Introduction to Phonetics

Phonetics—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]

Fields of Phonetics

Articulatory phoneticsHow sounds are produced

Acoustic phoneticsPhysical properties of sounds

Auditory phoneticsHow sounds are perceived

Transcription Vs. Spelling

We want, as much as possible, to create a system of one-to-one sound-symbol correspondence.This is not necessarily the case with spelling.Examples: ice vs.police; tine vs. machine.Also: catch, cough, phlegm, bought, trick, knight, leisure, queen, this, threw, Xerox, psychology, design.

International Phonetic Alphabet

All the world’s languages can be transcribed using the IPAIn this class, we’ll be using a simplified, US English version of the IPA (many of the IPA sounds are not used in English, e.g. Retroflex Chinese, and Welsh ‘ll’)In IPA transcription, one phone (IPA symbol) usually equals one sound

Benefits of Phonetic Transcription

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

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 sourceLUNGS

LARYNX

VOCAL TRACT

(shapes

sounds)

(voicing)

(see figure 10.1, Clark p.120)

Transcription Practice

Transcribe:Your name

Linguistics, hiccup, teeth, teethe, delay, should, sign, sane, phonetics, yellow

For Wednesday:

Read file 3.2

Consonants

Pinker, p.165-168