2. Spoken language phonetics: Consonant articulation, transcription LING 200 Spring 2003

3. What is phonetics? Acoustic phonetics: physical properties of sounds/signs Auditory phonetics: perception of sounds/signs Articulatory phonetics: production of sounds/signs

4. Articulatory phonetics Description of speech sounds –Vocal tract structures relevant for speech Transcription of speech sounds Sound inventories Of spoken languages:

5. Vocal tract anatomy Upper articulator Lower articulator

6. Major structures structure (noun)adjectival descriptor lipslabial teethdental alveolar ridgealveolar hard palatepalatal soft palate = velumvelar nasal cavitynasal larynxlaryngeal glottisglottal

7. Degree of occlusion How close are lower and upper articulator? –Relatively close, constricted (‘occluded’) airflow: consonants stops fricatives approximants –Relatively far apart, unconstricted airflow: vowels

8. Phonetic description Consonants: some parameters –Laryngeal setting voiceless –Place of articulation bilabial –Degree of occlusion/manner stop

9. Phonetic transcription Alphabetic and other symbols which abbreviate phonetic descriptions –E.g. voiceless bilabial stop = [p] Different systems of phonetic transcription –International Phonetic Association –‘Americanist’

10. Phonetic transcription A universal framework for the description of languages Many languages lack writing systems Superior to many writing systems

11. Preparing a transcription What are the sounds of the language? How can they be represented?

12. Phonetic transcription 1. ‘driftwood’ 2. ‘cane’ 3. ‘footwear’ 4. ‘grease’ 5. ‘straight up’ 6. ‘your collarbone’

13. Phonetic transcription 1.[t  z]‘driftwood’ 2.[t h  z]‘cane’ 3.[q h E ]‘footwear’ 4.[ XE ]‘grease’ 5.[nt  q]‘straight up’ 6.[nt’  q]‘your collarbone’ Witsuwit’en

14. Consonant charts labiallabio- dental inter- dental alveolpalatalvelarglottal stopsp bt dk g affricates c   fricativesf v    s z š z  h nasalsmn N liquidsl r glideswj English

15. Vowels Vowel quality –Height –Backness –Labiality (lip rounding) Vowel quantity

16. A five vowel inventory Spanish frontcentralback highiu mideo low A

17. Spanish vowels frontcentralback high [mis A ] ‘Mass’ [mus A ] ‘muse’ mid [mes A ] ‘table’ [mos A ] ‘waitress’ low [m A s A ] ‘dough’

18. Quality Height –High – mid – low Backness –Front – central – back Labiality –Rounded – unrounded –Non-low back vowels usually rounded

19. Phonetic description of vowels [i] = high front unrounded vowel [e] = mid front unrounded vowel [ A ] = low central(-back) unrounded vowel [o] = mid back rounded vowel [u] = high back rounded vowel

20. Another five vowel inventory Mandarin (Chinese) [ü]/[y] = high front rounded vowel [  ] = mid central unrounded vowel frontcentralback highiüu mid  low A

21. Mandarin vowel quality frontcentralback unrndroundunrndround high [l  ] ‘advantage’ [lü  ] ‘green’[lu  ] ‘road’ mid [l  ] ‘happy’ low [lA  ] ‘spicy’

22. Vowel quantity: Sahaptin frontcentralback highi i:  u u: low A A : [  ] = high central unrounded vowel [i] = high front unrounded vowel [i:] = long high front unrounded vowel

23. Sahaptin short vowels frontcentralback high[tit]- ‘fart’ [/  t  t] ‘tooth’ [tut] ‘your dad’ low [t A tí] ‘dirty’

24. Sahaptin short vs. long vowels shortlong [sts' A t] 'night'[sts' A :t] 'dark' [pišíš] 'paternal aunt' [c  i:š] 'water' [pjuš] 'snake' [pu:š] 'juniper'

25. English vowels English, a Germanic language Proto-Germanic vowels i i:u u: e e: o: a

26. English vowels Historical length > 'tense'/'lax' contrast –Long vowels > tense –Short vowels > lax

27. English vowels frontcentralback unrounded rounded hightenseiu lax  midtenseeo lax/tense E  lowlax/tense  A 

28. English vowels frontcentralback unrounded rounded hightense[hid] heed[hud] who'd lax [h  d] hid[h  d] hood midtense[hed] hayed[hod] hoed lax/tense [hEd] head [h  d] HUD[h  d] hawed lowlax/tense [h  d] had [ š A ] Shah [s  d] sod Monophthongs

29. English vowels Dialect mergers in N. America. What happened to [  ]: – ,  >  (East) [  ]: sod, hawed, [  ]: Shah – ,  >  (East, Midwest) [  ]: sod, Shah, [  ]: hawed – , ,  > A (West) [  ]: sod, Shah, hawed

30. English vowels Diphthongs: 2 vowel qualities –[  w] = [a  ]: [h  wd] (how’d) –[  j] = [a  ]: [h  jd] (hide) –[  j] = [  ]: [t  jd] (toyed)

31. English vowels frontcentralback unrounded rounded hightenseiu lax  midtenseeo lax E  ()() lowlax/tense  A Western North America

32. English vowels In Western North America, [  ] only before [r]: [m  r] more [mor  ] mower [  ] = syllabic [m A r] mar

33. English vowels Stressed and unstressed syllables –to [ri  E  kt]a [rí  E kt] (reject) –to [prot E  st]a [prót E st] (protest) to [prót E st]

34. English vowels [  ] only occurs in unstressed syllables stressed: [  ]unstressed: [  ] cup [k  p]hiccup [h  k  p] cud [k  d] wicked [w  k  d] cut [k  t]racket [r  k  t]

35. English vowels [  ] + nasals, liquids For many speakers, –[  l] = [l  ] [p  kl  ] –[  r] = [r  ][p  kr  ] Compare –[  n] [ T  k  n] –[  m][r  D  m]

36. Transcription practice fish scrimmage schism asthma azalea mayonnaise

37. Transcription practice fish [f I š ] scrimmage[skr I m  ] schism [sk I z  m] asthma[  zm  ] azalea[  zelj  ] mayonnaise[m  nez]

38. English vowels Rhotic nuclei ([V+r] combinations) in North American English frontcentralback high [ur  ] [r][r] mid [Er ] [  r] = [r  ] [r][r] low [Ar]