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Phonemic variations in connected speech dialog

The phonologic transcription is affected by the environment in which the words appear. This dialog focus on the mutual influence of contiguous phonemes in English produced by a series of processes that are more frequent in rapid and colloquial speech:

 How does it work?

 Shortcuts

 Phonemic variations

How does it work?

Step 1. Choose the type of pronunciation

Choose the type of pronunciation for the output broad transcription. Two options are available: British English (RP Received Pronunciation) and American English (GA General American)

Step 2. Choose the phonemic variatios you want to apply

Check those phonemic variations you want to apply to the input transcription. Keep unchecked those you do not want to apply. You also have options to check or uncheck all the phonemic variations shown in the dialog.

Step 3. Type/paste the input English transcription

Type or paste the English transcription you want to transform into another where several common phonemic variations in connected speech are applied

Step 4. Click on Apply variations

Click on the Apply variations button (or press F5) to get the output transcription.

Step 5. Add the output to a document

Click on 'Add to current' button to add the output transcription to the current active document or click on 'Create new' button if you want to add the output transcription to a new document.

Shortcuts

After you have typed or pasted the input English Transcription and chosen the phonemic variations to apply, you can use the following shortcuts:

F5

Applies variations to the input transcription, showing the output transcripion in the Output Transcription text box.

F6

Applies variations to the input transcription (showing the output transcripion in the Output Transcription text box) and adds the output transcription to the current active document.

F7

Applies variations to the input transcription (showing the output transcripion in the Output Transcription text box) and adds the output transcription to a new document.

Phonemic variations

Regressive assimilation

Assimilation is defined as the process by which sounds are influenced by neighbouring sounds and come to share some or all of their phonetic characteristics. It varies in extent according to speaking rate and style; it is more likely in fast, colloquial speech. In regressive assimilation, features of one phoneme are anticipated in the articulation of the preceding phoneme.

  • Changes in place of articulation. It is most clearly observable where a final consonant with alveolar place of articulation is followed by an initial consonant with a place of articulation that is not alveolar:

  •     t → p before bilabials p, b, m. That pen.

        t → k before velars k, ɡ. That cup.

        d → b before bilabials p, b, m. Good pen

        d → ɡ before velars k. Good girl

        n → m before bilabials p, b, m. Ten boys

        n → ŋ before velars k, ɡ. ten cups

        s → ʃ before ʃ, j, tʃ, dʒ. This ship, this year

        z → ʒ before ʃ, j, tʃ, dʒ. Those young

  • Changes in manner of articulation. Assimilation of manner is much less noticeable and is only found in the most rapid and casual speech; generally speaking, the tendency is for regressive assimilation and the change in manner is most likely to be towards an "easier" consonant -one which makes less obstruction to the airflow. So, it is possible to hear: that side ðæs saɪd, where a final plosive becomes a fricative.

  •     d → n. He wouldn't do it.

        d → ɡ → ŋ. He wouldn’t go

        d → b → m. Good morning

        v → m. You can have mine

        z → n. He doesn't know

    Keep important punctuation

    When this option is selected, the important punctuation (full stop or period, comma, colon, semicolon, question mark and exclamation point) in the input English text is kept in the output transcription. With this option selected, no word group boundary mark is shown in the output.

    Remove carriage returns

    When this option is selected, the carriage returns in the input text are not kept in the output transcription.

    Use '/' instead of '|'

    When this option is selected, the symbol '/' is used to mark word group boundaries or potential pauses.

    Show intrusive /r/ (Only BrE)

    When this option is selected, an intrusive /r/ is inserted after words finishing with /ɑː/, /ɔː/, /ɪə/, /eə/ or /ʊə/ if the following word starts with vowel sound. e.g. I saw a film /ˈaɪ ˈsɔːr ə fɪlm/

    Show syllabic consonants

    When this option is selected, syllables consisting phonetically only of a consonant (syllabic consonant) do not show a vowel sound (e.g. /ˈsʌdn̩/ or /ˈmɪdl̩/). The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the under-stroke (e.g. n̩ or l̩). When this option is not selected, a vowel sound ? is incluided in the syllable (e.g. /ˈsʌdən/ or /ˈmɪdəl/).

    Show syllable boundaries

    When this option is selected, syllable divisions are shown. The syllable division marker /./ is used. The division of a word into syllables (syllabification) in English is controversial as various principles can be applied to decide between alternatives: morphemic (syllable boundaries should correspond with morpheme boundaries), phonotactic (syllable division should accord with that we know about syllable onsets and codas from word-initial and word-final positions) or Allophonic (syllable division should predict correct allophonic variation). We know there are many syllable boundary mistakes in PhoTransEdit database and no consistency. When we update/check the transcription of a word, we use the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary syllabification principles, those which most helpfully predict the distribution of allophones. 

    Show '|' before and after carriage returns

    When this option is selected, the word group boundary symbol '|' is shown before and after carriage returns. This is useful for users who want to transcribe lists of words or sentences.

    Remove stresses

    When this option is selected, no stresses (primary or secondary) are showns.

    Remove length marks

    When this option is selected, length marks ː are not shown. The Kenyon and Knott system (often used by AmE authors in the IPA tradition) do not show length marks.

    Use ᵊl, ᵊn, ᵊr instead of l̩, n̩, r̩

    When this option is selected, syllabic consonants are shown with a raised schwa /ə/

    Use i, ɔ, u for the short vowels ɪ, ɒ, ʊ

    When this option is selected, the vowels i, ɔ, u are used for the short vowels ɪ, ɒ, ʊ. In some parts of the world a simpler transcription system used in early editions of Jones's English Pronouncing Dictionary (before 1977) persists. It used i, ɔ, u for the short vowels ɪ, ɒ, ʊ.

    Use ei, ou, ai, au, ɔi, iə, ɛə, uə for the diphthonɡs eɪ, əʊ, aɪ, aʊ, ɔɪ, ɪə, eə, ʊə

    When this option is selected, the diphthonɡs ei, ou, ai, au, ɔi, iə, ɛə, uə are used for eɪ, əʊ, aɪ, aʊ, ɔɪ, ɪə, eə, ʊə. In some parts of the world a simpler transcription system used in early editions of Jones's English Pronouncing Dictionary (before 1977) persists. It used i, ou, ai, au, ɔi, iə, ɛə, uə are used for the diphthonɡs eɪ, əʊ, aɪ, aʊ, ɔɪ, ɪə, eə, ʊə.

    Use əː for the lonɡ vowel ɜː

    When this option is selected, the long vowel əː is used for ɜː. In some parts of the world a simpler transcription system used in early editions of Jones's English Pronouncing Dictionary (before 1977) persists. It used əː for the long vowel ɜː.

    Use ɜːr instead of ɝː

    When this option is selected, ɜːr is used for ɝː. The 15th edition of the Cambridge English Pronunciation Dictionary used this notation.

    Use ɚ instead of r̩

    When this option is selected, ɚ is used for r̩. The 15th edition of the Cambridge English Pronunciation Dictionary and Kenyon and Knott system (often used by AmE authors in the IPA tradition) use this notation.

    Use ɛ instead of e

    When this option is selected, e is used form the vowel ɛ. The Kenyon and Knott system (often used by AmE authors in the IPA tradition) uses this notation.

    Use e, o instead of eɪ, oʊ

    When this option is selected, the vowels e, o are used instead of diphthongal vowels eɪ, oʊ. The Kenyon and Knott system (often used by AmE authors in the IPA tradition) uses this notation.

    Use š, ž, č, ǰ instead of ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ

    When this option is selected, the symbols š, ž, č, ǰ are used for the IPA ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ. The Trager and Smith American English tradition uses this notation.

    Use iy, ɔh for the lonɡ vowels iː, ɔː

    When this option is selected, iy and ɔh are used for the lonɡ vowels iː and ɔː. The Trager and Smith American English tradition uses this notation.

    Use ey, ow, ay, aw, oy for the diphthonɡs eɪ, oʊ, aɪ, aʊ, ɔɪ

    When this option is selected, ey, ow, ay, aw, oy for the diphthonɡs eɪ, oʊ, aɪ, aʊ, ɔɪ. The Trager and Smith American English tradition uses this notation.