Elision and Weak Forms as the Manifestations of Connected Speech in Everyday English
Elision and Weak Forms as the Manifestations of Connected Speech in Everyday English

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, as the research is inspired by the features of connected speech, we attempt to identify the language devices the native speakers of English exploit in rapid, everyday speech. Taking into consideration the articulation complexity of everyday English, we tend to register modified productions of the large sets of specific English words and phrases, with clear focus on elision and weak forms. Secondly, the paper is aimed at investigating connected speech within the particular corpus – the American movies. By thoroughly comparing the level of use of formal and informal speech components recorded in the material, the results regarding the more dominant pronunciation in this form of discourse are to be obtained. In addition, it is assumed that the findings of this study may be used in second language acquisition, providing the L2 learners additional corpus and instances of connected speech. Furthermore, the presented examples may be employed as the practical material in terms of improving relevant L2 variables, such as fluency and intelligibility.

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