Linguistic Lingo and Lyric Diction V-Phrasal Juncture (2013)

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)IN A RECENT ARTICLE (Journal of Singing 69, no. 2 [November/December 2012]: 179-190), the present author focused on the patterns of English articulations to be found at the boundaries between syllables within a polysyllabic word. Such places are known linguistically as lexical juncture. An inventory of vowel/consonant patterns normally encountered was created, and model words were supplied for each category, taken from poetry to be found in the songs of Barber, Britten, Copland, Finzi, and Quilter. Considerations for effective stage articulation of such junctures in singing were discussed.We now proceed to the phrasal level-that is, the frontiers between words as may be encountered within the sung line. Many of the observations made in the lexical discussion will transfer easily to phrasal contexts as well. same poetic/musical sources have been employed here too in compiling the model word lists found below. reader will perhaps recognize the song source for some examples, and try out the specifics of executing the juncture in the context of the source. In the course of the discussion, periodic reference will be made to several songs of Britten and Barber, in illustration of various points. Although not crucial, it may prove helpful to the reader to have scores of the following songs at hand:Benjamin BrittenOn This Island-Let the Florid Music Praise!- Seascape-NocturneSongs & Proverbs of William Blake-London-The Chimney-sweeper-A Poison Tree-The Tyger-The Fly-Every Night and Every MornSamuel BarberThe DaisiesWith Rue My Heart is LadenRain Has FallenSleep NowNocturneThe Secrets of the OldSure on this Shining NightI Hear an ArmyHermit Songs-At St. Patrick's Purgatory-St. Ita's Vision-The Heavenly Banquet- The Crucifixion-The Monk and His Cat-The Desire for HermitageA quick overview of the juncture lists below will make it clear that at the phrasal level more possible vowel/ consonant combinations will be encountered. same English phonotactic rules, of course, still apply in isolation at the start and end of words as they do within syllables. morphemic structures found adjacent to one another at the phrasal level, however, serve to increase considerably the types of consonant clusters that will be encountered, and their frequency, when compared with word-internal junctures.The list is organized according to the pattern of vowels (V) and consonants (C) as they arrange themselves at the cusps between words. list will also provide the patterns of voicing (V) and unvoicing (v) to be found within each, as appropriate. use of the same symbol (V) for both vowel and voicing should not prove problematic, as they occur in different columns.The following policies are in effect in the examples:i) the inventory employs the following abbreviations: V vowelC consonantD diphthongT triphthongS semiconsonant ([r], [j], and [w])ii) affricates are considered double consonants,iii) the schwa [e] has been employed to cover all neutral vowels, and should be understood to include the rhotic [e] and [a] of SAE, and some unstressed syllables that are arguably closer to [v] or [I].iv) the superscript [r] found in some pronunciation dictionaries is used for the SAE pure vowel with rhotic off-glide (are, or).v) [r] has been employed as the default spoken version for all instances of , although in singing [r] might be employed in some instances-in which case /r/ changes from approximant to flap.vi) V/V (hiatus) combinations will often trigger glottal stops, especially in singing for clarity and emphasis, but [?] has not been indicated.vii) no attempt has been made to distinguish British standard from SAE, and the reader may question the choice of vowel on occasion. …