Phonological history of English consonants

The phonological history of English consonants is part of the phonological history of the English language in terms of changes in the phonology of consonants.

Consonant clusters

H-cluster reductions

• The wine–whine merger is the merger of /hw/ (or /ʍ/, spelt wh) with /w/. It occurs in the speech of the great majority of English speakers.
• The hole–whole merger is the replacement of /hw/ with /h/ before the vowels /oː/ and /uː/ which occurred in Old English.
• The yew–hew merger is a process that causes the cluster /hj/ to be reduced to /j/.
• The hl-cluster, hr-cluster and hn-cluster reductions are three reductions that occurred in Middle English that caused the loss of /h/ from the initial consonant clusters /hl/, /hr/ and /hn/.

Y-cluster reductions

• Yod-dropping is the elision of the sound [j].
• Yod coalescence changes the clusters [dj], [tj], [sj] and [zj] into [dʒ], [tʃ], [ʃ] and [ʒ] respectively.

Other initial-cluster reductions

• The rap–wrap merger is a reduction that causes the historical initial cluster /wr/ to be reduced to /r/.
• The not–knot merger is a reduction that causes the historical initial cluster /kn/ to be reduced to /n/.
• The nome–gnome merger is a reduction that causes the historical initial cluster /ɡn/ to be reduced to /n/.

Final-cluster reductions

• Final consonant-cluster reduction is the nonstandard reduction of final consonant clusters in English occurring in African American Vernacular English and Caribbean English.
• The Plum–plumb merger is the reduction of the final cluster /mb/ to /m/.

Phonological history of ng

Ng-coalescence

Ng-coalescence (or the singer–finger split) is the name given to a sound change in the history of English by which word-final [ɡ] ceased to be pronounced after [ŋ], in words like sing; this sound change happened around the end of the 16th century.

As a result of Ng-coalescence, Middle English [sɪŋɡ] sing came to be pronounced [sɪŋ]. Due to analogical changes, Ng-coalescence can also be observed in verb forms where the stem ending in -ng is followed by a vowel-initial suffix, e.g. singing and singer. Otherwise, word-internal -ng- does not show the effects of coalescence and the pronunciation [ŋɡ] is retained, as in finger and angle. Additionally, in adjectives ending in -ng the [ŋɡ] is retained when the comparative and superlative suffixes are added, so younger, strongest, etc., do not show coalescence.

As a result of the above, the words finger and singer do not rhyme in most varieties of English, although they did in Middle English.

Some accents, however, do not show the full effects of Ng-coalescence as described above, and in these accents sing may be found with [ŋɡ], the suffix -ing may be pronounced [ɪŋɡ], and pairs like singer and finger may rhyme. This is particularly associated with English English accents in an area of northern England and the Midlands, including the cities of Birmingham (see Brummie), Manchester, Liverpool (see Scouse), Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent. It is also associated with some American English accents in the New York area. Some of the accents of these areas may be considered to lack the phoneme /ŋ/, as the sound [ŋ] can be thought of as an allophone of /n/ before /ɡ/ or /k/. (Wells 1982)^[1]

In some accents of the west of Scotland and Ulster, Ng-coalescence is extended to word-internal position, so that finger is pronounced /fɪŋər/.

G-dropping

G-dropping is a popular name for the substitution of /ɪn/ or /ən/ (spelt -in’, -en) for /ɪŋ/ or /iŋ/ (spelt -ing) in the English present participle and gerund. Except in dialects which do not show ng-coalescence, no sound is actually dropped; a different one is simply used (the alveolar nasal instead of the velar nasal). The name derives from the apparent orthographic consequence of replacing the sound written ng with that normally written n.

This is an old substitution which derives from the generalisation of what were once two different morphemes in Old English: the present participle -ende and the gerund -inge. The orthography of the merged form, -ing, reflects a derivation from the Old English gerund, but the /ɪn/ pronunciation is also an old one. (The use of a colloquial pronunciation which actually derives from a different word from the standard is not restricted to this example. For instance, ’em or em, a colloquial form of them, derives from Old English hem of the same meaning, whereas them is a borrowing from Old Norse þeim.)

It is currently a feature of colloquial and non-standard speech of all regions, and stereotypically of Cockney, Southern American English and African American Vernacular English. Historically, it has also been used by members of the educated upper-class, as reflected by the phrase huntin’, fishin’ and shootin’. That this pronunciation was once regarded as standard can also be seen from old rhymes, as for example, in this couplet from John Gay's 1732 pastoral, Acis and Galatea, set to music by Handel:

Shepherd, what art thou pursuing,

Heedless running to thy ruin?

Which was presumably pronounced "shepherd, what art thou pursuin', heedless runnin' to thy ruin" although this would sound very odd in an opera today. Such a rhyme would today be appropriate only in a comic context.

In the poetry of Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), participles consistently rhyme with words in [ɪn]:

But Weston has a new-cast gown

On Sundays to be fine in,

And, if she can but win a crown,

'Twill just new dye the lining.

The pronunciation with [ɪŋ] only became standard in the nineteenth century.

Plosives

Intervocalic alveolar flapping

In many dialects of English, especially North American English (to varying extents) and Australian English and New Zealand English, by which either or both prevocalic (preceding a vowel) /t/ and /d/ (the latter more commonly in North America) surface as the alveolar flap [ɾ] after sonorants other than /ŋ/, /m/, and (in some environments) /l/.

Intervocalic plosive voicing

In Geordie, intervocalic /p, t, k/ may be fully voiced [b, d, ɡ].^[2]

Preaspiration

In certain accents, such as Geordie (among younger women)^[2] and in some speakers of Dublin English^[3] word- and utterance-final /p, t, k/ can be preaspirated [ʰp, ʰt, ʰk].^[2][3]

T-glottalization

T-glottalization or T-glottaling is a sound change in certain English dialects and accents that causes the phoneme /t/ to be pronounced as the glottal stop [ʔ] in certain positions. It is almost never categorical (especially in careful speech) and most often alternates with other allophones of /t/ such as [t], [tʰ], [tⁿ] (before a nasal), [tˡ] (before a lateral), or [ɾ].

Fricatives and affricates

H-dropping and h-adding

• H-dropping is the omission of initial /h/ in words like house, heat and hangover in many dialects of English. H-dropping in English is found in all dialects in the weak forms of function words like he, him, her, his, had and have. The opposite of h-dropping, so-called h-adding, is a hypercorrection found in typically h-dropping accents of English.

Elimination of velar fricatives in English

• The taut–taught merger is a process that occurs in modern English that causes /x/ to be dropped in words like thought, night, daughter etc. In traditional-dialect of the north of England and Scots, /x/ may remain in many of the words in which it was found in Middle English. Quite apart from traditional dialect, a fair number of names in the Celtic countries contain /x/ in the local pronunciation. Even in England /x/ can be said to hold a tenuous and marginal position in the consonant system of educated speakers, though certainly no longer found in Standard English in words which contained it in Middle English. Here it is clearly a loan-phoneme.
• The wait–weight merger is the merger of the Middle English sound sequences /ai/ (as in wait) and /ɛiç/ (as in weight) that occurs in most dialects of English.
• The lock–loch merger is a phonemic merger of /k/ and /x/ that is starting to occur in some Scottish English dialects, making lock and loch homonyms as /lɔk/.

Dental fricatives

• The then–thyn split was a phonemic split of the Old English phoneme /θ/ into two phonemes /ð/ and /θ/ occurring in Early Middle English.
• Th-fronting is a merger that occurs in Cockney, Newfoundland English, African American Vernacular English, and Liberian English, by which Early Modern English /θ, ð/ merge with /f, v/.
• Th-stopping is the realisation of the dental fricatives [θ, ð] as stops, which occurs in several dialects of English.
• Th-alveolarization is the pronunciation of the dental fricatives /θ, ð/ as the alveolar fricatives /s, z/
• Th-debuccalization is the loss of place of articulation for the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ as [h] when it occurs at the beginning of a word or intervocalically, occurring in many varieties of Scottish English.

See also

• Pronunciation of English th

Other sound changes involving fricatives and affricates

• Initial-fricative-voicing is a process that occurs in West Country where certain fricatives are voiced when they occur at the beginning of a word.
• S-retraction is a process where "s" is pronounced as a retracted variant of [s] auditorily closer to [ʃ].
• The Seal–zeal merger is a phenomenon occurring in Hong Kong English where the phonemes /s/ and /z/ are both pronounced /s/.
• The pleasure–pressure merger is a phenomenon occurring in Hong Kong English where the phonemes /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are both pronounced /ʃ/.
• The sip–ship merger is a phenomenon occurring in some Asian and African varieties of English where the phonemes /s/ and /ʃ/ are not distinguished.
• The ship–chip merger is phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Zulu English where the phonemes /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ are not distinguished.
• The zip–gyp merger is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Indian English where /z/ and /dʒ/ are not distinguished.

Vest–west merger

The vest–west merger is a phenomenon occurring in Hong Kong English where the phonemes /v/ and /w/ are both pronounced /w/ at the beginning of a word. In other positions, /v/ can either become /f/ or /w/ depending on the word. "even", "leaving" and "rover" have /f/ and "advice", "event" and "revoke" have /w/.^[4]

Approximants

Y-dropping

Y-dropping is the dropping of the initial /j/ from words like year and yeast occurring for some speakers in south-western counties of England (Wakelin 1984: 75).

W-dropping

W-dropping is the dropping of the initial /w/ from words like woman and wool occurring for some speakers in south-western counties of England (Wakelin 1984: 75).

Wing–ring merger

The wing–ring merger is a phenomenon occurring in Hong Kong English where the phonemes /w/ and /r/ are both pronounced /w/ at the beginning of a word, making pairs like wing and ring homophones.^[5]

Rip–lip merger

The rip–lip merger is a phenomenon occurring in Singaporean English where the phonemes /r/ and /l/ are not distinguished, making pairs like rip and lip homophones. The merger is evinced by TV personality Phua Chu Kang's oft-repeated refrain to "Use your blain!".

R-rolling

R-rolling refers to an alveolar trill production of /r/ by some speakers of Scottish English. For these speakers, red is pronounced [rɛd] rather than [ɹɛd].

R-tapping

R-tapping refers to an alveolar tap realisation of /r/ by Scottish English speakers. For these speakers, very is pronounced [ˈvɛɾɪ]. R-tapping historically occurred in English English and still occurs recessively for some speakers of northern accents in Yorkshire, as well as among younger speakers in Liverpool English.

It is not to be confused with intervocalic alveolar flapping, realization of some instances of unstressed /t/ (sometimes also /d/) as an alveolar tap, commonly found in North America.

R-labialization

R-labialization is a process occurring in Cockney speech where the /r/ phoneme is realized as a labiodental approximant [ʋ] in contrast to an alveolar approximant [ɹ]. To speakers who are not used to [ʋ], this can sound like a /w/.

R-breaking

R-breaking is a process occurring in Modern English in which historical /r/ becomes syllabic /əɹ/ or /ə/ after certain vowels. R-breaking occurs generally after the diphthongs /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/ and /aʊ/. As a result, historically monosyllabic hire, coir and sour come to rhyme with historically bisyllabic higher, employer and power.

L-vocalization and L-dropping

In Early Modern English, various circumstances of L-vocalization and L-dropping happened as a process where the postvocalic */ɫ/ in */aɫ/ or */ɔɫ/ either disappeared or vocalized, usually with some kind of diphthongalization or compensatory lengthening effect on the preceding vowel. Most of these changes were very regular (still having a fundamental influence on English spelling pronunciations), but the effects could vary widely depending on which consonant came after the */ɫ/.

• Most of the "alf" and "alv" series (/æf/ and /æv/) dropped the /l/ completely and genuinely without a trace. Affected examples include calf, half, halve, salve. Ralph is a more complex case, with regional pronunciations of /rælf/, /rɑːlf/, /rɑːf/ and /reɪf/. At least one significant word of the "olf" series, golf, dropped the /l/ in some British accents (/ɡɒf/), but most other accents retained the /l/ (/ɡɒlf/ or /ɡɔːlf/). Other irregularly affected examples include salmon and solder, both with short vowels but a silent /l/. The "olv" series (such as solve) was not affected, retaining both its regular vowel and its pronounced /l/.
• The "alm" and "olm" series dropped the /l/ while broadly lengthening the vowel, initially as *[ɑːm] and *[oːm], with the latter becoming modern /oʊm/ with the toe–tow merger. Affected examples include alms, balm, calm, Chalmers, qualm, palm, psalm and Holmes, the last of which is a homophone with homes. Some accents (including many of American English) still pronounce the /l/ in these words as a spelling pronunciation.
• The word-final "all" and "oll" series underwent partial L-vocalization, initially as *[ɔʊɫ] and *[oʊɫ], then arriving at modern /ɔːl/ and /oʊl/. Affected examples of the "all" series include all, ball, call, fall, gall, hall, mall, pall, small, squall, stall, tall, thrall and wall, and these syllables all rhyme with bawl, brawl, caul, crawl, drawl, haul, maul, Paul, Saul, scrawl, shawl and trawl. The word shall is not affected, irregularly keeping its otherwise regular short vowel. Affected examples of the "oll" series include control, droll, knoll, poll, roll, scroll, stroll, toll and troll, all of whose syllables came to rhyme with bowl, Rowling and soul, and since the toe–tow merger have also rhymed with coal, cole, foal, goal, hole, mole, pole, role, shoal, sole, stole, tole and vole. Certain words of more recent origin didn't undergo these changes, and are mostly distinguished by being spelled with just one l, such as in Al, alcohol, doll, Hal, pal and Sal.
• Most other "alC" and "olC" series (where C is an arbitrary coronal consonant or velar consonant) initially followed the same trend as "all" and "oll", with /ɔːlC/ and /oʊlC/ pronunciations affecting a wide variety of words. Affected words of the "alC" series include alter, bald, Balt, false, falter, halt, malt, palsy, salsa, salt, scald, Walsh, Walter and waltz, joining similar words such as fault and vault. The word shalt is not affected, irregularly keeping its otherwise regular short vowel. Affected words of the "olC" series include bold, bolt, cold, colt, dolt, fold, Folger, gold, hold, holt, jolt, mold, molt, old, polder, scold, smolder, sold, told and wold (as in "country"), joining similar words such as boulder (or bowlder), mould (alt. sp. of mold), moult (alt. sp. of molt), shoulder and smoulder (alt. sp. of smolder).
• But "alk" and "olk" went even further, becoming modern /ɔːk/ and /oʊk/ with no pronunciation of /l/. Homophone "aulk" words also dropped their /l/ at this time. Affected examples of the "alk" (and "aulk") series include balk, caulk, chalk, Dundalk, falcon (not in all accents), talk and walk, and these relevant syllables all rhyme with auk, Faulkner, Fawkes, gawk and hawk. Affected examples of the "olk" series include folk, Polk, polka and yolk, which since the toe–tow merger also rhyme with bloke, broke, choke, coke, croak, joke, oak, poke, smoke, soak, woke and yoke. The /l/ in certain words like caulk, polka and yolk are still pronounced in some accents, but this is considered a spelling pronunciation. Certain words of more recent origin were not always systematically affected by these changes, so words like talc retain both their short vowel and their pronounced /l/.
• The "alp" series was not affected at all, keeping its short vowel and its pronounced /l/. This includes words like Alps and scalp. The effect on the "alb" series is less predictable, owing to its rare occurrence in English; Albany uses /ɔːl/, while Albania uses /æl/.
• In Hiberno-English there is L-vocalization, and the vowels are generally affected as stated, but L-dropping virtually never occurs; the /l/ is pronounced in all these circumstances. The city Dundalk is pronounced /dʌndɔːlk/ in Hiberno-English, but is pronounced /dʌndɔːk/ in most of the rest of the Anglosphere.

In AAVE, l-dropping may occur when the /l/ sound comes after a vowel and before a labial consonant in the same syllable, causing pronunciations like /hɛp/ for help and /sɛf/ for self.^[6]

L-breaking

L-breaking is a process occurring in Modern English in which historical /l/ becomes syllabic /əl/ after certain vowels. L-breaking occurs generally after the diphthongs /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/ and /aʊ/. As a result, historically monosyllabic tile, boil and fowl come to rhyme with historically disyllabic dial, royal and vowel. L-breaking is also common in rhotic varieties of English, after /ɜɹ/ and /ɹ/, hence pronunciations like /ˈwɜɹəld/ for world.

See also
H-cluster reductions

Let–net merger

The let–net merger is a phenomenon occurring in Hong Kong English where the phonemes /l/ and /n/ are not distinguished at the onset of a syllable and [l] and [n] are free-variation allophones at the onset of a syllable.^[4]

Jet–yet merger

The jet–yet merger is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Chicano English where /d͡ʒ/ and /j/ are pronounced the same in word initial position. As a result, jet and yet are homophonous.^[7]

Homophonous pairs

/dʒ/ /j/ IPA Notes jail Yale ˈʝeɪl gel yell ˈʝɛl GIF[8] yiff ˈʝɪf gin yin ˈʝɪn gip yip ˈʝɪp gyp yip ˈʝɪp J yay ˈʝeɪ J yea ˈʝeɪ Jack; jack yak ˈʝæk gaol Yale ˈʝeɪl jam yam ˈʝæm jarred yard ˈʝɑːrd jaw yaw ˈʝɔː jay yay ˈʝeɪ jay yea ˈʝeɪ jeer year ˈʝɪər Jell-O yellow ˈʝɛloʊ Jen yen ˈʝɛn Jess yes ˈʝɛs jester yester ˈʝɛstər jet yet ˈʝɛt Jew ewe ˈʝuː Jew yew ˈʝuː Jew you ˈʝuː Jewry Yuri ˈʝʊəri Jews ewes ˈʝuːz Jews use ˈʝuːz Jews yews ˈʝuːz Jews yous ˈʝuːz jiff yiff ˈʝɪf Jo yo ˈʝoʊ Joe; joe yo ˈʝoʊ John yawn ˈʝɒn With cot-caught merger. John yon ˈʝɒn joke yoke ˈʝoʊk joke yolk ˈʝoʊk Jon yawn ˈʝɒn With cot-caught merger. Jon yon ˈʝɒn jot yacht ˈʝɒt juice use ˈʝuːs juke uke ˈʝuːk jury Yuri ˈʝʊəri Jute Ute ˈʝuːt juts yutz ˈʝʌts

Sound changes involving final consonants

Lick–lip–lit merger

The lick–lip–lit merger is a merger of final /k/, /p/ and /t/ occurring for some speakers of English English. (Wells: 323). For these speakers, "lick", "lip" and "lit" are homophonous as [lɪʔ].

Homophonous pairs

/k/ /p/ /t/ IPA Notes arc harp hart ˈɑː(r)ʔ With H-dropping. arc harp heart ˈɑː(r)ʔ With H-dropping. ark harp hart ˈɑː(r)ʔ With H-dropping. ark harp heart ˈɑː(r)ʔ With H-dropping. auk ought ˈɔːʔ bake bait ˈbeɪʔ With pane-pain merger. bake bate ˈbeɪʔ, ˈbeːʔ bark Bart ˈbɑː(r)ʔ beak beep beat ˈbiːʔ With fleece merger. beak beep beet ˈbiːʔ With fleece merger. beek beep beat ˈbiːʔ With fleece merger. beek beep beet ˈbiːʔ bike bight ˈbaɪʔ bike bite ˈbaɪʔ bike byte ˈbaɪʔ brack brat ˈbræʔ brick Brit ˈbrɪʔ buck but ˈbʌʔ Burke burp Bert ˈbɜː(r)ʔ With fern-fir-fur merger. Burke burp Burt ˈbɜː(r)ʔ, ˈbʌrʔ cake cape Kate ˈkeɪʔ, ˈkeːʔ carp cart ˈkɑː(r)ʔ caulk caught ˈkɔːʔ caulk court ˈkɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger. cheek cheap cheat ˈtʃiːʔ With fleece merger. chic sheep sheet ˈʃiːʔ click clip clit ˈklɪʔ clique cleat ˈkliːʔ clique clip clit ˈklɪʔ cock cop cot ˈkɒʔ coke cope coat ˈkoʊʔ cork; Cork caught ˈkɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. cork; Cork court ˈkɔːʔ With horse-hoarse merger. creak creep ˈkriːʔ creek creep ˈkriːʔ cup cut ˈkʌʔ dark dart ˈdɑː(r)ʔ dick; Dick dip ˈdɪʔ dirk; Dirk derp dirt ˈdɜː(r)ʔ With fern-fir-fur merger. dope dote ˈdəʊʔ, ˈdoːʔ eek eat ˈiːʔ With fleece merger. eek heat ˈiːʔ With fleece merger and H-dropping. eek heap eat ˈiːʔ With fleece merger. eek heap heat ˈiːʔ With fleece merger and H-dropping. eke eat ˈiːʔ eke heat ˈiːʔ With fleece merger and H-dropping. eke heap eat ˈiːʔ eke heap heat ˈiːʔ With H-dropping. fake fate ˈfeɪʔ, ˈfeːʔ FAQ fap fat ˈfæʔ flack flap flat ˈflæʔ flak flap flat ˈflæʔ flic flip ˈflɪʔ flick flip ˈflɪʔ fork fought ˈfɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. hark harp art; Art ˈɑː(r)ʔ With H-dropping. hark harp hart ˈhɑː(r)ʔ hark harp heart ˈhɑː(r)ʔ hawk ought ˈɔːʔ With H-dropping. heap heat ˈhiːʔ hock hop hot ˈhɒʔ hock op hot ˈhɒʔ With H-dropping. hough hop hot ˈhɒʔ hough op hot ˈhɒʔ With H-dropping. kick kit ˈkɪʔ kirk; Kirk curt; Curt ˈkɜː(r)ʔ With fern-fir-fur merger. lack lap lat ˈlæʔ lake late ˈleɪʔ leak leap leet ˈliːʔ With fleece merger. leek leap leet ˈliːʔ With fleece merger. lick lip lit ˈlɪʔ like light ˈlaɪʔ like lite ˈlaɪʔ mac map mat ˈmæʔ mac map Matt ˈmæʔ meek meat ˈmiːʔ With fleece merger. meek meet ˈmiːʔ meek mete ˈmiːʔ With fleece merger. mic might ˈmaɪʔ mic mite ˈmaɪʔ Mike might ˈmaɪʔ Mike mite ˈmaɪʔ mope moat ˈməʊʔ, ˈmoːʔ mope mote ˈməʊʔ, ˈmoːʔ muck mutt ˈmʌʔ nick; Nick nip knit ˈnɪʔ nick; Nick nip nit ˈnɪʔ orc ought ˈɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. pack pat ˈpæʔ park part ˈpɑː(r)ʔ peak peep peat ˈpiːʔ With fleece merger. peak peep Pete ˈpiːʔ With fleece merger. peck pep pet ˈpɛʔ peek peep peat ˈpiːʔ With fleece merger. peek peep Pete ˈpiːʔ With fleece merger. perk perp pert ˈpɜː(r)ʔ, ˈpɛrʔ pic pip pit ˈpɪʔ pick pip pit ˈpɪʔ pique peep peat ˈpiːʔ With fleece merger. pique peep Pete ˈpiːʔ With fleece merger. poke pope ˈpəʊʔ, ˈpoːʔ Polk pope ˈpəʊʔ With toe-tow merger. pork port ˈpɔː(r)ʔ, ˈpɔə(r)ʔ With horse-hoarse merger. puck pup put ˈpʊʔ Without foot-strut split. puck pup putt ˈpʌʔ quick quip quit ˈkwɪʔ rack rap rat ˈræʔ rack wrap rat ˈræʔ rake rape rate ˈreɪʔ, ˈreːʔ reck rep ˈrɛʔ reek reap ˈriːʔ With fleece merger. Rick rip writ ˈrɪʔ ripe right ˈraɪʔ ripe rite ˈraɪʔ ripe wright ˈraɪʔ ripe write ˈraɪʔ rook root ˈrʊʔ, ˈruːʔ rope rote ˈrəʊʔ, ˈroːʔ rope wrote ˈrəʊʔ, ˈroːʔ Rourke wrought ˈrɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger and pour-poor merger. sac sap sat ˈsæʔ sack sap sat ˈsæʔ seek seep seat ˈsiːʔ With fleece merger. shake shape ˈʃeɪʔ, ˈʃeːʔ sheik shape ˈʃeɪʔ With pane-pain merger. sheik sheep sheet ˈʃiːʔ sheikh shape ˈʃeɪʔ With pane-pain merger. sheikh sheep sheet ˈʃiːʔ shirk shirt ˈʃɜː(r)ʔ, ˈʃɪrʔ Sikh seep seat ˈsiːʔ With fleece merger. shack shat ˈʃæʔ shark sharp ˈʃɑː(r)ʔ shark sharp shot ˈʃɑːʔ In non-rhotic accents with father-bother merger. ship shit ˈʃɪʔ shock shop shot ˈʃɒʔ spork sport ˈspɔː(r)ʔ With horse-hoarse merger. stack stat ˈstæʔ stake state ˈsteɪʔ, ˈsteːʔ stark start ˈstɑː(r)ʔ swap swat ˈswɒʔ tack tap tat ˈtæʔ take tape Tate ˈteɪʔ, ˈteːʔ tic tip tit ˈtɪʔ tick tip tit ˈtɪʔ talk taught ˈtɔːʔ talk taut ˈtɔːʔ talk tort ˈtɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. tarp tart ˈtɑː(r)ʔ tock top tot ˈtɒʔ torque taught ˈtɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. torque taut ˈtɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. torque tort ˈtɔː(r)ʔ wake wait ˈweɪʔ With pane-pain merger. wake weight ˈweɪʔ With pane-pain merger and wait-weight merger. walk warp wart ˈwɔːʔ In non-rhotic accents. wok whap watt ˈwɒʔ With wine-whine merger. wok whap what ˈwɒʔ With wine-whine merger. wok whop watt ˈwɒʔ With wine-whine merger. wok whop what ˈwɒʔ With wine-whine merger. work wort ˈwɜː(r)ʔ, ˈwʌrʔ wrack rap rat ˈræʔ wrack wrap rat ˈræʔ wreak reap ˈriːʔ wreck rep ˈrɛʔ yak yap ˈjæʔ

Final-obstruent devoicing

Final-obstruent-devoicing is the full devoicing of final obstruents that occurs in Singaporean English and for some AAVE speakers in Detroit where obstruents are devoiced at the end of a word. The preceding length of the vowel is maintained when the final obstruents are devoiced in AAVE, hence the pronunciations [bɪːk] and [bæːt] for "big" and "bad".^[6]

Most varieties of English don't have full devoicing of final voiced obstruents. Nevertheless voiced obstruents are partially devoiced in final position in English, especially when phrase-final or when followed by a voiceless consonant (for example, bad cat [bæd̥ kʰæt]). The most salient distinction between bad and bat is not the voicing of the final consonant but rather the duration of the vowel and the glottalization of final [t]: bad is pronounced [bæːd̥] while bat is [bætˀ].

Final-consonant deletion

Final-consonant deletion is the nonstandard deletion of single consonants in syllable-final position occurring for some AAVE speakers^[6] resulting in pronunciations like:

• bad - [bæː]
• con - [kɑ̃]
• foot - [fʊ]
• five - [faɪ]
• good - [ɡʊː]

When final nasal consonants are deleted, nasality is maintained on the preceding vowel. When voiced stops are deleted, length of the preceding vowel is maintained. Consonants remaining from reduced final clusters may be eligible for deletion. The deletion occurs especially if the final consonant is a nasal or a stop. Final-consonant deletion is much less frequent than the more common final-cluster reduction.

Consonants can also be deleted at the end of a morpheme boundary, leading to pronunciations like [kɪːz] for kids.

Bilabial-stop and labiodental-fricative mergers

Ban–van merger

The ban–van merger is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of Caribbean English and Chicano English where the phoneme /v/ merges with /b/. As a result, "ban" and "van" are homophones as [ban] or [βan].

This merger is also common for young children throughout the Anglosphere, and is one of the last phonological distinctions commonly learnt.

Homophonous pairs

/b/ /v/ IPA Notes B V ˈbiː Baal vail ˈbeɪ(ə)l With pane-pain merger and vile-vial merger. Baal vale ˈbeɪ(ə)l With vile-vial merger. Baal veil ˈbeɪ(ə)l With pane-pain merger and vile-vial merger. badge vag; vadge ˈbædʒ bail vail ˈbeɪl bail vale ˈbeɪl With pane-pain merger. bail veil ˈbeɪl Bain vain ˈbeɪn Bain vane ˈbeɪn With pane-pain merger. bale vail ˈbeɪl With pane-pain merger. bale vale ˈbeɪl, ˈbeːl bale veil ˈbeɪl With pane-pain merger. Bali volley ˈbɑli With father-bother merger. ballad valid ˈbæləd With weak vowel merger. ban van ˈbæn bane vain ˈbeɪn With pane-pain merger. bane vane ˈbeɪn, ˈbeːn bars vase ˈbɑːz In non-rhotic accents. base vase ˈbeɪs, ˈbeːs bat vat ˈbæt bawn Vaughan ˈbɔːn bays vase ˈbeɪz With pane-pain merger. be V ˈbiː With fleece merger. Bea V ˈbiː bee V ˈbiː With fleece merger. beer veer ˈbɪə(r), ˈbiːr belt veld; veldt ˈbɛlt bent vent ˈbɛnt Bern Verne ˈbɜː(r)n, ˈbɛrn berry vary ˈbɛri With marry-merry-Mary merger. berry very ˈbɛri best vest ˈbɛst bet vet ˈbɛt bid vid ˈbɪd Bieber beaver ˈbiːbə(r) With fleece merger. bigger vigour; vigor ˈbɪɡə(r) bile vial ˈbaɪ(ə)l With vile-vial merger. bile vile ˈbaɪl bile viol ˈbaɪ(ə)l With vile-vial merger. bind vined ˈbaɪnd boar vore ˈbɔə(r), ˈboːr boat vote ˈboʊt, ˈboːt bolt volt ˈboʊlt boor vore ˈbɔː(r) With pour-poor merger. bore vore ˈbɔə(r), ˈboːr bough vow ˈbaʊ bow vow ˈbaʊ bowel vowel ˈbaʊ(ə)l bowl vole ˈboʊl With toe-tow merger. Boyd void ˈbɔɪd broom vroom ˈbruːm, ˈbrʊm burn Verne ˈbɜː(r)n With fern-fir-fur merger. burse verse ˈbɜː(r)st With fern-fir-fur merger. burst versed ˈbɜː(r)st With fern-fir-fur merger. bury vary ˈbɛri With marry-merry-Mary merger. bury very ˈbɛri buy vie ˈbaɪ by vie ˈbaɪ bye vie ˈbaɪ cab calve ˈkæb Without trap-bath split. cabin cavern ˈkæbən In non-rhotic accents with weak vowel merger. carb carve ˈkɑː(r)b cupboard covered ˈkʌbə(r)d curb curve ˈkɜː(r)b, ˈkʌrb dribble drivel ˈdrɪbəl dub dove ˈdʌb fibre; fiber fiver ˈfaɪbə(r) Gabe gave ɡeɪb, ɡeːb gibbon given ˈɡɪbən Gibbs gives ˈɡɪbz gibe jive ˈdʒaɪb grabble gravel ˈɡrævəl harboured; harbored Harvard ˈhɑː(r)bə(r)d hobble hovel ˈhɒbəl Hubble hovel ˈhʌbəl jibe jive ˈdʒaɪb kerb curve ˈkɜː(r)b With fern-fir-fur merger. Lebanon leavening ˈlɛbənən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. lib live ˈlɪb Libby Livy ˈlɪbi lobes loaves ˈloʊbz, ˈloːbz lub love ˈlʌb marble marvel ˈmɑː(r)bəl ribbon riven ˈrɪbən robe rove ˈroʊb, ˈroːb sab salve ˈsæb Without trap-bath split. sabre; saber saver ˈseːvə(r), ˈseɪvə(r) sabre; saber savour; savor ˈseːvə(r), ˈseɪvə(r) Serb serve ˈsɜː(r)b, ˈsɛrb sib sieve ˈsɪb slob Slav ˈslɑb With father-bother merger. strobe strove ˈstroʊb, ˈstroːb swab suave ˈswɑb With father-bother merger. verb verve ˈbɜː(r)b, ˈbɛrb Weber weaver ˈwiːbə(r)

Pit–fit merger

The pit–fit merger is phenomenon occurring in Philippine English where the phonemes /f/ and /p/ are both pronounced /p/ making "pit" and "fit" homophones.^[9] The lack of contrast between /f/ and /p/ explains why there are so many spellings used for "Filipino" and "Filipina" used on the internet, ranging from "filipina", "philipina", "philippina", and "pilipina".

Because of the commonness of both /p/ and /f/ in the English language, the pit–fit merger creates a very large number of homophonous pairs.

Homophonous pairs

/p/ /f/ IPA Notes apt aft ˈæpt Without trap-bath split. beep beef ˈbiːp chap chaff ˈtʃæp Without trap-bath split. chape chafe ˈtʃeɪp, ˈtʃeːp cheap chief ˈtʃiːp With fleece merger. clip cliff ˈklɪp cop cough ˈkɒp Without lot-cloth split. copped coughed ˈkɒpt Without lot-cloth split. copper coffer ˈkɒpə(r) Without lot-cloth split. copper cougher ˈkɒpə(r) Without lot-cloth split. Copt coughed ˈkɒpt Without lot-cloth split. copy coffee ˈkɒpi Without lot-cloth split. copy Coffey ˈkɒpi Without lot-cloth split. cropped croft ˈkrɒpt Without lot-cloth split. crapped craft ˈkræpt Without trap-bath split. cup cuff ˈkʌp dipper differ ˈdɪpə(r) gap gaff ˈɡæp gap gaffe ˈɡæp goop goof ˈɡuːp gripped grift ˈɡrɪpt gyp GIF ˈdʒɪp gyp jiff ˈdʒɪp hoop hoof ˈhuːp, ˈhʊp lap laugh ˈlæp Without trap-bath split. LARP laugh ˈlɑːp In non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split. leap leaf ˈliːp leapt left ˈlɛpt limp lymph ˈlɪmp lipped lift ˈlɪpt lope loaf ˈloʊp, ˈloːp lopped loft ˈlɒpt Without lot-cloth split. nap naff ˈnæp P fee ˈpiː pa fa ˈpɑː pa far ˈpɑː In non-rhotic accents. pace face ˈpeɪs, ˈpeːs paced faced ˈpeɪst, ˈpeːst packed fact ˈpækt packs FAQs ˈpæks packs fax ˈpæks pact fact ˈpækt pad fad ˈpæd paid fade ˈpeɪd With pane-pain merger. pail fail ˈpeɪl pain fain ˈpeɪn pain fane ˈpeɪn With pane-pain merger. pain feign ˈpeɪn With wait-weight merger. Paine fain ˈpeɪn Paine fane ˈpeɪn With pane-pain merger. Paine feign ˈpeɪn With wait-weight merger. paint faint ˈpeɪnt pair fair ˈpɛə(r), ˈpeɪr pair fare ˈpɛə(r) With pane-pain merger. pale fail ˈpeɪl With pane-pain merger. pall fall ˈpɔːl palm farm ˈpɑːm In non-rhotic accents. pane fain ˈpeɪn With pane-pain merger. pane fane ˈpeɪn, ˈpeːn pane feign ˈpeɪn With wait-weight merger and pane-pain merger. pap faff ˈpæp pap fap ˈpæp par fa ˈpɑː In non-rhotic accents. par far ˈpɑː(r) pare fair ˈpɛə(r) With pane-pain merger. pare fare ˈpɛə(r), ˈpeːr parry fairy ˈpɛri With marry-merry-Mary merger. parry ferry ˈpɛri With marry-merry-Mary merger. parse farce ˈpɑː(r)s parsed farced ˈpɑː(r)s part fart ˈpɑː(r)t pass farce ˈpɑːs In non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split. passed farced ˈpɑːst In non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split. passed fast ˈpæst, ˈpɑːst past farced ˈpɑːst In non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split. past fast ˈpæst, ˈpɑːst paste faced ˈpeɪst, ˈpeːst pastor faster ˈpæstə(r), ˈpɑːstə(r) pat fat ˈpæt Patton fatten ˈpætən Paul fall ˈpɔːl pave fave ˈpeɪv, ˈpeːv paver favour; favor ˈpeɪvə(r), ˈpeːvə(r) paw for ˈpɔː In non-rhotic accents. paw fore ˈpɔː In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger. paw four ˈpɔː In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger and toe-tow merger. pawed ford ˈpɔːd In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger. pawl fall ˈpɔːl pawn faun ˈpɔːn pawn fawn ˈpɔːn pawned fawned ˈpɔːnd pawned fond ˈpɒnd With cot-caught merger. pax FAQs ˈpæks pax fax ˈpæks pay fay ˈpeɪ pay Faye ˈpeɪ pea fee ˈpiː With fleece merger. peacher feature ˈpiːtʃə(r) pear fair ˈpɛə(r) With pane-pain merger. pear fare ˈpɛə(r), ˈpeːr Pearce fierce ˈpɪə(r)s, ˈpiːrs With fleece merger. pearl furl ˈpɜː(r)l With fern-fir-fur merger. peasant pheasant ˈpɛzənt peat feat ˈpiːt peat feet ˈpiːt With fleece merger. pee fee ˈpiː peed feed ˈpiːd peel feel ˈpiːl peep fief ˈpiːp peer fear ˈpɪə(r), ˈpiːr With fleece merger. pelt felt ˈpɛlt pen fen ˈpɛn pence fence ˈpɛns pend fend ˈpɛnd penned fend ˈpɛnd per fir ˈpɜː(r) With fern-fir-fur merger. per fur ˈpɜː(r) With fern-fir-fur merger. Perl furl ˈpɜː(r)l With fern-fir-fur merger. Perth firth ˈpɜː(r)θ With fern-fir-fur merger. Perry fairy ˈpɛri With marry-merry-Mary merger. Perry ferry ˈpɛri pest fessed ˈpɛst pest fest ˈpɛst pester fester ˈpɛstə(r) petter fetter ˈpɛtə(r) Pete feat ˈpiːt Pete feet ˈpiːt Pez fez ˈpɛz pew few ˈpjuː pi phi ˈpaɪ pic fic ˈpɪk pick fic ˈpɪk picks fics ˈpɪks picks fix ˈpɪks pickle fickle ˈpɪkəl pics fics ˈpɪks pics fix ˈpɪks pie phi ˈpaɪ pieced feast ˈpiːst With fleece merger. pier fear ˈpɪə(r), ˈpiːr With fleece merger. pierce fierce ˈpɪə(r)s, ˈpiːrs pig fig ˈpɪɡ pike fyke ˈpaɪk pile file ˈpaɪl pill fill ˈpɪl pill Phil ˈpɪl pin fin ˈpɪn pin Finn ˈpɪn pinch finch ˈpɪntʃ pine fine ˈpaɪn pined find ˈpaɪnd pined fined ˈpaɪnd pink fink ˈpɪŋk pipe fife ˈpaɪp pissed fist ˈpɪst pit fit ˈpɪt pitch fitch ˈpɪtʃ pith fifth ˈpɪθ With elision of second /f/. plack flak; flack ˈplæk placks flacks ˈplæks placks flax ˈplæks plan flan ˈplæn plank flank ˈplæŋk plaque flak; flack ˈplæk plaques flacks ˈplæks plaques flax ˈplæks play flay ˈpleɪ pleas fleas ˈpliːz pleas flees ˈpliːz With fleece merger. please fleas ˈpliːz please flees ˈpliːz With fleece merger. pled fled ˈplɛd pledge fledge ˈplɛdʒ plight flight ˈplaɪt plougher flour ˈplaʊə(r) plougher flower ˈplaʊə(r) plower flour ˈplaʊə(r) plower flower ˈplaʊə(r) ployed Floyd ˈplɔɪd plucks flux ˈplʌks plume flume ˈpluːm, ˈplɪum plunk flunk ˈplʌŋk plush flush ˈplʌʃ pocks fox ˈpɒks pod ford ˈpɒd In non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger and cot-caught merger. Po foe ˈpoʊ, ˈpoː Poe foe ˈpoʊ, ˈpoː Polk folk ˈpoʊ(l)k poke folk ˈpoʊk With toe-tow merger and elision of /l/. polder folder ˈpoʊldə(r) pole foal ˈpoʊl, ˈpoːl poll foal ˈpoʊl With toe-tow merger. pollen fallen ˈpɒlən With cot-caught merger. pome foam ˈpoʊm, ˈpoːm pond fawned ˈpɒnd With cot-caught merger. pond fond ˈpɒnd pont font ˈpɒnt pony phony ˈpoʊni, ˈpoːni pool fool ˈpuːl poop poof ˈpuːp pop fop ˈpɒp pore for ˈpɔː(r) With horse-hoarse merger. pore fore ˈpɔə(r), ˈpoːr pore four ˈpɔə(r) With toe-tow merger. pored ford ˈpɔə(r)d, ˈpoːrd pork fork ˈpɔː(r)k With horse-hoarse merger. porn faun ˈpɔːn In non-rhotic accents. porn fawn ˈpɔːn In non-rhotic accents. port fort ˈpɔə(r)t, ˈpoːrt pose foes ˈpoʊz, ˈpoːz pot fought ˈpɒt With cot-caught merger. pound found ˈpaʊnd pour for ˈpɔː(r) With horse-hoarse merger. pour fore ˈpɔə(r) With toe-tow merger. pour four ˈpɔə(r), ˈpoʊr poured ford ˈpɔə(r)d With toe-tow merger. pox fox ˈpɒks praise frays ˈpreɪz praise phrase ˈpreɪz With pane-pain merger. prance France ˈpræns, ˈprɑːns prank frank ˈpræŋk prawned frond ˈprɒnd With cot-caught merger. prays frays ˈpreɪz prays phrase ˈpreɪz With pane-pain merger. pray fray ˈpreɪ prey fray ˈpreɪ preys frays ˈpreɪz preys phrase ˈpreɪz With pane-pain merger. pride fried ˈpraɪd pried fried ˈpraɪd pries fries ˈpraɪz prior friar ˈpraɪə(r) prior frier; fryer ˈpraɪə(r) prix free ˈpriː prize fries ˈpraɪz pro fro ˈproʊ, ˈproː prod fraud ˈprɒd With cot-caught merger. prom from ˈprɒm pros froze ˈproʊz, ˈproːz prose froze ˈproʊz, ˈproːz pry fry ˈpraɪ puck fuck ˈpʌk pucker fucker ˈpʌkə(r) pudge fudge ˈpʌdʒ Pugh few ˈpjuː, ˈpɪu pull full ˈpʊl pulley fully ˈpʊli pun fun ˈpʌn punned fund ˈpʌnd punct funked ˈpʌŋkt punk funk ˈpʌŋk punked funked ˈpʌŋkt pup puff ˈpʌp puppy puffy ˈpʌpi purer furore; furor ˈpjʊərə(r), ˈpɪʊərə(r), ˈpjuːrər, ˈpɪurər purr fir ˈpɜː(r) With fern-fir-fur merger. purr fur ˈpɜː(r), ˈpʌr pus fuss ˈpʌs put foot ˈpʊt With shortening of /uː/ to /ʊ/. pyre fire ˈpaɪ(ə)r rape Ralph ˈreɪp, ˈreːp rapped raft ˈræpt Without trap-bath split. rapt raft ˈræpt Without trap-bath split. reap reef ˈriːp With fleece merger. reaper reefer ˈriːpə(r) With fleece merger. rip riff ˈrɪp ripe rife ˈraɪp ripped riffed ˈrɪpt ripped rift ˈrɪpt ripple riffle ˈrɪpəl rupee roofy ˈruːpi scarp scarf ˈskɑː(r)p shipped shift ˈʃɪpt sipped sift ˈsɪpt snip sniff ˈsnɪp sopped soft ˈlɒpt Without lot-cloth split. spear sphere ˈspɪə(r), ˈspiːr supper suffer ˈsʌpə(r) tip tiff ˈtɪp whip whiff ˈhwɪp wipe wife ˈwaɪp wrapped raft ˈræpt Without trap-bath split.

Syllable coda

The muddling of /b~v/ and /p~f/ is common in much of the English-speaking world when these consonants are in the syllable coda, leading to weak mergers like dribble-drivel. Native English-speakers are taught to differentiate these when they enunciate words, but casual homophony can persist through adulthood.

Homophonous pairs

/p, b/ /f, v/ IPA Notes apt aft ˈæɸt Without trap-bath split. beep beef ˈbiːɸ Bieber beaver ˈbiːβə(r) With fleece merger. cab calve ˈkæβ Without trap-bath split. cabin cavern ˈkæβən In non-rhotic accents with weak vowel merger. carb carve ˈkɑː(r)β chap chaff ˈtʃæɸ Without trap-bath split. chape chafe ˈtʃeɪɸ, ˈtʃeːɸ cheap chief ˈtʃiːɸ With fleece merger. clip cliff ˈklɪɸ cop cough ˈkɒɸ Without lot-cloth split. copped coughed ˈkɒɸt Without lot-cloth split. copper coffer ˈkɒɸə(r) Without lot-cloth split. copper cougher ˈkɒɸə(r) Without lot-cloth split. Copt coughed ˈkɒɸt Without lot-cloth split. copy coffee ˈkɒɸi Without lot-cloth split. copy Coffey ˈkɒɸi Without lot-cloth split. crapped craft ˈkræɸt Without trap-bath split. cropped croft ˈkrɒɸt Without lot-cloth split. cup cuff ˈkʌɸ cupboard covered ˈkʌβə(r)d curb curve ˈkɜː(r)β, ˈkʌrβ dipper differ ˈdɪɸə(r) dribble drivel ˈdrɪβəl dub dove ˈdʌβ fibre; fiber fiver ˈfaɪβə(r) Gabe gave ɡeɪβ, ɡeːβ gap gaff ˈɡæɸ gap gaffe ˈɡæɸ gibbon given ˈɡɪβən Gibbs gives ˈɡɪβz gibe jive ˈdʒaɪβ goop goof ˈɡuːɸ grabble gravel ˈɡrævəl gripped grift ˈɡrɪɸt gyp GIF ˈdʒɪɸ gyp jiff ˈdʒɪɸ harboured; harbored Harvard ˈhɑː(r)βə(r)d hobble hovel ˈhɒβəl hoop hoof ˈhuːɸ, ˈhʊɸ Hubble hovel ˈhʌβəl jibe jive ˈdʒaɪβ kerb curve ˈkɜː(r)β With fern-fir-fur merger. lap laugh ˈlæɸ Without trap-bath split. LARP laugh ˈlɑːɸ In non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split. leap leaf ˈliːɸ leapt left ˈlɛɸt Lebanon leavening ˈlɛβənən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. lib live ˈlɪβ Libby Livy ˈlɪβi limp lymph ˈlɪmɸ lipped lift ˈlɪɸt lobes loaves ˈloʊβz, ˈloːβz lope loaf ˈloʊɸ, ˈloːɸ lopped loft ˈlɒɸt Without lot-cloth split. lub love ˈlʌβ marble marvel ˈmɑː(r)βəl nap naff ˈnæɸ pup puff ˈpʌɸ puppy puffy ˈpʌɸi rape Ralph ˈreɪɸ, ˈreːɸ rapped raft ˈræɸt Without trap-bath split. rapt raft ˈræɸt Without trap-bath split. reap reef ˈriːɸ With fleece merger. reaper reefer ˈriːɸə(r) With fleece merger. ribbon riven ˈrɪβən rip riff ˈrɪɸ ripe rife ˈraɪɸ ripped riffed ˈrɪɸt ripped rift ˈrɪɸt ripple riffle ˈrɪɸəl robe rove ˈroʊβ, ˈroːβ rupee roofy ˈruːɸi sab salve ˈsæβ Without trap-bath split. sabre; saber saver ˈseɪβə(r), ˈseːβə(r) sabre; saber savour; savor ˈseɪβə(r), ˈseːβə(r) scarp scarf ˈskɑː(r)ɸ Serb serve ˈsɜː(r)β, ˈsɛrβ shipped shift ˈʃɪɸt sib sieve ˈsɪβ sipped sift ˈsɪɸt slob Slav ˈslɑβ With father-bother merger. snip sniff ˈsnɪɸ sopped soft ˈlɒɸt Without lot-cloth split. strobe strove ˈstroʊβ, ˈstroːβ supper suffer ˈsʌɸə(r) swab suave ˈswɑβ With father-bother merger. tip tiff ˈtɪɸ Weber weaver ˈwiːβə(r) whip whiff ˈhwɪɸ wipe wife ˈwaɪɸ wrapped raft ˈræɸt Without trap-bath split.

Deletion after high back vowels

In the same vein, when /b~v/ occurs after high back vowels like /oʊ/ and /uː/ and before a consonant or at the end of a word, it can sound more like /w/ and effectively disappear:

• /oʊb~oʊv/ → [oʊβ] → [oʊw] = [oʊ]
• /uːb~uːv/ → [uːβ] → [uːw] = [uː]

This forms weak mergers like robe-rove-roe.

Homophonous pairs

/b/ /v/ /∅/ IPA Notes boob boo ˈbuː boobs boos ˈbuːz boobs booze ˈbuːz cube cue ˈkjuː, ˈkɪu cube Kew ˈkjuː, ˈkɪu cube Q ˈkjuː, ˈkɪu cube queue ˈkjuː, ˈkɪu globe glow ˈɡloʊ groove grew ˈɡruː With yod-dropping. grove grow ˈɡroʊ Jove Jo ˈdʒoʊ, ˈdʒoː Jove Joe; joe ˈdʒoʊ, ˈdʒoː lobe lo ˈloʊ, ˈloː lobe low ˈloʊ lobes loaves lows ˈloʊz lube Lew ˈluː, ˈljuː, ˈlɪu lube lieu ˈluː, ˈljuː, ˈlɪu lube loo ˈluː With yod-dropping. lube Lou ˈluː With yod-dropping. lubed leud ˈluːd, ˈljuːd, ˈlɪud lubed lewd ˈluːd, ˈljuːd, ˈlɪud lubes loos ˈluːz With yod-dropping. lubes lose ˈluːz With yod-dropping. move moo ˈmuː moved mood ˈmuːd moved mooed ˈmuːd prove Prue ˈpruː With yod-dropping. proved prude ˈpruːd With yod-dropping. pube pew ˈpjuː, ˈpɪu pube Pugh ˈpjuː, ˈpɪu robe rove rho ˈroʊ, ˈroː robe rove roe ˈroʊ, ˈroː robe rove row ˈroʊ robed roved Rhode ˈroʊd, ˈroːd robed roved road ˈroʊd, ˈroːd robed roved rode ˈroʊd, ˈroːd robed roved rowed ˈroʊd robes roves roes ˈroʊz, ˈroːz robes roves rose ˈroʊz, ˈroːz robes roves rows ˈroʊz rube roo ˈruː With yod-dropping. stove stow ˈstoʊ tube chew ˈtʃuː With yod-coalescence. tube to ˈtuː With yod-dropping. tube too ˈtuː With yod-dropping. tube two ˈtuː With yod-dropping. tubes chews ˈtʃuːz With yod-coalescence. tubes choose ˈtʃuːz With yod-coalescence.

See also

• Phonological history of the English language
• Phonological history of English vowels
• rhotic and nonrhotic accents
• l-vocalization
• Phonological history of wh

References

Bibliography

• Watt, Dominic; Allen, William (2003), "Tyneside English", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 (2): 267–271, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001397 

History of the English language Anglo-Frisian Old English Anglo-Norman language Middle English Early Modern English Modern English   Phonological history General Old English Vowels Great Vowel Shift short A low back vowels high back vowels high front vowels diphthongs changes before historic /l/ changes before historic /r/ trisyllabic laxing Consonants rhoticity flapping t-glottalization l-vocalization consonant clusters wh fricatives and affricates th th-alveolarization th-fronting ð (eth) þ (thorn) th-debuccalization th-stopping