PHONETICS

CLAUDIA JUDITH MOSQUERA

What is phonetics
Phonetics is the study of the way people physical produce and perceive the different sounds we use to create speech. These sounds are called phonemes and are created by the various 'organs of speech' in the body, including the tongue, the soft and hard palate, lips, pharynx, etc. Phonetics, unlike phonology, is not concerned in any way with the meaning connected to these sounds.

Phonology is the study of the way speech sounds are structured and how these are combined to create meaning in words, phrases and sentences. Phonology can be considered an aspect of grammar and, just as there are grammar 'rules' that apply to the syntax of a sentence and the morphology of words, there are phonological rules, too.
Even in very early childhood, children are said to be able to produce (i.e. they can articulate) the full range of sounds needed to create all of the words used in any world language, yet as language acquisition progresses, those phonemes that do not apply to their mother tongue become forgotten. This is so much so that in later life, if a second language is then attempted, the pronunciation of non-English phonemes needs to be re-learned - this time at a wholly conscious level, as opposed to the ability to pronounce each English phoneme without any conscious thought. Even 'non-words' such as 'erm', 'uh?', etc. use English phonemes An important part of phonology is the study of those sounds that form distinct units within a language. The smallest unit of sound that can, in itself, alter the meaning of a word is called a phoneme. Although there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, it's interesting to note that there are around 44 phonemes in the dialect called Standard English. This means that letters cannot represent phonemes as such and so other symbols are used. Each phoneme is given a symbol so that the accurate pronunciation of any English word can be represented in writing. Here is the (American) English phonetic alphabet - version of the International Phonetic Alphabet or IPA:

Organs of speech

 Consider the word might, in which there are three phonemes m-ight-t (represented as m/ai/t using the Phonetic Alphabet), changing just a single phoneme can completely change the meaning of this word, e.g. mate, m-a-te (represented as m/ei/t phonetically). Some of the extra sounds are there because we use phonemes that are called diphthongs. If the tongue has to move significantly to make a vowel sound, the result is a diphthong; it sounds like a rapid blend of two vowel sounds. The letter 'i' in the word 'kite' is a diphthong - it is a rapidly made blend of an 'a' and an 'i' sound. The movement of sound from the 'a' to the 'i' is called a glide. Phonology also covers the study of important sound features such as rhythm, pitch, tone, melody, stress and intonation. These phonological features of language are aspects of prosody - they are referred to as the prosodic or suprasegmental features of language.

back: pronounced with the tongue moved back towards the throat. For example, [o] and [u] (the "oo" sound of "cool") are back vowels. Contrast front, central. [Spanish: posterior]

central: neither front nor back, but in-between. (See the diagram of phonetic symbols for vowels.) For example in most varieties of American English the "a" [a] of "father" and the "schwa" sound [] (the "u" of "mud") are central vowels. [Spanish: central]

front: pronounced with the body of the tongue pushed towards the front part of the mouth (towards the teeth); usually used only to describe vowels. For example, the "e" [e] sound of "bet" and the "ee" [i] sound of "beet" are front vowels. Contrast back, central. [Spanish: anterior]

Chart of English Consonants

Chart of English Vowels

Vowel Lip Rounding

The 3rd dimension of vowel quality is the amount of rounding of the lips. Notice that both front and back vowels as well as high and low vowels can be rounded However, it is generally more common for low and back vowels to be rounded

Describing vowels
Height Front Backness Central Back

High

i (heat)
I
(hit)

u (shoot)
U (should)

Mid

e (mate)

o (coat)
(Canada)

Rounded

Low

(met)
(mat)

(cut)

(ought)

(boy)

aj aw

a (lock)

Tense: i, e, u, o, aj , aw, j Lax: I, , , , , , a, U

Back to the chart

voiceless - left voiced - right
Place of articulation bilabial labiodental _____ f v interdental _____ alveolar palatal _____ velar glottal Manner of articulation

stop
fricative affricate flap nasal liquid

t
s

d
z

h _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ m

_____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____

_____ n

_____ _____

lat.
retr.

_____

_____
_____

_____
_____

l r
_____

_____

_____
_____

_____
_____

glide

We need one more distinction!

The International Phonetic Alphabet

Number

Name KIT DRESS TRAP LOT STRUT FOOT BATH CLOTH

Other Examples ship, rib, dim step, ebb, hem bad, cab, ham stop, odd, Tom cup, rub, hum bush, look, good staff, clasp, dance cough, long, gone

Number

Name THOUGHT GOAT GOOSE PRICE CHOICE MOUTH NEAR SQUARE

Other Examples Waugh, hawk, broad soap, robe, home loop, mood, boom ripe, tribe, time boy, void, coin pouch, loud, noun beer, weird, fierce care, air, wear

/kt/
/dres/ /trp/

/:t/
/gt/ /gu:s/
/pras/

/lt/
/strt/

/ts/
/ma/ /n(r)/
/skwe(r)/

/ft/
/b:/ /kl/

/n:s/

NURSE
FLEECE FACE

curb, turn, work

reap, seed, seize late, babe, name

/st:t/
/n:/

START
NORTH FORCE

far, sharp, farm

for, York, storm ore, floor, coarse

/fli:s/ /fes/
/p:m/

/f:s/
/'kj(r)/

PALM

bra, Brahms, blah

CURE

boor, tour, gourd [b]

Sound/symbol correspondence
The need for a transcription system
Consider written English enough through thorough thought bough think church those thistle loch thong Cheryl

chemistry

Sound/symbol correspondence The need for a transcription system

Consider written English

enough through thorough thought bough think those thistle thong

church chemistry

loch Cheryl

Can you read this

I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough? [tf] [bau] [kf] [d] Others may stumble but not you On hiccough, thorough, lough and through. ['hkp] ['r] [lk] [ru:] Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps?

Sound/symbol correspondence
enough through thorough thought bough [f] [u:] [] [:] [a] think [] those [] thistle [] loch [x] thong []

church chemistry [t] [k]

Cheryl []

Describing Consonants
We use three features to describe consonants:
Place of Articulation: Where the sound is produced. Manner of Articulation: How the sound is produced. Voicing: Whether the vocal cords are vibrating.

Work in a small group and figure out where the following sounds are produced:
[t] [k] [s] [m] [](genre) [d] [g] [z] [n] [](think) [p] [f] [l] [h] [](there) [b] [v] [r] [] (shell) [](sing)

Places of articulation
Lips
bilabials: [b] [p] [m] labiodentals: [f] [v]

Teeth
interdentals: [] []

Alveolar ridge
alveolars: [t] [d] [s] [z] [l] [n]

Places of articulation
Palate
(alveo)palatals: [] [] [] [] palatal: [j] (yes)

Velum (soft palate) velars: [k] [g] []

labiovelar: [w]

Glottal
glottal: [h] []

Manner of articulation
Stops - complete blockage of the air stream and sudden release in a burst
oral stops: [p] [b] [t] [d] [k] [g] nasal stops: [m] [n] [] glottal:

Manner of articulation
Fricatives - continuous airflow through a narrow opening which causes friction

[s] [z] [f] [v] [] [] [] [] [h]

Sibilants - class of fricatives and affricates that have a hissing sound

[s] [z] [] [] [] []
Affricates - a stop that is released slowly

[] []

Manner of Articulation
Liquids (in English, /l/ and /r/), have some obstruction of the airstream, but not enough to cause any real friction. Glides (or semivowels; /w/ as in we and /j/ as in you) also have little obstruction, and the tongue moves rapidly either towards or away from a neighboring vowel. A tap (or flap) occurs when the tongue makes a single quick touch on the alveolar ridge, as in butter (in most American English dialects).

Manner of articulation
Liquids - all variants of r and l
laterals - [l]-like sounds retroflex - [r] in English

flap - [] Am. Eng. unstressed t and d between vowels (butter, ready) Glides - the tongue glides [j] [w]

Voicing
The last quality we use to describe consonants is voicing; in voiced consonants, the vocal folds are vibrating, while in voiceless consonants they are not. A simple test for voicing: as you speak, place your hand on your throat. If you can feel a vibration, the sound is voiced.

Write the spelling of the following transcription

More than three hundred and thirty thousand of Britains poorest children will lose their right to free school meals when social security changes come into effect tomorrow.

Suprasegmental/Prosodic properties

Pitch:
Tone: Pitch movement that is related to differences in word meaning. Intonation: Pitch movement that is not related to differences in word meaning.

Stress:
(an) export vs. (to) export (an) object vs. (to) object

Transcribe the following words. Mark the stress.

1. Assignment
2. Computer

3. Dictionary
4. Exam 5. Grammar 6. Phonetics

Read this short extract. Mark the words with more than one syllable. Determine the position of the stress.

James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the sudden disappearance of the islands Governor and his assistant. When he arrives, 007 begins to suspect that the Governors absence is in some way linked to Dr No, the reclusive owner of a remote island which lies between Cuba and Jamaica.
Stress on 1st syllable: sudden, island, Governor, absence, Dr, owner, Cuba Stress on 2nd syllable: Jamaica, investigate, assistant,arrives, begins, suspect, reclusive, remote, between, Stress on 3rd syllable: disappearance, 007

Diphthong tongue twisters

As he gobbled the cakes on his plate, the greedy ape said as he ate, the greener green grapes are, the keener keen apes are to gobble green grape cakes, they're great! from Dr. Seuss's O Say Can You Say?

/ i: /
- Representa los grafemas: ee - ea - ie - ei - e - E.G: eat, see, please, she, free,, piece, cathedral, feet, ... fleece, sea, machine - /i:t/ /k'i:drl//si:/ /pli:z/ /i:/ /'fri:/ /ski:/ /fi:t/ /fli:s/ /si:/ /m:i:n/

/I/
- En ingls aparece en los grafemas : i - y - e a - Ejemplos: build, rich, ship, live, big, happy, video, orange kit bid hymn minute /bld/ /rt/ /p/ /live//bg/ /'hpi/ /'vdi/ /'rnd/ /kt/ /bd/ /hm/ hymn /hm/ mnt/

 Los grafemas ms frecuentes que lo representan en ingls son: u - oo - ou o

Ejemplos: look, sugar, push, put, cook, foot, good-looking, woman, should, wolf, education... /lk/ /'g(r)/ /p/ /pt/ /kk/ /ft/ /'gd'lk/ /'wmn/ /d//wlf/ /'edj'ken/

/ u: /
Los grafemas que lo representan son: " oo - u - ou - o - ew - ue - ui - oe " for example: ,

June, food, true, soon, flu, soup, you, moon, suit, suitable, blue, afternoon,, juice, zoo, shoe, two/too, do... goose, group /du:n/ /fu:d/ /tru:/ /su:n/ /flu:/ /su:p/ /ju:/ /mu:n//su:t / /'su:tbl/ /blu:/ /':ft'nu:n/ /du:s/ /zu:/ /u:/ /tu://du:/ /gu:s/ /gru:p/

/e/
Va en slaba acentuada o tnica = / ksi dentl / ) Grafemas representantes de / e / : - e - ea - a - u Ejemplos: web, American, bury, head, stress, French, friend, television, welcome, tennis... /web/ /'merkn//'beri//hed/ /stres/ /frent/ /frend/ /'telvn/ /'welkm/ tennis/

 Grafemas: todas las vocales y grupos de vocales pueden representar el sonido "schwa". Ejemplos: mother, Saturday, secretary, information, Japan, cupboard, famous, brother, afraid, ago, about, Its a , tomorrow, woman, tomato, worker, Brazil... /'m(r)/ /'stde//'sekrteri / |/'sekrtri// 'nf'men/ /d'pn//'kbd/ /'fems/ /'br(r)/ /'fred//'g/ /'bat/ /t'mr/ /'wmn/ /t'met / ||/t'm:t//'w:k(r)/ /br'zl/

 Los grafemas principales que representan este sonido ingls estn en: - ir - er - ear ur or - our ; en palabras como: first, earth, nurse, word, journey... Ejemplos: curly, sir, turtle, dirty, shirt, murderer, learn, surname, worse, work, Thursday, church... /'k:li/ | / 't:t / /'d:ti/ /f:st/ /:/ /w:d//:t/ /'m:dr(r)/ /l:n/ | /'s:nem/ /w:k/ /':zde//t:t/

 Los grafemas que lo representan son: or - ore - oor - aw - oar - ou - our - a - all Ejemplos: of course, dawn, short, tall, all, board, poor, war, more, ball, talk, strawberries, floor, you're, forty... /v k:s/ /d:n/ /:t//d:n/ /:t/ /t:l//:l//b:rd / || /b:d/ /p(r)/ ||/p:r//w:(r)/ /m:(r)//b:l/ /t:k/ /'str:beri / ||/'str:bri/ /fl:(r)//j(r)/ , /j:(r)//'f:ti/

 Lleva la fuerza de voz ( accident = (/ksident / ). El grafema principal que lo representa es la " a ". Ejemplos: had, match, accident, apple, have, hand, happy, grandmother, packet...
/hd//mt//'ksdnt / /'ksdnt//'pl/ /hv//hnd//'hpi/ /'grnmr / |/'grnm(r)/ /'pkt/

 Los grafemas que lo representan son la " - u -" trabada entre dos consonantes, "o -" ( Monday ), " - ou - " ( young ) y tambin " - oo - " (blood , flood).

Ejemplos: run, country, done, but, among, must, some, monkey, cut, just, double, number, son, Sunday, husband. love, mud, strut /rn/ /'kntri//dn/ bt/ /'m//sm//'mki//'dbl/ /'hzbnd/ /'snde/ /'-di//'hzbnd//dst/ /mst/ /bld/ /fld/ /flu:/ /lv/ /md/ /strt/

 Los grafemas que lo representan son: a (r) - er - ear - al au

Ejemplos: farm, afternoon, France, bar, class, park, carpet, March, aunt, laugh, heart, half, password, dance, can't, father, aunt .../f:m/ /:ft'nu:n/ /b:(r)/ /kl:s//fr:ns//kl:s/ /p:k//'k:rpt / /'k:pt//m:t//:nt/ /l:f//h:t/ /h:f/d:ns/ / /knt / |/k:nt/ /'f:(r)/ /:nt/

 Los grafemas que lo representan son : o - a - au - ou

Ejemplos: shopping, gone, strong, cough, because, box, wash, coffee, often, want, wrong, from, job, tomorrow, doctor, orange... /'p/ /gn//str//kf//b'kz/ /bks/ /w/ /'k /t'mr/ fi/ |/'fn/ , /'ftn/ /wnt/ /r/ /frm//db/ /t'm:r //'dkt(r)/ /'rnd/

Thank you!