Chapter 2 Phonetics

English Linguistics: An Introduction

Chapter 2 Phonetics

0. Warm-up Questions

1. Introduction

2. Phonetic Production

3. Phonetic Transcription

4. Phonetic Classification & Description

0. Warm-up Questions

Can you name any of the speech organs?

Do you know how different sounds are produced?

What distinguishes the articulation of vowels and

consonants?

How can a phonetician identify the number of distinctive

sounds in a language?

What are ways of classifying vowels or consonants?

1. Introduction

The study of speech sounds as they are, namely their production, transmission and perception.

Speech production

Speech perception

Figure 1 The process of speech transmission

Transmission

1.2 Branches

Thus the study falls into three main areas: articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics and auditory phonetics.

1.1 Definition The study of speech sounds as they are,

namely their production, transmission and perception.

2. Phonetic Production

Lips, teeth, tongue (tip, blade, front, back, root) teeth ridge (alveolus), hard palate, soft palate (velum), uvula, pharynx, larynx, vocal folds (cords/bands), trachea (windpipe), lung. 1 上唇； 2 上齿； 3 上齿背； 4 上齿龈； 5 硬腭； 6 软腭； 7 悬雍垂； 8 鼻腔； 9 咽部； 10 声带； 11 下唇； 12 舌尖； 13 舌前； 14 口腔； 15 舌中； 16 舌后。（此图参照了 David Crystal ， The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language ， p157，外语教学与研究出版社， 2002）

3. Phonetic Transcription

3.2 International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

3.1 Divergence Examples: fish spelt as ghoti (enough +

women + nation), bee read as /bi:/ Reasons: more sounds than symbols,

changes of sounds, borrowed words

History and development: The idea proposed (1886), the first version published (1888), International Phonetic Association known (1897), rudimental system of IPA (1920s), the latest version revised (1993), updated twice (1996, 2005).

3. Phonetic Transcription

3.3 Coarticulation and Phonetic Transcription

3.2 International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Main principles: There should be a separate letter for each distinctive sound, and the same symbol should be used for that sound in any language in which it appears.

The Chart of IPA (see p28 in the textbook)

Coarticulation: The process involving simultaneous and overlapping articulations as a result of the influence on a sound by its neighborse.g. thin /θin/ think /θiηk/ (anticipatory) books /buks/ beds /bedz/ (perseverative)

3. Phonetic Transcription

3.3 Coarticulation and Phonetic Transcription

Broad / narrow transcriptions: without or with diacritics

Diacritics (p29): symbols used for transcription of the minute difference between variations of the same sound

e.g. peak /pi:k/ (broad/phonemic)

peak [phi:k] (narrow/phonetic)

In the case, an aspirated sound is transcribed with a raised “h” after the symbol.

4. Classification and Description

4.2 Classification of English consonants

4.1 The First Distinction Vowels / consonants: with(out) airstream

obstruction Semi-vowels or semi-consonants /w/ and /j/

4. Classification and Description

4.3 Classification of English Vowels

Monophthongs (pure/cardinal vowels) and diphthongs (vowel glides)

Pure vowels: Tongue rising, Raised part, Tenseness (length), Lip rounding

4. Classification and Description

4.4 Phonetic Description

Description of consonants [p] voiceless bilabial stop [z] voiced alveolar fricative

Description of vowels [u] high back lax rounded [æ] low front lax unrounded