Catenation

What is catenation in English?

• The union of two words that end in a vowel.

• The union of a word that ends in a consonant with another that begins with a vowel.

• The union of two words that begin with the same letter.

• The pronunciation of words in isolation.

What effect does catenation have on the pronunciation of words?

• The words are spoken with a clear pause between them.

• The last consonant of the first word moves into the second word, sometimes sounding like a single Word.

• Vowels are lengthened to create a softer sound.

• An extra sound is added between the two words.

Which of the following is an example of catenation?

• "big house"

• "red car"

• "start up"

• "blue sky"

In what types of grammatical structures is it very common to find examples of catenation?

• Compound nouns..

• Descriptive adjectives.

• Phrasal verbs.

• Coordinating conjunctions.

What is catenation in English speech?

• It is the union of a final consonant of a word with an initial vowel of the following Word.

• It is the elimination of sounds in rapid speech.

• It is the elimination of sounds in rapid speech.

• It is the change of intonation in a sentence.

What is a common problem that catenation causes for English learners?

• Difficulty distinguishing individual words because they are joined together.

• Difficulty pronouncing words with multiple syllables.

• Difficulty understanding the meaning of words.

• Difficulty remembering vocabulary.

In connected speech, what often happens to the 'h' sound in words like 'he' or 'his'?

• It is omitted or "dropped" (h-dropping).

• It is pronounced more strongly.

• It becomes a vowel sound.

• It doubles.

What is the main difference between catenation and vowel-vowel liaison/intrusión in English?

• Vowel-vowel union involves the addition of sounds such as /r/, /w/ or /j/, while catenation is the direct union of consonant and vowel.

• Catenation only occurs in formal speech, while vowel-vowel joining is informal.

• The vowel-vowel union is a pronunciation error, while the catenation is correct.

• Catenation only occurs between words, while vowel-vowel coupling occurs within words.