Dear all,

In the following sentence, the final sound n in the word campaign is changed to m. I'd like to ask why. Is it assimilated by the next m in made? If so, what is the rule of assimilation?

The last campaign made a big splash.

Many thanks.

Where on earth did you get that information, Tony? It's dead wrong.

The final [n] does NOT become [m] even if the next word begins with [m]. If I say the sentence you've supplied out loud, I clearly pronounce the [n] in campaign and the [m] in made.

Dear Richard,

It is from this book Business Listening and Speaking by Maurice Jamall and Bruce Wade.

I copied exactly from what is stated in the book.

Well, I've got news for you, my friend. You can find mistakes in books. I've found quite a few in books over the years. In fact, on several occasions, I wrote to the publishers about those mistakes and they agreed to correct them in future printings.

Thank you so much, Richard. Please listen to the soundtrack attached. Please let me know if you can find the final /n/ changed to /m/ in the last sentence (number 6).

The other sentences from 1 to 5 are about the /t/ changed into /d/ as in pretty, little, ... Please tell me these sentences are spoken in American English.

Many thanks again, Richard

Track37.mp3 (615 KB, 9 downloads) Changing sounds

Sorry, my friend, but your recording won't play for me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard, Moderator,

Hi Tony,

I have listened to the whole recording. I have found that the whole recording was in American accent. That's why the /t/ is changed into flapped /d/ as it is not exactly a clear /d/.

As for campaign made, I listened to it more than 10 times and I have to say that I heard the both the /n/ and /m/ sound. Thus, there is no assimilation at all.

I hope this helps

Thank you so much my friends

For the last sentence, I can't distinguish the /n/ and the /m/. As for the rest, it is clear to see /t/ changed to /d/. But I doubt whether it is American English. Didn't you notice the word new in the fifth sentence?

Anyway, thank you so much,Richard, for trying and Izzy, for having listened to the sixth sentence 10 times

Richard, in case you are still interested, I converted these files into .wma. Hopefully, they will play for you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tony C,

Track37.wma (1,239 KB, 7 downloads) Changing sounds

Thanks, Tony! I heard everything perfectly this time.

This is very interesting. The man on the recording is definitely British, and the woman is definitely North American. He is not using the flapped [d], but she is, which is to be expected since she's speaking AmE.

As for that sentence containing ... campaign made ..., there is definitely no assimilation of the [n] and the [m]. If there were, I'd be in shock since there's no dialect I know of English in which such a thing would occur.

Thanks again for taking the time to convert that recording so that I could listen to it, Tony.

Thank you so much,Richard.

Interesting enough, the answer key in the book says that the /n/ sound is changed to the /m/ sound (sic)! That's why I was so confused. Now that you have assured me that there is no assimilation I feel so relieved.

Once again, thanks for trying to help me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tony C,

You're welcome, my friend

Dear Richard,

I found something very interesting about this kind of assimilation and I want to share it with you. (see the attachment).

There is really something about the /n/ changed into /m/ as stated in the dictionary in the attachment. But this is absolutely British English, so quite new to those who use American English.

What do you think about this, Richard?

assimilation.JPG (103 KB, 10 downloads) assimilation

It's very interesting indeed, Tony. I'm going to e-mail that information to educated friends of mine in London and see what they say about it.

To my mind, even though I'm not a speaker of BrE, I can't imagine anybody who speaks educated British English making those assimilations. I wish that Longman guy had mentioned whether or not this is the case.

Dear Richard,

I have contacted, John Wells, or the "Longman Guy" as you named him.

Here is what he said:

I am not going to register on that website. But please feel free to report my reply. You may call me by name (rather than 'the Longman guy') and assure Richard that this assimilation is entirely usual in conversational-style British English.

I know that non-phoneticians often find this difficult to believe.

John Wells

What do you think?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Izzy loves you all,

I think, as I said, I'll wait to hear from my friends in London. I'm really interested in seeing if they'll agree with John Wells.

Stay tuned.

Waiting...

Dear all
I'm a BrE speaker, and I don't think I make many of those assimilations myself - although I have been known to say 'hambag' for handbag. I've probably been out of the country too long -but I can well believe that they do occur these days, particularly amongst the younger generation. My three nieces in England certainly have very strange diction - despite their university degrees I'm not actually too sure that the concept of 'educated (spoken) British English' still exists.
Tessa

Well, folks, here's what I've just received from a friend in London. If I get any more correspondence, I'll post those communications, too:

"I reckon downbeat is the only one I know I pronounce that way (but there is no actual ‘m’. It’s really the start of the ‘b’). Possibly ten men and bad guys.

I’ve never noticed incredible, admit and red paint. Red paint especially seems ludicrous. I’ll listen out, but I’ve never heard of that."

Thanks a lot, Richard.

I have got a question.

Do you think that, phoneticians, John Wells, for example, come up with this information? In other words, do you think that what they sometimes say, the point discussed here in particular, is not based on researches and studies and real recordings of people in the street.

If they do come up with such information, I wonder why they do so.

Those are good questions, Izzy, but I really don't know the answers in John Wells' case. I don't know if he did his own research, if he had a team do the research, or if he relied on other people's findings.

What I do know for sure is that in anything dealing with language, it's very dangerous to generalize completely across the board. There are usually exceptions to just about anything you can think of. That's why I often use words like usually and most people and normally, because I don't want to paint myself into a corner. I've learned over the years that I usually end up with egg on my face when I make blanket statements that are all-inclusive.