ENGLISH SOUNDS IN

3 CONTEXT

Peter Avery and Susan Ehrlich

Positional variation
Contrastive sounds ofEnglish
In our description of English consonants and vowels, we introduced the
sounds in English that contrast; that is, those sounds that can be substituted
for one another in words to cause a change in meaning. For example, in
English, 101 contrasts with lsI. We can show this by constructing what are
termed minimalpairs. These are pairs of words that differ in meaning on the
basis of a change in only one sound. The following list of minimal pairs illus-
trates that 101 and I s I contrast in English.
101 lsI
thank sank
think sink
bath bass
math mass
In the previous section, 'Individual sounds of English', we presented the
articulatory characteristics of the contrastive sounds of English. This infor-
mation can be used to help your students who are having difficulty making
the appropriate contrasts of English.
In linguistics, the study of how sounds pattern in languages is called
phonology. Phonologists study how individual sounds in a particular
language can vary depending on their position within a word or sentence.
For example, Ipl in English is pronounced differently in 'pot' and 'spot',
even though English speakers perceive these variations of Ipl to be the same
sound. These variants, then, cannot create a meaning difference (as can /01
and lsI, for example) and are said to be non-contrastive sounds of English.
Because such variants differ on the basis of their position within a word or
sentence, they are called positional variants. In this section, we will introduce
some of the major positional variants of English and show their relevance in
understanding the pronunciation problems of second language learners.
40 The sound system ofEnglish Hngtzsh sounas In context

Non-contrastive sounds ofEnglish of It I are positional variants. Substituting one for the other does not .ca~se
the meaning of a word to change-it is merely an incorrect pronunCIatiOn
Aspiration of the word. In some languages, the difference between an aspirated and an .
Have a paper handkerchief handy before reading this section. Take the unaspirated It I sound can cause a difference in meaning. For example.' V~et­
paper handkerchief, hold it about three inches from your mouth and say the namese has both an aspirated and an unaspirated It I sound at the begmm,ng
word 'pit' rather loudly. When you release the Ipl sound, a burst of air will of words. These are not just variants of the same sound; they represent two
blow the paper handkerchief away from your mouth. Now say the word different sounds in the language, just as Itl and I dl represent two different
'spit' while holding the paper handkerchief in the same position. This time sounds in English. Therefore, substituting the aspirated It I for the unaspi-
when you release the Ipl sound, there will be no burst of air and the paper rated It I in Vietnamese will change the meaning of a word. The following
handkerchief will remain in the same position. In both words we have the list illustrates this point. The phonetic symbol for the aspirated It I is a It I
same consonant, Ipl, but it is pronounced rather differently. This is a good written with a raised h: If I.
example of positional variation, as a sound is pronounced differently
depending on the position of the sound within a word. Unaspirated It I (as in 'sty') Aspirated IN (as in 'tie')
Vietnamese Phonetic Meaning Vietnamese Phonetic Meaning
Try the experiment with the paper handkerchief using the following words: spelling transcription spelling transcription
tua [tua] tassel thua [thua] lose
Table 3.1: Examples ofpositional variation tu [tu] repair thu [thu] mackerel
tinh [un] smart thinh [thm] silent
the sound Ipl the sound It! the sound IkI
We can see that the aspirated and unaspirated It I are potentially contrastive
pie spy tie sty key ski sounds in a language. In English, these two sounds pattern together and are
pool spool tool stool cool school perceived as the same sound. In Vietnamese, these two sounds are contras-
pat spat too stew cold scold tive and thus are perceived as different sounds.
pear spare tore store core score
Flapping
Pronounce the following words in as natural a way as possible, listening to
When you say the words in the first, third, and fifth columns, there should how you pronounce the It I in each word:
be a noticeable burst of air on the release of the initial consonant. With the
cottage pretty butter total
words in the second, fourth and sixth columns, there is no such burst of air.
Peter attic putting city
This burst of air is called aspiration and is characteristic of the voiceless stop If you are a speaker of North American English, your pronunciation of the
consonants Ipl, Itl, and Ikl in English when they occur at the beginning ofa Itl in a word such as 'putting' sounds like the I dl in 'pudding' and these two
word. Note that Ipl, Itl, and Ikl share certain articulatory features. They are
words are pronounced in exactly the same way. The sound that you are using
all stops, that is, they involve a complete blockage of the airstream, and they is not the same as the Idl sound in a word such as 'down', however. While it
are all voiceless. This is typical of positional variation. It is rarely restricted to
is a voiced sound and is articulated at the tooth ridge like a I d/, it is much
a single sound, but rather is a characteristic of sounds that share articulatory shorter than a I d/. The tongue touches the tooth ridge and is quickly pulled
features. back. This sound is called a flap and its occurrence is one of the major dif-
The difference between the aspirated and unaspirated Ipl, Itl, and Ikl is not ferences between North American and British English. The phonetic
contrastive in English. That is, there are no minimal pairs that contrast symbol we use for a flap is a capital D: ID/.
aspirated and unaspirated Ipl, Itl, and Ik/. To the English speaker the aspi- When It I is pronounced as a flap, it is a positional variant of the It I sound. It
rated and unaspirated versions are really one and the same sound and, thus, only occurs between vowels when the preceding vowel is stressed. Compare
are positional variants. the pronunciation of the words below, which contain aspirated and flapped
Sounds that are positional variants in one language may contrast in another Itl's in similar positions:
language. As we have seen, in English the aspirated and unaspirated versions
42 The sound system ofEnglish English sounds in context 43

Flapped/t/ Aspirated /t/ ity. However, students should be given extensive practice in the recognition
patio potential of flaps. They are very frequent in the spoken language and the ability to
meteor meticulous recognize words that contain flaps is very important in improving students'
platter platonic comprehension of natural speech.
citizen citation
A word ending with a t may be pronounced as a flap if the following word Glottalization
begins with a vowel. In rapid or informal speech, the italicized is of the fol- Glottalized It I
lowing sentences are usually pronounced as flaps: Pronounce the following words, concentrating on the pronunciation of the
I got a charge out of that. It I sound:
The light at the end of the tunnel. button mutton
The police shot at him. mountain fountain
He cut a lot of wood yesterday. certain curtain
Shut up. In the speech of many North Americans, the pronunciation of the It I in
Get out of here. these words is much different from the pronunciation of the flapped It I as in
The flap is also a positional variant of the I dl sound when it occurs between 'city', the aspirated It I as in 'top', or the unaspirated It I as in 'stop'. This
a stressed and an unstressed vowel. This creates many homophones (words sound is referred to as a glottalized Itl. It is a glottalized It I because the air
that sound the same) between words that have a flapped Itl and a flapped moving out from the lungs is momentarily blocked at the glottis (see Figure
I d/. The following set of words illustrates this: 2.1 on page 12) by the coming together of the vocal cords. In the words
Flapped It I Flapped Idl above, the Itl sound is pronounced at the tooth ridge and at the glottis
simultaneously.
putting pudding
latter ladder This positional variant of the It I sound only occurs before unstressed
debtor deader syllables containing In/. A word such as 'baton' has an aspirated It I rather
bitter bidder than a glottalized It I because the syllable containing the Inl is stressed.
litre leader
The glottalized It I often occurs in sentences when a word that ends with a
Many people feel that the flap, especially when used with words spelled with Itl is followed by a word that begins with a consonant. Consider the pro-
a t, is the result oflazy or sloppy speech. However, both the flapped It I and nunciation of the It I in the following sentences when spoken fairly rapidly:
Idl are part of standard North American English and not the result oflazy
John bought the book for you.
speech. Native speakers of North American English often adjust their speech
Bill ate four hamburgers.
when speaking to non-native speakers by pronouncing It I instead of a flap in
Susan saw Pete running down the street.
words spelled with a t. For example, in pronouncing a word such as 'city',
they will say [sItiy J rather than the more common [sIDiy J. However, our
students are not alway exposed to such adjusted speech. We remember an The glottal stop
advanced student telling us that he could not understand a man who came A glottal stop is a non-contrastive sound of English that involves blockage of
to his door to read the 'water meter'. The students mimicked the pronunci- the air at the glottis. It differs from glottalized Itl in that the tongue does not
ation of the flaps in these words, producing a native-like pronunciation of touch the tooth ridge in its production. In some British dialects of English,
'water meter' - [waDgr mi y Dgr J. However, he had no idea what these the glottal stop occurs as the middle consonant of a word such as 'bottle'.
common words meant when pronounced in this way, especially under the Thus, in these dialects, it is a positional variant of Itl. In North American
pressure of the communicative situation. Thus, we can see the importance of English, the glottal stop occurs in the expression of dismay, 'Uh-oh'; it pre-
teaching our students about the flap. cedes the vowels in both syllables.
You should not insist on having students pronounce flaps because using a I tl Many Cantonese speakers of English substitute glottal stops for word-final
where native speakers use a flap results'in very little loss in comprehensibil- stops such as It I and Idl and this gives their speech a staccato-like rhythm.
44 The sound system ofEnglish English sounds in context 45

Vowel lengthening Alternatively, learners may use a light 11/ in positions where most English
One other important example of positional variation in English concerns speakers use a dark /11. This is the case with German learners. .
the length of vowels. A vowel is longer when it occurs before a voiced con-
sonant than it is before a voiceless one. Pronounce the following pairs of r-coloring
words and you will notice the difference in vowel length: We have seen that consonants can affect the pronunciation of a vowel. Thus,
Shorter vowel Longer vowel a vowel will be longer before a voiced consonant than before a voiceless one.
(before voiceless consonant) (before voiced consonant) The consonant Irl also affects the pronunciation of vowels. The following
beat bead list contains the vowels that occur before /r/.
back bag Ii/ as in 'beer'
bat bad lei as in 'bear'
race raIse I::JI as in 'burr'
loose lose I al as in 'bar'
cap cab /ul as in 'boor'
ESL learners often have difficulty in distinguishing between voiced stops /0/ as in 'bore'
(fbi, Id/, Igl) and voiceless ones (fpl, Itl, Ik/) in word final position. The tensellax vowel distinction that is apparent in words such as 'beat' and
Teaching these students to lengthen vowels before voiced stops will often 'bit' is lost when vowels precede Ir/. Thus, liy I and I I I do not both occur
help them with the voiced/voiceless distinction. before I r I. What occurs is a vowel between Ii y I and I I I. The same holds
true for the other tensellax vowel pairs. When you pronounce each of the
Light and dark III words in the list above, you should concentrate on the tongue position dur-
A further example of positional variation in English involves the 11/ sound. ing the pronunciation of the vowel and the following /rl sound. Notice that
Say the word 'leaf very slowly prolonging the 11/ sound: 'l-l-l-leaf. Now say during the production of the vowel the tongue curls slightly and is pulled
the word 'feel', again prolonging the Ill: 'feel-l-l-l'. During the pronunci- back in the mouth. This pronunciation of vowels when followed by /rl is re-
ation of the III in 'leaf, the tip of your tongue should be touching the tooth ferred to as r-coloring.
ridge. When you pronounce the word 'feel', the tip of your tongue need not
If your ESL students are unable to pronounce these Irl sounds, inform them
touch the tooth ridge. However, the back of your tongue is raised so that it is
that there are many dialects of English, for example British English, where
near the soft palate. The III sounds in these two words are pronounced
the Irl is not pronounced after vowels. This will usually make them feel a
rather differently, bur native speakers consider them to be one and the same
little better abour their difficulty.
sound. The III in 'leaf is referred to as a light 11/ and the III in 'feel' as a dark
/11. The light III occurs before a vowel and the dark 11/ occurs after a vowel.
Identify which /11 you use in the following list of words. Implications for teaching
leak pull
late pal Production
plate milk Students may transfer the sound patterns of their native languages into
The /11 sounds in 'leak', 'late', and 'plate' are examples of a light 11/, and English and produce positional variants that are appropriate to the native
those in 'pull', 'pal', and 'milk' are examples of a dark Ill. Notice that you language but inappropriate to English. Consider the case of Spanish learners
cannot substitute a light 11/ for a dark /11 or a dark /11 for a light /11 without of English. Spanish speakers generally have difficulty in pronouncing the
making the word sound very strange indeed. 10/ sound in a word such as 'this' or 'the'. However, in many dialects of
Spanish the 101 sound does, in fact, exist as a positional variant of I d/. The
When sounds differ in the way light /11 and the dark 11/ do, learners gener- I dl occurs at the beginning of a word and the 101 occurs after vowels. In
ally have quite different problems with the two variants and each must be speaking English, a Spanish speaker may transfer the sound patterns of
practiced separately. Cantonese learners, for example, confuse the light 11/ Spanish onto English. Thus, a word such as 'mad' may be pronounced as
with Inl and the dark III with Iw/. [mreo]. When teachers tell Spanish-speaking students to substitute a Idl for
46 The sound system ofEnglish English sounds in context 41

the incorrect 101, they will often get a look of disbelief. As 101 and Idl are Conclusion
positional variants in Spanish, the Spanish students believe that the sound
Sounds pattern differently in different languages What are positional vari-
they have produced is a I d/. That is, these two sounds are perceived as being
ants in one language may be contrasting sounds in another. In English,
one and the same sound.
aspirated and unaspirated It I are positional variants while in Vietnamese
A similar situation exists for Korean learners of English. Korean speakers these are contrasting sounds. In English Idl and 101 are contrasting sounds
generally have difficulty in distinguishing between the English Irl and /11 while in Spanish they are positional variants.
sounds. However, the Irl and III sounds do exist in Korean as positional
Level ofawareness Native speakers are usually unaware of the differences
variants. The Irl sound occurs between two vowels and the III sound occurs
between positional variants. English speakers are generally unaware of the
at the beginning or end of a word.
difference between aspirated and unaspirated Ip/, It I , or Ik/, just as Spanish
When an III sound in English is found between vowels in a word such as speakers are unaware of the difference between Idl and 101.
'filing', the Korean speaker may impose the sound pattern of Korean onto
Production of sounds in different positions Pronunciation teachers must
English and produce a word that sounds more like 'firing'. As with the
ensure that sounds are practised in all positions. It is possible that a student
Spanish speakers, it is difficult to bring this to the consciousness of Korean
will be able to produce a sound correctly in one position without being able
learners because they usually believe that they have produced an III sound
to produce it correctly in another position.
in words such as 'filing'. They are not aware that they have produced an
Ir/, which is a positional variant of the III sound in Korean.
Just as the pos~tional variants of the It I sound in English are not part of the
consciousness of English speakers, so too the positional variants of the I dl
Grammatical endings
sound in Spanish or of the /II sound in Korean are not part of the conscious- Grammatical endings are suffixes that add grammatical information such as
ness of Spanish or Korean speakers. Thus, it is very difficult to correct errors tense or number to nouns or verbs. In this section, we look at the pronunci-
that arise as a result of positional variation in sounds. It must be pointed out ation of grammatical endings in English, using some of the concepts
to the students exactly what sound they are producing and under what introduced in the section on individual sounds.
circumstances they are producing this sound. If Spanish speakers can
become conscious of their use of the 101 sound or if Korean speakers can
become conscious of their use of the Irl sound, the information will help
The regular past tense
these learners to make these sounds in the appropriate positions in English. Read the following words aloud:
A B
roped robbed
Perception liked lagged
If learners of English are unable to produce the appropriate variants of a laughed lived
given sound, misinterpretation or incomprehensibility may result. For ex- missed realized
ample, if a learner substitutes an unaspirated Ipl, Itl, or Ikl for the initial wished judged
sound of words such as 'plot', 'tot', and 'cot', native English speakers may watched hummed
hear the voiced stops Ibl, I d/, and I 9 I, understanding the words to be 'blot', fanned
'dot', and 'got'. Thus, it appears to the English teacher that the learner is not winged
contrasting voiced and voiceless stops in initial position. However, this ertor feared
is not the result of learners failing to make the voicedlvoiceless distinction rolled
between stop pairs, but rather the result oflearners not producing the appro- These words are all examples of the regular past tense, which is spelled -ed
priate positional variants of voiceless stops. Thus, in correcting this error, Notice, however, that the past tense ending is pronounced differently in
the teacher should not focus on the difference between voiced and voiceless columns A and B. Furthermore, in neither case is it pronounced as two
stops, but rather on the difference between aspirated and unaspirated stops. sounds but rather it is pronounced as a single consonant sound.
1 he souna system oJ .englIsh English sounds in context 49

The past tense ending of the words in column A is pronounced as It/; in The plural, possessive, and thirdperson singular
column B, it is pronounced as Id/. Is the choice of It I or Idl just random or
is there some regularity that will allow us to predict the pronunciation of the The plural
past tense? As these are all examples of the regular past tense ending, we Read the following lists of plural noun forms aloud:
would expect that the choice of It I or I dl would be predictable. Byexamin-
A B
ing the phonetic characteristics of the sounds surrounding these past tense
endings, we will show the way in which the choice is predictable. ropes robes
cats cads
Recall that the difference between I tl and I dl is a difference in voicing. Both docks dogs
are pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the tooth ridge, but the reefs reeves
I tl is voiceless and the I dl is voiced. If the final sound of the verb to which cloths clothes
the past tense is attached is voiceless, the past tense is pronounced as I t/. This gems
is the case with the verbs in column A. For example, 'rope', which ends with pawns
the voiceless sound Ipl, has the past tense pronounced as It/. If the final kings
sound of the verb to which the past tense is attached is voiced, the past tense cars
is pronounced as I d/. This is the case with the verbs in column B. For ex- halls
ample, 'rob', which ends in the voiced sound Ibl, has the past tense
pronounced as Id/. We have a single spelling, s, for the plural form, but two different pronunci-
ations. The plural is pronounced as lsi in column A and as Izl in column B.
Now pronounce the following verbs: As with the past tense ending, these two sounds are made at the same place in
wanted the mouth. The only difference is that the lsi is voiceless and the Izl is
deleted voiced. Also, like the past tense ending, the choice of I s I or I zl is predictable
handed on the basis of the phonetic characteristics of the sounds surrounding the
surrounded plural ending. If the final sound to which the plural is attached is voiceless,
With these verbs the past tense ending is not pronounced as a It I or a Id/, the plural is pronounced as lsi. This is the case in column A where all the
but as a vowel plus the I dl sound. Again, these are perfectly regular verbs and nouns end in voiceless sounds. If the final sound of the noun to which the
the pronunciation of the past tense ending is entirely predictable. If the verb plural is attached is voiced, the plural is pronounced as Iz/. This is the case in
to which the past tense is attached ends with a It! or a Id/, the past tense is column B where all of the nouns end with voiced sounds.
pronounced as I:;}d/. Now consider the following plural forms:
Notice that the past tense ending of a verb that ends with a vowel is pro- mazes
nounced as Id/. This is because all vowels are voiced. To confirm this for marshes
yourself, pronounce the words below: houses
flowed churches
glued judges
prayed With these forms the plural is not pronounced lsi or Iz/, but Inl. If you
The following rule is applicable to all verbs that have the regular past tense have trouble hearing the final sound as a Iz/, try pronouncing the words
ending: with lsi at the end, making the lsi very strong. This should sound strange.
Now try pronouncing them with Iz/, making the Izl very strong. This
should not sound strange at all.
Past tense rule
A If a verb ends with It I or Id/, the past tense is pronounced I:;}d/. There are six different sounds after which the plural is pronounced I :;}z/: lsi,
Otherwise, Iz/, lSI, 13/, ItSI, and Id3/. All of these sounds are rather high-pitched
B If a verb ends with a voiced sound, the past tense is pronounced Id/. sounds and are referred to as sibilants because of this characteristic.
e If a verb ends with a voiceless sound, the past tense is pronounced It/. You should be able to predict that the plural is pronounced I zl after nouns
50 The sound system ofEnglish English sounds in context . 51

that end with vowels since all vowels are voiced and the plural suffix is voiced Grammatical endings in the pronunciation classroom
after voiced sounds. Pronounce the following nouns that end with a vowel.
Grammatical endings can be used to make your students aware of the im-
spas
portant difference between voiced and voiceless consonants. Even students
plays
at a relatively low level of proficiency have some knowledge of the past tense
dues
and plural endings. Provide your students with a list of verbs or nouns and
bows
ask them how they would pronounce the past tense or plural form. They
The following rule is applicable to all nouns that have the regular plural usually catch on very quickly to the distinction between voiced and voiceless
ending: sounds.

Plural rule Conclusion

A If a noun ends with lsi, Iz/, IS /, 131, ItS I, or Id31 (a sibilant sound), the In this section we have seen how the pronunciation of grammatical endings
plural is pronounced /gz/. Otherwise, such as the past tense and plural differ depending on the sound that precedes
B If a noun ends with a voiced sound, the plural is pronounced Iz/. them. We have also seen that the pronunciation of the grammatical ending
C If the noun ends with a voiceless sound, the plural is pronounced lsi. is entirely predictable. Two relatively simple rules tell us how these suffixes
will be pronounced. Rules of this nature are very common in languages in
Third person singular and possessive general. That is, the pronunciation of sounds will vary depending on the
The Plural Rule is also applicable to the third person singular present tense phonetic context in which they occur and these variations can be stated by a
ending and the possessive ending. Pronounce the following words to con- rule.
firm this. What is interesting about these variations in sounds is that native speakers
Table 3.3: Pronunciation ofthird person singular and possessive are not usually aware of them until they are pointed out. Most of us consider
the regular past tense ending to be ed until it is pointed out to us that it is ac-
third person singular possessive tually more often pronounced as a I tl or a I d/. (This is, of course, partly the
lsi I Iz! I IEz! lsi I Iz! I IEzl influence of the spelling system.) This variation in the pronunciation of
voiceless I voiced I sibilant voiceless I voiced I sibilant grammatical endings is similar to the variation in the pronunciation of pos-
I [ [ I itional variants in that it is below the level of consciousness of native speakers
hopes I lobs I misses Jack's I Doug's I Thomas's and it is entirely predictable based on phonetic context.
laughs I believes I realizes Ralph's I Dave's I Liz's
Exercises
As we can see, the third person singular present tense and the possessive are
1 For each of the errors described in question 6 in the previous chapter
pronounced in exactly the same way as the plural.
(page 37), provide three minimal pairs that contrast the incorrect sound
with the correct sound. With the consonant errors, try to find minimal
Contractions
pairs that contrast these sounds word-initially, word-medially, and word-
There are two other situations in which the Plural Rule is applicable. Con- finally. (Note: This may not always be possible.)
sider the sentences below where 'is' and 'has' occur in their contracted forms:
2 a. In Japanese, lsi and lSI are positional variants; lSI occurs before high
Contraction of ,is' Contraction of ,has' front vowels and lsi occurs before all other vowels. On the basis of this
Pat's leaving early. Pat's already left. positional variation, how would you predict Japanese learners would pro-
This book's quite interesting. This book's been selling well. nounce the following pairs of words?
The dog's a bit thirsty. The dog's been acting strangely. seat sheet
Ilsa's not here yet. Ilsa's been late three times. SIp ship
In saying these sentences note how the contracted form of'is' or 'has' is pro- seep sheep
nounced. Note the parallel between the pronunciations of the contracted seed she'd
forms and the plural, possessive, and third person singular endings. sm ' shin
52 The sound system ofEnglish

4
b. Similarly, It I and It) I are positional variants in Japanese; It) I occurs THE SHAPE OF ENGLISH
before high front vowels and It I occurs before all other vowels. On the
basis of this positional variation, provide examples of pairs of English WORDS
words that Japanese learners may have difficulty distinguishing. How
would you predict these pairs of words would be pronounced?
3 In Spanish, the voiced stops Ibl, Id/, and Igl occur as their fricative Peter Avery and Susan Ehrlich
counterparts after vowels. Thus, the positional variant of Ibl is the voiced
bilabial fricative IBI, the positional variant of I dl is the voiced interdental
fricative 101, and the positional variant of Igi is the voiced velar fricative
Iy/. On the basis of this positional variation, provide examples of English
words in which Ibl, Idl and Igi may be pronounced as IBI, 101, and Iy/,
respectively. How might English speakers interpret these mispronounced
words?
Syllable types
Many pronunciation problems result from ESL students' inability to pro-
4 Consider how a Polish speaker might pronounce the following words: duce the different syllable types of English. A consideration of these syllable
Target word Pronunciation
types and how they differ from those of other languages will help in under-
cab Ikrepl standing these difficulties.
nse Iraysl
bad Ibretl Some examples of the syllable types of English are provided below:
leave Iliyfl Word Transcription Syllable type
bag Ibrekl
see [siy] C(onsonant) V(owel)
dock Idakl
sit [Sit] CVC
ridge Int) I
spit [spit] CCVC
vme Ivaynl
spits [spits] CCVCC
side Isaytl
sprint [sprInt] CCCVCC
. judge Id3At)1
zone Izownl The word 'see' has a CV syllable, the most common syllable type among the
doze Idowsl languages of the world. This is referred to as an open syllable because it ends
a. Describe the incorrect substitutions the learner is producing in the with a vowel. The word 'sit' has a CVC syllable, also common among the
above words. languages of the world. This is referred to as a closed syllable because it ends
b. What generalization can you make regarding the learner's pro- with a consonant. The word 'spit' has a CCVC syllable and begins with the
nunciation problem? Hint: Think about the class of sounds that consonant cluster Isp/. The word 'spits' has a CCVCC syllable with con-
is mispronounced and the position in which these sounds are sonant clusters at the beginning and the end. A consonant cluster at the
mispronounced. beginning of a word is. an initial cluster and a consonant cluster at the
end of a word is a final cluster. The word 'sprint' has a CCCVCC syllable.
5 Pronounce each of the following words and provide the phonetic sym-
In this case the initial cluster has three consonants and the final cluster has
bol(s) that represent(s) the sound(s) of the grammatical ending. In each two consonants.
case explain why the ending is pronounced as it is.
a reached g stopped m Ralph's
b churches h handed n rags Open and closed syllables
c lunged tables 0 stated English allows a wide variety of syllable types. These include both open
d opened j fixes p paths syllables and closed syllables. Some languages, such as Japanese, have predo-
e elbows k garages q passes minantly open syllables. Japanese words of more than one syllable are always
f Jim's I played r robed CV-CV-CV-CVas illustrated below:
 The shape ofEnglish words 55
54 The sound system ofEnglish

Syllables occur in English and would probably be very difficult for English speakers to
Japanese word Meaning
pronounce. This is not to say, however, that some other language could not.
ha tooth CV
have a consonant cluster such as Ibo/.
naka centre CV-CV
wakarimasu (I) understand CV-CV-CV-CV In English, the only consonant which can precede an 101 in an initial cluster
is lsi. We have many words which begin with Iso/, such as 'snow', 'snooze',
When learning English, Japanese speakers frequently experience difficulty
and 'sneer', but no words beginning with Ipo/ or Iko/ (those spelled pn or
in pronouncing closed CVC syllables and may add a vowel ro the end of a
kn, such as 'pneumonia' or 'knee' are pronounced without the Ip/ or /kl).
closed syllable to make the word conform to the Japanese pattern. Thus, a
These clusters do occur in other languages. For example, in French, the
word with a closed syllable such as 'sit' may be pronounced as 'sito' with two
word pneu ('tire') is pronounced with a /pol cluster, and in Russian, kniga
open syllables (CV-CV). ('book') is pronounced with a Ikol cluster.
In Italian, closed syllables do not occur at the end of a word; consequently,
The permissible initial and final consonant clusters of English are listed in
many Italian learners of English will add a vowel to words which end with
the tables below. You should give your students some practice in using
closed syllables. The word 'big' may thus be pronounced as 'bigg'.
words which contain the full range of consonant clusters, as an inability to
In addition to restrictions on open and closed syllables, languages may also produce many of these clusters can lead to incomprehensibility.
have restrictions on the segments which can occur at the beginning or end of
a syllable. For example, no syllable in English can begin with IIJI (the final Initial clusters
sound of'sing'). Thus, an English speaker learning a language with syllables The following tables illustrate the possible initial two-consonant clusters of
beginning with I IJI would undoutedly encounter some difficulty. English:
In both Cantonese and Vietnamese, there are open and closed syllables, but
only the voiceless stops Ipl, Itl, and Ikl and nasals Iml, Inl, and fIJI are per- Table 4.1: Initial two-consonant clusters beginning with a stop consonant
mitted in syllable-final position. Compare this to English where almost any
lips tooth ridge velum
consonant sound can occur in syllable-final position. For Cantonese and
Vietnamese speakers, a word such as 'bad', with a voiced stop I dl in syllable- cluster -: example I cluster ~ example I cluster ~ example
final position, may be difficult to pronounce. Cantonese and Vietnamese kl
pI 1 play 1 I 1 clean
speakers may substitute the voiceless stop I tl at the end of the syllable, pro- 1 tree ·1 cream
pr 1 pray tr kr
nouncing 'bad' as 'bat'. Alternatively, such speakers may insert a vowel
(usually a schwa) at the end of the word, producing 'badg'. In both cases, the py : pure ty tune ky cute
: :
pronunciation results from a difference between the types of closed syllables 1 tw 1 twin i kw 1 queen
allowed in the native and second languages. bi gl
: blue I : : gleam
br. 1 brew dr 1 dream I gr 1 green
Consonant clusters I I
by 1 beautiful dy 1 due 1
An important aspect of restrictions on syllable types involves consonant
1 Idw(rare) 1 dwindle i gw (rare) 1 Gwen
clusters and specifically the limited number of permitted combinations of
consonants in initial and final clusters. A famous example which illustrates Note that the clusters Ilyl, Idyl, Isy/, and Inyl are not used in most dialects ofNorrh
this limitation involves the distinction between the two nonsense words American English. Therefore, 'tune' is pronounced [tuwn], 'due' is pronounced [duw], 'suit' is
pronounced [suwtJ and 'news' is pronounced [nuwzl.
'blick' and 'bnick'. While the word 'blick' does not exist in English, it does
seem to be a possible word of English. If we were to invent a new product, we
could call it a 'blick'. If, on the other hand, we were to name our new pro-
duct 'bnick', it is likely that native speakers would consider this to be a very
odd word. The initial cluster Ibll is familiar to English speakers from words
such as 'blue', 'black', and 'blank', while the initial cluster Ibnl does not
56 The sound system ofEnglish The shape ofEnglish words 57

Table 4.2: Initial two-consonant clusters beginning with a fricative Final clusters
lips and teeth between teeth tooth ridge hard palate The consonants that occur in final clusters are not necessarily the sa~e as
those which occur in initial clusters. We do not find a three-consonant com-
cluster : example cluster : example cluster : example cluster : example bination like Isprl at the end of a syllable. We do find final clusters which
fl I flew I sl I slow I would be impossible to pronounce as initial clusters, such as Ipsl in 'lapse' or
Iidl in 'hold'. The following tables illustrate the possible final clusters in
fr ~ fry er : three ~ Ir : shriek
English. No words which contain grammatical endings have been included
fy I few I sy I suit I in the tables.
I ew (rare) I thwart sw I switch I
-, . Table 4.6: Final clusters oftwo consonants beginning with a nasal
sp
I I I Spit I
I I st I stone I lips tooth ridge velum
i I
I
sk : school : mp bump nt rant I)k think
I I sm I smile I m(p)f triumph nd hand
I I
~ sn ! snow ns tense
I I sf I sphere I ne tenth
vy (rare) I view I I I ntI wrench
nd3 strange
Table 4.3: Clusters beginning with Table 4.4: Clusters beginning
Note that the rwo-consonant cluster Insl is pronounced as a three-consonant cluster Ints/.
a nasal withlhl Therefore, the words 'tents' and 'tense', and 'prince' and 'prints' are pronounced in the same
way.
lips tooth ridge cluster : example
cluster I example cluster I example hy I huge Table 4.7: Final clusters oftwo consonants beginning with a liquid
my I music ny I news hw : whether I r I r
Note that for many speakers of North American English, there is no Ihl at the beginning of cluster : example cluster ~ example cluster I example cluster -: example
words spelled who Thus 'whether' and 'weather' are pronounced in exactly the same way. Ip I help rp I harp Ie I wealth re I hearth
Ib (rare) I bulb rb I curb Is I else rs I course
There are few initial clusters of three consonants in English. They all begin
with an lsI followed by Ipl, Itl, or Ikl followed in turn by Ir/, 11/, Iyl, or It : welt rt I art If I Welsh rI : marsh
Iw/. Id I old rd I cord itJ I belch rtI I arch
Ik : milk rk : cork Id3 : bulge rd3 : barge
Table 4.5: Initial clusters ofthree consonants in English
I rg I morgue 1m I film rm I arm
cluster : example cluster : example cluster : example I elf I scarf I kiln
If rf In m I barn
spi I splice I skI (rare) I sclerosis Iv
I shelve rv
I serve rl
I girl
spr i spring str : string skr : screw
I

spy I spew sty I stew sky I skew

I I skw I squirt

'Stew' is usually pronounced [stuw] not [sryuw] in North American English. See note above on
rwo-consonant clusters.
58 The sound system ofEnglish The shape ofEnglish words 59

Table 4.8: Final clusters oftwo consonants beginning with a fricative or stop strategies serve to simplify the syllable structure of the English word by
making the word conform to the pattern of the native languages of the
fricative stop learners. For example, there are no consonant clusters in Japanese. When
cluster ; example cluster ~ example first learning to pronounce a word like 'street', with an initial three-
sp 1 wasp pt 1 apt consonant cluster, Japanese speakers will often insert a vowel between each
consonant of the cluster and produce 'sutorito'. The word then conforms to
st 1 trust pe 1 depth
the Japanese pattern, with four open syllables CV-CV-CV-CV.
sk ~ ask ps : lapse
Speakers of different languages may employ different strategies of insertion
ft 1 rift te (rare) 1 eighth when faced with a difficult cluster. Spanish does not allow any initial clusters
m : fifth ts : ritz which begin with an lsi. Spanish speakers will insert the vowel lei at the
kt beginning of a word such as 'speak' or 'street' producing 'espeak' and
1 1 act
'estreet'. Arabic does not allow initial three-consonant clusters. Arabic
1 ks 1 tax
speakers, like Japanese speakers, will insert a vowel to break up the cluster in
dz
I I adze a word such as 'street', producing 'sitreet' or even 'istreet'. When correcting
these two problems, the teacher would probably use different techniques
Table 4.9: Final clusters ofthree consonants in English with Spanish and Arabic students. It would be useful to have Spanish stu-
dents begin the word 'street' with a prolonged Issssl so that they could
stop nasal liquid avoid using the initial lei. However, this technique may not work with
cluster I example cluster I example cluster I example
Arabic speakers who are inserting a vowel after the initial I stl of' street'. In
their case, it would probably be better to use a two-word combination such
kst I text mpt I exempt Its I waltz as 'this treat'. Have the students combine the words, pronouncing 'thistreet'
kse I sixth mps I glimpse rps I corpse and eventually eliminate the 'thi' from 'this', producing 'street'.

I nts I
prince rts I quartz Like Japanese, Cantonese and Vietnamese do not have any consonant clus-
I nst I against rst I first ters. However, in pronouncing English words with initial or final consonant
; :
rid : world
clusters, Cantonese and Vietnamese speakers tend to delete one of the con-
sonants of the cluster rather than insert a vowel. A CCVC word like 'green'
I I rlz I Charles may be pronounced as a CVC word-'geen', without the /r/. A CVCC
I I
I
r(p)e I warmth word like past may also be pronounced as a CVC word-'pat' or even 'pa'.
Again, the words conform to the pattern of the learners' native languages.
The addition of grammatical endings creates many more final consonant In pronouncing difficult final consonant clusters, learners most often sim-
clusters than are listed above. The past tense ending It I when added to plify the cluster through the deletion of one or more of the consonants. This
'glimpse' creates the four-consonant cluster Impstl and the plural ending should not be surprising when you consider that English speakers deal with
I sl when added to 'text' creates the four-consonant cluster Iksts/. Very diffi- many final clusters in the same way. Consider your own pronunciation, in
cult clusters created by the addition of the plural ending are Isps/, Ists/, and informal speech, of the italicized words in the sentences below:
I sksl found in words such as 'wasps', 'fists', and 'whisks'. Final clusters such 1 Last one out please close the window. Phonetically: [la!s WAn ... J
as Iktsl in 'acts' and Ipstl in 'lapsed' may be very difficult for learners of 2 This sweater was hand-made. Phonetically: [ .. ha!n meydJ
English.
The words in italics contain final clusters which are usually simplified by
native speakers. 'Last' is pronounced as 'las' without a final It/, and 'hand' is
Difficulty with consonant clusters
pronounced as 'han' without a final Id/. These deletions are very common
Learners employ two general strategies in dealing with consonant clusters in the speech of native speakers but do not occur randomly. For example,
which they find difficult to pronounce. One is to insert vowels between the the final Itl of the word 'last' or I dl of 'hand' is much less frequently deleted
consonants; the other is to delete one of the consonants. Both of these if the following word begins with a vowel sound as in the phrases 'the last
60 The sound system ofEnglish The shape ofEnglish words 61

announcement' and 'hand out'. Unlike native speakers, learners of English

3 Consider the following errors produced by speakers of two different dia-
may simplifY consonant clusters inappropriately, leading to misunderstand-
lects of Arabic:
ing or incomprehensibility. As an ESL teacher, you should focus on cluster
simplifications that are inappropriate to English and not on cluster simplifi- Egyptian Arabic Iraqi Arabic
cations that occur in the speech of native English speakers. Iftloorl floor I ifloorl floor
Ibilastikl plastic libleenl plane
Learners of English may employ a number of strategies in overcoming pro-
IOiriil three I iOriil three
blems with difficult sound combinations. Often they do not realize that they
are inserting or deleting sounds in attempting to pronounce such combi- Itiransiletl translate lisnool snow
I sHaydl slide listadil study
nations. It is the task of the pronunciation teacher to make students aware
IftrEdl Fred I ifrEdl Fred
of their specific pronunciation errors and to give them an opportunity to
ItSildirenl children I tSilidren I children
correct them.
a. Notice that English consonant clusters have been simplified by both
groups of speakers. Describe the different strategies used by the Egyptian
Exercises and Iraqi speakers. (Ignore the vowel and consonant errors.)
1 The following list contains nonsense words, some of which are possible b. How would you go about ttying to correct these errors? Would you
English words and some of which are not. IdentifY those which are poss- use the same technique for both groups of speakers? or different tech-
ible English words and those which are not. In each case, explain your niques? Which group would be easier to correct? Why?
reasonmg.
(Acknowledgemem: The data for this problem are taken from Selinker and Gass 1984)
a Iptredl b IplrlJI
c Ikniy I d Istratpl
e I lJItI f Imraynl
g Islanl h Iklawpl
i Istn,Opl j IdlIlJkl
k Ifrcntl I Ismowpl
2· In Vietnamese, words are normally of the shape CV or CVC, being com-
posed of one syllable. Consonant clusters are normally simplified by the
deletion of a consonant; if lsi is included in the cluster, it will always be
deleted. In Japanese, on the other hand, words are polysyllabic of the
shape CV, CVCV, CVCVCV, etc, the only exception being that a syl-
lable can end with a nasal consonant if it is followed by another con-
sonant. Japanese speakers generally insert the vowel I u I when a new word
does not conform to the expected pattern. However, 101 is inserted after
It I or Idl and Iii is inserted after ItSI or Id3/. Given this information,
how would you predict a Vietnamese and a Japanese learner would pro-
nounce the following words? Explain.
cream stripped pride
fit mind extra
match mistake edge
confirm past company