MODIFICATION OF ENGLISH SOUNDS IN SPEEСH

ABSTRACT

This article is devoted to cases of the interaction of sounds in the speech stream, which include the processes of assimilation, reduction and elision, or in other words, modifications of English speech sounds.

Keywords: modification, assimilation, reduction, elision, speech, speech sounds.

The articulation of speech sounds largely depends on the phonetic conditions of their use, on their position in the word. The same sound, finding itself in different phonetic conditions, often acquires different articulatory (and, accordingly, acoustic) signs. In other words, various changes of sounds occur in the flow of speech. This phenomenon is called a modification of sounds in the speech stream, their interaction in the speech stream. Sound modifications are caused by the fact that when phonemes are connected in chains, the speech organs adapt to a quick change in articulations, providing a more convenient transition from one articulation to another, while changing the quality of sounds.

Sounds in free speech are rarely pronounced individually. To pronounce a word consisting of more than one sound, you need to combine the sounds accordingly. There are several types of connections, some of which are common to all or several languages. In order to master these specific types of connection, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of connecting sounds together. This mechanism can be understood only after analyzing the stages in the articulation of speech sounds pronounced in isolation.

The first stage is gliding, the initial stage in which the organs of speech move from a neutral position and take the position necessary to pronounce a vowel or consonant.

Further, the second stage is endurance, or the middle stage, in which the speech organs are temporarily held in one position, which is necessary for making a sound (in the case of simple sounds) or change their position from one to another (with complex sounds such as diphthongoids, diphthongs, affricates).

Finally, the third stage is slipping (release), the final stage in which most sounds are not heard, the exception is explosive, the slipping of which produces an explosion to the vowel and at the end of the word to a pause.

Sounds in free speech are rarely pronounced individually. To pronounce a word consisting of more than one sound, you need to combine the sounds accordingly. There are several types of connections, some of which are common to all or several languages. In order to master these specific types of connection, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of connecting sounds together. This mechanism can be understood only after analyzing the stages in the articulation of speech sounds pronounced in isolation.

The first is assimilation and it can be partial when various variants of phonemes arise, and complete when there is a complete assimilation of articulations. The assimilation of sounds is defined as the articulation and acoustic convergence (assimilation) of sounds, as the assimilation of one sound to another in a speech stream, the acquisition of phonetic similarity, the assimilation of sounds to each other within the same word or phrase. It should be noted that assimilation (assimilation) occurs between sounds of the same series (in vowels with vowels, in consonants with consonants).

Speaking about the direction of assimilation, they distinguish progressive, regressive and double / mutual assimilation.

Progressive assimilation occurs if the previous sound affects the next (stopped, stocks). Regressive assimilation occurs when a subsequent sound acts on the previous one (newspaper). Progressive assimilation is much less common than regression assimilation. There are also optional or occasional assimilations as a result of the fast pace of speech (give me - gimme; going to - gonna). The causes of assimilation are explained by the interaction of sounds in the speech stream. It should be noted that assimilation and other cases of modification of sounds in spontaneous speech are constantly present and are of great importance, because in fact, several merges into one word and a phonetic word is formed, as already mentioned above. Such a mixture of sounds, pronounced by the carriers, can be deciphered through the situation and using typical phrases. Among the factors determining the appearance of assimilation are called such a factor as the style of speech. It is believed that in colloquial speech, characterized by a high pace and sloppiness of pronunciation, assimilation of consonants occurs much more often than official speech and a slow pace, when sounds are articulated more carefully and modification processes are less pronounced.

Moreover, it is important to note that an example of the modification of sounds in speech is reduction, as a result of which weakening and changing the sound of unstressed syllables occurs. The reduction of unstressed vowels consists in a change in their articulatory and acoustic properties, which is associated with a weakening of the tension of the speech organs and a reduction in the duration of the articulation. It is believed that inertness of the vocal tract is a major factor in the presence of vowel reduction. A distinction is made between quantitative reduction, in which the longitude and strength of the vowel is reduced, and qualitative, in which the quality of the syllable vowels changes, i.e. vowels in unstressed syllables become weaker and shorter. With a very strong reduction, unstressed vowels can reach zero, i.e. stop pronouncing. This type of reduction is called zero reduction. For example, in the words postman, policeman, vowels may not be pronounced in all unstressed syllables.

The most common occurrence in the flow of speech is considered to be elision, i.e. a process in which articulation of a sound is not realized in hasty or careless speech. This phenomenon is characteristic not only for colloquial speech, but also for official and neutral styles. There are several types of elision: historical, when letters are not pronounced in the initial, middle or final positions in a word as a result of historical changes (for example, in words such as walk, knee, castle, write), as well as modern elision, which often occurs in everyday speech, at a fast pace. I would like to dwell in more detail on examples of modern elision.

Also, assimilation, reduction and elision form certain modern pronunciation trends, namely: "smoothing" a number of diphthongs; transition of trifthongs to the category of monophthongs; omission of consonant / j / in words such as suit, student, etc.; fusion of consonants / tj / and / dj / in stressed syllables, in which the words Tuesday, reduce sound like Chooseday, rejuice; improper use of the posterolinguistic nasal sonant in words where there are no endings –ing (chicken, garden); omission of pharyngeal sound / h /; the use of a hard attack instead of the consonant consonants at the end of words, as well as in the position between vowels.

It is important to understand that knowledge of the modification of words under the influence of reduction of vowels, various assimilations and elision facilitates the perception of "seamless" structure of speech. This leads to the conclusion that in the perception of sounding speech, it is necessary to rely not only on vocabulary and grammar, but also take into account the phonetic features of pronunciation and modification of sounds.

Thus, knowledge of the modification of words under the influence of reduction of vowels, various assimilations and elision facilitates the perception of the structure of English speech. This leads to the conclusion that in the perception of sounding speech it is necessary to rely not only on vocabulary and grammar, but also need to take into account the phonetic features of pronunciation and modification of sounds, since high-quality language proficiency is possible only with a comprehensive study of all language levels.

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