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phonetic reduction

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The minimization or simplification of sounds within poetry for specific effect

Detailed Definition
The dropping or omitting of sounds from words in verse, typically for metrical purposes or to create archaic effects. Common types include elision (e'er for ever), syncope (middle sound deletion), and apocope (final sound deletion). Phonetic reduction helps maintain meter in formal verse but can feel archaic to contemporary readers. Examples include o'er, 'tis, ne'er, and wand'ring, common in traditional prosody.
Example
Example in poetry:
Phonetic reduction appears in dialect poetry: Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne” (“we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet”); modern example: Kamau Brathwaite’s “Caliban” uses Caribbean creole reductions (“dem” for “them”); phonetic reduction captures spoken language’s economy; it’s common in oral and postcolonial poetry; this technique values authenticity over standardization; it reflects linguistic identity and resistance.
Additional Notes
Dropping sounds from words in verse, typically for metrical purposes. Examples: "e'er" for "ever," "o'er" for "over." Common in formal verse to maintain meter. Can feel archaic to modern readers but was standard practice in earlier periods.
Also Known As
elision phonetic contraction sound dropping syllabic reduction Eclipsis
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