some differences between english and german vowels and ... · pdf filegerman/english 5.2...

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Homework from lastweek: key

English vowels anddiphthongs (schematic)

An Australianmishearing IndianEnglish

DifferencesGerman/English

Unit 5Vowels (2)Some differences between English and German vowels anddiphthongs

English Phonetics lecture given on8 prairial de l’an CCXXI de la République / 27 May 2013

Robert SpenceAngewandte Sprachwissenschaft

Universität des Saarlandes

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

English Phonetics: Unit 5:[ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ fəˈnetɪks ˈjuːnɪt ˈfaɪv]

Vowels (2)[ˈvaʊəlz ˈtuː]

Some differences between English and German vowels anddiphthongs

[ˈsʌm ˈdɪfɹ̥ənsəz bəˌtw̥iːn ͜ ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ ͜ ən ˈdʒɜːmən ˈva͜ʊəɫz ͜ ən ˈdɪfθɒŋz][ˈsʌm ˈdɪfɹ̥ənsɪz bɪˌtw̥iːn ͜ ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ ͜ ən ˈʤɜːmən ˈva͜ʊəɫz ͜ ən ˈdɪfθɒŋz]

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

The goals of today’s session are:

..1 To check the answers to the homework (8 mins)

..2 To give an overview of the system of vowel and diphthongphonemes in English, contrasting it with the correspondingsystem in German (10 mins)

..3 To give one example of how phonetically similar twophonologically very different syllables can be (2 mins)

..4 To compare the typical phonetic realizations (phones,allophones) of the vowel and diphthong phonemes of Englishand German (20 mins)

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Homework (1)

..1 Describe the following cardinal vowels in terms of the threedimensions front–back, close–open, rounded–unrounded:

..1 [i] front, close, unrounded

..2 [a] front, open, unrounded

..3 [u] back, close, rounded

..4 [y] front, close, rounded

..5 [o] back, close mid, rounded

..6 [e] front, close mid, unrounded

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Homework (2)

• In each case, give the phonetic symbol for the cardinal vowelthat is defined by the set of features listed:

..1 near close, near back, rounded [ʊ]

..2 open mid, front, unrounded [ɛ]

..3 mid, central, unrounded [ə]

..4 open, back, rounded [ɒ]

..5 open mid, back, unrounded [ʌ]

..6 near open, front, unrounded [æ]

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Homework (3)

• Write the following words in standard orthography:..1 /dɔː/ ⟨door⟩..2 /heə/ ⟨hair⟩..3 /bɪə/ ⟨beer⟩..4 /peɪ/ ⟨pay⟩..5 /raɪt/ ⟨write⟩ (‘schreiben’) ⟨rite⟩ (‘Ritus’) ⟨-wright⟩ (‘-macher’)

⟨right⟩ (‘richtig’, ‘recht’, …)..6 /red/ red (‘rot’), read (‘las’, ‘gelesen’)

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Homework (4)

• Give the phonemic transcription of the following words:..1 ⟨play⟩ /pleɪ/..2 ⟨me⟩ /miː/..3 ⟨some⟩ /sʌm/ /səm/..4 ⟨more⟩ /mɔː/..5 ⟨music⟩ /ˈmjuːzɪk/..6 ⟨please⟩ /pliːz/

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

English vowels and diphthongs (schematic)

• The following slides constitute a tabular list of all Englishvowels and diphthongs (dialect: Southern British).

• The representation is highly schematic, based on a stylizedvowel “square”. But even the standard “vowel quadrilateral” isalready quite stylized anyway.

• We’ll do a quick overview, concentrating on noticeabledifferences between some of the main varieties of English(e.g., “RP”, Southern British, Northern British, GeneralAmerican, Australian), then zero in on key differencesbetween German and English vowels and diphthongs.

• We’ll keep the IPA character picker a mouseclick away:• http://rishida.net/scripts/pickers/ipa/

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

• We’ll keep the IPA character picker a mouseclick away:

• http://rishida.net/scripts/pickers/ipa/

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Some terms and definitions (1): ‘stressed’

• A syllable can be either ‘stressed’ or ‘unstressed’, dependingon where it occurs within the foot.

• Assuming there is no ‘silent beat’, the first syllable in the foot(the Ictus) is ‘stressed’, all other syllables within that foot(the Remiss) are ‘unstressed’.

• Example:/ Ar-thur and / Jane have / left for / It-a-ly— the beginning of each new foot is shown by a slash; thestressed syllables are printed in boldface type; all othersyllables are unstressed.

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Some terms and definitions (2): ‘checked’ vs. ‘unchecked’vowels/Nuclei, ‘open’ vs. ‘closed’ syllables

• A syllable consists of an Onset followed by a Rhyme; theRhyme consists of a Nucleus followed by a Coda.

• The Nucleus may be ‘checked’ (i.e. its vowel may be cut offabruptly) or ‘unchecked’ (i.e. its vowel may be allowed tounfold fully).

• In addition, the syllable may be ‘open’ or ‘closed’, dependingon whether or not the Coda element is realized by aconsonant.

• Example:/ Ar-thur and / Jane have / left for / It-a-ly— the Nucleus is ‘checked’ in left and It, ‘unchecked’ in Arand Jane (note that the Onset is empty in It and Ar);—the syllable is ‘open’ in Ar, ‘closed’ in Jane, left and It.

• These factors play a major role in determining what vowels ordiphthongs can occur in a syllable…

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Some terms and definitions (3): ‘reduced’

• If a syllable is ‘unstressed’ in English, it can (and typicallydoes) contain a ‘reduced’ vowel — perhaps shortened inquantity, or simplified in quality, or both.

• shortened in quantity: ⟨u⟩ [u] (not [uː]) in ⟨rubella⟩ [ruˈbelə](not [ruːˈbelə])

• simplified in quality: the vowel almost invariably becomes [ə]— a mid central vowel with almost no features.

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Short vowels in stressed or unstressed closed syllables

Englishɪ ʊ

Germanɪ ʏ ʊ

ɛ œ ɔ

a• All six English sounds are distinctively different, i.e. they are

phonemes• /sɪks/, /seks/, /sæks/, /sɒks/, /sʌks/, /sʊks/ are the six

different words ⟨six⟩, ⟨sex⟩, ⟨sax⟩, ⟨socks⟩, ⟨sucks⟩, ⟨sooks⟩.• We’ll draw the exact locations of the phonetic realizations of

these phonemes on the proper ‘vowel quadrilateral’ on thewhiteboard.

• The phoneme / ʌ / varies considerably in its phoneticrealization from dialect to dialect. (Why?)

• Which vowel letters can be used to write the phoneme / ʌ /in English?

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Reduced short vowel(s) in unstressed open or closed syllables

English(ɪ)

ə cf.

German

• Australians and Americans tend to use only the “schwa”:⟨The wicked witch⟩ (‘die böse Hexe’) [ðə ˈwɪkəd ˈwɪtʃ]

• Speakers of Southern British English would say:[ðə ˈwɪkɪd ˈwɪtʃ]

• Note that the German “schwa” is different from the Englishone.

• Compare English ⟨bitter⟩ [ˈbɪtə], German ⟨bitte⟩ [ˈbɪtɘ],German ⟨bitter⟩ [ˈbɪtɐ ].

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Unchecked vowel in unstressed open syllables (1)

Englishi

Consider the word ⟨city⟩.

• Some dictionaries give the pronunciation as /ˈsɪtɪ/• This breaks the rule that /ɪ/ (like all other short vowels) can

only occur in closed syllables.• But it does in fact correspond to the pronunciation used by

many upperclass speakers of Southern British English.• Some highschool English textbooks give the pronunciation as

/ˈsɪtiː/• This tends to encourage an awkward rhythm in German

English-learners.• But it does in fact correspond to the pronunciation used in

some parts of Britain.

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Unchecked vowel in unstressed open syllables (2)

• The modern trend seems to be; to give the pronunciation as/ˈsɪti/

• This final vowel is unchecked, and potentially tense, butnevertheless short

• Eckert & Barry give an elegant solution by saying that theEnglish phoneme /iː/ has two allophones, [iː] as in ⟨beat⟩ and[i] as in ⟨happy⟩

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Long vowels

Englishiː uː

ɜː ɔː

Germaniː yː uːeː øː oːɛː

ɑː• There are no front rounded vowels in English.• The long close vowels in English tend to be slightly

diphthongized (rising diphthongs).• The other long vowels in English tend to alternate with

centering diphthongs.

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Rising (=‘verengende’) diphthongs

English

eɪ ɔɪ

English

German

aɪ aʊ• IPA symbols are placed roughly at the starting position of the

diphthong, i.e. the position from which the gliding movementbegins.

• /əʊ/ was originally /oʊ/• its original partner /ɛʊ/ has turned into /juː/• so ⟨mew⟩, which for Shakespeare was the noise made by a cat

(/mɛʊ/), is now the noise made by a kitten (/mju:/)

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Centering diphthongs

ɪə ʊə

eə (ɔə)

• In most varieties of English there is no difference between/ʊə/, /ɔə/ and /ɔː/.

• Some books write /ɛə/, others /eə/.

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Triphthongs?

eɪə əʊə ɔɪə

aɪə aʊə• These tend to lose the middle element: /eɪə/ becomes [e(ː)ə],

etc.• /aɪə/ and /aʊə/ go one step further, turning into the

monophthongs [aː] and [ɑː]: ⟨tire⟩ /taɪə/ [tʰaː], ⟨tower⟩/taʊə/ [tʰɑː]

• Not everyone recognizes the existence of triphthongs; atriphthong may simply be a diphthong followed (in the nextsyllable) by a schwa.

• But note the difference between disyllabic ⟨prayer⟩(‘Betender’) /ˈpreɪ.ə/ and monosyllabic ⟨prayer⟩ (‘Gebet’)/preə/

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

An Australian mishearing Indian English

• Announcing a coming programme, a BBC World Newsjournalist said, in perfect Indian English, “After the U.S. andthe UK, it’s France’s turn to woo India.”

• I heard her say: “After the U.S. and the UK, it’s France’s turnto rule India.”

• What’s going on here (phonetically)?

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Differences German/English

• Now let’s look in more detail at the differences between thevowels and diphthongs of English and the vowels anddiphthongs of German

• Examine the figures on pages 111 and 149 of Eckert andBarry.

• Draw several empty vowel quadrilaterals.• Consult the list of differences on your handout, which is

available online at:http://www.spence.saar.de/courses/phonetics/differences/index.pdf

• Don’t be afraid of using diacritic symbols such as [ ɔ̹ ] [ e̞ ] [ ɪ ̽ ],[ ɪ ̈ ], …consult your printout of the IPA!

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

• Draw several empty vowel quadrilaterals.

• Consult the list of differences on your handout, which isavailable online at:http://www.spence.saar.de/courses/phonetics/differences/index.pdf

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

Vowels (2)

Robert Spence

some differences between english and german vowels and ... · pdf filegerman/english 5.2...

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