It's a Generational Thing

ðə ˈriːzŋ̩ ˈɡrænʧɪldrən | əŋ ˈɡræmpeərənts | ˈɡet əˈlɒŋ ˈsəʊ ˈwel | ɪz bɪˈkəz ðeɪ ˈhæv ə ˈkɒmən ˈenəmi

Key at bottom of page.

Commentary

the: When unstressed, as it usually is, the definite article the has the weak form /ðə/ when the following word begins with a consonant.

reason: Phonemically, the final syllable of reason is /ən/. When this syllable is preceded by /z/, however, the schwa /ə/ often isn't pronounced. Instead the articulators move directly from the position for /z/ to the position for /n/. This is relatively easy to do because /z/ is a fricative, a category of sound which involves making a very narrow stricture in the vocal tract. It is possible, therefore, for the articulators to move from such a position to the complete closure required for /n/ (accompanied by the lowering of the soft palate to allow air to escape out through the nose) without passing through the position for a vowel and thereby avoiding an intervening schwa /ə/. This results in syllabic /n/.

Note that in English, syllabic /n/ is not a phoneme in its own right, but merely a special way of realising the syllable /ən/. This means that when we use a special symbol [n̩] for it in transcription, it makes our transcription non-phonemic (because we are now using more than one symbol for each phoneme and introducing a special symbol to show a particular phonetic detail).

The syllabic /n/ of reason undergoes assimilation, changing from /n̩/ to /ŋ̩/ because the immediately following word begins with /ɡ/. The consonant /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal and /ŋ/ is a voiced velar nasal. The change from /n/ to /ŋ/ is a change of place of articulation (not of voicing or of manner of articulation). The place of articulation of the nasal changes to velar because the following consonant is velar (/ɡ/ = a voiced velar plosive). It is usual for /n/ to change its place of articulation to that of an immediately following consonant, becoming /ŋ/ before velar consonants (/k/ or /ɡ/) or /m/ before bilabial consonants (/p b m/).

grandchildren: When /d/ is at the end of a word (more specifically, in a syllable coda) and is immediately preceded by a consonant, it is commonly elided/deleted when another consonant immediately follows (i.e. without a pause) in another word or in a suffix.

and: When unstressed, as it usually is, and has the weak form /ən/ or /ənd/. Some books say that /ən/ is used before consonants and /ənd/ before vowels, but this is not true. While both forms can be heard before consonants and vowels, /ən/ is much more common than /ənd/. Learners can safely use only /ən/ for the weak form of and because it will never be wrong to do so.

The /n/ of and undergoes assimilation, changing from /n/ to /ŋ/ because the immediately following word begins with /ɡ/. The consonant /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal and /ŋ/ is a voiced velar nasal. The change from /n/ to /ŋ/ is a change of place of articulation (not of voicing or of manner of articulation). The place of articulation of the nasal changes to velar because the following consonant is velar (/ɡ/ = a voiced velar plosive). It is usual for /n/ to change its place of articulation to that of an immediately following consonant, becoming /ŋ/ before velar consonants (/k/ or /ɡ/) or /m/ before bilabial consonants (/p b m/).

grandparents: When /d/ is at the end of a word (more specifically, in a syllable coda) and is immediately preceded by a consonant, it is commonly elided/deleted when another consonant immediately follows (i.e. without a pause) in another word or in a suffix.

The /n/ of grand undergoes assimilation, changing from /n/ to /m/ because the immediately following sound is /p/. The consonant /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal and /m/ is a voiceless bilabial plosive. The change from /n/ to /m/ is a change of place of articulation (not of voicing or of manner of articulation). The place of articulation of the nasal changes to bilabial because the following consonant is bilabial (/p/ = a voiceless bilabial plosive). It is usual for /n/ to change its place of articulation to that of an immediately following consonant, becoming /ŋ/ before velar consonants (/k/ or /ɡ/) or /m/ before bilabial consonants (/p b m/).

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.

because: Although it’s generally true that schwa /ə/ doesn’t occur in unstressed syllables in the General British accent, there are a small number of words in which it can be stressed and the most important of these is because. Learners needn’t be concerned by this because there is always a non-schwa alternative in such words (/-ˈkɒz/ in the case of because) and it will never be wrong to use it.

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

common: The syllable /ən/ does not form a syllabic consonant when preceded by /m/.

enemy: The symbol i represents the same vowel phoneme as the symbol iː. We use i in unstressed syllables and iː 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).

The reason grandchildren and grandparents get along so well is because they have a common enemy.