 Hello again. This is our series of videos where I try to explain to you the techniques of phonetic transcription. The exercise I'm going to tackle this time is exercise number three, entitled Sunday Reading, and as usual it has been taken from the BLC transcription series. This is our task. We have to transcribe the text as usual using the LPD notation, which you can find in the Longman pronunciation dictionary, and the phonological reference dialect we have to use is Received pronunciation. To make life a little bit easier, we have added stress marks, the single quotes, and we're using line numbers for reasons of referencing. And to make the text readable on my active panel, well, we've subdivided it into chunks of four lines. So let's start with the first four lines. Are you still unfamiliar with the vowel symbols of the LPD notation? Well, here are the 20 vocalic phonemes, the 12 monothones and the 8 diphthones, plus the two weak vowels, which the LPD notation provides for the description of weakened forms as in happy, the weak E, or like you, the weak OO. There are no real phonemes, but they're used in the LPD notation, so we have to use them too. Let's start and look at the transcription line by line. Here is the headline, Sunday Reading. And already we have not a problem, but we can use an alternative for Sunday, because here the LPD notation provides the opportunity of using the weak E instead of the diphthong A. Line 2, where have you put the papers? Some of you might argue straightforwardly that we can transcribe this string as where have you put a liaison effect, but as I said, liaison is an effect of connected speech, and I recommend rather not to transcribe it to avoid errors. It's optional anyway, but this is quite interesting. The author graphical ending ERS is always transcribed by means of a schwa plus the voice of your affricative papers, writers, and so on and so forth. Line 3, haven't you read them? Well, haven't you read them is relatively unproblematic. However, in haven't we might want to ask the question, why is it not weak? Well, the answer is quite simple. The half weakening rule only applies to declarative sentences, and this is an interrogative form. There are still some bits in some of them last line. Again, you might want to argue, well, here we could have a linking R, but again, I cannot repeat this often enough. Liaison is optional. So why should we transcribe it in a transcription exercise? It's only a source for mistakes. So let's look at the connected speech effects, and quite interestingly, the strong forms haven't already mentioned. This is a form that occurs at the beginning of an interrogative sentence, and some, well, some is stressed. In line 4, we nicely see the contrast between the weak form, some, and the strong form, some. There are still some bits in some of them. Quite a number of weak forms in the first four lines. Let's continue with lines 5 to 8. In line 5, I want another look at, well, here quite interestingly, we have a strong form at the end. We will talk about this in a second. And we have the wedge here and the short O as in want. I can see the observer under your chair. Again, linking. We will talk about it in a second. Common source for mistakes is, of course, are these two vocaliic symbols. But if you compare those with the system of monophones, it's, in fact, the only possibility of starting observer with a short O, and then have the mid-high central long vowel E in server. Line 7. Well, and John's taken our times off to his room. I can't see any severe problems. The vowel in John off is, of course, again, the short O. And why does he always hog it? Well, for always we have alternatives. We can either use the is as it is represented here, or as an alternative. We can also transcribe it as always with a diphthong. So this is possible. And you could have chosen that alternative as well. Let's look at connected speech effects. Well, we've already mentioned the strong form at. Well, why is it strong? It is unstressed and it could. It is one of those monosyllabic function words that can occur as a weak form. Well, it is strong because here the stranding rule applies. Stranding a rule which says if you have a preposition at the end of a sentence. And it is strong even if it is unstressed. Okay. And the second strong form is, of course, strong because the is followed by a vowel the observer. So quite clearly a strong form. And then we have a large number of weak forms. Some of them can even be weaker. So instead of having I can see, you could have also transcribed this as I can see. Interesting is the weak form our times. Well, and if you look at illusion effects, then you see that the initial glottal. Fricative in he can be dropped because it's one possibility of having a weak form. He and also you could drop the final plosive in and because the next word starts with another consonant in this case, an African. But as I mentioned, these are optional effects. And so is the liaison effect which are already discussed earlier on. The linking are in observer under your chair. Let's now look at the last four lines. I'll go and get it from him for you. Well, here nothing should be added. We will look at the weak forms in a second. Mary. Well, in Mary, you have a weak E again. Mary would lend him her home chat. Remember this symbol name? Okay. In line 11, if he's desperate. Now here the LP denotation provides us with an alternative instead of having the schwa. At the end we could have the short e desperate instead of the schwa. So this is an alternative. If he's desperate, should keep him happy. Another ash. And the last line for ours. One would imagine. And before you say that, you could say for ours. Well, here are the connected speech effects, the weak forms from again, we have alternatives from could even be weaker without the schwa from him for you. And then we have strong forms, only one of them for you. Clearly a strong form because here it is stressed. We have assimilation effects. This is quite interesting in both cases. We have regressive assimilation. So in this case, the villa turns the alveolar plosive into a villa plosive should keep becomes should keep again optional. So you don't have to transcribe that. And the same effect in one would where the labia villa approximate would influences the alveolar nasal and turns it into a bilabial nasal optionally a regressive assimilation effect. Well, and the last option I would like to mention is the one I discussed earlier on for ours and optional linking are which you don't have to use, but you can. Okay, that's it again. The print version of the solution is available either in the VLC election library or you can take part in one of our phonetics and phonology classes where several exercises of this kind are integrated. Thank you and see you again.