A Point of Etiquette

ɪf ju ˈdəʊŋk ˈɡəʊ tu ˈʌðə ˈmenz ˈfjuːnrəlz | ðeɪ ˈwəʊŋk ˈɡəʊ tə ˈjɔːz

Key at bottom of page.

Commentary

if: Although if is monosyllabic function/grammatical word and is usually unstressed, it doesn’t have a weak form.

you: The symbol u represents the same vowel phoneme as the symbol uː. We use u in unstressed syllables and uː in stressed syllables. This distinction isn't very helpful for TEFL purposes and learners should simply treat the two symbols as the same. Because we are using two different symbols for one phoneme, this means our transcription isn't truly phonemic (phonemic transcription = one symbol for each phoneme).

don’t: The final consonants of don’t undergo assimilation, changing from /nt/ to /ŋk/ because the immediately following word begins with /ɡ/. The consonants /nt/ are both articulated at the alveolar place of articulation, while /ŋk/ are articulated at the velar place of articulation. The change from /nt/ to /ŋk/ is a change of place of articulation (not of voicing or of manner of articulation). The place of articulation of /nt/ changes from alveolar to velar because the following consonant is velar (/ɡ/ = a voiced velar plosive). It is usual for /n/ and /t/ to change their place of articulation to that of an immediately following consonant, becoming /ŋ/ and /k/ before velar consonants (/k/ or /ɡ/) or /m/ and /p/ before bilabial consonants (/p b m/).

In this context, the glottal plosive/stop variant of the /t/ phoneme is also a possibility. When /t/ is at the end of a syllable (i.e. in the syllable coda), preceded by a sonorant (i.e. a vowel, a nasal or an approximant) and immediately followed by a consonant (within a word in the following word), it can be realised as a glottal plosive/stop [ʔ].

to: The symbol u represents the same vowel phoneme as the symbol uː. We use u in unstressed syllables and uː in stressed syllables. This distinction isn't very helpful for TEFL purposes and learners should simply treat the two symbols as the same. Because we are using two different symbols for one phoneme, this means our transcription isn't truly phonemic (phonemic transcription = one symbol for each phoneme).

men’s: Possessive s has three pronunciations depending on the sound at the end of the noun:

•          /ɪz/ after /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/
•          /s/ after the remaining voiceless consonants
•          /z/ after vowels and the remaining voiced consonants.

The same pattern applies to third person singular s, plural s and the contraction of is.

funerals: When schwa /ə/ is followed by /r/ and then an unstressed syllable, the schwa /ə/ is often elided. Funeral /ˈfjuːnərəl/ becomes /ˈfjuːnrəl/, memory /ˈmeməri/ becomes /ˈmemri/, separate (adj.) /ˈsepərət/ becomes /ˈseprət/, etc.

Plural s has three pronunciations depending on the sound at the end of the noun:

•          /ɪz/ after /s z ʃ ʒ ʧ ʤ/
•          /s/ after the remaining voiceless consonants
•          /z/ after vowels and the remaining voiced consonants.

The same pattern applies to third person singular s, possessive s and the contraction of is.

they: Although they is a monosyllabic function/grammar word and is usually unstressed, it doesn’t have a weak form.

won’t: See don’t above.

If you don’t go to other men’s funerals, they won’t go to yours.