Phonetics: The Sounds of Language

1. Chapter 3 The Sounds of Language

2. English is not spelled how it sounds Heard looks like Beard but sounds like
Bird Dead looks like Bead but sounds like Bed Meat looks like Great but
sounds like Sweet Moth looks like Mother but sounds like Cloth Dear looks
like Pear but sounds like Beer

3. Phonetics The general study of the characteristics of speech sounds This

includes whether sounds are voiced or voiceless sounds as well as their manner
and place of articulation The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is used to
help accurately describe sounds

4. Phone The basic unit of phonetics is called a phone. Any human speech sound
is a phone. Phones are often expressed by placing brackets around an IPA
transcription (ex: [dns] for the American pronunciation of dance).

5. Phonology The study of systems and patterns of speech sounds in languages

The basic unit in phonology is the phoneme, which is any sound in language that
distinguishes meaning (ex: in rat and mat, /r/ and /m/ are the phonemes which
change the meanings of the words) Phonemes are often expressed by placing
slashes around the IPA transcription: /b/

6. Phone Phoneme Any possible human speech sound in any language The
smallest identifiable unit in speech Transcribed within brackets [b] [o] A
contrastive unit in the sound system of a specific language A minimal unit that
serves to distinguish between word meanings Transcribed within slashes /b/
/o/

7. universal system to transcribe the sounds of speech used since 1888

represents each sound with a single symbol symbols are enclosed in square
brackets [ ] enables linguists to transcribe languages accurately IPA:
International Phonetic Alphabet

8. IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet Transcribe SOUNDS, not letters! Annie

How many letters? How many sounds? [ n i ] The complete IPA is available as
a word file on our class website.

9. IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet IPA SYMBOL WORD EXAMPLE IPA

TRANSCRIPTION [i] fee [ f i ] [I] fit [ f I t ] [ej] fate [ f ej t] [] let [ l t ] [] bat [ b
t ] [u] boot [ b u t ] [] book [ b k ]

10. IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet IPA SYMBOL WORD EXAMPLE IPA
TRANSCRIPTION [ p ] spit [ s p I t ] [ b ] bib [ b I b] [ t ] stuck [ s t k] [ d ] dip [ d
I p ] [ k ] skip [ s k I p ] [ g ] get [ g t ]

11. IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet IPA SYMBOL WORD EXAMPLE IPA
TRANSCRIPTION [ ] theta thick [ I k ] [ ] eth though [ o w ] [] schwa the
[ ] [ ] flap hitting [h I I ] [ ] sang [ s ] [ t ] chip [ t I p] [ d ] judge
[d d]
12. Production of Speech Sounds Manner of articulation HOW the sound is
produced Point of articulation - WHERE the sound is produced Voiced or
Voiceless - Whether they make the vocal cords vibrate or not

13. Vowels vs. Consonants Vowels: produced by letting air flow through the
vocal tract without any (or with little) obstruction Vowel sounds are always
voiced Consonants: production involves closure or some sort of obstruction of
the air flow in the vocal tract Consonants can be either voiced or voiceless

14. Voiced vs. Voiceless Sounds Vocal cords spread apart, air passes unimpeded.
These sounds are called VOICELESS. Ex: /k/ /f/ /t/ Vocal cords draw together, air
pushes them apart to pass through, creating a vibration. These sounds are called
VOICED. Ex: /g/ /v/ /d/

15. Misunderstandings http://youtu.be/e8e6ygYaoB0 Why was there a

misunderstanding? She said: Thanks, Phil. He heard: Thanks, feel.

16. Misunderstandings Target sound /I/, as in Phil Produced by speaker

as /i/, as in feel NOTE: These sounds are troublesome for speakers of languages
that dont have both /i/ and /I/ sounds. Think what would happen if someone
mispronounces beach or sheet.

17. Places of Articulation

18. Bilabials Sounds involving both lips [b], [p], [m], [w] boy, people, man, wet

19. Labiodentals Sounds made using the lower lip and upper teeth [v], [f] velvet,
fence

20. Dentals/Interdentals Made by placing the tongue against or between the

teeth teeth, bath, this loathe, bathe

21. Alveolars Made by using the tongue and the alveolar ridge [t], [d], [s], [z],
[n], [l], [r] top, deer, soap, zip, nap, lap, right

22. Palatals Made when the center of the tongue approaches the palate.
Voiceless sounds: chip, chocolate or ship and shoe Voiced sounds: rouge, judge,
and George The [j] sound, pronounced you or yet is called a palatal glide

23. Velars Made when the back of the tongue touches the velum. [k] sound as in
kid [g] sound as in go Also, the ~ng sound: rolling, sung,

24. Manner of Articulation How a sound is made Important for explaining

how to make sounds For example, [d] and [z] are made in the same place of
articulation, the alveolar ridge, but they have different manners of articulation.

25. Stops [p] [b] [t] [d] [k] [g] Also called plosives Produced by a form of
brief stopping of the airstream For instance the [t] in ten, and the [b] and [d]
in bed
26. Fricatives [f] [v] [] [][s] [z] [] [][h] Produced by almost blocking the
airstream (air pushes through a very narrow opening) Fish begins and ends
with fricatives [f] and [] Those begins and ends with fricatives [ ] and [z]

27. Affricates [t] [d] Produced by a combination of a brief stopping of

airstream with an obstructed release, causing some friction cheap and jeep
have affricate sounds [t] and [d]

28. Nasals [m] [n] [] Produced when the vellum is lowered and the airstream
is allowed to flow out through the nose morning, knitting and name begin and
end with nasals

29. Liquids [l] [] The [l] sound as in led 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 [] sound as in red is formed with the tip of
the tongue raised and curled back near the alveolar ridge.

30. Glides [w] [j] [h] Produced with the tongue in motion or gliding to or from
the position of a vowel They are sometimes called semi- vowels or
approximants We, wet, you, yes, hi and hello

31. Glottal Stop and the Flap Glottal stop: [] Produced when the space
between the vocal cords (glottis) is closed completely (very briefly) and then
released Uh oh! [ ow] The flap: [] Butter or Manhattan

32. Vowels: Front vowels [i] = feed [] = fit [e] = fade [] = fed [] = fad

33. Vowels: Central vowels [] = above schwa (used in unstressed syllables)

[] = above (used in stressed syllables) IPA Transcription of above [bv]

34. Vowels: Back vowels [u] = food [] = foot [] = fought [] = frog

35. Vowels: Diphthongs a sound made by combining two vowels, when the
sound starts as one vowel sound and ends as another [a] = fight [a] = foul [e]
= fate [o] = foe [] = foil

36. Minimal Pairs The words Phil and feel are a minimal pair. What do you think a
minimal pair is? When two words are identical in phonetical form except for a
contrast in one phoneme, occurring in the same position, the two words are
described as a minimal pair. (Yule 1985)

37. Can you think of more examples? /i/ /I/ Feel Phil

38. Accent vs. Dialect Do you have an accent? What is the difference
between an accent and a dialect? Accent: Manner of pronunciation, typically
associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class. Dialect: Manner of
speech which differs in structure, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary
Different dialects are mutually comprehensible.; different languages are not.
http://youtu.be/3UgpfSp2t6k

39. American Dialects http://spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/DialectQuizFull/