Phonetics & Phonology

the science of human speech sounds Phonetics studies how sounds are produced, transmitted and perceived.

Articulatory phonetics: Observes the organs involved in speech production X-ray photography and cinematography

Auditory phonetics: studies humans’ perception of sounds; how pronunciation is perceived by listeners. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computerized tomography (CT)

Acoustics phonetics: studies the physical properties of sounds Spectrogram, Praat

Funny English writing!

One sound can be written using different letters: see, thief, receive, amoeba, and machine. The same letter can stand for different sounds: sign, pleasure, and resign; charter, character; father, all, about, apple, any, and age. A single sound can be written in different combination of sounds: lock, that, book, boast, mountain, shop, apple, or special. A single letter can represent a combination of sounds: exit, use A letter can stand for NO sound at all: know, doubt, though, island, rhubarb, or moose.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA is a standardized representation of the natural languages sounds.

Speech sounds “are created by modifying the volume and direction of a flow of air using various parts of the human respiratory system” If the direction of the air is outwards (going out from the lungs to the mouth), then it is called pulmonic egressive (found in all human languages). If the direction of the air is inwards beginning from the velum or the glottis, then it is called velaric ingressive (found in Zulu in South Africa) and glottalic ingressive (found in Navajo in North America)

Vocal Tract (Articulatory Organs) Oral cavity Upper lip Lower lip Upper teeth Alveolar ridge Tongue tip Tongue blade Tongue body Tongue root Epiglottis Pharynx Hard palate Soft palate (velum) Larynx [has the vocal folds] Vocal Tract (Articulatory Organs)

consonants and vowels play Speech sounds Segments Suprasegmentals 1. consonants (with constriction) 2. vowels (no constriction) consonants and vowels play roles in a syllable

Segmental Features: Voicing: is the sound voiced or voiceless? Place of articulation: where is the airstream constricted? Manner of articulation: how is the airstream constricted?

Vocal folds vibrate = voiced Vocal folds do not vibrate = voiceless

Place of Articulation

Place of Articulation Description Phones Examples Bilabial Bringing lips together [p], [b], [m], [w] pat, mat, ball, window Labiodental Lower lip against the upper front teeth [f], [v] fat, vat, feel, veil, van Interdental Tip of the tongue protrude between front teeth [ɵ], [ ð ] the, thin, thigh Alveolar Tip of the tongue is at or near the alveolar ridge [t], [d], [s], [z], [n], [l], [ɹ] tree, door, sun, zoo, north, law, red Post-alveolar Made at the front of the hard palate, behind the alveolar ridge [Ʒ], [ʃ], [t͡ʃ ], [d͡ʒ] measure, leash, church, judge Palatal Tongue near the center of the hard palate [ ʝ ] yes Velar Tongue near the velum [k], [g], [ŋ] keep, girl, sing Glottal Made at glottis [h], [ʔ]<(glottal stop) hat, uh-oh

Manner of Articulation

Manner of Articulation Description phones Examples Stops obstructing the airstream completely [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], [g], [ʔ] pool, bat, tree, deer, kite, girl, uh-oh Fricatives A nearly complete obstruction of the vocal tract. The opening for the air to pass is small leading to a friction [f], [v], [s], [z], [h], [ʒ], [ ʃ ], [ ɵ ], [ ð ] father, van, sun, zebra, hall, jeans, ship, three, the Affricates Stopping airstream, then releasing the articulators to produce a friction sound [ t͡ʃ ] , [ d͡ʒ ] church, judge Nasals Produced by lowering the velum to let the nasal passage open for the vocal tract [ n ] , [ ŋ ] north, king Liquids a narrow constriction that does not block the vocal tract. The airstream passes through the sides [ l ] , [ɹ ] later, red Glides Slight closure to articulators [ w ] , [ j ] window, yawn Flap complete obstruction of the oral cavity with a fast closure; similar to stops. (found in AmE) [ ɾ ] ladder, water

Vowels

The shape of the vocal tract and quality of a vowel can be changed through four main ways: Raising or lowering the tongue Advancing or retracting the tongue Rounding or not rounding the lips Making the above movements with tense or lax gesture Vowels are of two main types: 1. Monophthongs: a one-part vowel 2. Diphthongs: a two-part vowel

Suprasegmental Features

Suprasegmental features are those features that ride on segments Suprasegmental features are those features that ride on segments. And they are: Length: met vs. meet Intonation: the pattern of pitch movements across a stretch of speech. Pitch is the rate of vibration of the vocal folds.

Tone: the use of pitch to make differences in a word’s meaning. Stress: a property of the syllable. It makes a syllable more prominent than others. ex: record Segment Tone pattern Meaning mã high level mum/mom má high rising hemp mă low falling raising horse mà high falling scold

The End