46. Let us take a familiar nursery rime as an example of simple conversational English; it will serve to give us some idea of the problems which have to be considered when we deal with the sounds of connected speech. This is the rime:
siŋ ə sɔŋ əv sikspəns | ə pɔkit ful əv rai | fɔːr ən tʍenti blækbəːdzz̥ | beikt in ə pai | wen ðə pai wəz oŭpnd | ðə bəːdzz̥ bi´gæn tə siŋ | wɔzn̩(t) ðæt ə deinti diʃ | tə set bi´fɔː ðə kiŋ.
47. Pedantically precise speech is as much out of place in the nursery as vulgar speech; therefore we do not say, siŋ eĭ sɔŋ ɔv sikspens.
Notice that the following words have strong and weak forms, a weak form being regularly used when they are not stressed:—
| weak | strong | |
|---|---|---|
| a, an | ə, ən | ei, æn |
| the | ðə (before consonants) | ðij |
| ði (before vowels) | ||
| has | həz,[61] əz, z | hæz |
| have | həv,[61] əv, v | hæv |
| had | həd,[61] əd, d | hæd |
| is | iz, z, s | iˑz |
| are | ɑ(r), ə(r) | ɑːə, ɑːr |
| was | wəz | wɔz |
| were | wə(r) | wəː(r), wɛːə(r) |
| can | kən, kn̩ | kæn |
| shall | ʃəl, əl, l | ʃæl |
| will | əl, l | wil |
| could | kəd | kud |
| should | ʃəd, ʃd, ʃt, d | ʃud |
| would | wəd, əd, d | wud |
| he | hi,[62] i | hij |
| she | ʃi | ʃij |
| her | hə(r),[62] ə(r) | həː(r) |
| him | ɪm | him |
| his | ɪz | hiz |
| we | wi | wij |
| us | əs | ʌs |
| you | ju, jə | juw |
| them | ðəm, (əm) | ðem |
| your | jü(r), jɔ(r), jə(r) | juːə(r) |
| of | əv | ɔv |
| from | frəm, frm̩ | frɔm |
| to | tə (before consonants) | tu |
| and | ənd, n̩d, ɔn, n̩ | ænd |
| or | ɔ(r), ə(r) | ɔː(r) |
The use of strong forms for weak ones in ordinary conversation is undoubtedly a fault, and should be avoided; much of the unnatural reading aloud in our schools is due to this cause. Foreigners who have lived long in England often fail in this respect when they have overcome almost all other difficulties. It is also not uncommon in the speech of colonials.
Notice [pens], but [sikspəns].
A word which forms the second part of a compound often changes in pronunciation, a weaker form being substituted. Compare penny and halfpenny, board and cupboard, come and welcome, day and yesterday, ways and always, fast and breakfast, mouth and Portsmouth, land and England, ford and Oxford.
The first letter of the second part is sometimes dropped; thus the w in housewife (case for needles, etc.) [hʌzif], Greenwich, Harwich, Woolwich, Norwich, Keswick, Warwick is no longer pronounced, nor the h in shepherd, forehead, Clapham, Sydenham, and in many words beginning with ex-, e.g., exhale,[63] exhaust, exhibit, exhilarate, exhort. The dropping of h in neighbourhood is vulgar.