PHONETICS

AND
PHONOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

REVISION
PHONETICS
- The study of articulation, transmission
and perception of speech sounds
- Articulatory phonetics
- Acoustic phonetics
- Auditory phonetics

Articulatory phonetics
is the study of the way the vocal
organs are used to produce speech
sounds
The number of vocal organs varies
with languages: there are speech
sounds that do not use an air-stream
from the lungs (non-pulmonic sounds,
e.g. clicks tut tut or tsk tsk)

Acoustic phonetics
is the study of the physical properties of
speech sounds and how they are transmitted
Sound energy is a pressure wave consisting of
vibrations of molecules in an elastic medium
a gas, a liquid, a solid; in this case, air air
particles are disturbed through the
movements and vibrations of the vocal organs,
especially the vocal folds. The process
continues as a chain reaction for as long as
the energy lasts.
Air particles move in the form of a wave: they
are characterized by oscillation , frequency
(hertz), amplitude and intensity (decibels).

Waveforms of the vowel /a:/

and the consonant /s/

Spectrograph:
Speech spectrograph (a machine) is
used to display sounds acoustically:
time (duration) of a sound is
displayed horizontally, acoustic
frequency of a sound is displayed
vertically, and intensity is shown by
the relative darkness of the marks.

Types of spectrogram:

Spectrogram:
Vowels and vowel-like sounds are
darkest and different vowel qualities
can be seen in the changing pattern
of black bands (formants) which
represent varying concentrations of
acoustic energy in the vocal tract.

Auditory phonetics
is the study of the way people
perceive speech sounds; the study
of speech perception.
1st step when sound waves arrive
at the ear;
2nd step transmission of sound
along the auditory nerve to the
brain

PHONOLOGY
- The application of phonetics to a particular
language or languages
- In most languages fewer than 50 distinct
sound units
- It is concerned with establishing what units
of sound a language uses and how it makes use
of them
- Examines the relationship between sounds in a
given language and takes account of the
theory of sound systems in general

Phonology
By contrast with phonetics, which
studies all possible sounds that the
human vocal apparatus can make,
phonology studies only those
contrasts in sound (the phonemes)
which make differences of meaning
within language.

Phonology
When considering the sound system of English,
we are referring to the number of phonemes
which are used in the language, and to how they
are organized. To say there are 20 phonemes in a
particular accent means that there are 20 units
which can differentiate word meanings: e.g. /e/
is different from /i:/, for example, because there
are pairs of words (such as set and seat) which
can be distinguished only by replacing one of
these vowels by the other.

Purpose of the course

How English is pronounced in the accent
chosen as the Standard
(advanced level)
the above mentioned information in the
context of a general theory of speech sounds
and their use in a particular language
Phonetics and phonology the theoretical
context

The necessity of
the theoretical background
Working with the language at an
advanced level requires deeper
understanding of grammar and related
areas of linguistics

The basic ideas of

phonetics and
phonology

Phonemes, e.g.

pin pen
pet bet
Pronunciation also makes things difficult:
enough vs. inept vs. stuff
Same sounds have different spelling,
therefore can be recognized as same only
when transcribed

Course development
Identifying and describing phonemes in
English, either vowels or consonants
Phonemes and the use of symbols
Larger units of speech,e.g. syllable, and
further:
stress (relative strength of a syllable)
and
intonation (use of the pitch of the voice to
convey meaning)

Using ROACH
Bold type introduction of technical
terms
Single quotes (...) words used as
examples in spelling form
Double quotes (...) normal use of
quote marks

ACCENTS AND
DIALECTS
Same languages pronounced differently by people
from different geographical areas, social classes,
ages, educational backgrounds, etc. are said to
have different accents
ACCENT DIALECT
Varieties of a language different from others not
just in pronunciation but also in vocabulary,
grammar, word order are called dialects

RECEIVED
PRONUNCIATION (RP)
BBC PRONUNCIATION
The model of English most often
recommended for foreign learners
studying British English;
Used by most announcers and
newsreaders on BBC showing
consistency in the broadcast speech

D. Jones (1909)
Good speech may be defined as a
way of speaking which is clearly
intelligible to all ordinary people.
Bad speech is a way of talking which is
difficult for most people to
understand. ...
use of different sounds unintelligibility

However, do not doubt!

Concentrate on
STANDARD !

VARIETIES
will be considered
later !

THANK YOU!