Phonetics: Describing English Sounds and Their Classification - Prof. Diogo Almeida, Study notes of Linguistics

Download Phonetics: Describing English Sounds and Their Classification - Prof. Diogo Almeida and more Study notes Linguistics in PDF only on Docsity! Describing Sounds One way to describe sounds would be to define the physical characteristics of the sounds themselves.... frequency(ies), intensity, durations, etc. This would be part of acoustic phonetics. But you can also describe sounds based on the way they are made. This is articulatory phonetics, and is the way we will study phonetics. Going back to English... Air is expelled from the lungs through the vocal tract, which can change size and shape: your mouth, tongue, throat, and vocal folds So we can describe sounds based on what organs are doing the constricting or changing of the air. (seit padene) First, consonants:! sounds that are produced with a closure in the vocal tract p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch (seit padene) Labiodentals : the restriction is a lip and teeth p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch insert picture of vocal tract Alveolars : tongue touches the alveolar ridge p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch (seit padene) Palatals : tongue touches the hard palate p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch (seit padene) Glottal : air flows through or is stopped by the ! ! ! ! ! glottis (vocal folds) p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ʔ uh oh ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch (seit padene) Manner of Articulation Stops: air is completely stopped p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ʔ uh oh ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch Nasals: air escapes from the nose and mouth p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ʔ uh oh ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch Liquids: the constriction exists, but there is no ! ! ! ! friction p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ʔ uh oh ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch Glides: (semivowels)... the tongue glides toward or away from a proceeding or preceding vowel p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ʔ uh oh ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch Voiced: air causes the vocal folds to vibrate p pill t till k kill b bill d dill g gill m mill n nil h heal f feel s seal l leaf v veal z zeal r reef θ thigh j you ʔ uh oh ð the ŋ ring š shy č chill ž azure ǰ Jill ʍ which w witch Given that the voiced/voiceless distinction can be applied to all manners, and each manner can be applied to a different place, we can draw a chart of the different combinations: By convention, we place the manner of articulation along the Y-axis, and the place of articulation along the X-axis The voicing distinction is placed beneath each manner of articulation, usually with voiceless on top. Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced f v Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced Glide voiceless voiced Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced č ǰ Glide voiceless voiced j Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced č ǰ Glide voiceless voiced j Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced č ǰ Glide voiceless voiced j ʍ w Liquid Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced č ǰ Glide voiceless voiced j ʍ w Liquid l, r Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced č ǰ Glide voiceless voiced j ʍ w h Liquid l, r Which consonant is missing? (hint: it’s the one that most people don’t know about) Bilabial Labiodental Interdental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop voiceless voiced p b t d k g ʔ Nasal m n ŋ Fricative voiceless voiced f v θ ð s z š ž Affricate voiceless voiced č ǰ Glide voiceless voiced j ʍ w h Liquid l, r What are the blank spaces? Fun Fact (from Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct): When English speakers make combinations of two rhyming words, the second word begins with the more ‘obstructed’ consonant: super-duper, willy-nilly, roly-poly, walkie-talkie, hocus-pocus, razzle-dazzle, loosey-goosey What about vowels? And there are three parts to the tongue: ! ! ! ! ! Front!! ! ! ! Central! ! ! ! Back High Mid Low Now we can describe each vowel by the part of the tongue and its height: ! ! ! ! ! Front!! ! ! ! Central! ! ! ! Back High i beet boot u ! ! ! ! ! ɪ bit foot U Mid! ! ! ! ! e bait boat o ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ɛ bet ə sofa ʌ butt bore ɔ Low! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! æ bat pot a And for completeness... Lip Rounding: ! ! ! ! ! Front!! ! ! ! Central! ! ! ! Back High i beet boot u ! ! ! ! ! ɪ bit foot U Mid! ! ! ! ! e bait boat o ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ɛ bet ə sofa ʌ butt bore ɔ Low! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! æ bat pot a So any sound can be described by a set of features of that sound: b = [+voice + bilabial + stop] b is a voiced bilabial stop t = [-voice + alveolar + stop] t = a voiceless alveolar stop Sounds can be said to differ by a feature, or have certain features in common: b,p = differ by the feature of +/- voice, but have the features +stop +bilabial in common Finally, we won’t be calling these things sounds. In Phonology, a sound is a phone. Light is a continuous spectrum ... 400 300 600 700 Wavelength (nanometers) And even though you can perceive every wavelength between 400 and 750 nanometers, you tend to break it up into larger chunks... Based on naming, and on memory recognition: Y 10Y S67 10GY 6G 106 56G 108G §8 108 SPB 10PH SP 10P SAP itAP 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ! ! ! ! ! 255 153 0:! 230 153 0 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 255 153 0:! 210 153 0 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! We are really good at telling two stimuli apart that fall into two different perceptual categries: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! One quetion should be: Where do these categories come from? option 1: we learn them option 2: we don’t learn them option 3: we learn them, but something makes us ! ! ! ! ! tend to learn certain categories by not ! ! ! ! ! others... ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Remember the English categories: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Here is the Berinmo tribe in New Guinea: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !