Page 113 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Unit 9: Clusters and Syllables

/hj/ (phonetically [ ç j]) has been reduced to [ ç ] so that hew and yew differ only by the initial consonant Notes
sound (i.e. [ ç u:] and [ju:]).
hl-cluster, hr-cluster and hn-cluster reductions

The hl-cluster, hr-cluster and hn-cluster reductions are three reductions that occurred in Middle
English that caused the consonant clusters /hl/, /hr/ and /hn/ to be reduced to /l/, /r/, and /n/.
For example, Old English hl a f, hring and hnutu became loaf, ring and nut in Modern English.

9.1.2 Y-cluster Reductions

Yod-dropping

Yod-dropping is the elision of the sound [j]. The term comes from the Hebrew letter yod, which
represents [j].
Yod-dropping before [u:] occurs in most varieties of English in the following environments:
• After [t ∫ , d ¥ , j], for example chew [‘t ∫ u:], juice [‘d ¥ u:s], yew [ju:]

• After / /, for example rude [ u:d]
r
r
• After consonant+/l/ clusters; for example blue [‘blu:]
There are accents, for example Welsh English, in which pairs like chews/choose, yew/you, threw/through
are distinct: the first member of each pair has the diphthong [Iu] while the second member has [u:].
Many varieties of English have extended yod-dropping to the following environments, on condition
that the [j] be in the same syllable as the preceding consonant:
• After /s/, for example suit [‘su:t]
• After /l/, for example lute [‘lu:t]
• After /z/, for example Zeus [‘zu:s]
• After / θ /, for example enthusiasm [ ε n’ θ u:zi æ z m]
e
Yod-dropping in the above environments was formerly considered nonstandard in England, but
today it is heard even among well-educated RP speakers. In General American yod-dropping is found
not only in the above environments but also:
• After/t/, /d/ and /n/, for example tune [‘tu:n], dew [‘du:], new [‘nu:]

9.1.3 Other Initial-cluster Reductions

Rap-wrap merger

The rap-wrap merger is a reduction that causes the initial cluster /wr/ to be reduced to /r/, making
rap and wrap, rite and write etc. homophones.
Old English had a contrast between /wr/ and /r/, the former characterized by lip rounding. In
Middle English, the contrast disappeared and all cases of initial /r/ came to be rounded [r ].
w
Not-knot merger

The not-knot merger is a reduction that occurs in modern English where the historical cluster /kn/ is
reduced to /n/ making knot and not homophones.
All of the kn words stem from Old English forms beginning with cn-, and at the time all were
pronounced with an initial /k/ before the /n/. These words were common to the Germanic languages,
most of which still pronounce the initial /k/. Thus, for example, the Old English ancestor of knee was

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 107