Cambridge Linguistics

Followers of this blog this week might like to read an article of mine published last Friday on the website Cambridge Linguistics. It's a post about /t/-epenthesis in Standard Italian Pronunciation (SIP). Take a look at it here. 

 

Weak, strong, and contracted forms in my book

In my book I discuss weak, strong, and contracted forms in 18 pages, namely from p. 110 to p. 127. To my knowledge, my manual is the only textbook in Italy to deal with this for the EFL learner/teacher most important topic in such a detailed and thorough way. See below for some screenshots of pp. 114, 121 and 122. As ever, click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Cruttenden's 'extra' weak forms

In Cruttenden's new Gimson's Pronunciation of English, Routledge (2014), pp. 273-277 are devoted to the, for the EFL learner/teacher extremely important, topic of English weak and strong forms. In an improvement on the previous edition, this section now includes many more weak forms than in the past, several of which are also exemplified by sentences/phrases transcribed into GB. Some of the weak forms which now feature in Cruttenden (2014) and which are not to be found in the seventh edition of the book are:

a) the very common an for and;

b) bt for but;

c) fm̩ for from, as in The man from the...;

d) ɪz`self for himself, as in He did it himself;

e) (`)kədnt for couldn't;

f) (`)ʃədnt for shouldn't;

g) (`)wədnt for wouldn't.

On page 275, Cruttenden rightly states that in English common uses of reduced forms involve auxiliary verb plus not, and that

"a final /t/ may be lost before a word beginning with a vowel (sometimes with assimilation), e.g. /kɑːn `liːv/, /dʌzn `ʃəʊ/, /wəʊŋ `gəʊ/".

Although this kind of reduction in English is possible, it is probably much more frequent before a word beginning with a consonant sound, as is clearly indicated by the examples provided in the quote above.

  

NB: From now onwards, posts on this blog will be offered only in English.

Talcum

Have a look at this:

The above screenshot is taken from p. 173 of the book Pronuncia dell'Inglese, Zanichelli, 2009. (For more on this book, see this blog post of mine here.)

Notice anything untoward? Yes, the transcription of the word talcum. Is the l 'silent' in this word? And is the vowel in the first syllable ɑː? I don't think so. I've never come across such a pronunciation. The term talcum is normally pronounced ˈtælkəm, not ˈtɑːkəm as indicated above. The pronunciation ˈtɑːkəm is not included in any of my pronouncing dictionaries. 

Do you use ˈtɑːkəm, or do you know anyone who does?

Talco

La figura sopra è tratta da p. 173 del libro Pronuncia dell'Inglese, Zanichelli, 2009. (Per maggiori informazioni su questo testo si veda il seguente post del 21 gennaio 2013.)

Non notate nulla di strano? Sì, la trascrizione della parola talcum ('talco'). Ma la l è veramente 'muta' in questa parola? E la vocale della prima sillaba è realmente ɑː? No! Non ho mai incontrato una pronuncia così strana! Il termine talcum si pronuncia normalmente ˈtælkəm, non ˈtɑːkəm come indicato sopra. La pronuncia ˈtɑːkəm non è contemplata in nessuno dei miei dizionari di pronuncia. 

C'è qualche mio follower che usa ˈtɑːkəm o conosce qualcuno che utilizza questa insolita variante?

ɡɪmpsn̩z prənʌntsieɪʃən əv ɪŋɡlɪʃ

sɪnts ɪts fɜːs pʌblɪkeɪʃən ɪn naɪntiːn sɪksti tuː | ɡɪmpsn̩z prənʌntsieɪʃən əv ɪŋɡlɪʃ əz biːn ði ɪsenʧl̩ refrənts bʊk | fər eniwʌn stʌdiɪŋ ɔː tiːʧɪŋ ðə prənʌntsieɪʃən əv ɪŋɡlɪʃ || 

ðɪs eɪtθ ɪdɪʃn̩ | həz bɪn ʌpdeɪtɪd tə dɪskraɪb ʤenrəl brɪtɪʃ əz ðə prɪntsəpəl aksn̩t | rɑːðə ðn̩ ɑː piː | ən ði əkʌmpəniɪŋ transkrɪpʃn̩z əv bɪn brɔːt ɪntə laɪn wɪð riːsn̩ʔ ʧeɪnʤɪz ɪm prənʌntsieɪʃn̩ || ðɪs leɪtɪst ɪdɪʃən ɔːlsəʊ ɪŋkluːdz | kəmpliːʔli riːrɪʔn̩ ʧaptəz ɒn ðə hɪstri əv ðə laŋɡwɪʤ ən ði ɪmɜːʤənts əv ə standəd | əlɒŋsaɪd ə dʒʌstɪfɪkeɪʃn̩ fə ðə ʧeɪnʤ frəm ɑː piː | tə ʤenrəl brɪtɪʃ ||

ə fɜːðə bəʊnəs tə ðɪs ɪmpɔːtn̩t tekst | ɪz ɪts ɪkstentsɪv ən ətraktɪv njuː kəmpanjən websaɪt  | wɪʧ naʊ ɪŋkluːdz məʊməm baɪ məʊməŋ kɒməntriz ɒn vɪdiəʊz | ʃəʊɪŋ ði ɑ:tɪkjəleɪʃən əv ɔːl ʤenrəl brɪtɪʃ kɒntsənənts əm vaəlz ɪn spəʊkən freɪzɪz | əz wel əz krɒs refrəntsɪŋ bɪtwiːn ðə bʊk ən ðiːz vɪdiəʊz || ðə kəmpanjən websaɪt ɔːlsəʊ ɪŋkluːdz njuː rəkɔːdɪŋz əv ɒʊld ɪŋɡlɪʃ | mɪdəl ɪŋɡlɪʃ | ən ɜːli mɒdn̩ ɪŋɡlɪʃ | ən fiːʧəz lɪŋks tə rəkɔːdɪŋz əv riːsn̩t əŋ kʌrənʔ ʤenrəl brɪtɪʃ wɪð kɒments ən transkrɪpʃn̩z ||    

kɒmprəhentsɪv jet əksesəbl̩ | ɡɪmpsn̩z prənʌntsieɪʃən əv ɪŋɡlɪʃ rəmeɪnz ði ɪndəspentsəbl̩ refrənts bʊk | fər eniwʌn wɪð ən ɪntrest ɪn ɪŋɡlɪʃ fənetɪks ||

(The full text in orthography can be found here. The symbols are those used in the new edition of Gimson's Pronunciation of English by Alan Cruttenden, Routledge, 2014. The transcription in General British (GB) is only one of many possible transcriptions. For more on the book itself, see this article by Jack Windsor Lewis.   

Il testo in ortografia inglese si trova qui. I simboli sono quelli utilizzati nella nuova edizione di Gimson's Pronunciation of English, di Alan Cruttenden, Routledge, 2014. La trascrizione fornita in General British (GB) è solo una delle tante possibili trascrizioni. Per avere maggiori informazioni sul libro di Cruttenden si veda questo articolo redatto da Jack Windsor Lewis.)

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Azzaro, G. (2006; p. 267). Sounds right. Aracne