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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 6

Publication Date: June 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/assrj.86.10431. Poladova, S. E. (2021). The Consonant System of the English Language and its Modification in Colloquial Speech. Advances in Social

Sciences Research Journal, 8(6). 505-514.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

The Consonant System of the English Language and its

Modification in Colloquial Speech

Sabina Elkhan Poladova

School of Education, Azerbaijan University of Languages, Baku, Azerbaijan

ABSTRACT

This paper is concerned with the study of the modifications of consonants caused

by their mutual influence, taking into account the varying degrees of connectivity of

the elements of the speech chain. As such, this study of vocal connections of various

types is carried out from the point of view of the nature of the junction of the

elements – more or less close. Thus, this paper is devoted to problems concerning

the phenomenon of vocal junction as it is established in linguistics in general and in

phonetics in particular. The relevance of these problems stems from the need for

disclosure and knowledge of the mechanism of internal organization of speech flow.

This paper is aimed at analyzing the features of the vocal stitch and its components,

which allow you to delve deeper into the mechanism of production of related

speech. Thereby, this study attempts to identify modifications of elements of

interdisciplinary vocal combinations, which are important for the implementation

of their delimitative function, as these are manifested in the distinction of different

units of speech.

Key words: English consonants, phoneme system, colloquial speech, aspiration,

modification

INTRODUCTION

Currently, linguistics has a phonemic description of the segmental units of most languages, with

the English language being one of the most studied in this regard. Nevertheless, the information

available in the literature does not fully reflect the characteristics of vocal units in real speech

embodiment. Instead, a study of the allophonic variation of English consonants in conditions of

a vocal junction will be used to supplement the published system description of English

vocalism with specific phonetic data.

As F. de Saussure has written on this topic: “There is nothing collective in speech, its

manifestations are individual and instantaneous. Speech activity, taken as a whole, is

unknowable, since it is heterogeneous” [21].This explains the inattention to the peculiarities of

the implementation of the phonetic system in speech, which is associated with a significant

degree of variability of linguistic units, particularly phonetic ones. These features were

considered insignificant for the system, which should develop according to its own laws.

Until recently, the main features of the structuralism trend in linguistics have characterized the

overwhelming majority of works by representatives of the Moscow and Prague phonological

schools.

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These structuralist features were also characteristic of American generative phonology, in

particular the standard model of Chomsky and Halle, which denied the important role of social

experience and the close connection of the system with the processes of production and

perception of speech. In addition, generative phonology argued that knowledge of the language

is neutral in relation to speech [13].

THE ENGLISH CONSONANT SYSTEM

Traditionally, 24 consonant phonemes are distinguished in the English language system (See:

table 1). Some researchers, however, do not classify /l/, /j/, /w/, /r/, and /h/ as consonants

[10], with /h/ sometimes considered a vowel sound. Others increase the number of affricates

in the consonant system [6]. Some researchers even place voiceless [M] in the system of

consonantism of American English along with the orthographic “wh” [23].

The question of the belonging of slit sonorates /l/, /j/, /w/, and /r/to vowels or consonants

remains to this day a controversial topic in linguistics. According to acoustic parameters, these

should be classified as glides, or their equivalent – the second elements of diphthongs [7].

So, G. Fant notes the secondary importance of noise in the perception of phonemes /l/, /j/ and

/r/, and the similarity of their acoustic picture with the acoustic picture of vowels, although, on

the other hand, the author himself admits the presence of a noise component in these sounds

in the shock position, significantly affecting their spectrum [4].

The phoneme /w/, however, even in terms of acoustic parameters, is difficult to rank as a vowel

due to a sharp increase in flatness, which sharply decreases compactness and increases low

pitch (the author gives three signs of vowels established by Jacobson: an increase in

compactness, a decrease in low pitch and flatness [4]).

According to articulatory parameters, namely the presence of an articulatory focus that is

absent in vowels, these phonemes should be ranked among consonants, although /1/ and /r/

are often vocalized. In addition, smooth sonorants are deafened after voiceless plosives and are

realized as voiceless fricatives, while vowels do not undergo this process. Furthermore, /w/

and /j/ cannot be syllabic elements, another inherent feature of vowels.

A lot of controversy raises the question of which sign to take as the basis for the classification

of consonants. One approach, taken by a significant part of domestic and foreign linguists, is to

consider the most stable correlation for the work of the vocal cords, on the basis of which it is

necessary to develop a classification [8].

Another approach taken by an opposing group of linguists, ourselves included, prioritizes

correlation as a way to overcome the obstacle. L.A. Chistovich believes that these are the

problems of priority of articulatory classification over acoustic and solves it as follows: acoustic

features are determined at the level of perception, whereas the syllable is the minimum unit of

perception at the level where the transition from an acoustic signal to semantic elements of the

language is possible (information about phonemic affiliation of the components of the syllable

is issued only after the analysis of the entire syllable). Consequently, not acoustic, but

articulatory signs of speech signals should underlie the phonemic classification [3].

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Poladova, S. E. (2021). The Consonant System of the English Language and its Modification in Colloquial Speech. Advances in Social Sciences

Research Journal, 8(6). 505-514.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10431

On the other hand, the syllable is also the smallest pronunciation unit. A much more convincing

argument is that a prerequisite for the formation of consonants is the presence of an

articulatory focus [1], and not the work of the vocal cords. It is not at all a matter of the priority

of articulatory classification over acoustic classification, as there are no contradictions between

the acoustic and articulatory descriptions [8]. After all, any work of the articulatory organs

produces an acoustic effect, and there is a definite correlation between articulatory and

acoustic signs. Moreover, articulation is often inaccessible to direct observation, and we can

often draw conclusions about its features based only on its acoustic characteristics. In fact,

when comparing two articulatory parameters, preference tends to be given to the one that is

mandatory despite the need to supplement the acoustic articulation classification.

Based on the available literature, we can say with a certain degree of confidence that the

American and British variants of the English language at the present stage of development use

the same consonant system, but there are a number of significant discrepancies in its

implementation (although some authors speak of an increasing convergence of British English

(BE) and American English (AE) [28]. This system can be represented in the following table.

Table 1. The English consonant phoneme system.

Occlusive

According to the current

body and place of

formation of

the obstacle

According to the

formation of obstacles

and noise

Labial Lingual

Bilabials

Labiodentals

Guttural

Predental

Mediolingual

Backlingual

Interdentals

(apical) Apical-alveolar

Palatals

Cacuminal

Obstruent р, b t, d k, g

Sonants (nasal) m n ŋ

FricativeObstruent f,v θ,ð s,z ʃ,

3

h

Glides w l r j

Affricates ʧ,

ʤ

According to the method of overcoming obstacles the following groups are distinguished:

occlusive – /p/, /b/, /t/,/d/, /k/,/g/,/m/,/n/, /ŋ/; affricates – /ʧ/, /ʤ/; and fricative – /s/,

/z/, /v/, /f/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/,/3/,/ w/,/l/,/j/,/h/,/r/.

Some complexity for classification is represented by affricates which, according to L. R. Zinder,

can be described as a special kind of occlusive. Affricates are sometimes considered as a

combination of occlusive and fricative. We cannot, however, accept this as a fact since it would

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contradict the concept of the phoneme as the shortest and indivisible phonetic unit. As such,

acoustic-articulatory heterogeneity is not a sufficient reason for considering a phoneme as a

combination. The inhomogeneity of affricates has no functional significance, although some

phonetists describe these affricates as a special type of occlusive [31]. However, it seems to us

more consistent to join the linguists who distinguish them into a separate group of occlusive

and fricative[25].

The question of the number of affricates in the consonant system of the English language also

causes significant controversy. Russian phonetists traditionally distinguish two affricates: /ʧ/

and /ʤ/. According to the acoustic-articulatory parameters, foreign linguists on the other hand

classify /ts/,/dz/,/tr/ and /dr/ as affricates [11], while Gimson adds to them /tθ/, and /dð/(so- called “phonetic clusters”) [6].

However, the proof of the monophonemicity of affricates is the impossibility of a morphemic

seam within them. Therefore, you cannot consider /ts/ and /dz/ to be monophonemic

formations, since /s/ and /z/ can be a sound manifestation of the plural ending of a noun or the

third person singular of a verb.

Similarly, we recognize the combinations of the two phonemes, /tθ/ and /dð/, since /θ/ and

/ð/ serve as a sound manifestation of the affix of the ordinal numeral.

The situation is more complicated with /tr/ and /dr/. You cannot draw a morphemic border

between the first and second elements at the beginning of a word in the following words:

chatter, just, dress, trip. However, there are words such as press and crash, where combinations

of phonemes are traditionally distinguished: /pr/, /kr/. Therefore, relying on the criterion of

consistency (if at one point of the system at the beginning of words a complex from the acoustic- articulatory point of view is considered as a combination of phonemes, then at another point of

the system we will act similarly), we will consider / tr/, / dr / as combinations of phonemes.

On similar grounds, it would seem possible to consider /ts/ and /dz/ as combinations of two

phonemes, but this is not so. According to the laws of phonotactics, at the beginning of a

phonemic word in native English words, there are no other occlusive consonants before /ʃ/

[27]. Thus, adhering to the positions of Russian linguists, we recognize the existence of two

affricates in the system of the English language: /ts/ and /dz/. Nevertheless, this does not entail

the denial of the existence of phonetic affricates – the possibility of contextually affricative

pronunciation of “phonetic clusters” [27].

According to the active organ in the English language, there are labial (according to the place of

formation, labial /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/, and labiodental /f/, /v/), lingual and laryngeal /h/

phonemes. Lingual, in turn, are subdivided into front-lingual, medio-lingual (/j/) and back- lingual (/k/, /g/) depending on which part of the tongue is active when these phonemes are

pronounced.

Among the front-lingual, at the place of formation, there are the interdental /θ/ and /ð/;

alveolar /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/; palatoal veolar /ʃ/ ,/3/, /ts/, /dz/; and cacuminal /r/ in BE

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Poladova, S. E. (2021). The Consonant System of the English Language and its Modification in Colloquial Speech. Advances in Social Sciences

Research Journal, 8(6). 505-514.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10431

(where rounding of the lips is a concomitant feature), and in AE — retroflex [23]. In addition,

sliding articulation /r/ is noted in AE [12].

Some authors believe that the place of formation of consonants is not a relevant feature [15].

However, this does not hold true and is most likely a misunderstanding of L.R. Zinder's words

that the place of formation in consonants is not a prerequisite for education. Of course,

consonants are often assimilated according to the place of education, which does not mean

irrelevance of the considered feature. In English, there are equivalently proportional

oppositions whose members differ only in the place of formation: /s/ and /θ/, /z/ and /ð/,

which proves the groundlessness of the above statement.

By the predominance of noise or voices, noisy and sonorous kinds of consonants can be

distinguished. In Russian, noisy consonants are usually divided into voiceless and voiced. It

is believed that in English, voiceless/voiced is the minimum distinguishing feature. For

English consonants, according to a number of authors, fortitude / laziness (strength /

weakness of articulation) is relevant. Voiceless/voiced is, in contrast to fortitude / laziness, a

frickle sign which actually gave way to the power of articulation. According to the strength

of articulation, all English consonants are divided into strong (“fortis”) which includes all

voiceless sounds in English, and weak (“lazy”) which include voiced obstruent and sonorous.

Thus, it is believed that the occlusive /p/, /t/, /k/ and their voiced pairs, which make up their

privative oppositions, differ not so much in voiceless/voiced, but in the strength / weakness of

articulation, since the sign of voiceless/voiced is extremely variable. So, for example, it would

seem that at the absolute beginning of the word in the pre-vocal position “lazy” consonants are

stunning. Let us disagree with this point of view. First, as already mentioned, the variability of

a feature does not indicate its irrelevance. Secondly, the strong positions for the

implementation of a particular differential feature in different languages may not coincide.

This position, of course, is strong for distinguishing between Russian voiced and voiceless

features, but it does not have to be strong for the implementation of the voiced feature in

English. Perhaps, in the English language such positions would be intervocal and prevocal after

sonorous. This problem can be solved when using the method of instrumental analysis, which

allows us to reveal how much the variation in the sign of voiceless / voiced coincides with the

variation in the sign of strength / weakness of articulation.

Aspiration plays an important role in distinguishing them. Thus, when breathing is lost,

voiceless explosives /p/, /t/, /k/ are perceived as /b/, /d/, /g/ –i.e. their voiced equivalents

[14].However, this feature does not refer to voiced and voiceless spirants and affricates. Thus,

all of the above makes us doubt the existence of there being sufficient ground for recognizing

the priority of the sign of the strength of articulation over the sign of voiceless/voiced.

We can therefore assume that in the cases above there is an overlap of signs of voiceless/voiced

and aspiration, which is the reason for this effect. Yet in other cases, the sign of voiceless /

voiced prevails. In addition, in the system of English consonants, there is not a single case when

“fortis” is voiced, and “lazy” is voiceless gives us reason to join Russian and foreign linguists

who recognize the division of English noisy ones into voiceless and voiced [25] and assume that

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the sign of voicelessness/ voicedness remains universal for the Russian and English languages,

while fortitude / laziness plays a subordinate role.

As mentioned earlier, British and American English use the same consonant system, where

consonants are members of oppositions for the same differential characteristics. However, as

noted in literary sources, some integral features or the degree of implementation of one or

another differential feature may not coincide. For example, in AE the phoneme /r/ has a greater

sonority in general, and the phoneme /l/ is dark [23]. In any position, its velarized allophone is

realized.

MODIFICATIONS OF ENGLISH CONSONANTS IN COLLOQUIAL SPEECH

Before proceeding to the consideration of modifications of consonants, it seems appropriate to

consider the relationship between the concepts of “modification” and “alternation”. There are

two types of modifications: accommodation and assimilation. Accommodation tends to be

partial, while assimilation can be either partial or complete. Partial modifications can lead to

allophone alternation (partial accommodation and assimilation), and complete assimilation

leads to phonemic alternation [26]. Thus, alternations are, first and foremost, a consequence of

modifications occurring in speech.

In general, phoneme modifications stem from the dualism of the phonetic system: on the one

hand, its stability, and on the other, its flexibility, which is reflected in the phonetic structure of

the word. In other words, “the simultaneous stability and flexibility of the phonetic structure of

the word, which can be modified”[30]. The reason for the dualism of the phonetic system lies

in the interaction of phonological and physiological factors.

All languages have in common the fact that the physiological conditions of the influence of

neighboring sounds on each other are the same, although the articulatory bases formed during

the interaction of the phonological system with physiological conditions are different for

different languages. It is also common in all languages that psychologically for the speaker and

listener, the transmission and perception of the meaning of the utterance is important and not

the articulation of each individual realization of the phoneme, which is carried out

automatically. The overall sound of the word is important. Therefore, correlating phonemes can

influence each other as much as it does not interfere with the normal recognition of words in

the context. It is not surprising that the flow of speech correlates of phonemes not in a strong

phrasal position are prone to noticeable weakening and variation [5].

Consonant + vowel combinations are most common in many languages. In such combinations,

accommodation can occur: the influence of a vowel on a consonant or a consonant on a vowel

[19]. Here, we are primarily interested in the influence of vowels on consonants. As a rule, the

subsequent vowel (as well as the consonant) has a greater influence on the consonant than the

previous one, since the anticipation of articulation is more common than inertia.

There are three main accommodations:

o labialization under the influence of labial vowels

o palatalization –softening under the influence of the vowels of the front and deep back

rows of high rise (in English there is no phonemic opposition on the basis of

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Research Journal, 8(6). 505-514.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10431

palatalization / non-palatalization, and therefore the phonemic factor does not impose

restrictions on the relatively weak palatalization that takes place in this position)

o velarization –additional articulation consisting in the tension of the palatine curtain of

the soft palate under the influence of the back vowels, regardless of the rise, if, of course,

there are no phonetic restrictions

Further, the influence of the preceding vowel on the consonant is similar, but manifests itself to

a much lesser extent. In the intervocal position, spirantization of occlusives occurs; most often

back-linguals with a weak occlusive. Sonantization of voiced fricative consonants can also occur

in this position.

It is also advisable to dwell on the combination “consonant + consonant”, where assimilation

can occur (the influence of a consonant on a consonant or a vowel on a vowel [19]). In

homorganic combinations of two consonants, the explosion of the first consonant can be lost,

and in combinations of occlusive heterorganic, the explosion of the first consonant can be

weakened. When combining homorganic with nasal, the oral explosion of the first is replaced

by a faucal. The combination “occlusive + fricative” can take on the character of an affricate

when the occlusive explosion is replaced by a smooth transition to the fricative. Affricates can

then pass into fricative. In the combination “fricative + fricative”, the influence of consonants

on each other is minimal, and modifications rare [2].

A common result of the mutual influence of consonants in heterorganic combinations is more

often regressive than progressive, complete or partial assimilation. By the participation of the

voice, stunning or sounding (full or partial) is possible.

The reason for the variability of phonemes can also be the position in the word or syntagma.

So, consonants standing at the absolute beginning have a greater intensity of articulation, and

at the absolute end – less. The rate of speech has an important influence on the variability of

phonemes. With an increase in the rate of speech, the effect of the law of economy of speech

efforts increases and the number of modifications can be greater than when the rate is slowed

down. There may be more examples of elliptical consonants.

Nasalization can be either one of the main articulations for occlusive sonants such as /m/, /n/

and/ŋ/, or additional for all others. L.R. Zinder has written the following about the complexity

of the nasalization effect: “Articulatory it (nasalization) consists in lowering the soft palate

when pronouncing sounds. From a physiological point of view, this will be a state of rest, while

active articulation is the raising of the soft palate ... However, from a phonetic point of view, the

active articulation will be precisely the lowering of this pronunciation organ”[31].

After considering as a whole the main possible modifications of consonant phonemes,

depending on the combinatorial-positional conditions, one should proceed to the analysis of

the main modifications of consonant phonemes in the American version of the English

language.

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ASPIRATION VARIABILITY

A characteristic feature of the English pronunciation rate is the permissible variability of the

phonetic structure of the word [17]. The English pronunciation rate is quite tolerant of

quantitative and qualitative changes, the range of which is quite wide in American English.

First of all, one should start with important quantitative consonant modifications, such as

aspirate variability, which depends on combinatorial-positional conditions. The mechanism of

aspiration is well-known: according to Leidefoged’s definition, aspiration is the noise of an air

stream in the larynx at a certain position of the vocal cords: the stronger the aspiration, the

more open the vocal cords; wherein there is a delay in the phonation of the subsequent vowel

[16].

Aspiration is an integral sign of consonants /p/, /t/ and /k/. According to I.P. Susov, aspiration

in English is an allophonic trait predictable from the context. The author identifies two

positions in which the allophones of the voiceless occlusive are aspirated: at the beginning of

the stressed syllable before the vowel and the sonant [26].

E.G.Kuryatnikova has noted this variability of aspiration in ten phonetic positions:

o At the absolute beginning before vowel phonemes.

o In the intervocal position.

o In the stressed position after the fricative /s/ before vowels.

o In an unstressed position after the fricative /s/ before vowels.

o At the absolute beginning before the sonant under stress.

o Before sonants after stressed vowels.

o In combination with a sonant in a stressed non-initial syllable.

o In combination with the preceding /s/ and subsequent sonant in the stressed initial

syllable.

o In the middle position after the sonants under stress.

o In the middle position after the sonants in the unstressed position [15].

The results of Kuryatnikova’s experiment were as follows. In the first position, the consonants

have a significant degree of aspiration. However, we assume that it may also depend on the

quality of the subsequent vowel: the strongest degree of aspiration is possible before low-rise

vowels, and the weakest before the high-rise vowels /i/ and /u/. From the position of acoustic

theory of speech production, this assumption has substantial grounds, since the turbulent noise

arising during aspiration is obtained with a wider articulatory passage than in the case of high- rise vowels.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the level of intensity of English (at least in British English)

voiceless noisy before stressed narrow vowels is higher than before stressed wide vowels, with

the exception of the consonant /p/ [9].This hypothesis requires, in our opinion, verification,

since a sufficient amount of experimental data is yet to be accumulated on the subject. In his

research on English phonotactics, G. P. Torsuev has pointed out the direct dependence of the

degree of aspiration on the vowel length [27]. The problem of the longitude status of English

vowels has not received an unambiguous solution. However, the division of vowels into

systemically long and systemically short is not absolute in either BE or AE [27].

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Research Journal, 8(6). 505-514.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.86.10431

In the second position, a strong degree of aspiration is noted in the pronunciation of the

consonants /p/ and /k/, and the quality of the /t/ phoneme changes significantly. Articulatory

change is expressed in the pronunciation of this phoneme with a light and quick blow of the tip

of the tongue against the alveoli in the complete absence of aspiration. Furthermore, in the third

and fourth positions, the quantitative indicator of aspiration depends on the fact that the

combination aspirated + [s] belongs to one or different syllables. In the first case, aspiration is

absent, while in the second it is quite significant.

Similar changes occur with any noisy fricative preceding the aspirated one, but these changes

are less pronounced. The reason is that this would require a narrower passage than is necessary

for the implementation of aspiration [4]. Therefore, it is weakly expressed or not expressed at

all in the correlates /p/, /t/ and/k/ before the fricatives.

In combination with sonants, strong aspiration is observed, and the sonant is also stunned. A

special case is the combination with nasal sonants, when the explosion of a consonant aspirated

acquires the character of a faucal one. We should also mention the lateral explosion that takes

place before the sonant /1/.

Quantitative changes at a certain stage can lead to qualitative ones. As you know, plosive

consonant phonemes are most susceptible to qualitative modifications in speech. Perhaps the

phoneme /t/ is one of the phonemes that undergoes modifications to the greatest extent

[29].One of its representatives is glottalized allophone.

CONCLUSION

In colloquial speech, the boundaries of variation are so wide that at the level of colloquial

speech, free variation and alternation of consonant phonemes are allowed. Implementation

options that were previously prohibited by the norm and belonged to common parlance take

the status of combinatorial-positional allophones. Alternations that were considered abnormal

are increasingly appearing in the coherent speech of educated Americans and are recorded in

modern pronunciation dictionaries as the only variants of pronunciation. After all, it is known

that the system of oppositions that has developed at a certain stage can be shaken.

Phoneme modifications in the stream of spontaneous literary speech in colloquial style are both

linguistic and extralinguistic grounds, the difference between which is quite difficult to draw in

a clear line. Phoneme modifications that may entail neutralization of phonemic oppositions are

embedded in the phonetic system of the language itself, since the very fact of the existence of

certain oppositions should presuppose the existence of positions for their neutralization.

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