Assimilative Processes Involved in the

Pronunciation of Digraphs and Morphemes

In some well-distinguished situations, the relationship spellingpronunciation can be explained on the basis
of the morphological principle of English orthography. It postulates that a morpheme should always preserve
its orthographic form independent from the changes affecting its pronunciation in diverse contexts. This
principle can prove effective in the study of the written word, but it fails to account for the variable
pronunciations resulting from distinct phonetic environments. With all this, an explanation and guidance may
be provided in a number of circumstances by phonetic analysis, as the respective pronunciations of the
morphemes depend on assimilative processes. This is the case of the grammatical morphemes -d and -s,
and partly of the digraphs th, ng and nk (and its the orthographic variations) illustrated in the following.

1. The pronunciation of the morphemes d and s1

Assimilation affecting the vocal cords accounts for the variable pronunciations of these morphemes.
Nevertheless, the phenomena are to some extent similar.

Thus,
d is pronounced as:
1. a voiceless sound [t] when it follows a voiceless consonant
e.g., markmarked [mkt]
passpassed [pst]

2. a voiced sound [d] when it follows a voiced consonant or vowel

e.g., harmharmed [hmd]
crycried [krad]

3. a sequence of vowel and voiced consonant [d] after [t] and [d] (the vowel // is inserted in this case
to enable the transition between two consonants that cannot be uttered in succession)
e.g., heatheated [htd]
headheaded [hedd]

s (plural of nouns, Genitive case, 3rd person sg. of verbsthe same rules apply) is pronounced as:

1. a voiceless sound [s] after a voiceless consonant

e.g,, hats [hts], heats [hts], Matts [mts]

2. a voiced sound [z] after a voiced consonant or a vowel

e.g., gods [dz], hears [hz], Anns [nz]

3. a sequence of vowel and voiced consonant [z] after sibilants [s;z;;;;]

e.g., boxes [bksz], watches [wz], Wedges [wez]

It should be noted that the morphemes are d and s (not ed and es). The letter e is motivated orthographically, being inserted before the
morpheme d if the root ends in a consonant letter (including y), and before the morpheme s if the root ends in a vowel letter (or the letter y preceded
by a consonant).

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Tasks

1. Pronunciation of the morphemes d and s

Read the following words aloud pronouncing correctly in each case the respective grammatical morphemes.
Group these words according to the possible pronunciations of the endings.

wished begged dazes coughs

headed bulged bridges primes
tried cloyed keeps scythes
heated talked ounces healths
rowed crowded words neighs
combed clapped suits thanks
gauged paved knaves tests
squelched breathed limbs hurries
glimpsed shirred hushes purrs
housed hanged pries loses
frothed wondered squabs soars
laughed styles juices storeys
fixed watches says fares

2. Transcription of the morphemes d and s

Transcribe the above words phonemically and explain the assimilative processes responsible for the
pronunciation of the respective morphemes.

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 2. The pronunciation of the digraph th

In English, the digraph th is an orthographic rendering of one of the following three sounds:
i. [] e.g., this [s], either [a]
ii. [] e.g., thumb [m], author [], path [p]
iii. [t] (only in some proper names)
e.g., Thames [temz], Anthony [ntni], Theresa [trz], Thomas [tms] etc.

There are some criteria according to which we can identify the pronunciation of th in a word; they are based
on the position of the cluster in the word, on the grammatical category, and, in some cases, the etymology of
the word.
Here is an illustration:

Initial position Medial position Final position

[] voiced [] voiceless [] voiced [] voiceless [] voiced [] voiceless
article: nouns: words of words of non- some usually (in
the [] thief [f] Germanic Germanic exceptions: most words)
origin: origin: with [w] path [p]
thumb [m]
pronouns: theory [r] father [f] ether [] smooth [smu] beneath [bn]
this [s] mother [m] author [] mouth [ma] wealth [wel]
they [e] adjectives: either [a] method [med]
neither [na] arthritis [rats] plural nouns
thin [n] if th is
adverbs: nether [ne] diphthong [df]
thick [k] after a long
there [] weather [we]
vowel:
thus [s] verbs: wreaths [rz]
throw [r] sheaths [z]
connectors: thrive [rav]
(with some
that [t] thaw []
exceptions, e.g.,
faiths [fes] )
numerals:
three [r] verbs that
thrd [d] end in the
letter e
in any word (derived
before [r]: from nouns
or
through [ru]
adjectives):
thrice [ras]
breathe [br]
thrust [rst]
sheathe []
loathe [l ]

TABLE 1: THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE DIGRAPH TH

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Tasks

1. Read the following words aloud, paying special attention to the pronunciation of the group(s) of letters
t+h.

than therefore those

thane thesaurus third
then this thorough
neither these thirst
thank thesis breath
that theyll breathe
theatre thick wuther
other hitherto thread
the thing though
theft thorn through
thieve loathe throb
there loath weather
theology either thimble
theorem throw thicken
Anthony throne sheathe
theirs thus sheath
therapeutic Thames mother
thereabouts thumb bath
thigh thunder arthritis
whether thrust method
ether heath bathing
path nether synthesis
Theresa growth anything
thermal thrash anthem

2. When is the group of letters t+h pronounced as a voiced sound [], and when is it pronounced as a
voiceless one []? Group the above words according to their pronunciation, paying attention to any
exceptions. Explain the reasons for the respective pronunciations in each case.

Supply examples of your own!

3. The pronunciation of the clusters of letters nk/ nc/ nq and ng

The cluster nk/nc/ nq is pronounced as two sounds [k] in any position in a word.
bank [bk], ankle [kl], incomplete [kmplt], inquiry [kwar]

The cluster ng may be pronounced as two sounds [] or as one velar consonant []

it is pronounced as two sounds when in medial position or in final position in adjectival
derivatives:
England [lnd], language [lw], longer [l], strongest [strst]
(notice that in derivatives the cluster is considered to be in final position: strong
/ est)

it is pronounced as the velar consonant [] in word final position:

sing [s], singer [s], singing [s], Buckingham [bkm]
(in the last three examples the cluster is in final position as they are derivatives)

Notes:
1. by position in a word one should understand the oral form of the word, not the orthographic
representation;
2. since end of the word is a source of confusion (see the derivatives above), it is better to use
the term end of a morpheme. As the term morpheme (the smallest meaningful unit of the
language) applies both to root words and derivative suffixes (morpheme = a unit carrying
lexical or grammatical information), this seems to do away with the ambiguity. The above
illustration nevertheless uses the vantage point students may find in some phonetics books.

Tasks
1. Read out aloud and transcribe the following words phonemically:

finger inkling anger

stronger anchor jangle
angler linger humunguous
tangle incumbent ringer
dangling banking mingle
ringing twinkling tongue
Buckingham Nottingham clanking
kingdom English incoming

2. Motivate the biphonemic or monophonemic pronunciation of the cluster ng in each of the following
words:

languish, bringer, wrong, tingle, hanged, warning, longest, Bangkok, longing, finger, Nottingham