Reduction affects form words (articles, particles, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary and modal verbs, personal, possessive, reflexive, relative pronouns and the word some meaning indefinite quantity. These words have two forms: strong and weak.
There are three degrees of reduction:
- Quantitative reduction (shortening of a long vowel)
e.g. he [hi: - hi hi]
- Qualitative reduction (changing of the quality of a vowel0
e .g. can [ kæn kәn]
- Zero reduction (omission of a vowel)
e.g. Im [aim]
The following cases should be remembered as the traditional use of strong forms:
a. Prepositions have their strong forms in the sentence final position or when followed by an unstressed personal pronoun.
e.g. What are you looking at? [ æt ]
Im listening to you. [tu:]
b. Auxiliary and modal verbs are in their strong forms at the end of a sentence or sense-group and in contracted negative forms. In both cases the verbs are stressed.
e.g. Are you free? I am. [ æm]
I cant come. [k α: nt]
c. The verb to have in the meaning of to possess is used in its full form whether stressed or unstressed. The verb to do is not reduced when used for emphasis.
e.g. I have a brother. [h æ v]
Do tell me a bout it. [ du: ]
d. The demonstrative pronoun that is never reduced while the conjunction that is always weak.
e.g. I know that. [ ðæt]
I know that you are ill. [ ðәt ]
Exercise 36
Jane is talking about her pets. Write the text down and practise reading it, using short forms.
Exercise 37
In the conversation that follows, the words a and the are not there. Put in the missing articles. Comment on all the weak and strong form words. Practise reading the conversation.
a and the are nearly always weak!
: Do you have children, Shirley?
: Yes, son and daughter.
: Oh thats nice, what do they do?
: My daughter jennys music teacher, and Michael, my son, is at college he wants to
be a pilot!
: Oh, lovely!
: Yes
: Do they live at home?
: Michael lives with me, but Jenny lives in London shes married with two children.
: Oh! So youre grandmother!
: Yes, she has girl and boy too Rebecca and Thomas.
: Oh, lovely how old are they?
: Girls seven and boys two do you want to see photo?
: Oh yes Ah arent they beautiful!
Exercise 38.
Match the parts in A and B to make full sentences. Comment on weak form words.
| a. Im going out b. Theyre waiting c. My daughters studying d. My brothers going abroad e. Were going to the airport f. Shes getting ready | 1. to see the manager. 2. to buy a newspaper. 3. to go out with her boyfriend. 4. to meet some friends. 5. to work. 6. to become a doctor. |
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Exercise 39
Listen to the dialogue, write it down and practise reading it, paying attention to the weak form.
Exercise 40
Listen to the descriptions of some special days in Britain. Put them down and practise reading them using weak form prepositions.
Of links with the word before it!
Exercise 41
What weak form words can you hear in the following sentences? Put down the dialogues and practise reading them.
Exercise 42
Listen to the tape and complete the sentences below. Transcribe them and be prepared to comment on the weak form words.
a. ________ bank opens _________.
b. He goes _________ seven ________.
c. This office ________ half past two.
d. we get up _________ oclock.
e. Her plane ______ two fifteen.
f. The programme _________ about _________ thirty.
g. The film _________ at half _________.
h. My train _______ about ________.
Exercise 43.
Complete the sentences below with suitable prepositions. Listen to the tape and check your answers. Practise reading the sentences.
a. Id like a pot ___ hot tea ___ breakfast, lease.
b. Lets meet ___ Waterloo station ___ eight.
c. Give it ___ Julie and say its ___ me.
d. Well be closed ___ Monday because ___ the strike.
e. Elvis went ___ Las Vegas ___ four months.
Which sentences goes with which stress pattern?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Exercise 44
Listen to the conversation. Fill in the missing prepositions and practise reading the conversation with a partner.
Boss: Hello. Can I speak ___ Miss Moneypenny?
Secretary: Speaking.
Boss: Hello, M here. Im phoning ___ the Ritz.
Im looking ___ James bond. We had a lunch
appointment ___ twelve. Is here there?
Secretary: Im sorry, sir, but hes gone ___ Budapest.
Boss: I was afraid ___ that. Where exactly?
Secretary: Hes staying ___ the Hotel Royal.
Boss: Why didnt he listen ___ me? Hes just asking
___ trouble.
Secretary: Hes only staying there ___ a couple ___ days
Boss: All right. Contact him and tell him ___ me hes
a damn fool. Oh, and you can tell him
Im waiting ___ his call.
Secretary: Yes, sir.
Exercise 45
Listen to the short dialogues at a party and fill in the missing words. Are they weak or strong? Practise saying the dialogues with a partner.
1. How long are you here ___?
Only ___ another couple ___ days.
2. My brothers working ___ Macdonalds this summer.
Oh, whats he working ___?
___ a cook!
3. Wheres the other half ___ that bottle ___ whiskey?
You left it ___ the bottom ___ the stairs.
4. Would you like ___ come back ___ my flat ___ a drink?
Id love ___!
Exercise 46
A. Answer the questions using short answers. What form auxiliary verbs do you use each time?
B. Mark the auxiliary verbs in the fallowing sentences W if they are weak and S if they are strong. Practise saying the questions and the answers with the tape.
Exercise 47
Rewrite the following sentences using contractions where possible. Listen and check your answers. Repeat the sentences with the tape.
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We use contractions in conversations and I informal writing. Here are some rules for contractions:
1/ There are no contractions in affirmative answers: Is he French? - Yes, he is.
2/ The only contraction with nouns and names is s (from is or has): Marys arrived. (not: The childrenve arrived.)
3/ The only contraction with non-personal pronouns (e.g. what, who, here, that, etc.) is s: Wheres the ball? (not: Whereve you been?)
4/ There are no s contractions with wh-questions ending I the word it: What is it?
5/ The contracted form of am I not is Arent I: Arent I going with you?
a. You should not eat fatty foods.
b. The planet will not survive if people are not more careful.
c. She cannot speak German very well.
d. You have not read it, have you?
e. When is your birthday?
f. There is a good film on TV tonight.
g. Jane would like to be an English teacher.
h. Her boyfriend has got a Volkswagen.
i. I am late, am I not?
j. It will be over 500 floors high.
k. What are your names?
l. Luckily the plane did not crash, and the passengers were not hurt.
m. Who is it?
n. I did not use to like vodka.
Exercise 48
Listen to the dialogue and fill in the correct verb forms (affirmative or negative): can, could, was, were. Practise saying the dialogue line by line paying attention to the pronunciation of these verbs.
: My mothers parents, Thomas and Frida, _____ a strange couple. There ___ married nearly twenty years. They _____ very rich, but they _____ very happy.
: Why?
: Frida _____ English she _____ speak English very well.
: Where _____ she from?
: Berlin Germany.
: _____ Thomas speak German?
: Well, he _____ speak many languages, but he _____ speak German.
: Thats strange! And what about your mother? _____ she speak German?
: Well, she _____ understand it very well, but she _____ really speak it.
Exercise 49
Listen to the conversation between three friends. State where they say can or cant in each case. Put the dialogue down and practise reading it.
If the stress and sound s are said incorrectly, it is often difficult to hear the difference between can and cant in connected speech.
Exercise 50
A.
Study the table below. Learn the weak forms of auxiliary verbs and their contractions, then practise saying them in the sentences that follow.
| Do you [d u] or [d ә] Theyre [ðeә] Were [wiә] or [wә] Youre [juә] or [jә] be [bi] Being [biiŋ] been [bin] Was [wәz] wasnt [ w znt] | Were [wә] Werent [w ε:nt] Im [aim] or [ æm] Ill [ail] or [ æl] Well [wil] Have [hәv] or [әv] Havent [hævnt] Theyve [ðeiv] or [ðev] Weve [wiv] |
a. Do you really like Beethoven?
b. You werent I when I called.
c. Theyre leaving this Wednesday.
d. Shes just being difficult.
e. I was worried about you.
f. Ive been waiting for you to phone.
g. Were dealing with the problem.
h. I havent said a word to anyone.
i. Im afraid we were too late.
j. Ill have finished typing it by lunchtime.
k. Theyve never been happy together.
B.
Listen to the sentences and write the missing words in the gaps. Practise saying the sentences with the tape, paying attention to the weak form verbs.
a. ___________________ here a lot?
b. They ____________________ us.
c. They ___________________ another argument.
d. The car _________________ at the moment.
e. This letter _______________ two months ago.
f. That ____________________ me all day.
g. We _____________________ to help..
h. We _____________________ anything yet.
i. Im sure we ______________ just then.
j. I _______________________ home by eight oclock.
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k. They ___________________ a lot of problems lately.
l. We _____________________ for you at the entrance.
Exercise 51
Listen to the following sentences, write them down. Which of the auxiliary verbs here are weak and which are strong?
Exercise 52
Listen to the dialogue, practise reading it line by line with the tape first and then on your own. Be prepared to comment on the weak and strong forms of form-words in it.
A: Have you ever been to Ireland, Pete?
B: Yes, loads of times. My parents go over there every year, you see.
A: Do they? Whys that then?
B: Oh, my Dad was born in Dublin.
A: Was he really? He doesnt sound Irish at all?
B: No well his family left when he was about ten. What about you? Have you ever been there?
A: Well, we were going to Dublin last summer and then there was that long ferry strike
B: Thats right, there was.
A: Anyway we were hoping to go this year instead, but hotel prices have gone up so much
B: Yes, I know they have, its terrible. I tell you what, shall I give you my cousins address? Perhaps you can stay with her for a few days?
A: Are you sure we can? It seems a bit cheeky
B: No
LINKING
In connected speech words are not separated from each other. To achieve this, the following rules should be observed:
1. A word ending in a consonant blends with the initial vowel of the next word, no glottal stop should be heard.
e.g. as a rule
2. The letter r is sounded at the end of a word if the next word begins with a vowel sound. But there is no linking [r] between two words separated by a pause.
e.g. nearer and nearer
He paused there, and then spoke again.
3. Between the word final [i] and the initial vowel of the next word an extra [j] sound can be heard to link them.
e .g. the apple [ ðijæpl]
4. Between the final [u] and the initial vowel of the next word an extra [w] sound can be heard to link them.
e.g. go and do that [gәuwәndu:ðæt]
Mark the links in the following phrases and sentences:
a. free entrance
b. blue eyes
c. no understanding
d. The awful aunty is here in a new outfit.
e. The doctor advised me to eat only apples.
f. The author is an ugly individual who earns a lot.
g. A new Austin is too expensive for us to afford.
h. He and Hugh Appleby are thirty-eight years old.
Exercise 53
Look at this famous book, play and film names and mark the links. Repeat the names with the tape.
War and Peace
Out of Africa
Death on the Nile
Alice in Wonderland
The Wizard of Oz
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
A Clockwork Orange
Laurence of Arabia
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Kiss of the Spiderwoman
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Venus and Adonis
First among Equals
Death of a Salesman.
Exercise 54
Put down the sentences you hear, work out their meanings and practise reading them.
Multi-word verbs are often difficult to understand because of linking!
Exercise 55
Listen and practice saying these London place names, paying attention to the linking.
THE WEST END
MARBLE ARCH
Gatwick Airport
THE CITY OF LONDON
Heathrow Airport
Westminster Abbey
The Royal Albert Hall
The Houses of Parliament
The Tower of London
Shaftsbury Avenue
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The London Underground
The Bank of England
Exercise 56
Listen to the sentences and complete them, transcribe them and mark all the links. Practise reading them.
a. What a ______________!
b. It was an ____________.
c. The weather was ____________!
d. He got into their ____________.
e. She speaks ____________ and __________.
f. It was an ______________!
g. She lives in a __________.
h. Ill phone for an _________!
Exercise 57
Listen and practise saying the names quickly in pairs.
Names ending in the sound [ә] are linked with an extra [r] sound. With names which already contain [r] the final [ә] is elided and the [r] and the linking [r] merge when speaking at speed.
e.g. Sarah and Sheila [ sεәrәnd ∫i:lә]
| A. Maggie Susie Cathy - Charlie Bobby - Billy Tommy - Lizzie Johnnie Andy Linda Hannah Laura Sarah Sheila Patricia Sandra Amanda Romeo Juliet Othello Desdemona Horatio Hamlet | B. Kennedy - Cleopatra Plato - John Lennon Franco - Charles Victoria - Kruschev Isabella - Mussolini Diana - Albert Mary - Minnie (Mouse) Yoko Ono - Aristotle Antony - Ferdinand Mickey - Joseph |
Exercise 58
Put down the sentences you hear on the tape; practise reading them, inserting the extra [j] and [w] sounds to link the words, where possible.
Exercise 59
Complete these pairs of dialogues with very or too. Listen to the tape and compare your answers. Practise reading the dialogues with a partner.
a/ i. Excuse me for asking, but how much did the rain ticket to Newcastle cost?
It was _______ expensive, about ₤60.
ii. Why didnt you come here on the train?
It was ______ expensive, about ₤60.
b/ i. It seems quite safe in this area at night.
Actually its ______ unsafe.
ii. Why didnt you travel up here i that old car of yours?
Actually, its ______ unsafe.
c/ i. How did you feel about things when you woke up this morning?
To be honest, I was still _______ annoyed.
ii. Why didnt you come out for a drink with the boss last night?
To be honest, I was still ______ annoyed.
d/ i. Why didnt Mary apply for that job, do you know?
Im not sure, but I think she was ______ old.
ii. How old was her grandmother when she died?
Im not sure, but I think she was ______ old.
Exercise 60
Listen to the tongue-twisters, pay attention to all the links. Practise until you can say them smoothly and quickly.
a. My aeroplane arrives in Australia at bout eight oclock in the evening.
b. Uncle Alfie and auntie Elsie always go away at Easter.
c. Are you asking us to accept an offer of only eighty pounds?
d. Nicky and Laura are off to Italy and Austria again.
e. Bruno and Anna are arriving in an hour or so and theyre often early.
Exercise 61
Listen to the dialogue and mark the linking [r]s. Practise reading the dialogue with a partner.
M: Peter! Are you going anywhere over Easter this year?
P: Well, yes, as a matter of fact we are. Were off on a tour of Italy for a week or two.
M: Mmm. That sounds really wonderful. Where exactly will you be going?
P: Oh, here and there. Romes more or less definite, but apart from that were open to suggestion.
M: Are you traveling by coach?
P: No, by car, actually.
M: Dear old Italy! When youre in Rome you must remember to throw a coin over your shoulder
into the Trevi fountain.
P: Really? What for?
M: Well, if you do that, it means that, sooner or later, youre sure to return.
Exercise 62.
Listen to the dialogue which is rather informal. Can you catch all the words? Try to put the dialogue down and read it at the same speed as it is on the tape.
ASSIMILATION
Assimilation is a phonetic process as a result of which one of the sounds becomes fully or partly similar to the neighbouring sound.
Assimilation can affect different characteristics of a sound, and its types are numerous. Some of the most frequent types are:
1. Alveolar [t], [d], [n], [l], [s], [z] are replaced by their dental variants when immediately followed by the interdental [θ] or [ð].
e.g. tenth, on the desk
2. The sonorants [m], [n], [l], [w], [r], [j] are partly devoiced when preceded by the voiceless consonants.
e.g. rush crush, got wet
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3. Consonants followed by [w] become slightly rounded.
e.g. twin, swift
4. In a cluster of two plosives, when the positions of the organs of speech are the same for both consonants, the first plosive loses its plosion.
e.g. bookcase, that child
5. When the positions of the organs of speech are different, the first plosive has an incomplete plosion.
e.g. talked, good book
6. When a plosive is followed by the syllabic [n] or [m] the nasal plosion is produced.
e.g. shipmate, escape noisily
7. When a plosive is immediately followed by the sound [l] the lateral plosion is produced.
e.g. black, settle, it lasts
8. In rapid speech do you often becomes [d u].
e.g. Do you know his name? [dZu nәu hiz neim]
Exercise 63
Listen to the phrases on the tape, put them down, work out their meanings, explain the difference in the way they sound.
Exercise 64
Listen and cross out the unpronounced plosive sounds in the following sentences, comment on all the other cases of assimilation there are in them.
a. She was wearing a deep purple evening dress.
b. They had dinner at eight oclock.
c. Weve got a flat tyre, Im afraid.
d. She gave him a quick kiss.
e. Youre a big girl now dear.
f. He didnt do the washing-up.
g. We had a really good time at Antonias.
h. What are my job prospects after the course?
i. Mmm! I love ripe bananas!
j. Give that ball a big kick!
k. Theyve got a lovely back garden.
Exercise 65
Listen to the dialogues and write in Bs answers. Pay attention to the pronunciation of the questions Do you ?
1. A: Do you know the time?
B:
2. A: Do you have a light?
B:
3. A: Do you speak English?
B:
4. A: Do you understand?
B:
5. A: Do you have milk?
B:
6. A: What do you do?
B:
Exercise 66
Listen to the conversation between Bob and Anna. Put it down and practise reading it with a partner. Pay attention to the pronunciation of do you and would you questions.
Exercise 67.
Listen to the conversation, write it down. Make up similar conversations with a partner.
Revision Exercise
Every other line in this poem is in transcription. Do the same to the first lines in each verse. Be prepared to comment on all the cases of reduction, linking and assimilation. Prepare model reading of the poem.
*Sean is said [∫O:n]
Flatearther
Cried Uncle Sean, The earth is flat!
[ai riqli jxm kwait Suqr qv Dxt]
And just to prove I tell it true
[ail wO:k frqm hiq tq kxtmandH]
Somewhere the earth is bound to stop,
[Den Of Di jeG ail Suqli drOp]
He left at five and got as far
[qz dAblin bei jqn mikiz bR]
Twas five to twelve he staggered out,
[rOkiN qn rJliN O:l qbaut]
At sea-walls edge his feet they tripped
[qn daun qpOn Dq bJC hi flipt]
He lay there thinking he was dead,
[Den traiqmf flxSt intH hiz hed]
Im right! Im right! yelled Uncle Sean
[rimHviN frqm hiz biqd q prO:n]
Which proves that when ones had some drinks,
[wAn kxn bilJv GAst wOt wAn TiNks]
/Jack Randle/
SECTION 4
