Syllabic m, ŋ

We will not spend much time on the syllabic pronunciation of these consonants. Both can occur as syllabic, but only as a result of processes such as assimilation and elision that are introduced later. We find them sometimes in words like 'happen', which can be pronounced hæpṃ, though haepn and hæpən are equally acceptable, and 'uppermost', which could be pronounced as ɑpṃəʊst, though Λpəməʊst would be more usual. Examples of possible syllabic velar nasals would be 'thicken' θɪkŋ (where θɪkən and θɪkṇ are also possible), and 'broken key' brəʊkŋ ki::, where the nasal consonant occurs between velar consonants (n or an could be substituted for ŋ)