[æ]→[∅]Certainty: 3/5Commonality: 3/5
Near-open front unrounded vowel to Empty sound / Zero
The elision of [æ] is typically the result of extreme vowel reduction in unstressed syllables. In rapid speech, the vowel may centralize to a schwa [ə] and then disappear entirely, a process known as syncope.
Phonetic Effects
Elision, Syncope, Vowel Reduction
Language Examples
actually [ˈæktʃuəli]→[ˈæktʃli]— Syncope of the unstressed schwa; the stressed [æ] in the first syllable is retained. This example illustrates the general syncope process adjacent to ash, not ash deletion itself.
national [ˈnæʃənəl]→[ˈnæʃnl]— Loss of unstressed [ə] before sonorant; the [æ] in the stressed syllable is retained.
Related Transformations
More Germanic Shifts
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