powerpoint presentation - english phonetics · pdf file2011/05/03 english phonetics - english...

English Phonetics

English Vowels

2011/05/03 English Phonetics - English Vowels 2

Introduction

• we have examined the articulatory phonetics of vowels


Introduction


• we now take a closer look at the English vowel system


Introduction



• we can represent the English vowels in a chart


Introduction




• not all of these vowels are found in a single dialect of English


Introduction




• not all of these vowels are found in a single dialect of English

some are found in only one dialect


The Short Vowels

• English vowels may be divided into short and long vowels


The Short Vowels


• this equates with the traditional distinction of lax and tense


The Short Vowels



• the short vowels are simpler to describe


The Short Vowels



• the short vowels are simpler to describe

• there are short vowels at all vowel heights


The Minimal Word

• short vowels may be stressed


The Minimal Word

• short vowels may be stressed• they cannot stand alone, with or without an

initial consonant, as a full word of English


The Minimal Word


initial consonant, as a full word of English• this is due to a Minimal Word constraint


The Minimal Word


initial consonant, as a full word of English• this is due to a Minimal Word constraint• it requires either:

a long vowel tea [tiː] a diphthong eye [aɪ] a closed syllable it [ɪt] more than one syllable bitter [bɪtɹ]̩


The Vowel [ɪ]

• the close front lax vowel, [ɪ], appears in numerous environments after any consonant or cluster of consonants before most consonants


The Vowel [ɪ]


• it cannot stand alone as a word


The Vowel [ɪ]


• it cannot stand alone as a word• Korean does not make a contrastive distinction

between [ɪ] and [i], but English does


The Vowel [ɪ]



between [ɪ] and [i], but English does• bit, pill, and mit contrast with words such as

beat, peel, and meat


The Vowel [ɪ]



between [ɪ] and [i], but English does• bit, pill, and mit contrast with words such as

beat, peel, and meat• they must be pronounced differently


Spectrogram of [ɪ]

• compare the spectrograms of the vowels in bit and beat


Differences

• the formants of the two words are distinct


Differences

• the formants of the two words are distinct• the vowel of bit has an F1 at approximately 700

Hz and an F2 at around 1850 Hz


Differences


Hz and an F2 at around 1850 Hz• the vowel of the word beat has a lower F1 at

around 350 Hz and a higher F2 at around 2200 Hz


Differences



around 350 Hz and a higher F2 at around 2200 Hz• this demonstrates that the quality of the two

vowels is different


Differences




vowels is different• the quantity of the two vowels is also different


Differences




vowels is different• the quantity of the two vowels is also different• the vowel of bit is about 120ms, while the vowel

of beat is around 170ms, approximately 50% longer


The Vowel [ʊ]

• the close back lax vowel, [ʊ], also appears in a number of environments


The Vowel [ʊ]


• fewer cases than [ɪ] and it cannot stand alone as a word


The Vowel [ʊ]



• Korean does not make a contrastive distinction between [ʊ] and [u]


The Vowel [ʊ]



• Korean does not make a contrastive distinction between [ʊ] and [u]

• words such as soot, foot, and hood contrast with words such as suit, food, and who’d in English


Spectrograms of [ʊ]

• Compare the spectrograms of the vowels in soot and suit


Formant Differences

• the variation in the formants of [ʊ] and [u] is more subtle than with [ɪ] and [i]


Formant Differences


• F1 is lower for [u], indicating a higher vowel


Formant Differences


• F1 is lower for [u], indicating a higher vowel• the length difference is clear


Formant Differences


• F1 is lower for [u], indicating a higher vowel• the length difference is clear• approximately 100ms for [ʊ] and around 130ms

for [u]


The Vowel [ɛ]

• The open-mid front lax vowel, [ɛ], also appears in a number of environments


The Vowel [ɛ]


• it contrasts with both [eɪ] and [æ]


The Vowel [ɛ]


• it contrasts with both [eɪ] and [æ]• Korean has a putative contrast between [ɛ] and

[æ], represented in Hangul byㅔ vsㅐ


The Vowel [ɛ]



[æ], represented in Hangul byㅔ vsㅐ• this distinction does not form part of the

inventory for most Korean speakers nowadays


The Vowel [ɛ]



[æ], represented in Hangul byㅔ vsㅐ• this distinction does not form part of the

inventory for most Korean speakers nowadays• English words such as pet, men, and head contrast

with words such as pat, man, and had


Spectrograms of [ɛ] and [æ]

• Compare the spectrograms of the vowels in men and man


The Vowel [æ]

• the English vowel [æ] is an open front unrounded lax vowel


The Vowel [æ]

• the English vowel [æ] is a open front unrounded lax vowel

• it has formants similar to, but distinct from those of [ɛ]


The Vowel [æ]

• the English vowel [æ] is a open front unrounded lax vowel

• it has formants similar to, but distinct from those of [ɛ]

• it is a contrastive lexical vowel of English


The Vowel [ɔ]

• the open-mid back lax rounded vowel, [ɔ], occurs in all dialects of English


The Vowel [ɔ]


• there is some variation concerning its relation-ship to the low back vowels


The Vowel [ɔ]


• there is some variation concerning its relation-ship to the low back vowels

• in Canadian English, [ɔ] is the only short vowel in the lower back quadrant of the IPA vowel chart


Canadian English Low Back Vowels

• words such as cot and caught are pronounced the same in Canadian English


American English Low Back Vowels

• compare the American pronunciation of these words:


The Vowel [ʌ]

• the open-mid back lax unrounded vowel, [ʌ], occurs in a wide range of contexts


The Vowel [ʌ]


• it is a contrastive vowel of English


The Vowel [ʌ]


• it is a contrastive vowel of English• in the dialects of Northern England, it is replaced

by the high back lax rounded vowel, [ʊ]


The Vowel [ʌ]


• it is a contrastive vowel of English• in the dialects of Northern England, it is replaced

by the high back lax rounded vowel, [ʊ]• [ʌ] and [ə] are very similar phonetically, and

occur in complementary distribution in English


Spectrograms of [ʌ] and [ə]

• [ʌ] and [ə] are acoustically distinct and serve different functions phonologically


Differences

• The most obvious difference between the two vowels is in F2


Differences


• the spectrogram shows that [ə] is signifcantly further forward, more a central vowel, than [ʌ]


Differences



• a vowel plot of the two vowels confrms that [ə] is further forward and slightly higher than [ʌ]


Differences



• a vowel plot of the two vowels confrms that [ə] is further forward and slightly higher than [ʌ]

• [ʌ] is clearly in the region of a mid back vowel


Schwa [ə]

• Schwa, [ə], does not have a contrastive function in English


Schwa [ə]


• it is very frequent as the reduced form of vowels in the absence of stress


Schwa [ə]



• compare the vowels in declaration [ˌdɛkləˈɹeɪʃn ̩] and declarative [dəˈkʰlæɹətɪv]


Schwa [ə]



• compare the vowels in declaration [ˌdɛkləˈɹeɪʃn ̩] and declarative [dəˈkʰlæɹətɪv]

• schwa is the most frequently occurring vowel in English, despite its non-lexical status


The Long Vowels

• the English long vowels equate with tense vowels


The Long Vowels


• long vowels may stand alone as a word, for instance awe [ɔː] or two [tuː]


The Long Vowels


• long vowels may stand alone as a word, for instance awe [ɔː] or two [tuː]

• the open mid vowel, [ɜː], occurs only in non-rhotic varieties of English and the [ɑː] does not appear in all varieties


The Vowel [iː]

• the close front unrounded vowel, [iː], appears widely in English, after any consonant(s) and before most consonants and it is able to stand alone


The Vowel [iː]


• [iː] is considerably longer than [ɪ], and is somewhat higher, as indicated by its F1


The Vowel [iː]



• it is somewhat further forward also, as shown by its higher F2


The Vowel [iː]



• it is somewhat further forward also, as shown by its higher F2

• the numerous minimal pairs demonstrate that [iː] and [ɪ] are contrastive


Spectrogram of [iː] and [ɪ]


[iː] and [j]

• a further property of [iː] is its frequent co-occur-rence with [j] when it is followed by another vowel


[iː] and [j]


• for instance when the defnite article, the, precedes a word beginning with a vowel


[iː] and [j]


• for instance when the defnite article, the, precedes a word beginning with a vowel

• in such cases, the [iː] leads immediately into the glide [j]


The Vowel [uː]

• the close back rounded vowel, [uː], also appears widely in English, after any consonant(s) and before most consonants and is able to stand alone as a word


The Vowel [uː]


• [uː] is longer than [ʊ], and is slightly higher, as indicated by its F1 and further back, as shown by its higher F2


The Vowel [uː]


• [uː] is longer than [ʊ], and is slightly higher, as indicated by its F1 and further back, as shown by its higher F2

• minimal pairs, although not as numerous as for the high front vowels, are sufcient to demonstrate that [uː] and [ʊ] are contrastive


[uː] and [w]

• [uː] also frequently co-occurs with the semi-vowel, [w], when followed by another vowel


The Vowel [ɔː]

• the open-mid back rounded vowel, [ɔː], appears in some varieties of English in words such as law, raw, saw, etc.


The Vowel [ɔː]

• the open-mid back rounded vowel, [ɔː], appears in some varieties of English in words such as law, raw, saw, etc.

• the distinction between [ɔː] and [ɑː] does not exist in Canadian English, just as with the short varieties of these vowels


The Vowel [ɑː]

• the open back unrounded vowel, [ɑː], appears in both Standard British English and some varieties of American English


The Vowel [ɑː]


• it is used to distinguish between words such as ant and aunt, or cant and can’t


The Vowel [ɑː]



• this distinction is not found in Canadian English


The Vowel [ɑː]



• this distinction is not found in Canadian English• both pairs of words are pronounced the same


[ɑː] and [æ]


The Vowel [ɜ:]

• the open-mid central unrounded vowel, [ɜ:], occurs only in non-rhotic dialects such as Standard British English


The Vowel [ɜ:]


• it is the result of the absence of the r-sound in words such as bird, burr, etc.


The Vowel [ɜ:]


• it is the result of the absence of the r-sound in words such as bird, burr, etc.

• the vowel is slightly lower than schwa and is longer (300 ms)


Acoustic Properties of English Vowels

• the frst three vowel formants (F1-F3) provide a picture of the variation in vowel quality




• formants range systematically within specifed limits





• the range for children is higher than for adults, and that for women is higher than for men






• vowels tend to be longer in open syllables, i.e., when there is no consonant following in the syllable






• vowels tend to be longer in open syllables, i.e., when there is no consonant following in the syllable

• vowels are longer when followed by a voiced sound


Peterson & Barney (1952)


Vowels and Gender

• We can clarify the relationship between the vowels of men, women and children by examin-ing the data in the vowel plot


Vowels and Gender


• children’s vowels are the lowest and most leftward within each set


Vowels and Gender


• children’s vowels are the lowest and most leftward within each set

• men’s are the highest and most rightward


English Diphthongs

• in addition to short and long vowels, English also has a number of diphthongs of different types


English Diphthongs


• there are several diph-thongs with either [ɪ] or [ʊ]


English Diphthongs


• there are several diph-thongs with either [ɪ] or [ʊ]

• words with ɪ-fnal diph-thongs include bay [beɪ], buy [baɪ], and boy [bɔɪ]


ʊ-final diphthongs

• words with ʊ-fnal diphthongs include bow [baʊ] ‘bend the head or body forward’ and bow [boʊ] ‘a knot tied with two loops’ or ‘a weapon for shooting arrows’


ʊ-final diphthongs

• words with ʊ-fnal diphthongs include bow [baʊ] ‘bend the head or body forward’ and bow [boʊ] ‘a knot tied with two loops’ or ‘a weapon for shooting arrows’

• the spelling of these two words is identical but the pronunciation is different


ə-final diphthongs

• there is a third type of diphthong found only in non-rhotic varieties of English


ə-final diphthongs


• this third type of diphthong ends with [ə]


ə-final diphthongs


• this third type of diphthong ends with [ə]

• it arises from the loss of the [ɹ] at the end of the syllable in such dialects


Non-rhotic Dialects

• in words which have a fnal underlying [ɹ], the facts are somewhat different in non-rhotic varieties


Non-rhotic Dialects


• fnal [ɹ] is realized as [ə] when at the end of a phrase or when followed by a consonant in the next word


Non-rhotic Dialects



• when a vowel-initial sufx such as -ing is added, the [ɹ] moves into the beginning of the next syllable and all dialects pronounce it


Non-rhotic Dialects



• when a vowel-initial sufx such as -ing is added, the [ɹ] moves into the beginning of the next syllable and all dialects pronounce it

• the diphthong in the non-rhotic varieties disappears


Acoustic Properties of English Diphthongs

• English diphthongs are invariably of the falling type, i.e., the frst part of the diphthong is prominent and the second part consists of a high vowel




• if we examine a spectrogram of an English diphthong, we can see the two distinct vowel qualities and the gliding formant between them




• if we examine a spectrogram of an English diphthong, we can see the two distinct vowel qualities and the gliding formant between them

• one cannot measure a diphthong at only one point in the formant, since the frequency is continually changing from one point to the next


Diphthongs


Syllabic Sonorants in English

● syllabic sonorant consonants are common in English



● syllabic sonorant consonants are common in English● the nasals, [m] and [n], and the liquids, [l] and [ɹ],

can all be syllabic



● syllabic sonorant consonants are common in English● the nasals, [m] and [n], and the liquids, [l] and [ɹ],

can all be syllabic● forms below demonstrate the difference between

non-syllabic and syllabic sonorant consonants


• syllabic sonorant consonants are never stressed


• syllabic sonorant consonants are never stressed• they may fuctuate between being syllabic and

non-syllabic, based on the context


Acoustic Differences

• the physical differences are clearly shown in the spectrogram of the words lightning and lighten


Acoustic Properties of Syllabic Sonorants

• syllabic sonorants are similar to non-syllabic sonorants in their spectrographic profle




• the formants are somewhat more intense and darker, showing the syllabic nature of these segments




• the formants are somewhat more intense and darker, showing the syllabic nature of these segments

• below, the syllabic sonorant follows the fricatives [s] or [z] in order to clearly indicate the boundaries of the sounds


The End

powerpoint presentation - english phonetics · pdf file2011/05/03 english phonetics - english...

Documents