Reduction

In English as well as in Russian vowels in unstressed syllables are usually reduced. The laws of reduction, in these languages are not the same.

Reduction is a historical process of weakening, shortening or disappearance of vowel sounds in unstressed syllable.

The neutral sound represents the reduced form of almost any vowel or diphthong in the unstressed position:

E.g. Combine /'kɒmbaɪn/ - combine /kəm'baɪn/

The vowel sounds of the two related words are in contrast because of different stress positions.

Non-reduced unstressed sounds are often retained in:

1. compound words: blackboard /'blækbɔ:d/; oilfield /'ɔɪlfi:ld/;

2. borrowings from the French and other languages.

Reduction is closely connected not only with word stress but also with rhythm and sentence stress. Stress words are pronounced with great energy of breath. Regular loss of sentence stress of certain words is connected with partial or complete loss of their lexical significance.

So reduction is realized:

1. in unstressed syllables within words;

2. in unstressed form-words (auxiliary and modal verbs, personal and possessive pronouns, etc.) within intonation groups and phrases.

Three different types of reduction are noticed in English:

1. Quantitative reduction: shortening of a vowel sound in the unstressed position, affects mainly long vowels :/ hi: - hɪ/

2. Qualitative reduction: obscuration of vowels towards /ə, ɪ, ʊ/, affects both long and short vowels: /kæn – kən/.

3. Elision of vowels in the unstressed position: /aɪm ʌp ɔ:l ˎredɪ/

Recommendations:

1. Reduced vowels should be made very weak. Sometimes they are even dropped in fluent speech, /'fæktrɪ/.

2. Unknown words especially compound and borrowed should be looked up in a dictionary to check their pronunciation. Be sure not to reduce vowels of full value in the unstressed position, unless you are to do so.

3. When practicing reading as well as speaking weaken unstressed form-words, personal and possessive pronouns, auxiliary and modal verbs whenever it is necessary.

Oppositions

The phonemes of the language form a system of oppositions in which any phoneme is usually opposed to other phonemes in at least one position, in at least one minimal pair. All the sounds should be opposed in word-initial, word-medial and word-final positions.

There are three kinds of opposition:

• single – pen – ben; common: occlusive, labial

differentiating: fortis – lenis.

• double – pen – den; Common – occlusive; Dif. – labial – lingual; fortis voiceless – lenis voiced

• triple – pen – then; dif. – occlusive constrictive, labial dental, fortis voiceless – lenis voiced

Each phoneme is characterized by a certain number of phonologically relevant features, which are its constant distinctive features (as they distinguish the phoneme from all the other phonemes of the language).

Each allophone of a certain phoneme is characterized by definite phonologically relevant features (which are common to all the allophones) plus a number of irrelevant, or incidental, features (which distinguish the allophone from all the other allophones of the phoneme).

The phonologically relevant features that characterize the phoneme /p/ are, therefore, bilabial, occlusive and fortis. Aspiration, plosiveness, labialization etc. are phonologically irrelevant features.

The substitution of one of the phonologically relevant feature by any other relevant feature the phoneme becomes a different phoneme (pie-tie). The substitution of one irrelevent feature for another (aspirated-non-aspirated) results in a different allophone of one and the same phoneme. Such substitution does not affect communication.

In the system of Englis vowels there are oppositions of:

Monophthong between themselves and diphthongs between themselves (these oppositions are based on differences in the movements and positions of the tongue and the lips)

Monophthongs and diphthongs (theses oppositions are based on both above mentioned differences and the absence and presence of a glide).

There are no phonlogical oppositions in the system of English vowel phonemes based on length alone.

In the system of English consonants there are oppositions based on the

• force of articulation (fortis, lenis)

• on the active organ of speech

• on the type of obstruction.