Phonetics and Phonology I : Program 2011

Unit 1

• Introduction to the study of Phonetics and Phonology. R.P. the concept of standard usage.
• Schwa.
• The phonetic value of "ed" suffixes.
  

Introduction to the study of Phonetics and Phonology. R.P. the concept of standard usage.

Once we are introduced to the study of Phonetics and Phonology, we come across different concepts, theory and other matters that we should know. Thus, one of the main points the first chapter of the book by Peter Roach is concerned about is the reason why it is necessary to learn a theorical context about Phonetics and Phonology. The answer that arises is that we do not simply need to know phonemes work, are pronounced or such. As people who will work with the language we need to go deeper in the understanding of the mentioned theorical context.

On the other hand, since it may be one of the first steps towards the learning of Phonetics, it is worth noting the distinction between what is often confused: "accent" and "dialect". The latter refers to a variety of a language which is different from another not only in pronunciation, but also in vocabulary, grammar and word-order. On the contrary, accent is only about differences in pronunciation. 

In respect to R.P, which means received pronunciation, it has to do with the way English is pronounced and taught by teachers of English to people who learn the language as a second one. The reason why it is the model chosen is not because it sounds more pleasant or nothing of the sort, but because it is a model fully described and used in textbooks and by newsreaders in serious B.B.C channels.

Schwa

Schwa is the most frequently used vowel in English, which, incidentally, is associated to weak syllables. Concerning quality, it is a central vowel between half open and half close. In other words, the central part of the tongue is raised and thus half way up between the place where it rests and the roof of the mouth. Schwa can occur in initial, medial and final position.

The phonetic value of "ed" suffixes

The "ed" suffix can occur in regular verbs and adjectives. Verbs in past simple or with its past participle are formed with "d" or "ed" added to its base. This ending is pronounced in one of three ways:

1. If the "ed" is preceded by a voiceless sound like /p-k-f-θ-s-ʃ-tʃ/ it is pronounced /t/.
2. If the "ed" is preceded by a voiced sound like /b-g-v-ð-l-m-n-ŋ-z-ʒ-dʒ/ a vowel, diphthong or triphthong, then the "ed" is pronounced /d/.
3. If the "ed" is preceded by the sound of /t/ or /d/ it is pronounced /ɪd/.

Unit 2

• The production of speech sounds. Articulators above the larynx.
• Semivowels // and //.
• Phoneme sequence and syllable structure.
  

The production of speech sounds. Articulators above the larynx

We have a large set of muscles that can produce changes in the shape of the vocal tract. The muscles in the chest produce the air flow that is needed for almost all speech sounds; the muscles in the larynx produce different modifications in the flow of air from the chest to the mouth. After passing through the larynx, the air goes through the vocal tract which ends at the mouth and nostrils.

There are seven articulators above the larynx, which are:

• The pharynx: It is a tube that begins above the larynx and whose top is divided in two parts. One part is the back of the mouth and the other is the way through the nasal cavity.
• The soft palate: It allows the air to pass through the nose or through the mouth. The sounds /k/, /g/ and /ŋ/ are made by making use of this articulator. They are called velar sounds.
• The hard palate: It is a curved surface in the upper part of the mouth.
• The alveolar ridge: It is a surface covered with little ridges situated between the teeth and the hard palate. There are sounds called alveolar which are made by the tongue touching this place, which are /t-d-n/.
• The tongue: It is the most important articulator because it can be moved to many different places. We divide the tongue into: tip, blade, front, center, back and root.
• The teeth: They are located immediately behind the lips. Sounds produced with the tongue touching the teeth are called "dental": /θ-ð/
• The lips: They are very important in speech. They can be pressed together as for /p-b/ or brought into contact with the teeth as for /f-v/ or rounded for vowels like /uː/. Sounds made with the lips pressed together are called "bilabial", and those with the lower lip making contact with the upper teeth are called "labio-dental".

Semivowels  /j/ and /w/

The sounds /j/ and /w/ are generally called semivowels by many authors. However, some others call them approximates, but what is important to bare in mind is that they are phonetically like vowels and phonologically like consonants.

From the phonetic point of view the articulator of /j/ is practically the same as that of  /iː/, but it is very short. In the same way /w/ is similar to /uː/. Phonologically, we say that /j/ and /w/ are regarded as consonants. In order to illustrate this we can show that words beginning with any of these sounds take the article "a" as opposed to the ones that begin with vowels which take "an". 

The place of articulation for /j/ is in the palate, so it is palatal and /w/ is bilabial.

Phoneme sequence and syllable structure

In every language we find that there are restrictions on the sequences of phonemes. For example, no English word begins with the consonant sequence of "zbf" and no word ends with the sequence of a smiling "a" plus an "h". To say more, no word begins with more than three consonants and no word ends with more than five consonants.

The syllable structure has two parts. One is what we call onset and the other is what we call coda. Onset is the sound before the center of the syllable and coda is the sound after it.

If we break down the onset part we will learn concepts like

• Zero onset (if the first syllable begins with a vowel)  /ɔːðə/ /aʊə/
• Initial consonants (if the first syllable begins with a consonant)
• Pre-initial (when a word begins with /s/)  /spi:k/
• Post-initial (when a word begins with a consonant plus any sound of the set /l-r-w-j/ )  /pleɪ/

As well as for the breakdown of the onset part, we can do the same with the coda part.

• Zero coda (there is no final consonant at the end of the us word: know /nəʊ/)
• Final consonant (when there is a final consonant: stop /stɒp/)
• Pre-final (the final consonant is preceded by another consonant: post /pəʊst/)
• Post-final (It happens when there is a three-consonant cluster and any word of the set /s-z-t-d-θ/ is preceded by two consonants; pre-final and final consonant: helped /helpt/; seventh /sevənθ/)

The English syllable nay have the following maximum phonological structure:

Unit 3

• Vowels and consonants. The cardinal vowel system.
• The structure of a syllable.
• Symbols and transcription; phonemic and phonetic transcription.

Vowels and consonants. The cardinal vowel system

The most common distinction between vowels and consonants is made from the way they are produced, and therefore we can say that vowels are produced in such a way that there is no obstruction of the air coming from the lungs as it passes through the vocal tract. Consonants, on the other hand, are produced with the air undergoing different sorts of obstruction in his way through the vocal tract.

But as there are some cases of uncertainty, there is another way of distinguishing English sounds, which is by looking at the different contexts and positions in which particular sounds can occur. Studying sounds in this way has shown that there are two groups of sounds with quite different patterns of distribution and these two groups are those of vowels and consonants.

Once the distinction can be seen, it is necessary to know in what ways vowels differ from each others; thus, the first point to consider is the shape and position of the tongue by describing two things: first, the vertical distance between the tongue and the palate, and second, the part of the tongue which is raised highest. In other words, the tongue height, frontness and backness.

In addition, it is worth noting another point which rather than he differences between vowels, it has to do with quality. This is lip-rounding, and there are considered three shapes that the lips can take: rounded (as in "u"), spread (as in "i") and neutral (as in the sound people do when hesitating "er").

On a different note, cardinal vowels are vowels from no particular language. They are standard reference system that represents the range of vowels that the human apparatus can make. They are developed for the sake of classifying the vowels used in a particular language. They show extremes of vowel quality.

The structure of a syllable

Unit 2; point C

Symbols and transcription; phonemic and phonetic transcription

There are differences between phonemic symbols and the phonetics' ones. The former do not have to indicate precise phonetic quality, whereas the latter can give much more accurate details and information.

One advantage of the phonemic method is that it is quick and easy to learn. You can make use of phonemic symbols to transcribe either from a dictation or from a written text. However, the disadvantage is that as you continue to learn more about phonetics you become able to hear a lot of sound differences that you had not been aware of before. These differences cannot be displayed by phonemic symbols but by phonetics' ones.

A phonetic transcription containing a lot of information about the exact quality of the sounds would be called a narrow phonetic transcription, whereas one with only a little more information that a phonetic transcription would be called broad phonetic transcription.

Unit 4

• Manner and place of articulation.
• Voicing and consonants. Respiration and voicing.
• Phonology; the study of the Phonetic system. Phoneme sequences and syllable structure.

Manner and place of articulation

Consonants can be classified according to the place and manner of articulation.

The place of articulation refers to where the organs meet to produce the different consonants. Under this criterion, the groups are:

• Bilabial: The upper and lower lip are pressed together. For example /p-b-m/
• Labio-dental: The lower lip touches the upper teeth. For example /f-v/
• Dental: The tongue is put between the teeth. For example /ð-θ/
• Alveolar: The tongue touches the alveolar ridge. For example /t-d-s-z-n-l/
• Palato-alveolar: The tip and blade of the tongue are put against the part where the alveolar ridge ends and the hard palate begins. For example /ʃ-ʒ-tʃ-dʒ/
• Velar: The back of the tongue touches the soft palate. For example /k-g-ŋ/
• Glottal: This sound is produced in the glottis which is the opening between the vocal cords. For example /h/

On the other hand, the manner of articulation is the way in which the stream of air is obstructed:

• Plosive: It is made with two movements. The first one is the closure part in which one or two articulators are moved together so that air cannot escape through the mouth. In the second movement, the air is allowed to escape, and such movement is called release. When the air is released we hear a noise called plosion.  For example /p-b-t-d-k-g-/
• Fricative: It is a sound in which the articulator is brought near the point of articulation and as there is no obstruction the air passes but with friction. For example /s-z- ʃ-ʒ/
• Affricative: It is a combination of a plosive + a fricative. For example /tʃ-dʒ/
• Nasal: It is a sound with no obstruction in the mouth because as the velum is lowered the air escapes through the nose. For example /m-m-ŋ/
• Lateral: The blade of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge so the air escapes through the sides of the tongue. For example /l/
• Approximant: The articulators are near each other, but when the air passes through them there is no friction. For example /j-w-l-r/

Voicing and Consonants. Respiration and Voicing

All speech sounds are made with some movement of air. The normal way for producing this air flow is by making use of some of the air stored in the lungs. Therefore, as the rib cage moves upwards, the lungs expand by taking air, and when you allow the rib cage to return to its position, the air expelled can be used for producing speech sounds.

Speech sounds are made by obstructing the air flow in some way. One place where we can make such obstruction is in the larynx, by bringing the vocal folds close to each other. If the folds vibrate we will hear the sound we call voicing.

Furthermore, as the larynx is, let's say the motor of voicing, it is worth giving further explanation about what it is. The larynx's structure is made of two large hollow cartilages which are attached to the top of the trachea. This structure makes the shape of a box inside of which there are two think flaps of muscle called vocal folds. At the back, these folds are attached to a pair of small cartilages called arytinoid cartilages.

If these cartilages move, the vocal folds will move too, producing a very complex range of changes in their position that are important in speech. There are four recognizable states of the vocal folds:

• Wide part: It is the state the vocal folds are for common breathing and usually during voiceless sounds.
• Narrow glottis: When air passes through the glottis while it is narrowed, the result is a fricative sound like that of whispered vowel.
• Position for vocal vibration: When the edges of the vocal folds are touching each other, or nearly touching, the air passing through the glottus will contain vibration. When it happpens, little air escapes pushing the vocal folds apart and as the air flow quickly past the edges of the vocals folds, these are brought together again.
• Vocal folds tightly closed: The vocal folds can be firmly pressed together so that air cannot pass between them. When this happens in speech we call it glottal stop.

Phonology: the study of the phonemic system. Phoneme sequence and syllable structure