Obstruents and sonorants

It is sometimes found useful to classify categories of sounds according to their noise

component. Those in whose production the constriction impeding the airflow through the
vocal tract is sufficient to cause noise are known as OBSTRUENTS. This category
comprises plosives, fricatives and affricates. SONORANTS are those voiced sounds in
which there is no noise component i.e. voiced nasals, approximants and vowels.

Source: Cruttenden, A. & Gimson, A. (2014). Gimson's pronunciation of English. London New York: Routledge.

Spelling and pronunciation

/s/
 ALL <s> at the beginning of words: see, side
 ALL <ss>: cross, fussy (Exceptions: scissors, possess, Aussie, scissors, possession,
dessert, dissolve)
 ALL <s> before or after a voiceless consonant: ask, whisper, stay, last
 ALL <se> after <l,n,r>: else, tense, horse
 MOST <ce>, <ci>, <cy>: centre, nice, science, cycle, juicy
 SOME <s> in the middle of words: basic, mason
 SOME <se> at the end of words: mouse, cease.
 SOME <s> at the end of words: bus, gas
 ALL plural and 3er personal singular <s> after voiceless sound: cats, writes.

/z/
 ALL <z>: zoo, freeze
 SOME <s> in the middle of words between vowels: music, pleasant, present, noisy
(Exceptions: basic).
 SOME <s> before or after a voiced consonant: cosmetic, clumsy
 SOME <se> at the end of words after vowel: choose, ease, Japanese, rise, please,
tease, cheese, chose
Exceptions:
<-ase> base, case, chase.
<-ease> cease, increase.
<-oose> goose, moose
<-ouse> Scouse, house, mouse.
 SOME <s> at the end of words: was, has
 ALL plural and 3rd person signular <s> after voiced sound: dogs, adds

Source: Connor, J. & Fletcher, C. (1989). Sounds English: a pronunciation practice book. Harlow: Longman.

Summary of allophones

ASPIRATION OF FORTIS PLOSIVES

[pʰ] [tʰ] [kʰ] Full aspiration

- Stressed syllables
- Followed by a vowel
- Not preceded by /s/

[l̥ ] [r̥] [w̥] [j̥] Aspiration through devoicing of /l,r,w,j/

- Stressed syllable
- Following /p,t,k/

[p⁼] [t⁼] [k⁼] Lack of aspiration

- Stressed syllables
- Followed by a vowel or /l,r,w,j/
- Preceded by /s/

Aspiration (symbolised phonetically by [h]) occurs when fortis plosives /p t k/ are initial in a
stressed syllable, and takes the form of a delay in the onset of voicing, an effect often
compared to a little puff of air. The link with stress is significant; in competitor [kəmˈp hetɪtə]
aspiration is heard on the /p/, but much less so on the unstressed /k/ or the two /t/s. In initial
clusters with /s/, e.g. stool, spool, school, aspiration is absent. See devoicing of /l r j w/
following fortis plosives.
Source: Collins, B., Mees, I. & Carley, P. (2019). Practical phonetics and phonology: a resource book for
students. Abingdon, Oxon New York: Routledge.

DEVOICING OF OBSTRUENTS

Plosives [b̥] [d̥] [ɡ̊] Fully devoiced

When followed by voiceless sounds or a pause.
Affricates [ʤ̥]

Fricatives [ð̥][v̥][z̥][ʒ̊]

Stress
It is the rhythmic beat on a syllable. It is a fixed property of each word in the
speaker's mental lexicon which is shown in dictionary transcriptions as in /rɪ
ˈgret/.

Pronunciation/transcription rules

Teutonic rule
The first two syllables of a word cannot be unstressed and therefore we need
a secondary stress on the first or second syllable. So is the case of photographic
/ˌfəʊtəˈgræfɪk/ which has two stresses.
The two stresses are important because you can use this word in two
different contexts. You can either say photographic with the main stress on the
penultimate syllable or you can talk about a photographic RECord with the
stress on the first one. Without this secondary stress and consequent
susceptibility to stress shift, these long words would not be phonologically well-
formed.
However, there are certain two syllable words such as bamboo which must
be lexically double stressed since you can either say a table made of bamboo
with the stress on the last syllable or a bamboo table with the stress on the first
syllable. Thus bamboo should be transcribed as /ˌbæmˈbuː/.

Rule of alternation
There is a strong tendency to alternate strong and weak syllables, so if the
primary stress falls on the third syllable, the first one is likely to bear a
secondary stress. Examples:
University: /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsɪti/
Adolescence: /ˌædəˈlesns/
Conversation: /ˌkɒnvəˈseɪʃən/
Enthusiastic: /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/

Rule of derivation
Many English words are derived from other words. If the primary stress is
moved more than one syllable when an affix is added, the stressed syllable in
the original word may be likely to become a secondary stress:
Pronounce: /prəˈnaʊns/ Pronunciation: / prəˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən/
Generous: /ˈʤenərəs/ Generosity: /ˌʤenəˈrɒsɪti/

-s endings
The plural marker can be pronounced /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/ depending on the preceding
sound:
 if the preceding sound is /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, the is pronounced /ɪz/.
Examples: /ˈʧɜːʧɪz ˈbrɪʤɪz/
 if the preceding sound is voiceless, the plural marker takes the likewise
voiceless form /s/. Examples: mop /ˈmɒp/, plural mops /ˈmɒps/
 if the preceding sound is voiced, the plural marker takes the likewise
voiced form /z/ as in dog /ˈdɒɡ/, plural dogs /ˈdɒɡz/

Allophones

Full aspiration: When /p,t,k/ are followed by a vowel sound, not preceded
by /s/,and the syllable is stressed. Ex: Potato [tʰ]
Partial aspiration: When /p,t,k/ are followed by a vowel sound, but the
syllable is not stressed. Ex: Potato
aspiration:
 When /p,t,k/ are preceded by /s/ Ex: Spot
 /p,t,k/ are followed by vowels.

Aspiration through devoicing of /l,r,w,j/

 When stressed initial /p, t, k/ are followed by /l, r, w, j/, aspiration is
manifested through the devoicing of /l,r,w,j/.
Examples, plot, tractor, tube, twin

Weak aspiration: voiceless plosives are weakly aspirated in unstressed

syllables and in final position. Examples: pot, tomorrow.

Devoicing of voiced plosives: Voiced plosives are /b, d, g/. All the
voiced consonants in final position or when they are before a voiceless
sound as in cab and are represented with ° underneath except for /g/ in
which case you place the symbol right above the /g/.

Dentalization of plosives: When preceding the dental fricative /θ/, the

/t/ is dentalized and it becomes /t̪/. eighth /eɪtθ/ → [eɪt̪ θ] and as the
voiceless alveolar plosive does not follow /s/ it will also be aspirated in this
context [eɪt̪ ʰθ]
The voiced counterpart alveolar plosive /d/ is similarly dentalized when it
appears before a dental fricative, e.g. width /wɪdθ/→ [wɪd̪θ]

Unreleased plosives: When a plosive (p, t, k, b, d, g) is followed by

another plosive or affricate (ʤ/ ʧ), the first plosive is unreleased, you do
not hear the release of the first plosive (apt [ˈæp̚t] / /ðæt̚ ʧeə/)

Nasal release of plosives: When a plosive is followed by /m/ /n/ or /ŋ/

becomes nasal, it is shown with the symbol [tⁿ]. It is commonly
transcribed as having no audible release: [ˈkæt̚nɪp], [ˈsʌd̚n̩]
Lateral release of plosives: When /t/ or /d/ are followed by /l/, they are
represented by the following symbol: [tˡ]. It is commonly transcribed as
having no audible release: [/ˈhɑːd̚lɪ/]

Dentalization of nasals: the alveolar nasal is /n/ is dentalized before /θ/ as in

tenth /tɛnθ/ →[tʰɛn̪θ]

Dentalization of approximants: the only alveolar approximant to

undergo dentalization before a dental fricative is the lateral /l/, e.g.
health /hɛlθ/ → [hɛl̪ θ] and as the /l/ appears before a consonant, it is
also velarized [hɛɫ̪ θ]

Devoicing of approximants: When r/w/j/l occur after initial /p, t, k/

(present), they are devoiced, as in [pl̥ eɪ, tw̥ɪn, kj̥u]
The sound /r/ can also be devoiced after /f, θ, ʃ/ and /l/ only after /p, k/

Devoicing of fricatives:
The voiced fricatives /v/, /ð/ and /z/ are also similarly voiced in word-final
position, e.g.
have /hæv/ → [hæv̥]
The voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, is also devoiced when it appears in
final position.

Devoicing of affricates:
When /ʤ/ appears in final position is also devoiced, e.g.
badge /bæʤ/→ [bæʤ̊]

Velarization of /l/: The /l/ in the words “lost” and “feel” sound different.
When followed by a consonant or pause, it is represented with the
symbol [ɫ] as in ball /bɔl/ → [bɔːɫ].

Labialization – consonants: Whenever the bilabial nasal /m/ or the alveolar

nasal /n/ appears before a labiodental fricative /f, v/ they are prone to
assimilating the labiodental place of articulation as in “comfy” /kʌmfɪ/ →
[kʰʌ̃ɱfɪ], resulting in a labiodental nasal symbolized as [ɱ].
Velar shifting – consonants: The phonemes /k/ and /g/ in initial
position before front vowels /i, æ/, are represented with a + symbol
underneath each sound and before back vowels (/æ, ɒ/) with a - symbol
underneath each sound.

Retraction: When the sounds /t, d, n, l/ occur before the alveolar

approximant /r/, and it is represented by the symbol [n̠] as in [hɛn̠rɪ]

Glottal stop: in standard British English, a main variation is the

glottalization of the voiceless alveolar plosive /t/ when it occurs in
syllable-final position, e.g.
hat /hæt/ → [hæʔ]

Variation of place of the /n/: This sound /n/ is affected by the

consonant that follow it.
 if it is followed by a bilabial consonant, it becomes bilabial as in “in
part” [/ɪn pɑːt/] becomes [/ɪm pɑːt/]
 if it is followed by a velar consonant, it becomes velar as
in /ɪŋ ˈkəʊmə/
 if it is followed by a dental consonant, if becomes dental as
in /ɪn̪ ˈθɪərɪ/

Syllabic /n/: When the unstressed schwa is followed by /n/ in the same
syllable, the vowel schwa is not heard and the nasal consonant becomes
syllabic and is represented by the following symbol: /n̩/ as in /ˈmɪʃn̩
ˈhevn̩ ˈprɪzn̩/

Syllabic /l/: When the unstressed schwa is followed by /l/ in the same
syllable, the vowel schwa is not heard and the consonant becomes
syllabic and it represented by the following symbol: /l̩ / as in [ˈskræmbl̩ d]

Devoicing of /l/: When the /l/ sound follows a voiceless plosive /p, t, k/
in initial stressed position, it is devoiced and represented with the
symbol: /l̥ / as in /kluː/ or /ɪmˈplɔɪ/
Happy i: We use the symbol /i/ in weak positions that are

 word-final, as happy, coffee, valley,

 prevocalic, as various, euphoria,
 in the unstressed prefixes be-, de-, pre-, re- and certain word-like
combining forms such as poly-.

Thank- u: There is a corresponding neutralized vowel /u/ as in thank

you, incongruous, situation which sound /θæŋk ju ɪnˈkɒŋgruəs ˌsɪtju
ˈeɪʃən/. This /u/ is weak and only occurs in unstressed syllables. This
sound is now increasingly replaced by schwa.

Assimilation
There can be assimilation of place, manner and voice.

Assimilation of Place

Process in which two or more sounds become similar to each other. One of the
sounds takes characteristics of the other.
1) a sound takes features from the sound following: regressive or
anticipatory assimilation.
2) a sound takes features from the sound preceding: progressive
assimilation.
3) two sounds merge into one sound which shares characteristics from the
two original ones: coalescent assimilation.

Velar assimilation

/t/ before /k,g/ becomes /k/:

 That car / ðæt kɑ:/ > /ðæk kɑ:/

 That gorilla /ðæt gəˈrɪlə/ > /ðæk gəˈrɪlə/

/d/ before /k/g/ becomes /g/:

 good cat /ɡʊd kæt/ > /ɡʊɡ kæt/

 good girl /ɡʊd ɡɜl/ > /ɡʊɡ ɡɜːl/
/n/ before /k/g/ becomes /ŋ/

 ten cats /ten kæts/ > /teŋ kæts/

 ten girls /ten gɜːlz/ > /teŋ ɡɜːlz/

/nt/ + /k/g/ becomes /ŋk/

 I can’t cry /aɪ kɑ:n(t) kraɪ/ → [aɪ kɑːŋk kraɪ]

 I can’t go /aɪ kɑ:n(t) ɡəʊ/ → [aɪ kɑːŋk ɡəʊ]

OR there is elision of /t,d/ in negative contractions.

/nd/ + /k/g/ becomes /ŋɡ/

 a kind call /ə kaɪnd kɔ:l/ → [ə kaɪŋɡ kɔːl]

 a kind girl /ə kaɪnd ɡɜ:l/ → [ə kaɪŋɡ ɡɜːl]

Bilabial assimilation

/t/ before /p,b,m/ becomes /p/:

 That man / ðæt mæn/ > /ðæp mæn/

 That boy /ðæt bɔɪ/ > /ðæp bɔɪ/
 That pot /ðæt pɒt/ > /ðæp pɒt/

/n/ before /p,b,m,w/ becomes /m/:

 ten pails /ten peɪlz/ > /tem peɪlz/

 ten bales /ten beɪlz/ > /tem beɪlz/
 ten males /ten meɪlz/ > /tem meɪlz/
 ten whales /ten weɪlz/ > /tem weɪlz/

/d/ before /p,b,m,w/ becomes /b/:

 bad boy /bæd bɔɪ > /bæb bɔɪ/
 mad man /mæd mæn/ > /mæb mæn/
 good pail /ɡʊd peɪl/ > /ɡʊb peɪl/
 good whale /ɡʊd weɪl/ > /ɡʊb weɪl/

/nt/ + /p,b,m,w/ becomes /mp/

 don’t play /dəʊnt pleɪ/ > /dəʊmp pleɪ/

 don’t bite /dəʊnt baɪt/ > /dəʊmp baɪt/
 don’t move /dəʊnt mu:v/ > /dəʊmp muːv/
 don’t wait /dəʊnt weɪt/ > /dəʊmp weɪt/

/nd/ + /p,b,m,w/ becomes /mb/

 she found Pete /ʃi faʊnd pit/ > /ʃɪ faʊmb pit/
 she found Bill /ʃi faʊnd bɪl/ > /ʃɪ faʊmb bɪl/
 she found Mick /ʃi faʊnd mɪk/ > /ʃɪ faʊmb mɪk/
 she found Will /ʃi faʊnd wɪl/ > /ʃɪ faʊmb wɪl/

Post-alveolar Assimilation

/s/ before /ʃ,j/ becomes /ʃ/:

 this shop /ðɪs ʃɒp/ → [ðɪʃ ʃɒp]

 this year /ðɪs jɪə/ → [ðɪʃ jɪə]

/z/ before /ʃ,j/ becomes /ʒ/:

 those shoes /ðəʊz ʃu:z/ → [ðəʊʒ ʃuːz]

 those years /ðəʊz jɪəz/ → [ðəʊʒ jɪəz]

/t/ before / j/ becomes /tʃ/:

 what you said /wɒt ju sed/ → [wɒʧ ju sed]

/d/ before /j/ becomes /dʒ/:

 would you? /wʊd ju/ → [wʊʤ ju]

Assimilation of manner of articulation:

Nasal assimilation:

When /d/ is followed by an /m/, it becomes /m/ as in

 good morning /gʊd mɔ:nɪŋ/ → [ɡ̠ʊm mɔːnɪŋ]

When /d/ is followed by an /n/, it becomes /n/ as in

 I had none /aɪ hæd nʌn/ → [aɪ hæn nʌn]

When /d/ is followed by /ŋ/, it becomes /ŋ/

 I couldn’t go /aɪ kʊdnt gəʊ/ → [aɪ kʊŋ gəʊ]

When /v/ is followed by /m/, it becomes /m/

 I have more /aɪ hæv mɔː/ → [æ hæm mɔː]

When /v/ is followed by an /n/, it becomes /n/

 I have neither /aɪ hæv naɪðə/ → [aɪ hæn naɪðə]

When /v/ is followed by /ŋ/, it becomes /ŋ/

 I haven’t gone /aɪ hævnt gɒn/ → [aɪ hæŋ gɒn]

Assimilation of voice When voiced fricatives appear word-finally

and they are followed by a voiceless consonant in the word-initial
position of an immediately following word, they typically become fully
voiceless. They assimilate the full voicelessness of the consonant. The
following rules apply:

When /v/ is followed by a voiceless consonant like /t/, it becomes /f/,

which is its voiceless counterpart:
 I have to /aɪ hæv ten/ → [aɪ hæf ten]
Similarly, when /ð/ is followed by voiceless /θ/, it becomes /θ/ as in:
 with thanks /wɪð θæŋks/ → [wɪθ θæŋks]
When /z/ is followed by voiceless /ʃ/, it becomes /s/ as in:
 those shoes /ðəʊz ʃu:z/ → [ðəʊs ʃuːz]
When /ʒ/ is followed by /k/, it becomes voiceless /ʃ/ as in:
 beige cardigan /beɪʒ kɑ:dɪgən/ → [beɪʃ kɑːdɪgən]
When /ʤ/ is followed by /s/, it becomes /ʧ/ as in:
 Madge Smith /mæʤ smɪθ/ → [mæʧ smɪθ]

Elision: It is the removal or deletion of a sound, or sounds and it can

occur across word boundaries in connected speech.

1) Word-initial /h/ after a word boundary, e.g.

 he’s very happy /hiz verɪ hæpi / → [hiːz vɛrɪ æpi]

Unstressed pronouns beginning with /h/ appear to be susceptible, i.e.

he, him, her, his, hers, himself, herself.
 give him it /gɪv hɪm ɪt/ → [gɪv ɪm ɪt]

In addition, forms of the auxiliary verb have also appear to be

susceptible to so-called h-dropping, e.g.
 would have /wʊd hæv/ → [ɪ wʊd əv]

2) Word-final clusters The alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/ are

particularly susceptible to elision when they appear in word-final
position if they are
 (a) preceded by a consonant of the same voicing (with
some exceptions such as /nt/) and,

 (b) followed by a consonant which is in word-initial

position of the immediately following word.

Thus, when the voiceless clusters: /pt/, /kt/, /ft/, /st/, /ʃt/, /tʃt/, and
the voiced clusters: /bd/, /gd/, /md/, /nd/, /ŋd/, /vd/, /ðd/, /zd/, /ʒd/,
/dʒd/, /ld/ are followed by any consonant other than /h/, then the /t/
or /d/ should be elided from the cluster as in:

 /-pt/ kept quiet /kept kwaɪət/ → [kep kwaɪət]

 /-kt/ licked two /lɪkt tu:/ → [lɪk tuː]
 /-ft/ left luggage /left lʌgɪʤ/ → [lef lʌgɪʤ]
 /-st/ last man /lɑ:st mæn/ → [lɑ:s mæn]
 /-ʃt/ mashed potato /mæʃt pəteɪtəʊ/ → [mæʃ pəteɪtəʊ]
 /-ʧt/ beached whale /biʧt weɪl/ → [biʧ weɪl]

 /-bd/ mobbed team /mɒbd ti:m/ → [mɒb tiːm]

 /-gd/ lagged tank /lægd tæŋk/ → [læg tæŋk]
 /-md/ roamed far /rəʊmd fɑ:/ → [rəʊm fɑː]
 /-nd/ hand cart /hænd kɑt/ → [hæŋ kɑːt]
 /-ŋd/ winged bird/wɪŋd bɜ:d/ → [wɪŋ bɜːd]
 /-vd/ loved dog /lʌvd bɔɪ/ → [lʌv bɔɪ]
 /-ðd/ bathed quickly /beɪðd kwɪklɪ/ → [beɪð kwɪklɪ]
 /-zd/ used car /ju:zd kɑ:/ → [juːz kɑː]
 /-ʒd/ garaged car /gærɑ:ʒd kɑ:/ → [g̟ærɑːʒ kɑː]
 /-ʤd/ changed places /ʧeɪnʤd pleɪsɪz/ → [ʧeɪnʤ pleɪsɪz]
 /-ld/ bold font /bəʊld fɒnt/ → [bəʊl fɒnt]

Exceptions

/nt/ In this cluster the first consonant is voiced whilst the second
consonant is voiceless. It can occur in words such as haven’t
/hævnt/. The /t/ in these clusters can also be omitted when they
occur before a word-initial consonant across a word boundary,
as in:
 she didn’t do it /ʃi dɪdnt du: ɪt/ → [ʃi dɪdn du: ɪt]
 a hint of lemon /eɪ hɪnt ɒv lemən/ →[ə hɪn əv lemən]

3) Elision of Schwa Unstressed syllables often, but not always,

contain the neutral central vowel /ə/. Now, under the pressure of
rapidly articulated connected speech, vowels in unstressed
syllables can be reduced to the point of extinction. This is
demonstrated in the words polite, suppose and correct in the
following example phrases.
 he’s a polite man /hiz eɪ pəˈlaɪt mæn/ → [ɪz ə plaɪp mæn]
 I suppose so /aɪ səˈpəʊz səʊ/ → [æ spəʊz səʊ]
 that’s not correct /ðæts nɒt kəˈrekt/ → [ðæts nɒk krekt]

In words such as “history”, “travelling”, “suppose”, “correct”, schwa may

be elided without making the following consonant syllabic.
Schwa must be followed by /n/, /l/ or /r/ and preceded by a consonant.
The elision of schwa results in the loss of syllable.
Reduction The elision of schwa mentioned above pertains to this
category as well since reduction, as opposed to assimilation, linking and
elision, does not operate at word boundaries but within the words as in:

 man of means /mæn əv minz/

The word “of” in isolation would sound /ɒv/, but in connected speech we
use the weak form and we change the strong vowel for the schwa. In
fact, in rapidly articulated speech, it is common for the /v/ to disappear
altogether:

 man of means /mæn ə minz/

The same rule applies to the word “have” which in isolation would be
pronounced as /hæv/, yet in connected speech we use the schwa and
the /h/ sound disappears altogether as in:

 they have gone /ðeɪ əv gɒn/

The same utterance could even be pronounced in a much more reduced

way making the vowel disappear as in:

 they have gone /ðeɪv gɒn/

Function words such as of, have, a, he, she, is, and are particularly
prone to reduction in connected speech. The word and is a function word
that frequently undergoes several types of reduction. In isolation, it is
pronounced as /ænd/ but in connected speech it may be realized as
/ənd/, /ən/, /nd/ or /n/. In general, Vowels in monosyllabic function words
are frequently reduced to /ə/ or /ɪ/.

Linking

Linking r
When a word with a vowel in word-final position is followed immediately
across a word boundary by another word that has a vowel in word-initial
position, the two words may be linked by the insertion of an /r/ sound as in:

 more over /mɔ: əʊvə/ → [mɔːr əʊːvə]

The first word more has the vowel /ɔ:/ in word-final position. This is
immediately followed by another word over that has a vowel in word-initial
position, i.e. the vowel /əʊ/. Under these circumstances, with one vowel
following another, across a word boundary, the two words may be linked by the
insertion of an /r/ sound.

Intrusive -r
When there is no <r> written and /r/ is pronounced between /ɔ:/, /ə/, /ɪə/, and
/ɑ:/ as in:
 /aɪ sɔː rə fɪlm təˈdeɪ/
 /lɔː rən ˈɔːdə/
Weak forms: A very important aspect of the dynamics of English
pronunciation is that many very common words have not only a strong or
full pronunciation (which is used when the word is said in isolation), but
also one or more weak forms which are used when the word occurs in
certain contexts. Words which have weak forms are, for the most part,
function words such as conjunctions (e.g. ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’), articles (e.g.
‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’), pronouns (e.g. ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘her’, ‘him’), prepositions (e.g.
‘for’, ‘to’, ‘at’) and some auxiliary and modal verbs (e.g. ‘do’, ‘must’,
‘should’). Generally the strong form of such words is used when the word
is being quoted (e.g. the word ‘and’ is given its strong form in the
sentence “We use the word ‘and’ to join clauses”), when it is being
contrasted (e.g. ‘for’ in “There are arguments for and against”) and when
it is at the end of a sentence (e.g. ‘from’ in “Where did you get it from”).
Often the pronunciation of a weak-form word is so different from its
strong form that if it were heard in isolation it would be impossible to
recognise it: for example, ‘and’ can become n̩ in ‘us and them’, ‘fish and
chips’, and ‘of’ can become f or ̩ v̩ in ‘of course’. The reason for this is
that to someone who knows the language well these words are usually
highly predictable in their normal context.