Modifications of English vowels in connected speech

The modifications of vowels in a speech chain are traced in the following directions: quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative changes: these changes can be determined by a number of factors:

· Position of the vowel in a word

· Accentual structure

· Tempo of speech

· Rhythm etc.

The decrease of the vowel quantity is known as a quantative modification of vowels. This may be illustrated as follows:

ü The shortening of the vowel length in unstressed positions (vowel reduction) – blackboard [΄blækbͻ:d]. This is an increase of the vowel quantity because of the logical stress: is he or she to blame? [hi:] compare with: at last he’s come [hi].

ü English vowels may have positional length, consequently the vowel length depends on its position in a word. It varies in different phonemic environments: knee – need –near (near is the longest sound) [i:] is the longest in the final position. [i:] is shorter before the lenis voiced consonant [d] and it is the shortest before the fortis voiceless consonants: neat [ni:t].

Qualitative changes: qualitative modification of most vowels occurs in unstressed positions where unstressed vowels lose their “colour” or their quality: ΄conduct, con΄duct; man [æ], ΄sportsman [ə].

In such cases the vowels are reduced to the neutral sound [ə]. These examples illustrate the neutralized or reduced allophones of the same phonemes. The neutral sound [ə] is the most frequent of English. In continuous texts it represents about 11 percent of all sounds. And if we add the occurrence of [i] which is closely related to [ə] in unstressed positions we get a figure close to 20 percent. It means nearly one sound in five is either [ə] or [i]. it is the result of the English rhythmic pattern. It is common knowledge that English rhythm prefers a pattern in which stressed syllables alternate with unstressed ones: analyze [΄æn(ə)laiz], analysis [ə΄næləsis].

Full vowels appear in stressed positions. It is impossible to have [ə] in a stressed syllable and to have a full vowel in an unstressed syllable: metaphor, employee.

In Russian there is a well-developed system of unstressed vowels. All the Russian vowels are subjected to reduction and the vowels [o] and [и] more often thatn others. In Russia the father the unstressed syllable from the stressed one the weaker the vowel in the unstressed syllable: [мълʌко].

Slight degree of nasalization marks vowels preceded or followed by the nasal consonants [m] and [n]: never, mean, no.

Vowel modifications are connected with the style of speech. In rapid speech vowel reduction may result in vowel elision, the complete omission of the unstressed vowels.

Vowel elision equals zero reduction: hist o ry, fact o ry, lit e rature, territ o ry.

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