ / i: z fr m ele
asking From
d
/
Tea for two Thanks for
ðe
:
/ Had (aux) Has (aux) Her Must Of Shall
/h d/ /h z/
He had come
/ hi: h d k m
back b„k / She has done it / i: h z d n
t
/ / h h„ndz / / a m st / /s m v i: / /w t l wi: d
/h / / m st / / v/ / l/
Her hands I must go Some of each What shall we
/
do? I should do so.
/a
/s m/ /ð n/
Some money Its easier than
/ /s m m n / / ts i: z ð n
That
/ ð t / (only in
that She said that
The
relative clause) /ð /
she could do it The tie
Should Some Than
d/
9
/ d
d s
„t / / i: sed ð t d du: t/ / ð ta /
i: k
Them Their
There
/ð m/
Tell them
/ tel ð m /
/ m/ /ð
Pick them up Their houses
/p k m p/ / ð ha s z/
/+consonant
Is their office?
/ zð r
/ ð r / + vowel / ð /+
Theres a hat.
/ð z
Is there a
/ zð r
consonant To
/ ð r / + vowel / t /+
Us
consonant / s/
Was
party? Go to work
fi: s / h„t / pa: t /
/
t w :k/
He makes us
/ hi: me ks
smile It was dark.
sma l / / t written z da:
/w z/
s
k/ Were
They were
/w /+consonant / w / + vowel
Would You Your
/ ðe w
talking.
ŋ/
They were
/ ðe written r
asking me.
a:kiŋ m / / a w d la k / / w t j d iŋ
/w d/ /j /
I would like ... What are you
/j r/
doing? Close your
/
kl
eyes. 2.1.2. The schwa /
t :k
/ sj r a s /
/ with content words:
In rapid speech even content words may be reduced quantitatively, because the more rapid the speeches, the greater the tendency to reduction and obscuration of unaccented words are (Gimson, 1980: 264). Quantitative reduction not only occurs in grammatical words
but
also
in
some
common 10
content
words.
A
monosyllable in a position that is adjacent to a primary stress, especially if they contain a short vowel. E.g.: They sit here / ðe 2.2. The short vowel /
s t
h
/
/
"In the North of England, speakers may use / of /
/"
/ in place
(Hancock, 2004 : 46).
E.g.: luck / l k /
/l k/
Chapter 3: Zero reductions The omission of a vowel or a consonant is called zero reduction. According to Zinder (1964), when speaking fast, all unstressed parts may be very reduced, even omitted. This chapter shows kinds of this reduction. 3.1. Vowel omission: Many English speakers, especially in Australia and America, generally reduce the number of syllables in word when speaking informally and fast. If you pronounce all the letters of a word, you may say the wrong number of syllables. (Zanwadzki,
1996:29).
Therefore,
misunderstand you. 11
English
speakers
may
Here are cases that /
/ in unstressed syllables can
disappear - leave forms with fewer syllables: 3.1.1. Consonant + / /
/ is
/ + / reductions / r / + weak vowel
omitted
E.g.: Different
/
d f r nt /
Preferable /
/
pref r b l /
d fr nt / /
prefr b l /
3.1.2. / r / + weak vowel + consonant
weak vowel is
omitted E.g.: Library
/
la br r /
/
la br /
3.1.3. Consonant + weak vowel + / l / weak vowel is omitted E.g.: Family
/
f„m l /
Awful
/
:f l/
/
/ or /
/
3.1.4. Primarily accent + /
f„ml /
/ or /
: fl /
/ in weak syllable /
/ is omitted (in rapid speech).
E.g.: Police 3.1.5. /
/p
li: s /
/ after / p, k, t /
E.g.: Career / k Tonight / t
r
/
/
/ is omitted.
/k
r
k m//t k m/
/ before / l, m, n, r / /
E.g.: Canal / k Business /
/
na t / / t na t /
To come / t 3.1.6. /
/ p li: s /
n„l / / k b z n s/ /
/ is omitted
n„l / b zn s /
3.1.7. A word-final consonant + initial / continuant /
/ is omitted.
E.g.: Get along / et
l ŋ / / et
12
l ŋ/
/ + a
3.1.8. A final /
/ + following / r / + word-internal vowel /
/ is omitted. E.g.: Father and son /
fa; ð r nd s n / /
fa; ð r n s n
/ 3.1.9. The loss of /
/ in "is" often happens with following
"it". E.g.: sit right? /z t
ra t /
3.1.10. The loss of " ". "English
speakers
often
delete
" "
in
informal
conversation". (Zawadzki, 1996 : 197) E.g.: Is it Ok? Oh...suppose so 3.1.11. "Any, anything, anyone" "In spoken English, words such as any, anything, anyone are sometimes reduced when they follow "get" or "got" (Nunan, 2004 : 57) E.g.: Didnt you getny hats? We havent gotnything to eat yet. 3.2. Consonant omissions 3.2.1. The loss of / h / "When a pronoun or auxiliary verb beginning with the / h / sounds unstressed and does not come at beginning of a phrase, the / h / is normally dropped in spoken English. The sound that comes after the / h / is then linked to the last sound of the previous word". (Judith, 1990) Words &
Reduce
Strong
d forms
Examples with reduced forms
13
forms Had
/ d/
We would had come if we had
/ h„d /
known it. /w
Has
/
/ h„z / Have
/
/ h„v/ He
/
/ hi: / Her
/ /
/h :/ Him /h m/ His
/
l d/ She has come.
z/
/ i: j z k m / We have much money.
/
/ wi: j v m m n / Is he right?
r/ /
/ z ra t / I took her hand.
/ m/
/ a t k h„nd / Let him do it!
/ z/
/ let m du: t / I like his tie.
/h z/
/ a la k
z ta /
Some English speakers in London do not pronounce the / h / (Hancock, 2004). E.g.:
Head / hed /
/ ed /
Note: Linking is especially important with silent "h". 3.2.2. 3.2.2.1 The loss of / v /: According to Kelly (20030, / v / in of can disappear when the next word begin with a consonant. E.g.: Lost of time / l t
v ta m / / l t
ta m /
3.2.2.2 The loss of / j / In America, the / j / is dropped from words like: "new, student..." The loss of preceding consonant in the two continual consonants (in informal speech) 14
E.g.: give me a cake /
vm
ke k / /
m
ke
k/ 3.2.2.3 The loss of cluster of adverbs formed with "ly" E.g.: openly /
p nl / /
p l /
3.2.2.4. The loss of / g / in V-ing V-in E.g.: going goin 3.2.3. The loss of / t / 3.2.3.1. Omission of / t / after / n /
In rapid speech, / t / is usually omitted after / n / in unstressed syllable of common in Canada and the Middle West E.g.:
Winter / w nt
/
/ w n
/ (sounds like
winner) Toronto ( t is omitted) Many English speakers omit / t / across word
boundaries in very common words: Want to / w n t
/ /
w n
/ (informal
written: "wanna") Going to /
ŋ/ /
n
/ (informal written:
"gonna")
Negative particle / -nt / + consonant / vowel / t / is omitted. E.g.: I dont know /a
d n
/ (informal written: "dunno")
Except: / -nt / + / j - / / - n / E.g.: didnt you / d dn
/
The loss of / t / in final cluster / -nt /, / -lt / E.g.:
Went mad 15
Felt blue
Note:
nasal + / t / + nasal / t / is pronounced as a glottal
stop instead of being omitted. 3.2.3.2. Reduced / t / in past tense. In the past tense, "/ t / in a verb becomes a quick / d / sound or is silent". (Gilbert, 2000: 147) E.g.: wanted / w n d/ (many English speakers say: / w n n
/)
3.2.3.3. Reduced / t / in between vowels: * In many accents, for examples American accent, / t / is often pronounced "as a quick / d / in between vowels". (Gilbert, 2000: 118) E.g.:
"Write it" (sounds like "ride it") Some common words: water. Better, later,
hotter, city, betty, atom, etc. Even these: sit any, lot of, get all, hit it, etc. * In some accents, including some parts of London, the / t / between two vowel sounds is made not with the tongue but by stopping the air at the back of the throat to make a short silence. E.g.: "Butter" is pronounced "buer" 3.2.3.4. Word - final / t / + word - initial / t, d / / t / is omitted (informal speech). E.g.: Ive got to come /a v g tt
k m //a v g t
k m/
3.2.3.5. The loss of / t / in it when the following word begins with a consonant. 16
E.g.: I think it might be morning. /a
ŋk a ma t b m :niŋ /
3.2.4. Simplification of consonant groups. English speakers often simplify groups of three (or more) consonants by omitting the middle consonants. E.g.:
months / m n s / / m ns / Tests / tests / / tess /
3.2.4.1. Consonant groups with / t, d / * When / t / or / d / occurs between two other stop consonants, they are never
pronounced. So English
learners should leave them out. E.g.: locked car / l k ka: /
Note: In this case, even "ed" is omitted (/ t /, / d /) * Stop + / t / or / d / + fricative / t / or / d / is omitted. E.g.: kept singing / kep s ŋ ŋ / * Fricative (often / s, f / ) + stop/ fricative/nasal
/ t / is
omitted. E.g.: / st / + stop: last time / la:s ta m / + fricative: west side / wes sa d / +nasal: best man / bes mæn / / ft / + stop: lift boy / l f b
/
+ fricative: left shoe / lef u: / + nasal: soft mattress / s f mætr s / * The / t / in / st, ft / may be omitted when other consonants follow, but it is not very common. E.g.:
Next week/ neks wi: k / Best road / bes r
d/
Last lap / la:s læp / 17
* Nasal (often / n, m / + / d / + stop/ nasal / d / is omitted E.g.: / nd / + stop: tinned beans / t n bi: nz / + nasal: blind man / bla n mæn / / md /+stop: it seemed good / t si:m
d/
+nasal: skimmed milk / sk m m lk /
Note: In this case, even "ed" can be omitted. * The / d / in / nd ,md / may be omitted when other consonants follow, but it not very common. E.g.:
Blind chance / bla n a ns / Send seven / sen sev n / She seemed well / i: si:m wel /
* Voiceless plosive/ affricative + / t / + initial consonant word / t / is omitted. E.g.: reached home * Voiced plosive/ affricative + / d / _ initial consonant word / d / is omitted. E.g.: changed face * Omission of word-final / d / before / t, d / E.g.: We could try * Omission of final alveolar explosive / t, d / before / h, j /. E.g.:
Red house Violent jacket
3.2.4.2. Other consonant groups: * The loss of stop in: fricative + stop + fricative E.g.:
Desk / desks / / dess / Months / m n s / / m ns /
3.3. Contractions. ( Essberger,1997). 18
Contraction is a kind of reduction in which we shorten letters both in writing (informal) and in speaking. Especially, when speaking English, we often use contracted forms to save time. 3.3.1. Positive contrastions. Short
Long form
Short
Long form
form Im Ive Ill Id
I am I have I will/ I shall I would/ I had/ I
form Shell Shed Its Itll
She will She had/ she would It is/ it has It will
Youre Youve Youll Youd
should You are You have You will You would/ you
Were Weve Well Wed
We are We have We will We had/ we would
Hes Hell Hed
had He is He will He had/ he
Theyre Theyve Theyll
They are They have They will
Shes
would She is/ she has
Theyd
They had/ they would
3.3.2. Negative contractions.
Notes: There are two possible forms of the verb "to be" E.g.: "They arent" or "theyre not", etc. In questions, "am not" is contracted to "arent". Short
Long form
Short form
Long form
form Arent Cant Couldnt
Are not Can not, cannot Could not
Maynt Mightnt Mustnt
May not Might not Must not
19
Darent Didnt Doesnt Dont Hasnt Havent Hadnt Isnt
Dare not Did not Does not Do not Has not Have not Had not Is not
Neednt Oughtnt Shant Shouldnt Wasnt Werent Wont wouldnt
Need not Ought not Shall not Should not Was not Were not Will not Would not
3.3.3. Other contractions: The contraction ’s ( = is/ has) is not used only with pronouns. It can also be used with nouns, names, question words and words like "here" and "there". Short
Long form
Example
form Heres Therell Theres Thats Thatll Hows Thiss Howre Whatll Whats Whatre Whatm Whens Whos Wheres Whod
Here is There will There is That is That will How is This is How are What will What is What are What am When is Who is Where is Who would
Heres your bread. Therell be nobody here tomorrow. Theres a person! Thats my house! Thatll cost £8. Hows your father? Thiss my friend. Howre you? Whatll they will do? Whats this? Whatre they saying about? Whatm I supposed to say? Whens the birthday? Whos your lover? Wheres your house? Whod like sweet?
Whatd
Who had What would
Whatd you do then?
Howd
What had How would
Whatd you done before? Howd she reach Paris?
How had
Howd you made this? 20
Where
Whered you go?
would
Whered they gone?
Where had When
Whend he visited her then?
would
Whend he come?
Whered
Whend
Wholl
Note:
When had Who will
Wholl be there? some common contractions in informal, rapid speech:
+) Aint = am not/ are not/ is not E.g.: You aint a teacher. +) Aint = has not/ have not E.g.: they aint come yet. Whatcha = what are you E.g.: Whatcha going to do? +) Whatcha = what have you E.g.: Whatcha got there? +) The faster speech is, the more the reduction is. Do you want a beer? Do you wanna beer? D you wanna beer? D ya wanna beer? Ya wanna beer? wanna beer? +) n = and E.g.: Rock n roll +) Sm = some E.g.: I got sm beer
21
Chapter 4: Use of full forms Reductions are used in everyday English. But there are certain contexts that only strong forms are used. 4.1. Strong forms are used when function words are stressed for the purpose of emphasis or expressing the disagreement. E.g.: You must go now. / m st / 4.2. Strong forms are used when function words stand at the end of groups or sentences. E.g.: What’s that for? /f :/ Exceptions: he, him, his, her, them and us still have their reduced formed in final position (unless they are stressed). E.g.: I like her / a la k
/
4.3. When a function word is being contrasted with another words, its full form must be used. E.g.: It must be he not me. / hi: / / mi: / 4.4. When function words are being quoted, the full forms are used. E.g.: You can’t say and here. / ænd / 22
Conclusion In this research report, I have systematized reductions in spoken English. Through it, English learners may feel listening less difficult and English teachers may have many useful facilities. Because of my limited knowledge, not all results here may be enough. To make this study better, I really wish to get contributory ideas and comments from readers. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest thanks to all people that have helped me do this study. It is my supervisor, Mr. Nguyçn Ninh BØc who has given me a lot of invaluable suggestions. It is enthusiastic English teachers: Mr. Khoa Anh Vièt, Ms. Trßn Lan Anh, Ms Nguyçn Minh Huè whose constant help and encouragement are very important to my progress. It is my friends who always stand by me and help me overcome my troubles. And it is the authors without whose previous ideas I can not do this research. Hanoi, March of 2006 Leâ TroÏng Khaùnk
23
APPENDIX I: Manner of articulation. 1. Plosive (complete closure + sudden release): / b, p, d, t, g, k / 2. Fricative (narrowing resulting in audible friction): / v, f, z, s, , h, ð, ,
/
3. Affricate (closure + low separation) / ,
/
4. Nasal (complete closure + air escape through nose): / m, n, ŋ / 5. Lateral (closure in mouth centre + air escape at tongue sides): 6. Approximant (slight narrowing but not enough to cause friction): / w, j, r /
APPENDIX II: Voicing
Voiced b v ð d z
Voiceless p f
g
k
t s
Voiced m n ŋ w j r
24
Voiceless
h
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Barker, A. (1984). Introducing English Pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (C. U. P.). 2. Beare, K. (2006). Http: // www. esl. about. com Http: // www. esl. about. com/ library/ grammar/ blgr contractions. htm.
6 February 2006.
3. Daucer, R. M. (2002). Accurate English. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tp Ho Chi Minh. 4. Essberger, J. (1997). http: //www. englishclub. com 5. Geis, M. L. (1995). Speech acts and conversational Interaction. Cambridge: C. U. P. 6. Gilbert, J. B. (2000). Clear speech - Pronunciation and listening comprehension in North American English. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tp Ho Chi Minh. 7. Gimson, A. C. (1980). An introduction to pronunciation of English. Edward Arnold. 8. Hancock, M. 92004). English pronunciation in use. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tp HCM. 9. Judith, T. (1990). Interactions Access - 1, 2 - A listening/ speaking skills Book. New York: McGrawHill. 10.Kelly, G. (2003). How to teach pronunciation. Longman. 11.Nunan, D. (2004). Listen in. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tong hop tp HCM. 12.O Connor, J. D., John and Heidi Platt (1980). Better English pronunciation. Cambridge: C. U. P. 13.Ponsonby, M. (1987). How, Now, Brown, Cow. Cambridge: C. U. P.
25
14.Richards, J. C. (1999) Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Longman. 15.Rivers, W. M. , Temperley, M. S. (1978). A practical guide to the teaching of English - As a second or foreign language. Oxford University Press. 16.Roach, P. (1983). E phonetics and phonology - A practical course. Cambridge: C. U. P. 17.Trask, L. (1997). Http: // www. informatics. susx. ac. uk/ doc/ punctuation/ node 20. htm/ 15 January 2006. 18.Zawadzki, H. (1996). In Tempo - an English pronunciation course. Sydney: National Centre for English language teaching and Research. Zinder, L. R. (1964). Phonetic Basic Study. Hanoi: NXB Giao duc.
26
2. Aims Purposes of the study: It is necessary to know as much about English as possible. Therefore, I do this research with the aims of helping the freshmen overcome the troubles in the
first steps of
listening. In addition, English teachers may have more facilities in their lectures.
3. Scope of the study: As a small scientific research themetopic in English, the study's themename
is also the its scope of the study:
Reductions in English speech.
4. Methods of the study:
4
The main methods in my study are choicematerial collection, analysis, systematization, and classification. Firstly, I have collected all materials from different sources such as Internet, reference books, etc. Then, I have analyzed all the collected materials with consulted much much help from my supervisor and many other enthusiastic teachers in English department without whom I cannot complete the research.
Literature Review When speaking, English speakers use stress, intonation, and aspects of connected speech, etc. One of the most difficulties for those who learn English learners as a foreign language is how to listen to English speech. Reductions are an important part of informal English speech that requires learners must know well many efforts to make a progress in listening, and speaking. Reduction is much in many ways related with to stress, and intonation. If you stress words in English, English speakers may misunderstand you because you may give too much information. English speakers are used to hearing stress on some words and not the others. You may sound angry, impatient, or unfriendly. English speakers usually only stress all words only when they are impatient or angry. When you listen to English, you hear some words more clearly than the others word. These clear words are usually information key words and, they are stressed. The
5
others are function words and , they are unstressed. Therefore, stress makes helps us understand the speakers. To make stress correctly, we must use reductions are needed and will . Reductions make a contrast between grammatical words and content words. Reduction is a progress that speakers speak faster, make sounds shorter, weaker and more unstressed more clearly. There are three kinds of reduction in English speech: 1) Qualitative reductions 2) Quantitative reductions 3) Zero reductions
Chapter 1: Qualitative reductions The reductions of the length of a vowel without changing its quality are called quantitative reduction. In English speech, some pronouns have strong forms with / : /, / : /, or / u: / sound may be a little reduced to / / u /. Here is a chart of common cases: Words be been he me she the
Strong forms /b :/ / b : n/ /h :/ /m :/ / :/ /ð :/
Weak forms /b / / b n/ /h / /m / / / /ð /
to
/ tu: /
/ tu / 6
/, /
/, or
we who you your
/w :/ / hu: / / ju: / / j :r /
/w / / hu / / ju / /j r/
Chapter 2: Quantitative reductions "Many monosyllabic form words are subject to quantitative variation according to whether they receive the accent or not"(Gimson, 1980: 175) In spoken English, “unstressed syllables sound softer, are usually shorter, and are frequently reduced or centralized. This means that the vowels tend to become /
/, /
/, /
/
and the consonants are weaker” (Dauer, 2002: 93) 2.1. The schwa /
/:
The vowels in most unstressed syllables tend to be pronounced the same. The symbol for this sound is /
/ and English speakers often call it as
the weak vowel, the reduced vowel or the schwa. In English, the schwa is the most common of all sounds. The schwa /
/ is a relaxed and easy sound: keep your voice going
when you pronounce the schwa /
/.
Note: Any written English vowel can be pronounced with the schwa /
/ (Zawadzki, 1996: 42). 7
E.g.: Woman / w m n / Women / w m n / Holiday / h l de / Person / p : s n / Success / s kses / The schwa /
/ is pronounced unclearly so that it is very
difficult for English learners to hear without knowing it well. 2.2.1. The schwa /
/ with function words:
Speaking English with only strong forms sounds wrong. The use of weak forms of English if you want your English to sound English (OConnor, 1980: 92). Here is a chart of grammatical words that are reduced with the schwa /
/:
Words
Weak forms
Examples
A
with / / / /
I have a hat
Am An
/ m/ / n/
I am listening She has an umbrella
And
/ n/+consonant
O and I Black and
Phonemic /
h„v h„t / / m l sn ŋ / / i: h„z n m brel / / w nd / / bl„k n w /
white Are
As
/ /+ consonant
/ z/
Where are you
/ we j
now?
/ ðe j re
They are awful As good as gold 8
/ z
n
d zg ld /
/ :fl/
At But Can Could Do (aux) Does
/ t/ /b t/ /k n/
At last But why not? How can I
/k d/
help? She could
/
come What do they
/d z/
do? What does he
/d
(aux) For
/ t l : st / /b tw n t/ /h k n /
help / i: kv d k m
/
/ w td
/
d / w td z
do? /f /+consonant
/ ti: f
/ fr m /
She is from L.A.
tu: /
/
„ŋks f r
/
sk ŋ / i: z fr m ele
asking From
d
/
Tea for two Thanks for
ðe
:
/ Had (aux) Has (aux) Her Must Of Shall
/h d/ /h z/
He had come
/ hi: h d k m
back b„k / She has done it / i: h z d n
t
/ / h h„ndz / / a m st / /s m v i: / /w t l wi: d
/h / / m st / / v/ / l/
Her hands I must go Some of each What shall we
/
do? I should do so.
/a
/s m/ /ð n/
Some money Its easier than
/ /s m m n / / ts i: z ð n
That
/ ð t / (only in
that She said that
The
relative clause) /ð /
she could do it The tie
Should Some Than
d/
9
/ d
d s
„t / / i: sed ð t d du: t/ / ð ta /
i: k
Them Their
There
/ð m/
Tell them
/ tel ð m /
/ m/ /ð
Pick them up Their houses
/p k m p/ / ð ha s z/
/+consonant
Is their office?
/ zð r
/ ð r / + vowel / ð /+
Theres a hat.
/ð z
Is there a
/ zð r
consonant To
/ ð r / + vowel / t /+
Us
consonant / s/
Was
party? Go to work
fi: s / h„t / pa: t /
/
t w :k/
He makes us
/ hi: me ks
smile It was dark.
sma l / / t written z da:
/w z/
s
k/ Were
They were
/w /+consonant / w / + vowel
Would You Your
/ ðe w
talking.
ŋ/
They were
/ ðe written r
asking me.
a:kiŋ m / / a w d la k / / w t j d iŋ
/w d/ /j /
I would like ... What are you
/j r/
doing? Close your
/
kl
eyes. 2.1.2. The schwa /
t :k
/ sj r a s /
/ with content words:
In rapid speech even content words may be reduced quantitatively, because the more rapid the speeches, the greater the tendency to reduction and obscuration of unaccented words are (Gimson, 1980: 264). Quantitative reduction not only occurs in grammatical words
but
also
in
some
common 10
content
words.
A
monosyllable in a position that is adjacent to a primary stress, especially if they contain a short vowel. E.g.: They sit here / ðe 2.2. The short vowel /
s t
h
/
/
"In the North of England, speakers may use / of /
/"
/ in place
(Hancock, 2004 : 46).
E.g.: luck / l k /
/l k/
Chapter 3: Zero reductions The omission of a vowel or a consonant is called zero reduction. According to Zinder (1964), when speaking fast, all unstressed parts may be very reduced, even omitted. This chapter shows kinds of this reduction. 3.1. Vowel omission: Many English speakers, especially in Australia and America, generally reduce the number of syllables in word when speaking informally and fast. If you pronounce all the letters of a word, you may say the wrong number of syllables. (Zanwadzki,
1996:29).
Therefore,
misunderstand you. 11
English
speakers
may
Here are cases that /
/ in unstressed syllables can
disappear - leave forms with fewer syllables: 3.1.1. Consonant + / /
/ is
/ + / reductions / r / + weak vowel
omitted
E.g.: Different
/
d f r nt /
Preferable /
/
pref r b l /
d fr nt / /
prefr b l /
3.1.2. / r / + weak vowel + consonant
weak vowel is
omitted E.g.: Library
/
la br r /
/
la br /
3.1.3. Consonant + weak vowel + / l / weak vowel is omitted E.g.: Family
/
f„m l /
Awful
/
:f l/
/
/ or /
/
3.1.4. Primarily accent + /
f„ml /
/ or /
: fl /
/ in weak syllable /
/ is omitted (in rapid speech).
E.g.: Police 3.1.5. /
/p
li: s /
/ after / p, k, t /
E.g.: Career / k Tonight / t
r
/
/
/ is omitted.
/k
r
k m//t k m/
/ before / l, m, n, r / /
E.g.: Canal / k Business /
/
na t / / t na t /
To come / t 3.1.6. /
/ p li: s /
n„l / / k b z n s/ /
/ is omitted
n„l / b zn s /
3.1.7. A word-final consonant + initial / continuant /
/ is omitted.
E.g.: Get along / et
l ŋ / / et
12
l ŋ/
/ + a
3.1.8. A final /
/ + following / r / + word-internal vowel /
/ is omitted. E.g.: Father and son /
fa; ð r nd s n / /
fa; ð r n s n
/ 3.1.9. The loss of /
/ in "is" often happens with following
"it". E.g.: sit right? /z t
ra t /
3.1.10. The loss of " ". "English
speakers
often
delete
" "
in
informal
conversation". (Zawadzki, 1996 : 197) E.g.: Is it Ok? Oh...suppose so 3.1.11. "Any, anything, anyone" "In spoken English, words such as any, anything, anyone are sometimes reduced when they follow "get" or "got" (Nunan, 2004 : 57) E.g.: Didnt you getny hats? We havent gotnything to eat yet. 3.2. Consonant omissions 3.2.1. The loss of / h / "When a pronoun or auxiliary verb beginning with the / h / sounds unstressed and does not come at beginning of a phrase, the / h / is normally dropped in spoken English. The sound that comes after the / h / is then linked to the last sound of the previous word". (Judith, 1990) Words &
Reduce
Strong
d forms
Examples with reduced forms
13
forms Had
/ d/
We would had come if we had
/ h„d /
known it. /w
Has
/
/ h„z / Have
/
/ h„v/ He
/
/ hi: / Her
/ /
/h :/ Him /h m/ His
/
l d/ She has come.
z/
/ i: j z k m / We have much money.
/
/ wi: j v m m n / Is he right?
r/ /
/ z ra t / I took her hand.
/ m/
/ a t k h„nd / Let him do it!
/ z/
/ let m du: t / I like his tie.
/h z/
/ a la k
z ta /
Some English speakers in London do not pronounce the / h / (Hancock, 2004). E.g.:
Head / hed /
/ ed /
Note: Linking is especially important with silent "h". 3.2.2. 3.2.2.1 The loss of / v /: According to Kelly (20030, / v / in of can disappear when the next word begin with a consonant. E.g.: Lost of time / l t
v ta m / / l t
ta m /
3.2.2.2 The loss of / j / In America, the / j / is dropped from words like: "new, student..." The loss of preceding consonant in the two continual consonants (in informal speech) 14
E.g.: give me a cake /
vm
ke k / /
m
ke
k/ 3.2.2.3 The loss of cluster of adverbs formed with "ly" E.g.: openly /
p nl / /
p l /
3.2.2.4. The loss of / g / in V-ing V-in E.g.: going goin 3.2.3. The loss of / t / 3.2.3.1. Omission of / t / after / n /
In rapid speech, / t / is usually omitted after / n / in unstressed syllable of common in Canada and the Middle West E.g.:
Winter / w nt
/
/ w n
/ (sounds like
winner) Toronto ( t is omitted) Many English speakers omit / t / across word
boundaries in very common words: Want to / w n t
/ /
w n
/ (informal
written: "wanna") Going to /
ŋ/ /
n
/ (informal written:
"gonna")
Negative particle / -nt / + consonant / vowel / t / is omitted. E.g.: I dont know /a
d n
/ (informal written: "dunno")
Except: / -nt / + / j - / / - n / E.g.: didnt you / d dn
/
The loss of / t / in final cluster / -nt /, / -lt / E.g.:
Went mad 15
Felt blue
Note:
nasal + / t / + nasal / t / is pronounced as a glottal
stop instead of being omitted. 3.2.3.2. Reduced / t / in past tense. In the past tense, "/ t / in a verb becomes a quick / d / sound or is silent". (Gilbert, 2000: 147) E.g.: wanted / w n d/ (many English speakers say: / w n n
/)
3.2.3.3. Reduced / t / in between vowels: * In many accents, for examples American accent, / t / is often pronounced "as a quick / d / in between vowels". (Gilbert, 2000: 118) E.g.:
"Write it" (sounds like "ride it") Some common words: water. Better, later,
hotter, city, betty, atom, etc. Even these: sit any, lot of, get all, hit it, etc. * In some accents, including some parts of London, the / t / between two vowel sounds is made not with the tongue but by stopping the air at the back of the throat to make a short silence. E.g.: "Butter" is pronounced "buer" 3.2.3.4. Word - final / t / + word - initial / t, d / / t / is omitted (informal speech). E.g.: Ive got to come /a v g tt
k m //a v g t
k m/
3.2.3.5. The loss of / t / in it when the following word begins with a consonant. 16
E.g.: I think it might be morning. /a
ŋk a ma t b m :niŋ /
3.2.4. Simplification of consonant groups. English speakers often simplify groups of three (or more) consonants by omitting the middle consonants. E.g.:
months / m n s / / m ns / Tests / tests / / tess /
3.2.4.1. Consonant groups with / t, d / * When / t / or / d / occurs between two other stop consonants, they are never
pronounced. So English
learners should leave them out. E.g.: locked car / l k ka: /
Note: In this case, even "ed" is omitted (/ t /, / d /) * Stop + / t / or / d / + fricative / t / or / d / is omitted. E.g.: kept singing / kep s ŋ ŋ / * Fricative (often / s, f / ) + stop/ fricative/nasal
/ t / is
omitted. E.g.: / st / + stop: last time / la:s ta m / + fricative: west side / wes sa d / +nasal: best man / bes mæn / / ft / + stop: lift boy / l f b
/
+ fricative: left shoe / lef u: / + nasal: soft mattress / s f mætr s / * The / t / in / st, ft / may be omitted when other consonants follow, but it is not very common. E.g.:
Next week/ neks wi: k / Best road / bes r
d/
Last lap / la:s læp / 17
* Nasal (often / n, m / + / d / + stop/ nasal / d / is omitted E.g.: / nd / + stop: tinned beans / t n bi: nz / + nasal: blind man / bla n mæn / / md /+stop: it seemed good / t si:m
d/
+nasal: skimmed milk / sk m m lk /
Note: In this case, even "ed" can be omitted. * The / d / in / nd ,md / may be omitted when other consonants follow, but it not very common. E.g.:
Blind chance / bla n a ns / Send seven / sen sev n / She seemed well / i: si:m wel /
* Voiceless plosive/ affricative + / t / + initial consonant word / t / is omitted. E.g.: reached home * Voiced plosive/ affricative + / d / _ initial consonant word / d / is omitted. E.g.: changed face * Omission of word-final / d / before / t, d / E.g.: We could try * Omission of final alveolar explosive / t, d / before / h, j /. E.g.:
Red house Violent jacket
3.2.4.2. Other consonant groups: * The loss of stop in: fricative + stop + fricative E.g.:
Desk / desks / / dess / Months / m n s / / m ns /
3.3. Contractions. ( Essberger,1997). 18
Contraction is a kind of reduction in which we shorten letters both in writing (informal) and in speaking. Especially, when speaking English, we often use contracted forms to save time. 3.3.1. Positive contrastions. Short
Long form
Short
Long form
form Im Ive Ill Id
I am I have I will/ I shall I would/ I had/ I
form Shell Shed Its Itll
She will She had/ she would It is/ it has It will
Youre Youve Youll Youd
should You are You have You will You would/ you
Were Weve Well Wed
We are We have We will We had/ we would
Hes Hell Hed
had He is He will He had/ he
Theyre Theyve Theyll
They are They have They will
Shes
would She is/ she has
Theyd
They had/ they would
3.3.2. Negative contractions.
Notes: There are two possible forms of the verb "to be" E.g.: "They arent" or "theyre not", etc. In questions, "am not" is contracted to "arent". Short
Long form
Short form
Long form
form Arent Cant Couldnt
Are not Can not, cannot Could not
Maynt Mightnt Mustnt
May not Might not Must not
19
Darent Didnt Doesnt Dont Hasnt Havent Hadnt Isnt
Dare not Did not Does not Do not Has not Have not Had not Is not
Neednt Oughtnt Shant Shouldnt Wasnt Werent Wont wouldnt
Need not Ought not Shall not Should not Was not Were not Will not Would not
3.3.3. Other contractions: The contraction ’s ( = is/ has) is not used only with pronouns. It can also be used with nouns, names, question words and words like "here" and "there". Short
Long form
Example
form Heres Therell Theres Thats Thatll Hows Thiss Howre Whatll Whats Whatre Whatm Whens Whos Wheres Whod
Here is There will There is That is That will How is This is How are What will What is What are What am When is Who is Where is Who would
Heres your bread. Therell be nobody here tomorrow. Theres a person! Thats my house! Thatll cost £8. Hows your father? Thiss my friend. Howre you? Whatll they will do? Whats this? Whatre they saying about? Whatm I supposed to say? Whens the birthday? Whos your lover? Wheres your house? Whod like sweet?
Whatd
Who had What would
Whatd you do then?
Howd
What had How would
Whatd you done before? Howd she reach Paris?
How had
Howd you made this? 20
Where
Whered you go?
would
Whered they gone?
Where had When
Whend he visited her then?
would
Whend he come?
Whered
Whend
Wholl
Note:
When had Who will
Wholl be there? some common contractions in informal, rapid speech:
+) Aint = am not/ are not/ is not E.g.: You aint a teacher. +) Aint = has not/ have not E.g.: they aint come yet. Whatcha = what are you E.g.: Whatcha going to do? +) Whatcha = what have you E.g.: Whatcha got there? +) The faster speech is, the more the reduction is. Do you want a beer? Do you wanna beer? D you wanna beer? D ya wanna beer? Ya wanna beer? wanna beer? +) n = and E.g.: Rock n roll +) Sm = some E.g.: I got sm beer
21
Chapter 4: Use of full forms Reductions are used in everyday English. But there are certain contexts that only strong forms are used. 4.1. Strong forms are used when function words are stressed for the purpose of emphasis or expressing the disagreement. E.g.: You must go now. / m st / 4.2. Strong forms are used when function words stand at the end of groups or sentences. E.g.: What’s that for? /f :/ Exceptions: he, him, his, her, them and us still have their reduced formed in final position (unless they are stressed). E.g.: I like her / a la k
/
4.3. When a function word is being contrasted with another words, its full form must be used. E.g.: It must be he not me. / hi: / / mi: / 4.4. When function words are being quoted, the full forms are used. E.g.: You can’t say and here. / ænd / 22
Conclusion In this research report, I have systematized reductions in spoken English. Through it, English learners may feel listening less difficult and English teachers may have many useful facilities. Because of my limited knowledge, not all results here may be enough. To make this study better, I really wish to get contributory ideas and comments from readers. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest thanks to all people that have helped me do this study. It is my supervisor, Mr. Nguyçn Ninh BØc who has given me a lot of invaluable suggestions. It is enthusiastic English teachers: Mr. Khoa Anh Vièt, Ms. Trßn Lan Anh, Ms Nguyçn Minh Huè whose constant help and encouragement are very important to my progress. It is my friends who always stand by me and help me overcome my troubles. And it is the authors without whose previous ideas I can not do this research. Hanoi, March of 2006 Leâ TroÏng Khaùnk
23
APPENDIX I: Manner of articulation. 1. Plosive (complete closure + sudden release): / b, p, d, t, g, k / 2. Fricative (narrowing resulting in audible friction): / v, f, z, s, , h, ð, ,
/
3. Affricate (closure + low separation) / ,
/
4. Nasal (complete closure + air escape through nose): / m, n, ŋ / 5. Lateral (closure in mouth centre + air escape at tongue sides): 6. Approximant (slight narrowing but not enough to cause friction): / w, j, r /
APPENDIX II: Voicing
Voiced b v ð d z
Voiceless p f
g
k
t s
Voiced m n ŋ w j r
24
Voiceless
h
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Barker, A. (1984). Introducing English Pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (C. U. P.). 2. Beare, K. (2006). Http: // www. esl. about. com Http: // www. esl. about. com/ library/ grammar/ blgr contractions. htm.
6 February 2006.
3. Daucer, R. M. (2002). Accurate English. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tp Ho Chi Minh. 4. Essberger, J. (1997). http: //www. englishclub. com 5. Geis, M. L. (1995). Speech acts and conversational Interaction. Cambridge: C. U. P. 6. Gilbert, J. B. (2000). Clear speech - Pronunciation and listening comprehension in North American English. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tp Ho Chi Minh. 7. Gimson, A. C. (1980). An introduction to pronunciation of English. Edward Arnold. 8. Hancock, M. 92004). English pronunciation in use. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tp HCM. 9. Judith, T. (1990). Interactions Access - 1, 2 - A listening/ speaking skills Book. New York: McGrawHill. 10.Kelly, G. (2003). How to teach pronunciation. Longman. 11.Nunan, D. (2004). Listen in. Tp Ho Chi Minh: NXB tong hop tp HCM. 12.O Connor, J. D., John and Heidi Platt (1980). Better English pronunciation. Cambridge: C. U. P. 13.Ponsonby, M. (1987). How, Now, Brown, Cow. Cambridge: C. U. P.
25
14.Richards, J. C. (1999) Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Longman. 15.Rivers, W. M. , Temperley, M. S. (1978). A practical guide to the teaching of English - As a second or foreign language. Oxford University Press. 16.Roach, P. (1983). E phonetics and phonology - A practical course. Cambridge: C. U. P. 17.Trask, L. (1997). Http: // www. informatics. susx. ac. uk/ doc/ punctuation/ node 20. htm/ 15 January 2006. 18.Zawadzki, H. (1996). In Tempo - an English pronunciation course. Sydney: National Centre for English language teaching and Research. Zinder, L. R. (1964). Phonetic Basic Study. Hanoi: NXB Giao duc.
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