The Sounds of Language: Phonetics Explained

Chapter three The sounds of language (Phonetics) By Dr. Salah Abdulhussein

- In Chapter 1, we noted some of the basic features of the human vocal tract and the intricate muscle interlacing in and around the mouth that give humans the ability to produce a wide range of sounds with great speed. - Yet, as they chatter away, humans do not simply produce a random selection of these sounds. - Only certain sounds are selected on a regular basis as significant for communicative activity (Phonotactics). - In order to identify and describe those sounds, we have to slow down the chatter of everyday talk and focus on each individual sound segment within the stream of speech. - This may seem straightforward, but it is not an easy task.

Phonetics Phonetics is the study of the characteristics of speech sounds. Articulatory phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are produced. Acoustic phonetics is the study of the transmission of speech sounds through air. Auditory phonetics is the study of the perception of speech sounds by the human ear.

Sounds and letters There is no one to one corresponding relationship between letters and sounds. For example, in English there are 26 letters but 44 sounds. The sounds of spoken English do not match up, a lot of the time, with letters of written English. For example ph (letters) = \f\ (sound) Phonetic alphabet (a set of symbols in any language, each one representing a distinct sound segment).

Sounds Vowels Consonants Oral Nasal

Classification of sounds Classification of Consonants Classification of Vowels Horizontal shape of the tongue: Front - Central - back Manner of Articulation like plosives \t\ and fricatives like \v\ Vertical shape of the tongue: High- Mid - Low Place of Articulation like bilabials \p\ and labiodentals \f\ Lips shape: rounded \o\ Unrounded like \i:\ Voicing: Voiced like \b\ Voiceless like \p\

Voiced and voiceless sounds (Positions of the vocal folds) In articulatory phonetics, we study how speech sounds are produced using our oral equipment. Air is pushed out by the lungs up through the windpipe to the larynx. Inside the larynx are your vocal cords, which take two basic positions. Voiced sounds: Sounds that are produced when the vocal folds vibrate like \b\. (air is delayed) - When the vocal folds are drawn together, the air from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes through, with a vibration effect, producing voiced sounds. Voiceless sounds: Sounds that are produced when the vocal folds do not vibrate like \p\. (air goes out freely) - When the vocal folds are spread apart, the air from the lungs passes between them with no obstruction, producing voiceless sounds. The distinction can be felt physically if you place a fingertip gently on the top of your Adam s apple (i.e. that part of your larynx you can feel in your neck below your chin), then produce sounds such as Z-Z-Z-Z or S-S-S-S

The Organs of Speech 1. 2. Front teeth (lower and upper front teeth) 3. Alveolar ridge 4. Hard palate 5. Soft palate (velum) 6. Uvula 7. Tongue 8. Nose 9. Larynx (Adam s Apple) 10. Vocal cords 11. Windpipe 12. lungs Lips ( upper and lower lips)

Consonants: Place of Articulation Consonants can be classified according to the place where they are produced. Once the air leaves the lungs and passes through the larynx, it comes up and out through the mouth and/or the nose. Most consonant sounds are produced by using the tongue and other parts of the mouth to limit, in some way, the shape of the oral cavity through which the air is passing. Oral sounds: produced when the soft palate is raised so that the air goes out through the oral cavity. Nasal sounds: produced when the soft palate is lowered so that the air goes out through the nasal cavity.

Consonants: Place of Articulation Bilabials: are sounds formed using both upper and lower lips. The lower lip articulates against the upper lip. [p] is voiceless, and [b], [m] and [w] are voiced. Labiodentals: are sounds formed with the upper teeth and the lower lip. The lower lip articulates against the upper teeth. /f/ is voiceless, and /v/ is voiced. Dentals: are sounds formed with the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth (also referred to as interdentals). The tongue tip articulates against the upper teeth. / / is voiceless, and / / is voiced.

Place of Articulation Alveolars: are sounds formed with the front part of the tongue on the alveolar ridge, which is the rough, bony ridge immediately behind and above the upper teeth. The tongue tip and/or blade articulates against the alveolar ridge. [t] and [s] are voiceless whereas [d], [z] and [n] are voiced. Other alveolars are [l] and [r]. Palatals (Alveopalatals): are sounds produced with the tongue and the palate. The tongue front articulates against the hard palate. [ ] and [t ] ] are voiceless whereas [ ], [d ] and [j] are voiced.

Consonants: Place of Articulation Velars: are sounds produced with the back of the tongue against the velum. The tongue back articulates against the soft palate. [k] is voiceless whereas \g\ and \ \ are voiced. Glottals: In fact there is only one sound that is produced without the active use of the tongue and other parts of the mouth. It is the voiceless sound \h\. The vocal folds themselves are the place of articulation.

Familiar and unfamiliar symbols Familiar Symbols Phonetic symbols like [p], [b], [m], and [w] represent bilabial sounds made with both lips, as in pop and Bob. Labiodentals [f] and [v] involve the upper teeth and lower lip, found in fat and vat. Alveolar sounds like [t] in tea and [d] in dad use the tongue near the alveolar ridge. Unfamiliar Symbols Less familiar symbols include interdentals [ ] (voiceless, as in thin) and [ ] (voiced, as in the), involving the tongue between the teeth. Postalveolar sounds like [ ] (as in shout) and [ ] (as in child) are produced near the back of the alveolar ridge. Velars like [k] and [ ] (as in kick and gag) are made toward the back of the mouth, and [h], a glottal sound, is produced without using the tongue, as in have.

Place of Articulation

Consonants:Manner of Articulation We can also describe the same sounds in terms of how the manner in which they are articulated. Such a description is necessary if we want to be able to differentiate between some sounds which, discussion, we have placed in the same category. For example, we can say that \t\ and \s\ are both voiceless alveolar sounds . in the preceding

Consonants: Manner of Articulation How do \s\ and \t\ differ? - They differ in their manner of articulation, that is, in the way they are pronounced. The \t\ sound is one of a set of sounds called stops and the \s\ sound is one of a set called fricatives. Stops: Sounds that are produced when the air is completely obstructed by the speech organs, these are \p\, \b\, \t\, \d\, \k\, \g\ (they are also called plosives ).

Consonants: Manner of articulation Fricatives: Sounds that are produced when the air is partially obstructed by the speech organs causing a friction, these are \f\, \v\, \ \, \s\, \z\, \ \, \3\. Affricates: sounds that are produced with a brief stopping of the airstream followed by a partial release (stop + fricative), these are \t \ and \d3\.

Consonants:Manner of articulation Nasals: sounds that are produced when the soft palate is lowered, preventing airflow from entering the oral cavity so the air is allowed to go through the nose producing \m\, \n\, and \ \, the sounds are described as nasals.

Consonants: Manner of articulation Liquids: \l\ and \r\ are both voiced liquids. The [l] sound is called a lateral liquid and is formed by letting the airstream flow around the sides of the tongue as the tip of the tongue makes contact with the middle of the alveolar ridge. The \r\ sound at the beginning of red is formed with the tongue tip raised and curled back near the alveolar ridge.

Consonants: Manner of articulation Glides: The sounds \w\ and \j\ are described as glides. They are both voiced and occur at the beginning of we, wet, you and yes. These sounds are typically produced with the tongue in motion (or gliding ) to or from the position of a vowel and are sometimes called semi-vowels or approximants. The sound \h\, it is produced at the glottis as in Hi or hello, it is voiceless and can be classified as a glide because of the way it combines with other sounds. In some descriptions, it is treated as a fricative.

Manner of Articulation

English Consonants Chart

Vowels Vowels: vowel sounds are produced with a relatively free flow of air (no obstruction). They are all typically voiced. In the classification of vowels, we consider: The vertical and the horizontal height of the tongue (the shape of the tongue) as well as rounding of the lips.

Vertical shape Horizontal shape

English Vowels Chart

Vowels Monophthong vowels are single, steady vowel sounds in which the tongue position doesn t change throughout the sound. Here are some common English monophthongs with examples: 1. /i / - as in seat, need 2. / / - as in sit, bit 3. /e/ - as in bed, pen 4. / / - as in cat, bat 5. / / - as in car, father 6. / / - as in pot, hot (British English) 7. / / - as in law, saw 8. / / - as in book, good 9. /u / - as in food, true 10./ / - as in cup, luck 11./ / - as in bird, her 12./ / - as in sofa, about (schwa sound)

Vowels Diphthongs: are types of vowels where two vowel sounds are connected in a continuous, gliding motion. They are often referred to as gliding vowels. [ai] buy, eye, my [ i] boy, noise, void [a ] cow, doubt, loud

Chart of the English Vowel sounds

Chart of the English Diphthongs

Chart of the English Vowel sounds

American and British Diphthongs The pronunciation of some diphthongs in Southern British English, following Roberts (2017), is noticeably different from North American English, as shown below, Note that the final [r] sound, normally pronounced in American varieties, is typically omitted in Southern British English, especially among higher social status speakers.

Subtle individual variation Vowel sounds are notorious for varying between one variety of English and the next, often being a key element in what we recognize as different accents. It may be, for example, that you make no distinction between the vowels in the words caught and cot and use [ ] in both. The more we focus on the subtle differences of the actual articulation of each sound, the more likely we are to find ourselves describing the pronunciation of small groups or even individual speakers We are able to disregard variation in phonetic detail and identify each underlying sound type as part of a word with a particular meaning. Trying to understand how we do that takes us into phonology.