Southeastern phonology: consonants YOD

London and Southeastern English accents have variable Yod dropping and Yod coalescence. These processes affect initial consonant clusters in stressed syllables consisting of the alveolar stops /t/ and /d/ and a following palatal glide /j/, as in tune, duke. In addition, Yod dropping can affect syllable initial /n/ plus /j/ (as in  news). Yod coalescence involves the “merging” of /tj/ and /dj/ to [tʃ] and  respectively, such that dune and June, for instance, may be homophonous. In the 1980s, Wells (1982: 331) had already observed that in working-class London English the “older” phenomenon of Yod dropping was faced with competition from Yod coalescence. Whether the same is true for other Southeastern accents has not yet been reported.