Fw: [ADS-L] "slurring"?

[Randy Alexander]

On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 1:59 AM,  <ronbutters at aol.com> wrote:
> Allegro speech is not "careless" nor is it "slurred". It follows rules that vary from dialect to dialect. Speech in which no allegro rules are followed is not "careful," it is unusual, and sounds stilted.

So we have an acceptable name for one end of the spectrum.  What about
the other?  I take it "unusual" and "stilted" don't fit the bill.  I
confess to, like Bill, have used "careful" and "slurred" to describe
two ends of the phonetic speech change spectrum.  Actually I go past
"careful" into dictionary pronunciation, where one separates each
word.

There are environments where this careful (until we have a more
acceptable term) speech is not stilted, and naturally comes out, such
as when one is speaking (or shouting) in a noisy environment, or when
you have to repeat something for someone the umpteenth time because
they didn't understand it (but should have) no matter how you rephrase
it.

In classes I've taught, I've divided this continuum as follows:

1. Dictionary pronunciation
       -- all words are separated from each other
2. Careful speech
       -- short connected phrases tend to form
       -- some reduction in function words
3. Formal speech
       -- normal speed, representative of broadcast speech
4. Informal speech
       -- can be understood by speakers of other dialects
5. Slurred speech
       -- speakers of other dialects have trouble understanding
6. Unintelligible speech
       -- no one can understand (except maybe the speaker)

I explained to the students that "slurred" can also mean involuntary
speech change (as when someone is drunk, etc), but here I'm using it
to represent an area in the continuum that has the majority of
connected speech processes turned on.

Allegro speech (if I understand the term now) is exhibited in 3-6,
above.  Any suggestions for improving the terminology on this spectrum
(or any other aspect of it) would be greatly appreciated.

--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China
My Manchu studies blog:
http://www.bjshengr.com/manchu

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