English Phonetics and Phonology 2022-2023 PDF

English Phonetics and Phonology 2022-2023  Linguistic levels Language /‘læŋgwId͡ ʒ/ structure pragmatics use medium (oral) semantics phonetics lexicon discourse phonology grammar morphology synta...

English Phonetics and Phonology 2022-2023  Linguistic levels Language /‘læŋgwId͡ ʒ/ structure pragmatics use medium (oral) semantics phonetics lexicon discourse phonology grammar morphology syntax Interactions between levels morphology-phonology interface: e.g. electric → electricity morphology-lexicon interface: e.g. ox- en phonology-pragmatics interface: e.g. She’s come (statement, question, exclamation) syntax-semantics interface: John loves Mary vs. Mary loves John  Phonetics A speech signal conveys many types of information. It is produced by a speaker’s speech organs and received by the hearer’s ear. A speech signal consists in rapid pressure variations in the air (sound waves) which correspond to the sequence of speech sounds (or ‘segments’) produced.  Phonetics Phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds articulatory phonetics: how sounds are produced acoustic phonetics: how sounds are transmitted auditory phonetics: how sounds are perceived by the ears perceptual phonetics: how sounds are received by the brain (i.e. translated back into meaning) Articulatory phonetics production of sounds (or segments) description (phonetic transcription IPA) classification of sounds according to their properties (e.g. consonants vs. vowels) considers ‘suprasegmental’ aspects of speech (e.g. stress, tone) (represented in transcription).  Phonology Studies the sound system of a language (i.e. how the sounds of a language are organized). Studies the sounds of a language (e.g./ ð/) and how they combine to form meaningful units. It tells us which co m b i n at i o n s ar e p o s s i b le , w h i c h impossible (e.g. */zm/, */zl/, */zn/; /bʊk/ vs. */ kbʊ/) Tasks for phonology Phoneme inventory: which sounds of language can change one word into another (/bʊk/- /tʊk/; /bʊk/- /bʊʃ/) Phonotactics: how sounds can combine in a language Phonological processes: changes to sounds in rapid speech (e.g. can be)  Phonology Phonology deals with the abstract levels of sounds, i.e. the level at which sounds are stored in our minds. Ex. [tʰ] table, top /t/ [t] stop, stable [Ɂ] kitten, button Phonetically, these sounds are distinct, but in our minds they are stored as /t/. The sound as stored in our mind is called “phoneme”, and its phonetic realizations are called …………. phonetic ['tʰeIbł] vs. phonemic transcription /‘teibl/  Phonological vs. graphic word The word “book” /bʊk/ has 3 phonemes (2 consonants and 1 vowel) and 4 graphemes When we talk about vowels and consonants we refer to the sounds, NOT to the letters used in spelling!!! In English we have 5 vowel letters and 21 consonant letters BUT 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds. Pronunciation vs. spelling No one-to-one correspondence between spelling and pronunciation. Problems for learners: cluster “ough” has at least 8 sound patterns. cough; rough; bough; although; through; bought; thorough  RP RP (Received Pronunciation) “Received” used to mean “socially acceptable”. It is a social accent (not geographical) (cf. Concise Oxford English Dictionary "the standard accent of English as spoken in the south of England”) RP was “invented” a couple of centuries ago in public schools to distinguish privileged people from common people. spoken by about 2%-3% of the UK population. Associated with educated, upper-class people and formal speech. RP & Standard Southern British Accent on which phonemic transcriptions in dictionaries are based; widely used for teaching English as a foreign language (in competition with General American). The accent currently considered as the modern equivalent of RP is Standard Southern British. It is a prestige, non- rhotic accent of the south east of England. The IPA handbook uses Standard Southern British as a reference system (or standard accent).  Rhotic and non-rhotic accents In rhotic accents (e.g. Gen Am, Scottish, Irish English) written “r” is realized in all positions. In non-rhotic accents (e.g. Australian, Welsh) written “r” is realized in pre- vocalic position only (i.e. not before consonants (since 18th-19th century) or word-final) Ex: father /'fa:ðə/ ['fa:ðɚ] (BUT father-in-law), north vs. root, orange How we produce speech An outgoing stream of air produced by the lungs (egressive airstream) passes through the larynx (the ‘Adam’s apple’) and along the vocal tract, formed by the mouth and nose to produce speech sounds. A variety of muscles interact to change the configuration of the vocal tract. Parts of the articulators (the speech organs in the vocal tract) come into contact or near contact with other parts to form the sounds. The articulatory system Contained in the vocal tract, that is, in the mouth, nose and throat above the larynx (supra-glottal vocal tract). The pharyngeal cavity hosts the soft palate or velum. Its position determines whether a sound is nasal or oral. If it is raised, the airstream flows out through the mouth. If it is lowered the air escapes through the nose. The articulatory system The oral cavity hosts: lips teeth alveolar ridge hard palate soft palate uvula tongue  The lips: configuration close together to block the airstream; lower lip held close to the upper teeth; rounded, spread, neutral, protruded /Ʒ, ʃ, tʃ͡ , d͡ ʒ/. The articulatory system: the teeth Used to make dental sounds (the tip of tongue against the front teeth) or labio-dental sounds. /t/ /d/ /ð/ /θ/?  The articulatory system: alveolar ridge The ridge immediately behind the front teeth that comes into contact with the tip or blade of tongue. /n/ /s/ /z/ /t/ /d/  The articulatory system: hard palate Hard palate: the part in the roof of mouth that comes into contact with the central/front portion of the tongue to make … sounds. /ɲ, ʃ, Ʒ, tʃ͡ , d͡ ʒ/ The articulatory system: soft palate Soft palate (velum): comes into contact with the back of the tongue to produce … sounds. /K, g, ŋ/ The articulatory system Uvula: the lump of flesh at the end of the velum. It vibrates to produce a uvular trill [ʀ] (French, German /r/) Tongue: its portions are tip, blade, front, back, root. The tip is the most sensitive part. The … of the tongue are involved in lateral sounds (they are lowered). The phonatory system Vocal folds belong to the phonatory system, located in the throat. The trachea, the larynx, the glottis also belong here. The larynx: at the top of the trachea. Hosts the 2 vocal folds. It is a box- like structure composed of cartilage.  The phonatory system glottis: the gap between vocal folds and arytenoids. Vocal folds: vibrate when pressed together and airstream passes between them. Do not vibrate when they are wide apart and airstream escapes freely (relaxed breathing). Voiced vs voiceless sounds Glottal configuration