PHONOLOGY

Speech Sounds and Phonation Speech sounds refer to the sounds we produce. These sounds are generally classified into segmentals and suprasegmentals. Vowels, consonants, dipthongs and triphtongs are classified as segmentals while stress, pitch and juncture fall under suprasegmentals. The segmentals. Vowel is a speech sound that is produced through an open throat and mouth passage and with relatively little or no hindrance or obstruction of the escaping breath by the articulators. The shaping of the vowel sounds is based on the position of the tongue, the height of the lower jaw, muscle tone, and shape of the lips. The relative positions of the tongue in the simple vowel-sounds are shown in diagram 1. In complex vowel sounds, the tongue moves from a simple vowel position (1) upward and front in the case of /y/ (diagram 2), and (2) towards the center in the case of /h/ (diagram 3), and (3) upward and backward in the case of /w/ (diagram 4). A Consonant is a speech sound which is produced with partial or complete blocking of the air passage by the articulators. Consonants are classified according to the point in the mouth where they are articulated and the manner by which they are produced. While all vowels are voiced, consonants may or may not be voiced. In addition, some consonants, for example, /p/, /t/, and /k/ when found initially, are always aspirated, i.e., they are produced with blowing effect. In diagram 5, classifies the English consonants according to point of articulation and manner of articulation. A syllable is normally composed of a vowel and a consonant (t), a consonant and a vowel (dU), or a consonant, a vowel and another consonant (f r). However,a consonant like the literal (I), and the nasals (m), and (n) may form a syllable without the aid of a vowel. This linguistic unit is called a syllabic consonant. A syllabic consonant is formed when a consonant follows a plosive or a fricative in a syllable that is not stressed. When forming a

syllabic consonant, you must make a rapid shift from one consonant to the next in the same syllable. You can achieve this by: keeping the articulators in the same points of contact during the shift from the first to the second consonant; by changing the points of contact immediately before or together with the release of the first consonant; and by changing the points of contact of the articulators immediately after the release of the first consonant. A consonant cluster is a sequence of two or more consonant sounds before or after a vowel sound in a syllable. It is sometimes referred to as consonant blend. For example, the word grasp contains a cluster gr- before the vowel and -sp after it. Most of the errors involving the production of consonant cluster occur when the cluster is found in the final position as in the -sp in grasp. A Diphtong is a single gliding sound produced by the tongue as it moves from one vowel position to another so that two vowels are pronounced as one syllable and are heard as one unit of sound by the listener. For example, a rapid glide from /a/ to /I/ results in /aI/ as in kite; similarly the fast transition from /a/ to /U/ produces /aU/ as in now, and the uninterrupted flow from / / to /I/ produces / I/ as in toy. The sounds /aI/, /aU/ and / I/ are the most common dipthongs in English.

A Triphthong consists of three vowels pronounced as one syllable. /aI/ and /IU/ are the most common English tripthongs. Example for /aI/ are anxiety, piety and diet snd for /IU/ are continuous, conspicuous and strenuous.

The suprasegmentals. STRESS Stress means loudness. It is the relative force or prominence given to a syllable or a word. It is usually associated with pitch or the highness or lowness of a tone, length of sound or duration, and volume or loudness. In English, there are three levels of stress, namely: strong //, medium /^/, and weak //. Of the three, strong stress has the highest pitch, greatest volume and longest duration. To pronounce a syllable with strong stress: use

pitch level 3, or high; speak with a loud voice; and make the sound long. To produce a syllable with medium stress, on the other hand: speak with less volume; use a lower pitch; and make the sound shorter. Finally, to say an unstressed syllable: speak with little volume; use a low pitch, say the syllable lightly and quickly; and give the vowel either an // or an /I/ sound.

PITCH and INTONATION Pitch is the relative highness and lowness of the human voice. It is categorized into four, namely: low (1), normal (2), high (3) and very high (4). The first three are the most commonly used pitch levels. Extra high (4) is used to express extreme emotion like fear, anger, surprise, or excitement and is seldom used in normal speaking. A combination of any two or three of these pitch levels results in a tune or melody called Intonation. There are three categories of intonation patterns: the basic patterns, some variations in intonation patterns, and attitudinal intonation. A. Basic Intonation Patterns In the rising intonation, the voice starts from the normal level, then goes up to high. This pattern is usually used for yes/no questions, for echo statements, and for slow and deliberate counting and enumeration. In falling intonation, the voice begins from level 3 then drops or slides to level 1. It is commonly used in two situations: in one word and short imperative sentences and in counting off numbers. The third basic intonation pattern is the rising-falling intonation. This is a combination of the first two patterns. The voice begins on the normal level 2, goes up to level 3, then drops or slides to level 1. The pattern is used for statements, for information questions and for longer imperative statements.

B. Some variations in intonation patterns. Rising and Rising-Falling Intonation This is a combination of the (2-3) and the (2-3-1) patterns and is used: in sentences offering an alternative; in sentences containing several enumerated items; in complex statements where the main clause is mentioned toward the end; in normal counting; and, in sentences where the direct address is found in the beginning. Rising-Falling and Rising-Falling Intonation This pattern is a combination of (2-3-1) and (2-3-1) and is used in compound sentences. Rising-Falling and Rising Intonation This intonation contour is a combination of the pattern for statements (2-31) and the pattern for yes/no questions. It is used in statements with tag endings which express genuine questions. Rising-Falling and Falling Intonation This is a combination of (2-3-1) and (3-1). of fact. This pattern is used in statements with tag endings but where the tag ending expects a confirmation

C. Attitudinal Intonation Patterns. A speakers emotional state as well as his personal biases are likewise revealed through intonation. combinations. This intonation pattern is generally referred to as attitudinal intonation, and is commonly reflected in 3 patterns or countour

Rising-Falling Intonation In contrast to the intonation pattern used for statements and yes/no questions, this pattern, when used to reveal a certan attitude, takes any of the following types: a. Normal + Very High + Low this denotes surprise, fear or extreme anger. b. Normal + Half Normal + Low a curt, detached or uninterested remark is marked by this pattern. Falling Intonation This intonation contour is sometimes used to express sarcasm or indignation. Falling -Rising Intonation Often called the high + normal + high tune, this pattern starts from level 3, goes down to level 2, then moves up to level 3 again. It is used to indicate a variety of attitudes, for example doubt, encouragement, appeal, or invitation.

JUNCTURE Juncture refers to an interruption or break in the continuous flow of speech. In short, it is pause. In normal rapid speech, pauses occur within words, between words and after phrases or clauses. The tune that characterizes a pause varies according to location. There are three types of pauses or juncture, namely: close juncture or normal transition, open or plus juncture, and terminal juncture. Close juncture refers to the normal rapid transition from one phoneme to another within the syllable. The distance between phonemes is not perceptible; hence the term close. Open juncture is characterized by a recognizable break between two successive syllables in a word or between words and is indicated by a plus (+) symbol. Terminal juncture is characterized by pause of varying lengths and pitch levels. Terminal juncture has 3 subtypes they are as follows: Sustained terminal juncture, rising terminal juncture and falling terminal juncture. Sustained terminal juncture is characterized by a level or a slight rise in pitch and is twice as long as open juncture. It is indicated by ///;

as such, it is also referred to as single bar juncture. The rising terminal juncture, which is also called double bar because of its symbol / // /, is characterized by a rise in pitch just before the juncture and is one and a half times as long as the single bar juncture. The falling terminal juncture is also called a double cross juncture /#/ and is associated with falling pitch. It is twice as long as single bar juncture and comes at the end of statements, fact questions, long imperative sentences, long enumeration, some parenthetical remarks, some tag endings and words in isolation.

THE HUMAN SPEECH MECHANISM. The human speech mechanism consists of a system that runs between the lungs, larynx and articulators. The lung provides sufficient air to stimulate the vocal cords, which begin to vibrate. Airflow is moved to the vocal folds, where it is segmented into sounds that are then refined by the muscular larynx. Various parts in the mouth and tongue are used as filters to make sounds louder or softer, depending on messages received from the brain. The speech mechanism is grouped into four: the Motor, the Vibrators, the articulators, and the resonators.

The motor consists of the LUNGS, TRACHEA, DIAPHRAGM, ABDOMINAL MUSCLES and RIB CAGE. One of the components of the motor part is the lungs that contain the air. Another component is the bronchial tubes that converge into the windpipe forming a nozzle out in which the air that was compressed is released.The ribs and the other bones, the cartilage and the other tissues are also belonging to the motor part. They serve to hold the motor in place, giving leverage for the application of power. The muscles are other motor components; these muscles expand alternately and contract the place that is occupied by the lungs. With this, the muscles serve alternately in order to draw air into the lungs and compress this air afterward for expulsion. The vibrators are the second part of the speech mechanism. When the air is compressed in the lungs, it will be then directed into the larynx passing through the trachea. The larynx also called as Adams apple contains a group of small cartilage that are joined together, the larynx contain the vibrating unit. The resonator is the third part of the speech mechanism; these are group of air chambers in the head and in the throat. The resonators are responsible for amplifying the sound from the larynx and making it louder as well as modifying the sounds quality. The principal resonators are the vestibule, the pharynx, and the nasal cavity which include the mouth and the sinuses. The fourth part of the speech mechanism is the articulator or the modifier. Belong to this part are the lips, the teeth, the jaw and the palate. These components are responsible in modifying the speechs sound. They serve as the movable boundaries of the resonators. As the speaker moves the articulators, the shape of the resonators is modified as well as the quality of the tone that is produced.

THE IPA AND OTHER PHONETIC SPELLINGS

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet was created by the International Phonetic Association (also IPA), formed by a group of English and French linguists way back in 1886. The alphabet has gone through several revisions: while the bulk of it is based on the 1989 Kiel Convention, some changes were made as late as 1996. Many people have suggested improvements, but the IPA in its current form serves its purpose admirably. The mission of the Association is to set out "one symbol for every sound, one sound for every symbol". As one might imagine, this involves creating a lot of symbols, as well as eliminating confusing digraphs like "sh" and "ch". Coming up with a table that claims to contain all the sounds in the world is a daunting task. Fortunately, linguists have thought of a systematic way of generating these sounds, based on the way they are pronounced (their manner of articulation) and where in the mouth or throat they are pronounced (their place of articulation). With this simple strategy, they have devised symbols for every conceivable sound, even those truly bizarre ones. Because of the precision the IPA affords, it is used in everything from language journals to dictionaries. You may have seen the "funny symbols" of the IPA in the preface of your English dictionary. In fact, you probably already know how to pronounce many of the symbols in the IPA. The symbols b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v and z are pronounced very much like their counterparts in English. There are a few differences, of course; the symbol [j], for example, is pronounced like a "y" as in "yes" or "yawn". The benefits of such a universal system like the IPA are clear enough. It gives linguists a common code with which to talk about the sounds of the world's languages. But while the International Phonetic Alphabet was designed by professional linguists, its use is not restricted to experts.

Why use the IPA? Everyone involved in learning or teaching languages can use the IPA, because its underlying principles are simple and intuitive. As a learner, you are often flooded with so much information regarding sounds. And certain sounds are foreign to you, because it doesn't appear in your language's inventory of sounds. That's why it's easy to come up with fanciful ideas about how a particular sound is produced. Without the IPA, one can only use very vague, imprecise and unflattering terms to describe a sound, like "rough", "guttural", "a gagging sound", "a clucking sound", "a choking sound", or "midway between a cough and a burp". You can use the IPA to transcribe sounds when learning a foreign language. Because the IPA already has a symbol for any sound you might need, you don't need to rack your brains trying to think up a new one. Using the IPA as a transcription tool also reduces ambiguity, which means that you can always read your written notes weeks after you made them. Teachers with some background in phonetics or linguistics can provide IPA transcriptions to accompany the material used in class. This is helpful when the language being taught does not have a written form, or if the written form is too cumbersome for beginners to use, like the Chinese or Devanagari scripts.

PHONETIC SYMBOLS CONSONANTS