Coarticulatory phenomena

• Phoneme


  A sound spoken in isolation
• In real speech, sounds are rarely isolated, they are spoken in sentences, which are a series of words and sounds interrupted by pauses
• Coarticulatory phenomena


  When phonemes are pronounced in sequences, speech organs adjust themselves to make a more convenient transition from one articulation to another
• Speech organs display a certain "economy" of effort when pronouncing phonemes in sequences
• In sequences, sounds often influence each other, leading to various changes, to make speech easier and more efficient
• Main Types of Sound Changes

  • Accommodation
  • Vowel Reduction
  • Elision
• Accommodation


  • Vowels and consonants affect each other
  • Rounded vowels make the previous consonant sound rounded
  • Spread lips for front close vowels
  • Palatalization of consonants before vowels
  • Nasalization of vowels next to nasal consonants
• Vowel Reduction


  • Vowels get weaker or shorter in unstressed positions
  • Vowel length can change depending on syllable type
• Elision


  Sounds (both vowels and consonants) can be completely dropped
• When we speak, our speech organs adjust to make transitions between sounds smoother, resulting in predictable and regular sound changes, making speech more efficient and easier to produce