1.The Organs of Speech and their work.

In any lang, people speak if they have no physical defects uing their organ of speech. The air
stream released by lungs goes throuhg the wind-pepe and comes to the larynx which contains the
vocal cors. The vocal cords are two elastic fols, which may be kept apart or brought together.
The opning between them is calle-the glottis. This is the usual state of the vocal cords, when we
breaty out. If the tense vocal cords are brought together the air stream forcing an opening makes
them vibrate an we hear some voice.
All the sounds we make when we speak are the results of muscles contracting. The muscles in
the chest that we use for breathing, produce the flow of air that is needed for almost all speech
sounds. Muscles in the larynx prouce many different modifications in the flow of air from the
chest to the mouth. After passing through the larynx, the air goes through we call-the vocal tract,
which ends at the mouth and nostrils. Here the air form the lungs escapes into the atmosphere.
We have a large and complex set of muscles that can produce changes in the shape of the vocal
tract and in order to learn how the sounds of speech are produced it is necessary to become
familiar with the different parts of the vocal tract. These different parts are called- articulaters,
and the study of them is called- Articultory phonetics.
The pharynx-it is a tube which begins just above the larynx. It is 7 cm long in women and about
8 cm in men, and at its top end it is divided into 2. One part being the back of the mouth and the
other being the beginning of the way through the nasal cavity.
The soft palate-it allows the air to pass through the nose and through the mouth. The other
important thing about the soft palate is that its one of the articulators that can be touched by the
tongue.
The hard palate-its often called the roof of the mouth. We can feel its smooth and carved
surface.
The alveolar ridge- its between the top front teeth and the hard palate. We can feel it shape with
own tongue.
The tongue-it can be moved into many different places and shapes in the mouth. The most
important organ of speech is the tongue. It divides into 4 sections: the back part of the tongue
(the part, which lies opposite the soft palate), the front part of the tongue (the part facing
the hard palate), the blade part of the tongue and its extremely the tip (the one lying under
the alveolar ridge), the central part of the tongue (the area, where the front and the back
meet). The edges of the tongue are known as the rims.
The teeth(upper-lower).
The tongue is in contact with the upper-side-teeth for many speech sounds. Sounds made with
the tongue touching the front teeth are called-dental.
The lips they are also important in speech, they can be pressed together when we produce the
sounds p/b. brought into contact with the teeth as in f/v or rounded to produce the lip shape for
the vowels u/o. Sounds in which the lips are in contact with each other are called-bilabial while
those with lip-to teeth contact are called-labiodental.
The seven articulators described above are the main ones used in speech but there are 3 other
things to remember firstly:
-the larynx :could also be described as an articulator becouse its a very complex and
independent one.

Secondly:
-the jows: are sometimes called articulators becouse we move the lower jow a lot in speaking
but the jows are not articulator in the same way as the others becouse they cannot themselves
make contact with other articulators.
The third:
-althogh there is practicaly nothing that we can do with the nose and the nasal cavity, they are
a very important part of our equipament for making sounds what is sometimes called our vocal
apparatus, particularly nasal consonants such as m/n/ . We cannot really describe the nose and
nasal cavity as articulators in the some sense as those above.

2. Active and Passive organs of Speech.

All the organs of speech can be divided into 2 groups:
1. active organs of speech ;
2. passive organs of speech;
Active organs:
Active articulators move towards these passive articulators to produce various speech sounds, in
different manner .

the vocal cords which produce voice;

the tongue is the most flexible and moveble organ;
the lips affect very consierably the shape of the mouth cavity;
the soft palate directs the stream of air either to the mouth or to the nasal cavity;
the back wall of the pharynx contracting for some sounds.
The lower jow which movement controls the gap between the teeth an also the
disposition of the lips.
The lungs providing air for sounds.

Passive organs:
Passive articulators are those which remain static during the articulation of sound. The teeth,
the teeth ridge or alveolars, the hard palate, the walls of the rezonators: are the passive
articulators.

3. The Sounds of Speech. Consonants.

SOUNDS AND PHONEMES
Speech sounds are grouped onto language units called phonemes. They are the smallest
contrastive language units which exist in the speech of all people belonging to the same language
community. The phoneme is a functional unit. That means that being opposed to other
phonemes in the same phonetic context it is capable of differentiating the meaning.
e.g. pin- tin
lot- lit
Are you fond of this cut? - Are you fond of this cart?
The organs of speech are capable of uttering many different kinds of sounds. From the practical
point of view its convenient to distinguish two types of speech sounds: vowels and
consonants.
Vowels are voiced sounds produced without any obstruction in the supra-glottal cavity and
consequently have no voice component.
In the articulations of consonants a kind of noise producing obstruction is formed in the supraglottal cavity. Such sounds may be pronounced with or without vocal cords vibration.
Consonants:
They are made with air stream that meets an obstruction in the mouth or nasal cavities. Thats
why in the production of consonants there is a certain degree of noise.
Consonants- are the bones of word and give it basic shape. English Accents differ mainly in
vowels. The Consonants are more or less the same whatever English is spoken. So, if our vowels
arent perfect you may still be understood by the listener but if the consonants are imperfect there
may be some missunderstanding.
Will you invite me to the party?

4. The degree of noise of Consonants.

On the articulatory level the consonants change:
1. In the degree of noise
2. In the manner of articulation
3. In the place of articulation
1.The degree of noise
According to the degree of noise English consonants are divided into 2 big classes:
1. Noise consonants
2. Sonorants
1. Noise consonants in the production of noise consonants there is a noise component
characteristic. Noise consonant sounds vary:
- in the work of the vocal cords,
- in the degree of force of articulation
According to the work of the vocal cords they may be voiced and voiceless.
When the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate we here voice. So voiced consonants are:
[ b, d, g, v, , , z, d ].
If the vocal cords are apart and do not vibrate we dont have voice and the sounds are voiceless
[ p, t, k, f , , s, , t , n ].
Voiceless
[f] (fan)
[] (thin, thigh)
[s] (sip)
[] (Confucian)

Voiced
[v] (van)
[] (then, thy)
[z] (zip)
[] (confusion)

The degree of noise may vary because of the force of articulation. Strong noise consonants are
produced with more muscular energy and stronger breath effort. Weak noise consonants are
produced with a relatively weak breath effort.
Strong noise consnants are: [p, t, k, f, , s, , t , h].
Weak noise consonants are: [ b, d, g, , v, , z, d ].
The English phoneticians call the weak consonants-lenis, and the strong ones-fortis.
2. Sonorants are made with tone prevailing over noise because of a rather wide air passage
and they are: [m, n, , w, l, r, j].

5.The manner of articulation of Consonants.

The manner of articulation it is determined by the type of obstruction. The obstruction may be
complete and incomplete and momentary.When the obstruction is complete, the air stream meets
a closure in the mouth or nasal cavities as in the production of [ p, b, t, d, k, g, t , d, m, n, ] .
In the case of an incomplete obstruction the active organ of speech moves towards the point of
articulation and the air stream goes through the narrowing between them as in the production of
English sounds [ f, v, s, z, , , , h, w, l, r, j,].
Momentary obstruction is formed in the production of the consonant [p] when the tip of the
tongue tops quickly everal times against the teeth ridge.
According to the manner of articulation consonants may be of 4 groups:
-

Occlusive

Constrictive

Occlusive-constrictive (affricates)

Occlusive-the air stream meets a complete obstruction in mouth. Occlusive noise consonants are
called stops because the breath is completely stopped at some point articulation and then it is
released with a slight explosion, that is why, they are also called plosives. According to the
work of the vocal cords they may be voiced [b, d, g] and voiceless[ p, t, k]. Voiced stops are
weak, voiceless are strong.
The particular quality of a sonorant depends on the position of the soft palate. Occlusive
sonorants are also made with a complete obstruction but the soft palate is lowered and the air
stream escapes through the nose, so they are nasal-[ m, n, ] .
Constrictive-the air stream meets an incomplete obstruction.
Constrictive noise consonants are called fricatives- the air passage is constricted and the air
escapes through the narrowing with friction. The fricative consonants are:[ f, v, , , s, z, ,
, h,].
Fricatives may also differ : a) in the work of the vocal cords; b) in the degree of force
articulation.
According to the work of the vocal cords they may be voiced [ v, , z, ] and voiceless
[f, , s, , h] .According to the force of articulation they may be weak and strong.
Constrictive sonorants are also made with an incomplete obstruction but with a rather wide air
passage; so the tone prevails over noise. They are all oral, because in their production the soft
palate is raised.
Occlusive-constrictive (affricates)-are noise consonants produced with a complete obstruction
which is slowly released and the air escapes from the mouth with some friction. They are only
two occulsive-constructive consonants in Eng: [t , d]. The Eng.[ d] is voiced and weak and
[t ] voiceless and strong.

6.The Place of articulation of Consonants.

The place of articulation is determined by the active organ of speech against the point of
articulation. There may be one place of articulation or two places of articulation when active
organs of speech contact with two points of articulation. In the 1st case consonants are
called:unicentral, in the 2nd are bicentral.
According to the position of the active organ of speech consonants may be:
1. Labial
2. Lingual
3. Glottal
Labial-are made by the lips. They may be bilabial and labio-dental.
Bilabial consonants are produced when both lips are active, they are [p, b, m, w].
Labio-dental consonants are articulated with the lower lip against the edge of the upper teeth,
they are [f, v].
Lingual-are classified into forelingual, mediolingual and backlingual.
Forelingual are articulated with the tip or the blade of the tongue. They differ in the position of
the tongue. According to its work they may be:
- apical ( the tip of the tongue is active)
- cacuminal (the tip of the tongue is at the back part of the teeth ridge)
According to the place of obstruction forelingual consonants may be:
-

interdental

alveolar

post-alveolar

palato-alveolar

Interdental-are made with the tip of the tongue projected between the teeth.
Alveolar-are articulated with the tip against the upper teeth ridge.
Post- alveolar-are made when the tip or the blade of the tongue is against the back part of the
teeth ridge or just behind it.
Palato-alveolar-are made with the tip or the blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge and the
front part of the tongue raised towards the hard palate, the narrowing is flat.
Mediolingual-are produced with the front part of the tongue. They are always palatal. They are
made with the front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate-[ j].
Backlingual- are also called velar, because they are produced with the back part of the tongue
raised towards the soft palate, they are [ k, g, ].
The glottal consonant [h,] -is articulated in the glottis.

7.The English Plosives.

Occulsive noise Consonants compries three pairs: [p-b], [t-d], [k-g]. They are occulsive
vecouse a complete obstruction to the stream of air is formed, they are stops becouse the breath
is stopped at some point of articulation and then released with an explosion, that is way they are
also called: Plosives.
Place of articulation: stops are bilabial [p, b] produced with both lips pressed together,
forelingual [t,d] produced with the tip of the tongue against the teeth ridge, backlingual [k, g]
produced with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate.
Aspiration: [p, t. k] in initial position in a stressed syllable are accompained by aspiration.
Aspiration is very strong before a long vowel or a diphthong as in the following exaples: port,
talk, take, Kate. It is weaker before a short vowel, as in: pit, top, cut.
Palatalization: Eng. Stops are not palatalized, but before front, close or mid-open vowels they
are a bit clearer than before back vowels.
e.g: part-Pete, top- tip, door-day.

8.The English Fricatives.

Constructive Fricative consonants comprise four pairs: [f-v], [-], [s-z], [- ] and [h]. They
are constructive becouse the air passage is constricted and an incomplete obstruction is formed,
they are fricative becouse the air passes through the narrowing with audible fication. All the
fricatives except [- ] are unicentral. The consonants [- ] are bicentral becouse they have
two places of articulation.
Palatalization: Eng. Fricatives except [- ]are nonpalatalized only brfore front, close and midopen vowels, they are a bit clearer than before back ones: father-feet, heart-heat, thundertheme.

9. The English Affricates.

There are only two affricates in Eng: [t , d] . They are occulsive-constructive consonants
becouse a complete obstruction to the stream of air is formed and it is released slowly with
frication. They a biocentral.
/ts/ /dz/ lingua-alveolar affricates: ts/ as in pizza and its, and /dz/ which is voiced as in ads
and adze.
/t/ /d/ postalveolar affricates: /t/ as in cheese, catch, and ligature, and /d/ which is
voiced as in judge, magic, and jam.

10. Nasal Consonants.

Sonorants are sound pronounced with tone prevailing over noise. The air passage is rather wide
when they are produced. Sonorants comprise seven sounds:[m ,n , , l, w, r, j].
Sonorants are subdivided into nasal and oral,depending on the position of the soft plate which
defines the direction of the air stream. When the soft palate is raised, the air goes to the mouth,
so the sonorants are oal:[ l,w,e,j].
If the soft palate is lowered the air escapes through the nose and the sounds are nasal:[m ,n , ].
The consonant [m]: is occulsive, nasal,bilabial. The lips are firmly kept together. The soft palate
is lowered and the air goes through the nose and the vocal cord vibrate. The consonant [m]
sounds longer when it is placed at the end of the word e.g [dim], after a short vowel [lambs] or
before voiced consonant or a vowel [mole]. But when it is placed a voiceless consonant [m]
sounds shorter[lamp-lambs].
The consonant [n] is occulsiv, nasal, forelingual, apical, alveolar. The tip of the tongue is
pressed against the alveolar ridge. The soft palate is lowered and the air escapes through the
nose, and the vocal cords vibrate. Like in the case with [m] the sonorant [n] may have variants of
different length. If depends on the position of [n] in the word: tin, send, net, sent.
The sonorant [] is occulsive , nasal, backlingual, velar. The back part of the tongue is pressed to
the soft palate. The soft palate is lowered and the air goes through the nose, the vocal cords
vibrate. Like in the case with [m,n] the sonorant [] may have variants of different length. It is
defined by the position of [] in the word: sing-singing-sink.
Sometimes the Eng. Sound [k] or [g] are pronounced after the sonorant . The difficulty is to
avoid putting in a [k] or [g] after [] especially when it stands between vowels. So make the
final [] long and let it die away into silence.
If [] occurs between vowels, go from [] to the following vowel very smoothly, with no jerk,
at first do it rather slowly, then more quickly. Some learners of English nasalize the vowel
preceding the sound []. Not to make this mistake they must be very careful to pronounce the
vowel in a proper way and then to press tha back of the tongue against the soft palate forming a
firm contact between them so that no air could go through the mouth.

11. Modifications of Consonants in Connected Speech.

The complete articulation in speech sound,a vowel or a consonant when said itself in isolation
consists of 3 stages:
1.The on-glide stage-during which the articulatin organs moved to the position necessary for the
articulatin o a sound;
2.the hold stage-during which the articulating organs moved to the position necessary for a
certain period of time;
3.The off-glide stage-during which the articulating organs retain to the position of rest.
The on-glide of+ pronounced in isolation is the contact formed by the tip of the tongue placed
against the teeth ridge.During the whole stage the air is compresed behind the closure during the
explosion stage,the organs forming the abstraction part rapidly and the comprised air escapes
abruptly.
Such isolation of sounds from the flow of speech is however to a great degree simplification of
real processes. Speech sounds are seldom set by themselves,they are used only in combination
with other sounds in connected speech.In the process of speech,the articulatory organs are
moving continuously and the sounds mostly merged are into another.
In connected speech the sounds are subjective in general to 2 main types of influence:
1.the reciprocal influence of neighbouring sounds;
2.the influence on sounds by larger speech units and their elements,first of all by the stress.
The 1st group of processes is called the combinative changes,the 2nd-the positioned
changes.The majority changes of sounds in connected speech are combinative.These sounds are
modified by other sounds near to them in the phonetic sequence.In this case they lose their
clearness and some peculiarities of their articulation gaining on the other hand some new
articulatory features.As a rule,its the 3rd (of glide)stage of the articulation of the proceeding
sound and the 1st stage(on glide) of the following sound that undergo modifications.
As a result of mutual interaction of speech sounds in connected speech there is a nr of phonetic
processes such as:Assimilation,Accommodation,Elusion.

12. Assimilation.
Assimilation-a process of alteration of speech sounds as a result of which,one of the sounds
becomes fully or partially similar to the adjoining sound.
The word assimilation is an example of this phenomena,this latin word is composed of the
preposition-ad,which meand to and the adjsimiles=alike,similar. Ad-similationassimilation([ds]-[ss]), D-under the influence of the following s was changed to another s.
The nature of assimilation is determined by objective phisical and physiological conditions.
Assimilation exists in every lang ,but its laws ad forms in each lang depend on the historically
formed articulatory tendencies typical of every lang and specific phonetic structure.
There are 3 types of assimilation: direction of assimilation, degree of completeness, degree of
stability.

13. Direction of Assimilation.

Direction of assimilation-the influence of neighboury sounds in English can act in a
progressive, regressive and reciprocal direction.When some ariculatory features of the
following sounds are changed under the influence of the proceding sounds which remains
unchanged, assimilation is called progressive.E.g. the pronounciation of the plural sound [s] of
the nouns depends on quality of the proceding consonants. It is pronounced as [z] after the
voiced consonants(panes,calls,beds) and as[s] after the voiceless consonants
(desks,books,texts).
When the following sounds influences the articulation of the preceding one, assimilation is
called regressive. E.g in the word combination inthem,the alveolar {n} becomes dental befor the
interdental [].
Reciprocal assimilation means complex mutual influence if the adjacent sounds.The
wordtree,the sonorantr is partly devoiced under the influence of the voiceless t and the
alveolart becomes post alveolar r.

14. Degree of Completenes and Stability.

Degree of completiness according to its degree , assimilation can be complete and incomplete.
Assimilation is called complete when 2 adjoining sounds become alike or merge into one. It
always takes place when the 2 sounds differ only in one articulatory feature (cup board) [
].
Assimilation is called incomplete when the likeness of the joining sounds is partial as the
assimilated sound and it retains its major articulatory features(sweet,place,try)
Degree of stability-many assimilatory phenomena of old stages in the development of the land
have become obligatory in modern English.
They may/may not be reflected in spelling.Such changes have taken place over a period of time
called historical(orchard ort+yard). In Modern lang obligatory assimilation are allophonic
variation characteristic of the native speech.There are a lot of non-obligatory cases of
assimilation which can be traced mainly at the word boundaries(e.g ten minutes nonobligatory
assimilation are characteristic of fluent or careless speech.

15. The Reduction of Consonant Clusters ( Elision).

The reduction of some consonants clusters- was established long years ago, the initial w,k,g
may be dropped :write, know, knife, gnat. The medial t or d are dropped in a cluster of 3
consonants:listen,soften,Wednesday.The final b is dropped in the clusterm,blamb,damb.In other cases of recent formation the elided forms are tipical of rapid colloquial
speech.In the following example the elided sound is till pronounced in careful precise speech.In
present day English, the reduction of cluster continues to take place,the plosivest,d in the
cluster/st, ft, it, nd, ld, zd, vd/ in final position went followed by a word with an initial
consonant are often reduced in rapid speech(e.g last time,mashed potatoes,next day,old
man).Word final cluster of plosives or aplicates : t d, pt, ft, kt may lose the final alveolar
plassives when the following word begin with a consonant:kept quiet,legged behind.

16. The Sounds of Speech . Vowels.

Vowels
The organs of speech are capable of uttering many different kinds of sounds. From the practical
point of view, it is convenient to distinguish 2 types of speech sounds: vowels and consonants
Vowels are voiced sounds produced without any abstraction in the supra-glottal cavity and
consequently have no voice component.
Principles of classification of vowels: vowel are made with the air stream that meets no closure
or narrowing in the mouth, faringal and nasal cavity, thats why in the production of vowel
sounds there is no noise components characteristic of consonants sounds. On the articulator
level the description of vowels changes:
1)in the stability of articulation
2)in the tongue position
3)in the lip position
4)in the character of the vowel end
5) vowels differ in respect of their lenth .
Principle of stability of articulation: All English vowels are divided intro 3 groups:
1)pure vowels/ monophthong. [i e, , , , , , : , , a, ]
.2)diphthongs [ ei.ai, i, , ,, au, , u,]
3)diphtongoes [ i:, u: ]

17. The Classification of Vowels.

There are totally 20 vowels in the English language, of these 12 are pure vowels and 8 are
Diphthongs.
Vowels can be classified into two types :
1. short vowels - // // // // /e/ // //
2. long vowels - /i:/ /u:/ /:/ /:/ /:/
Vowels in whose production the point of articulation does not change are called pure vowels.
Vowels in whose production the point of articulation glides from one point to another are called
diphthongs.
Diphthongs can be classify into three types :
/i/ ending diphthongs - /e/ /a/ //
/u/ ending diphthongs - // /a/
// ending diphthongs - // /e/ //
Depending on the height of the tongue, vowels can be classified into high, low, and mid
vowels:
When the front or the back of the tongue is raised towards the roof of the mouth, the vowel is
called high, this is the case, e.g., in pill, meet, look, or soon.
When the front or the back of the tongue is as low as possible, the vowel is called low, as, e.g.,
in land, star, or dog.
When the tongue occupies the position intermediate between the high and the low one, the
vowel is called mid, e.g. in get, or the unstressed [] in about.
Depending on the active articulator, vowels are classified into front, back, and central
vowels:
When the front part of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, the vowel is called front,
e.g. in meet, get, or land.
When the back part of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate, the vowel is called back, as
in star, dog, law, or soon.
When the front part of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate, the vowel is
called central, e.g. in about, much, or nurse.

18. Stability of Articulation of Vowels.

All English vowels are divided intro 3 groups:
1)pure vowels/ monophthong. [i e, , , , , , : , , a, ]
2)diphthongs [ ei.ai, i, , ,, au, , u,]
3)diphtongoids [ i:, u: ]
Monophthongs -are vowels the articulation of which is almost unchanging the quality of such
vowels is pure. The Eng. Monophtongs are : [i e, , , , , , : , , a, ].Ex. It, pit, click .
In the pronuanciation of diphthong, the organs of speech glide in one vowel position to another
within one syllable . The nucleus is strong and distinct. They consist of two vowel elements.
English diphtongs: [ ei.ai, i, i , ,, au, , u,]
The pronunciation in the group of diphthongoids, the articulation is slightly changing but the
difference between the starting point and the end is not so distinct as, it is in the case of
diphthongs . English Diphthongoids are: [ i:, u: ].

19. Tongue Position of Vowels.

Tongue position of vowels: the changes in the position of the tongue determine largely the shape
of the mouth and faringal cavities. The tongue may move forward and backward , up and down,
thus changing the quality of vowel sounds. When the tongue moves forward-backward various
parts, it may be raised in the direction of the palate. When the tongue is in the front part of the
mouth and the front part of it is raised to the hard palate ,a front vowels is pronounced front
vowels..{ i., , ].
When the tongue is in the front part of the mouth but slightly retracted and the part of the tongue
nearer to the centre than to the front ,a front retracted vowel is pronounced : [i].
When the front of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate , the vowel is
called central [ , , :]
When the tongue is In the back part of the mouth and the back of it is raised towards the soft
palate a back vowel is pronounced [ a, u: , , : ]
When the tongue is in the back part of the mouth but it is slightly advanced and the central part
of it is raised towards the front part of the soft palate a back advanced vowel is pronounced [ u].
When the front or back of the tongue is raised high towards the palate, the vowel is called
closed. [i: , i, u , u: , ]
When the front or back of the tongue is a low as possible in the mouth, open vowels are
pronounced [ , a:, , :]
When the highest part of the tongue accupies the position intermediate between the closed and
apen one, mid vowels are pronounced [a , , e, ]

20. Lip Position of Vowels.

The shape of the mouth cavity is also largely dependent on the position of the lips.
When the lips are neutral or spread the vowels are turned: unrounded [ ; u: u ; i i: ; e ;
a: ; : ]
When the lips are drown together so that the opening between them is more or less round. A
round vowel is pronounced [ u: u ]

21. Character of Vowel End.

The quality of all English monophthongs in the stress position is strongly affected by the
following consonant of the same syllable.
If a stressed vowel is followed by a strong voiceless consonant it is cut off by it. In this case the
end of the vowel is strong and the vowel is called checked. Such vowels are heard in stressed
closed syllables ending in a strong voiceless consonant.: cart-cut,hut.
If a vowel is followed by a weak voiced consonant or by no consonant at all , the end of it is
very weak.
In this case vowel is called free. Such vowel are heard in closed syllables ending in a voiced
consonant or in an open syllable : before,money, begger.

22. Vowel Length.

Vowels are capable of being continued during a longer or shorter period. All English vowels with
exception of diphthongs are divided into long and short.
Long vowel- [i: u: a ]
Short vowels[i, e u a].
The vowel is not included in the category of short vowel,because of specific length . But for
the purpose of practical speech training it is not enough to distinguish 2 degrees of length. In the
similarly accented position, all English vowels are fully long,when they are final at the end of
the word.[see, sea, bar, saw, sore]. They are almost as long as that when weak voiced
consonants follows them in the closed syllable[ seed,arm, farm,bird,big,bed,song].
They are considerably shorter before strong voiceless consonant is closed syllable
[ seat,larg,look,first,bit,sat].
Diphthongs vary in length in the same way as long vowels [play-played-plate] variations of
length affect the nucleus not the glide. Such variations might be represented these ways
(plei/ple:i-pleiz-pleit).
Vowel sequence- all vowels sequences pronounced with a smooth glide between them, both
within words and between words. The most common sequences are formed by adding the neutral
vowel [ ] to a diphthong specially [ai u ](lion,trial,our,hour.).

23. English Monophthongs and Diphthongs.

Monophthong is simply a vowel. The word monophthong comes from the old Greek language.
Mono means one or single, and the -phthong means sound or tone. The word monophthong
shows that a vowel is spoken with exactly one tone and one mouth position. For example, when
you say teeth, then while you are creating the sound of the ee, nothing changes for that
sound.
A Diphthong is a vowel that a person has to move his or her mouth into two different positions
to make. Diphthong comes from the old Greek language. Di means two or double, while the part
-phthong means sound or tone, It is a vowel where two different vowel qualities can be heard.
For examples are: waist, die, noise, road, house, fierce, bear, sure. Each of these is a different
vowel sound.
The Difference between Monophthong and Diphtong
A monophthong is a simple vowel sound that a person does not have to move his mouth to
make, like the oo sound in book.
In a diphthong, the person combines two different monophthongs, as with the oi sound in the
word oil. The person starts with the mouth in the position to make an o sound, then quickly
moves the mouth to make a hard e sound.
Another example is the ou sound in the word house. The mouth starts out making a sound
like the soft a sound in flat, then moves to make the a hard oo sound like the one in
boots.
The main difference is that a monophthong is a phoneme that consists of only one (mono
means one) vowel sound and a diphthong is a phoneme consisting of two (di means two)
vowel sounds that are connected or linked to each other.
Some Examples of Monophthong and Diphthong
Monophthong
: man
bit
lot
o: tall
Diphthong
main
bite
low
o toy

24. The English diphthongs.

A Diphthong is a vowel that a person has to move his or her mouth into two different positions
to make. Diphthong comes from the old Greek language. Di means two or double, while the part
-phthong means sound or tone, It is a vowel where two different vowel qualities can be heard.
For examples are: waist, die, noise, road, house, fierce, bear, sure. Each of these is a different
vowel sound.
The Difference between Monophthong and Diphtong
A monophthong is a simple vowel sound that a person does not have to move his mouth to
make, like the oo sound in book.
In a diphthong, the person combines two different monophthongs, as with the oi sound in the
word oil. The person starts with the mouth in the position to make an o sound, then quickly
moves the mouth to make a hard e sound.
Another example is the ou sound in the word house. The mouth starts out making a sound
like the soft a sound in flat, then moves to make the a hard oo sound like the one in
boots.
The main difference is that a monophthong is a phoneme that consists of only one (mono
means one) vowel sound and a diphthong is a phoneme consisting of two (di means two)
vowel sounds that are connected or linked to each other.
Diphthong
main
bite
low
o toy

25. Modification of Vowels in Connected Speech.

In English as well as in other language vowels in unstressed syllables are usually reduced and
this phonetic phenomena is called reduction of vowels. The lows of reduction in this language
are not the same however. Reduction is a historical process of weakering, shortening or even
disaperence of vowel sound is unstressed positions. This phonetic phenomena as well as
assimilation of consonants is closely connected with general development of the language
system. Reduction reflects the process of lexical and grammatical changes. The neutral sounds
represents the reduced forms of almost any vowel or diphthong in the unstressed position.
E g combine-noun

produce-noun

Combine-verb

produce- verb

The vowel sounds of the ,,r related words are in contrast because of difference stressed
position. The sound [i] and [u] and the suffix-full, are very frequent of the unstressed position
e.g. possibility, beautiful . There is also a detency to retain the quality of the unstressed vowel
sound . e.g program.,situate .

Noun reduced unstressed sounds are often retained in:

a)compound words : blackboard
b)borrowing : from French etc. borgeoisy
Reduction is connected not only with word stress, but also with rhytm and sentence stress.
Stressed words are pronounce with great energy of breath. So , reduction is realized with:
a)in unstressed syllables within a word: demonstrative
b)in unstressed form- words as : auxiliary. Modal verbs, personal and possessive pronouns
within intonation groups and phrases. E.g. what do you think you can do?

26. The Reduction of Vowels.

Three different types of reduction are in English :
1)quantitative reduction-shortening of the vowel sound in the unstressed position and affects
mainly the long vowels. Eg: he [hi:], he [hi], when does he[hi] come?
2)qualitative reduction- obscuration of vowels towards a neutral [i] and [u]. it affects both
long and short vowels. Eg. Can [k n],you can easily do it? Vowels in unstressed form-words in
most cases undergo both qualitative and quantitative reduction
3)the elision of vowels in unstressed position eg. I am [

I m

].

27. Strong and Weak forms of Vowels.

Spoken English shows a market contrast between its stressed and unstressed syllables. Words
which bear the major part of information, are generally stressed and they are called content or
national words, these are : nouns,adjective, national verbs, adverbs, numerals, interrogative and
demonstrative pronouns. Th other words in a sentence are mostly form or structural words,
which link the content words and help us in this way to form an utterance. Articles , prepositions,
conjunctions, particles auxiliary verb, modal verbs, personal and possessive pronouns. These are
not many in number but they are among the commonest words of he language. As form words
are normaly unstressed in a sentence, they are weak reduced forms, are generally used in speech.
Eg (he said he come in the morning.)
The weak forms of words should be used in unstressed position. The strong forms of the
auxiliary and modal verbs, personal and possessive pronouns are more realy used. They are used
in their strong forms, when they are sed, in isolation, when they become communicative sentence
of utterance.

28. Syllable tructure.

A syllable is a speech unit consisting of a sound or a sound sequence one of which is heard to be

more prominent than the others, the most prominent sounds being the nucleus of the syllables is
called syllabic. Syllabic sounds are generally vowels ( monophthongs ,diphthongs,diphthngois)
and sonorants. A syllabic sonorants is marked with [m,n]. a word consisting of only one vowel
sound represent a separate syllable eg. I , are.or. in the case of a diphthong the pick, of the
syllable is formed by its nucleus. Among syllabic sonorants, we find [m,l,n] e.g apple [pl]
trouble ,puzzle .
Many words in english as : parcel, level, special ,person could be pronounced with the neutral
vowel before the sonorant, thous making it no syllabical. In all these words the second prominent
sound or the peack? Is formed by the neutral form [] corresponding to sound vowel, better in
unstressed position before the sonorants. However some words in English not having any vowel
letter before the final sonorants may also be pronounced in both ways. Eg puzzle [ pzl ]
[pzl On the other hand many having a vowel letter before the final sonorants are pronounced
without the neutral vowel where by the sonorants is syllabic eg lesson, pupils . The word with
the sonorant [m] (blossom) are more with often pronounced with the neutral vowel (blossom)
so , if a sonorant is preceded by a vowel sound it loses its syllabic character and the syllable is
formed by the vowel.

29. Syllable Division.

Syllable division and syllable formation rules appear to be a matter of great practical value to
the language learner they are very important when its necessary to know the number of syllable
for the purpose of picturing a word or sentence on the staves or for finding a convenient place to
put a stress mark in phonetic transcription.

30. Word Stress in English.

One or more syllables of a polysyllable have a great prominence than others. Such syllables are
said to be stressed. In English any all of factors: loudness, pitch, sound quantity, sound quality
may reder a syllable more prominent than the others. In similar phonetic contexts a vowel is
perceived as a more prominent, if its lauder, longer and more distinct than the unstressed are.
Ever vowels of full formation in the unstressed position are not so distinct as their stressed
counter parts. The peach component of word stress manifests itself in the fact that the stressed
syllable is always that on which there is a change of peach in the phrase, though the stressed
syllable is not necesarlyhigher than the unstressed one.e.g. compound(N) compound(V)
Vowels of unstressed syllables undefinitly not so long and tend to be reduced in the unstressed
position. English vowels are shorter in the unstressed position, the difference between
historically long and historically short vowels remains quite distinct.
Our treatment of word stress as of any other component of pronunciation is based on 2
linguistics functions: constitutive and distinctive.
Word stress arranges syllables in words thus fulfilling the constituitive function. Its distinctive
function can be traced in the opposition of words consisting of the same morpheme. The
meaning of which is differentiating by word stress. e.g. object (n) (v)

31. The Degrees of Word Stress.

In English there are 3 degrees of word stress:

Stress syllable(primary stress)

Half stressed syllable(secondary stress)

Weak unstressed syllable

A logic group of polysyllabic simple words has both: primary and secondary :e.g.conversation,
intonation, pronunciation,
There are several large groups of words with 2 equally strong stresses. These words consist of 2
morphemes. The use of semantic significance of both equally stressed elements of the word.
e.g. rewrite, fourteen

32. The Position of Word Stress.

Word stress in English as well as in other languages is free, in the sense that the primary stress is
not tied to any particular syllable in all the words but it always falls on a particular syllable of
any given word.e.g finish, result, education
The position of words stress in the product of its historical development. It has been influenced
by the combination of different tendencies, the oldest of them is known as the recessive
tendency, according to which the root syllable the semantic unit of the word is stressed. So the
majority of words of Germanic origin have stressed on the 1st root syllable.
e.g. clever, body, water, singing
If words are formed with the prefixes with no referential meaning, the stressed is shifted onto the
root syllable, which is not enitial in this case. e.g. before, begin, mistake
The 2nd tendency is the result of the mutual influence of Germanic and French accentual
patterns. It is known as the rhythmic tendency which manifest itself stressing the 3rd syllable
from the end e.g. situate, articulate
Most disyllabic English words have recessive stress: e.g. finish, answer, marriage, result
Some disyllabic French borrowing retain the primary stress on the last syllable.e.g. machine,
police
According to both tendencies, words of 3 syllable generally have stress on the 1st syllable which
is the 3rd syllable from the end: e.g. cinema, enemy, but, situate, relation, uncertain
Words of 4 syllable may have either recessive or rhythmic stress :e.g architect, criticism,
characterize, remarkable, articulate
Rythmic stress is especially common for verbs with the suffixes ate, -fy, -ize
e.g. situate, articulate, quality, personify, centralize
Some 4 syllable words tend to have a free syllable accentual pattern:e.g. dictionary, laboratory

33. Words with Primary and econdary Stress.

The secondary stress is manifested in polysemantic words with primary stress on the 3rd or 4th
syllable from the beginning. Eg. Popularity, responsibility

In word with the primary stress on the 3rd syllable, the secondary stress, usually falls on the
first syllable. Eg : decoration.
If the primary stress falls on the 4th or 5th syllable, the secondary stress is very commonly on the
2nd syllable. Eg: Articulation, experimentation.
Consequently the position of the secondary stress is often that of the primary stress in the
original word, in the word from which the derivative word is formed.
Eg: Posible posibility
Appreciate appreciation
In some cases, the position of the secondary stress is connected with the type of the suffix which
can influence the accentual pattern . But there is still no good ground for establishing regular
rules for this cases.

34. Words with Two Primary Stress.

The following groups have 2 primary stress :
1) Polysyllable with separable prefixes having a distinct meaning of their own. Negative
prefix : im ,non, ir, il, un, dis, in.
Eg. Unable, unknown, disappear, nonfinal, nonsmoker, inconvenient, illegal, immaterial,
irregular, irresponsable.
The prefix -re -with the meaning of repetition. Eg : Rewrite, Reorganize .
The prefix mis- meaning of wrong : Misunderstand, misprint.
The prefix pre- meaning before. Eg : Prepared, prewar,
The prefix ex meaning former. Eg: ex-minister, ex-champion.
The prefix under-, sub- meaning subordinated. Eg: under-secretary, sub-divide.
The prefix inter meaning among. Eg :Intercourse, interview.
2)
3)
4)
5)

Numerals from 13 to 19 included ;

Compound numerals (23,48);
Compound adjectives ( well-known, absent-minded)
Compound verbs (to give in, to put in, to take of) .

35. Stress in Compound Word-Stress.

Words composed by separable root morphemes are called Compounds. Word stress in
compounds depends of the semantic weight of the elements, when the 1st element determines,
restricts ;the second one or introduces some contrast, it is stressed, while the 2nd element of the

compound remains unstressed.

Thought the stressed vowels of the 2nd element retains its qualitative and quantitative
prominence, this is the case of the majority of the compound nouns. They are usually single
stress: EG: READING-ROOM, rain-coat, blackboard. This type of word stress in compound
nouns differenciate compounds from a word-combination in which every word has a stress. EG:
blackbird black bird, blackboard- black board, goldfish-gold fish, strong-box strong box.

36. The Functions of Word Stress.

Word stress in a language performs three functions.
1. Word stress constitutes a word, it organizes the syllables of a word into a language unit having
a definite accentual structure, that is a pattern of relationship among the syllables; a word does
not exist without the word stress Thus the word stress performs the constitutive function. Sound
continuum becomes a phrase when it is divided into units organized by word stress into words.
2. Word stress enables a person to identify a succession of syllables as a definite accentual
pattern of a word. This function of word stress is known as identificatory function (
(or recognitive). Correct accentuation helps the listener to make the process of
communication easier, whereas the distorted accentual pattern of words, misplaced word stresses
prevent normal understanding.
3. Word stress alone is capable of differentiating the meaning of words or their forms, thus
performing its distinctive function. The accentual patterns of words or the degrees of word
stress and their positions form oppositions, e.g. 'import im'port, 'billow below.

37. The Intonation in English.

The term intonation implies variation of pitch , force of utterance and tempo.
Variation of pitch are produced by significant move of the voice up and down.

The force component- of intonation is measured by the degree of loudness of syllable that
determines the prominance of words.
The tempo- is determined by the rate of speech and the length of posses.
Intonation is very important for communication, as it helps the addressee interpret the message.
There have been different proposals to explain how intonation can help communication, some of
which are:
1. Intonation enables us to express emotions and attitudes as we speak: the attitudinal function of
intonation.
2. Intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence on stressed syllables: the accentual
function of intonation.
3. Intonation helps to recognize the grammar and syntactic structure of the utterance: the
grammatical function of intonation.
4. Intonation conveys the given-new information, or provides information for turn-taking: the
discourse function of intonation.

38. The Functions of Intonation.

Our approach to the study of intonation is based on its two functions: the constitutive function
and the distinctive function.
Intonation forms sentences. Each sentence consists of one or more intonation groups.
An intonation group is a word or a group of words characterized by a certain intonation pattern
and is generally complete from the point of view of meaning.
E. g. Youll come early | and stay as long as you can | wont you ||
Sentences are separated from each other by pauses. The end of a sentence is always recognized
by a long pause; the end of a non-final intonation group is usually characterized by a shorter
pause.
E. g. Hes passed his exam || He is a student now || Like most old people | he was fond of talking
about old days ||
Intonation also serves to distinguish the communicative types of sentences, the actual meaning
of a sentence, the speakers emotions or attitudes to the contents of the sentence, to the listener or
to the topic of conversation.
E. g. Hes passed his exam ||
Low-Fall

- a statement of fact

High-Rise

- a question

Low-Rise

a question with surprise

High-Fall

an exclamation

One and the same sentence pronounced with different intonation can express different emotions.

Intonation is also a powerful means of differentiating the functional styles.

39. The Sections of an Intonation Pattern.

The Intonation Pattern- consists of one or more syllable of various pitch levels and bearing a
large or smaller degree of prominence. Those Int.Patterns that contain of a number of syllable
consists of following parts: 1. The pre head.
2. The head.
3. The nucleus.
4. The tail.
1. The pre-head consists of unstressed and half stress syllable preceding the head.
2. The head-consists of the syllable beginning with the 1st stress syllable up to the last stress
syllable.
3. The nucleus- the last syllable stress.
4. The tail- the unstressed and half stress syllable that follow the nucleus.
Then

dont make so

The pre- head

much

the head

fuss
nucleus

about

it.

the tail

The modification of intonation pattern is also due to the speed of utterance and pausation.
We must point out that one of the three components of intonation patterns-pitch is the most
significant one.
The timbre a special colouring of human voice is sometimes considered to be the 4th
component of intonation. But it has not been investigated yet, we shall not considered a
component.
Intonation also serves to distinguish communicative type of sentences, the actual meaning of
the sentence, the speakers emotion or attitudes to the contents of the sentence, to the listener
or to the topic of conversation. One of the same word sequence may express differing
meaning when pronounce with different intonation.
E.g: Dont know it?
Dont I know it!
Dont do that.
Intonation is also a powerful means of differentiate functional styles.

40. Intonation Patterns and Sentence types.

There are three basic pitches in English- these are normal, high, and low. There is also a very
high pitch, which is used to express strong emotions such as surprise, anger, or fear. (The
very high pitch will not be covered in this text).

The normal pitch is where the voice usually is.

High is where the voice rises to indicate information focus.

Low is where the voice falls, usually at the end of sentences.

In most conversations the voice is normal at the beginning of the sentences, rises at the
information focus word (or syllable), then falls back to normal, and drops to low at the end of
the sentence.
There are different intonation patterns used for different types of sentences. The intonation
pattern for statement, commands, and WH questions is basically the same- the voice starts at
a normal pitch, rises at the intonation focus word, falls back to normal after the intonation
focus word, and falls to low at the end of the sentence. With yes/no questions and requests,
the pitch starts at normal and rises at the end of the sentence.
Statements
I like riding horses.

My English isn't that good yet.

Commands
Get off the horse now.

Give me the key.

Wh questions
When do you go riding?

Who do you like in the fifth?

Yes/no questions
Do you ever fall off?

Have you eaten yet?

Requests
Could I have some money?

Can I go with you sometime?

Statement- are pronounced with low fall.

Speech Questions- are alse oronounced with low fall. E.g What country I from?
General Question-are pronounced with loq rise. E.g are you a student.
Imperatives- in comands we have low fall. E.g try the other key.
Requests- are pronounced with low rise. Dont move! Try not to.
Exclamations- we have low fall and high fall, it depends of the mood of speakers.
e.g. Oh, its magnificant! What an extraordinary pice of cake!

41. Intonation in Statements.

1. Statements are most widely used with the falling tone, which expresses finality,
completeness, and definiteness.
Its difficult.
I `wanted to `go there immediately.
It `was not so easy.
2. However, in non-categoric statements, or in sentences in which something is implied
(doubt, uncertainty, hesitation) the rising tone (the Low Rise) is used. This is the intonation of
politeness, doubt, or indifference. In all cases it gives the impression that the expression of the
speakers idea is unfinished.
It `isnt `so bad.
I `think he is busy.
It `wasnt `very hot.
3. If a statement is a correction of what someone else has said or a contradiction to something
previously uttered or a warning the Fall-Rise is usually used.
He is thirty. He is thirty- v five.
WE shall go there at once. We v shant.
I must catch the 9.30 train. Youll be v late.

42. Intonation in Special Questions.

1. Questions beginning with what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose, why and how
often have a falling tone on an important word (often near the end of the question).
2. However, if the speaker is checking that he or she has heard something correctly, is very
surprised at some information that they have just heard, forming a series, as if in a
questionnaire, or implying a mild reproach the question may start rising on the wh word and
continue to rise throughout (Low Rise)
`How `old are you?
`Where do you `study `English?
`Whats the `matter?
`What have you `done?

43. Intonation in General Questions.

1. General questions are most common with the Low Rise tone preceded by the Falling
head, which expresses genuine interest.
Is anyone `absent to day?
Have you been `studying long?
2. However, when general questions are said with the Low Fall they are interpreted as a
serious suggestion or a subject for urgent discussion:
`Shall we post`pone?
`Havent you `noticed the mis`take?
3. In short questions used as responses like 'did you?' 'have you?', 'has she?' the low fall is
used, e.g.:
I `went to the `theatre `last night. `Did you?
He `hasn't been `invited. `Hasnt he?

44. Intonation in Imperatives.

Imperative sentences request, instruct, or command. When no subject is given, it is implied

in an imperative sentence, meaning it is understood to whom the request or command is
made.
Examples:
Turn down the music.
Leave the door closed.
Take out the trash.
Finish your dinner.

45. Intonation in Exclamtions.

The exclamatory sentence is a sentence that is exclaimed, emphasizing excitability or
emotion. It is punctuated by an exclamation point.
Examples:
Turn down that music!
I hate you!
You scared me!
Quit pulling my hair!

Be careful not to confuse an exclamatory sentence with an interjection; both are punctuated
by an exclamation point, but the interjection is a word, not a complete sentence.
Examples:
Bam! Bam!
Dynomite!
No way!
Yeah!