compensatory lengthening

EnglishEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

compensatory lengthening (countable and uncountable, plural compensatory lengthenings)

Example

In many non-rhotic British dialects of English, the /ɹ/ from art (/ɑɹt/) is dropped but the /ɑ/ is compensatorily lengthened, resulting in /ɑːt/.

  1. (phonology, uncountable) The lengthening of a vowel sound which occurs when a following consonant is lost, regarded as an extreme form of fusion; (countable) an instance of this.

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

Further readingEdit