Levelling or Smothing

Levelling or Smothing

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It's a phonological process produced in rapid coloquial speech and due to economy of effort. This process takes place at word boundary, mopheme boundary or within the same syllable when front and back diphthons are followed by a schwa /ə/(1)These diphthongs are levelled because the second vocallic element (/ɪ/ or /ʊ/) is elided(2) and to compensate the loss the first vocallic element is lengthened(3). 2 syllables are reduced to only one. This is a form of reduction or compression.

(1)[faɪə]


(2)[faɪə] [faə]


(3)[fɑ:ə]

These are the 5 cases in which this process can take place:

    /aɪ/+ /ə/ = [ɑ:ə]    
/eɪ/+  /ə/ = [e:ə]
ɪ/+ /ə/ = [ɔ:ə] 

ʊ//ə/ = [ɜ:ə]
 /aʊ/+ /ə/ = [ɑ:ə] 


Let's see the cases one by one 

[ɑ:ə] ( /aɪ/+ /ə/)

whitin the same syllable

layer [lɑ:ə]  
fire [fɑ:ə] 
diet [dɑ:ə] 
wire [lɑ:ə]  
society [səsɑ:əti] 
tyre [tɑ:ə] 
shire [ɑ:ə] 

at morpheme boundary

buyer [bɑ:ə]  

drier [drɑ:ə]  
liar [lɑ:ə]  
higher [hɑ:ə]  

at word boundary

buy another [bɑənʌθə]  
dry again [drɑəgen]
high and low [hɑən ləʊ]

[e:ə]

whitin the same syllable

mayor [me:ə]
layer [le:ə]

at morpheme boundary

greyer [gre:ə]
conveyor [kənve:ə]
payer [pe:ə]
player [ple:ə]
prayer [pre:ə]

at word boundary

may arrive [me:ə raɪv]
they are [ðe:ə]
way around [we: əraʊnd}

[ɔ:ə] 

whitin the same syllable

royal [rɔ:əl] 
loyal [lɔ:əl] 
lawyer [lɔ:ə] 

within the same syllable 

employer [ɪmplɔ:ə]
enjoyable [ɪndʒɔ:əbl]
joyous [dʒɔ:əs]


at word boundary

boy and girl [bɔ: ən gɜ:l]
employ a person [ɪmplɔ: ə pɜ:sn]
destroy another [dɪstrɔ: ənʌθə]
enjoy a good time [ɪndʒɔ: ə gʊd taɪm]

[ɜ:ə]

whithin the same syllable

Noah [nɜ:ə]

at morpheme boundary


mower [mɜ:ə]
slower [slɜ:ə]
grower [grɜ:ə]
lower [lɜ:ə]
rower [rɜ:ə]

at word boundary


know about [nɜ: əaʊt]
borrow another [bɒrɜ: ənʌθə]
go away [gɜ: əweɪ]

[ɑ:ə] ( /aʊ/+ /ə/)

whitin the same syllable

flour/flower [flɑ:ə]  
sour [sɑ:ə] 
shower [dɑ:ə] 
tower [tɑ:ə]  

at morpheme boundary

nowadays [nɑ:ədeɪz]  

at word boundary

now and then [nɑən ðen]  
how about [hɑəbaʊt]

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