Weak Forms

REMINDER: VOWEL REDUCTION

When a syllable in a word is unstressed, most of the time the vowel in that syllable will be reduced, i.e. will not have its full form, and will become less audible and prominent.
Vowel Reduction occurs in all vowels [ a ], [ e ], [ u ], [ o ] :
Banana/bǝ'nɑ:nǝ/
Tomato/tǝ'mɑ:tǝʊ/
Bottom/'bÞtm/
Figure/'fɪgǝ/
Misery/'mɪzǝri/ (non phonemic i in final position in non –stressed syllables) see Transcription guidelines
but not with [ i ] since short i is very close to schwa in articulation.
Ministry /'mɪnɪstri/
Sinister/'sɪnɪstǝ/
[ e ] in a non stressed syllable preceding a stress becomes /ɪ/:
be'lieve, re'lieve, des'pite, de'void, re'lease, res'ponsible


Exercise 1:His/her/he: h elision in the middle of a sentence

1. His dog has been chewing my slippers at night.
/hɪz 'dÞg əz bɪn 'ʧu:ɪŋ maɪ 'slɪpəz ət 'naɪt/


2. I found out his dog had been chewing my slippers.
/aɪ 'faʊnd ˌaʊt ɪz 'dÞg əd bɪn 'ʧu:ɪŋ maɪ 'slɪpəz/

3. When did he decide to go on holiday in Greece?

/'wen dɪd i dɪ'saɪd tə 'gəʊ Þn 'hÞlɪdeɪ ɪn 'gri:s/

4. How did her friends know about the surprise party?
/'haʊ dɪd ə 'frenz 'nəʊ əˌbaʊt ðə 'səpraɪz ˌpɑ:ti/

Exercise 2: linking r when followed by vowel sound.

1. We've been waiting for a doctor's appointment for ages.

/wiv bɪn 'weɪtɪŋ fər ə 'dÞktəz əˌpɔɪntmənt fər 'eɪʤəz/

2. The local post office will be closing for the weekend.
/ðə 'ləʊkl 'pəʊst ˌÞfɪs wɪl bi 'kləʊzɪŋ fə ðə 'wi:kend/


3. After all this time, I was hoping you would be more understanding!

/'ɑ:ftə 'ɔ:l ðɪs 'taɪm aɪ wəz 'həʊpɪŋ ju wəd bi 'mɔ:r ˌʌndə'stændɪŋ/

4. The school's mascott went missing last night and has been found under an old oak tree.
/ðə 'sku:lz 'mæskÞt 'went 'mɪsɪŋ 'lɑ:st 'naɪt ənd əz bɪn 'faʊnd ʌndər ən 'əʊld 'əʊk ˌtri:/

Exercise 2: to: + vowel/ + consonant

1. The football team is flying to Australia for a rematch.

/ ðə 'fʊtbɔ:l ˌti:m ɪz 'flaɪŋ tu Þs'treɪliə fər ə 'ri:mætʃ/

2. The neighbour's house needs to be repainted.

/ ðə 'neɪbəz 'haʊs 'ni:dz tə bi rɪ'peɪntɪd/

3. They keep lots of pets in their home, and their kids love to play in the garden with them.

/ðeɪ 'ki:p 'lÞts əv 'pets ɪn ðeə 'həʊm ən ðeə 'kɪdz 'lʌv tə 'pleɪ ɪn ðə 'gɑ:dn wɪð ðm/

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