FLUENCY/DETAIL STRATEGIES

Weakening Lenis Consonants In some positions in a word, consonants are pronounced more energetically. These are referred to as fortis. In other positions they are pronounced less energetically. These are called lenis and the process of reducing consonant energy is called lenition. More detailed speech retains more activity in these consonants, and more fluent speech further weakens them.   What’s the point of breakfast if you’re not making bacon?
wəsə pɔɪ̯̆nə ˈbɹɛfəs fjɚ nɑʔ mekn̩ bekn̩̽	wɜʦ ðə pɔɪ̯nt əv ˈbɹɛkfəst ɪf jʊɚ̯ nɑt meɪ̯kɪŋ bekn̩
Cluster Reduction Unsurprisingly, many of our fluency strategies involve simplifying a sequence of sounds. Clusters of consonants without an intervening vowel, are particularly difficult, and are frequently reduced, collapsing down into fewer consonants. This is particularly the case when the consonants in the cluster are made in the same place in the vocal tract.    In Act two he threw the ghosts across the length of the stage.
n̩ æk tu i θu ðə ɡoʊ̯s əˈkɹɒs ðə lɛnθ v ðə steɪ̯ʤ̥	ɪn ækt tu hi θɹu ðə ɡoʊ̯sʦ əˈkɹɒs ðə lɛŋkθ əv ðə steɪ̯ʤ
Yod Coalescence We could describe this as a subcategory of cluster reduction. In consonant clusters containing /j/ (AKA Yod), the articulatory shortcut produces a particular kind of coarticulation which we call an affricate.   Did you do what you said you would?
ʤə du wəʧə sɛʤə wəd	dɪd ju du wɜt sɛd ju wʊd
Gemination This refers to those instances where two identical consonant phonemes are repeated. For example, the phrase time machine has a geminated /m/ phoneme, while tie machine doesn’t.   Well look…some men have very nice Zoom meetings, but sled dogs use Microsoft Teams.
wəɫʊ̽k̚ | sɜmːɛn hævːɛɚ̯.i naɪ̯szumːit̬ɪŋz | bəʔ slɛʔdɒɡs juz ˈmaɪ̯kɹəsɒftiːmz	wɛɫ lʊk | sɐm mɛn hæv vɛɹi naɪ̯s zum mitɪŋz | bət slɛd dɒɡz juz ˈmaɪ̯kɹo̽sɒft tiːmz
Regressive Assimilation Assimilation is the process of combining two adjacent consonants and reducing them to single place of articulation. In regressive assimilation the consonant on the right “moves backward” to replace the consonant on the left. In the word unbelievable we might hear the bilabial ar6ticulation of the /b/ alter the /n/ on its left, turning it into /m/            /ˌɜmbɪˈlivəbɫ̩/   Let me tell you what this shape is. It may not be a handbag.
ˈlɛmi tɛjə wɜt̪ ðɪʃeɪ̯p ɪz ‖ ɪp̚meɪ̯ nɑʔ bi.ə hæmbæɡ	ˈlɛt mi tɛɫ ju wɜt ðɪs ʃeɪ̯p ɪz ‖ ɪt meɪ̯ nɑt bi.ə ˈhændbæɡ
Progressive Assimilation This is the same process, but the consonant to the left replaces the consonant to its right. Really, this distinction between the direction of assimilation isn’t the main point. It’s just interesting to be aware that the collapse of complexity could fall in either direction. We either get a head start on the upcoming articulation or linger on the sound we’ve just made.   Captain Painter was just trying to be understood.
kæpm̩ peɪ̯nɚ wəz ʤəs tɹ̥anə bi.ənɚstʊ̽d̚	kæptn̩ peɪ̯ntɚ wəz ʤɜst tɹ̥aɪ̯.ɪŋ tə bi ɜndɚstʊd
Glottal Substitution or Reinforcement In many accents of English, the lenis form of  an unvoiced plosive is /ʔ/ or a coarticulation of that plosive with a glottal stop. But if not that, what?
bəʔɪf nɑʔ ðæʔ wəʔ	bət ɪf nɑt ðæt wət
Lenition of Intervocalic /t/ Another option is available when /t/ occurs between two vowels.   Heri thought he better get it sitting pretty
ɛdi θɒt̬ i bɛt̬ɚ ɡɛt̬ɪʔ sɪt̬ʔɪn pɹɪt̬i	ɛdi θɒt hid ˈbɛtɚ ɡɛtɪt ˈsɪtɪŋ ˈpɹɪti
Vowel Centralization It is a noticeable feature of English that unstressed vowels are realized closer to schwa. The more fluent and informal the speech, the stronger this effect becomes.   When are you going to believe?
wɛ̽̃n͉ ɚ jə ˈɡ͉ənə bəˈliːv	wɛn ɑɚ ju ˈɡoʊ̯.ɪŋ tu bɪˈliːv
Diphthong Smoothing Smoothing is the process of weakening the second element of a diphthong , making it more of a monophthong.   I’ll find out why potatoes have eyes on the outside.
ɑ̈ɫ faɪ̯̽̆n aʊ̯̽̆ʔ wa pəˈtet̬əz hæv aɪ̯̽̆z ɑni aʊ̯̽̆ʔsaɪ̯̽̆	aɪ̯ɫ faɪ̯nd aʊ̯t waɪ̯ pəˈtetoʊ̯z hæv aɪ̯̽z ɑn ði aʊ̯tsaɪ̯d
Absorption of Postvocalic Consonants Consonants like /l/ and /r/ are often “absorbed” by the preceding vowel. The phoneme /l/ in particular, tends to be realized with less alveolar contact, and the resulting sound is more like a vowel than a consonant. This is called L vocalization. At the same time, the preceding vowel can be altered, moving back in the vowel space and even becoming more rounded.   Well, I’m worried we’ll fail
wʊ̽ ɑ̃ wɚ.id wʊ̽ fɛɫ̞	wɛɫ aɪ̯m ˈwɜɹid wiɫ feɪ̯ɫ
Reduction of Rhotic Diphthongs In a similar way, the phoneme /r/ can affect the pronunciation of the preceding vowel. This can be seen in words like nurse or girl. The spelling of these words indicated an earlier pronunciation of /nʊɚ̯s/ and /ɡɪɚ̯ɫ/. Over time, the postvocalic /r/ shifted the vowel to a more central position. In connected speech, a postvocalic /r/ can become so reduced that it functions as a prevocalic /r/.   For a year or more, Arthur searched for a cure.
fɹə jɪɚ̯ɚ mɔɚ̯ ɑ˞θɚ sɚʧ fɹə kçɚ	fɔɚ ə jɪɚ̯ ɔɚ mɔɚ̯ ɑɚ̯θɚ sɚʧt fɔɚ ə kçʊɚ̯