Lecture 2 - Phonetics PDF

Lecture 2 Vowels Vowels are the class of sound which makes the least obstruction to the flow of air when it passes from the larynx to the lips Making this sound is the best way for presenting an unobstructed view for the back of a patient’s mouth Consonants Consonants are sounds that obstruct...

Lecture 2 Vowels Vowels are the class of sound which makes the least obstruction to the flow of air when it passes from the larynx to the lips Making this sound is the best way for presenting an unobstructed view for the back of a patient’s mouth Consonants Consonants are sounds that obstruct the flow of air through the vocal tract. Consonants or not consonants However, some consonants do not really obstruct the follow of air and we still consider them as consonants. Ex. The sounds at the beginning of words like hay, way, etc. Different languages have different ways of dividing their sounds into vowels and consonants. Ex. The /r/ sound in red which is felt to be a consonant in English is treated as a vowel in Mandarin Chinese Vowels vs consonants http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa5bG_wrK7s The difference between vowels and consonants is not of a difference in the production but is also a difference of Distribution Distribution of sounds refers to examining the positions in which each particular phoneme can occur: Or “looking at the different context and positions in which particular sounds can occur. Eg. the distribution of the h phoneme h can only occur before a vowel, hen, hat, hide Eg. only consonants can follow the vowel sound a, cat, can, nab Vowels vs consonants Phonotactics: the study of the rules governing the possible phoneme sequences in a language. Or Phonotactics: the study of the different phoneme combination of a language. What is the purpose of this book: To explain how standard English is pronounced. Phonetics and phonology is a theoretical context: The book is a general theory about speech sounds and how they are used in language. The theoretical material is necessary for anyone who needs to understand the principles regulating the use of sounds in spoken English Phonetics vs phonology Phonetics: the scientific study of speech sounds, including their production, reception, etc. the study of how we can record speech sounds with written symbols and how we hear and recognize different sounds. Phonology: is a thorough description of the sounds of a language, including their classification, organization, distribution etc. Phonology: the study of Phonemes Phonemes are the regularly used sounds (vowels and consonants) in a language. The smallest unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances. Phonemes: an identifiable small number of regularly used sounds (vowels and consonants) Eg. bin ban get set /i/ and /a/ are two different phonemes /g/ and /s/ are two different phonemes Phonemes vs letters We think of English pronunciation in terms of phonemes rather than letters of the alphabet. Eg. Enough /in^f/ 4 sounds Enough e n o u g h 6 letters Symbols are used to represent speech letters sounds Symbols used to represent speech sounds IPA International Phonetic Association. Association which has taken the responsibility for maintaining a standard set of phonetic symbols used to represents the l e t t e r s sounds of a language Accents and dialects Accent: the word ‘accent’ is used for varieties which differ from each other only in matters of pronunciation while ‘dialect’ also covers differences in such things as vocabulary and grammar. Eg. ‫ﺳﺎﻓﺭرﺕت ﻧﺎﺩدﻳﯾﺎ ﺇإﻟﻰ ﺍاﻟﺳﻌﻭوﺩدﻳﯾﺔ‬ ‫ﻧﺎﺩدﻳﯾﺎ ﺳﺎﻓﺭرﺕت ﺇإﻟﻰ ﺍاﻟﺳﻌﻭوﺩدﻳﯾﺔ‬ -I met the student (accent difference) -I want some water Received Pronunciation , BBC Pronunciation the end