content week i introduction · 7 assignment 1 choose a topic of any elt related topics. write...

English Education Department of Islamic State Institute of Kendari

Phonology Handout

CONTENT

Syllabus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

Week I INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6

1.1. Pronunciation and Language Teaching ----------------------------------------- 6

Week II SOUNDS, SPELLING, AND SYMBOLS --------------------------------------------- 13

2.1. Phonetic Alphabets, Phonetic Transcription, Phonetic and

Orthographic Writing ------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

2.2. The Use of Phonetic Transcription-------------------------------------------------- 14

2.3. Phonetic Symbols and Their Values ----------------------------------------------- 14

Week III ORGAN OF SPEECH ------------------------------------------------------------------ 18

3.1. The Production of Sounds ------------------------------------------------------------ 18

3.2. The Organ of Speech ------------------------------------------------------------------ 24

3.3. Manner of Articulation ----------------------------------------------------------------- 26

3.4. Place of Articulation -------------------------------------------------------------------- 27

3.5. Voiced and Voiceless Sounds ------------------------------------------------------ 27

3.6. Oral and Nasal Sounds ---------------------------------------------------------------- 28

3.7. Articulation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28

Week IV – Week VI ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30

4.1. The English Consonant ----------------------------------------------------------------- 30

4.2. The English Vowels ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 43

Week XII SEGMENTAL AND SUPRA SEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY ------------------- 49

5.1. Two Speech Features ------------------------------------------------------------------ 49

5.2. Differences between the Two Speech Features ----------------------------- 49

5.3. English Stress and Length Patterns ------------------------------------------------- 51

Appendix -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 73


Phonology Handout

English Education

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING

INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI KENDARI

Syllabus

Course Outline : Phonology

Code : PBI 421

Credit : 2

Lecturer : Suhartini Syukri

Course Description:

Phonetics and Phonology is a theoretical subject which consist of theories on

articulatory phonetics and phonological rules which covers the features of speech

sounds and the organization.

Course Objective:

Upon completion of this course, the students are expected to be able to:

1. Recognize and describe the specific linguistic terms found in phonetics and

phonology.

2. Describe the organ of speech and their mechanism to produce the speech

sounds.

3. Clarify the distinctive feature of speech sounds.

4. Describe the role of phonology in language learning.

5. Describe basic phonological rules in English.

Teaching Methodologies:

- Lecturing

- Discussion

- Presentations

Course Organization

Meeting Topic Material Types of Assignment

1 Introduction Introduction to the course Negotiation of syllabus

2 Sounds, spelling,

and symbols

26 alphabets, 44 sounds (24

consonants, 12 vowels, 8

diphthongs), IPA symbols.

3 Organ of speech, Nasal and oral cavities, articulators:

lips, teeth, tongue, alveolar ridge,


Phonology Handout

Airstream

Mechanism

hard palate, soft palate (velum),

uvula, pharyng. Pulmonic,

regressive/ingressive, click.

4 Describing

consonants

Places of articulation: bilabials,

labiodentals, alveolars, palatals,

velars, uvulars, glottals, pharyngeals

5 Manners of articulation: stop,

continuant, voiced, voiceless,

fricative, affricate, nasal, oral,

aspirated, unaspirated, plosives

6

Describing vowels

and diphthongs

Vowels articulation: open, close,

high, low, mid, front, central, back,

lax, tense

Diphthongs articulation: centring,

closing diphthongs

Phonetic features [p] bilabial voiceless stop, [d]

alveolar voiced stop, [o:] mid back

tense rounded, etc.

7 Assignment 1

Choose a topic of any ELT related topics. Write 250-300 words essay, in

your essay you need to include: why are you interested in the topic;

state the problems, explain how to deal with the problems; and provide

a brief conclusion. Upon the completion of the essay, you need to

highlight the words which correspond to the knowledge of meeting 2, 3,

4, 5, 6, and 7 as examples.

8 Mid test: Oral presentation

Students are required to have 3-5 five minutes presentation on the topic

that they have written.

9 Minimal pairs and

distinctive features

Definition, examples, binary valued

features (+/- features)

10 Phonemes, phone,

allophones

Definitions, distinctions, symbols,

phonetic and phonemic

transcription

11 Complementary Definition, examples, differences


Phonology Handout

distribution, free

variation

between free variation and

allophones

12

Phonotactic rules of

English

Sequential constraints, components

of syllable (coda, onset, nucleus,

rhyme), breaking the syllable

structure

Prosodic and

suprasegmental

phonology

Stresses, tone, pitch, intonation,

length

13 Phonological rules The technical notations, metathesis,

co-articulation, assimilation,

segment deletion rule, dissimilation

14 Morphophonemics Morphophonemic rules, plural

formation, the formation of present

and past participle of verbs

15 Assignment 2

Choose a topic of any ELT related topics. Write 250-300 words essay, in

your essay you need to include: why are you interested in the topic;

state the problems, explain how to deal with the problems; and provide

a brief conclusion. Upon the completion of the essay, you need to

highlight the words which correspond to the knowledge of meeting 9, 10,

11, 12, 13, and 14 as examples.

16 Final test: Oral presentation

Students are required to have 3-5 five minutes presentation on the topic

that they have written.

Assessment

No Assessment Tasks Weighting

1 Assignments 20%

2 Mid exam 40%

3 Final exam 40%

TOTAL 100%


Phonology Handout

References:

1. Finegan, E. 2004. Language: Its Structure and Use (4th edition). Boston: Thomson

Wadsworth.

2. Fromkin, V. & Rodman, R. _____. An Introduction to Language 3rd edition. Fort

Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

3. Giegerich, H., J. 1992. English Phonology: An Introduction. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

4. Jones, D. 1972. An Outline of English Phonetics. New York: Cambridge University

Press.

5. Ladefoged, Peter. 1982. A Course in Phonetics. New York: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

6. McMahon, April. 2007. An Introduction to English Phonology. Edinburgh:

Edinburgh University Press Ltd.

7. O’ Grady, W. et.al. 1996. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. Harlow:

Pearson Education Limited.

8. Ramelan, 1999. English Phonetics, Semarang: Unnes Press.

9. Sukrisno, A. 2016. Handout Suprasegmental Based- English Phonetics. Semarang:

Unnes Press.


Phonology Handout

WEEK 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Pronunciation and Language Teaching

Talking about phonetics cannot be separated from other sciences. Therefore,

in order to be able to familiarize ourselves as to where the positions of phonetics

among other studies in this wide worlds, we need to study relationship of

phonetics to other sciences, in general, and to its most related body of sciences, in

particular, which is called linguistics.

First of all, let’s try to see the connection of phonetics to other sciences in the

universe. Universe can be studied by different people in many different ways as well as

from its different aspects. From its different aspects, or special phenomena, the

universe can be studied by different sciences.

Sciences that try to know about the universe and all of its contents, such as the

earth, the atmosphere, the people living in it, the language that the people use,

etc., develop from time to time. Briefly speaking, the universe can be the object of a

myriad of branches of sciences, among others; Medical Sciences, Geography,

Economics, Oceanography, Physics, Astronomy, Geodesy, Botany, Linguistics, etc. All

sciences mentioned above deal with people’s attempt to know about he universe,

but, they, except ‘linguistics’, are not going to be discussed here since their

relationship to this course is quit distant. However, the last mentioned science is also

part of the phenomena of the universe which is related to people who inhibit

the earth which is also part of the universe. This is the kind of study which is closely

related to the course we are concerned with this semester.

In order to know the relationship between phonetics, in general, and English

phonetics in particular, we have to know what linguistics is about and how it is studied

in detail manner. Generally speaking, linguistics can be defined as science which

studies language or it is a scientific study of language. It is linguistics which tries to

look into phenomena of language in a scientific manner.


Phonology Handout

In the past, however, there were people who tried to study language not in

scientific way but based on speculation or at least assumption. This unscientific study

of language is put forward under the name ‘the origin of language.’ In this way of

studying language, those people speculated as to how language originally came

into being. For this, they came up with different theories, such as the BOW-WOW

theory, DING-DONG theory, etc. The BOW-WOW theory speculates that when

people came into being they were unable to speak any language at all. Thus, they

could only communicate with each other using a means of communication which

was not language, that is, body movement, gestures, etc.

And how did language as human means as communication start to exist then?

According to BOW-WOW theory, language came into being as human-beings’

reaction to sudden event in their surrounding and they then attempted to repeat the

sound they had produced again and again. Human-beings also attempted to

imitate the sounds of nature, the sound of wind blowing, animals’ songs, the sounds

of water flowing in a river, etc. they imitated these sounds again and again with their

organs of speech so that finally they found out that they could produce voices in

which through evolution these voices became a language. This is called Ding-Dong

Theory. This kind of study is of course not scientific because it is not based on

objectives observation of certain phenomenon, but rather on the basis of speculation.

Therefore, all the theories about the origin of language are not part of scientific

endeavor and therefore they ignored by present scientists concerned with the

phenomena of language.

According to linguists, those are people who are dealing with language should

be studied through observing concrete phenomena, such as the sounds used in a

language and how these sounds are arranged into a system of communication. Of

course, linguistics does not study speech sounds only. There are other aspects of

language which are under scrutiny; for instance, lexis, grammar, meaning, etc. These

phenomena of language, of course, cannot be studied at once. Therefore, linguistics

is divided into smaller sciences which will enable scientists to observe every aspects


Phonology Handout

of language in detail. To know the branches of linguistics, let’s see the sub-science of

linguistics below.

The study of Phones:

Grammar defines as:

Lexicology defines as:

Lexicography defines as:

Semantics defines as:

Sociolinguistics defines as:

Psycholinguistics defines as:

Neuro-linguistics defines as:


Phonology Handout

Pragmatics defines as:

Please, try to define each of the sub-branches of linguistics above.

As our course this semester belongs to English phonetics and English phonology,

we are not going to be too much concerned with all of those sciences, except

phonology and phonetics. They are sciences about language which do not directly

examine the phenomenon relevant to our topic of study of this course, which is

sound; therefore, they are only dealt with briefly just to get a better idea of what they

are and their relationship to phonology. It is only the study of sounds which is quite

relevant to our discussion in Phonetic/Phonology course.

Talking about the study of sounds, as students of language, we have to know

what it is, how it branches off. To begin with, we have to know what it is. The study of

sounds is the sub-branch of Linguistics which studies sounds of a particular language.

What is meant by sounds here is not just any sounds, but, they are only sounds which

are produced by human beings by the help of their vocal or speech organs. That is

why such sounds are often called speech sounds. And from now on, when we

mentioned sound, it refers to speech sound.

Studying sounds in this way is still too general because the study of sound

not monopolized by a single science. It is still too broad to be observed at once;

therefore, it is necessary to divide this body of knowledge into smaller entities so

that we can study sounds in a more detailed manner.

This study of sounds/ phones can be done through their system: Here we learn

phonology defined as production.

Production: Here we learn phonetics which is defined as: the study of speech

sounds as sounds without trying to find out their basic signaling units or their

function to distinguish meaning.


Phonology Handout

Function: Here we learn phonemics which is defined as:

____________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Phonetic is also still too broad needs to be divided into smaller and more analyzable

domains of study. These smaller bodies of knowledge are:

Articulatory Phonetics which is defined as:

And

Acoustics Phonetics which is defined as:

From this two bodies of knowledge, which one do you think should be studied by

students of language? It is ___________________________________

State your reasons below:

1) ________________________________________________________________________

2) ________________________________________________________________________

Now we have just broken up the universe in order to study various phenomena inside

it by dividing them up into smaller and smaller fields of study which enable us to

concentrate our scientific attention on the study of phones or phonemes. In order to

have a much clearer picture in our mind, it is better for us to end this session, by

making a tree diagram of the branches of science from which phonetics is derived.

Use the following free space:

(Courtesy, Sukrisno, 2016)


Phonology Handout

The general aim of teaching English to the students of the English department is to

enable them master all of the language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing)

and teach the language to students. They should be proficient in English as well as

professional in teaching it: to meet the former aim several different linguistic factors as

pronunciation, grammar, lexis (vocabulary and idiom), style (appropriate to the

situation), function, and discourse should become the learners’ aim and the teachers’

task. In mastering the speaking skill, for instance, the teacher must train and equip the

learner with a certain degree of accuracy and fluency in understanding, responding,

and in expressing himself in the language in speech. The learner should have master all

aspects of the language as mentioned above.

With regard to its pronunciation, the English language is quite difficult for

Indonesian learners. In some cases the difficulties are due to the fact that the irregular

spelling of the language offers poor guidance to its pronunciation. In other cases,

difficulties are due to interference (negative transfer) from the first language to the

target language. There are two fundamental principles in the general strategy of

pronunciation teaching. On the hand pronunciation, teaching has to be integrated

with other aspects of language (grammar, lexis, style, function, and discourse). In the

other hand, pronunciation has to be isolated for practice of specific items and

problems.

Actually, pronunciation is a twofold process. It involves the recognition of sounds

as well as the production of sounds. A student is faced with the problem of recognizing

and discriminating the sounds as well as the problem of producing the sounds. Practice

and aural perception should be given before the practice an oral production. Watch

and listen carefully to the teacher when he/she demonstrates English pronunciation in

class. Observe closely how he/she pronounce sound which are difficult for you.

The practice on oral production perhaps in part based on imitation. For some

students, however, imitation is not enough. It is a necessity for students to learn how a

particular sound is produced. For example: student may need to look in the mirror

which speech organs are used to produce the sounds. He has to watch how to place

his tongue tip between the upper and the lower front teeth in pronouncing /T/ in think.


Phonology Handout

He can also feel the breath that he blows out of his mouth by placing his hand close to

his mouth during production of /T/.

Other techniques that might help the students especially in the production level

is by showing articulatory descriptions and by comparing the sounds learned with the

nearest sound in the student’s native language. Certain devices to show the general

position of the tongue in articulating sounds can help the students in obtaining correct

pronunciation. Diagrams and charts often prove to be very helpful in explaining how

the sounds are produced. The diagram will give a better insight into what speech

organs are involved and how the organs work during the production of the sounds.

Another important thing that proves to be very helpful in pronunciation class is

the class atmosphere. It should encourage every student to feel at ease at home with

their teacher and fellow students. By feeling more relaxed, the students will find it easier

to imitate and exaggerate the sounds which seem strange to them. Just like on other

courses, individual differences must be taken into consideration. There are students who

are very talented in language learning, but there are also those who are very slow,

even in the ability to imitate. The teacher’s attention should be paid more to the latter.

Besides, during the pronunciation class is what is called over-correction. It may

discourage the student and disturb his recitation. Therefore, we might consider the

forms of the lesson and the intelligibility in deciding when to correct pronunciation.


Phonology Handout

WEEK II

SOUNDS, SPELLING, AND SYMBOLS

2.1. Phonetic Alphabets, Phonetic Transcription, Phonetic and Orthographic Writing

Speech sounds can be represented visually by means of written symbols or

writing. Writing is very important as part of man’s culture because it can be used to

preserve thoughts, ideas, and also speech sounds. By reading the written symbols

man can reproduce the sequences of speech sounds produced by the original

speaker.

There are several ways of writing, which can be grouped into two main types:

first, writing in which each is a picture of an objects or idea, called picture writing or

ideographic writing such as the hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians; second, writing

in which each character represents speech sounds is syllable is called syllabic writing.

Most languages, including English and Indonesian, use alphabetic writing to

represent their speech sounds. The most popular and well-established way of

representing speech sounds is called conventional or orthographic writing which is

used by the general public in books, papers, magazines, and in writing letters.

Although basically each symbol in this kind of writing is meant to represent one

speech sound, there is not always, a one-to-one correspondence between the sound

and the symbol it represents. The representation of speech sounds by the written

symbols is more based on the convention or tradition, which has been accepted and

agreed to by the public. It is not surprising; therefore, that sometimes there is no

consistency in using the written symbols. In orthographic writing, one symbol

sometimes represents more than one sound, such as a letter A in English, which

represents different sounds in different words; for instance, bad, father, ago, small,

bass, etc. On the contrary, one sound may be represented by several symbols in

orthographic writing such as the sound [ k ] which is spelled differently in different

words; for ex. can, key, chemistry, technique, etc.


Phonology Handout

A student of language, therefore, needs a more consistent way of representing

speech sounds to show clearly and consistently pronunciation of a given word. This

kind of writing is called phonetic writing, which is based on the principle of ‘one-

sound-for-symbol’ or vice-versa ‘one symbol-for-one-sound’.

For instance, if a phonetic symbol like [ i: ] represent the vowel sound of word

‘see’, it will always symbolize that same vowel sound wherever it occurs distinguish

phonetic writing from orthographic writing, the symbols of the former are put

square brackets [……], a convention adopted by phoneticians. For ease of

printing, however, these square brackets are sometimes replaced by slanting lines

/ /.

2.2. The Use of Phonetic Transcription

A student of language has as his primary goal the mastery of the spoken

language to be learned. Since transcription represents speech sound consistent it can

be used as a reliable guide to have control of the spoken language. Therefore, he

should acquaint and familiarize himself with phonetic symbol and the values

assigned to them so that he can read phonetic writing and transcribe utterances

means of phonetic symbols. In case he comes across and unfamiliar word and does

not know how to pronounce it, he will be able to consult dictionary to see how is

pronounced, which is indicated in phonetic transcription. If he wants transcribe the

pronunciation of a word he will have to use phonetic symbols because they represent

sound consistently.

2.3. Phonetic Symbols and Their Values

The following is a list of phonetic symbol of English speech sound together with

key-words to show the values. In line with the convention agreed upon by

phoneticians, speech sounds are transcribed by putting them between brackets

[…….] or slanting lines/…../. From now on, we use brackets to indicate the phonetic

symbol of every sound. Therefore, any symbol marked by brackets is phonetic

symbols, which are conventionally used in printing magazine, newspaper, etc. The


Phonology Handout

phonetic symbols of the English language are equal to the inventory of sound used by

the English language; they consist of consonants vowels, in diphthongs. Here are

English sound and their phonetic representations.

In teaching English pronunciation, there is little help that we can get from the

spelling of the words. English spelling is only a poor reflection of pronunciation,

although it must be admitted that there are many regularities between sound and

written symbol which is valuable for the teacher to know. The ordinary spelling of an

English word sometimes has little a correspondence between sounds uttered and the

letter which appears in the written word. The spelling “ough” in the words: bough,

through, although, cough, tough, thought, and through shows seven different

pronunciation. On the other hand, the same sound /i:/ in the words: read, see, people,

believe, we, key, machine, and pizza. Consequently, it is necessary to have a special

alphabet so that the learners can have a clear understanding of the distinctive sounds

that appear in English. The special alphabets are called phonetic alphabets.

Phonetic alphabets are based on the principle that one symbol is always used

to represent a given sound, and each sound is represented by one symbol only.

Writing down the pronunciation of an utterance with these symbols is known as

transcription. A symbol in the transcription system refers to one sound and that sound

only; furthermore that particular sound is represented by that one symbol and by no

other; there is a simple one-to-one correspondence between symbol and sound, for

instance, /t/ only represents the sound that is spelt t in the word tin, and never the

sound that is spelt /t/ in nation.

It should be noted that in transcribing, the phonetic symbols should be printed

rather than written cursively, so that they may be more easily read. In order that words

spelled out in the traditional way may not be confused with these transcriptions, the

latter should always be printed between slant lines: seat is pronounced as / si:t / when

you transcribe more than one symbol, use only one pair of brackets, one at the

beginning and one at the end.


Phonology Handout

Here is a complete list of the consonant symbols for English:

/ p / as in pin / b / as in bin

/ t / as in tin / d / as in do

/ k / as in can / g / as in go

/ m / as in meal / n / as in not

/ T / as in three / D / as in they

/ s / as in see / z / as in zoo

/ S / as in she / Z / as in measure

/ tS / as in chair / dZ / as in jeer

/ h / as in hill / Î / as in sing

/ l / as in let / r / as in room

/ w / as in wet / y / as in yet

Here is a complete list of the vowel and diphthong symbols for English:

/ i: / as in seat / ei / as in say

/ i / as in sit / ai / as in my

/ e / as in pet / Oi / as in boy

/ { / as in bad / au / as in now

/ a: / as in calm / Ou / as in no

/ ö / as in son / i@ / as in hear

/ O: / as in board / @a / as in rare

/ O / as in not / O@ / as in roar

/ u: / as in soon / u@ / as in sure

/ u / as in book / @: / as in bird

/ @ / as in away

Here we used the International Phonetic Alphabet (I.P.A) since it is used throughout the

world and contains symbols for sounds found in the language and dialects by the

people of the world.


Phonology Handout

Visit this link to type in IPA symbols :

https://www.fontpalace.com/font-download/Times+Phonetic+IPA/


Phonology Handout

WEEK III

ORGAN OF SPEECH

After learning sounds and reason for making mistakes in pronouncing English

words, in this session, we are supposed to learn what helps us in producing

sounds. For this, the organs of the human being serve to help us produce sounds of

any language, which are generally called ‘speech organs’. Discussion on the topic will

be available below.

3.1. The Production of Sounds

In speaking a language, we use speech sounds as the signals to convey

message. Speech sounds are sound produced by the speech or vocal organs, which

include the mouth and the respiratory organs. The function of these organs is primary

biological because they are used to preserve our lives, that is, for breathing and the

other biological purposes. The mouth and everything inside it are especially design to

masticate or pulverize our food, which is very essential for the growth of our body and

for the replacement of our worn-out building blocks.

Our respiratory organs, which consist of the nose, the pharynx, the larynx, the

wind-pipe, and the lungs, are fundamentally used to inhale air and exhale air. In the

lungs, our blood absorbs oxygen from the inhaled air, and circulates throughout our

body. Oxygen is very essential for our life, and cannot be dispensed by human.

Speech sounds are basically produced by a moving air column, either by

the ingoing air or outgoing air. Sounds produced by the ingoing air are called

ingressive sounds, while sounds produced by outgoing air called egressive sounds.

Speech sounds used by human beings in speaking are mostly of the latter type,

whereas ingressive sounds are rarely-if not never—used in communication. The

movement of air into and out of the lungs can be explained in the following way. The

two lungs act as a pair of bellows, which expend and contract continuously as long as

human lives. When the lungs expand, the air pressure within them becomes lower

than the air pressure outside. The result is that the air stream into the lungs. Conversely,


Phonology Handout

when the lungs contract, the air pressure within them becomes stronger and

consequently the air is driven outward.

When we breathe restfully, the air goes in and out uninterruptedly, and thus no

speech sound is produced. Speech sounds are produced only when there is some

interruption of the outgoing air. This interruption us carried out by those parts of the

vocal organs, which are called articulators. There are different types of speech sounds

classified on the basis of the manner in which the outgoing air is interrupted by the

articulators, and on the basis of what articulators are involved in obstructing the

outgoing air.

Basically, sounds production are made possible by three main organs in

speech, namely:

Initiators which consist of the two lungs

Phonators which are the pair of vocal cords situated in the larynx

Articulators which consist of organs in the mouth cavity.

Articulators are divided into two groups;

Articulators of upper margin

Articulators of lower margin.

Articulators of upper margin consist of:

Upper lip

Upper teeth

Gum ridge

Hard Palate (palatum)

Soft Palate (velum)

Meanwhile, articulators of lower margin consist of:

Lower lip

Lower teeth

Tongue


Phonology Handout

When and how is sound produced then? As touched briefly above, a sound

is produced when there is interruption in the oral cavity. To be precise, a sound

produced when an outgoing air from the lungs is interrupted firstly by vocal cords and

secondly by at least two articulators of different margins which are closely situated.

Sub-division of Speech Organs

In the terms of their function, our speech organs can be conveniently divided

into the following:

Initiators

Phonators

articulators

The initiator is the speech organ that sets the air to motion for the production

speech sounds; he primary initiator is the lungs, because most speech sounds re

produced by pulmonic air; i.e. the air is set into motion by lungs, there may be

other speech organs that can be used to initiate the movement of the air, such as the

tongue and the larynx, but these have no important value in language and are very

sporadic. We can have such sounds as [tsk-tsk] or [hk-hk].

The term ‘phonator’ refers to the vocal cords in the larynx which are

used to produce speech sounds called ‘voice’. The vocal cords are two elastic

membranes situated horizontally in the larynx which can be made to assume various

positions. In the normal breathing, the two vocal cords are widely separated, and

thus allowing the air to go in and out freely. They can be made to be in tight

contact with each other that is, completely closed, so that no air can pass out

through the larynx. This happens when someone wants to gather his strength in

lifting heavy weights, at childbirth, and other activities that need considerable bodily

strength.

In speaking, this completely closed position of the vocal cords produces a

plosive sound, called a ‘glottal stop’, which is caused by the sudden opening of them.

The glottal stop is a significant sound in Indonesian, and should not be confused

with another sound called velar stop, since the two are spelled the same in


Phonology Handout

orthography. In the word ‘katak’, the initial ‘k’ represents a velar stop, while the ‘k’

represents a glottal stop. In English, the glottal stop is not significant, and is used

only in emphatic speech before words beginning with a vowel, for instance in ‘He

is diligent’.

The phonetic symbol for the glottal stop is /?/. The two vocal cords can also be

put in light contract with each other, in such a way that there is some small opening in

between, through which the air is forced to pass out. When the air is forced to go to

through the small opening between the two vocal cords, it causes them to

open and close successively; in other words, it causes them to vibrate. It is this

successive opening and closing, or the vibration of the two local cords that produces

the sound called ‘voice’. Voice sound is very important in speaking a language since

the majority of sounds produced in speech are voiced; that is, they are produced

since the majority of sounds produced in speech are voiced; that is, they are

produced while the vocal cords are made to vibrate.

In between the position for the production of a glottal stop and that for restful

breathing the two vocal cords can assume a position for the production of the so-

called glottal fricative [h], such as the initial sound in the English word ‘house’

and another position for whisper. For the glottal fricative, the two vocal cords are bit

closer than for restful breathing, while for whisper they are put even closer to

each other, but no close enough so as to produce voice.

An instrument in the form of the small mirror with long handle, called

‘ laryngoscope’, can be inserted into the mouth as far as poss ib le with

the mirror pressed against the soft palate. In this way a strong light can be reflected

down the throat so that the interior of the larynx and the various positions of the

vocal cords can be studied.

The glottis can, in fact, assume an infinite number of positions, but only some of

them are worth considering for the production of speech. For convenience sake, the

following diagrams serve to show the positions for breath (wide position), the

production of glottal stop /?/ (closed position), voice (all but closed position), the


Phonology Handout

glottal fricative /h/ (narrow position), and whisper (closed in front, but open at the

back between two flexible cartilages called arytenoids):

The larynx and the lungs are connected by the wind-wipe or trachea, which

consists of small cartilages, on the top of the other, having the shape, a horse-shoe.

On top of those horse-shoe shaped cartilages is a cartilage having shape of a seal-

ring, called ‘cricoid’, which is the beginning of larynx. Its narrow part is situated in

front, and its broad part at the back forming the back wall of the larynx. Resting on

the ring cartilage is a large cartilage with two sides called ‘thyroid’. The shield

cartilage forms the two other walls of the larynx. It is the projecting part of the shield

cartilage that is called the Adam’s apple. The epiglottis above it closes off the

opening of the larynx in the act of swallowing lest unwanted stuff should enter the air

passage. The two vocal cords are fastened in front to the shield cartilages called the

arytenoids. The space between the two vocal cords is called the glottis.

The speech organs that are used to obstruct the out-going air in the

production of speech sounds are called ‘articulators’. Depending on whether or

not they can be moved, we distinguish two kinds of articulators, namely movable and

unmovable articulators. The movable articulators are for instance, the lips, the tongue,

the uvula and the vocal cords; the unmovable articulators include the teeth, the

teeth ridge or gum-ridge, and the hard and soft palates.

It is also useful to talk about articulators with regards to their position in the

mouth, either along the upper margin or the lower margin of the mouth are the upper

lip, the upper teeth, the teeth- ridge, the hard palate, the soft palate, and the

uvula. The teeth- ridge is that part of the roof of the mouth exactly behind the upper

teeth, and is convex I shape facing the tongue. The hard palate is the bony part

of the roof of the mouth behind the teeth-ridge and is concave in shape facing the

tongue. The soft palate, whose extremity is called the uvula. The speech organs along

the lower margin include the lower lip, the lower teeth, and the tongue. For the sake

of easy reference, the tongue is divided into the following parts: the tip or sometimes

called apex, the blade, and the back of the tongue. The central part of the tongue

includes a small part of the front and the back of the tongue.


Phonology Handout

English speech sounds are all produced by air which comes from the lungs into

the throat then passes through the mouth of air in some way in order to produce the

sounds. In this case, the vibration and the characteristics of the sounds waves are

determined by the human vocal organs. Look for the other sources for sounds

production then write in the following passages:

How to Produce Sounds???

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________


Phonology Handout

3.2. The Organ of Speech

The organ of speech can be classified into the movable speech organs and the

immovable speech organs. The movable speech organs include: (1) the lips, (2) the

tongue, (3) the soft palate, (4) the vocal cords, (5) the lower teeth and jaw. The

immovable speech organs include: (1) the upper teeth, (2) the upper teeth ridge, (3)

the hard palate.

Although the lips, lower teeth and jaw, and upper teeth do not require

explanation, other organs of speech may need commentary.

1. Tongue. For speech purposes, we divide the tongue into four sections: (1) the tip,

which is the very end of the tongue, (2) the blade, which is the area just behind

the tip, (3) the middle of the tongue, (4) the back of the tongue. The tip and the

blade are often called the front of the tongue.

2. Upper teeth-ridge. It is located above and behind the upper front teeth.

3. Hard palate. The palate is that portion of the roof of the mouth directly behind

the upper teeth-ridge. It arches upward to the highest point in the mouth and

then gradually descends.

4. Soft palate. The palate is that portion of the roof of the mouth directly behind the

hard palate. The soft palate is joined to the hard palate and continues the

descending arch started by the hard palate. It ends at the back portion of the

mouth in a small bulb called the uvula. The soft palate is typified by a smooth,

somewhat spongy surface, and it is the only movable portion of the roof of the

mouth.

5. Vocal cords. Vocal cords are essential to speech. They are muscles in the larynx

which make the sound produced voiced or voiceless.


Phonology Handout

Put your Organs of Speech Picture Here!

ORGAN OF SPEECH


Phonology Handout

3.3. Manner of Articulation

The manner of articulation refers to the way in which a sound is made, that is,

how the air stream is modified by the vocal tract to produce the sound. The manner of

articulation of a sound depends on the degree of closure of the articulation – how

close together or how far apart they are. With the manner of articulation we make a

broad distinction between sounds that are produced without any obstruction in the

mouth, and those that are made with obstruction. The former we call vowels and the

latter consonants.

There are several kinds of closure that can be identified. First there is the

28complete closure that is when a total obstruction is made to the flow of air. When the

soft palate is raised and air is prevented from escaping through the nose, air pressure

will build up behind the obstruction and then released with an explosion. Sounds that

are produced in this way are called stop sounds.

The second is a near closure. Here, the air is allowed to escape, but not freely.

The escaping air causes friction at the point of near-closure, and the sounds produced

in this way are called fricative sounds.

Next type is made with the front of the tongue forming a complete closure, but

with the air allowed to escape over the sides of the tongue. Sounds that are made in

this way are called lateral sounds.

Another is an intermittent closure. In making sounds with an intermittent closure,

a complete closure is made very quickly and repeated several times.

Fifth kind is a near-closure, like the second kind but without friction. This sound is

called frictionless continuant sounds.


Phonology Handout

3.4. Place of Articulation

The place of articulation refers to the place in the mouth where the sound is made, or

where the closure occurs. From the standpoint of the place of articulation, the

consonant are easier to describe than the vowels since it is possible to feel where the

obstruction is taking place in the mouth. In the production of vowels, there are three

categories of description involved. First, the height of the tongue for which vowels is

classified as high, mid, and low. Second, the position of the tongue; the classification

here is front, central and back. Third, the shape of the lips, for which vowels are

classified as rounded and unrounded.

3.5. Voiced and Voiceless Sounds

When the vocal cords vibrate, they cause voicing. Any sound produced with the vocal

cords vibrating is called a voice sound; when the vocal cords do not vibrate, the sound

is called voiceless sound. If you place two or three fingers on your throat and say the

sound /s/ you will feel no vibration. But you will feel a vibration of the vocal cords when

you say /z/. All the vowels in English are voiced and consonants are either voiced or

voiceless.

Consonants

Voiced Voiceless

/b/ Big /p/ pig

/d/ Day /t/ ten

/g/ Go /k/ cat

/v/ Van /f/ fan

/z/ Zoo /s/ say

/D/ The /T/ thin

/ʒ/ Pleasure /S/ she

/dZ/ Job /tS/ child

/l/ Like /h/ hat

/r/ Red

/w/ Win

/y/ Yes

/m/ Me

/n/ No

/Î/ Sing


Phonology Handout

3.6. Oral and Nasal Sounds

The air coming out from the lungs passes either through the mouth, or through

the nose. If the soft palate is lowered, the passage through the nose is blocked and the

air may escape only through the mouth. If the soft palate is lowered, the passage

through the nose is free; the air may escape both through the nose and through the

mouth. Sounds that are produced with the soft palate lowered are nasal or nasalized

sounds. Sounds that are produced with the soft palate raised and the air escaping only

through the mouth are called oral sounds. In a fairly rapid pronunciation of the word

sudden, the final two sounds are dn. The only respect in which these sounds differ from

each other is that d is an oral sound and n is a nasal sound. During the pronunciation of

this word, you should be able to feel the action of the soft palate in the transition from d

to n.

3.7. Articulation

In impeding the outgoing air, usually two articulators are involved, one

articulator is of the lower margin, and the other is the upper margin. The two are

normally closely situated to each other so that they can be easily moved for the

obstruction of the outgoing air. It will be easier, for instance, to move the lip of the

tongue against the upper teeth or the teeth-ridge rather than move the lip of the

tongue against the upper teeth or the teeth-ridge rather than to move it

against the uvula; and it is impossible to use articulators of the same margin to

interrupt the outgoing air.

The act of moving two articulators towards each other for the obstruction the

outgoing air is called ‘articulation’. The two articulators may be moved in a way that

they are touching or almost touching each other. The point where two articulators are

touching or almost touching each other for the obstruction of the outgoing air is

called ‘point of articulation’ or ‘place of obstruction’.


Phonology Handout

Speech sounds are distinguished and classified on the basis of point of

articulation. Thus, there may be bilabial sounds, if the two lips are used to obstruct the

teeth. It is assumed that by lip is meant here the lower lip, and by teeth is meant

the upper teeth, and so on. In some languages, but not in English, the wall of the

pharynx may be used as articulators.

Apart from being based on point of articulation or place of obstruction,

speech sounds are also distinguished and classified on the basis of the ways in

which the outgoing air is obstructed; this basis is called type of articulation or manner

of obstruction. For instance, if the two articulators are drawn tightly each other to

obstruct the outgoing air, the sound so produced is called a plosive sound or stop, but

when they are almost touching each other so that the air from the lungs is forced

to pass out through the small opening, the sound so produced is called a fricative

sound, and so on.

There is another important type of sound called ‘resonant’. Resonant sound

produced principally by means of vibrating the vocal cords, function of the pharynx,

the mouth, and the nose is only to modify it. These three cavities, especially the

mouth cavity, act as resonating chambers, with strengthen the sound already

produced by the vibration of the vocal cords. Different sounds line [a:, i:, u:, etc.] are

caused by the different shapes and sizes of the mouth or oral cavities.

(Courtesy : Ramelan, 1996)


Phonology Handout

WEEK IV – WEEK VI

THE SEGMENTAL SOUNDS OF ENGLISH

4.1. THE ENGLISH CONSONANT

Consonants are the speech sounds which are produced with some kind of

closure in the mouth, restricting the escape of air. The English consonant which are

twenty-four in number are classified according to the place of articulation and the

manner of articulation. These two factors, along with the state of glottis (voicing),

determine the kind of consonant sound is produced. The chart of the English

consonants below arranges the consonants according to the place and manner of

articulation.

PRACTICAL PHONETICS

THINKING ABOUT SOUNDS


Phonology Handout


Phonology Handout

Summary

PLACE OF ARTICULATION B

ILA

BIA

L

LAB

IDEN

TAL

DEN

TAL

ALV

EO

LAR

ALV

EO

PA

LATA

L

VELA

R

GLO

TTA

L

MANNER OF ARTICULATION

Stops Voiceless p t K

Voiced b d G

Affricates Voiceless tS

Voiced dʒ

Fricatives

Slit Voiceless f T h

Voiced v J

groove Voiceless s S

Voiced z ʒ

Lateral Voiced l

Nasals Voiced m n Î

Semivowels Voiced w r y


Phonology Handout

4.1.1 Stops

Stops are sounds which are produced by stopping the air somewhere in the mouth or

vocal passage and releasing it suddenly. When you say /p/ and /b/ your lips are closed

together for a moment, stopping the airflow. /p/ and /b/ are bilabial stops; /p/ is a

voiceless bilabial stop and /b/ is a voiced bilabial stop. The other consonants are /t/,

/d/, /k/, /g/.

4.1.2 Affricates

Affricates are sounds which are made up of two parts; a stop and a fricative. They are

made by briefly stopping the airstream completely and then releasing the articulators

slightly so that friction is produced. English has only two affricates; /tS/ and /dʒ/.

2.2.3. Fricatives

Fricatives are sounds which are made by forming a nearly complete stoppage of the

airstream. The opening through which the air escapes is so small that friction is

produced. The fricative consonants are /f, v, T, J, s, z, S, ʒ, h/.

4.1.3. Nasals

Nasals are sounds which are produced with the air going out through the nose or nasal

cavity. When you make a nasal sound, the soft palate is lowered so that air escapes

through the nose. Nasal consonants are normally voiced. English has a bilabial, an

alveolar, and a velar nasal, represented by the symbols /m, n, Î/.

4.1.4. Lateral

Laterals are sounds which are produced by having the air go out of the mouth from

both sides of the tongue. Laterals are normally voiced. The only lateral occurring in

English is the alveolar lateral /l/.

4.1.5. Semi-Vowels

Semi-vowels are sounds which are considered half consonants and hall vowels. They

are like consonants in their structural behavior, and they are like vowels in their quality.

The semi-vowels are /w/ and /y/ as in the words win and yes.

4.1.6. Consonant Clusters

A consonant cluster is a combination of two or more consonants pronounced in close

succession. Clusters may occur at the beginning of words as /str/ in street, in the middle


Phonology Handout

of words, as /gn/ in signal, and at the end of words, as /ft/ in soft: other examples are

given below.

1. Initial clusters with two consonants:

/pr/ prefer /l/ twin /br/ bring /Tr/ three

/pl/ plain /kr/ cream /bl/ blank /st/ stop

/tr/ true /kl/ clean /dr/ drink /sk/ school

2. Initial clusters with three consonants

/skw/ square /str/ structure /spr/ spring /skr/ scream

3. Medial clusters with two consonants

/pt/ accepted /ts/ itself /nt/ wanted /sk/ asking

/ft/ lifting

4. Medial clusters with three consonants

/mpl/ complete /str/ administration

5. Final clusters with two consonants

/ps/ perhaps /kt/ fact /lf/ self /Ts/ baths

/vz/ lives /Îk/ think

6. Final clusters with three consonants

/kst/ next /fts/ lifts /nTs/ months /ÎT/ length

/lps/ helps /sks/ deeks

7. Final clusters with four consonants

/mpts/ attempts /kts/ instincs /kses/ sixths


Phonology Handout

4.1.7. Exercises

A. Transcribe the following words

1) Say

2) Think

3) Very

4) From

5) Through

6) Vision

7) Move

8) Hour

9) Breaks

10) Cars

11) Answer

12) Thus

13) Has

14) Full

15) Board

16) White

17) Sheets

18) Knew

19) Blue

20) Shoes

B. Classify the following sounds as voiced or voiceless and give the manner of

articulation of each:

1) /p/

2) /b/

3) /v/

4) /n/

5) /S/

6) /d/

7) /f/

8) /s/

9) /k/

10) /g/

11) /J/

12) /ʒ/

13) /m/

14) /T/


Phonology Handout

C. Listen to these pairs of words as they are read. Write down S (same) or D (different) if

the sound in pairs are the same or different.

1) seat – sit

2) set – sat

3) wet – wait

4) fine – vine

5) think – sink

6) price – prize

7) plays – place

8) court – court

9) luck – luck

10) mat – mad

11) tab – tab

12) choke – joke

13) trip – drip

14) pain – pain

15) chest – jest

16) leave – leave

D. Make a description of the following speech sounds in way recommended. Example

/m/ of mine – voice bilabial nasal

1) the /T/ of thin

2) the /y/ of yes

3) the /S/ of wish

4) the /Î/ of ring

5) the /t/ of town

6) the /v/ of five

7) the /s/ of sit


Phonology Handout

4.2. THE ENGLISH VOWELS

Vowels are sounds which are made without any kind of closure to the escape of

air through the mouth. The tongue plays an essential role in forming vowels. The English

vowels which are fourteen in number are classified in accordance with three factors.

a. The position of the tongue

b. The height of the tongue

c. The shape of the lip

The chart of English vowels below arranges the vowel according to their point of

articulation in the mouth.

Examples:

1. /i:/ : seat

2. /i/ : sit

3. /e/ : set

4. /{/ : had

5. /O/ : above

6. /ö/ : above

7. /@:/ : bird

8. /a:/ : father

9. /u:/ : pool

10. /u/ : pull

11. /O/ : hot

12. /O:/ : ball


Phonology Handout

4.2.1. Front, Central and Back Vowels

The term front, central and back refers to the part of the tongue raised and the

area in the mouth toward which is raised. Front vowels are made by lifting the front part

of the tongue toward the area nearest the upper teeth-ridge. Central vowels are

produced by raising the middle part of the tongue toward the area nearest the soft

palate. Back vowels are made by bunching the back of the tongue toward the soft

palate. If you say the vowel /i:/ in suit aloud, you should feel your tongue moving from

front to back. You will also notice that the front of the tongue is raised for /i:/ and the

back of the tongue is raised for /u:/.

4.2.2. High, Mid and Low Vowels

The terms high, mid and low refer to the difference in tongue height. High vowels

are made with the greatest bunching of the tongue; low vowels are made with the

least amount of bunching or arching. In some low vowels, the tongue is almost flat in

mouth cavity. Mid vowels are made with a degree of tongue bunching somewhere

between the high and low positions. All the vowels in the central series are mid vowels.

If you say /i:/ in the seat, /e/ in the set, and /{/ in sat, you will notice your tongue arch

moving progressively from a high to a mid to a low position.

4.2.3. Rounded and Unrounded Vowels

The third method of describing vowels is something to do with the shape of the

lips. If you say /i:/ in seat and /u:/ in suit before a mirror, you will see that the lips are

rounded for /u:/ and unrounded for /i:/. So, /i:/ is an unrounded vowel, and /u:/ is a

rounded vowel. The front vowels are unrounded and the back vowels are rounded. The

central vowels are ordinarily unrounded.

Make list of 14 vowels according to the position,

height, and shape, then stick it here!


Phonology Handout

4.2.4. Diphthongs

A diphthong is a sound composed of two vowels pronounced in close succession within

the limits of a syllable. The vowel /ai/ in fine is diphthong; it starts from the /a/ position

and glides upward smoothly and continuously to the position of /i/ within one syllable.

The diphthong of English may be divided into three groups according to the vowel

towards which the articulation of the diphthong moves. One group of diphthong is

formed by articulation moving towards a lowered and centralized front unrounded and

centralized back rounded vowel /u/, and another group is when it moves towards the

unstressed mid central unrounded vowel /@/.

a. /ei/ : say b. /au/ : now c. /i@/ : here

/ai/ : bite /Oa/ : roar /au/ : now

/Oi/ : boy /u@/ : sure

/e@/ : there

4.2.5. Exercises

1. Underline all the sounds below that are voiced:

/t/, /g/, /h/, /v/, /m/, /r/, /z/, /k/, /p/, /f/, /J/, /T/, /b/, /s/, /i/, /tS/, /{/

2. Group the following vowels into the categories below:

/u/, /i/, /e/, /{/, /i:/, /ö/, /a:/, /a/, /O/, /O:/, /a:/, /u:/

a. High vowels : / /

b. Rounded vowels : / /

c. Central vowels : / /

d. Mid back vowels : / /


Phonology Handout

3. Make a transcription of the following words as your lecturer read.

1. Pen [ ]

2. Dirty [ ]

3. Pencil [ ]

4. Beg [ ]

5. Salt [ ]

6. Sleep [ ]

7. Foot [ ]

8. Bird [ ]

9. Close [ ]

10. Talk [ ]

11. Death [ ]

12. Friend [ ]

13. Sit [ ]

14. Warm [ ]

15. Burn [ ]

16. Month [ ]

17. Full [ ]

18. Rude [ ]

19. Half [ ]

20. Like [ ]

4. Listen while your teacher pronounces the following groups of words. In each

group, four words have the same vowel sound, and one has a different vowel

sound. Underline the word that does not belong to the group.

1. Each, feed, peace, left, leased

2. Dead, peck, seal, sell, men

3. Wood, blue, two, move, do

4. Close, though, lost, road, most

5. Rid, skin, fit, raid, give

6. Back, add, have, dash, stuck

7. Serve, burn, north, work, bird

8. Shade, brake, shed, fake, grape

9. Fool, proof, should, Luke, stowed

10. Chalk, caught, not, taught, stalk


Phonology Handout

5. Divide a sheet of paper into 10 columns and write the following symbols at the

top of each column: /i:, I, e, {, a:, O:, u:, @:, ö, u/. classify the following words

under the symbol that represents their vowel sound.

1. Lid 21. dash 41. book

2. drank 22. green 42. drink

3. spread 23. blood 43. bird

4. but 24. thank 44. dawn

5. bring 25. push 45. tram

6. part 26. up 46. though

7. bread 27. live 47. this

8. blank 28. darn 48. purse

9. dish 29. rich 49. seek

10. love 30. first 50. shook

11. greed 31. chalk 51. through

12. took 32. win 52. bad

13. bridge 33. call 53. stalk

14. son 34. girl 54. cook

15. mad 35. kill 55. lamb

16. farm 36. blue 56. grew

17. sing 37. bought 57. mass

18. fun 38. church 58. turn

19. soon 39. chat 59. all

20. hook 40. bush 60. cart


Phonology Handout

WEEk VII – WEEK VIII

MID TEST

WEEk IX

MINIMAL PAIRS AND DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

(Group Discussion)

WEEk X

PHONEMES, PHONE, ALLOPHONES

(Group Discussion)

WEEk XI

COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION, FREE VARIATION

(Group Discussion)

WEEk XII

PHONOTACTIC RULES OF ENGLISH

(Group Discussion)


Phonology Handout

WEEK XII

SEGMENTAL AND SUPRA SEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY

5.1. Two Speech Features

When a speaker produces an utterance, e.g. ‘Good heavens’, two features can

be distinguished:

a. Segmental phonemes or features, or just segmental for short, which refer to

sound units arranged in a sequential order; the example above has nine

segmental features, phonetically transcribed in the following way: [ɡʊd

hεvənz].

b. Supra-segmental phonemes, or just supra-segmental, which refer to such

features as stress, pitch, length, intonation and other features that always

accompany the production of segmental.

Only in theory and for the sake of analysis do we divide and utterance into

segmental and supra-segmental features. In practice, the two are indivisible,

since it is impossible to produce one type of features without involving the other. For

example, if someone produces a sound like [Λ], his or her pronunciation always

involves the employment of stress, that is, the use of some breath-force and some

strength of articulation; it is said either with weak or strong stress. It should also be

produced with some degree of pitch, low, medium, or high pitch. The pronunciation

of the sound also requires some length, or some period of time during which the sound

is pronounced; length may be long, short, or in between. With regard to the manner

in which the production of and utterance is finished, the utterance may have a rising,

falling, or sustained pitch direction at the end.

5.2. Differences between the Two Speech Features

When segmental and super-segmental are compared wi th each other ,

the following distinctions can be mentioned:


Phonology Handout

Segmental can be studied in isolation, whereas, supra-segmental cannot.

Every utterance may be chopped up or segmented into a linear sequence of

segmental features, each of which can be examined and analyzed separately

without considering the other segmental in the same utterance. The first segment of

the utterance quoted above, namely [ɡ], may be studied from the point of view

of its mechanism of production, without considering the next sound such as [ʊ], [d]

etc. Thus, it may be described in terms of its way of production as voiced velar stop.

This means that the sound is produced by putting the back of the tongue

completely against the velum or hard-palate to impede outgoing air, the sudden

release of which causes a plosive sound to be heard; while the vocal cords are

made to vibrate.

Supra-segmental, on the other hand, cannot be studied in isolation. The

utterance [ɡʊd hεvənz] above cannot be segmented into its constituting supra-

segmental, without reference to the segmental features they accompany. If we

distinguish the three degree of stress, for instance, further statements have to be

made as to where each of them falls, whether on the first, second, or third syllable.

Another thing that has to be mentioned is that supra-segmental features have

to be comparatively or relatively described. Stress, for example, is said to be ‘primary’

or ‘strongest’ because it is strongest when compared with the other stresses in the

same utterance; so it has to be analyzed and described in relation to the other

stresses. If in every utterance the three degrees of significant stress are recognized,

they should always be recognized in any utterance irrespective of who is producing

the utterance. The actual or absolute stress used by one speaker may be different

from that used by another speaker, but the same number of degrees of stress can still

be observed. It is the relative qualities of supra-segmental the count in language, and

not the absolute qualities.

The significance of the relative qualities of stress is also true of the other supra-

segmental, such as the relative degrees of pitch in producing the exclamation ‘Good

heavens’ by a boy and by a girl. Three relative degrees of pitch are used by each

of them, which may be called ‘medium, high, and low pitch’ to convey the idea


Phonology Handout

of ‘surprise’, and thus the relative pitches in the two utterances are the same. The

absolute pitches used by the two are obviously different, because it is generally

known that boys mostly speak with lower vowel pitch than girl; but as it has been

point out before, these absolute qualities are not important in the study of language.

Every language has it its own structure, and should be analyzed in terms of its

own. This means that every language has its own system, including segmental and

supra-segmental system. There may be similar elements between two are more

language, but it is certainly wrong to assume that one can analyzed and study a

foreign language in terms of one’s own native language system. English, for instance,

has stress and intonation patterns, which are characteristic of English only; they are

different from, say, Indonesian stress and intonation patterns. When an

Indonesian student wants to learn English, he must be sure to master not only the

segmental system, but also supra-segmental system. He must learn to use English

intonation and stress patterns while speaking English, or else, he will be speaking

English with a conspicuous ‘foreign accent’.

5.3. English Stress and Length Patterns

5.3.1. Stress Defined

By ‘stress’ is meant the degree of force or loudness with which syllable is

pronounced so as to give it prominence. The term ‘syllable’ is hard to define, but for

practical purposes it may be said that a vowel sound [a:], [i:], [u:], etc. or

diphthong, such as [eI], [aI], etc. is the nucleus of a syllable in English. Thus, a

syllable consists of a vowel or diphthong, with or without one or more than one

consonant preceding or following it. The physiological feature of a syllable is that it is

produced with one single impulse of breath.

Three degree of stress can be observed in English:

Strong or primary stress,

Medium or secondary stress, and

Weak or tertiary stress.


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The ways of marking stresses very with different writers or dictionaries of them is

to use symbol [I] above the syllable for primary stress, the symbol [I] below the syllable

for secondary stress, while the weakly stressed syllable are left unmarked. Here

(Ramelan, 1988) states that the symbols [`] is used for secondary stress and the [´] is

used to indicate primary stress.

5.3.2. Word Stress

The distribution of stress in a word in English cannot be predicted. This means

that each word in English has its own stress pattern, which should, therefore,

be learned together with its meaning. Because of this irregularity in the distribution of

stress it is advisable to consult a dictionary in case of ignorance or doubt. It is very

common for English words and their derivatives to have varying or shifting stress

patterns, for instance:

Prepare --- preparation ŕegular --- regulárity

Interrogate --- interrogative ignóre --- îgnorance

decláre --- declaration démocrat --- demócracy

Prefer --- preference resólve --- resolútion

geógraphy --- geographical sýmbol --- symbólic

Word stress is like a golden key to speaking and understanding English. If you do not already know about word stress, you can try to learn about it. This is one of the best ways for you to understand spoken English - especially English spoken fast.

What is word stress?

Take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic. Do they sound the same when spoken? No. Because ONE syllable in each word is STRESSED (stronger than the others).

PHOtograph

phoTOgrapher

photoGRAPHic


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This happens in ALL words with 2 or more syllables: TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion, INteresting, imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera

The syllables that are not stressed are "weak" or "small" or "quiet". Native speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables, not the weak syllables. If you use word stress in your speech, you will instantly and automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension.

If you have an English teacher, you can ask her to help you understand word stress. Or you can try to hear the stress in individual words each time you listen to English - on the radio, or in films for example. Your first step is to HEAR and recognize it. After that, you can USE it.

Two important rules about word stress:

1. One word, one stress

2. The stress is always on a vowel

5.3.3. Sentence Stress

Sentence stress is another golden key for speaking and understanding English. With sentence stress, some words in a sentence are STRESSED (loud) and other words are weak (quiet). Look at the following sentence:

We want to go.

Do we say every word with the same stress or force? No. We make the important words BIG and the unimportant words small. What are the important words in this sentence? Yes, that's right: WANT and GO.

We WANT to GO.

We WANT to GO to WORK.

We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK.

We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK at NIGHT.

Now that you know that word stress exists, you can try to learn more about it.

You should KNOW that SENtence and WORD STRESS are VERy imPORtant !!!

As explained earlier that different authors or different dictionaries will differ in

marking the three kinds stress. The above examples is the way suggested by


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Ramelan(1988). Here is way of making stress which is employed by Hornby (1997) in

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.

Pre’pare prepa’ration ‘regular regu’larity

Do you see the difference of marking? What is it? Do you also the similarity of marking

the stress? What is it? Monosyllabic words in isolation bear primary stresses, for

instance:

Plan Ón Bút Cán

Fall Éel Shé grápe

Fór Át théy Rópe

Îs Beat Rough Nó

Two syllabic words may have the primary stress on the syllable, and weak stress in the

second, for instance:

More often than not two-syllabic words bear the primary stress on the second

syllable, for instance:

‘needy ‘linger ‘comfort ‘atom

‘dessert ‘object ‘export ‘content

‘needle ‘final ‘valid ‘pillow

‘convert ‘escort ‘insult ‘rebel

More often than not two-syllabic words bear the primary stress on the second


ap’plause re’turn pre’fer ca’nal

be’stow ob’ject ex’port con’tent (adj.)

a’fraid de’ter con’fer re’bel

When we look at the list of words displayed above, it is obvious that some words

have the strong stress on the first syllable when used as noun, and on the

contrary, the primary stress on the second syllable when used as verb or

adjective on in a sentence. In some compound words comprising two part or


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words, the primary stress is imposed on the first syllable and the secondary stress on the

second, for instance:

‘mealtime ‘footprint ‘daylight ‘tea-cup

‘fire-place ‘heartfelt ‘railroad ‘football

‘birth-mark ‘fair-play ‘clear-cut ‘sugar mill

There-syllabic words may their primary stress either on the first, second or third


‘aptitude Sep’tember engi’neer

‘fabulous sa’tanic emplo’yee

‘similar in’dulgent absen’tee

‘admiral pho’netic nomi’nee

‘dominant ap’proaching exami’nee

Here are some words with different number of syllable for you to practice;

Laundry Idiomatic Prevalence Angelical

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Penetrates Rhetorical Anatomical Intervene

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Component Formulation Immunity Organization

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Relinguish Articulatory Arrow Therapy

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Individual Gossamer Appreciat e Artificial

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Turbulent Philosophy Infantry Feminine

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Indignation Residue Procedure Pharmacy

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]


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5.3.4. Stressed-timed Rhythm

In English, primary stresses tend to occur more or less at regular intervals in a

sentence, regardless of the number of unstressed syllable that may be found in

between those primary stresses. These unstressed syllables are very lightly pronounced

or slurred over, which gives the impression that they are rapidly spoken; on the other

hand, stressed syllable without any intervening unstressed syllable tend to be spoken

more slowly. Examples :

‘Put ‘down.

‘Put them ‘down.

‘Put them ‘down on the ‘floor.

‘Put them on the ‘floor.

‘Put them on the ‘floor near the ‘box ‘opposite the ‘table.

Sometimes, the stress pattern of a word may be changed for the sake of

sentence rhythm, such as in the following examples:

My ‘brother is six’teen. There are ‘sixteen ‘people.

She ‘comes from Ber’lin. She is a ‘Berlin ‘woman.

He is Chi’nese. He has a ‘Chinese ‘mother.

5.3.5. Length

The term ‘length’ here refers to period of time during which a sound is

produced in a given utterance. When the length of a sound is actually measured in

term of unit of time such as seconds or tenths of seconds, for instance, the length of

[a:] in [fa:D@], is 0.12 seconds, it is called the absolute length of that sound.

In fact, it is the relative length rather than the absolute length of sounds that is

important in language.

From now on the term ‘length’ always means relative length.


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In English, length of vowels is not always phonemic since it is predictable in

terms of the environments in which the sound occurs. Length of consonants will not

be discussed here, since it is not of great significance.

Foreign students will always have to bear in mind the following rules by which

length is manipulated in English so that his speech will sound English and will not be

misunderstood.

A diphthong is relative longer than a pure vowel, e. g.:

Dipthong pure vowel

code [ koUd ] cod [ kOd ]

nose [ noUz ] nostril [ nOstril ]

Raid [ reId ] read [ rEd ]

base [ beIs ] bass [ b{s ]

Sail [ sell ] sell [ sEl]

Late [ leIt ] let [ lEt ]

A vowel defined as a long vowel that is the one, which is indicated by a

lengthening mark in phonetic transcription [:], such as in [a:], [e:], [c:] is relatively

longer than the other short vowels, e. g.:

Long Vowel Short Vowel

Fern [ f@:n ] for you [ f@yu: ]

Bird [ b@:d ] Cupboard [ köpb@d ]

Cord [ kO:d ] Cod [ kOd ]

caught [ kO:t ] Cot [ kOt ]

Hard [ ha:d ] Had [ h{d ]

Barn [ ba:n ] Ban [ b{n ]


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A vowel in an open syllable is relatively longer than when it occurs in a closed

syllable, e.g.:

he [ hi: ] heal [ hi: ]

fee [ fi: ] feast [ fi: ]

who [ hu: ] whose [ hu: ]

coo [ ku: ] cool [ ku:l ]

nor [ nO: ] naught [ nO:t ]

adore [ @dO: ] caught [ kO:t ]

A vowel in a stressed syllable is relatively longer than when it occurs in an unstressed

syllable, e.g.:

bird [ ‘b@: ] cupboard [ ‘köpb@d ]

first [ ‘f@:t ] canvas [ ‘k{nv@s ]

through [ ‘Tru ] throughout [ ‘Tru:aUt ]

car [ ‘ka: ] Carnegi [ ‘ka:n@gI ]

alabama [ ‘{l@b{m@ ] aboriginal [ ‘{b@ rIdʒ@nl ]

When a vowel occurs in a closed syllable, its relative length is determined by the nature

of the following coda. The vowels in the following illustration are arranged in order of

their relative length, caused by the following consonant/s. For instance:

seize [ si:z ] longest, followed by a voice fricative

seal [ si: ] second longest, followed by a voiced

seem [ si: ] or nasal

seen [ si:n ]

seed [ si:d ] third longest, followed by a voiced stop

cease [ si:s ] fourth longest, followed by a voiceless

fricative

seek [ si:k ] shortest, followed by a voiceless stop

mailto:b@:

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It is clear from the example in 5.5 above that a vowel is relatively longer when it is

followed by a voiced consonant than when it is followed by a voiceless consonant,

e.g.:

Voiced consonant Voiceless consonant

Side [ saId ] sight [ saIt ]

Robe [ roUb ] rope [ roUp ]

Pig [ pIg ] pick [ pIk ]

Save [ seIv ] safe [ seIf ]

Send [ sEnd ] sent [ sEnt ]

sword [ sO:d ] sort [ sO:t ]

His [ hiz ] hiss [ his ]

Cold [ koUld ] colt [ koUlt ]

Lived [ lIvd ] lift [ lIft ]

bead [ bi:d ] beat [ bi:t ]

(Courtesy : Ramelan 1994)

5.3.6. English Intonation Pattern; Pitch Levels, Clause Terminals and Intonation Contours.

Speaking is like singing. This means that the voice of the speaker goes up and

down in tone at different in tone at different syllables. Each syllable is said with some

degree of lowness or highness of tone which is called ‘pitch’. The going up and

down of pitch over different syllables in an utterance is called ‘intonation’. Intonation

may also be called the melody of speech. The proper use of intonation is very

important since it makes speech more lively and interesting to the hearer. It can be

easily imagined how dull and boring someone’s speech will be if he speaks

monotonously without any variation of pitch in his utterance.

There may be as many degrees of pitch levels as there are syllables in an

utterance. But for practical purposes, here we distinguish only four significant

pitch levels designated by numbers in the following way:

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Pitch level 2 is the normal pitch by which we normally start an utterance, also

called mid. For instance, the first syllables of the following utterances are said with

pitch level 2.

(1)2Hello:

(2)2Good morning: and

(3)2I’m going home, etc.

Pitch level 3 is a bit higher than pitch level 2, and is normally used to accompany

the strongest stress in a sentence (sentence stress); this pitch level is also called high.

In the example above pitch level 3 falls on the syllables: -3lo in (1), 3mor- in (2) and -

3home in 3.

The pitch levels of the syllables between 2 and 3, if any, may be slightly

higher or lower than 2, but they are insignificant for the present discussion.

Pitch level 1 is somewhat lower than 2, and is normally used to end of the

sentence; this pitch level is also called low. In the example above, pitch level 1 falls

on the syllables: -lo1 (1), -ning1 in 2 and home1 in (3). Thus there is a drop of pitch on

the same syllable in example (1) and (3), while in example (2) the drop of pitch takes

place on different syllables.

Pitch level 4 is even higher that pitches level 3, and is, therefore, called extra

high. This pitch level is emphatic speech with syllables which normally take pitch level 3

in ordinary sentences. In example (3) above, we can use pitch level 4 instead of 3 on

the last syllable if we want to emphasize the word ‘home’, such as in ‘I’m going to

4hóme’; and ‘not to your house.’

There is a pitch direction at the end of an utterance, which is used in

conjunction with the three or four pitch levels mentioned above. This pitch direction

refers to the movement of pitch at the end of an utterance or clause and is called

‘terminal contour’ or ‘clause terminal’. The pitch direction may be (1) rising (↗), (2)


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falling (↘), or (3) sustained (→), considered from the highest pitch in the

utterance, which coincides with the strongest stress in the same sentences.

The intonation contour of a sentence refers to the pitch levels used in

that sentence, together with the clause terminal at the end. The highest pitch which

usually coincides with the strongest syllable in the utterance is called the head or

center of the intonation contour. Intonation contours of sentences in normal

speaking can be grouped into the following:

(1). High-low Falling Intonation [31↘] or [231↘]

(2). Rising Intonation [23 ↗]; and

(3). High-normal Sustained Intonation [32 →]

Other pitch levels may, of course, be used instead of those indicated above,

such as in emphatic or careless speech; but their intonation contours still fall under the

three sub-divisions above.

5.3.7. English Intonation Pattern; The High-low Falling Intonation

The high-low falling intonation, or just called the falling intonation, is used, e.g. in

orders, decided statements, prohibitions, and question-word questions. Pitch level 2

falls on the first syllable of a sentence; pitch 3 on the last stressed syllable of the

sentence, which is called the center of intonation. The [31↘] intonation pattern occurs

normally with one-syllable or two-syllable utterances. Let’s see the example below:

Orders, Calls, and Exclamations

Touch the surface. ↘ Hi, my sweety pumpkin. ↘ Good heavens! ↘

Be a responsible person. ↘ Hello there. ↘ How terrible↘

Wait for me in front of the embung. ↘

I tell you what. ↘ What a horrible weather! ↘

Take me home to my mum and dad. ↘

Ladies and gentlemen. ↘ How pretty that woman is! ↘

Don’t loiter here. ↘ Dear brother. ↘ Oh dear! ↘

Don’t be so arrogant. ↘ Mr. Thompson. ↘ Goodness! ↘

Don’t get panic. ↘ Miss. Suhartini Syukri. ↘ What a shame! ↘

Don’t write in red ink. ↘ Mrs. Greenberg. ↘ How amazing! ↘


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Decided of final statements The sun rises in the east. ↘ Those are my shady banana trees. ↘ That is the type of anaconda I have been longing to see. ↘ It’s time to stop hibernating. ↘ There is someone outside peeping through the keyhole. ↘ Lingering is one of my incurable habits. ↘ A guy wearing tattered trousers wishes to meet you. ↘ Coming to you means possessing you. ↘

Question-word questions (Information questions)

What is his country of origin? ↘ What subject do you hate the most? ↘

What does anaconda eat? ↘ Who will come with me? ↘

What do you hide from me? ↘ Whose father works at the post-office? ↘

How much money is there in your wallet? ↘

Why do you keep staring at me like that? ↘

How many time have you ever fallen in love?↘

Which of those coupes are you would

be parents-in-law? ↘

Who did you see yesterday? ↘ How tenderly does your friend love you?

Where d o y o u n o r m a l l y m e e t each other on week-ends? ↘

When will you decide to get married? ↘

How soon will you graduate? ↘ Who taught you satanic pronunciation? ↘

What are you guys coming here for? ↘

How patiently will you wait for me under

those banana trees? ↘

Why don’t you stop running after me? ↘ What the hell are you talking about? ↘

5.3.8. English Intonation Pattern; The Mid-high Rising Intonation [23↗]

The mid-high rising intonation, or just the rising intonation, is used in simple (or

yes-no) questions, polite requests, statements implying concerns, sorrow, apology, or

other emotions, or other statements of less definite type. The utterance starts with

pitch level 2 and the last stressed word or syllable has pitch level 3, which is the center

of intonation. The pitch level of the syllables in between may be a bit higher or lower

than 2.


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Simple (yes-no) Questions

Shall I propose you this week? ↗ Was it you? ↗

May we come along with you? ↗ Can you still see me? ↗

Does this food taste yummy? ↗ Are you impatient to get married young? ↗

Can you afford to buy a

phonology book? ↗

Would you like to hava a cup of coffee? ↗

Have you ever been to the USA? ↗ Is there anybody want to ask questions? ↗

Do you mind if I leave you alone here

for a while? ↗

Are piranhas fierce enemies of

baby anacondas? ↗

Did you not regret for what you have

said to me? ↗

Will you sms your future parents-in-

law saying that you are ready? ↗

Is it wise for you to just sit down and

start paddling? ↗

Can you possibly get rid of your

habit of dilly-dallying? ↗

5.3.9. English Intonation Pattern; High-normal Sustained Intonation

The use of this type of intonation pattern implies non-finality of an utterance.

The speaker and the hearer expect some continuation of the utterance. They expect

that something is going to follow since without it the utterance is not complete.

Therefore, this intonation pattern is normally used in enumeration or in counting, and is

terminated by a falling intonation. For example:

When we want to USA we visited Florida →, Lost Angeles →, New Orleans →,

Washington →, Alabama →, and Indiana. ↘

Yesterday, I bought chocolate →, sugar →, vegetables →, and milk. ↘

Let’s count one to six: one →, two →, three →, four →, five →, and six. ↘

On our way back home to our kampong, we met some of our old friends, AB →,

Jabar →, Yusuf →, Aul→, Nasril →, Rizky →, Ricken →, Apdal →, Aditya →, Tegar →,

Jabir→, Andika→, Arif →, Ali →,and Aat. ↘


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However, a distinction in meaning is caused by the presence and absence of

a sustained intonation such as in the following sentences.

Are you reading / Tom Sawyer? ↗ : The question is to Tom Sawyer. ↗

Are you reading Tom Sawyer? ↗ : “Tom Sawyer” here is name of a book. ↗

Are you eating/ mother? ↗ : The question is addressed to mother. ↗

Are you eating mother? ↗ : The question may be thought of a savage. ↗

5.3.10. Some Additional Notes on Intonation Patterns

In addition to the intonation patterns mentioned above, attention should be

paid to some intonation patterns used with certain phrases and sentence structures.

Phrases consists of adjective and nouns, or nouns and nouns, which level stressing,

have a falling intonation with the center of intonation on the last element. For

example:

a ‘white ‘house ↘ (house that is white)

a ‘dancing ‘doll ↘ (doll that is dancing)

an ‘old ‘man↘

‘big ‘boys↘

a ‘black ‘bird↘

a ‘green ‘house↘ a ‘black ‘board↘ a ‘garden ‘gate↘

‘sleeping ‘beauty↘

Compound words with primary and secondary stresses also take the falling

intonation, but with the center of intonation on the first element. For instance:

‘henpecked ↘ ‘headlight↘ ‘by-path↘

‘drawing-room↘ ‘backwards↘ ‘bagpipe↘

‘airport↘ ‘afterthought↘ ‘threefold↘

‘uphill↘ ‘seaweed↘ ‘gentleman↘

‘white house↘ ‘dancing-master↘ ‘black-bird↘

‘green-house↘ ‘black-board↘ ‘mainland↘


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The intonation pattern of a choice question like ‘is it a boy or a girl?’ consists of

two parts: the first part ‘is it a boy?’ takes the usual rising intonation, while the

second part ‘or a girl’ takes the ordinary falling intonation. Examples:

Do you come from Mekongga Mountain↗or the Valley of Amazone? ↘ Will you get married this semester↗or next semester? ↘ Which one do you like better, paddling↗ or hibernating? ↘ Is your pronunciation excellent↗ or erroneous? ↘ Do you really care of her↗or not? ↘ Shall I pick you up↗ or leave you here by yourself? ↘ Will she really marry you↗ or make fun of you? ↘ Is Indonesia a rich ↗or impoverished country? ↘ Do banks help you↗ or on the contrary strangle us? ↘

The center of intonation pattern, that is, the stressed word with the highest pitch in an

utterance, may vary depending on which word of the sentence gets the sentence

stress. In the following examples the sentence stress falls on the italicized words, which

bears the center of the intonation; the unstressed syllables after the center of

intonation keep rising in pitch while originally stressed syllables may still be slightly

heard.

Have you seen my daughter before? Have you seen my daughter before? Have you seen my daughter before? Have you seen my daughter before? Have you seen my daughter before? Have you seen my daughter before? (Courtesy : Ramelan 1994)

Sentence Stress :

English Pronunciation – Sentence Stress (by a native-speaker British English teacher).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0G_yZfXJUQ

Word Stress :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX-_YSDM7ic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65AgbiwQ6ko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SYXnobVU9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch





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5.3.11. Strong Forms and Weak Forms; Structural and Content Words

If we want to talk about forms of pronunciation, either strong or weak forms,

we have to distinguish two kinds of words---Structural and content words.

There are more or less fifty common words having more than one type of

pronunciation, called strong and weak forms. The strong form of a word is that form of

pronunciation, which is used when it is found in stressed or final positions, or in

isolation. The weak form of a word is that form of pronunciation, which is used

when it occurs in unstressed position.

To give us some examples, the word ‘shall’ have two forms of pronunciation –

its strong form and its weak form. Its strong form, i.e [S{l] is used when the word occurs

1 isolation, or when it is stressed in a sentence meaning ‘must’ such as in ‘You shall go

tomorrow.’ Its weak form is used when the word occurs in an ordinary sentence

meaning futurity such as in the following statement. ‘We shall go tomorrow if it doesn’t

rain’, in which ‘shall’ is pronounced [S{l] or just [l].

Words having strong and weak forms are those that are commonly called

structural or function words, such as auxiliaries, prepositions, articles, and pronouns.

Most of them are mono-syllabic words and are mostly not stressed in a sentence.

Accordingly, their weak forms are more common than their strong forms. Content

words like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. On the other hand, are always

stressed in a sentence. Therefore, they only have strong forms except some nouns

which will be discussed later.

5.3.12. Features of Weak Forms

English is known to have stress-timed rhythm; this means that stresses occur

more or less regularly in a sentence and those unstressed syllables, namely those of

function are slurred over by the speaker. This explains why function words are not

so distinctly pronounced as content words, which are always stressed. Because of this

regularity of stress, a sentence with few or function words seem to be pronounced

more slowly than that with more function words. Pay attention to the following

sentences:

(1)‘John ‘won’t come ‘now.

(2)‘John ‘wouldn’t ‘come just ‘now.

(3)‘John ‘wouldn’t have ‘come much ‘earlier.

(4)‘John ‘wouldn’t have been ‘able to ‘come to the ‘hall ‘yesterday.

Since function words are indistinctly pronounced in unstressed positions, they,

accordingly loss of some of their vowels and/or consonants, or undergo some


Phonology Handout

slight modification in their pronunciation. These week forms can be summarized to

have the following features:

1) The presence of a central vowel instead of the vowel of the word, such as in ‘can,

must, and, does, for, some, there, etc.

2) The loss of some vowel and/or consonant. Such as in ‘have, am, shall, has, is,

should, would, etc.

3) The shortening of vowels, such as in ‘been, do, he, etc.’

4) The foreign learners should realize the importance of using the weak forms of

function words in sentence since this is the natural way of speaking.

The foreign learners should realize the importance of using the weak forms of

function words in sentence since this is the natural way of speaking. This use of

weak forms will not come naturally to him, but will have to be practiced since he first

learns to speak the foreign language. If he studies English from books he is likely to use

too many strong forms. This gives the impression that all the words are equally

important, which is certainly not true. Words that ought to be stressed do not stand

out clearly above the others, and on the other hand, lexically unimportant

words get strong stresses, which may give rise to misunderstanding. There is a

difference in connotation between the two ways of pronouncing the sentence “Yu

will go tomorrow” in which the auxiliary ‘will’ is stressed and unstressed. In the former

the speaker implies some obligations, while in the latter no such implication is present,

because it is a mere statement of pure futurity. Another drawback of using too many

strong forms is that it will interfere with the fluency of the speaker. He cannot get

smoothly from one to another since he has to give strong breath force to each of the

words in the sentences.

5.3.13. Sentence for Practice

The following sentences serve as examples for the use of weak and strong

forms of function words in various words in various situations:

WORD WEAK FORMS STRONG FORMS

Am I’m already at my office. I’m not at all tired

Are you Mr. Sullivan’s sister?

Yes, I certainly am.

I am pretty, but she is not.

And Go and take a marker somewhere. Rhinos and giraffes are animals.

He met me, and shook my hand


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Are A lot of chicken are dead They are not paying attention

Are they going to get married?

Oh yes, there.

But they are going to married in

secrecy.

At Look at the strange guy.

He has to leave the village all at

once.

What the hell are staring at?

I didn’t look at you, but for you.

Can Few people can speak many

languages.

You can graduate on time if you

stop loitering

Can he speak English?

She really can, if she wishes too.

Can you see that small insect?

Yes, I can.

Do Where do you find the word?

How do you reckon.

How do you do that?

Do you like music?

Yes, I absolutely do.

Does How many times does he take a

bath every day?

Yes, of course, she does speak high

level English.

For Is this present for me?

Let’s have a break for a while.

What does UNESCO stand for?

Had

d

She’d better go to the doctor. I believe he had done that.

Has Has everyone got the phonetic

book?

He has slept for an hour.

Our President has to do something

to solve our country’s problem.

Has Zul been awake?

Yes, she has.

have Have the children had their

breakfast?

Where’ve you been?

I’ve told you before, haven’t I?

You have to be there on time.

Him Give him money. The coffee is not for him, but for me.

Is The animal’s dead, isn’t it? Yes, obviously is.

Must Everybody must be ready to

sacrifice.

I must be daydreaming.

He must come to see me as soon as

possible.

So you must.


Phonology Handout

Not James didn’t think that he was

wrong.

She doesn’t like the job.

A lot of our leaders are not doing

the right things, are they?

It’s not at all acceptance.

Of Our organs of speech are complex. What the hell are you thinking of?

shall Shall I pick you up at 8 o’clock?

What shall we do?

You shall die with my hand.

Should You should’ve done. If you have, I

admire you.

You should accept your friend’s

proposal.

some Would you like some candies?

Have some more rice, will you?

Alright, give me some.

Than Shark swims faster than eel. I’d better stay home rather than

watch ‘Silariang’.

The The other days, she came to me. Mr. Halim is the professor in Kendari.

That This is the woman that I met

yesterday.

I hate that kind of music.

That’s exactly what I like

(demonstrative).

There There are a lot of mistakes there.

(introductory subject)

He lives there next to the banana’s

trees.

Us Tell us what the matter with you is.

Let’s do the homework (proposing

to do)

Come and visit us.

The letter is not for us, I suppose.

Let us go now (asking for

permission).

Were Were there at that time.

They’re always on time last month.

So they were.

Will That’ll do

I’ll certainly be back home soon

Will she attend the meeting next

week?

would What would you do if you happen

to be here.

I believe he would.

You What do you say? It has nothing to do with me, but

with you.

NOTES:

1. Notice the weak form of ‘are’ in contracted forms such as in ”we’re, you’re,

there’re, etc. and that of “not” in such contracted forms as “can’t, don’t,


Phonology Handout

won’t, shan’t, mustn’t, in which the usual pronunciation of the preceding words

is slightly modified.

2. Some nouns may also have weak forms when they occur as the second

element of compound words, such as in the following example.

‘gentle ‘man ‘mainland

‘cup ‘board ‘cupboard

‘rasp ‘berry ‘raspberry

‘half ‘penny ‘halfpenny

‘break ‘fast ‘breakfast

Further Reading, Sources:

https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-stress.htm

http://esol.britishcouncil.org/content/learners/skills/pronunciation?utm_source=fa

cebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bc-learnenglish

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-

chart?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bc-

learnenglish

https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/

https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-

stress.htm http://lingorado.com/ipa/

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/sentence-stress.htm

http://esol.britishcouncil.org/content/learners/skills/pronunciation

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/



http://lingorado.com/ipa/


Phonology Handout

5.4. EXERCISES

A. Indicate whether the following sounds are voiced or voiceless by writing a

check mark in the correct column.

Voiced Voiceless Voiced Voiceless

1. /f/ _______ _______ 10. /k/ _______ _______

2. /D/ _______ _______ 11. /Î/ _______ _______

3. /d/ _______ _______ 12. /dʒ/ _______ _______

4. /b/ _______ _______ 13. /g/ _______ _______

5. /s/ _______ _______ 14. /p/ _______ _______

6. /n/ _______ _______ 15. /J/ _______ _______

7. /o/ _______ _______ 16. /m/ _______ _______

8. /{/ _______ _______ 17. /z/ _______ _______

9. /t/ _______ _______ 18. /v/ _______ _______

B. You will hear words ending with the sound /t/, /d/, or /id/. Listen to each word

and write a check mark in the correct column.

/t/ /d/ /id/

1. Stopped _______ _______ _______

2. Rushed _______ _______ _______

3. Grazed _______ _______ _______

4. Received _______ _______ _______

5. Weaved _______ _______ _______

6. Kicked _______ _______ _______

7. Welded _______ _______ _______

8. Kissed _______ _______ _______

9. Claimed _______ _______ _______

10. Aided _______ _______ _______

11. Wanted _______ _______ _______

12. Judged _______ _______ _______

13. Wished _______ _______ _______

14. Hanged _______ _______ _______

15 Fitted _______ _______ _______


Phonology Handout

C. Listen and repeat. Pay special attention to the sound /t/, /d/, or /id/.

1. Riped 9.Reached

2. Stopped 10. Helped

3. Picked 11. Reported

4. Locked 12. Believed

5. Missed 13. Watched

6. Washed 14. Advised

7. Answered 15. Continued

8. Watched 16. Dropped

D. The following sentences contain the final sounds /t/, /d/, or /id/. Listen and

imitate your lecturer (/ partner) closely.

1. I baked a cake.

2. I wrapped a package.

3. I hoped so.

4. They finished it early.

5. We fetched it yesterday.

6. We changed the tire.

7. I answered the question.

8. They tried it hard.

9. We enjoyed the trip very much.

10. He joined the club.

11. He recommended me for the job.

12. I requested a room with a view.

13. We boarded the plan on time.

14. We decided to go by Pete-Pete.

E. Pronounce each of these words and write the phonetic symbol that represents

the sound you give to the ending.

1. Asked 9. Reached

2. Painted 10. Helped

3. Elected 11. Reported

4. Traveled 12. Believed

5. Typed 13. Watched

6. Expected 14. Advised

7. Dreamed 15. Continued

8. Received 16. Dropped


Phonology Handout

WEEK 13-14

PHONOLOGICAL RULES MORPHOPHONEMICS

(Group Presentation)

WEEK 15-16

FINAL TEST


Phonology Handout

APPENDIX I

Introduction

The places which follow are chosen because they are good English interesting,

and worth reading aloud.

In order to read English well, you need to use all the pronunciation skills you have

been practicing so far.

You should practice reading these passages to yourself, then to your partner,

and you should prepare so as to be able to read them to the whole class.

1. When the last sound of my mother’s departing wheels had died away, the Headmaster invited me to hand over any money I had in my possession. I produced my three half-crowns, which were duty entered in a book and I was told that from time to time there would be a ‘shop’ at the school with all sorts of things one would like to have, and that I could choose what I liked up to the limit of the seven and sixpence. Then we quitted the Headmaster’s parlour and the more comfortable private side of the house and entered the more bleak apartments reserved for the instruction and accommodation of the pupils. I was taken into the Form Room and told to sit at a desk. All the other boys were out of doors, and I was alone with the Form Master. He produced a thin, greeny-brown covered book filled with words of different types of print. (From “My Early Life” by Sir Winston Churchill)

wɛn ðə lɑːst saʊnd əv maɪ ˈmʌðəz dɪˈpɑːtɪŋ wiːlz həd daɪd

əˈweɪ, ðə hɛdˈmɑːstər ɪnˈvaɪtɪd mi tə hænd ˈəʊvər ˈɛni ˈmʌni aɪ həd ɪn maɪ pəˈzɛʃən.

aɪ prəˈdjuːst maɪ θriː ˈhɑːf ˈkraʊnz, wɪʧ wə ˈdjuːti ˈɛntəd ɪn ə bʊk ənd aɪ wəz təʊld

ðət frəm taɪm tə taɪm ðə wəd bi ə ʃɒp ət ðə skuːl wɪð ɔːl sɔːts əv θɪŋz wʌn wəd laɪk tə

hæv, ənd ðət aɪ kəd ʧuːz wɒt aɪ laɪkt ʌp tə ðə ˈlɪmɪt əv ðə ˈsɛvn ənd ˈsɪkspəns. ðɛn wi

ˈkwɪtɪd ðə hɛdˈmɑːstəz ˈpɑːlər ənd ðə mɔː ˈkʌmfətəblˈpraɪvɪt saɪd əv ðə haʊs ənd

ˈɛntəd ðə mɔː bliːk əˈpɑːtmənts

rɪˈzɜːvd fə ði ɪnˈstrʌkʃən ənd əˌkɒməˈdeɪʃ(ə)n əv ðəˈpjuːplz. aɪ wəz ˈteɪkən ˈɪntə ðə fɔːm

ruːm ənd təʊld tə sɪt ət ə dɛsk. ɔːl ði ˈʌðə bɔɪz wər aʊt əv dɔːz, ənd aɪ wəz əˈləʊn

wɪð ðə fɔːm ˈmɑːstə. hi prəˈdjuːst ə θɪn, ˈgriːni-braʊn ˈkʌvəd

bʊk fɪld wɪð wɜːdz əv ˈdɪfrənt taɪps əv prɪnt.


Phonology Handout

2. “No, you killed him before you left the house the first time. No one saw him alive but

after you left. It was all so easy for you. Simon Lee expected you, yes, but he never

sent for you. It was you who rang him up and spoke vaguely about an attempt at

robbery. You said you call upon him just before eight at night and would pretend to

be collecting for a police charity. Simon Lee had no suspicions. You came and told

him a tale of substituted diamonds. He opened the safe to show you the real

diamonds were safe in his possession. You apologized, came back to the hearth

with him and, catching him unawares, you cut his throat, holding your hand over his

mouth, so that he shouldn’t cry out. Child’s play to a man of your physique.”

(From “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas” by Agatha Christie)

nəʊ, jʊ kɪld ɪm bɪˈfɔː jʊ lɛft ðə haʊs ðə fɜːst taɪm. nəʊ wʌn

sɔː ɪm əˈlaɪv bət ˈɑːftə jʊ lɛft. ɪt wəz ɔːl səʊ ˈiːzi fə

juː. ˈsaɪmən liː ɪksˈpɛktɪd juː, jɛs, bət hi ˈnɛvə sɛnt fə juː. ɪtwəz jʊ huː ræŋ ɪm ʌp ənd

spəʊk ˈveɪgli əˈbaʊt ən əˈtɛmptət ˈrɒbəri. jʊ sɛd jʊ kɔːl əpən ɪm ʤəst bɪˈfɔːr eɪt ət naɪt ən

dwəd prɪˈtɛnd tə bi kəˈlɛktɪŋ fər ə pəˈliːs ˈʧærɪti. ˈsaɪmən liːhəd nəʊ səsˈpɪʃənz. jʊ keɪm

ənd təʊld ɪm ə teɪl əvˈsʌbstɪtjuːtɪd ˈdaɪəməndz. hi ˈəʊpənd ðə seɪf tə ʃəʊ jʊ ðə

rɪəl ˈdaɪəməndz wə seɪf ɪn ɪz pəˈzɛʃən. jʊ

əˈpɒləʤaɪzd, keɪm bæk tə ðə hɑːθ wɪð ɪm ænd, ˈkæʧɪŋ ɪmˌʌnəˈweəz, jʊ kʌt ɪz θrəʊt,

ˈhəʊldɪŋ jə hænd ˈəʊvə hɪz maʊθ, səʊ ðət hi ʃʊdnt kraɪ aʊt. ʧaɪldz pleɪ tʊ ə mæn əv jə

fɪˈziːk


Phonology Handout

3. BREAK, BREAK, BREAK

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Break, break, break. On the cold gray stones, O seal

And I would that my tongue could utter. The thoughts that arise in me.

O wall for the fisherman’s boy. That he shouts with his sister at play!

O well for the sailor lad, That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill;

But o for the touch of the vanished hand, And the sound of a voice that is still

Break, break, break, At the foot thy crags, O seal

But the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me.

How many times you practice the above pieces?

2, 3, 4 more than 4 times? ______________________________


Phonology Handout

4. THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT

By Edward Lear

The owl and pussy-cat went to the sea In a beautiful pea-green boat:

They took some honey and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The owl looked up to the stars above And sang to a small guitar. “O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are You are!

What a beautiful pussy you are.” Pussy said to the owl, “You elegant fowl,

How charmingly sweet you sing! Oh1 let us be married; too long we have tarried:

But what shall we do for a ring?” They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-Tree grows And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose, His nose, His nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose. "Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will." So they took it away, and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon, The moon, The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.


Phonology Handout


Phonology Handout

APPENDIX II

THE STRESS IN LONG WORDS

GENERAL RULE: Most long words have their stress on the third syllable from the end.

1) On the third syllable from the end

-ety Society -ity University -logy, -grahy, -sophy, etc Analogy, geometry, etc. -acy Conspiracy -ator Conspirator -itor Solicitor -ant Extravagant -itude Beatitude -al Practical -ial Industrial -eal Corporeal -ual Habitual -able Detestable -ible Irascible -an Metropolitan -ian Librarian -ar Particular -iar Peculiar -ive Accusative -ous Unanimous

2 ) On the fourth syllable from the end

-able Admirable

-ible Intelligible

-acy Delicacy

-ive Educative

-ary Commentary

-ory Laboratory

-ony matrimony

3) On the last Syllable

-ette Cigarette

-oo Kangaroo

-eer Engineer

-oon tycoon

4) Stress on the syllable before the endings

-tion, -sion, generation, intrusion


Phonology Handout

APPENDIX III LIST OF WORDS WHICH OCCUR IN BOTH WEAK AND STRONG FORMS

Some words change their pronunciation in unstressed positions. Usually the vowel sound

moves to a neutral positions and becomes a kind of murmur or weak moan / /, or a

long vowel sounds are less subject to change. Notice that the same word at the end of

the sentence has a fairly strong form without being strongly stressed.

Unstressed Weak Form

be /bi/ He must be mad

am /m,@m/ I am hungry

is /z/ So is he

are /@/ So are you

was /w@z/ There was nothing

were /w@/ There were very old

been /bin/ It’s been wonderful

have / v, h@v / I have got sixpence

has /h@z/ /z/ /s/ What has he got?

had /h@d, d / We had paid, you see

not /nt/ He hadn’t

shall /Dl/ We shall see

will /l/ Will think about it

should /D/ I should think so

would /w@d/

/d/

There would candles and there would be a fir

I would scream if i saw him.

can /kn/ He can have it.

could /k@d/ /kud/ He could have been killed.

do /d/ Do you know him?

does /d@z/ /z/ /s/ What does ‘teardrop’ mean?

me /mI/ He told me about it.

you /yu/ Did you hear?

he /hi/ He is old.

she /SI/ She is old.

her /h@/ Give her money.

we /wI/ We are sorry.

us /@s/ Give us hand.

them /Jm/ Give them hand

a /@/ A woman


Phonology Handout

an /@n/ An old woman

the /D@/ The woman

the /DI/ The old woman

and /n, @n/ Adam and Eve

but /b@t/ Nobody but us.

some /sm/ Have some papers.

to /t@/ Is he going to die?

from /fr@m/ It came from Kendari.

of /@v, v/ The 14th of July

for /Jf/ It’s for drinking.

at /@t, t/ See you at home

as /@z, z/ As blue as the sea

than /D@n/ Blue than the sea

that /D@t/ He said that he knew.

there is /D@z, D@rIz / There is no problem.

there are /D@r@, D@r@ / /D@ar@ / There are some letters for you.

Stressed (or slow delivery) strong form

Be /bi:/ Be honest!

Am /{m/ I really am.

Are /a:/ Are you?

Is /Iz/ Is he?

was /wOz/ There he was

were /w@:/ There really were

been /bi:n/ He has just been

have /h{v/ So you have

had /h{d/ Has he?

not /nOt/ Had you?

shall /S{l/ Certainly not

will /wIl/ Shall we?

should /Sud/ Will you?

would /wud/ I shouldn’t think so.

He should be there by now.

He should tell the truth

can /k{n/ He can?

could /kud/ So he could.

do /du:/ What can I do?

does /döz/ He certainly does


Phonology Handout

me /mi:/ He told you but not me.

you /yu:/ He said it was you

he /hi:/ So is he

she /Si:/ So is she

her /h@:/ Her?

we /wi:/ So are we

us /ös/ He give it to us

them /Dem/ He gave it to them

a /eI/ I meant a woman, not woman

an /{n/ Remember; an old woman

the /Di:/ Ah, you mean the woman

and /{nd/ And who are you?

But /böt/ I’d love to, but…

some /söm/ Some do, some don’t

to /tu/ The man I wrote to

from /frO:m/ Where from?

of /Ov/ The man he was speaking of

for /fO:/ Who for?

at /{t/ The man he was looking at

as /{z/ As what? As I was saying…

than /{n/ No sooner than, not ‘that’

that /D{t/ More than that!

there is /Je@/ There may be.

there are /a:J e@/ Are there?

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