Fricative Plosion.

When a plosive consonant precedes a fricative consonant in a word or a junction of words it has its release during the pronunciation of the fricative. This phenomenon is the result of close coarticulation of adjacent consonants in English and is called fricative plosion (partial regressive assimilation).

In accordance with phonotactic possibilities of English consonants fricative plosion is observed in the word non-initial clusters [ps, ts, ks, bz, gz, p0, t0] and at a junction of words in the sequences of a plosive + [f, v, 0, 8, s, z, 4, h]. According to their frequency of occurrence in normal discourse the dominant type of such combinations is ‘a plosive + [s], [z]’ in a word final position.^*

! While pronouncing the cluster [ts] take care not to substitute it by the Russian sound [ц]. To avoid this mistake mind the apical-alveolar character of these English consonants.

1. Pronounce the following words and phrases observing close coarticulation of plosive and fricative consonants.

a) a verb + -s

keep – keeps sleep – sleeps slip – slips rip – rips wrap – wraps help – helps jump – jumps harp – harps loop – loops hop – hops stop – stops hope – hopes develop – develops

beat – beats sit – sits pat – pats set – sets hurt – hurts cut – cuts part – parts put – puts root – roots cost – costs sort – sorts wait – waits write – writes note – notes

leak – leaks shrink – shrinks think – thinks lack – lacks peck – pecks work – works park – parks look – looks rock – rocks fork – forks walk – walks break – breaks like – likes

grab – grabs rub – rubs grub – grubs rob – robs hob – hobs bribe – bribes probe – probes

read – reads rid – rids stand – stands spend – spends word – words stud – studs guard – guards hood – hoods nod – nods afford – affords fade – fades hide – hides load – loads

league – leagues dig – digs drag – drags gag – gags leg – legs hug – hugs drug – drugs plug – plugs

a noun + -s

heaps, lips, lamps, stemps, cups, carps, loops, shops, apes, hopes;

![ts]

seats, gifts, rats, pets, nuts, darts, boots, knots, sorts, plates, nights, coats, clients;

Greeks, sticks, sacks, necks, ducks, larks, rocks, forks, lakes, oaks;

ribs, cabs, labs, herbs, babes, bribes, robes, baobabs;

deeds, kids, lads, friends, words, floods, bards, moods, rods, lords, roads, beards;

leagues, wigs, figs, pegs, legs, bags, rugs, drugs, fogs, dogs.

a noun + ’s

Pete’s, Pat’s, Frank’s, Jack’s, Bob’s, Hob’s, Fred’s, Doug’s;

Europe’s future, a moment’s pause, the bank’s clients, the island’s outline, dog’s life, the ship’s crew, a giant’s task, cat’s paw, the government’s policy, the serpent’s tooth, Madrid’s history, in one’s mind’s eye, at one’s wit’s end, to one’s heart’s content.

b)

steps, troops, perhaps, upset, upside, upstairs, stepson, stepsister, depth, helpful, hopeful, zip-fastener;

it’s, what’s, that’s, its, oats, whereabouts, itself, outside, eighth, short-staffed, short-sighted, left-handed, light-fingered;

thanks, trunks, optics, physics, phonetics, mathematics, mixture, exercise, Oxford, except, accept, expect, excuse, expensive, exciting, thankful, thick-skinned;

absent, abstract, lobster, obstacle, obstinate, kerbstone, rubstone, substance, subsidy, observe, obstruction;

cards, goods, billiards, besides, forwards, backwards, afterwards, towards, foodstuffs, midstream, bedspread, hardship, bloodshed, handful, adventure, advantage, red-handed;

pigsty, pigskin, drugstore, plaquesome, pigfish, drag-hunt, plug-switch, plaque-stricken

c)

a plosive + [f, v, 0, 8, s, z, 4, h]

[p] to develop photographs, cheap veal, to slip through one’s fingers, keep the change, top secret, to keep zebras, stop shouting, a steap hill;

[t] perfect phonetics, joint venture, Margaret Thatcher, shut the door, next Saturday, fruit salad, a private sector, a white zipper, might shrink, doesn’t have;

[k] to take for granted, to walk very fast, to look through, take the lift, a public sector, I think so, to lack zest, to talk shop, to work hard;

[b] superb festivals, suburb views, to rub through, bribe the policeman, to rub sault in a wound, Bob zipped up (his jeans), to rob shops, to sob heavily;

[d] the road forks, a blood vessel, to read thoroughly, find the address, Hollywood stars, to feed zebras, broad shoulders, a kind heart;

[g] to drug food, a big vehicle, a vague thought, to drag the truth, vague slogans, to dig zealously, a vague shape, hug him