Fonetics of English Language, Introduction

SPEECH SOUND PRODUCTION
PLACE OF ARTICULATION
PHONETICS: LECTURE 1
LANGUAGE
Natural/human language is the system that provides creation of:
1. Infinite number of messages from a finite number of linguistic units;
2. It also enables producing and understanding new words, phrases and sentences,
as necessary.
In short, HUMAN LANGUAGE IS A CREATIVE SYSTEM.
KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE
Linguistics attemts to answer the following questions:
1. What constitutes knowledge of language
2. How is such knowledge acquired
3. How is such knowledge put into use
4. What are the physical mechanisms that serve as the material basis for this sy
stem of knowledge.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF A LANGUAGE
Language consits of:
1. a finite number of words, morphemes and phonemes;
2. An infinite number of their combinations in the sentence;
3. Mechanisms which provide creation of the infinite number of messages from the
very limited number of language elements.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF A LANGUAGE
In other words:
The building blocks in a language are:
Phonemes > morphemes >words > phrases > clauses > text > discourse.
LEVELS OF LINGUISTIC STUDY
Following the building blocks in a language, linguistic study involves the follo
wing linguistic branches:
1. Phonetics and Phonology:
Phonetics studies the following:
A) How the speech sounds are produced ARTICULATORY PHONETICS;
B) The physical properties of speech sounds (acoustic waves) - ACOUSTIC PHONETIC
S;
C) How the speech sounds are perceived and understood by the hearer AUDITORY PHO
NETICS.
PHONOLOGY AND PHONOTACTICS study how the speech sounds are realized and patterne
d in the larger units syllables and morphemes.
MORPHOLOGY is the study of the form of words their internal structure and the co
mponents of the words which are larger than a sound but smaller than a word:
Un-success-ful
Pay-ment-s
SYNTAX is the study of the internal structure of phrases (units larger than a wo
rd but smaller than a clause) but it also deals with the internal structure of c
lauses simple, compound and complex.
SEMANTICS is the study of meaning of individual words and their sense relations
in the lexicon (lexical semantics) but it is also the study of the meaning of s
entences as individual units (sentence semantics).
LEVELS OF LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS
PRAGMATICS is the study of the sentence meaning within the context.
Linguistics also studies the PRODUCTIVE RULES OF A LANGUAGE AS WELL AS THE CONST
RAINTS THAT CAN BE FOUND IN ALL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE.
PHONOLOGY studies the possible combinations of phonemes but also the phonologica
l combinations that are not possible in a language. (constraints)
In English there are words that do not exist but are completely possible, such a
s:
*prasp (by analogy with grasp)
*flib (by analogy with slip)
*traf (by analogy with graph)
These phonological combinations are MEANINGLESS BUT POSSIBLE in English.
PATTERNS AND RESTRICTIONS
However, some phonological patterns combinations in creation of syllables and wo
rds - are impossible (phonotactic restriction):
*psapr
*bfli
*ftra
Not only that these are MEANINGLESS but they are also NOT POSSIBLE in English.
Such phenomena are the filed of the study in PHONOLOGY.
PHONETICS
PHONETICS is a general study of the characteristics of SPEECH SOUNDS.
Human languages display a wide variety of sounds called PHONES or SPEECH SOUNDS
.
There are a great many speech sounds.
However, the class of possible speech sounds is FINITE (limited in number).
Each individual language uses a portion of this class.
PHONETICS
The subbranches of phonetics are:
1. ARTICULATORY PHONETICS that studies the physiological mechanisms of speech pr
oduction. It studies how speech sounds are produced and pronounced.
2. ACOUSTIC PHONETICS is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds a
s acoustic waves in the air. It is concerned with measuring and analysing the p
hysical properties of sound waves that we produce when we speak.
PHONETICS
3. AUDITORY PHONETICS or PERCEPTUAL PHONETICS deals with our perception of speec
h sounds and the way we understand and relate these sounds with the meaning.
THE LINGUISTIC SIGN CONSISTS OF TWO FACES:
ACOUSTIC IMAGE
CONCEPT
PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION
Since the 16th century, efforts have been made to devise a universal system for
transcribing the sounds of speech.
The best known system, THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (IPA) has been devel
oping since 1888.
This system attempts to represent each speech sound with a single symbol.
These symbols are enclosed in brackets: / / to indicate that the transcription
is phonetic and does not represent the spelling system of a particular language
:
E.g. The difference between: /i:/ and /i/ is clearly seen in:
leave /li:v/ vs live /live/
sleep /sli:p/ vs slip /slip/
sheep /?i:p/ vs ship /?ip/
Or:
The difference between /e/ and /a/
can be seen in the following examples
bed /bed/ vs bad /bad/
men /men/ vs man /man/
beg /beg/ vs bag /bag/
We may conclude that if one fails to pronounce the vowel properly, the communica
tion will crash and there might be misinterpretation and misunderstanding.
DISTINCTIVE UNITS
This leads to the conclusion that the speech sounds are THE SMALLEST DISTINCTIVE
UNITS OF A LANGUAGE THAT CAN AFFECT THE MEANING OF THE WORD UTTERED.
Despite the fact that /i/ or /i:/ or /e/ or /a/ individually mean nothing whatso
ever, their presence or absence affects the interpretation of the entire word or
a sentence:
DISTINCTIVE UNITS
/ai/ /k?n/ /si:/ /?/ /?ip/ vs
/ai/ /k?n/ /si:/ /?/ /?i:p/
When we spell the above sentences we shall get two completely different pieces
of information:
DISTINCTIVE UNITS
I can see a ship.
/ai/ /k?n/ /si:/ /?/ /?ip/
And
I can see a sheep.
/ai/ /k?n/ /si:/ /?/ /?i:p/
In speech, the above two pieces of information differ in only one single segment
or a speech soound: /i/ or /i:/
DISTINCTIVE UNITS- A PHONEME
For these reasons the speech sound which, as an abstract unit of a language is c
alled a PHONEME, is in fact, THE SMALLEST DISTINCTIVE UNIT OF A LANGUAGE. It, in
itself, has no meaning but it affects the meaning of a word and the entire info
rmation.
UNITS OF REPRESENTATION
This means that if only one smallest segment or a speech sound is changed the me
aning will be affected.
Compare:
pat The change of only one single
bat distinctive unit (speech sound)
mat changes the meaning of a word.
hat Speech sound is not just a sound.
rat It is a distinctive unit of a
language
cat
ARTICULATORY PHONETICS
This subbrunch of phonetics studies how the speech sounds are produced and pron
ounced.
All the sounds that we make when we speak are the result of muscle contracting.
The muscles in the chest that we use for breathing produce the flow of air that
is needed for almost all speech sounds.
Muscles in the larynx produce many different modifications in the flow of air fr
om the chest to the mouth.
ARTICULATION
1. The air is pushed by the lungs.
2. The air passes through the trachea (windpipe)
3. The air passes into the larynx which contains vocal folds/vocal cords.
4. After passing through the larynx the air goes through what we call the vocal
tract which ends at the mouth and nostrils.
5. Here, the air from the lungs escapes into the atmosphere.
THE VOCAL TRACT
The VOCAL TRACT contains a large and complex set of muscles that can produce ch
anges in the shape of the vocal tract.
To learn about the process of production and pronunciation of the speech sounds
we must become familiar with the different parts of the vocal tract:
THE SOUND PRODUCING SYSTEM
The LUNGS
In order to produce the majority of sounds in the worlds languages, we take air i
nto the lungs and then expel it during speech.
A certain level of air pressure is needed to keep the speech mechanism functioni
ng steadily.
The pressure is maintained by the action of various sets of muscles. The muscles
are primarily: INTERCOSTALS (the muscles between the ribs) and the DIAPHRAGM (t
he large sheet of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen.
THE LARYNX
THE LARYNX
The larynx consists of a framework of cartilage with surrounding soft tissue. Th
e most prominent piece of cartilage is a shield-shaped structure called the thyr
oid cartilage. The anterior portion of the thyroid cartilage can be easily felt
in thin necks as the "Adam's apple".
THE LARYNX
Superior to the thyroid cartilage is a U-shaped bone called the hyoid. The hyoid
bone supports the larynx from above and is itself attached to the mandible by m
uscles and tendons. These attachments are important in elevating the larynx duri
ng swallowing and speech.
The lower part of the larynx consists of a circular piece of cartilage called th
e cricoid cartilage. Below the cricoid are the rings of the trachea.
VOCAL FOLDS/CORDS
In the center of the larynx lie the vocal folds (also known as the vocal cords).
The vocal folds are made of muscles covered by a thin layer called mucosa. Ther
e is a right and left fold, forming a "V" when viewed from above.
During speech the vocal folds are brought close together. As the air passes by t
he vocal folds in this position, they open and close very quickly. The rapid pul
sation of air passing through the vocal folds produces a sound that is then modi
fied by the remainder of the vocal tract to produce speech.
BREATHING
SPEECH
GLOTTAL STATES
The vocal folds may be positioned in a number of ways to produce different glot
tal states.
When the vocal folds are pulled apart then air passes directly through the glott
is. Any sound made with the vocal folds pulled apart is said to be VOICELESS.
VOICING
When the vocal folds are brought close together but not tightly closed, air pass
ing between them causes the vocal folds to vibrate producing sounds that are sai
d to be VOICED.
Another glottal state produces a WHISPER. Whispering is VOICELESS, but the front
portions of the vocal folds are close together while the back portions are apa
rt.
Yet another sound can be produced a MURMUR (whispery voice). The murmur sounds a
re voiced but the vocal folds are relaxed not tense so that they allow enough a
ir to escape and produce a whispery effect.
When air leaves the larynx it enters the vocal tract above the larynx where dif
ferent organs or articulators participate in shaping the final acoustic image of
speech sounds.
VOCAL TRACT
VOCAL TRACT- ARTICULATORS ABOVE THE LARYNX
ARTICULATORS ABOVE THE LARYNX
The jaws and the nasal cavity also participate in sound production but they are
not articulators. It is true that we move the jaws while speaking and we use the
nasal cavity for producing the nasal sounds such as /m/ and /n/. Though they ar
e important equipment in sound production, they do not change the shape of the v
ocal tract and therefore cannot be called articulators in the sense that we trea
t other organs above mentioned.
SOUND CLASSES
The sounds of language can be grouped into CLASSES based on the phonetic propert
ies that they share.
All voiced sounds, for example, form a class.
All voiceless sounds form a class too.
Speech sounds fall into two major classes:
VOWELS and
CONSONANTS
SOUND CLASSES
There is yet another class: GLIDES.
Glides share the properties of both:
VOWELS and
CONSONANTS.
VOWELS, CONSONANTS and GLIDES can be distinguished on the basis of differences
in articulation.
Another criterion for distinguishing vowels, consonants and glides is whether
they function as SYLLABIC or NON-SYLLABIC ELEMENTS.
THE ARTICULATORY DIFFERENCE
CONSONANTS which may be voiced or voiceless, are made with a narrow or complete
closure in the vocal tract.
The airflow is either blocked momentarily or restricted so much that noise is pr
oduced as air flows past the constriction.
VOWELS are produced with little obstruction in the vocal tract and are generally
voiced.
THE ACOUSTIC DIFFERENCE
As a result of the difference in articulation, consonants and vowels differ in t
he way they sound.
VOWELS are more SONOROUS than consonants, and we perceive them as louder and lo
nger lasting.
SYLLABIC AND NON-SYLLABIC SOUNDS
The greater sonority of vowels allows them to form the basis of SYLLABLES.
A SYLLABLE can be defined phonetically as a PEAK OF SONORITY SURROUNDED BY LESS
SONOROUS SEGMENTS.
SONOROUS SEGMENTS HAVE A RICHER SOUND THAN NON-SONOROUS ONES.
EXAMPLE:
The words a and go each contain one syllable.
The word laughing contains 2 syllables.
The word telephone contains 3.
In counting the syllables in a word, we are, in fact, counting the VOWELS.
A VOWEL is called the NUCLEUS of a SYLLABLE.
VOWELS VS CONSONANTS
The major differences between VOWELS and CONSONANTS ARE:
VOWELS (and other syllabic elements):
1. ARE PRODUCED WITH RELATIVELY LITTLE OBSTRUCTION IN THE VOCAL TRACT
2. ARE MORE SONOROUS.
CONSONANTS (non-syllabic elements):
1. ARE PRODUCED WITH A NARROW OR COMPLETE CLOSURE IN THE VOCAL TRACT;
2. ARE LESS SONOROUS.
glides
GLIDES ARE THE TYPE OF SOUND THAT SHOWS PROPERTIES OF BOTH CONSONANTS AND VOWELS
.
GLIDES may be defined as RAPIDLY ARTICULATED VOWELS. This is the auditory impres
sion they produce.
glides
GLIDES are produced with an articulation like that of a vowel. However, they mov
e quickly to another articulation.
This is the case with the glides /j/ and /w/ like in
YET and WET
YELLOW and WIND
Even though they are vowel-like in articulation, glides function as consonants.
For instance, GLIDES CAN NEVER FORM THE NUCLEUS OF A SYLLABLE.
Since glides show the properties of both consonants and vowels the term SEMIVOWE
L and SEMICONSONANT.
CONSONANT ARTICULATION
We have seen that a speech sound has at least three stages available for investi
gation:
1. The production;
2. Transmission and
3. Reception stages.
A complete description of a sound should, therefore, include the information con
cerning all three stages.
CONSONANT ARTICULATION
CONSONANTS are most easily described mainly in terms of their articulation, wher
eas vowel sounds require for their description a predominance of auditory impres
sions.
CONSONANTS are those segments which OCCUR AT THE EDGES OF SYLLABLES.
VOWELS are those which OCCUR AT THE CENTRE OF SYLLABLES:
E.g. red; wed; dead; lead; said
The sounds represented by
<r, w, d, l, s> are consonants
While in:
beat; bit; bet; but; bought
The sounds represented by
<i: ; i; e; ?; ?:> are vowels
CONSONANTS ARTICULATION
The description of consonants articulation must provide answers to the folowing
questions:
1. Is the airstream set in motion by the lungs or by some other means (pulmonic
or non-pulmonic);
2. Is the airstream forced outwards or sucked inwards (egressive or ingressive)
3. Do the vocal folds vibrate or not (voiced or voiceless)
4. Is the soft palate raised, directing the stream wholly through the mouth, or
is it lowered, allowing the passage of air through the nose (oral, nasal or nasa
lized)
5. At what point or points and between what organs does the closure or narrowing
take place? (PLACE OF ARTICULATION)
6. What is the type of closure or narrowing at the point of articulation? (MANNE
R OF ARTICULATION)
For example: If we want to describe the speech sound /z/ in the word easy, the fol
lowing description should be given:
1. pulmonic
2. egressive
3. voiced
4. oral
5. tongue tip alveolar ridge
6. fricative
These answers provide a concise label for the sound.
PLACES OF ARTICULATION OF CONSONANTS
Airflow is modified in the oral cavity by the placement of the tongue and the po
sitioning of the lips.
These modifications occur at specific places or points of articulation.
The primary articulating organ is the tongue which is very agile.
It can be raised, lowered, thrust forward or drawn back, and even rolled back.
The sides of the tongue can also be raised or lowered.
TONGUE AREAS
Phonetic description refers to five areas of the tongue:
1. The TIP is the narrow area at the front
2. The BLADE lies just behind the tip;
3. The BODY is the main mass of the tongue
4. The BACK is the hindmost part of the tongue in the mouth.
The BODY and the BACK of the tongue can also be jointly referred to as the DORS
UM.
5. The ROOT of the tongue is contained in the upper part of the throat (pharynx)
.
PLACES OF ARTICULATION
EACH POINT AT WHICH THE AIRSTREAM CAN BE MODIFIED TO PRODUCE A DIFFERENT SOUND I
S CALLED A PLACE OF ARTICULATION.
Places of articulation can be found at the LIPS; within the ORAL CAVITY; in the
PHARYNX, and at the GLOTTIS.
LABIAL CONSONANTS
Any sound made with closure or near closure of the lips is said to be LABIAL.
1. Sounds involving both lips are BILABIAL.
2. Sounds involving the lower lip and upper teeth are LABIODENTALS.
1. INITIAL BILABIALS IN ENGLISH ARE:
p like in peer
b like in bin
m like in month
2. INITIAL LABIODENTALS IN ENGLISH ARE:
f like in fire
v like in very
DENTAL CONSONANTS
When the tongue is placed against or near the teeth the produced sounds are call
ed DENTALS.
If the tongue is placed between the teeth the sound is called INTERDENTAL.
INTERDENTALS in English are:
? - like in three
? - like in this
ALVEOLAR CONSONANTS
Within the oral cavity, a small ridge protrudes from just behind the upper front
teeth. This is called ALVEOLAR RIDGE.
The tongue may touch or be brought near this ridge in the production of certain
sounds. Such sounds are described as ALVEOLAR.
Initial ALVEOLAR sounds are:
t like in top
d like in deer
s like in soap
z like in zipper
l like in lip
n like in neck
Palato-alveolar and palatal consonants
Just behind the alveolar ridge, the roof of the mouth rises sharply. This area
is known as the palato-alveolar (or alveopalatal) area.
The highest part of the roof of the mouth is called the PALATE, and sounds produ
ced with the tongue on or near this area are called PALATALS.
Palato-alveolar and palatal consonants
PALATO-ALVEOLAR consonants are:
? - like in shirt
? - like in measure
t? - like in chair
d? - like in journey
THE WORD-INITIAL PALATAL GLIDE IS:
j like in Yes
VELAR CONSONANTS
The soft area towards the rear of the roof of the mouth is called the VELUM.
Sounds made with the tongue touching or near this position are called VELARS.
VELARS are:
k like in call
g like in goal
? like in hang
THE GLIDE
w like in wet is called LABIOVELAR GLIDE, since the tongue is raised near the ve
lum and the lips are rounded at the same time.
UVULARS
The small fleshy flap of tissue known as the UVULA hangs down from the velum. So
unds made with the tongue near or touching this area are called UVULARS.
English has no uvulars, but the sound r pronounced in European French (Parisian
French) is uvular speech sound.
PHARYNGEALS
The area of the throat between the uvula and the larynx is known as the pharynx.
Sounds made through the modification of airflow in this region by retracting th
e tongue or constricting the pharynx are called PHARYNGEALS.
Pharyngeals exist in many dialects of Arabic but do not exist in English.
GLOTTAL CONSIONANTS
Sounds produced by using the vocal folds as the primary articulators are called
GLOTTALS.
An obstruction, or a narrowing causing friction but not vibration takes place b
etween the vocal folds.
The sound /h/ at the beginning of the English words:
hug
heat
Is made at the glottis.
SECONDARY PLACE OF ARTICULATION
In the case of some consonantal sounds, there may be a secondary place of artic
ulation, in addition to the primary.
Thus, in so-called DARK /?/ as in the words: middle or pull, in addition to the
partial alveolar contact, there is an essential raising of the back of the tongu
e towards the velum (velarization).
SECONDARY PLACE OF ARTICULATION
And again, some sounds may be articulated by slight lip-rounding (labialization
).
THE PLACE OF PRIMARY ARTICULATION GIVES RISE TO THE GREATEST OBSTRUCTION TO THE
AIRFLOW.
THE SECONDARY ARTICULATION EXHIBITS THE STRICTURE OF LESSER RANK.
WHERE THERE ARE TWO COEXTENSIVE STRICTURES OF EQUAL RANK, AN EXAMPLE OF DOUBLE
ARTICULATION RESULTS.
_________________________
FONETIKA 2
_________________________
SPEECH SOUNDS
DESCRIPTION AND CLASSIFICATION
MANNERS OF ARTICULATION
MANNERS OF ARTICULATION
The lips, tongue, velum and glottis can be positioned in different ways to produ
ce different sound types. These various configurations are called the MANNERS OF
ARTICULATION.
ORAL VERSUS NASAL PHONES
A basic distinction in manner of articulation is between ORAL and NASAL phones.
When the velum is raised, cutting off the airflow through the nasal passages, OR
AL SOUNDS are produced.
However, the velum can be lowered to allow air to pass through the nasal passag
es, producing a sound that is NASAL.
NASAL SOUNDS
Both consonants and vowels can be nasal, in which case they are generally voiced
.
NASAL CONSONANTS in English are:
n like in sun
m like in sum
? - like in sing
NASAL VOWELS in North American English are:
a - like in bank
i - like in wink
MANNER OF ARTICULATION
The obstruction made by the organs may be total, intermittent or partial, or mer
ely constitute a narrowing sufficient to cause friction.
The chief types of articulation, in decreasing degrees of closure are the foll
owing:
(1) COMPLETE CLOSURE
PLOSIVE: A complete closure at some point in the vocal tract, behind which the a
ir pressure builds up and can be released axplosively /p, b, t, d, k, g, ? - glo
ttal stop/.
AFFRICATE: a COMPLETE CLOSURE AT SOME POINT IN THE VOCAL TRACT, BEHIND WHICH THE
AIR PRESSURE BUILDS UP. The separation of the organs is, however, slow compared
with that of a plosive, so that friction is a characteristic second element of
the sound: /t?; d?/
NASAL: A complete closure at some point in the mouth but, the soft palate being
lowered, the air escapes through the nose. These sounds are continuants and, in
the voiced form, have no noise component. They are, to this extent, vowel-like /
m, n, ?/.
(2) INTERMITTENT CLOSURE
TRILL (or ROLL): A series of rapid intermittent closures made by a flexible org
an on a firmer surface, for instance /r/, where the tongue tip trills against th
e alveolar ridge (as in Spanish perro), or /R/ where the uvula trills against th
e back of tongue (as in French rouge).
TAP: A single tap made by a flexible organ on a firmer surface, for instance /?/
where the tongue tip taps once once against the teeth ridge as in many Scottis
h pronunciations of English /r/.
(3) PARTIAL CLOSURE
LATERAL: A partial but firm closure is made at some point in the mouth, the airs
tream being allowed to escape on one or both sides of the contact.
These sounds may be continuant and frictionless and therefore, vowel-like (these
are APPROXIMANTS like /l/ and /?/ or they may be accompanied by a little fricti
on /l/ as in the word fling, or by considerable friction as in the word please.
(4) NARROWING
FRICATIVE: Two organs approximate to such an extent that the airstream passes be
tween them with friction. In English these sounds are: f, v, ?; ?; s, z, ?; ?; (
which occurs at the beginning of the word huge);
x (which occurs at the beginning of which or loch etc. in Scottish pronunciation
; and /h/
(5) NARROWING WITHOUT FRICTION:
APPROXIMANT (OR FRICTIONLESS CONTINUANT): A narrowing is made in the mouth but
the narrowing is not quite sufficient to cause friction. In being frictionless a
nd continuant, approximants are vowel-like.
However, they function phonologically as consonants, meaning that they appear a
t the edges of syllables. (before or after the vowel)
Approximants are: /j/ /w/ /r/ and /l/
OBSTRUENTS AND SONORANTS
Sometimes it is useful to classify categories of sounds according to their NOIS
E COMPONENT.
Those sounds in whose production the constriction impeding the airflow through
the vocal tract is sufficient to cause noise are known as OBSTRUENTS.
OBSTRUENTS
The category of OBSTRUENTS comprises
PLOSIVES /p, b, t, d, k, g/
FRICATIVES /f, v, s, z, ?; ?; ?; ?; h/
and
AFFRICATES /t?; d?/
SONORANTS
SONORANTS are those voiced sounds in which there is NO NOISE COMPONENT.
These are:
VOICED NASALS /m, n, ?/
APPROXIMANTS /l, r, w/ and
VOWELS
FORTIS AND LENIS (strong & weak)
A VOICELESS/VOICED pair such as English /s, z/ are distinguished not only by the
presence or absence of voice but also by the degree of breath and muscular effo
rt involved in the articulation.
FORTIS AND LENIS (strong & weak)
Those English consonants which are usually voiced tend to be articulated with re
latively WEAK energy, whereas those which are always voiceless are relatively ST
RONG.
STRONG and WEAK consonants are usually called FORTIS and LENIS respectively.
VOWELS
VOWELS are speech sounds normally made with a voiced egressive airstream without
any closure or narrowing that would produce the noise component which is the ch
aracteristic of many consonants.
The escape of the air is accomplished in an unimpeded way over the middle line o
f the tongue.
VOWELS
The glottal tone is modified by the action of of the upper resonators of the mou
th, pharyngeal and nasal cavities.
The movable organs are mainly responsible for shaping these resonators.
These organs are: soft palate, lips and tongue.
VOWELS
The description of vowels includes:
(1) the position of the SOFT PALATE RAISED FOR ORAL VOWELS; LOWERED FOR NASALIZ
ED VOWELS;
(2) the shape of the opening formed by lips DEGREE OF SPREADING OR ROUNDING OF L
IPS;
(3) THE PART OF TONGUE WHICH IS RAISED THE DEGREE OF RAISING.
VOWELS
Of all these three factors only the second (THE LIP POSITION) can be easily desc
ribed by visual means.
Our judgement of the activity of the soft palate depends on the presence or abs
ence of the nasality in the speech sound produced.
The movements of the tongue largely determine the shape of the mouth and pharyng
eal cavities.
VOWELS
Since we cannot see the movements of the soft palate and tongue, vowel descripti
on is usually based on the auditory judgements and sound relationships together
with some articulatory information, especially as regards to the position of li
ps.
Certain positions and gross movement of the tongue can be felt.
VOWELS
For instance, if we want to describe the vowels /i:/ and /a/ in both cases the f
ront part of the tongue is raised. We could say that they are FRONT VOWELS.
However, if the back part of the tongue is in its highest position we can descri
be them as BACK VOWELS, such as /a:/ or /u:/.
Another characteristic is that in the case of /i:/ and /u:/ we can say that they
are CLOSE whereas /a:/ and /a/ are OPEN because of the position of the lower ja
w.
VOWELS
VOWELS
CARDINAL VOWELS
However, a finer and more precise system of description is needed, on both the a
uditory and the articulatory levels.
The most satisfactory scheme is that devised by Daniel Jones and known as the CA
RDINAL VOWEL SYSTEM. It is based on physiological characteristics of vowels:
CARDINAL VOWELS
CARDINAL VOWELS
NASALITY
Besides the information concerning lip and tongue positions which the chart den
otes, a vowel description must also indicate whether the vowel is purely ORAL or
NASALIZED.
All the cardinal vowels may be transformed into their nasalized counterparts if
the soft palate is lowered.
SUMMARY - VOWELS
Unlike consonants that are mostly articulated via closure or obstruction in the
vocal tract,
VOWELS ARE PRODUCED WITH THE RELATIVELY FREE FLOW OF AIR AND WITH THE VIBRATION
OF THE VOCAL FOLDS.
VOWELS ARE MOSTLY DESCRIBED AS TO THE WAY IN WHICH THE POSITION OF THE TONGUE IN
FLUENCES THE SHAPE OF THE RESONATOR (MOUTH CAVITY) THROUGH WHICH THE AIRSTREAM M
UST PASS.
SUMMARY - VOWELS
In this sense, VOWELS MAY BE:
HIGH or FRONT: if produced with the FRONT PART OF THE TONGUE IN A RAISED (HIGH
) POSITION.
LOW or BACK: if produced with the BACK PART OF THE TONGUE IN A LOWERED (LOW) PO
SITION.
SUMMARY - VOWELS
FRONT VOWELS are:
/i/ like in: beef, thief, chief
/e/ like in: dead; said
/a/ like in: bad; wrap; man
CENTRAL VOWELS are:
/?/ like in above, support; hurt
/?/ like in blood, cup, sun
/a/ like in part; car; start
SUMMARY - VOWELS
BACK VOWELS are:
/u:/ like in move; two; you
/?/ like in could; put; book
/?:/ like in fall; raw; born
/?/ like in Bob; swan; cot
Each of these may be nasalized if positioned close to the nasal consonants.
Phonology and THE LINGUISTIC HIERARCHY
The building blocks of a language are:
Speech sounds (phonemes) > morphemes > words > phrases > clauses (sentences)
The minimal unit of a language is a speech sound. Yet, the question is:
Do the speech sounds mean anything?
PHONOLOGY
If, for, instance, we analyse the word:
BOYS
We can see that it consists of the units smaller than a word:
Boy + s
In spite of the fact that the individual speech sounds in: B O Y mean nothing,
we can still notice that the sound -S attached to the stem BOY means something
it means: MORE THAN ONE ENTITY called BOY.
PHONOLOGY
Therefore, we can say that the linguistic units smaller than a word are MORPHE
MES THEY ARE THE MINIMAL ELEMENTS OF A LANGUAGE THAT HAVE THE MEANING.
However, the speech sounds in B-O-Y individually mean nothing.
But, if we compare the words:
BOY
TOY
JOY
We can see that the change of just one speech sound may affect the meaning of th
e entire expression.
PHONEME
For this reason we shall say that a speech sound which is called a PHONEME (as a
n abstract mental image of a speech sound) IS THE SMALLEST CONTRASTIVE LINGUISTI
C UNIT WHICH MAY CHANGE THE MEANING (although a phoneme itself has no meaning w
hatsoever).
To establish the PHONEMES in a language we can use MINIMAL PAIRS.
PHONEME
MINIMAL PAIRS ARE THE PAIRS OF WORDS DISTINGUISHED BY A SINGLE PHONEME:
OPPOSITION IN THE INITIAL POSITION:
tame hat pie two
game pat tie do
name bat die zoo
lame rat buy who /h/
dame cat high woo
MINIMAL PAIRS
However, it is not sufficient to consider only one position (initial position) i
n the word.
Possibilities of phonemic opposition can be found in the medial and final positi
on as well.
OPPOSITION IN THE MEDIAL POSITION:
letter /let?/ latter /lat?/
leather /le??/ ladder /lad?/
MINIMAL PAIRS
OPPOSITION IN THE FINAL POSITION:
son /s?n/
some /s?m/
sung /s??/
For all the above reasons we say that A PHONEME IS THE MEANING-DISTINGUISHING U
NIT IN A LANGUAGE.
However, A PHONEME IS AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT/UNIT A PHONEME IS A SOUND TYPE (not an
actual speech sound). It is an abstract mental image of a speech sound
PHONEME
SLASH MARKS ARE USED TO INDICATE THIS ABSTRACT SEGMENT OF THE SPEECH SOUND:
E.g. /t/; /z/; /f/; /a:/ etc.
A PHONEME FUNCTIONS CONTRASTIVELY.
IF THERE ARE DISTINCT PHONEMES such as /r/ and /h/
THEN 2 WORDS HAVE DIFFERENT MEANING:
rat
hat
THIS CAN BE USED AS A TEST FOR DETERMINING THAT A SPEECH SOUND HAS THE STATUS OF
A PHONEME IN A LANGUAGE.
PHONEME
EACH PHONEME HAS ITS DISTINCTIVE FEATURES:
/p/
can be described as
/p/ /-voice, +labial, + stop/
As its counterpart /b/ has one distinctive feature different:
/b/ /+voice, +bilabial, +stop/
THIS REPRESENTATION OF SPEECH SOUNDS USING THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE SOUND
TO DESCRIBE IT IS CALLED COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS.
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
Such a description of speech sounds in
terms of their distinctive features involves explaining all the contrasts of a l
anguage in terms of BINARY DISTINCTIVE FEATURES and suggesting that there is a s
et of binary features that we mark as + or -.
+ meaning that the feature is present
- meaning that such a feature is absent
The description of speech sounds using their distinctive features usually involv
es the place or the manner of articulation as well as activity of the vocal fold
s in production of a specific speech sound.
However, the features involving the place of articulation have been turned into
only two distinctive features:
CORONAL and
ANTERIOR
CORONAL means that the speech sound is made with the BLADE OF THE TONGUE RAISE
D ABOVE THE NEUTRAL POSITION.
ANTERIOR means that the speech sound is made IN FRONT OF THE HARD PALATE:
CORONAL AND ANTERIOR SPEECH SOUNDS
ALLOPHONES
A PHONEME IS AN ABSTRACT (MENTAL) CONCEPT/UNIT OF A LANGUAGE
No two realizations of a phoneme are the same.
This is true even when the same word is repeated.
VARIANTS OF THE SAME PHONEME OCCURING IN DIFFERENT WORDS OR IN DIFFERENT POSITIO
NS IN A WORD WILL FREQUENTLY SHOW CONSISTENT PHONETIC DIFFERENCES.
SUCH CONSISTENT VARIANTS ARE CALLED ALLOPHONES.
ALLOPHONES
The same difference exists for the sound /t/ in the words:
tar /ta:/ and
star /sta:/
While in the first word the sound /t/ is produced with aspiration [tha:] in the
second word it is simply produced as a voiceless sound with no aspiration: [sta:
].
Aspirated and non-aspirated variant of the phoneme /t/ are called allophones.
ALLOPHONES
Similar situation is with the phoneme /l/:
The phoneme /l/ is not identically pronounced in the following words:
leave /li:v/ and
middle /midl/
The first /l/ is so-called CLEAR /l/ with a front vowel resonance, while /l/ in th
e word middle is so-called DARK [?] with the symbol [?]. The quality of the dark [?]
is the back vowel resonance.
COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION
The difference in the quality is related to the position of the phoneme in a wor
d or syllable.
In such cases we say that the allophones [l] and [?] of the same phoneme /l/ ar
e in complementary distribution.
Complementary distribution is the relation between sounds whose distribution do
not overlap. The alophones that are in complementary distribution never occur i
n the same contexts.
FREE VARIATION
There is yet another notion related to allophones of the same phoneme.
It is FREE VARIATION.
When the same speaker produces noticably different pronunciations of the same wo
rd the different realizations of the phonemes are said to be in FREE VARIATION.
E.g. In a word cat final /t/ may be produced as the exploding or the non-explod
ing sound.
Phonemes vs allophones
The crucial difference between PHONEMES and ALLOPHONES is:
The substitution of a PHONEME results in another word and another meaning
- The substitution of an ALLOPHONE does not result in a new word and does not af
fect the meaning. The word still remains the same.
PHONOLOGY
While phonetics is a general study of the characteristics of speech sounds:
The way they are produced
The way they are perceived (heard) and interpreted
The physical characteristics of sound waves produced in phonation.
PHONOLOGY IS THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM AND PATTERNS OF SPEECH SOUNDS IN A LA
NGUAGE.
PHONOLOGY
Phonology is about the underlying design, the blue print of each sound type a PH
ONEME as an abstract phonological unit and its actual realization in different w
ords and phonological contexts.
PHONOTACTICS IS YET ANOTHER SUBBRANCH OF PHONOLOGY THAT DEALS WITH THE SYSTEMATI
C PATTERNS OF SOUND COMBINATIONS PERMITTED IN A LANGUAGE.
phonotactics
Knowing the patterns of speech sounds combinations:
-we can predict possible but non-existing words in a language
-we can also predict which combinations are unacceptable and impossible in a lan
guage.
PHONOTACTICS STUDIES THE CONSTRAINTS ON SOUND COMBINATIONS: PERMITTED AND UNPERM
ITTED COMBINATIONS.
phonotactics
There are rules of phonotactics that can predict:
A) WORDS THAT ARE POSSIBLE BUT DO NOT EXIST:
*prasp (cf. grasp)
*flib (cf. slip)
*traf (cf. graph)
The above words are POSSIBLE BUT MEANINGLESS.
PHONOTACTICS
B)WORDS THAT ARE NOT AT ALL POSSIBLE AND THEREFORE DO NOT EXIST:
*psapr
*bfli
*ftra
The above words are not possible combinations to create syllables and words.
They are IMPOSSIBLE AND MEANINGLESS.
PHONOTACTICS
Phonotactics (from Ancient Greek phon? "voice, sound" and taktiks "having to do w
ith arranging) is a branch of phonology that deals with restrictions in a languag
e on the permissible combinations of phonemes. Phonotactics defines permissible
syllable structure, consonant clusters, and vowel sequences by means of phonotac
tical constraints.
SYLLABLES
A SYLLABLE must contain a VOWEL or VOWEL-LIKE SOUND (diphtong).
The common syllable has:
CONSONANT (C) before the VOWEL (V)
The basic elements of a syllable are:
ONSET (1 or more consonants) followed by
RHYME (containing a VOWEL (nucleus) and possible consonant (coda).
INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF A SYLLABLE
SYLLABLE
ONSET RHYME
CONSONANT(S) NUCLEUS CODA

VOWEL CONSONANT(S)
TYPES OF SYLLABLES
SYLLABLES usually (but not necessarily) have an ONSET but they neednt have the CO
DA.
There are two (2) types of syllables:
1. OPEN SYLLABLES:
ONSET + NUCLEUS NO CODA
E.g.
me; too; no; spa
TYPES OF SYLLABLES
2. CLOSED SYLLABLES:
ONSET + NUCLEUS + CODA
green (CCVC)
ham (CVC)
and (VCC)
red (CVC)
spring (CCCVCC)
Phonotactics
Phonotactics also deals with:
CONSONANT CLUSTERS.
Since both ONSET and CODA can consist of more than one (1) consonant, CONSONANT
CLUSTERS ARE SITUATIONS WHEN EITHER ONSET OR CODA CONSIST OF MORE THAN 1 CONSONA
NT.
THESE CLUSTERS ARE STUDIED WITHIN THE FIELD OF STUDY OF PHONOTACTICS.
PHONOTACTICS
For example:
Clusters with the sounds /s/ and /t/ = consonant cluster /st/ is a possible con
sonant combination in English in both: onset and coda:
ONSET: stop; stay; star; stool...
CODA: post; ghost; toast; roast...
PHONOTACTICS
There are many different consonant clusters permitted in English such as:
/bl/: blood; blow; bleed ...
/br/: bring; broom; bread; break...
/tr/: trick, tray; tree; true...
/fl/ flee, flow, flirt, fly.... Etc.
Larger clusters involve more than 2 consonants: CCC:
stress; splash; stray, spring....
PHONOTACTICS
PHONOTACTICS ALSO DEALS WITH COARTICULATION EFFECTS SUCH AS:
NEUTRALIZATION when a contrast between two phonemes is lost:
e.g. dicussed/disgust where /k/ and /g/ may be neutralized.
PHONOTACTICS
ASSIMILLATION when two sounds occur in sequence and some aspect of 1 sound is ta
ken or copied by the other:
E.g.
have to /haft?/
ELISION when some sound is not pronounced in certain contexts (it is elided)
E.g.
You and me /ju: ?n mi:/
etc.
_________________________
FONETIKA 3
_________________________
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION and
standard american pronunciation (GA)
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION - RP
British received pronunciation (RP), by definition,the usual speech of educated
people living in London and southeastern England, is one of the many forms of st
andard speech.
Other pronunciations, although not standard, are entirely acceptible in their ow
n right on conversational levels.
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION
Other names have been proposed, such as
GENERAL BRITISH (GB) and
EDUCATED SOUTHERN BRITISH ENGLISH.
BBC PRONUNCIATION or
BBC ACCENT
CONSONANT CHART-transcription
VOWEL CHART - TRANSCRIPTION
DIPHTONG CHART closing diphtongs
DIPHTONG CHART CENTRING DIPHTONGS
RP is basically a regional (geographical) dialect as contrasted to COCKNEY which
is a class (social) dialect.
RP is not superior to other varieties of English.
It is itself only one particular reginal dialect that has, through the accident
s of history, achieved a more extensive use than others.
Although acquiring its unique status without the aid of any established authori
ty, this variety of English may have been fostered by the public schools (Eton,
Harrow, Rugby etc) and the ancient universities (Oxford and Cambridge).
Other varieties of English are well preserved in spite of the influences of fil
m, television and radio.
Other dialects spoken in Britain that deserve to be mentioned are:Scottish Engl
ish, Cockney, Northern English.
General American and Australian English are also dialects widely spread outside
Britain.
AMERICAN ENGLISH
The traditional division of the United States for pronunciation purposes is into
EASTERN
( including New England and New York City)
SOUTHERN
(stretching from Virginia to Texas and to all points sothwards) and
GENERAL
(all the remaining area)
GENERAL AMERICAN
GENERAL AMERICAN (GA) can be regarded as the form of American which does not hav
e marked regional characteristics.
In this way it is comparable to RP.
It is a standard model of pronunciation of English also in parts of Asia (the P
hillipines) and parts of Latin America (Mexico)
RP and GA
There are two areas of systemic difference between RP and GA.
GENERAL AMERICAN:
1) has no /?/ sound.
Those words which have /?/ vowel in RP are pronounced with /a:/ in General Ameri
can:
Spot /spa:t/ instead of /sp?t/
Pocket /pa:kit/ instead of /p?kit/
Bottle /ba:dl/ instead of /b?tl/
RP and GA
RP and GA
However, a limited subset of words has the long vowel /?:/ such as:
gone, across, often.
2) The second major difference between RP and GA is that General American lacks
some RP diphtongs:
/i?/, /e?/ and /??/
In GA these are pronounced as:
VOWEL + /r/
RP and GA
RP and GA
This reflects the distributional difference between RP and GA:
In RP: /r/ can occur BEFORE VOWELS
In GA: /r/ can occur BEFORE CONSONANTS and BEFORE PAUSE.
For this reason:
GENERAL AMERICAN is called a RHOTIC DIALECT.
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION is a NON-RHOTIC DIALECT.
RP and GA
The main difference of lexical incidence concerns words which in RP have /a:/ wh
ile in GA they have /a/.
Like the change from /?/ to /?:/, this change, too, involves the context BEFORE
THE VOICELESS FRICATIVE, or BEFORE A NASAL FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER CONSONANT:

RP and GA
RP and GA
Differences are numerous between the two systems of pronunciation.
However we shall mention only the most salient ones.
Among vowels these differences also include the realization of the diphtongs:
/ei/ and
/??/
RP and GA
In fact, the RP diphtong /ei/ is pronounced as a monophtong /e:/ in General Ame
rican.
On the other hand, the RP diphtong /??/ is pronounced as /o:/ in General America
n.
We shall compare the pronunciation in words such as:
late
load
RP and GA
RP and GA
CONSONANTS:
Among the consonants, /r/ is either phonetically realized in such a manner that
the tip of the tongue is curled further backwards that in RP, or a similar au
ditory effect is achieved by bunching the body of the tongue upwards and backwar
ds.
RP and GA
In General American the consonant /t/ is usually pronounced as a VOICED TAP:
better /be??/
/l/ is generally pronounced as dark [?] in all positions in General American unl
ike RP where /l/ is a clear /l/ before vowels and dark [?] in other positions.
There are numerous other differences between RP and GA but we have mentioned onl
y the major and most prominent ones.
SCOTTISH ENGLISH
VOWEL SYSTEM
The typical vowel system of Scottish English (SE) involves:
1. the loss of the RP distinction between
/a:/ and /a/
/u:/ and /?/
/?:/ and /?/
These vowels are generally long and reduced only before nasal sounds and voiced
plosives.
SCOTTISH ENGLISH
For these reasons, in Scottish English the words such as:
ant/aunt /a/
soot/suit /u:/
caught/cot /?:/
Are pronounced similarly.
SCOTTISH ENGLISH
SE also has no diphtongs such as:
/i?/, /e?/ and /??/.
Like American English, Scottish English is RHOTIC so that the words:
beard
fare
dour
Are pronounced in the following manner:
SCOTTISH ENGLISH
SCOTTISH ENGLISH
The diphtong /??/ is also monophtongal /o:/.
Therefore, a word such as:
coat /k??t/ is pronounced as:
coat /ko:t/.
So the vowels in the words:
fare and
coat
are similar to those in American English.
SCOTTISH ENGLISH
In the case of consonants, the chief difference lies in the use of the tap [?]
Like in:
red [?ed]
trip [t?ip]
The phoneme /l/ is most commonly pronounced as dark [?] like in:
plough [p?a?].
Finally, intervocalic /t/ is often realized as a glottal stop:
butter [b???]
COCKNEY
The term Cockney rather than London English is used because, unlike General Amer
ican and Scottish English, Cockney is not a regional but a class dialect.
It includes a considerable vocabulary of its own as well.
Cockney pronunciation is largely spread through the working class of London.
Some traces of Cockney pronunciation are also present in most middle-class spee
ch of that area.
COCKNEY
Unlike General American and Scottish English, there are no differences in the in
ventory of vowel phonemes between RP and Cockney.
However, there are a number of differences in their realization.
The short front vowels tend to be CLOSER than in RP.
COCKNEY
Since they are closer, there is very little difference in pairs such as:
sat /sat/
set /set/
that sound almost the same.
The same case is with
set /set/ and
sit /sit/
That also sound similar.
COCKNEY
Among the long vowels, most noticeable is the diphtongization of the vowel /i:/
that sounds as [?i] and /u:/.
/u:/ may be pronounced as [?u].
Long vowel /?:/ varies between
[??] if the morpheme is in the medial position and
[?w?] if the morpheme is in the final position.
COCKNEY
COCKNEY
Diphtongs are also pronounced in a different manner in Cockney:
/ei/ is pronounced [ai]
/ai/ is pronounced [?i]
/??/ is pronounced [a?]
/a?/ is pronounced [a:]
Here are a few examples:
COCKNEY
COCKNEY
CONSONANTS:
/h/ is very often ommitted in Cockney.
/?,?/ are replaced by /f,v/
Dark [?] and /l/ becomes vocalic [?]
/t/ becomes glottal stop [?] between vowels.
There is also a glottal replacement of
/p,t,k/ before a following consonant
/j/ is elided after alveolar plosives.
COCKNEY
COCKNEY
Cockney has consistently had a major influence on the development of RP.
Nowadays, the regional type of RP is heavily influenced by Cockney and it is re
ferred to as ESTUARY ENGLISH. (A middle-class pronunciation typical of the Thame
s estuary).
NORTHERN ENGLISH
The label Northern English is used to identify pronunciation systems in the north
of England. In this region there are differences in pronuncations but there are
also some things that all the varieties in this region have in common.
NORTHERN ENGLISH
VOWELS:
1. The difference between RP /?/ and /?/ is lost
So that put and cut rhyme they are both pronounced with the vowel /?/
put /p?t/
cut /k?t/
up /?p/
under /?nd?/
NORTHERN ENGLISH
On the other hand, in the attempt to correct the regional RP in some regions /
?/ is pronounced as /?/
sugar /??g?/
put /p?t/
pussy /p?si/
/a:/ is changed to /a/
past /past/
laugh /laf/
aunt /ant/
NORTHERN ENGLISH
Where RP has /?/ in prefixes, in Northern English it is pronounced as a full vo
wel such as: /a/ or /?/:
advance /advans/
consume /k?nsju:m/
observe / ?bz??v/
NORTHERN ENGLISH
The short vowels are most often realized with more open qualities:
mad /mad/
The diphtongs /ei/ and /??/ are commonly monophtongal /e:/ and /o:/
as in General American and Scottish English.
In some areas the diphtong /e?/ is lost and replaced by /??/
/a?/ may be pronounced as /u:/ while
/u:/ becomes /i?/.
NORTHERN ENGLISH
CONSONANTS:
In Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, for instance /r/ is pronounced as / ?/
A single consonant /?/ becomes /?g/ with /g/ phoneme pronounced.
singing /si?gi?g/
AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
Australian English shares many features with Cockney, but, has, of course, some
features specific for this variety of English.
As in Cockney, Australian English has no differences of phonemic inventory compa
red to RP.
As in Cockney /i:/ and /u:/ are diphtongized and realized as /?i/ and /?u/.
AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
Short vowels are all closer than in RP.
Sometimes /?/ is realized as /i:/ in word-final position or as /?/ in other posi
tions. For example:
city /s?ti/
In diphtongs, Australian English, just like Cockney changes the diphtong
/ei/ into /ai/
/ai/ into /?i/
And converges the quality of
/??/ into /?u/
AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
However, diphtongs ending in /?/ are monophtongized:
/i?/ > /i:/
clear [kli:] instead of RP /kli?/
/e?/ > /?:/
fare [f?:] instead of RP /fe?/
AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
/??/ > /?:/ like in
sure [??:] instead of /???/
Or it becomes disyllabic like in
sewer [su:?] instead of /s??/
Although Australian English drops /h/ it does not use glottal stop typical for C
ockney.
It also has dark [?] in all positions.
_________________________
FONETIKA 4
_________________________
VOWELS
SOUND CLASSES
The sounds of language can be grouped into CLASSES based on the phonetic propert
ies that they share.
All voiced sounds, for example, form a class.
All voiceless sounds form a class too.
Speech sounds fall into two major classes:
VOWELS and
CONSONANTS
There is yet another class: GLIDES.
Glides share the properties of both:
VOWELS and
CONSONANTS.
VOWELS, CONSONANTS and GLIDES can be distinguished on the basis of differences
in articulation.
Another criterion for distinguishing vowels, consonants and glides is whether
they function as SYLLABIC or NON-SYLLABIC ELEMENTS.
CONSONANTS which may be voiced or voiceless, are made with a narrow or complete
closure in the vocal tract.
The airflow is either blocked momentarily or restricted so much that noise is pr
oduced as air flows past the constriction.
VOWELS are produced with little obstruction in the vocal tract and are generally
voiced.
As a result of the difference in articulation, consonants and vowels differ in t
he way they sound.
VOWELS are more SONOROUS than consonants, and we perceive them as louder and lo
nger lasting.
In articulation of vowels vocal folds are drawn closer and the airstream from t
he lungs pushes them apart which causes vibration.
They mutually differ only by the shape of the resonator (vocal tract oral cavity
) which changes in dependance of the position of the tongue.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
A large number of vowel sounds have a distinctive function in English.
Vowels are sonorous, syllabic sounds made with the vocal tract more open than it
is for consonant and glide articulation.
Different vowel sounds are produced by varying the placement of the body of the
tongue and shaping the lips.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
The shape of the cavity can be further altered by protruding the lips to produce
rounded vowels, or by lowering the velum to produce a nasal vowel.
Finally, vowels can be TENSE or LAX, depending on the degree of vocal tract cons
triction during their articulation.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
English vowels are divided into two major types:
SIMPLE VOWELS (also called PURE VOWELS or MONOPHTONGS) AND
DIPHTONGS
SIMPLE VOWELS- do not show a noticable change in quality:
pit, sat, cat, dog, but, put, suppose
/pit/,/sat/ /kat/ /d?g/ /b?t/ /put/ /s?p?uz/
These are all simple vowels.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
DIPHTONGS are vowels that exhibit a change in quality within a single syllable.
ENGLISH DIPHTONGS show changes in quality that are due to tongue movement away
from the initial vowel articulation towards another vowel position.
ice go boy here how suppose
/ais/ /g?u/ /b?i/ /hi?/ /hau/ /s?p?uz/
The first part of the diphtong is much longer and perceptually more salient tha
n the second.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
In RP, there are nine diphtongs and they fall into two classes:
CENTRING DIPHTONGS and
CLOSING DIPHTONGS
In CENTRING DIPHTONGS during the final phase of vowel articulation, the highest
point of the tongue moves quickly towards the centre of the mouth (that is the t
ypical position for articulation of SCHWA /?/.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
SCHWA /?/ is the vowel such as in the words:
address /?dres/, doctor /d?kt?/, famous /feim?s/ , colour /k?l?/ , figure /fig? /an
d the like.
There are FOUR CENTRING DIPHTONGS:
/i?/ dear, hear, near, clear
/??/ chair, rare, where, there
/u?/ poor, sure, pure
/??/ - shore, roar, oar
.
THE ENGLISH VOWELS
Nowadays, /??/ and /u?/ are disappearing from RP.
They are being relaced by /?:/
For this reason, for instance, the distinction between:
paw poor is lost.
They are both pronounced as /p?:/
TABLE ENGLISH PURE VOWELS
TRANSCRIPTION SYMBOLS
We should keep in mind that sometimes there are some different symbols used for
certain vowels in some dictionaries.
One is the traditional which represents the opposition between LONG/SHORT VOWELS
only by using colon after the symbol for the LONG VOWELS.
However, Gimson introduced some new notations that are nowadays universally acce
pted.
TRANSCRIPTION SYMBOLS
To avoid any confusion and for the sake of simplicity, the traditional symbols a
re presented here.
The distinction between LONG and SHORT used to be marked only by a colon.
For instance
/i/ for short
/i:/ for its long counterpart
Transcription symbols
However, Gimson uses slightly different notation.
To avoid any confusion we must know the following:
/??/ stands for the LONG VOWEL SCHWA /?/ which used to be represented by /?:/
The opposition between SHORT/LONG /?/
Is now better seen because they have different symbols. They used to be represen
ted by
/?/ for SHORT
/?:/ for LONG
Instead of
/?/ for SHORT and
/?/ for LONG
Gimson uses /?/ for short /i/
This opposition is represented in some dictionaries by
/i/ for SHORT and
/i:/ for LONG
Gimson uses /? / for short /u/
We said that articulation of vowels largely depends not only on activity of voca
l folds but mostly on the shape of the oral cavity, position of the tongue and s
hape of the lips.
If, for instance we wish to compare how two vowels such as /i:/ and /a/ are prod
uced in the words such as:
See /si:/ and
Cat /kat/
We should look at the cross section of the resonator:
BASIC PARAMETERS FOR DESCRIBING VOWELS
Vowel articulations are not as easy to feel as consonant articulations since the
vocal tract is not narrowed as much.
We can try to compare the articulation of, for instance, vowels /i:/ and /?/ in
the words:
he /hi:/
pot /p?t/
We can feel that the tongue moves from HIGH FRONT to LOW BACK position.
Now, if we compare the vowels /?/ and /a/ in the words:
pot /p?t/
pat /pat/
We can feel the tongue moving from the LOW BACK (with the rounded lips) and LOW
FRONT position (with the lips unrounded).
Finally, if we compare /i:/ and /u:/ in the words such as:
he /hi:/ and
who /hu:/
We will notice that, in addition to the tongue movement between HIGH FRONT and H
IGH BACK position, we are also pursing our lips for /u:/
VOWEL ARTICULATION
Vowels for which the tongue is neither raised nor lowered are called MID VOWELS.
In some cases the relative height of the tongue in the general mid zone results
in vowels that are perceptibly different.
So, it may be necessary to distinguish between
MID
MID-HIGH and
MID LOW
VOWELS
Images- TONGUE POSITIONS
The vowels may be represented on Cardinal Vowel charts
VOWEL CHART
However, there are no clear cutoff points between various tongue height positi
ons.
Thus, in RP /e/ or /?/
the front vowel of the word
set /set/
Is said to be mid-high, front and unrounded;
But the vowel /?:/ in the word
storm /st?:m/
Is said to be mid-low, back and rounded.
Schwa is the long unrounded central vowel /?/ like in the words
bird /b?:d/ and word /w?:d/ or
/b??d/ and /w??d/
TONGUE POSITIONS
Therefore, it is not always obvious whether a sound should be classified say
MID-HIGH, rather than
MID, or
MID, instead of
MID-LOW.
However, the motivation for the distinction between mid-high and mid-low vowel i
s much clearer in Scottish English where the contrast normally exists between th
e mid-high front unrounded vowel /e/ like in the word
tail /teil/
And the mid-low front unrounded vowel /?/ found in the word
tell /t?l/
A similar contrast in Scottish English exists between the mid-high back rounde
d vowel /o/ as in the word
boat /bo:t/
And the mid-low back vowel /?/ as in the word
bought /b?:t/
For all these reasons the basic phonetic parameters for describing RP English vo
wels are:
HEIGHT
BACKNESS
ROUNDING
VOWEL CHART
For this reason, we should take one more look at the VOWEL CHART and a few more
examples illustrating the classification of RP English vowels:
VOWEL CHART
TERMINOLOGY
This chart or the diagram corresponds roughly to the space within which the ton
gue moves, which is wider at the top of the oral cavity and more restricted at t
he bottom.
For the clarity of terminology the terms:
HIGH/HIGH-MID/LOW-MID/LOW
Correspond respectively to the terms
CLOSE/CLOSE-MID/OPEN-MID/OPEN
Used by some linguists.
TENSE AND LAX VOWELS
TENSE VOWELS are produced with a placement of the tongue that results in greater
vocal tract constriction than that of NON-TENSE VOWELS.
TENSE VOWELS are LONGER than NON-TENSE VOWELS.
Some vowels of English are made with roughly the same tongue position as the ten
se vowels but with a less constricted articulation.
These are called LAX VOWELS.
All the vowels in English except
/e/ /a/ and /?/ are tense vowels
VOWELS IN DIPHTONGS - ALL TENSE
The difference between vowels whether they are tense or lax is not easy to hear
at first.
If we take for example the vowel /?/ as in
cut, luck, run
/?/ is
back/central/unrounded, mid-low and LAX
And if we compare it with /?/ as in:
banana, about, tomahawk and sofa
/?/ is
mid/central/unrounded and LAX
they are both central/unrounded and mid and therefore, the distinction is hard t
o be made.
The vowel /?/ is derived historically from /?/.
The change from /?/ to /?/ affected only some words, such as:
Cut, pluck, luck, run.
But not some other words, such as:
Pull, push, butcher, put...
Which retained /?/ pronunciation..
Most speakers of North England dialects do not have the vowel /?/ at all.
In this area the change from /?/ to /?/ did not take place.
They still pronounce /?/ in the place of RP /?/:
cut /k?t/
dull /d?l/
pluck /pl?k/
The vowel /?/ labelled SCHWA as in:
banana, about, tomahawk, sofa
Is called REDUCED VOWEL.
TENSE VOWELS tend to be LONGER than the LAX VOWELS.
For this reason, they are often referred to as LONG and SHORT VOWELS (where long
are tense and short are lax).
DIPHTONGS are LONGER THAN SIMPLE VOWELS.
For this reason, DIPHTONGS ARE ALL TENSE..
Sometimes, in some dialects, the same vowel may be realized as tense simple vowe
l or as a diphtong in different contexts.
For instance, in RP, when tense /i:/ and /u:/ occur at the end of a word, they a
re often pronounced not as pure vowels but as diphtongs /ij/ or /uw/.
/??/ such as in the words:
word, bird, nerve, church, journal...
Is MID/CENTRAL/UNROUNDED/TENSE
It is just like SCHWA.
However, /??/ is derived from a vowel followed by /r/.
In most varieties of British English the /r/ following the vowel was lost, leavi
ng behind the LENGTHENED TENSE VOWEL.
However, in North America, South-West of England, and parts of Lancashire the /r
/ sound is not entirely lost. There is still the residual /r/ which colours the pr
eceding vowel.
The r-colouring of a vowel is referred to as RHOTACIZATION.
There is a simple test that helps determine whether vowels are tense or lax.
In English, monosyllabic words spoken in isolation do not end in lax vowels.
We find:
see /si:/
say /sei/
Sue /su:/
saw /s?:/
so /s?u/
But, in English, we cannot hear anything like:
*/se/
*/sa/
*/su/
*/s?/
However, schwa frequently appears in unstressed position in polysyllabic words s
uch as:
Sof/?/
Canad/?/
But many speakers produce this final vowel not as /?/ but as /?/
_________________________
FONETIKA 5
_________________________
INDIVIDUAL DESCRIPTION OF PURE VOWELS
The vowel /i:/
The vowel /i:/ can be written in the following ways:
ee tree, cheese, canteen
e complete, be, these
ea leaf, reason, see
ie piece, field, siege
ei, ey seize, key, receive
i machine, police, prestige
The vowel /i:/
DESCRIPTION:
The front of the tongue is raised to a height slightly below and behind the fron
t close position. The lips are spread. The tongue is tense with the side rims ma
king a firm contact with the upper molars.
VARIANTS:
This vowel is often noticabily diphtongized, especially in final position.
The vowel /i:/
Almost all long vowels can be articulated in two variants, as:
LONG and
REDUCED in length.
They are produced as LONG if followed by LENIS (weak/voiced) consonants.
They are produced with REDUCED length if followed by FORTIS (strong/voiceless) c
onsonants.
The vowel /i:/
The long vowel /i:/ may be slightly shorter in some words. Compare:
LONG: see, seen, fee, feed..
REDUCED: seat, piece, lease, beef, reach
/i:/ is THE HIGH-FRONT UNROUNDED VOWEL.
We can see the position of this long vowel on the Vowel Chart:
The vowel /i:/
The SHORT vowel /?/
The short counterpart of /i:/ is /?/ as in the words:
pin, bit, lip, fill, milk, list, hill...
We can compare the position of articulation for LONG and SHORT / ? /
LONG /i:/ SHORT /?/
LONG /i:/ SHORT /?/
Both vowels LONG and SHORT are CLOSE or HIGH FRONT vowels.
However, SHORT VOWEL / ? / is more open and nearer to the centre compared to its
LONG counterpart /i:/.
The tongue shape in both cases is not much different but the lips are very slig
htly spread for the long vowel /i:/ which results in a rather different vowel qu
ality.
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
DESCRIPTION:
The SHORT RP vowel / ? / is pronounced with a part of the tongue nearer to the
centre than to front, raised just above the close-mid position.
The lips are loosely spread.
The tongue is lax (compared with the tension for /i:/).
The rims of the tongue make a light contact with the upper molars.
SHORT VOWEL / ? / may occur in all positions in the word.
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
VARIANTS:
The degree of closeness and centralization varies according to the accentual for
ce falling upon the vowel and its position in the word.
NEUTRALIZATION:
The contrast between /i:/ and /?/ is neutralized in word-final position, so no a
mbiguity arises from such pronunciation.
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
A trend towards /?/ in non-final unaccented syllables, traditionally having /?
/ sound, is becoming increasingly noticable among RP speakers.
For example:
1. words ending in -ity
sincerity, quality ....
Are no longer pronounced as:
/sinsiriti/ or /kw?liti/ but as
/sinsir?ti/ or /kw?l?ti/
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
2. words ending in ily:
easily, happily.....
Are pronounced as /?li/ instead of /ili/
3. words endding in ate as in:
fortunate, chocolate...
are now pronounced in /?t/ instead of in /it/
4. Words ending in ible
possible, visible....
Are pronounced in /?bl/ instead of /ibl/
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
5. The same change in vowel pronunciation from short /? / into schwa /?/ happens
in the words ending in:
-em: problem, system, item
-ess: useless, careless, goodness
-ace: necklace, preface, palace
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
However, in some other cases SHORT / ? / remains DOMINANT and is still pronounce
d as /?/ not /?/
In words ending in:
-age: marriage, village, manage
-et: pocket, target, budget
-be: believe, begin, between, become
THE SHORT VOWEL /?/
Although in majority of cases, replacement of the short vowel /?/ FOR schwa /?/
there is no significant opposition, there are still some minimal pairs in which
this distinction between the two vowels must be preserved. Otherwise, there is t
he phonological ambiguity:
effect/affect
except/accept
LONG /i:/ and SHORT /?/
Although the LONG VOWEL /i:/ also occurs in its reduced forms, the distinction b
etween the LONG and SHORT VOWEL /i:/ and /?/ must be carefully preserved for the
re are many minimal pairs in which the length of this very vowel makes the disti
nction between words. For example:
/liv/ and /li:v/ (live vs leave)
/slip/ and /sli:p/ (slip versus sleep)
/?ip/ and /?i:p/ (shp versus sheep) etc.
THE VOWEL /e/ VERSUS /a/
The vowel /e/ is most frequently written as:
e bed, set, went, red
ea breath, dead, head
a many, thames
There are many minimal pairs in which / ? / and /e/ are the distinctive phonolog
ical units.
sit/set
tin/ten
will/well
disk/desk
THE VOWEL /e/
However, the distinctive phonological units are also /i:/, /?/ and /e/ because t
here are many sets of words the meaning of which depends only on the one of the
three vowels:
/i:/ /?/ /e/
neat knit net
reach rich wretch
feel fill fell
THE VOWEL /e/
Vowel /e/ may also be lateralized if preceding the dark [?]:
well, sell, else, health, held....
DESCRIPTION:
For the short /e/, the front of the tongue is raised between the close-mid and o
pen-mid positions.
The lips are loosely spread and are slightly wider apart than for /?/.
THE VOWEL /e/
The tongue may have more tension than in the case of /?/.
The side rims make a light contact with the upper molar.
This is the MID-HIGH FRONT UNROUNDED VOWEL.
Its position on the VOWEL CHART is as follows:
THE VOWEL /e/
THE VOWEL /a/
The vowel /a/ is most frequently written as:
a hand, lamp, rash, sat, marry
ai plaid, plait.
Most frequently it is spelled with <a>
The phonological distinction between /e/ and /a/ is very important. They are dis
tinctive units in many pairs of words, such as:
THE VOWEL /a/
/e/ /a/
pet pat
peck pack
said sad
ten tan
lend land
merry marry
THE VOWEL /a/
However, the distinctive phonological units are also /?/, /e/ and /a/ because th
ere are many sets of words the meaning of which depends only on the one of the t
hree vowels:
/?/ /e/ /a/
bid bed bad
big beg bag
miss mess mass
THE VOWEL /a/
DESCRIPTION:
The mouth is slightly more open than for /e/.
The front of the tongue is raised to a position midway between open and open-mid
, with the side rims making a very slight contact with the back upper molars.
The lips are neutrally open.
NOTE: In the south of England /a/ is often produced with considerable constricti
on in the pharynx, the tongue itself having more tension than in the case of /e/
THE VOWEL /a/
THE VOWEL /a/
This vowel is defined as:
LOW FRONT UNROUNDED
VARIANTS:
Sometimes, /a/ is realized as a diphtong:
bag /ba?g/
bad /ba?d/
Younger speakers of RP usually pronounce /?/ in the place of /a/:
bag /b?g/
bad /b?d/
THE VOWEL /a/
The north of England generally has a full open pronunciation /a/.
In this area the words which have /a:/ plus a voiceless fricative in RP are pro
nounced /a/ and this also applies to General American:
past /past/
after /aft?/
bath /ba?/
THE VOWEL /?/
The vowel /?/ is most frequently written as:
u: cut, dull, sun, yuppie
o: son, come, among, done, month
ou: country, southern, couple, enough, young
oo: blood, flood
oe: does
THE VOWEL /?/
The phonological distinction between /a/ and /?/ is very important. They are dis
tinctive units in many pairs of words, such as:
/a/ /?/
cat cut
lamp lump
match much
THE VOWEL /?/
The distinction with other vowels:
/a:/ /?/
cart cut
barn bun
march much
/?/ /?/
cot cut
fond fund
/?:/ /?/
fern fun
curt cut
THE VOWEL /?/
DESCRIPTION:
The short RP vowel /?/ is articulated with a considerable separation of the jaws
and with the lips neutrally open.
The centre of the tongue is raised just above the fully open position, no contac
t being made between the tongue and the upper molars.
It is the MID-LOW/LOW CENTRAL VOWEL
THE VOWEL /?/
THE VOWEL /?/
VARIANTS:
In the North of England there is no contrast between /?/ and /?/, so that:
put and putt are pronounced the same.
In such cases, the vowel is generally closer to RP /?/ so we can say there is
no vowel /?/.
THE VOWEL /?/
Some regional RP speakers from the north of England, in adopting /?/ use this vo
wel even in the words where /?/ should be pronounced:
butcher /b?at ? ?/
cushion /k???n/
sugar /??g?/
In the north of England they also pronounce one as /w?n/ rather than /w?n/
THE VOWEL /a:/
The vowel /a:/ is most frequently written as:
a : pass, charge, bath, father, branch...
ar: part, car, march....
ear: heart, hearth
er: clerk, sergeant, derby...
al: calm, palm, half...
au: aunt, laugh....
THE VOWEL /a:/
In actual articulation the vowel /a:/ can be pronounced as:
LONG: bar, far, farm, large, hard; or
REDUCED: dart, last, arch, lark...
LONG/REDUCED /a:/ - PAIRS:
Compare:
card/cart
parse/pass
carve/calf
THE VOWEL /a:/
For the difference between /a:/ and / ?/ compare the following pairs:
/a:/ / ?/
cart cut
harm hum
march much
lark luck
THE VOWEL /a:/
DESCRIPTION:
The normally long vowel is articulated with a considerable separation of the ja
ws and the lips neutrally open.
A part of the tongue between the centre and back is in the fully open position
.
There is no contact between the rims of the tongue and the upper molars.
THE VOWEL /a:/
Although there is a difference of length according to whether this vowel occur
s in a syllable closed by a voiceless or a voiced consonant, this difference is
not as marked as in the case of other long vowels.
This is a LOW BACK VOWEL.
THE VOWEL /a:/
COMPARE THE VOWELS /?/ and /a:/
/?/ - is more LOW CENTRAL VOWEL
/a:/ is LOW BACK VOWEL
THEY ARE BOTH OPEN
THE VOWEL /a:/
VARIANTS:
If the vowel /a:/ is followed in RP by a voiceless fricative or by a nasal plus
a second consonant, both General American and the north of England have /a/:
laugh /laf/
pass /pas/
branch /brant?/
advance /?dvans/
THE VOWEL /a:/
In many dialects, including General American and that of the south-west of Engla
nd RP /a:/ corresponds in a number of words to:
/a/ + /r/: car; card, large
Such dialects having /r/ in positions after the vowel are called RHOTIC (r??t?k
).
THE VOWEL /a:/
This also applies to Scottish English where /a:/ is also pronounced as / a/.
Thus, there is no contrast in pairs such as:
cam/calm, or
pam/palm
that are pronounced alsmost identically.
THE VOWEL /?/
The vowel / ? / or / ?/ is most frequently written as:
o dock, dog, holiday, sorry, gone
a: was, what, swan, want, watch, quality
ou; ow: cough, knowledge; Gloucester
au: because, sausage, Austria, Australia
THE VOWEL /?/
Compare /?/ and /a:/ in the following pairs:
/?/ /a:/
lodge large
cot cart
cough calf
impossible impassable
THE VOWEL /?/
The difference in length is important for the same vowel in its short and long v
ersion:
/?/ /?:/
cod cord
don dawn
stock stalk
pot port
THE VOWEL /?/
DESCRIPTION:
This short vowel is articulated with wide open jaws and slight open lip-roundin
g.
The back of the tongue is in the fully open position.
There is no contact between the tongue and the uper molars.
This is the LOW BACK ROUNDED VOWEL.
THE VOWEL /?/
THE VOWEL /?/
VARIANTS:
The realization of this vowel varies very little within RP.
In small number of words /?:/ is preferred:
off, cloth, across.
(This also applies to Cockney)
In General American the contrast between /a:/ and /?/ is lost:
bomb, balm are pronounced as /a:/ in GA.
THE VOWEL /?:/
The vowel / ?:/ is most frequently written as:
ar, or: war; quarter; cord, horse; sword; born
ore: before, more
our: court, four
oar, oor: board, door, floor
au, augh: fault, cause, daughter
a: all, , talk, water
aw: saw, jaw, lawn, yawn
ou: bought, ought
THE VOWEL /?:/
This vowel can be produced as:
LONG /?:/: saw, war, born, board, dawn
REDUCED: sort, ought, horse, chalk
Compare the following pairs:
LONG REDUCED
saw sort
war wart
board bought
saws (noun:PL) sauce
THE VOWEL /?:/
Compare the vowels /?/ and /?:/
/?/ /?:/
cod cord
don dawn
stock stalk
pot port
THE VOWEL /?:/
Minimal pairs with
/?/ /?:/
put port
could cord
bull ball
/??/ /?:/
code cord
cold called
bone born
THE VOWEL /?:/
DESCRIPTION:
This vowel is articulated with medium lip-rounding.
The back of the tongue is raised between the open-mid and closed-mid positions.
There is no contact between the tongue and the upper molars.
This is a MID-LOW BACK ROUNDED vowel.
THE VOWEL /?:/
THE VOWEL /?:/
VARIANTS:
Until recently there was a contrast between this vowel /?:/ and the diphtong /?
?/ like in:
saw /s?:/ versus sore/s??/
However, this contrast no longer existis.
THE VOWEL /?:/
But, a number of words which formerly had only /??/ in RP have now acquired an
alternative pronunciation with /?:/:
sure /?u?/ > /??:/
poor /pu?/ > /p?:/
your /ju?/ > /j?:/
THE VOWEL /?:/
VARIANTS:
Words which formerly had the diphtong /??/
are often words derived from /?/ and /?:/ plus /r/ as reflected in the spellin
g.
Rhotic dialects like General American and the Scottish English will therefore ha
ve a shorter vowel plus /r/ in words like:
horse
cord
war
THE VOWEL /?:/
In non-rhotic dialects other than RP /??/ may nevertheless be kept distinct from
/?:/ - like in some parts of northern England.
In Scottish English /?:/ covers both RP /?/ and RP /?/ no contrast being made
between two vowels. Thus,
cot
caught
Are pronounced in the same way.
THE VOWEL /?:/
However, a number of pairs of words are still kept apart by the presence of /r/:
cod /k?:d/ vs cord / k?:rd/
GENERAL AMERICAN:
There is no distinction between /?:/ and /?/
Words with /?/ in RP usually have /a:/ in General American because the quality
of the vowel /?/ in General American is generally more open.
THE VOWEL /?/
The vowel /?/ is most frequently written as:
u butcher, cellular, cushion, full, put, sugar
oo book, good, wood, wool
o bosom, wolf, woman
ou could, courier, should, would
NOTE: Worcester /w?st?/
worsted (cloth) /w?stid/
THE VOWEL /?/
DESCRIPTION:
The short RP vowel /?/ is pronounced with a part of the tongue nearer to centre
than to back raised just above the close-mid position.
No firm contact is made between the tongue and the upper molars.
The lips are closely but loosely rounded.
It occurs in both accented and unaccented syllables.
The nearest cardinal vowel is /u/ but /?/ is more open and nearer to central:
THE VOWEL /?/
THE VOWEL /?/
VARIANTS:
In some words /u:/ is much more common instead of /?/ like in:
room
groom
broom
tooth
THE VOWEL /u:/
The vowel /u:/ is most frequently written as:
u rude, june, susan, crucial
oo: food, soon, moon, spoon
o: do, who, move, lose
ou: group, soup, wound, through
ew chew, flew
ue, ui, oe blue, juice, shoe
NOTE: In many cases of the spelling: u, eu, ew, ui /u:/ is preceded by /j/:
music, neuter, duke, new, few, argue, beauty
THE VOWEL /u:/
This vowel may be realized as:
LONG: two, blue, food, move
REDUCED: boot, fruit, group,
The reduced /u/ is pronounced if followed by a voiceless sound.
If /l/ follows after the vowel /u:/ it is pronounced as DARK [?]:
cool, rule, schools, fooled
THE VOWEL /u:/
DESCRIPTION:
RP long /u:/ is a HIGH (CLOSE) BACK ROUNDED VOWEL.
The tongue raising is relaxed from the closest position and is somewhat centrali
zed.
It is not quite so back nor so close.
The lips are only moderately rounded:
THE VOWEL /u:/
THE VOWEL /u:/
VARIANTS:
Considerable centralization is present following /j/ in RP:
youth, beauty, cute
/u:/ is more back before /l/:
tool, school, rule
Scottish English lost the the contrast between /u:/ and /?/. (discussed in the p
revious section).
THE VOWEL /?:/
The vowel /?:/ is most frequently written as:
er, err: her, serve, err
ur, urr: turn, church, nurse, purr
ir, yr: bird, first, girl, myrtl
w+or: word, world, work, worse
our: journey, courtesy
NOTE: /?:/ in colonel /k?:nl/
THE VOWEL /?:/
This vowel can be pronounced as:
LONG: fur, burn, bird, urge
REDUCED: first, earth, worse, church
Reduction takes place if the vowel is followed by voiceless sounds.
THE VOWEL /?:/
COMPARE:
LONG REDUCED
heard hurt
Thursday thirsty
serve surf
Dark [?] occurs if the vowel is followed by l:
earl, curl, girls
THE VOWEL /?:/
DESCRIPTION:
This is a LONG CENTRAL MID ROUNDED VOWEL.
It is articulated with the centre of the tongue raised between close-mid and ope
n-mid. There is no firm contact between the tongue and the upper molars.
The lips are neutrally spread.
THE VOWEL /?:/
THE VOWEL /?:/
The quality of the vowel /?:/ often concides with that of the vowel /?/ in unacc
ented syllables.
For this reason they should be treated as the allophones of the same phoneme.
However, there are clear cases where /?:/ cannot be reduced to /?/:
commerce /k?m?:s/ versus commas /k?m?z/
foreword /f?:w?:d/ versus forward /f?:w?d/
THE VOWEL /?:/
VARIANTS:
/?:/ is the only accented vowel in the central area
In most cases /?:/ is derived from an earlier sequence of VOWEL + r.
Therefore, in General American and in south-west of England it is pronounced wit
h r-colouring which is produced by a slight retroflexion:
burn, stern, turn, church, nurse
THE VOWEL /?/
This vowel may be spelt with most vowel letters and their combinations:
i: possible
e: gentleman
a: woman
o: oblige
u: suppose
ar: particular
THE VOWEL /?/
er: mother
or: doctor
ou: famous
our: colour
ure: figure
THE VOWEL /?/
It is frequently in opposition with the ZERO VOWEL:
Compare:
about/o-bout
waiter/wait-o
There is also the opposition with /i/:
Compare:
affect/effect
accept/except
waiter/weighty
sitter/city
THE VOWEL /?/
/?/ is normal in common unaccented (weak) forms of words such as:
a, but, an, the, for, to, and....
DESCRIPTION:
This is a CENTRAL MID UNROUNDED VOWEL.
Lips are in neutral position
The tongue is between open-mid and and close-mid position.
THE VOWEL /?/
THE VOWEL /?/
VARIANTS:
In most cases /?/ is derived from an earlier sequence of VOWEL + r.
Therefore, in General American and in south-west of England it is pronounced wit
h r-colouring which is produced by a slight retroflexion:
waiter, doctor, colour, figure
_________________________
FONETIKA 6
_________________________
DIPHTONGAL VOWEL GLIDES
DIPHTONGS
RP has a large number of diphtongs, sounds which consist of a movement or glide
from one vowel to another. A vowel which remains constant and does not glide is
called a PURE VOWEL. One of the most common pronunciation mistakes that result i
n a so-called foreign accent in foreign learners is a production of pure vowels w
here a diphtong should be pronounced.
DIPHTONGS
In terms of length, diphtongs are like long vowels. The most important thing to
remember about all the diphtongs is that the first part is much longer and stro
nger than the second part.
For example, most of the diphtong /a?/ as in the word eye and pronoun I consists of
the vowel /a/ and it is only in the last quarter of the diphtong articulation th
at the glide to the vowel /?/ becomes noticable. As the glide to /?/ happens,
the loudness of the sound decreases. For this reason the /?/ sound in the dipht
ong /a?/ is shorter and quieter.
The last part of the diphtong must not be made too strongly.
DIPHTONGS
The sequences of vocalic elements included under the term DIPHTONG are those which
form a glide within one syllable.
They may be said to have a first element (the starting point) and a second elem
ent (the point in the direction of which the glide is made).
The English RP diphtongs have as their:
FIRST ELEMENT sounds in general region:
[i, e, a, ?, u] and for their
SECOND ELEMENT they have:
[i, ?, ?].
Certain generalizations can be made as regards to English RP diphtongs:
1. Most of the length associated with the glide is concentrated on the first el
ement, and the second element is only lightly sounded the only exception are th
e diphtongs /i?/ and /??/.
Diphtongs of this type are said to be falling.
2. Diphtongs are equivalent in length to LONG VOWELS and are subject to the same
variation in quantity:
LONG: plays
REDUCED: place
3. Diphtongs are particularly susceptible to variation in different regional an
d social types of speech.
4. No diphtong occurs before the velar nasal /?/ except where word-final /n/ is
assimilated to /?/ in connected speech:
his own car /hiz ??? ka:/
5. With the exception of /?i/, the RP diphtongs principally derive from earlier
pure vowels.
CLOSING DIPHTONGS
CLOSING DIPHTONGS ARE THE ONES ENDING IN:
/i/ - /ei/, /ai/, /?i/
and ending in
/?/ - /a?/ /??/
CLOSING DIPHTONGS
The closing diphtongs have the characteristic that they all end with a glide tow
ards a closer vowel.
Because the second part of the diphtong is weak, they often do not reach the pos
ition that could be called close.
The important thing is that a glide from a relatively more open towards a relati
vely more close vowel is produced.
THE DIPHTONG /ei/
This diphtong is most frequently spelled as:
a: late, make, lady, waste, base
ai: waist, rail, aim, rain
ay: day, may
ei, ey: eight, veil, weigh, they,
ea: great, steak, break
NOTE:
gauge /geid?/
gaol /d?eil/
THE DIPHTONG /ei/
This diphtong can be pronounced as
LONG [e:i]: day, made, game, gaze
REDUCED [ei]: eight, late, state, hate, face
DESCRIPTION:
The glide begins from slightly below the close-mid front position and moves in t
he direction of RP /i/.
Then there is a slight closing movement of the lower jaw.
The lips are spread.
THE DIPHTONG /ei/
THE DIPHTONG /ei/
VARIANTS:
There is a considerable variation in the starting point.
The usual realization in Cockney is /ai/
Many other regional realizations of /ei/ have a monophtongal /e:/ like in Scotti
sh English, General American and Northern English.
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
i: time, write, bite, climb
ie: die, lie, pie, tried
y, ye: cry, dry, fry, dye
igh, eigh: high, light, fight, might, height
ei, ai: either,, neither, design
NOTE:
/ai/ also occurs in eye, buy
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
LONG [a:?]: fly, die, mine, hide, eyes
REDUCED [a?]: fight, like, ice, ripe
Compare:
LONG REDUCED
tie tight
tidal title
eyes ice
riding writing
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
Dark [?] is pronounced if /l/ occurs after this diphtong:
mile, pile, smile, mild.
DESCRIPTION:
The glide of RP /a?/ begins at a point slightly behind the front open position a
nd moves to the direction of the position associated with RP vowel /?/.
The closing movement of the lower jaw is obvious.
The lips change from a neutral to a loosely spread position.
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
VARIANTS:
Variants are mostly related to the differences of the starting point of the gli
de.
In Cockney /a?/ has the back starting point. The same case is in Australian Engl
ish.
In an extensive area of south-west and south-central England a more central st
arting point may be heard [??]
THE DIPHTONG /??/
oi: boil, noise, point, voice
oy: boy, toy, oyster, joy
LONG: [?:i]: boy, toy, noise, coin
REDUCED [?i]: voice, joint, choice
Compare:
LONG REDUCED
noise voice
THE DIPHTONG /??/
If /l/ follows after this diphtong it is pronounced as dark [?]:
soil, coiled, boils
DESCRIPTION:
For RP glide /??/ the tongue glide begins at a point between the open-mid and op
en-back positions and moves in the direction of /?/.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
The tongue movement extends from back to centralized front.
The jaw movement is not as marked as in the case of /a?/.
The lips are open rounded for the first element, changing to neutral for the sec
ond.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
o: so, old, home, over, clone, zero
oe: toe, doe, foe, hoe
ow: know, blow, slow
oa: oak, road, toast, soap
ou: soul, though, shoulder
THE DIPHTONG /??/
LONG: [?:?]: go, toe, home, road, pose
REDUCED: [??]: goat, rope, toast, oak, post
Compare:
LONG REDUCED
robe rope
toes toast
road wrote
THE DIPHTONG /??/
There are minimal pairs in which this diphtong /??/ and the long vowel /??/ are
the distinctive phonological units affecting the word:
Compare:
/??/ /??/
foe fur
own earn
goal girl
foam firm
THE DIPHTONG /??/
Compare
/??/ and /?:/
so saw
pose pause
bold bald
load lord
boat bought
choke chalk
THE DIPHTONG /??/
Compare:
/??/ /??/ /?:/
foe fur four
bone burn born
woke work walk
coat curt caught
coal curle call
THE DIPHTONG /??/
If /l/ follows this diphtong it is pronounced a s dark [?]:
hole, role, old, poles
DESCRIPTION:
The glide of RP /??/ begins at a central position, between close-mid and open-mi
d and moves in the direction of the RP vowel /?/.
Then there is a slight closing movement of the lower jaw.
The lips are neutral for the first element but have a tendency to round on the s
econd element.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
VARIANTS:
In some dialects /??/ is reduced to /?/:
window /wind?/ instead of /wind??/
fellow /fel?/ instead of /fel??/.
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
ou: house, mouse, out, council
ow: allow, cow, town
NOTE: Macleaod = /m?kla?d/
LONG: [a:?]: how, loud, town, cows
Reduced: [a?]: shout, about, mouse, mouth
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
DESCRIPTION:
The glide of RP /a?/ begins at a point between the back and front open position
s, slightly more fronted than for the vowel /a:/. Then it moves in the directio
n of the RP /?/.
The tongue may not be raised higher than the close-mid level.
The lips change from a neutrally open to a weakly rounded position.
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
THE DIPHTONG /a?/
VARIANTS:
In Cockney the first element may be /?/ or /a/. Sometimes it is realized as /??
/ so there is no difference between:
now and no
Alternatively the diphtong /a?/ can be realized as the long vowel /a:/ so, inst
ead of:
town /ta?n/ we can hear /ta:n/
CENTRING DIPHTONGS
The centring diphtongs glide towards the schwa vovel /?/.
There are three centring diphtongs:
/??/ - as in: here, near, dear
/e?/ - as in: hair, air, chair
/??/ - as in: tour, pure, sure
THE DIPHTONG /??/
er, ere material, here
ear, eer dear, tear (drop of liquid), deer
eir, ier, ir weird, fierce, fakir
ia, ea brilliant, idea
NOTE:
hero /h??r??/
zero /z??r??/
year /j??/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
LONG: [?:?]: dear, hear, cheer, beard
REDUCED: [??]: pierce, fierce
Compare:
LONG: [?:?] REDUCED: [??]
fears fierce
If followed by /l/ then dark [?] is heard: real
THE DIPHTONG /??/
DESCRIPTION:
The glide of RP /??/ begins with a tongue position close-mid and centralized fro
m front.
Then it moves in the direction of the more open variety of /?/ when this diphton
g occurs final in a word..
In non-final positions the glide may not be so extensive and then it is of a mid
-type.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
Compare:
OPEN /?/ if the diphtong is in a final position:
hear, near, beer
MID /?/ if not in a final position:
beard, fierce
The lips are neutral with a slight movement from spread to open.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
VARIANTS:
In some kinds of RP, when /? ?/ is final in a word, there it is pronounced with
a length shift to the second element. This final quality is near the phonetic q
uality of /??/ or /?/ or even /a:/. For instance:
here /hj??/ or /hja:/ instead of
/h? ?/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
VARIANTS:
Rhotic dialects (General American and Scottish English) have no such diphtong.
There is no / ??/. They have only
/ ? / or /i:/ + /r/
In those words where which have an /r/ in spelling.
THE DIPHTONG /e?/
are: rare, care, share, mare, aware
air: air, hair, pair, chair
ear: bear, pear, wear, tear (verb)
NOTE:
there, their, mary, sarah, scarce ....
THE DIPHTONG /e?/
LONG: [e:?]: pair, there, chairs, cared
REDUCED: [e?]: scare
Compare:
LONG: [e:?] REDUCED: [e?]
scares scarce
THE DIPHTONG /e?/
DESCRIPTION:
The glide of RP /e?/ begings in the open mid front position and moves in the dir
ection of the more open variety of /?/ especially when this diphtong is final i
n a word.
If it occurs in the syllable closed by a consonant the /?/ element tends to be
of a mid /?/ type..
The lips are neutrally open.
THE DIPHTONG /e?/
THE DIPHTONG /e?/
VARIANTS:
In General RP a long monophtong /?:/ is completely acceptable. Sometimes the f
irst element is pronounced as /a/ so we can hear
air /a?/; hair /ha?/ instead of /e?/ or /he?/.
THE DIPHTONG /e?/

VARIANTS:
Rhotic dialects (General American and Scottish English) pronounce this diphtong
as:
/e?/ or /e/ + /r/.
In some dialects (northern England Liverpool) the contrast between the diphtong
/e?/ and the long central vowel / ??/ is lost
THE DIPHTONG /??/

The last centring diphtong is /??/.
oor poor, moor
our tour
ure pure, endure, cure, sure
ue, ua cruel, fluent, actual, mutual, usual
THE DIPHTONG /??/
DESCRIPTION:
RP /??/ glides from a tongue position similar to that used for /?/ towards the
more open type of /?/ which forms the end-point of all three centring diphtongs
.
The lips are weakly rounded at the beginning of the glide, and become neutrally
spread as the glide progresses.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
VARIANTS:
Since the previously existing diphtong /??/ has been replaced by /?:/, the first
element in the diphtong /??/ is sometimes considerably lowered and can be hear
d pronounced as /??/. So we can sometimes hear:
poor, sure pronounced as /p??/ and /???/
Instead of /p??/ and /???/.
THE DIPHTONG /??/
VARIANTS:
This glide /??/ , in turn, may be realized as the long vowel /?:/:
poor, sure, are then pronounced as:
/p?:/ and /??:/.
Then, the distinction is lost in such cases as:
sure, Shaw, shore
/???/ /??:/ /???/
THE DIPHTONG /??/
VARIANTS:
In General American and Scottish English (rhotic dialects) in which /r/ occurs,
then this diphtong is pronounced as:
/u:/ + /r/
Or
/?/ + /r/.
In Australian English /??/ tends to be pronounced as /?:/, although in RP /??/
is often merged into /?:/
TRIPHTONGS
The most complex English sounds of vowel type are triphtongs.
They can be rather difficult to pronounce, and very difficult to recognize.
A triphtong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produ
ced rapidly and without interruption.
TRIPHTONGS
For example, careful pronunciation of the word hour /a??/
Begins with the vowel quality similar to /a:/
Then it goes on to a glide towards the back close rounded area for which we use
the symbol /?/;
Finally it ends with a mid-central vowel schwa /?/
We use the symbols /a??/ to represent the way we pronounce the word hour
However, this is not always an accurate representation of pronunciation.
TRIPHTONGS
TRIPHTONGS
TRIPHTONGS
DIPHTONGS + [?]
All the preceding diphtongal glides:
/e? , a? , ?? , ??, a?/ are:
FALLING WITH THE length on the first element; AND
CLOSING gliding from more open to a close position.
THREE OF THEM: /a? , ?? , a?/
Require extensive movement of the tongue.
DIPHTONGS + [?]
All diphtongs may be followed by [?] within the word:
Either as an inseparable part of the word. For instance:
Noah /n???/
fire /fa??/
choir /kwa? ?/
iron /a??n/
society /s?sa? ?ti/
tower /ta??/
DIPHTONGS + [?]
Or as a suffix appended to the root:
Greyer /gre??/
Player /ple??/
Slower /sl???/
Drier /dra??/
Employer /impl???/
Sometimes / ?/ is a separable element internal in a composite form:
nowadays /na??de?z/
DIPHTONGS + [?]
VARIANTS:
Sometimes there is the tendency to omit a second element in a triphtong, such as
[?] or [?], especially when [?] is not felt as a separable morpheme.
This process is sometimes called SMOOTHING.
DIPHTONGS + [?]
[a??] > [a:?] - fire, tyre, hire
[a??] > [a:?] - shower, flower, nowadays
[e??] > [?:?] - player, layer, greyer
[???] > [?:?] enjoyable, employer
[???] > [?:] mower, slower
CARDINAL VOWELS CHART
Once again we shall go back to the cardinal vowels chart to see the position of
of articulation of the vowels.
We shall do the same for diphtongs to see the direction of gliding in pronunciat
ion of the second element:
CARDINAL VOWELS CHART
CLOSING DIPHTONGS
CENTRING DIPHTONGS

Fonetics of English Language, Introduction

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Fonetics of English Language, Introduction

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

SPEECH SOUND PRODUCTION

THE DIPHTONG /e?/

THE DIPHTONG /??/

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen