Introduction to Phonetics

Phonetics—Some Basics Definition: the study of human speech sounds In phonetics we refer to individual sounds as phones or sounds; never letters All phonetic transcription is done within phonetic brackets: [si]

International Phonetic Alphabet All the world’s languages can be transcribed using the IPA In this class, we’ll be using a simplified version of the IPA In IPA transcription, one phone (IPA symbol) usually equals one sound

Transcription vs. Spelling We want as best we can to create a system of one-to-one correspondence This is not necessarily the case with spelling. catch, cough, phlegm, bought, trick, knight, leisure, queen, this, threw, Xerox, psychology, design

Fields of Phonetics Articulatory phonetics how sounds are produced Acoustic phonetics physical properties of sounds Auditory phonetics how sounds are perceived

How are sounds produced? Most sounds are produced by an air stream from lungs through one or more speech organs. Where and how obstructions are in the air stream determine the identity of the sound produced.

Speech production mechanism nasal cavity oral cavity pharynx Vocal folds Glottis Energy Source LUNGS LARYNX VOCAL TRACT (shapes sounds) (voicing)

Benefits of phonetic transcription We can use IPA transcription across languages, there is one symbol for EVERY possible human sound There is a 1-1 correspondence of sound to symbol Brackets show the pronunciation of the word, which may change from time to time, even if it’s the same word

Transcription Practice Transcribe: Your name Linguistics, hiccup, teeth, teethe, delay, should, sign, sane, phonetics, yellow

For Friday: Read File 3.3 CONSONANTS Be very comfortable with chart on page 42