1. Lx I The sounds of German Lecture 6 – Week 8
I. Connected speech – co-articulation and assimilation
II. Phonological rules revisited

2. 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)

3. Co-articulation and assimilation
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)

4. “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.

5. 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 / /

6. (By the way …) in between slashes
this is a good example of assimilation in English speech:
In between > [ɪmbətwi:n]

7. 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.

8. 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

9. Co-articulation and assimilation
Assimiliation …
of place
of manner
of voicing

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

11. 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

12. 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)

13. 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/

14. Common assimilation of place in German
1. anticipatory (regressive)
/t/ > /k/ before oral velar stops /k, g/
hat kein > hakkaɪn/ (total)
isst gern > / ɪskgɛɐn/ (partial)

15. Common assimilation of place in German
1. anticipatory (regressive)
/n/ > /m/ before nasal stops /p, b, m/
in Mai > /ɪmmaɪ/ (total)
mein Peter > /maɪmpe:tɐ/ > (partial)
kann bieten > /kambi:tən/ (partial)

16. Common assimilation of place in German
1. anticipatory (regressive)
/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/

17. Common assimilation of place in German
1. anticipatory (regressive)
/n/ > /ŋ/ before oral velar stops /k, g/
in kein > ɪŋkaɪn/
in gut > / ɪŋgu:t/

18. Common assimilation of place in German
2. perseverative (progressive)
/n/ > / ŋ/ after /k,g/
sagen, fragen, liegende, Haken /
(with deletion of schwa)
/gŋ/

19. Common assimilation of place in German
2. perseverative (progressive)
and /n/ > /m/ after /p, b/, (often where a /ə/ has been elided:
Leben > /le:bm/ Wappen > /vapm/

20. Common assimilation of place in German
all of the above are normal in conversation
also very possible in formal style

21. Common assimilation of place in German
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

22. Common assimilation of place in German
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…/

23. 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/

24. 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)

25. Common assimilation of manner in German
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

26. Common assimilation of manner in German
These assimilations of manner are likely in conversation or in rapid speech, but are less likely in formal speech

27. 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

28. 3. Voicing and devoicing Devoicing:
Both within words, and at word boundaries or morpheme boundaries
Habsburg [hapsbʊɐk] (little o beneath indicates “devoiced”)
Das Symbol /sz/ > [ss] o

29. 3. Voicing and devoicing 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

30. 3. Voicing and devoicing Vowels can also become devoiced:
e.g between voiceless stops, in both German and English
Article
Artikel

31. 3. Voicing …
Voicing
In unstressed syllables, voiceless fricatives may become voiced:
Hat er /t/ > [d]
Mach ich /x/ > [γ]
Darf ich /f/ > [v]

32. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
In German it affects:
/ə/
/t/
Geminate (double) consonants

33. 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

34. 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 …

35. 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]

36. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
Elision of final /ə/
at end of 1st person singular : ich hab’, ich mach’ …. (/hap, max/)
(not possible after nasals: *zeichn’ ich)

37. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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

38. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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

39. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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/

40. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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/

41. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
Deletion of /t/
3. In clusters with sibilants (/s, ∫ /)
loszulassen = /sts/ > /ss/
du hast zu viel = /stts/ > /sts/
jetzt zu … = /tstts/ > /tss/

42. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
All such deletions of /t/ are a mark of conversational style

43. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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)

44. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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)

45. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
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/

46. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
Can also be in middle of a word:
annehmen > /ane:mm/

47. 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/

48. II. Elision (deletion, Tilgung)
Vocalic r, /ɐ/, is often elided in conversation after long ɑ:,
e.g Fahrt
/fɑ:ɐt /> /fɑ:t

49. III. More reductions: vowels
Consider 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)

50. III. Vowel reductions 1. (shortening long vowel)
frequent with all unstressed long vowels, e.g. Gabi
/gɑ:bi:/ > /gɑ:bi/
Universum
/u:ni:vɛɐsʊm/ > /u:nivɛɐzʊm/

51. III. Vowel reductions The 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

52. 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

53. Further reductions
We’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

54. 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

55. More on phonological rules [+obstruent]  [ - stimmhaft] / __ ] σ
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

56. More on phonological rules
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?
kommen > /kɔmm/ > /kɔm/
NB use ]* and ]σ for “word boundary” and “syllable boundary”

57. More on phonological rules
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.

58. More on phonological rules
kommen > /kɔmm/ > /kɔm/
/ə/ > 0 / _n]* where unstressed
/n/ > /m/ / m_ ]*
(or [+nas, +kor] > [+lab.] / [+nas, +lab] ___ ]*)
And finally …
3. /m/ > 0 /___m ]*
(where ]* indicates a word boundary)