The Sounds of The Sounds of LanguageLanguage

The Sounds of LanguageThe Sounds of Language

• Phonology, Phonetics & Phonemics…Phonology, Phonetics & Phonemics…

• Producing and writing speech sounds...Producing and writing speech sounds...

• Consonants, vowels & sound charts…Consonants, vowels & sound charts…

• Phonemic analysis...Phonemic analysis...

• Etics and Emics…Etics and Emics…

• Applications….Applications….

PhoneticsPhonetics

• AcousticAcoustic– physical properties of sound, sound waves, physical properties of sound, sound waves,

• AuditoryAuditory– perception of sounds, psychological perception of sounds, psychological ““realityreality””

• ArticulatoryArticulatory– pronunciation of sounds, articulationpronunciation of sounds, articulation

– also known as descriptive phonetics.also known as descriptive phonetics.

Producing Speech SoundsProducing Speech Sounds

• larynx & larynx & vocal vocal cordscords– voicingvoicing

• lungs

• velum (soft palate) mouth closed: [m, n] mouth open = [õ]

• oral & nasal cavities

Writing Speech SoundsWriting Speech Sounds

• Spelling vs phonetic transcriptionSpelling vs phonetic transcription– cat (English)cat (English)– ciel (French)ciel (French)– cizi (Czech)cizi (Czech)– ““ghotighoti””

• Phonetic chartsPhonetic charts– I.P.A.I.P.A.– Pike.Pike.

ConsonantsConsonants

• Point of Articulation (Place in vocal Point of Articulation (Place in vocal tract)tract)

• Manner of ArticulationManner of Articulation

• VoiceVoice

Consonants: PlaceConsonants: Place• From front to back:From front to back:

bilabial [p, b, m]

labiodental [f, v]

(inter)dental [, ]

alveolar [t, d, s, z, n, l]

alveopalatal (palatal-alveolar; postalveolar)[, , ñ].

Consonants: Place Consonants: Place (continued)(continued)

Front to backFront to back

velar [k, g, x, , ]uvular [ ] (French ‘r’)

pharyngeal [ (Arabic ‘ain’)]

glottal [, h] .

retroflex [, ]

Consonants: MannerConsonants: Manner• Stops (plosives) [t, d], [Stops (plosives) [t, d], [!, !, ]]

• Aspirated: [tAspirated: [thh, d, dhh]]

• Fricatives [s, z]Fricatives [s, z]

• Affricates [Affricates [ʧʧ, , ʤʤ]] • Taps & TrillsTaps & Trills

– Taps / flaps [ Taps / flaps [ ]]

– Trills [ r ]Trills [ r ]

• Nasals [ n ]Nasals [ n ]

• Approximants [ l, Approximants [ l, , j, w ]., j, w ].

A Word About A Word About ApproximantsApproximants

• Sometimes called liquids & glidesSometimes called liquids & glides

• Variously charted in different systemsVariously charted in different systems

• IPA calls them approximants [ w, j, IPA calls them approximants [ w, j, ] ]

– And lateral approximants [ l ]And lateral approximants [ l ]

• Pike calls some of them frictionless laterals [ l ]Pike calls some of them frictionless laterals [ l ]– He calls some of them semivowels [w, y]He calls some of them semivowels [w, y]

– And he calls some of them vowels [ r ].And he calls some of them vowels [ r ].

Consonants: ReviewConsonants: Review

Phonetic ChartingPhonetic Charting

• Mapping the sounds of a languageMapping the sounds of a language– Helps you to analyze and pronounce sounds...Helps you to analyze and pronounce sounds...

– Helps you to analyze sound systems...Helps you to analyze sound systems...• and to see patternsand to see patterns

– Guides you in understanding accents….Guides you in understanding accents….

Charting and SoundsCharting and Sounds• Shinzwani [ Shinzwani [ ] ]

– voicelessvoiceless

– retroflexretroflex

– stopstop

• Czech [Czech [ řř ]]– voicedvoiced

– alveolaralveolar

– fricativefricative

– AND trill.AND trill.

Charting and Accents: 1Charting and Accents: 1

• How would How would youyou pronounce pronounce ShinzwaniShinzwani [ [ona]?ona]?– Why did you make the choice you made?Why did you make the choice you made?

• Place?Place?

• Manner?.Manner?.

Vowels: PlaceVowels: Place

• part of tongue raisedpart of tongue raised– front, center, backfront, center, back

• height of tongueheight of tongue– high, mid, lowhigh, mid, low

i u

e o

a

Vowels: MannerVowels: Manner• roundedrounded

[u, o] - back (e.g. most English back vowels)[u, o] - back (e.g. most English back vowels)

[y, ø] - front (e.g., French, German, Danish)[y, ø] - front (e.g., French, German, Danish)

• unroundedunrounded[ i, e] - front (e.g. all English front vowels)[ i, e] - front (e.g. all English front vowels)

[ [ , , ] - back (e.g., Turkish, Native Am] - back (e.g., Turkish, Native Americanerican langlanguageuages)s)

• tense/lax (close/open)tense/lax (close/open)– [i] vs [[i] vs [II] .] .

Charting VowelsCharting Vowels

DiphthongsDiphthongs

to frontto front[ii] seen[ii] seen

[ai] sign[ai] sign

[[i] boidi] boid

to center[i] beer[e] bear[a] bar[] bore

to back[uu] sue[ou] hoe[au] how.

SuprasegmentalsSuprasegmentals

• Additional pronunciationAdditional pronunciation– [o] as segment[o] as segment

• Marked with diacriticsMarked with diacritics– [ [ ] as suprasegmental (nasalization) ] as suprasegmental (nasalization)

• [o[o] = nasalized segment.] = nasalized segment.

Phones and PhonemesPhones and Phonemes

• phonephone– smallest smallest identifiableidentifiable unit of sound in a language unit of sound in a language

– more easily identified by outsidersmore easily identified by outsiders

• phonemephoneme– smallest smallest contrastivecontrastive unit of sound in a language unit of sound in a language

– heard as a single sound by insidersheard as a single sound by insiders

– Contrasts are not predictable.Contrasts are not predictable.

PhonologyPhonology

• Sounds and their arrangementsSounds and their arrangements– Phonetics & PhonemicsPhonetics & Phonemics

• Phonetics:Phonetics:– identify & describe sounds in detail (phones)identify & describe sounds in detail (phones)

• PhonemicsPhonemics– analyze arrangements of sounds analyze arrangements of sounds

– identify groupings of sounds (phonemes)identify groupings of sounds (phonemes)

• Examples:Examples:– English English ““pillpill”” vs vs ““spill -- [pspill -- [phh] + [p] = /p/] + [p] = /p/

– Hindi Hindi ““pphhll”” (fruit) vs (fruit) vs ““ppll”” (minute) -- [p (minute) -- [phh] + [p] = /p] + [p] = /ph /h / + /p/ . + /p/ .

Identifying PhonemesIdentifying Phonemes• Minimal pairsMinimal pairs

– reveal contrasts in soundsreveal contrasts in sounds• ‘‘pinpin’’ ‘‘tintin’’ ‘‘kinkin’’ ‘‘binbin’’ ‘‘dindin’’ ‘‘gingin’’

• Examples for practice (W/R p. 4Examples for practice (W/R p. 488))– 3.2a Shinzwani3.2a Shinzwani

– 3.2b Hindi3.2b Hindi

– 3.2c Czech3.2c Czech

– 3.2d French3.2d French

– 3.2e Chatino.3.2e Chatino.

VariationsVariations• a phoneme can be a single sound/phonea phoneme can be a single sound/phone

• or it can be a or it can be a groupgroup of sounds/phones of sounds/phones– members of a group are usually similarmembers of a group are usually similar

• they are close on the phonetic chartthey are close on the phonetic chart

• they sound like they sound like ‘‘variationsvariations’’ of one another of one another

– members of a group are members of a group are non-contrastivenon-contrastive • they donthey don’’t mark differences in meaningt mark differences in meaning

– when such variations exist, they are called:when such variations exist, they are called:

• are heard as are heard as ‘‘the same soundthe same sound’’ by native by native speakersspeakers

• are usually are usually ‘‘complementarycomplementary’’ to one another to one another– we say they are in we say they are in ‘‘complementary distributioncomplementary distribution’’

• because the variation is usually because the variation is usually ‘‘conditionedconditioned’’ by by neighboring sounds, neighboring sounds, – we can also call this we can also call this ‘‘conditioned variation.conditioned variation.’’

Allophone ConditioningAllophone Conditioning

• is usuallyis usually– patternedpatterned

– predictablepredictable

– discoverablediscoverable

– describable.describable.

Phonemes vs. Allophones: Phonemes vs. Allophones: ReviewReview

• allophonesallophones– non-contrastivenon-contrastive

– predictable distributionpredictable distribution• [p[pn] and [spn] and [spn] n]

• phonemesphonemes– contrastivecontrastive

– non-predictable distributionnon-predictable distribution• [p[pn] vs [tn] vs [tn].n].

Etics vs. EmicsEtics vs. Emics

• Ken Pike, 1950sKen Pike, 1950s

• A core concept in anthropologyA core concept in anthropology

• EticsEtics– outside, cross-cultural /comparativeoutside, cross-cultural /comparative

– absolute, objectiveabsolute, objective

– a step to emic analysisa step to emic analysis

• EmicsEmics– inside, culture-specificinside, culture-specific

– relative, subjectiverelative, subjective

– a goal of emic analysis.a goal of emic analysis.

Doing Phonological Doing Phonological ResearchResearch

• Descriptive v prescriptive approachesDescriptive v prescriptive approaches– Transcription v spellingTranscription v spelling

• Avoid using your own categoriesAvoid using your own categories– Find out how the system operates Find out how the system operates on its own termson its own terms

• Describe the patterns you findDescribe the patterns you find– Identify the unitsIdentify the units

– Identify relationships between the units.Identify relationships between the units.

Comparative PhonologyComparative Phonology

• How many phonemes in a language?How many phonemes in a language?– From a few dozen to 100+From a few dozen to 100+

– average figures:average figures:• vowels: 8.7 vowels: 8.7

– English has 14English has 14

• consonants: 22.8 consonants: 22.8 – English has 24English has 24