Speech Sounds: Articulatory Properties

• Speech sounds are not single units but composed of separate, simultaneous physical events.

Segmental Composition

• Producing a sound like [t] requires air from the lungs, wide-apart vocal cords for voicelessness, a raised velum for oral sounds, and tongue blade contact with the alveolar ridge.
• Altering any of these factors results in a different sound.
• Speech sounds break down into articulatory components or properties that combine to produce varied sounds.
• Features show sound commonalities and relationships.
• [t] and [d] differ only by vocal cord state and form a natural class of alveolar stops.
• [p, t, k] form a natural class of voiceless stops, differing by active and passive articulators.
• [t] and [v] differ in vocal cord state, active and passive articulators, and articulator distance.
• [t] and [v] share only airflow direction and a raised velum, which are properties also found in other sounds

Phonetic vs. Phonological Features

• Recurring groupings are typical of phonological processes
• Understanding the system is the goal of the phonologist
• Groups of sounds that are non-recurring do not constitute a class
• Nasalization affects vowels, and nasals trigger it.
• Natural classes can consist of any number of sounds and the smaller the class the more features
• A sophisticated, formalized feature set is needed to adequately characterize segments and classes.
• Articulation places translate Chapter 2's physical terms into features like [bilabial], [dental], [alveolar], and classifying speech sounds.
• Binary features have two values (+ or -).
• [p], [t], and [k] can each be specified with such binary features.
• Matrices listing all articulation places mean each place is separate.
• Negatively defined classes limit 'natural classes', where segments are not classified as '+' for a feature.
• Those positively defined classes ([+ alveolar], [+ bilabial]) identify sets of segments for phonology.
• [- velar] or [- palatal] are negatively defined sets.
• Classifying bilabials and labiodentals as 'labials' is less precise.
• Feature values make combinations that languages do not need or cannot articulate.
• A phonologist's goal is to economically express generalizations without unwanted claims.

The Need for a Different Set of Features

• Concrete features are inadequate
• Needed is a different feature set able to make and generalize claims about how sounds behave in languages
• A power set like those illustrated in (7.1) and (7.2), are needed less
• Representing major articulation places is done by two binary features: [anterior] and [coronal].
• [+ anterior] sounds are made no further back than the alveolar ridge.
• [+ coronal] sounds are made between the teeth and hard palate.
• The feature combinations represent sound groups.

Charting the Features

• Larger groupings, like dentals, alveolars, and palatals (as [+ coronal]), can be referred to, and there are no unused feature combinations.
• Generalizations are without formal reference to any group and this requires only 2 phonological features
• Distinctions can be established between phonetic and phonological features.
• Phonetic features correspond to physical articulatory or acoustic events.
• Phonological features allow a look beyond all the individual language sound systems and segments
• Linguistics tries to determine the universal human language properties.
• Establishing features to characterize world languages' speech sounds is needed.
• A universal feature set will have a subset to be both finite and universally available for each specific language
• Concrete example are Implosives [6], [d] and [g] which are in some languages
• Some features may be irrelevant to some language, such as English which does not use implosives
• A universal set for phonological features will have either used/unused or not selected for each language
• Accounts must be able to account for all huma phonologies

Major Class Features

• These are the first distinctions to make between sounds and this helps distinguish consonants, sonorants and obstruents.
• Features used for major classes include [syllabic], [consonantal], and [sonorant].
• Note that segments and examples are for RP English (unless otherwise stated).
• Examples are in phonetic transcription only.

[+/- Syllabic]

• Allows the distinction between vowels and other sound types.
• [+ syll] identifies sounds functioning as syllable nuclei (e.g., [æ] and [ɪ] in ['æbɪt]).
• [- syll] identifies sounds not functioning as nuclei (e.g., [l], [b], and [t] in ['æbɪt]).
• Under certain circumstances, segments other than vowels may be [+ syllabic] like liquids and nasals.

[+/- Consonantal]

• Distinguishes "true" consonants from vowels and glides.
• [+ cons] involves sounds with oral stricture of at least close approximation (e.g., [p], [l], [t] in ['pælɪt]).
• [-cons] involves sounds that are ore open than close approximation (e.g., [j] and [ɛ] in [jes]).

[+/- Sonorant]

• Distinguishes vowels, glides, liquids, and nasals from oral stops, affricates, and fricatives.
• [+ son] sounds show a clear formant pattern e.g., [n], [j], [u:] in [nju:ts].
• [- son] sounds show no clear formant pattern e.g., [t] and [s] in [nju:ts].
• By using these three features, accurate distinctions are made between major segment classes: vowels, glides, sonorant consonants, and obstruents.

Consonantal Features

• After making distinctions between sound categories, further features are needed to distinguish segments in each category.
• Focus is on the way specific features characterize sound groups starting with 'voice'.

[+/- Voice]

• Distinguishes consonants associated with vibrating cords and those who are not
• [+ voi] sounds are made with airflow through the glottis with the vocal cords close together (e.g., [l], [m], [n], [d] in ['sælə,mændə]).
• [-voi] are sounds made with the vocal cords at rest (such as obstruents like [s] and [p] of [æsp]).
• Vowels and sonorants are generally [+ voi].
• Voiceless vowels exist, indicated with a subscript ring.
• Voiceless sonorants exist as well

[+/- Coronal]

• Used to distinguish segments involving the front of the tongue (dentals, alveolars, and palatals).
• [+ cor] sounds are articulated with the tongue tip or blade raised (e.g., [t], [d] and [l] sounds in ['tæd pool]).
• Some classify palatal consonants as [- coronal] rather than [+ coronal].
• [-cor] sounds do not use the front of the tongue for articulation (e.g., [p] in ['tæd,pool]).

[+/- Anterior]

• Distinguishes front-of-the-mouth sounds (labials, dentals, and alveolars) from others.
• [+ ant] sounds produced happen at or in front of the alveolar ridge, for instance the [s] and [n] in [sneık].
• [-ant] sounds happen further back in oral cavity than the alveolar ridge, such as the [k] and [dʒ] in [keidʒ].
• The [w] is classified as [- ant] despite its dual articulation.
• Labials are [- cor, + ant].
• Dentals/Alveolars are [+ cor, + ant].
• Palato-alveolars or Palatals are [+ cor, - ant].
• Velars/Glottals are [- cor, – ant].
• The last combination also includes uvular and pharyngeal segments .
• While [l] is [+ cor, + ant], not all r-sounds are.

Manner Features

• The Manner features are: [continuant], [nasal], [strident], [lateral], [delayed release].

[+/- Continuant]

• Distinguishes between stops and other sounds
• [+ cont] sounds have free air flow through the oral cavity (such as the sounds in [fi])
• [-cont] sounds have airflow stopped in the oral cavity (oral and nasal stops, such as [m] and [p] sounds in [mæp]).

[+/- Nasal]

• Differentiates between nasal sounds and non-nasals
• [+ nas] are sounds produced with lowered velum and consistent airflow, like the [m] sounds in ['mæməl]
• [-nas] sounds are produced without airflow through the nasal cavity, for example all the sounds in [θɪŋ].
• May also be relevant for some vowels like the French lấit [lɛ] 'milk' and lin [lɛ̃] 'flax'.

[+/- Strident]

• Separates relatively turbulent sounds all others
• [+ strid] sounds involve a complex constriction which results in noisy or hissing airflow.
• [– strid] do not contain such constriction, such as the [θ] and [n] in [θɪŋ].

[+/- Lateral]

• Separates [l]-sounds from others, distinguishing [l] from [l].
• [+ lat] are sounds produced with a central oral obstruction and airflow passing over one or both sides of the tongue.
• It the [-lat] then it is all other sounds
• Other languages may have different [l]-sounds.

[+/- Delayed Release]

• Distinguishes affricates from other [- cont] segments
• [+ del rel] are sounds produced with stop closure and frication, as with [tʃ]
• [- del rel] are sounds produced without such articulation.

Vocalic Features

• The features are primarily relevant to vowel variations, however some are applicable to consonants.
• Height, backness, roundness, and length distinguish vowels.

[+/- High]

_Distinguished high sounds from other sounds.

• [+ hi] has the body of the tongue is raised above the neutral position (approximately the [ɪ] sounds in ['wɪpɪt])
• [- hi] the body is not raised (e.g., the [ɛ] in ['fɛt])

[+/- Low]

• Distinguishes low sounds from other sounds
• [+ lo] sounds has the body of the tongue lowered with respect to neutral position (e.g., the [æ] in [ænt]).
• [– lo] sounds are those without such lowering (e.g., the [ɔ:] in [hɔ:s]).
• Specification [- hi, – lo] characterizes mid vowels.

[+/- Back]

• Distinguishing sounds with body of the tongue retracted
• [+ back] sound retracts the body of the tongue from the neutral position, such as the [u:] in [bə'bu:n]
• [-back] sounds don't have the tongue retracted [ɛ] in [welk].

[+/- Front]

• Distinguishes sounds at the front of the mouth
• [+ front] has sounds with the body of the tongue fronted from the neutral position examples [i:] and [ɪ].
• [- front] tongue is not fronted, the [ə] and [u:] of [bə'bu:n].

[+/- Round]

• Has distinguished rounded and unrounded
• [+ rnd] is the rounded or protruding lips, sounds as such as the [ɔ:] in [hɔ:s]
• [- rnd] neutral or spread lips; like the [ɑ:] .

[+/- Tense]

• Used to distinguish long from short vowels (generally not relevant for consonants)
• Tense sounds involved a 'tensing' of the body of the tongue, such as the [i:] in [fi:p].
• [- tns] don't have this constriction and are shorter and more centralized, for instance like the [ɪ] in [dɪp]

[+/- Advanced Tongue Root]

• Used to characterize the vowel sounds
• [+ ATR] produced with the root of the tongue pushed forward.
• [-ATR] sounds those in which pushed tonge root

Further Considerations

• The [ATR] can be similar to the [+ tns].
• Sets of features in the sections preceeding are found in many textbooks and primary sources, note that this is not always uncontroversial or unproblematic
• Characterizing vowel systems encountered can involve awkward compromoses or omissions with language in the world
• Vowel height is terms of [high] and [low].
• In four combination features the height is binary
• If there are 4 combinations the system will only characterize three vowel heights and [ +hi + lo] cannot happen since cannot simultaneously raise and lower
• Accounts of languages that use a single feature to characterize a horizontal axis creat difficultes

Conclusion

• The chapter has been on the blocks which make segments -By referencing to sound classes generalizations can be made for human language