NEUTRALIZATION
With some pairs of sounds, it is not always clear which of the two sounds is being articulated. It is as if it lay between the two distinct sounds. This intermediate sound is known as neutralization. This process can be found in both vowels and some consonants. The most common examples of neutralization are the vowels /u/ and /i/ and the consonants /b/, /d/ and /g/ with their voiceless equivalents /p/, /t/ and /k/. Also, it is sometimes difficult to hear the contrast in the sounds /s/ and /z/.
When the article 'the' is followed by a vowel, its final vowel is deemed to be /i/. The schwa is inappropriate, the long /i:/ is too long and the short one /ɪ/ is too short and so the in-between /i/ is used:
e.g., the orange [ðiˈɒrɪnʤ]
In addition, after some consonants /i/ is used:
e.g., happy [hæpi], easy [ˈi:zi]
Along the same lines, /i/ is used in an unstressed prefix that is followed by a vowel:
e.g., react [riˈækt]
It is also used in short unstressed words followed by a word beginning with a vowel:
e.g., he asked [hiˈæskt]
The same is true about the vowel /u/ which is an in-between vowel differing from both /ʊ/ and /u:/. The vowel /u/ is used when it is in an unstressed syllable followed by a vowel, or the vowel like consonants (i.e., glides or semi-vowels). Take the following examples:
e.g. to ask [tuˈæsk] who would [huˈwʊd]
When the plosives [p, t, k, b, d, g] follow /s/ in syllable-initial position, they become neutralized. An in-between sound is produced which is really difficult to place as one or the other. In fact, it is only the convention of regular spelling that determines how we transcribe them. Take the following examples:
The word spill could be transcribed as [sbɪɫ]
The word still could be transcribed as [sdɪɫ]
The word skill could be transcribed as [sgɪɫ]
