Question 1 (Consolidate)
In RP, all the following examples contain the same sequence of a consonant followed by /-juː-/, for example abuse [əbjuːz]. However, in the General American accent, /j/ is sometimes absent from the sequence. Using a dictionary which gives both British and American pronunciations (or your own experience) to help you, identify in which words yod-dropping occurs.
abuse, accuse, amuse, assume, beauty, cute, dew, duplex, ensue, few, fuse huge, humour, music, news, nuisance, pew, puma, stew, tune, view, Zeus
Answer
Yod-dropping occurs in the following words:
assume, dew, duplex, ensue, news, nuisance, stew, tune, Zeus
Question 2 (Explore)
Can you identify the reason why some words retain the /j/ in the American pronunciations?
Answer/discussion
The preceding consonant determines whether /j/ can be dropped. The consonants which permit this are all alveolar consonants: the plosives /t, d/, the nasal /n/ and the fricatives /s, z/.
