Lecture 2 Chapter 3_phonetics.pdf

Chapter 3: The sounds of language Phonetics  Phonetics The study of the production, transmission and perception of speech sounds. Types of phonetics  There are, therefore, three types of phonetics: 1. Articulatory phonetics studies speech production (i.e. how speech sounds are...

Chapter 3: The sounds of language Phonetics  Phonetics The study of the production, transmission and perception of speech sounds. Types of phonetics  There are, therefore, three types of phonetics: 1. Articulatory phonetics studies speech production (i.e. how speech sounds are produced or made) 2. Acoustic phonetics studies speech transmission (i.e. how speech sounds travel in the air as soundwaves) 3. Auditory phonetics studies speech perception (i.e. how speech sounds are heard or perceived by a hearer)  Vocal Organs Vocal tract Larynx Sub-glottal system The Larynx and the Vocal Folds Articulation:Voiced and Voiceless  The air is pushed out by the lungs up through the trachea (or windpipe) to the larynx. Inside the larynx are your vocal folds (or vocal cords), which take two basic positions. 1. When the vocal folds are spread apart, the air from the lungs passes between them unimpeded. Sounds produced in this way are described as voiceless. 2. When the vocal folds are drawn together, the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through, creating a vibration effect. Sounds produced in this way are described as voiced. Open vocal cords (air passes through freely) e.g. /s/ Vocal cords drawn together (vibration: open and close rapidly and repeatedly) Speech Organs THE TONGUE THE PALATE alveolar hard soft ridge palate palate  States Of The Velum (Soft Palate) Lowered position: gap between soft palate and pharynx; air goes into the nasal cavity and the oral cavity. (e.g. /m/) Raised position: contact with the back wall of pharynx; nasal cavity is closed; air goes into the mouth only. (e.g. /b/ ) Describing Consonants  How do we describe/classify consonants? 1. Voicing 2. Place of Articulation 3. Manner of Articulation Voicing  Consonants produced with the vocal cords vibrating are described as voiced.  Consonants produced with no vibration of the vocal cords are described as voiceless. Place of Articulation  Once the air has passed through the larynx, it comes up and out through the mouthand/or nose.  The tongue and other parts of the mouth constrict the shape of the oral cavity where the air passes through.  The location, inside the mouth, where this constriction takes place is called place of articulation.  Bilabials  Bilabials They are formed by using both upper and lower lips. pat, bat, mat They are represented by the symbols [p], which is voiceless,[b], and [m], which are voiced.  The [w] sound at the beginning of way, walk, and world is also a bilabial.  Labiodentals  Labiodentals These are sounds formed with the upper teeth and the lower lip. fat, vat safe, save  They are represented by the symbols [f], which is voiceless, and [v], which isvoiced.  *Notice the case of final sounds of laugh and cough Also, pay attention to initial sound of photo.  Dentals  Dentals These are sounds formed with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth. The term interdental is sometimes used to describe a place of articulation with the tongue tip between the upper and lower teeth. thin, three, teeth, bath (voiceless)  They are represented by the symbol [Ɵ], which is voiceless, and [ð], which isvoiced. there, then, feather, bathe(voiced)  Alveolars  Alveolars These are sounds formed with the front part of the tongue on the alveolar ridge, which is the rough, bony ridge immediately behind the upper teeth. top, dip, sit, zoo, nut  They are represented by the symbols [t], [d], [s], [z], and [n]. [t] and [s] are voiceless [d], [z], and [n] are voiced  Other alveolars are [l] in initial position in words like lap and lit, and the [r] in initial position in words like right, write, and rip.  Palatals  Palatals These are sounds which are produced at the very front of the palate. shout, child  They are represented by the symbols [ ʃ ]and [ ʧ ] respectively. (voiceless)  Voiced palatal [[ʒ] ] is not very common in English. It can be found in middle position, as in treasure and pleasure or in final position, as in rouge.  Palatals  The other voiced palatal sound [ʤ] can be found in initial position in words like joke and germ, judge, and George.  [ȷ]at the beginning of words like you and yet is also a voiced palatal sound.  Velars  Velars Even further back in the root of the mouth, beyond the hard palate, you will find a soft area which is called the soft palate, or thevelum.  Sounds which are produced with the back of the tongue against the velumare called velars. kid, kill, car,cold (voicelessvelar sound,[k]) go, gun, bag, mug, plague (voiced velar sound, [g])  Velars  The velum can be lowered to allow the air to flow through the nasal cavity and produce another voiced velar sound,[ƞ].  In written English it is normally spelled as two letters ‘ng. ’ sing, sang, tongue ringing ([ƞ] occurstwice) bang ([ ]ƞoccurs only once) Careful: There is no [g] sound  Glottals  Glottals There is one other sound that is produced withouth the active use of the tongue and other parts of the mouth. It is the sound [h] which occurs at the beginning of words like: have, house, who, and whose (voiceless glottal)  The ‘glottis’ is the space between the vocal cords in the larynx.  Manner of Articulation  Manner of Articulation This aspect deals with how the sounds are articulated.  Stops  Stops These sounds are produced by some form of complete ‘stopping’ of the airstream (very briefly) and then letting it go abruptly. They are also called ‘plosive’ sounds. [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g]  A full description of the sound [t] at the beginning of a word like ten, for example, is a ‘voiceless alveolar stop’.  Fricatives  Fricatives The articulation of suchsounds involves almost blocking the airstream, and having the air push through the narrow opening. As the air is pushed through, a type of friction is produced and the resulting sounds are called fricatives. [f], [v], [Ɵ ], [ð], [s], [z], ʃ[ ], [ʒ]  fish: begins and ends with ‘voiceless fricatives’ those: begins and ends with ‘voiced fricatives’  Fricatives  The sound [h], as in Hi or Hello, is voiceless and also usually included in the set of fricatives.  Affricates  Affricates If you combine a brief stopping of the airstream with an obstructed release which causes some friction, you will be able to produce the sounds: [ʧ] and [ ʤ ] They occur at the beginning of words like: cheapwith ‘voiceless affricate’ and jeep with ‘voiced affricate’  Nasals  Nasals Most sounds are produced orally, with the velum raised, preventing airflow from entering the nasal cavity. However, when the velum is lowered and the airstream is allowed to flow through the nose, the sounds produced are nasals. [m], [n] and [ƞ]  Nasal sounds are all voiced.  Examples: morning, knitting, name(they begin and end with nasal sounds).  Approximants  Approximants [w] and [j] are sometimes called ‘semivowels’ or ‘glides,’ because they are typically produced with the tongue moving, or ‘gliding,’ to or from the position of a nearby vowel.  They are voiced.  Initial approximants in led and red are also voiced. The [l] and [r] sounds are also called ‘liquids.’ The Glottal Stop and the Flap  The Glottal Stop and the Flap The glottal stop, represented [Ɂ] occurs when the space between the vocal cords (glottis) is closed completely, very briefly, and then released. Oh oh! Uh-uh! It is used by Scottish speakers and New Yorkers. In London speech, they pronounce a glottal stop in words like butter and bottle. The Glottal Stop and the Flap  Butter similar to ‘budder’ in American English. This is a flap, which is represented by [D] or [ɾ].This flap is produced by the tongue tip being thrown against the alveolar ridge for an instant.  [t] and [d] between vowels are usually flapped so that, in casual speech, latter and ladder, writer and rider, and metal and medal do not have distinct middle consonants