A sound becomes less distinct.
- Flapping:
/t/ -> [ɾ] / stressed vowel _ unstressed vowel(e.g., butter/bʌtɹ̩/ -> [bʌɾɹ̩], water/wɔtɹ̩/ -> [wɔɾɹ̩]) - Vowel reduction:
/V/ -> [ə] / in an unstressed syllable(e.g., photograph/foʊtoʊgɹæf/ -> [foʊɾəgɹæf]) - Final devoicing:
[+voiced, +obstruent] -> [-voiced] / _ #(e.g., (German) Land/land/ -> [lant], Tag/ta:g/ -> [tʰa:k], gib/gɪb/ -> [gɪp], (Russian) Gorbachev/gərbɐ'tɕθv/ -> [gərbɐ'tɕθf])