Elisions

Education for All

1. Elisions Phonetics and Phonology Muhammad Sheroz 2013-928 M.A ELTL IER, University of the Punjab

2. Definition: Elision  is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a  vowel , a  consonant , or a whole  syllable ) in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce. Sometimes, sounds may be elided for  euphonic  effect.

3. Explanation: In Native English, elision comes naturally, and it is often described as " slurred " or "muted." Often, elision is deliberate.

4. elision Elision is an important area in listening skills, as learners are often unable to hear elided words correctly, especially if they have little contact with native speakers. Word counting and dictations are two activities that practise recognition, whilst at the production stage drilling elided forms such as contracted forms is common

5. Elision is very simply the omission of certain sounds in certain contexts. The most important occurrences of this phenomenon regard:  1)     Alveolar consonants /t/ and /d/ when ‘sandwiched’ between two consonants (CONS – t/d – CONS), e.g. The ne xt d ay….    / ðə ˈneks ˈdeɪ / The la st c ar…      / ðə ˈlɑ:s ˈkɑ: / Ho ld th e dog!  / ˈhəʊl ðə ˈdɒg / Se nd F rank a card.     / sen ˈfræŋk ə ˈkɑ:d / 

6. This can also take place within affricates /t § / and /d ½ / when preceded by a consonant, e.g.  lunchtime / ˈlʌntʃtaɪm /   / ˈlʌnʃtaɪm /  strange days / ˈstreɪndʒˈdeɪz /    / ˈstreɪndʒˈdeɪz / 

7. The phoneme /t/ is a fundamental part of the negative particle not , the possibility of it being elided makes the foreign students life more difficult. Consider the negative of can – if followed by a consonant the /t/ may easily disappear and the only difference between the positive and the negative is a different, longer vowel sound in the second:  I can speak….     / aɪ kən ˈspi:k /  I can’t speak…  / aɪ ˈkɑ:n(t) ˈspi:k /  Note that when can’t is followed by a vowel, e.g. ‘I can’t  eat’, the /t/ is not elided. Can something similar happen to didn’t ? 

8. 2)     A second form involves the omission of the schwa / \ / before liquids /l/ and /r/, e.g. secre tar y  / ˈsekrət(ə)ri / ca mer a / ˈkæm(ə)rə / me mor y / ˈmem(ə)ri /  In some cases this elision may be optional (dictionaries usually represent the optional sound in italics e.g. / ˈlʌn t ʃtaɪm /  , in others it is the norm.

9. Word IPA before elision IPA after elision comfortable / ˈkʌmfərtəbəl / / ˈkʌmftərbəl /  (rhotic English),  / ˈkʌmftəbəl /  (non-rhotic English) fifth / ˈfɪf θ / / ˈfɪ θ / laboratory / læˈbɔrətɔri / / ˈ læbrətɔri /  (American English),  / ləˈbɒrətri /  (British English) temperature / ˈtɛmpərətʃər / / ˈ tɛmpərtʃər / ,  / ˈ tɛmprətʃə / vegetable / ˈvɛdʒətəbəl / / ˈvɛdʒtəbəl / ,  / ˈvɛtʃtəbəl / family / ˈfæmɪli / / ˈfæmli / him / hɪm / / ɪm / going to / ˈɡoʊ.iŋ   tuː / / ˈ ɡənə /  ( gonna )

10. Elision predicts success in reading nonsense words more than real words. Since elision deals with manipulation of phonemes, it would make sense that children who can perform this task would do better at reading abstract Pseudo words . Further study is needed to ascertain the range of influence that elision has over other reading skills and behaviors.

11. Elision may be an important element in the screening of reading success, albeit at the level of basic reading and broad measures of total reading. Teachers continually ask how they can quickly assess young readers who may be at difficulty for reading failure. It would appear that using elision tasks may be one answer to this question.

12. Elision is a key element of phonological awareness. Of the elements evaluated by the CTOPP measuring phonological awareness, this one element has been consistently powerful in identifying children who have reading difficulties.

13. Thank You