Phoneme

Lecture 12
 Language in the Brain

Semantic/ Phonological/
Conceptual
Logical
Intellectual
Sensory Physical
correlations
correlations
System Motor
System

2
 Phonological Form
•  Sound wave
•  Speech sounds
•  Segmental parse
•  Segmental properties-Distinctive Features
•  Segmental processes- Assimilation/
Dissimilation
•  Prosodic parse- Syllable/Mora
•  Prosodic processes-OMP, SSP, WPP, WSP

3
 Acoustics
Sound is a wave, so in order to create and
perceive the wave we need
•  A pulse generator
•  A medium of propagation
•  Receptors
 Sound wave: Perceptual correlates
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0.0363130661
5000

•  Harmonics: Bands of High energy/

maximal displacement- separated by

Frequency (Hz)
bands of low energy/minimum
displacement-produced by a 0

stationary wave
0 0.07263
Time (s)

Harmonics => Degree of sonority

Obstruents---Liquids---Nasals—Glides---Vowels

Harmonics in Vowels => Formant Frequency (F1,F2)

Fk = Speed of Propagation × 2k-1
Length of tube 4 5
he vocal tract. The length factor is pretty easy to describe w
e vocal tract is simple. For example, if the vocal tract is sha
ose—exactly the same diameter from
About the waves glottis to lips—its reso
be defined by a simple formula:
1 2n 2 1 2 3 c
Fn 5
4L
a says that resonant frequency number n (where n 5 1, 2, 3
•  N= number of the formant (F1, F2, F3)
2, and F3) is equal to 1 subtracted from 2 times n, multiplie
•  C= speed of sound, 35,000
und c, divided by four times the length of the vocal tract L.
•  L= length of vocal tract
Ladefoged’s vocal tract was 17.5 cm long, so the c/4L pa
•  Assuming my L=12 cm, L’=15cm
his formant frequencies is 35,000/ 1 4 3 17.5 2 5 500. The
•  F1= 729 Hz, F1’=583 Hz
eed of sound and tells us how quickly a sound wave travels f
glottis as it bounces around inside the mouth. The first term
 Bhopal Hindi_CE10403
f1 vs f2 plot
0
-2500 -2000 -1500 -1000 -500 0
-100

-200

-2232.148964, -266.1046053
-736.4978453, -296.3304097
-300
-2174.503386, -312.8295494
-2006.865456, -373.294993 -1100.46384, -385.4552465 -400
F1

f1 vs f2 plot
-500

-1253.551714, -570.8360726
-600

-700

-1215.710609, -767.3541406
-800

-900
F2
 Bangla_paroma
Y-value 1
0
-3500 -3000 -2500 -2000 -1500 -1000 -500 0

-100

-200

-300

-400
Y-value 1
-500

-600

-700

-800

-900
 Sound wave: Perceptual correlates
•  Amplitude: Displacement of a wave.
•  Amplitude => Directly proportional to Loudness
•  Loud sound => Strident
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0.0480326289
5000
Frequency (Hz)

0
0 0.09607 9
Time (s)
6 CHAPTER 1 Articulation and Acoustics Speech mechanism
Figure 1.3 The four main components of the speech mechanism.

oro-nasal
process •  Air stream process
articulatory
process •  Phonation process
phonation
process •  Oro-nasal process
•  Articulatory process
airstream
process

SOUND WAVES
So far, we have been describing speech sounds by stating how they are made,
 Perceptually, speech sounds are
Consonants Vowels
•  There is a major restriction •  There is no major restriction
to the flow of air. in air flow.
•  This increases air pressure •  However, the walls of the
inside one of the supra- tube are molded to create
glottal cavities.
different shapes.
•  Increase in supra-glottal
pressure tends to stop air •  The sound waves bounce
flow. back and forth between
•  So, very often it produces these walls creating
irregular pulse. resonance.
tographs were taken by placing a small mirror at the back of the mouth so that
it was possible to look straight down the pharynx toward the larynx. The top of
the picture is toward the front of the neck, the lower part toward the back. The
vocal folds are the white bands running vertically in each picture. Their position
Crucial consonantal features
can be adjusted by the movements of the arytenoid cartilages, which are under-
neath the small protuberances visible in the lower part of the pictures.

•  Voicing
Figure 6.6 Four states of the glottis. Photographs by John Ohala and Ralph Vanderslice.
 Articulation and Acoustics Places of Articul
Consonantal articulators
6 Figure
The principal parts of the lower 1.5 of the
surface Thevocal tract.parts of the upper surface of the vocal tract.
principal
 (Lower lip and upper front teeth.) Most people, when saying words such as
fie and vie, raise the lower lip until it nearly touches the upper front teeth.

Figure 1.7 Place of articulation

A sagittal section of the vocal tract, showing the places of articulation that
occur in English. The coronal region is shown in more detail at the right.

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.
Speech sounds: Manner of Articulation
•  PLOSIVE- Complete Closure sudden release
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0.134739108
5000

Frequency (Hz)

0
0 0.2695
Time (s)

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Speech sounds: Manner of Articulation
•  AFFRICATE- Complete Closure slow release
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0.129014989
5000
Frequency (Hz)

0
0 0.258
Time (s)

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Speech sounds: Manner of Articulation
•  FRICATIVE- Incomplete closure Slow release
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1.69467558 2.24283947
5000
Frequency (Hz)

0
1.65 2.302
Time (s)
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Speech sounds: Manner of Articulation
•  NASAL- Complete oral closure Nasal release
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0.383846159 2.14692246
5000
Frequency (Hz)

0
0.3838 2.147
Time (s)

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ER 1 Articulation and Acoustics p/b vs m
Figure 1.9 The positions of the vocal organs in the bilabial nasal (stop) in my.
1.8 The positions of the vocal organs in the bilabial stop in buy.

1.9 The positions of the vocal organs in the bilabial nasal (stop) in my.
ridge) come together for the stop and then, instead of coming fully apart, sep
only slightly, so that a fricative is made at approximately the same place of arti
Speech sounds: Manner of Articulation
•  LIQUIDS- Central oral closure Lateral/
intermittent release
_l_ _r_
0.772910053 1.96682133 9.5292938 9.79120824
5000 5000
Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)
0
0.7729 1.967 0
Time (s) 9.529 9.791
Time (s)

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