Weak forms in British and American English

5 Pages·0.484 MB·English

by  Kowalczyk A.B.

Weak form /ˈwiːk ˌfɔːm/

A very important aspect of the dynamics of English pronunciation is that many very common words have
not only a strong or full pronunciation (which is used when the word is said in isolation), but also one or
more weak forms which are used when the word occurs in certain contexts.
Words which have weak forms are, for the most part, function words such as
conjunctions (e.g. ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’),
articles (e.g. ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’),
pronouns (e.g. ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘her’, ‘him’),
prepositions (e.g. ‘for’, ‘to’, ‘at’)
and some auxiliary and modal verbs (e.g. ‘do’, ‘must’, ‘should’).
Generally the strong form of such words is used when the word is being quoted (e.g. the word ‘and’ is
given its strong form in the sentence “We use the word ‘and’ to join clauses”), when it is being
contrasted (e.g. ‘for’ in “There are arguments for and against”) and when it is at the end of a sentence
(e.g. ‘from’ in “Where did you get it from”).
Often the pronunciation of a weak-form word is so different from its strong form that if it were heard in
isolation it would be impossible to recognize it for e am le, ‘and’ can become n in ‘us and them’, ‘fish
and chi s’, and ‘of’ can become f or v in ‘of course’. The reason for this is that to someone who nows
the language well these words are usually highly predictable in their normal context.
See English Phonetics and Phonology, Chapter 12. Peter Roach 2011.

Weak forms in British and American English
The chart below shows all variants of weak forms in both dialects. Footnotes draw on Longman
Pronunciation Dictionary 3rd Ed., J. C. Wells 2008, further referred to as LPD and Cambridge English
Pronouncing Dictionary 17th Ed. D. Jones 2006 – EPD.
Note that the symbols /ər/for AmE short r-coloured schwa are used here after LPD.
In EPD the symbol /ɚ/ is used.

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WEAK FORMS STRONG FORMS
PARTS before /h/
Base Form stranded form3 emphasis4
OF a vowel1 dropping2
SPEECH

YOU5 ju, jə ju jə juː ˈjuː
YOUR6 jə jər jər jɔː, jʊə jʊər, jɔːr, joʊr ˈjɔːr , ˈjʊər ˈjʊər, ˈjɔːr, ˈjoʊr
YOU’RE7 jə jər jər jɔː, jʊə jʊər, jɔːr ˈjɔːr, ˈjʊər ˈjʊər, ˈjɔːr
HE8 hi i hiː ˈhiː
S HIM hɪm ɪm hɪm ˈhɪm
N
U HIS hɪz ɪz hɪz ˈhɪz
O
NO SHE ʃi ʃiː ˈʃiː
RP HER9 hə hər hər ɜː, ə ɝː, ər hɜː hɝː ˈhɜːr ˈhɝː
WE wi wiː ˈwiː
US10 əs ʌs ˈʌs
THEM ðəm ðem ˈðem
THEIR11
A / AN ə ən (eɪ / æn) ˈeɪ / æn
DNA SN SDRO TAHNED1123 ənðdə, ən ð i æ(ðniːd) ˈæˈðniːd
OITC W N OR14 (ə) ər (ər) ər ɔː ɔːr ˈɔːr ˈɔːr
N O AS əz æz ˈæz
,SUJNOC ITCNUF R BSOUMT E15 sbəəmt sbʌʌmt ˈˈsbʌʌmt
ELCITR EHTO TTHHAANT1 6 ððəənt ððæænt ˈˈððæænt
A
THERE17 ðə ðər ðər ðeə ðer, ðær ˈðeər ˈðer, ˈðær
sənt
ST, SAINT18 __ sənt __
sən
SIR19
S AT20 ət æt ˈæt
NO FOR21 fə fər fər fɔː fɔːr ˈfɔːr ˈfɔːr
ITIS FROM22 frəm frɒm frʌm, frɑːm ˈfrɒm ˈfrʌm, ˈfrɑːm
O
PE OF əv ɒv ʌv, ɑːv ˈɒv ˈʌv, ˈɑːv
R
P TO23 tə tu tuː ˈtuː
BE bi biː ˈbiː
BEEN24 bɪn biːn bɪn ˈbiːn ˈbɪn
AM əm æm ˈæm
ARE ə ər ər ɑː ɑːr ˈɑːr ˈɑːr
IS25 z, s ɪz ˈɪz
S WAS wəz wɒz ˈwɒz
BRE WERE26 wə wər wɜː, weə wɝː ˈwɜː, ˈweə ˈwɝː
V
L CAN kən kæn ˈkæn
A
DO COULD kəd kʊd ˈkʊd
M D DO27 də, d du duː ˈduː
N
A DOES dəz, dz dʌz ˈdʌz
YRA HAVE28 həv əv, v hæv ˈhæv
ILIX HAS29 həz əz, z, s hæz ˈhæz
U
A HAD30 həd əd, d hæd ˈhæd
MUST31 məs məst mʌst ˈmʌst
SHALL32 ʃəl, ʃə, ʃ ʃəl ʃæl ˈʃæl
SHOULD33 ʃəd ʃʊd ˈʃʊd
WILL wəl, əl wɪl ˈwɪl
WOULD wəd, əd wʊd ˈwʊd

Note: the following words are easily confused:
have, has, had auxiliary vs. main verb
do, does auxiliary vs. main verb
that relative vs. demonstrative
there existential pronoun vs. adverb of place
some determiner vs. quantifier
of not to be confused with off
to not to be confused with too, two
than not to be confused with then
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1 For some words there is a different weak form if there is a vowel in the following word in a clause. If the field is blank, the
base form is applied. The linking rules also a ly; additional lin ing r in British English. The article ‘a’ becomes ‘an’ before a
vowel.

2 /h/ is usually dropped in those words except at the beginning of a clause or in slow and careful speech.

3 ‘Stranded’ means followed by a syntactic ga , e .g. when the noun which normally follows has been deleted (elli ted).The
stranded forms are strong, even though unaccented. They usually appear at the end of an utterance. Examples:
Tea? Thanks, I have some.
There’s nobody to talk to.
What are you thinking of?
I would do it if I could.

4 If the word is stressed – emphasized, apply the strong form. If the following word in the clause starts with a vowel, apply
linking r.

5 Weak forms /ju/, /jə/, before a vowel also §/j/
(1) Learners of British English are advised not to use weak forms other than /ju/ ; /jə/ is unusual in Received Pronunciation,
while /j/ is clearly non-Received Pronunciation. In General American, on the other hand, the weak form /jə/ is acceptable.
(2) The initial /j/ of this word readily coalesces with the final /t/ or /d/ of a preceding word to give /tʃ/ or /dʒ/ respectively:
don’t you /ˈdəʊntʃ u/ ǁ /ˈdoʊntʃ ə/, did you /ˈdɪdʒ u/ ǁ /ˈdɪdʒ ə/
you’d strong form /juːd/, weak forms /jud/, /jəd/ —See note (1)
you’ll strong forms /juːl/, /juː‿əl/, /ju‿əl/ weak forms /jul/, /jəl/ (LPD)
s
The strong form is used contrastively (e.g. `Will it be you, or me?') or emphatically (e.g. `It was you that broke it'). Elsewhere
the weak forms are used: in British English, /ju/ is the form found before vowels and in final position (e.g. `You ought'
/juˈɔːt//juˈɑːt/; `Thank you' /ˈθæŋ .ju/), while /jə/ is only used before consonants (e.g. `if you can' /ɪf.jəˈ æn/); in American
English, /jə/ predominates in both environments. The strong form is also found in unstressed syllables. Sometimes when `you'
is weakly stressed and is preceded by a word normally ending in /d/, the two words are joined closely together as if they
formed a single word with the affricate sound /ʤ/ linking the two parts. Thus `did you' is often pronounced /ˈdɪʤ.u/, and
`behind you' /bɪˈhaɪn.ʤu/. Similarly when the preceding word normally ends in /t/ (e.g. `hurt you') it is sometimes pronounced
/ˈhɜː.ʧu//ˈhɜːr-/ and `don't you know' as /ˌdəʊn.ʧəˈnəʊ //ˌdoʊn.ʧəˈnoʊ/. (EPD)

6 Learners of British English are advised not to use the weak form jə, which is fairly unusual in Received Pronunciation (LPD)

7 Learners of British English are advised not to use the weak form jə, which is fairly unusual in Received Pronunciation. (= your)
(LPD)

8The weak form is /hi/ in careful speech, e.g.
`Does he live here?' /ˌdʌz.hiˌlɪvˈhɪə//-ˈhɪr/;
in rapid speech it may be pronounced /i/ when following a consonant, e.g.
`What does he want?' /ˌwɒt.dəz.iˈwɒnt//ˌwɑːt.dəz.iˈwɑːnt/. (EPD)

9 her /ɜː, ə, hə/. The first form /ɜː/ is the most usual adjectival wea form,
eg /ɪts ɜː `hændbæg/ It's her handbag.
Such a remark would be possible with /ə/ but it would then be ambiguous with a handbag.
/ˈtelər ɜː `mʌðəwɒnts ə/. Tell her her mother wants her.
(Jack Windsor Lewis http://www.yek.me.uk/wkfms.html)

10 The weak form can occur in final position, e.g. `They joined us' /ðeɪˈʤɔɪnd.əs/. (EPD)

11 In General American there is a weak form /ðər/ . In RP there is either no weak form, or just an occasional weak
form ð ə r used only before a following vowel. (LPD)

12The English as a foreign language learner is advised to use /ðə/ before a consonant sound (the boy, the house), /ði/ before a
vowel sound (the egg, the hour). Native speakers, however, sometimes ignore this distribution, in particular by using /ðə/
before a vowel (which in turn is usually reinforced by a preceding glottal stop /ʔ/), or by using /ðiː/ in any environment, though
especially before a hesitation pause. Furthermore, some speakers use stressed /ðə/ as a strong form, rather than the usual
/ðiː/. (LPD)

13 The presence or absence of /d/ in the weak form is not sensitive to phonetic context: the choice depends on the fact that the
weak form /ənd/ is slightly more formal than /ən/. From /ən/, regular processes of SYLLABIC CONSONANT formation and
ASSIMILATION produce the phonetic variants /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ (all syllabic, though they can lose their syllabicity by COMPRESSION
before a weak vowel) and /əm/, /əŋ/. (LPD)
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14 In American English /ɔːr/ is a strong form, paired with a weak form /ər/. In British English, however, /ɔː/ normally has no
weak form: there is only an occasional weak form /ə/ , used chiefly in set phrases. (LPD)

15There are two grammatical functions for this word, one being the determiner, as in 'some apples, some bananas', etc., where
a weak form is used, the other being a quantifier, as in 'some were tired and some were hungry', where the strong form is
usual. In final position, the strong form is used (e.g. 'I want some'). (EPD)

16that in the function of a complementizer (conjunction and relative pronoun):
strong form /ðæt/, wea form /ðət/
Normally, the weak form is used:
say that /ðət/ she’s right, the one that I chose.
that as a determiner (demonstrative adjective), demonstrative ronoun, and adverb /ðæt/
There is no weak form for that in this sense:
that /ðæt/ man, stop that, not that bad. (LPD)

17 there existential pronoun (adverb) has the weak form. Some speakers hardly use the weak form, even though the word is
never stressed; others hardly use the strong form.
there adverb of place; interjection /ðeə/ ǁ /ðeər/, /ðæər/ does not have the weak form. (LPD)

18 In Received Pronunciation the strong form /seɪnt/ is not customary when St is prefixed to a name; and of the
two weak forms listed /sən/ tends to be restricted to cases where the following name begins with a consonant. In
General American there is no weak form. In French names St may be pronounced /sæn/, /sæ /. (LPD)

19 sir, Sir strong form sɜ ǁ sɝ , weak form sə ǁ s ə r —The weak form is customary in British English whenever
this word is used with a name, as Sir John; Sir Peter Smith . Otherwise the strong form is usual: yes, sir . In
American English the weak form is little used. sirs sɜz ǁ sɝz —There is no weak form of the plural.

20 weak form /ət/ —The phrase at all ‘in any degree, ever’ is usually syllabified irregularly as /əˈtɔːl/ in British English and
sometimes as /əˈtɔːl/, /əˈtɑːl/ in American English. (LPD)

21 weak form /fə/ ǁ /fər/ — In both Received Pronunciation and General American ELISION gives rise to an occasional prevocalic
weak form /fr/, used before weak vowels:
stay for a week/ˌsteɪfrə ˈwiː /.
There is also a very casual or rapid weak form /f/. In Received Pronunciation some speakers also have an occasional prevocalic
strong form /fɒr/, used (if at all) only in the phrases for her /fɒr ə/ , for him /fɒrɪm/, for it /fɒrɪt/, for us /fɒrəs/. (LPD)

22In rapid speech this may be further weakened to /frm/e.g. "one from each" /ˌwʌn.frmˈiːʧ/. (EPD)

23 The British English-oriented English as a foreign language learner is advised to use /tə/ before a consonant sound, /tu/ before
a vowel sound. Native speakers, however, sometimes ignore this distribution, in particular by using /tə/ before a vowel (usually
reinforced by a preceding /ʔ/ — see HARD ATTACK) or, in very formal speech, by using /tu/ even before a consonant. In
American English the weak form /tə/ is used before both consonants and vowels. In got to, ought to, used to, want to, one /t/
may be elided. (LPD)

The strong form /tuː/ is sometimes used in final position, e.g. `I don't want to', though the /u/ vowel is more often used in this
context. The weak form /tə/ is used before consonants, e.g. `to cut' /təˈ ʌt/, while the pronunciation /tu/ is used before
vowels in British English, e.g. `to eat' /tuˈiːt/. In American English, the schwa form is usual before both vowels and consonants,
so the latter is /təˈiːt/. (EPD)

24 Some British English speakers have /biːn/ as strong form, /bɪn/ as weak form.
Preference poll, British English (for strong form): /biːn/ 92%, /bɪn/ 8%. (LPD)

25 After a word ending in /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/ there is no distinct weak form in Received Pronunciation, though in some
varieties §əz is used. Otherwise, the contracted form /s/ may be used after a word ending in /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/, while /z/
may be used after one ending in a vowel sound or /b/, /d/, /ɡ/, /v/, /ð/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/ and American English /r/ ;
/s/ and /z/ may be shown in orthogra hy as ’s. No contraction is ossible when this word is stranded: is is always strong and
uncontracted in Tell me what it is. (LPD)
Note: /z/ is used only when the preceding word ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant other than /z/ or /ʒ/. /s/ is used only
when the preceding word ends in a voiceless consonant other than /s/ or /ʃ/. (EPD)

26 Preference poll (strong form), British English: /wɜː/ 94%, /weə/ 6%.

28 The weak form /v/ is used only after a vowel (when it is often written as the contraction ’ve), or in very fast s eech at the
beginning of a sentence. Weak forms of have, has, had are used only when the word functions as the perfective auxiliary, or is
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the equivalent of have got and is used with an object that is not a pronoun, or in the constructions had better/best/rather.
(LPD)
When have occurs as a full verb, e.g. ‘to have and to hold', the strong form is used. As an au iliary verb, it is a wea form word
the strong form is used contrastively, e.g. ‘I don't now if you have or haven't', for em hasis, e.g. ‘You have to see it', and also
in final position, e.g. ‘I've got as much as you have'. It is also quite often used in initial osition, e.g. ‘Have you seen my boo ?'.
Elsewhere the weak form is commonly used. (EPD)

29 Of the weak forms, əz is not used clause-initially, and s, z are used in that position only in very fast speech; in other
environments həz, əz are more formal than the contracted forms s, z . The most usual weak forms are əz after a word
ending in s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ ; s after one ending in , t, , f, θ ; and z otherwise. The latter two are sometimes shown in
writing as the contraction ’s . (LPD)

30 The contracted weak form /d/ is used mainly after a vowel (and is often written 'd); at the beginning of a sentence the usual
weak form is /həd/, or in rapid speech /d/. (LPD)

31 There are two senses of must: one is concerned with supposition, or making deductions, and in this sense it is usual for the
strong form to be used (e.g. `If he's late, he must be ill') The other sense is related to obligation: the word may be stressed, in
which case it has the strong form (e.g. `You must try harder'), or unstressed, in which case the pronunciation is either /məs/
before a consonant, or /məst/ before a vowel e.g.:
`Each of us must buy some' /ˈiːʧ.əv.əs.məsˌbaɪ.sʌm/
`You must always look first' /jʊ.məstˌɔːl.wɪz.lʊ ˈfɜːst/ /-ɑːl.weɪz.lʊ ˈfɜːrst/
(EPD)

32 /ʃə/, /ʃ/ are used only before a following word beginning with a consonant. (LPD)

33 The strong form is used for emphatic pronunciation e.g. "He should have asked first",
or for contrast, e.g. "Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do".
It is also used in final position, e.g. "We both should".
The most usual weak form is /ʃəd/, as in "When should it arrive?" /ˌwen.ʃəd.ɪt.əˈraɪv/,
but in rapid speech we also find /ʃd/ before voiced sounds, e.g. "I should go now" /ˌaɪ.ʃdˈgəʊ.naʊ/ /-ˈgoʊ-/
and /ʃt/ before voiceless sounds, e.g. "You should try to finish" /ju.ʃtˌtraɪ.təˈfɪn.ɪʃ/ /-t əˈ-/
(EPD)

Exercises: Transcribe the underlined words.

I have a car.
I have to go now.
I have bought a car.
I have some friends.
Some of them are pretty, some of them are clever.
Do you like it?
Do your HW.
There is a hotel over there.
I know that you know that
You have to do better than that!
Then I went there.
You should have learnt it before.
We can do it. Yes, we can!
How do you do?
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