reduce (v.)

A term used in the PHONOLOGICAL classification of VOWEL sounds, referring to a vowel which can be analyzed as a CENTRALIZED VARIANT of a vowel in a related form. For example, the pronunciation of  reduces to  when unstressed; the STRESSED vowels in ‘telegraph show reduction in the related word te’legraphy .

A further phonological use of the term is found in the context of phonological RULES, where it refers to a process of simplification which affects certain types of sound sequence. The most important category is consonant-cluster reduction (e.g. clock becoming  ), which is common in early child language.

In GRAMMAR, the term usually refers to a CLAUSE (a reduced clause) which lacks one or more of the ELEMENTS required to enable it to be used as a FULL, independent construction, e.g. to see the book. Such clauses may be referred to as ‘abbreviated’, ELLIPTICAL or CONTRACTED; but different approaches often introduce distinctions between these terms. Other units are sometimes referred to as ‘reduced’, such as PHRASES (e.g. phone’s ringing) and WORDS (e.g. it’s him).