yod coalescence

Definitions

1. 1

   A process in English phonology whereby the clusters [dj], [tj], [sj], and [zj] become…

   A process in English phonology whereby the clusters [dj], [tj], [sj], and [zj] become [dʒ], [tʃ], [ʃ], and [ʒ], respectively, through mutual assimilation.

   • Some English dialects with /dj/ and /tj/ within a morpheme have gradient amounts of affrication, from [dj] in careful speech to extreme “yod coalescence” approximating [dʒ][…].
   • In words such as nature this process is long complete; but there are many other words where this ‘yod coalescence’ is still variable.
   • In the sequence would you, the female speaker uses yod coalescence: The alveolar plosive /d/ and the palatal approximant, /j/, merge to form the affricate [dʒ].
2. 2

   Alternative form of yod coalescence.

   • Awareness of the fact that Yod Coalescence is somewhat stigmatized leads to hypercorrection in would-be elegant speech, with the use of [tj, dj] in place of [tʃ, dʒ] in words such as chew, June.
   • In this investigation, the linguistic context is restricted to /j/ after /t, d/ in stressed syllables within a word (e.g. tune, duke). This is the environment in which Yod Coalescence is not (yet) fully acceptable within RP.
   • EE speakers typically use Yod Coalescence in stressed syllables as in Tuesday [ˈtʃuːzdeɪ] or duke [ˈdʒuːk].

The neighborhood