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LIAISON
 Liaison is a French word meaning
“Linking” or “Joining together”.
Liaison is the process of linking of
sounds in a connected speech. In
DEFINITION pronunciation, words belonging to
the same sense group should be said
in a united manner rather than
pronounced separately as if they
were isolated. (Giegerich, 1999)
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 Liaison deals with the linking of sounds, not the
letters. Often the letter and the sound are the
same but not always.
IMPORTANT NOTE THOUGH KNOW
Ends with the letter h w

Ends with the sound o o

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TYPES
OF Basically, there are three types of
liaison in English:

LIAISON 1. Consonant + vowel

2. Vowel + vowel
3. Consonant + consonant

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 When a word ends with a consonant sound, we
often move the consonant sound to the beginning
of the next word if it starts with a vowel sound.
CONSONANT
+
VOWEL We write Pick it Light off Keep on

We pronounce Pi-kit Li-toff Ki:-pon

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 When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins
with a vowel sound, we link the words with a sort of J[Y] or W
sound. It depends on the shape of our mouth at the end of the first

VOWEL word.
Lips are wide: When the first word ends in an a, e, i vowel sound [ eɪ

+ / i: / aɪ ], our lips are wide. Then we insert a J[Y] sound at the

beginning of the next word:

VOWEL We write Pay all Lie on I am

We pronounce Pa- j-all Lie-j-on I- j- am

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 VOWEL When the first word ends in an o, u vowel sound [ əʊ / u:
+ ], our lips are round. Then we insert a W sound at the
beginning of the next word:
VOWEL We write Go out Too often Do all

CONTINUES
We pronounce Go-w-out To-w-often Do-w-all

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 When two consonants appear in two different
words, we usually link the sounds.
CONSONANT
+ We write Red dress That time Chief fellow

CONSONANT We pronounce Re_/d/_ress Tha_/t/_ime Chie_/f/_ellow

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 One of the most common liaisons in English is the
present/absence of linking /r/ in speech. A rhotic speaker
will pronounce /r/ before a consonant, whereas a non-

LINKING
rhotic speaker does not pronounce /r/ at all unless
followed by a vowel.

/R/
Port Far Stirring

Rhotic speaker [pɔːrt] [fɑːr] [stɜːrɪŋ]

Non-rhotic [pɔːt] [fɑː] [stɜːrɪŋ]

speaker

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 Intrusive /r/ is another liaison which is
used only among the non-rhotic speakers.
Intrusive /r/ is found ending of a sound

INTRUSIVE though there is no actual R letter in that

very word.

/R/
Law and order The idea of it I saw it

Non-rhotic [lɔːr ənd ɔːdə] [ði aɪdɪər əv ɪt] [aI sɔːr It]
speaker

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 Juncture is a pause or a slight delay in a
continuous flow of speech. It is a
phonotactic unit which refers to the
boundaries between phonological entities.

JUNCTURE
Juncture is " the relationship between one
sound and the sounds that immediately
precede and follow it” ( Roach , 1988 )

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 Mainly 2 types of juncture in English-
1. Close juncture: Movement from sound to
sound which has no intervening pauses or delay.
For example TRAIN, BLAME, NIGHT,
BRIGHT.

TYPES 2. Open juncture: Movement which is not

continuous. There is a slight stoppage of the last
sound till it blends with the next. Ice cream- I
scream, It swings- its wings etc. are some of the
examples of open juncture.
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 Three symbols of juncture-
Single bar juncture (/) : Indicates the need for a slight
pause between two thought groups in a sentence.
We visited an old person/ who is a national hero.

SYMBOL Double bar juncture (//) : Indicates the need for a longer
pause between two thought groups in a sentence.
Mr. Rahman// known as a renowned poet// teaches us
English.

Double cross juncture (#) : Points to a drop in pitch. The

pausing time responds to a need for semi-colon, colon, or
period. 13

To err is human # to forgive is divine.

 A change of place of juncture in the
sentence logically changes the meaning of
the sentence.

IMPORTANCE
My friend says/ the doctor is going to die.

My friend/ says the doctor/ is going to die.

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References :
Giegerich, H. (1999). Lexical strata in English. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from
https://www.
Cambridge_university.org/publications_download.
php
Learn English liaison. (2016). English Club. Retrieved
from https://www.englishclub_liaion
Roach, P.(1988). English Phonetics and Phonology.
London: Cambridge University Press.

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