PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY I

FIRST ASSIGNMENT

Teacher
Zanier, Yamile Navarro

Group A
Enrquez, Mara Soledad Mercedes
Held, Mara de los ngeles
Gamarra, Marina
Klatt, Karin

Course
1st year

September 9, 2014
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ENGLISH CONSONANTS
PLOSIVES

/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/

Manner and place of articulation

Consonants and glides are described in terms of two characteristics: where they are
made (place or point of articulation) and how they are made (manner of articulation). The
PLACE of articulation is taken to the point in the vocal tract where the constriction occurs
(see figure 1.1). For sounds such as the /p/ of pat, this is LABIAL (made with the lips),
specifically BILABIAL (both of the lips). For sounds such as the /t/ of tin, the articulation
is CORONAL, meaning that the forward part of the tongue approaches or contacts some
point in the area between the teeth and palate. Within this coronal zone, finer point of
articulation are distinguished: DENTAL when there is contact with the upper teeth,
ALVEOLAR when there is contact with the gum ridge or alveolar behind the upper teeth (as
in English /t/), and ALVEO-PALATAL or POST-ALVEOLAR when there is contact with both
the gum ridge and the forward part of the palate.
Five other places of articulation are palatal, velar, labiovelar, uvular, and glottal. In
VELARS, the back of the tongue rises to the soft palate (velum), this is where /k/ is
pronounced.
MANNERS of articulations are named for the degree of constriction. In STOPS (or
plosives) such as /p/ and /t/, there is a complete blockage of the airstream. It is also possible
to articulate a stop released as a fricative, a manner of articulation called AFFRICATE. The
consonant spelled ch in English chat and Spanish chato is an affricate, symbolized as a
stop-fricative combination / / which we are going to explain further.
Figure 1.1 THE VOCAL TRACT

Going step by step in detail

Articulation process
A plosive is a consonant articulation with the following characteristics:
One articulator is moved against another, or two articulators are moved against each
other, so as to form a stricture that allows no air to escape from the vocal tract.
After this stricture has been formed and air has been compressed behind it, it is
released, that is, air is allowed to escape.
If the air behind the stricture is still under pressure when the plosive is released, it is
probable that the escape of air will produce noise enough to be heard. This noise is
called plosion.
There may be voicing during part of all the plosive articulation.

To give a complete description of a plosive consonant we must describe what it happens

at each of the following four phases in its production:
The first phase is when the articulator or articulators moves to form the stricture for
the plosive. We call this the closure phase or (also called) closing phase.
The second phase is when the compressed air is stopped from escaping. We call this
the hold phase or (also called) the compression phase.
The third phase is when the articulators used to form the stricture are moved so as to
allow air to escape. This is the release phase.
The fourth phase is what happens immediately after (III), so we will call it the postrelease phase.

Manner of articulation in detail

Plosives have different places of articulation: the plosives /p/ and /b/ are bilabial.
Since the lips are pressed together; /t/ and /d/ are alveolar since the tongue blade is pressed
against the alveolar ridge. Normally the tongue does not touch the front teeth as it does in
the dental plosives found in many languages. The plosives /k/ and /g/ are velar; the back of
the tongue is pressed against the area where the hard palate ends and the soft palate begins.
The plosives /p/, /t/ and /k/ are always voiceless; /b/, /d/ and /g/ are sometimes fully
voiced, sometimes partly voiced and sometimes voiceless.
All six plosives can occur at the beginning of a word (initial position), between
other sounds (medial position) and at the end of a word (final position).
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Initial position: the closing phase for /p/, /t/, /k/ and /b/, /d/, /g/ takes place silently.
During the compression phase there is no voicing in /p/, /t/, /k/; in /b/, /d/, /g/ there is
normally very little voicing. It begins only just before the release.
The release of /p/, /t/, and /k/ is followed by audible plosion, which is a burst of
noise. There is then, in the post-release phase, a period during which air escapes through
the vocal folds, making a sound like /h/. This is called aspiration. Then, the vocal folds
come together and voicing begins.
Medial position: the pronunciation of /p/, /t/, /k/ and /b/, /d/, /g/ in medial position
depends to some extent on whether the syllables preceding and following the plosives are
stressed. In general, we can say that a medial plosive may have the characteristics either of
final or of initial plosives.
Final position: final /b/, /d/ and /g/ normally have little voicing; if there is voicing, it
is at the beginning of the compression phase; /p/, /t/, /k/ are always voiceless. The plosion
following the release of /p/, /t/, /k/ and /d/, /b/, /g/ is very weak and often not audible.

Force of articulation: fortis and lenis

The plosives b, d, g in initial and final position are scarcely voiced at all. Some
phoneticians say that /p/, /t/ and /k/ are produced with more force than /b/, /d/ and /g/. The
voiceless plosives /p/, /t/ and /k/ are sometimes called Fortis (meaning Strong) and /b/, /d/
and /g/ are then called Lenis (meaning weak). It is true that /p/, /t/ and /k/ are produced with
more force, although force of articulation is very difficult to define and measure.

AFFRICATES
//, /d/

/t/ and /d/ are the only two affricate phonemes in English language. Exactly like in
the case of plosives and most of the fricatives, the affricate phonemes /t/ and /d/ come in
fortis/lenis pair. The voicing characteristics are the same as for other consonants.
/t/ is slightly aspirated in the positions where p, t, and k are aspirated. The place of
articulation is palato-alveolar, exactly the same as for // and //. In other words, the /t/ part
of /t/ has a place of articulation further back in the mouth than the plosive /t/ usually has.
As other fortis consonants, when /t/ is at the end of the syllable, it is shortening the
preceding vowel. Another important thing to mention is that /t/ and /d/ have rounded lips.
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Production of affricates

Affricates are rather complex consonants. They begin as plosives and end as
fricatives. It begins with an articulation, practically the same as the closure and hold phases
of /t/, but instead of rapid release with plosion and aspiration, as we would find in the word
turn, the tongue moves to the position for the fricative // that we find at the beginning of
the word ship. So the plosive is followed immediately by fricative noise. Although the
affricate can be said to be composed of a plosive and a fricative, it is usual to regard them
as being single, independent phonemes of English. In this way, t is one phoneme; // is
another and // yet another.

Manner of articulation
Phonemes //, /d/ are the only two affricate phonemes in English. As with the
plosives and most of the fricatives, we have a fortis /lenis pair, and the voicing
characteristics are the same as for these other consonants. // is slightly aspirated in the
positions where /p/, /t/, /k/ are aspirated, but not strongly enough for it to be necessary, for
foreign learners to give much attention to it. The /t/ component of // has a place of
articulation rather further back in the mouth than /t/ plosive has.

TONGUE-POSITION OF THE STOP OF THE AFFRICATE

//

TONGUE-POSITION OF THE STOP OF THE AFFRICATE

/d/

Voiceless Consonant /t/

This is a voiceless consonant.
You can hear it at the beginning of the word choke /tk/,
In the middle of the word teacher /ti:t/,
At the end of the word match /mt/,
And at the beginning and end of the word church /t:t/.

Voiced Consonant /d/

This is a voiced consonant.
You can hear it at the beginning of the word joke /dk/
In the middle of the word lodger /ld/
At the end of the word bridge /brd/ and at the beginning and end of the word judge
/dd/.

In brief, we conclude by stating the following:

Diagram: A
Place of Articulation: Tip or blade of the tongue & alveolar ridge
Manner of Articulation: Plosive
IPA Symbol(s): [t] [d]
Description: Alveolar plosive
Example: tap, dad
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Diagram: B
Place of Articulation: Back of the tongue & velum
Manner of Articulation: Plosive
IPA Symbol(s): [k] [g]
Description: Velar plosive
Example: kit, gum

Diagram: C
Place of Articulation: Labials / bilabial
Manner of Articulation: Plosive
IPA Symbol(s): [p] [b]
Description: Bilabial plosive
Example: pin, bin

[p] A constriction of complete closure is made at the lips, vocal cords are not vibrating.
[g] The back of the tongue forms a constriction of complete closure with the velum, vocal
cords are vibrating.
[t] The blade of the tongue forms a constriction of complete closure with the alveolar ridge,
vocal cords are not vibrating.
[k] The back of the tongue forms a constriction of complete closure with the velum, vocal
cords are not vibrating.
[b] A constriction of complete closure is made at the lips, vocal cords are vibrating.
[d] The blade of the tongue forms a constriction of complete closure with the alveolar ridge,
vocal cords are not vibrating.

2. English and Spanish consonants: differences and similarities

The phonological system of Spanish is significantly different from that of English,
particularly in the aspects of vowel sounds and sentence stress. These differences are very
serious obstacles to Spanish learners being able to acquire a native-English-speaker accent.

Producing English consonant sounds can be difficult enough for many Spanish learners.
They may have problems in the following aspects:
Failure to pronounce the end consonant accurately or strongly enough; e.g. cart for
the English word card or brish for bridge or thing for think.
Problems with the /v/ sound in words such as vowel or revive.
Difficulties in sufficiently distinguishing words such as
See/she Spanish speakers mispronounce the following phonemes and tend to
confused them: /s/ instead of //.
Jeep/ Cheap/Sheep Spanish speakers sometimes fail to pronounce the affricate /d/
by confusing it with / / making it sound like they are saying cheap. On the other
hand, when the phoneme its confused with the fricative //, sounds like the word
sheep.
The tendency to prefix words beginning with a consonant cluster on s- with an //
sound; so, for example, school becomes eschool and strip becomes estrip.
The swallowing of sounds in other consonant clusters; examples: next becomes
nes and instead becomes istead.

Spanish is a syllable-timed language: when Spanish speakers transfer the intonation

patterns of their mother tongue into English, which is a stress-timed language, the result
may sometimes be barely comprehensible to native English speakers. This is because the
meaning or information usually conveyed in English by the combination of stress, pitch and
rhythm in a sentence is flattened or evened out by the Spanish learner.

Blending of the Letters "B" and "V": in Spanish, the letters "B" (named "be") and
"V" (named "uve" in Spain; "ve" in Latin America) are both pronounced like the "B" in the
word "boy," which is known in linguistics as a voiced bilabial stop. The sound is made by
touching the lips together. The English "V" sound, made by resting the front teeth on the
bottom lip and making a vibrating sound, does not exist in Spanish. Some Spanish speakers
pronounce the two letters differently, as in English, but according to the Real Academia
Espaola, the governing body of the Spanish language, "[the pronunciation of the letter 'V']
is the same as the letter 'B' in all Spanish-speaking countries." The separation of these two
sounds is thought to be due to English influence.
There are differences between the two languages that may interfere with English
pronunciation (phonemic differences) and with decoding or spelling (phonological
differences).

Spanish does not have the following sounds (listed by category):

Consonant digraphs: sh, th, wh, ph
Endings: -ed (pronounced /d/ or /t/ or /did/ or /tid/)
Endings without a vowel: -ps, -ts

Comparing systems. In this item we are going to compare the consonant systems of
Spanish with those of English. Next, we shall discuss the different ways in which Spanish
learners can improve their pronunciation.
English and Spanish share many of the same consonants and spell them similarly. The main
problems center on shared phonemes with different articulations or allophones, Spanish
phonemes that are absent from the English system, and dialect variation at two major points
in the Spanish system.
General comparison of consonant systems. Figures 2.1 and 2.2 display the
consonant systems of Spanish and English. The two systems are constructed similarly: both
make voiceless/voiced distinctions in their stops (e.g. /p t k/ vs. /b d g/), and there is direct
overlap in that / g/ and other phonemes occur in both.
Consonants with different articulations: /t d/. One must be careful in equating
phonemes by their symbols alone. Both languages have two phonemes conventionally
symbolized (/t/ and /d/, but this does not mean that they are identical). One difference is
articulatory: these stops are dental in Spanish but alveolar in English. That is, the Spanish
speaker pronounces them with the apex (tip of the tongue) against the edges of the inner
surfaces of the upper front teeth, an articulation symbolized as [t d] in a more detailed (or
NARROW) phonetic transcription. The English speaker, on the other hand, articulates them
with the apex on the alveolar ridge just above and behind the upper teeth, as shown in
figure 2.3. Another difference is distributional: Spanish /t d/ readily occur before the glide
/j/ as in tierno and diente /tjrno djnte/, but English /t d/ usually do not.
Other differences are introduced by phonological rules, whereby Spanish /d/ is often
weakened to a fricative [], while English /t/ in various positions is aspirated, flapped, or
preglottalized.
Transferring an alveolar /t d/ to Spanish produces a slight nonnative accent but no serious
misunderstanding. Whatever their phonetic realizations, the phonemes /t d/ are present in
both languages and have similar roles: they contrast in numerous minimal pairs (ta/da,
tie/die) and occupy comparable positions in their respective systems. More problematic are
those phonemes that are present in one system but not in the other, and these receive more
pedagogical attention.

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Figure 2.1 SPANISH CONSONANT PHONEMES (PHONEMES IN DO NOT OCCUR IN ALL

DIALECTS)

Figure 2.2 ENGLISH CONSONANT PHONEMES

Figure 2.3 ALVEOLAR (LEFT) AND DENTAL (RIGHT) of the sounds /t/ and /d/

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Strong differences:
Case /d/ in words:
English: day, damage.
Spanish: da, dao.
Case /t/ in words:
English: tap, tape, table.
Spanish: tipear, tela, techo.
Case /p/ in words:
English: paper, palet, person, popular, people.
Spanish: papel, paladar, persona, popular.

Strong similarities:
Case / / in words:
English: chair, church, chess, cheese, chase, chocolate.
Spanish: chimenea, chocolate, hacha, hecho, Chaco.
Case / d/ in words:
English: George, gem, juice.
Spanish: yeso, yegua, yacar.

3. How to improve our and their pronunciation?

Strategies for Spanish speakers
As we previously said: English and Spanish share many of the same consonants
and spell them similarly. The main problems center on shared phonemes with different
articulations or allophones, Spanish phonemes that are absent from the English system,
and dialect variation at two major points in the Spanish system.
Point out differences when you introduce phonemic awareness activities
(distinguishing sounds) by showing students how to make those sounds. These are some
examples and suggestions:
By saying to students, for example:
To make the sound for /sh/ in ship, pronounce it like the Spanish /sh/ by letting air
out between your teeth. Notice how you can stretch the /sh/ sound until you run out of air.

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In order to make the sound /ch/ in chip, you touch the top of your mouth with your tongue
and let the air out with a little explosion. Notice how you cannot stretch that sound.
Spanish speakers have difficulty distinguishing the ways to pronounce the -ed in
past-tense verbs.
Give students examples for each as follows:
"We pronounce it /d/ when the word ends with"

"We pronounce it /t/ when the word ends with"

"When the word ends with t, it sounds like /tid/ as in patted."

"When the word ends with d, it sounds like /did/ as in added."
Spanish speakers may leave out word endings when saying or spelling a word. For
example: restauran instead of restaurant; end instead of ended. They may also have
problems spelling words that contain the consonant blends, initial sounds, and final sounds
listed in the box above.
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Additionally, students might substitute:

[ll] sound for y (because ll is the nearest sound in Spanish. For example: llelow instead of
yellow.)
/p/ and /b/ sounds
/p/ (cup, punch, pull)
/b/ (cub, bunch, bull)
The /p/ and /b/ sounds are often studied as a pair because both sounds are produced
in the front of the mouth with the tongue in the same place. The only difference is that the
/b/ is voiced and the /p/ sound is voiceless.
In the English language, we use many voiced sounds. That means that the vocal
cords vibrate when you say that letter. You can hear a voiced /b/ sound in words such as
"back" and "cab."
The letter P is a voiceless sound because the vocal cords do not vibrate. Instead, we
use a puff of air to produce the sound. You can hear the /p/ sound in words such as "pack"
and "cap."

Suggestions:
Practise the voiced /b/ sound by saying these words. Hold a piece of paper or your
hand in front of your mouth to make sure you are voicing the consonant and not using a
puff of air.
Try by saying these words: bug, cab, boy, bubble, brown, black, bring, tub, rub, big.
Now practise the voiceless /p/ sound. Use a piece of paper to practice the voiceless
P sound. When you say this sound, you should release a puff of air from your mouth that
moves the paper. Your vocal cords should not vibrate.
Try by saying these words: purple, cap, up, cup, happy, pot, lips, play, pie, practice.

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References
A Course in Spanish Linguistics Spanish/English Contrasts
Second Edition. M. Stanley Whitley (2002)
A Course in English Phonetics for Spanish Speakers
Diana F. Finch and Hctor Ortiz Lira (1982)
Differences between Spanish and English (2007)
http://www.colorincolorado.org
Really Learn English! Lessons for teachers and students
http://www.really-learn-english.com/

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