Lx I The sounds of German Lecture 6 – Week 8 I. Connected speech – co- articulation and...

Lx I The sounds of German

Lecture 6 – Week 8

I. Connected speech – co-articulation and assimilation

II. Phonological rules revisited

I. Co-articulation and assimilation

In connected fluent speech, the articulators take “short-cuts”

-By leaving phonemes out altogether (e.g. und ein > /ʊn/ - consonant /t/ deleted (deletion, Tilgung; also called elision)

- By reducing phonemes to ones which take less articulatory effort, such as more central vowels (e.g. ein > /ən/) (reduction)


or ….

by articulating sounds in a way which makes the transition to/ from another sound easier = assimilation

e.g. Lippen [lɪpm] (n assimilates to the previous p)

“Connected speech” i.e not words pronounced in isolation, but in context

So we will often talk about changes to pronunciation at the boundaries …

•…. between words, or

•…. between morphemes, e.g. un+gern, halt+bar, frag+st (where + indicates a morpheme boundary)

• remember a morpheme is the smallest unit of language that can carry meaning (even if it is just grammatical meaning.

Phonetics or phonology?

•There are two ways of looking at processes like these.

•We view them as being at the level of phonetic detail, and so transcribe them in square brackets, like [ ]

•But we might argue that, since (in many cases, at least) they can be described by regular phonological rules, we are still dealing with phonology, and so might want to transcribe in between slashes / /

(By the way …)

• in between slashes

• this is a good example of assimilation in English speech:

•In between > [ɪmbətwi:n]

Phonetics or phonology?

•For our purposes, we will consider that co-articulatory effects occur at the level of phonetics.

•This particularly makes sense when some of the processes result in sounds which we have not met as phonemes in German in their own right, as in [ɱ] (=labiodental nasal)

• Still, we will try and describe some of these processes using phonological rules.

NB in the exam …

•You will be asked to provide a phonemic transcription, i.e. at the level of phonology, using phonemes, transcribed between / /

• You’ll also be asked to comment on “how the phonology might be different if the speakers were speaking rapidly / conversationally” – here you will need to comment on the level of phonetic detail


Assimiliation …

•of place

•of manner

•of voicing

Assimilation

of place in Bonn > /ɪmbɔn/ (alveolar to labial)

of manner obvious > /ɔvv/ …(labial stop to fricative)

of voicing hat sie > /hatsi:/ (or /z/)o

Assimilation ….

•partial: e.g. Altbau > /lpb/ (assimilation of place but not of voice)

•Becomes more similar to the sound with which is assimilates

•Total: e.g. mit Partykleid > /mɪpp/

•Becomes identical to the sound to which it assimilates

Assimilation ….

• can occur in either direction:

• either in anticipation of a following sound: mit Partykleid > /mɪpp/ = anticipatory (regressive effect)

• or a “hangover” after another sound has already been pronounced: Leben /le:bm/

= perseverative (progressive effect)

1. Common assimilation of place in German

• 1. anticipatory (regressive)

• /t/ > /p/ before labial stops /p,b,m/

• geht mit > /ge:pmɪt/

• mit Papa > / mɪppapɑ/

• mit Mama > /mipmamɑ/

Common assimilation of place in German


• /t/ > /k/ before oral velar stops /k, g/

• hat kein > hakkaɪn/ (total)

• isst gern > / ɪskgɛɐn/ (partial)



• /n/ > /m/ before nasal stops /p, b, m/

• in Mai > /ɪmmaɪ/ (total)

• mein Peter > /maɪmpe:tɐ/ > (partial)

• kann bieten > /kambi:tən/ (partial)



• /n/ > /m/ before nasal stops /p, b, m/

• in Mai > /ɪmmaɪ/ (total)

• mein Peter > /maɪmpe:tɐ/ > (partial)

• kann bieten > /kambi:tən/ (partial)

•Note case distinctions can disappear: (-en, -em)

• meinen Bruder > /maɪnəm bru:dɐ/



• /n/ > /ŋ/ before oral velar stops /k, g/

• in kein > ɪŋkaɪn/

• in gut > / ɪŋgu:t/


• 2. perseverative (progressive)

• /n/ > / ŋ/ after /k,g/

• sagen, fragen, liegende, Haken /

• (with deletion of schwa)

• /gŋ/


• 2. perseverative (progressive)

• and /n/ > /m/ after /p, b/, (often where a /ə/ has been elided:

• Leben > /le:bm/ Wappen > /vapm/


• all of the above are normal in conversation

• also very possible in formal style


• In relaxed conversational style …:

• regressive (anticipatory) assimilation

/n/ and /m/ > [ɱ] (=labiodental nasal) before /f,v/

in Wien > [ ɪ ɱvi:n]

ein Freund > [əɱfroɪnt]

Im Verein am schönsten > [ɪɱv …]

• NB Both within words and across word boundaries


• In relaxed conversational style …:

• regressive (anticipatory) assimilation

/s/ > / ∫/ before / ∫/ or /Ʒ/

Das Spiel > /da ∫ ∫pi:l/

Des Journalisten > /dɛ∫Ʒ …/

NB not before /j/ as in English this year /…∫j…/

2. Common assimilation of manner in German

• Before or after nasals, oral stops may become assimilated to the homorganic nasal

• progressive: within words and across word boundaries:

• zum Beispiel /mb/ > /mm/

• Bundestag /nd/ > /nn/

• ungern /ŋg/ > /ŋŋ/

Common assimilation of manner in German

• Before or after nasals, oral stops may become assimilated to the homorganic nasal

• regressive: within words only

• especially where loss of ə produces a syllabic nasal in unstressed syllables

• haben >[hɑ:bm] > [hɑ:mm] (b>m)

• Magnet: /magne:t/ > [maŋne:t] (g>ŋ)


what about e.g.s like fanden (Hall, p. 143)

fanden > /fandn/ > /fann/ ?

Hall describes these as assimilations too, but if it were just that, we would end up with /fannn/

• so there is something else going on here too – the reduction of geminates (double consonants) to singles … more later


• These assimilations of manner are likely in conversation or in rapid speech, but are less likely in formal speech

3. Voicing and devoicing

Devoicing:

voiceless stop followed by voiced stop

Voiceless fricative or /z/

(i.e. b, d, g, z)

Devoicing of second element is likely in conversation:

Habsburg [hapsbʊɐk] (little o beneath indicates “devoiced”)

o


Devoicing:

Both within words, and at word boundaries or morpheme boundaries

Habsburg [hapsbʊɐk] (little o beneath indicates “devoiced”)

Das Symbol /sz/ > [ss]

o


Devoicing:

After voiceless fricatives, the voiced phonemes /j, v, l, r/ can also become (partially devoiced)

auf Jahr und Tag […fj…]

Das Wasser [dasvasɐ]

Das Recht [dasrɛçt]

Das Licht [daslɪçt]o

o

o

o


Vowels can also become devoiced:

e.g between voiceless stops, in both German and English

Article

Artikel

3. Voicing …

Voicing

In unstressed syllables, voiceless fricatives may become voiced:

Hat er /t/ > [d]

Mach ich /x/ > [γ]

Darf ich /f/ > [v]

II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)

In German it affects:

/ə/

/t/

Geminate (double) consonants

Loss of nasals /ə/ before nasals in unstressed syllables

(e.g. –en)In very careful speech, we might hear: /ən/,

- but usually /ə/ is deleted, and we hear syllabic /n/ in essen, hoffen, reisen ….

Cf. English sudden, happen

Loss of nasals /ə/ before nasals in unstressed syllables

(e.g. –en)In very careful speech, we might hear: /ən/,

- but usually /ə/ is deleted, and we hear syllabic /n/ in essen, hoffen, reisen ….

• Word-finally, as in the above examples

•Or preceding a consonant: trinkende, lebende …

Remember the syllabic [n] may then undergo assimilation …

Always: assimilation of syllabic n to ŋ

- After a velar stop (/k,g/): fragen, sagen, Haken:

-[gŋ], [kŋ]

• Frequent in normal speech: assimilation of syllabic n to m

- After a bilabial stop /m, p/ : leben, neben, Mappen [bm], [pm]


Elision of final /ə/

• at end of 1st person singular : ich hab’, ich mach’ …. (/hap, max/)

•(not possible after nasals: *zeichn’ ich)


Elision of final /ə/

• at end of 1st person singular : ich hab’, ich mach’ …. (/hap, max/)

•(not possible after nasals: *zeichn’ ich)

• also 1st person preterite tense followed by subject: wollt’ ich (not ich wollt’)

• (not possible where the ending is –ete)

Eg. *arbeitet’ ich


• NB these deletions do not occur with the identical 3rd person preterite endings:

•wollte er, sagte er

• *wollt’ er, *sagt’ er

• Clearly this type of deletion is not just an effect of rapid speech, there is a phonological rule that interacts with the morphology of the language


Deletion of /t/

1. after /n/ or /l/ and before /s/

• der Tanz: /tants/ > /tans/

• ganz: /gants/ > /gans/ (becomes a homonym with Gans)

• du hältst: /hɛltst/ > /hɛlst/


Deletion of /t/

2. In syllable clusters of the pattern

fricative – t – l (e.g. /stl, ftl, çtl, xtl/)

• geistlich > /sl/

• schriftlich > /fl/

• beachtlich > /xl/


Deletion of /t/

3. In clusters with sibilants (/s, ∫ /)

loszulassen = /sts/ > /ss/

• du hast zu viel = /stts/ > /sts/

• jetzt zu … = /tstts/ > /tss/


All such deletions of /t/ are a mark of conversational style


All such deletions of /t/ are a mark of conversational style

(cf. also deletion of /t/ in nicht in north German pronunciations)

Nicht /nɪçt/ > /nɪç/

(Also jetzt, sonst … cf. “weak forms” below)


Reduction of double consonants to singles

Recall from earlier:

fanden > /fandn/ > /fannn/ > /fann/

(a case of total assimilation of manner (/d/ > /n/), resulting in triple consonant, reduced to two)


More commonly, 2 consonants reduced to one by deletion of one:

nennen: /nɛnn/ > /nɛn/

Or, again via assimilation first:

kommen > /kɔmm/ > /kɔm/

singen > /zɪŋŋ/ > / zɪŋ/


Can also be in middle of a word:

annehmen > /ane:mm/

II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)NB if the double consonants …

•ARE NOT at the end of a word and

• IF THEY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW the word stress, then reduction to a single consonant is not possible:

/‘hat kaɪn/ > /hakkaɪn/ Stress on hat (marked by ‘), so no reduction of /kk/ possible

(contrast /hat ‘kaɪn/ > /ha’kaɪn/


• Vocalic r, /ɐ/, is often elided in conversation after long ɑ:,

e.g Fahrt

/fɑ:ɐt /> /fɑ:t

III. More reductions: vowelsConsider den /de:n/

1. [den] (shortened vowel)

2. [dɛn] (tense vowel replaced by lax vowel)

3. [dən] (vowel reduced to schwa)

4. [dn] (vowel deleted, syllabic n)

III. Vowel reductions1. (shortening long vowel)

frequent with all unstressed long vowels, e.g. Gabi

/gɑ:bi:/ > /gɑ:bi/

Universum

/u:ni:vɛɐsʊm/ > /u:nivɛɐzʊm/

III. Vowel reductionsThe remaining steps in vowel reduction …

….

2. [dɛn] (tense vowel replaced by lax vowel)

3. [dən] (vowel reduced to schwa)

4. [dn] (vowel deleted, syllabic n)

… most common in high-frequency function words like articles

IV. “weak forms”See Hall, p.150-154 for a list of weak forms

assimilation and or reduction in high-frequency words, esp. :

•articles: der, die, den, einem, einen …

•Pronouns: du, er, ihm, ihrem ….

•auxiliary verbs: bist, ist, …

•Prepositions: zu, für, nach …

•Conjunctions: und, oder …

•some adverbs: schon, nur, mehr, sonst

Further reductionsWe’ve already noted that a glottal stop ʔ can be omitted before unstressed vowels, and may even be omitted before some stressed ones in relaxed conversation:

In Essen

/ʔɪn ʔɛsən/ most formal

/ɪn ʔɛsn/

/ɪn ɛsn/ least formal

Exercise:Try applying the stages of reduction and assimilation to the words listed here and see what weak forms emerge – then check with the list in Hall, p.150ff.

•articles: der, die, den, einem, einen …

•Pronouns: du, er, ihm, ihrem ….

•auxiliary verbs: bist, ist, …

•Prepositions: zu, für, nach …

•Conjunctions: und, oder …

•some adverbs: schon, nur, mehr, sonst

More on phonological rules

Remember we have seen rules like this:

A fricative or stop becomes voiceless when it is followed by a syllable boundary

[+obstruent] [ - stimmhaft] / __ ] σ

i.e. Auslautverhärtung


We can also use rules to describe some of processes we have been talking about today …

Can you write a simple rule to express this type of assimilation:

in Bonn > /ɪmbɔn/

And this deletion?


NB use ]* and ]σ for “word boundary” and “syllable boundary”


in Bonn > /ɪmbɔn/

/n/ > /m/ / _____ ] σ /b/ /m/ /p/

Or

[+nasal > [+labial] / _____ ] σ [+labial]

+ koronal]

NB this also allows for assimilation of /n/ to /m/ before any labial stop.



1. /ə/ > 0 / _n]* where unstressed

2. /n/ > /m/ / m_ ]*

(or [+nas, +kor] > [+lab.] / [+nas, +lab] ___ ]*)

And finally …

3. /m/ > 0 /___m ]*

(where ]* indicates a word boundary)

Lx I The sounds of German Lecture 6 – Week 8 I. Connected speech – co- articulation and...

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