Contents Introducti

2.2. Changes of the vowel phonemes in connected speech

This chapter is devoted to the Changes of the vowel phonemes in connected speech. So we will try to investigate by some active methods.
So far we have given a lot of attention to the classification of vowels. Vowels as units of system of sounds were analyzed as if pronounced in the stressed position in the word. At this point we should discus characteristics of vowels in the unstressed position in the word. It is well-known that a vowel in the unstressed position is short, weak and undistinguished. Unstressed vowels are usually associated with:

among

before

useful tomato exercise
sudden
[əmo:ŋ]

[bif ɔ:] [ju:zful] [təmətəu] [eksəsaz]

[sədən]

Also vowels of full quality sometimes appear in unstressed positions. It happens in borrowed words of Latin and Greek origin: architect [ə:kitekt], paragraph [pærəra:f], canteen [kænti:n].
The phonemic status of the neutral sound [ə].

At this point we should discuss the phonemic status of the neutral sound [ə]. The phonological analysis is made with the help of oppositions of the words. If sounds (two variants of one sound) change the meaning of the words then a sound is a separate phoneme:
officers – offices accept – except armour – army
In these examples the neutral sound [ə] is opposite to the phoneme [i] It differentiates the meaning of the words so in these examples [ə] is a separate
phoneme. But there are some other examples:

man – businessman board – blackboard post – postpone
These sounds are allophones of one and the same phoneme [ə].

In discussing vowels we should turn to vowel reduction. The modifications of vowels in speech are traced in the following directions: quantitative, qualitative or both these changes of vowels of speech are determined by many factors:

1. position in the word
2. accentual structure
3. tempo of speech
4. rhythm and so on

The decrease of the vowels quantity (shortening of the vowels length) is known as quantitative modification of vowels and can illustrated as follows:
1) the shortening of vowel occurs in the unstressed position: board - blackboard
In this case reduction affects the quantity and the quality of the vowel.

2) the length of the vowel depends on its position of the word: knee [i:] – need – neat
It is only quantitative change. Unstressed vowels lose their quality:
1) in unstressed syllables man –sportsman
conduct [kəndakt] – conduct [kəndəkt]

The neutral sound [ə] is the most frequent sound of English: about 11% of all English sounds, in combination with [ə] – about 20%.
2) slight degree of nasalization occurs when a vowel is followed or preceded by nasal consonants [m] [n]:
never – no – then – man
The relation of reduction as well as assimilation and accommodation is greatly connected with the style of speech. In colloquial speech reduction may even result in vowel elision.
history – factory – literature – territory – correct – believe – suppose – perhaps Sound alternations
In the previous section we saw how the pronunciation of sounds can vary according to the position in the word and this change is quite regular. These changes are very predictable. Now we’ll discuss different modifications of sounds which don’t depend on assimilation or accommodation due to position in the word but depend on some greater factors:

Some sound alternations depend on the history of English and are called historical.

The influence both vowels and consonants: