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The sounds of language

Phonetics

Chapter 4

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Recap

� Language vs. other communicative systems

� Universal characteristics of language

• Displacement

• Arbitrariness

• Productivity

• Cultural transmission

• Duality

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Match

� Human language can refer to past and future time and other locations

� The ordinary language user can manipulate his linguistic resources to produce new expressions and new sentences

� The process whereby language is passed on from one generation to the next is called...

� Language is organized on two levels or layers simultaneously

� There is an arbitrary relationship between the linguistic signs and the objects of the real world

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Phonetics

� Knowledge of a language includes � Knowledge of sounds

� How they are combined to form meaningful units

� Some sounds are found in one language but not another

� All the sounds in the world constitute a limited set of the sounds the human vocal tract can produce

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Phonetics- Basics

� Definition: the study of human speech sounds

� Know what an individual sound is.

� Cat is one continuous sound?

� It consists of [k] represented by the letter c, the vowel [æ] represented by

a and the final [t]

� It doesn’t depend on spelling

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The sound-spelling relationship

� Did he believe that Caesar could see the people seize the seas?

� To too two through threw clue shoe

� tough “uff“

cough “off“

bough “aw“

though “oh“

through “ooh“

borough “uh“

hiccough “up“

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The sound-spelling relationship

� Spelling is not a reliable guide to pronouncing a word in English

� A system is needed where one sound corresponds to one symbol and one symbol corresponds to one sound.

� Phonetic Alphabet- one symbol for each sound.

� International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to symbolize all sounds of all languages

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Fields of Phonetics

� Articulatory phonetics� How sounds are produced

� Acoustic phonetics� Physical properties of sounds

� Auditory phonetics� How sounds are perceived

This class: Articulatory phonetics

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Articulatory phonetics

Questions:

� How can we describe speech sounds in terms of how they are produced in the vocal tract?

� How can we transcribe these sounds?

Goal:

� A systematic method of how to describe and transcribe the sounds occurring in human languages.

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How Are Sounds Produced?

� Most sounds are produced by an air streamcoming from the lungs passing through one or more speech organs.

� Where and how the air stream is obstructed determine the identity of the sound produced.

� When the shape of the vocal tract changes, different sounds are produced.

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Speech Production Mechanism

� Nasal cavity

� Oral cavity

� Pharynx

� Vocal folds

� Glottis

� Energy sourceLUNGS

LARYNX

VOCAL TRACT (shapes

sounds)

(voicing)

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Vocal Organs- articulators

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Consonants & Vowels

� Sounds

Sounds

Consonants Vowels

Obstruction of airflow Free flow of air

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Consonants

� Consonants are classified according to three parameters.

� Voicing

� Place of articulation

� Manner of articulation

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Voicing

� Voicing occurs in the larynx where the vocal folds are.

� When the vocal folds are held together, they start to vibrate when air passes through them → a voiced sound.

� E.g. zzzzzzzzzzz vvvvvvvvvvvvv

� When they are held apart, they cannot vibrate; air passes freely through them → a voiceless sound.

� E.g. ssssssssssssss ffffffffffffff

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Places of articulation- English

� Where in the vocal tract the airflow is restricted. � Bilabial- two lips [b, p, m]

� Labiodental- upper teeth & lower lip [f, v]

� Dental- between the teeth [θ, ð ]� Alveolar- front part of the tongue on alveolar ridge [s, z, n, t, d, l]

� Palatal- front part of the tongue on the hard palate [ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, j]

� Velar- the back of the tongue on the velum [k, g, ŋ]

� Glottal- through open glottis [h]

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Places of articulation

� Bilabials

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Places of articulation

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Place of articulation

� Labiodentals

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Place of articulation

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Places of articulation

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Places of articulation

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Places of articulation

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Glottal stop and flap

� Glottal stop [ʔ] occurs when the space between the vocal cords (the glottis) is closed completely.

� American pronunciation of

� Oh oh bottle batman

� Flap [ɾ] produced by the tongue tip tapping the alveolar ridge briefly.

� American pronunciation of

� Latter writer metal

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Manner of articulation

� [b] and [m] → voiced bilabials

� [d] and [z] → voiced alveolar

� [t] and [s] → voiceless alveolar

� How are they different?

� In the way the air is restricted in the vocal tract → manner of articulation

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Manners of articulation

� Stops → complete blockage [p, t, k, b, d, g] (also plosives)

� Fricatives → partial blockage [f, v, s, z…]

� Affricates → stop + fricative [tʃ, dʒ]

� Nasal → through nasal cavity [m, n, ŋ]

� glides [j, w] → take the shape of the vowel (also semi-vowels, approximants)

� Liquids → lowering both sides of the tongue [l , r]

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Manner of articulation

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Consonants

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Consonants

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Consonants

� Can be described by using three parameters: voicing, place of articulation and manner of articulation

� Examples:

[p] voiceless bilabial stop

[n] voiced alveolar nasal

[d]

[ŋ]

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What is a vowel?

� A sound produced without major constriction in the vocal tract

� No articulators touching or even coming close

� Since the sound is not produced by constriction, the energy comes primarily from the vocal cords

� Vowels are all voiced

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Vowels

� Vowels can be classified by answering three questions

• How high is the tongue?• High- mid - low

• What part of the tongue is involved?• Front- central- back

• What is the position of the lips?• Rounded or unrounded

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Tongue positions

� Tongue height

� High [i, u]

� Mid [ε, o]

� Low [æ]

Say seat, set, sat transcribed [i], [ε], [æ]

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Tongue position

� Tongue backness

� Front [i], [æ]

� Central [ә]

� Back [u], [o], [a]

Say he and who

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Front and back vowels� Who

[hu]� He[hi]

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Preview of vocal tract shaping

� Say “heave” and “have”

Say “who” and “ha”

� What do you notice going on in your mouth?

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Classification: Tongue Height

� High:

� Heave

� Who

� Low:

� Have

� Ha

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Lip rounding

� Rounded [u], [o]

[u] noon

[o] boat

� Unrounded

[i] heat

[I] hit

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Vowel Chart

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Diphthongs

� A combination of two sounds vowel + glide

� [aw] cow, loud

� [�j] boy, void, noise

� [aj] buy, eye, my

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Vowels description

� Can be classified according to three parameters: height, backness, and lip rounding

� Examples:

[i] high front unrounded vowel

[u] high back rounded vowel

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Phonetic Transcription

� The best-known system:

� The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

� IPA has been developing since 1888.

� The system represents each sound of human speech with a single symbol.

� The symbol is enclosed in brackets [ ].

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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

• Cat [kæt]

• Cell [sel]

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Consonant chart

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Activity: identifying diphthongs

� call

� top

� Fright

� joy

� top

� Haste

� Avoid

� Proud

� Hide

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Transcription Practice

� Transcribe the following words

• Kick

• Boot

• She

• The

• Thin

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Important terms

� Articulatory phonetics

� articulators

� Consonants and vowels

� Places of articulation

� Manner of articulation

� Voicing

� Parameters for describing vowels

� Phonetic transcription