COMD 2338 Selected Phonological Processes

10: final consonant deletion, consonant cluster (blend) reduction, unstressed (weak) syllable deletion, prevocalic voicing, final obstruent devoicing, stopping, fronting, backing, vocalization, gliding

Onset, Rhyme (Nucleus + Coda)

• Syllables may have an onset and a rhyme; the rhyme has a nucleus (usually a vowel), and it may also have a coda.

  • In American English, all syllables have at least a nucleus that is the peak of sonority.

  • The nucleus may be preceded by an onset, and a coda may follow the nucleus. 

• Every syllable of every language must have a nucleus  

• ex: C (onset) + a (nucleus) + t (coda) = Cat

  • onset or coda will be a consonant 

Final Consonant Deletion

• when the consonant at the word’s end is deleted

• ex: car → ca

Consonant Cluster (Blend) Reduction

• when you have more than one consonant in an onset or coda, and a consonant is deleted within it/cluster becomes reduced/cluster becomes blended

• ex: stop → top

  • onset = st → onset = t

Unstressed (Weak) Syllable Deletion 

• when an unstressed syllable is deleted

• ex: pocket --> pa

Prevocalic Voicing  

• when typically voiceless consonants are voiced due to there being a vowel following said voiceless consonant

• ex: toe --> [dohorseshoe]; key --> [gi]

Final Obstruent Devoicing 

• typical voiced word-final obstruents (stops, affricates, fricatives) become voiceless  

• ex: nod --> [nat]; cab --> [caep]

Stopping 

• change of fricatives and affricates (non-stop sounds) into stop consonants 

• ex: jam --> [daem]; shoe --> [tu] 

Fronting 

• velars and palatals become alveolar; more generally, any moving forward in place of articulation 

• ex: duck --> [dut]; goat --> [dohorseshoet] 

Backing 

• producing a sound with a place feature further back from the original 

• ex: boat --> [dohorseshoet] 

Vocalization (sometimes referred to as vowelization) 

• liquids (l, r) become vowel (syllabic consonants becoming vowels) 

• ex: table --> [tubu]; apple --> [aepo]  

• "cah" for "car" or "buh-uh" for "bubble"

Gliding 

• change of liquids ([l, r]) to glides ([w, j]) 

• ex: red --> [wed]