NEUTRALIZATION

Neutralization is pairs of sound which is not always clear ehich of the two sound is being articulated. It is as if lay between the two distinct sounds. The most common example of neutralization : The Vowels : /u/ , /i/ The consonants : /b/ , /d/ , /g/ with their voiceless equivalent /p/ , /t/ , and /k/

Examples of Neutralization /i/

In the words he, she, we, me, be and the followed by a vowel, the final vowel is deemed to be /i/. The schwa is inappropriate, the long /i:/ is too long and the short one is too short and so the in-between /i/ is used. /i/ //'rnd/ for the orange. After some consonants /i/ is used. /'hapi/ for happy. /'i:zi/for easy. /i/ is used in an unstressed prefix (such as: re- , pre- , de- ) that is followed by a vowel. /ri'kt/ for react. /pri'kjp/ for preaoccupy It is also used in short unstressed words followed by a word beginning with a vowel. /hi/ /:sk// for he asked /i/ is also used in suffixes like ial, -iate, and ious when they are pronounced as two syllables. Example : appreciate /'pri:iet/ and hilarious /h'l:ris/ In word final distribution (if the final i-sound is not the second element of the three closing diphthongs moving towards // as in easy /'i:zi/, even when followed by suffixes beginning with a vowel, as in easiest /'i:zist/

Examples of Neutralization /u/

/u/ is used when it is in an unstressed syllable followed by a vowel, or the vowel like consonants. Example : /tu/ /:sk/ to ask, and /hu/ /wd/ who would. /u/ is used when the words you, into, to, and do are followed by a vowel, as in the particle-infinitive sequence, /tu/ /:sk/ to ask /u/ is used in the words through and who in all position /u/ is used before a vowel within a word, as in eavluate /'vljet/ and actual /'ktl , -tjl/

/p/,/t/,/k/,/b/,/d/ and /g/

When these plosives follow /s/ in syllableinitial position, they become neutralized. The sound is difficult to place as one or the other; it is only the convention of regular spelling that determines how we transcribe them.
/spill/ could be transcribed as /sbill/ /still/ could be transcribed as /sdill/ /skill/ could be transcribed as /sgill/