Job Discussion Forums

[FGT]

Can someone please remind me of the technical term for the way words run together in speech?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

syntax : the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences



1605, from Fr. syntaxe, from L.L. syntaxis, from Gk. syntaxis "a putting
together or in order, arrangement, syntax," from stem of syntassein
"put in order" from syn- "together" + tassein "arrange"



http://www.etymonline.com/index.php







Thailand teaching and travel resources available here :::: The Master Index Thailand ::::

[fluffyhamster]

Were you thinking of 'assimilation', perhaps? That, and more terms, defined here:
http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~llsroach/encyc.pdf

[rusmeister]

I believe FGT is talking about the phenomenon of saying "an apple" as /a napple/, n'est-ce-pas? That would be neither syntax nor assimilation.

The French term was elision, if I recall correctly. I can't think of an English word off-hand.

For the record, assimilation is the absorption of one phoneme (sound) by another, as in the 'p' in cupboard being absorbed by the 'b'.

[spiral78]

Reduction? Why'm I, for example.

[dmb]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Actually, elision is showing up in English dictionaries too;

like here for example. Learn somethin' new every day.







Thailand teaching and travel resources available here :::: The Master Index Thailand ::::

[FGT]

I had first thought that it was elision but had some doubts and therefore posted my question. From a quick check of fluffyhamster's encyclopaedia I think it's actually liaison.

Thank you all for your responses.

[dmb]

It's my understanding that liasion is a term from French grammar where a word that ends in a consonant istied together with the vowel of the following word les enfants
whereas
elision is where the vowel at the end of a word is lost/elided before another vowel at the beginning of the word that follows

[FGT]

I agree with dmb.

I think liaison is when a sound is added or moves eg "There's a bar on the corner" where the /r/ acts as a buffer between the two vowel sounds (with RP accent the /r/ is absent when saying the single word "bar"), or "a napple, a numbrella etc"; but elision is more when something is missing eg "fish and chips" pronounced as "fission chips".

[yaramaz]

Liaisons are dangereux

[wildchild]

If yall don't mind I thought I might contribute a bit to the discussion.

As far as I know, elison is when info is left out, for example, I'm craving a beer, aren't you (also craving a beer)?.

Assimilation is when sounds blend together, for example the final t and i in constitution which blend together to make a sh sound.

Reduced forms are words like gonna and watchya, as in whatchya gonna do later.

[Like a Rolling Stone]

[dmb]

[Like a Rolling Stone]