ENGLISH PHONETICS AND
PHONOLOGY
Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics: - describing the sounds that we use in speaking
Phonology: - abstract side of the sounds of language
- how phonemes function in language
- the relationships among the different phonemes
PHONETICS
The science which studies the characteristics of human sound making,
especially those used in speech.
Major activities:
- Description of the way speech sounds are made, transmitted and
perceived
- Classification
- Transcription of speech sounds by means of special symbols
Main branches of Phonetics
• Articulatory phonetics (studies the way speech sounds are made –
articulated
• Acoustic phonetics (studies physical properties of speech sounds as
transmitted between mouth and ear)
• Auditory phonetics (studies the perceptual response to speech
sounds)
Another classification of Phonetics
• General phonetics
• Instrumental phonetics
• Experimental phonetics
PHONOLOGY
A branch of linguistics which studies the sound systems of languages
sounds which have distinctive features. The sounds are organized into a
system of contrasts which are analysed in terms of phonemes.
Two branches of phonology:
• Segmental phonology (analyses discrete segments – phonemes)
• Suprasegmental phonology (analyses those features which extend
over more than one segment – rhythm, stress placement, intonation
contours)
Another classification of Phonology
• Diachronic phonology (from the historical perspective)
• Synchronic phonology (current usage)
PHONEME
• A minimal unit in the system of a language. (Crystal)
• A family of related sounds. (Jones)
• A bundle of abstract distinctive features or oppositions between
sounds (such as voicing or nasality). (Prague circle) bid x bad x bed x bud
• Phoneme variants = ALLOPHONES
- sets of phonetically similar phones of the same underlying unit
e.g. Czech: banda x banka, tramvaj x hanba/hamba allophones
English: sin x sing (n x ŋ) phonemes
TRANSCRIPTION
• a method of direct reference to spoken language by means of special
symbols – International phonetic alphabet
• Phonemic – only phonemes are given in particular symbols (44
phonemes for RP) – oblique lines / /
• Phonetic – different degrees of allophonic details are introduced –
square brackets [ ] (devoiced, dental, syllabic, … other variants)
INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
• The IPA is a system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin
alphabet. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association as
a standardized representation of the sounds of oral language. The IPA
is used by foreign language students and teachers, linguists, speechlanguage
pathologists and lexicographers.
• The IPA is designed to represent distinctive qualities of speech:
phonemes, intonation and the separation of words and syllables.
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION
• The RP was established well over 400 years ago as the accent of the court
and upper classes.
• During centuries RP came to symbolize a person‘s high position in society.
In 19th century, it became the accent of the public schools, e.g. Eton and
Harrow, and was a proof that a speaker had received a good education.
• It spread throughout the Civil Service of the British Empire and the armed
forces, and became the voice of authority and power. Because it was a
regionally `neutral‘ accent, it came to be adopted by the BBC when radio
broadcasting began in the 1920s.
Received Pronunciation today
• Today, with the breakdown of rigid divisions between social classes and the
development of the mass media, RP is no longer the preserve of a social elite. It
is best described as an educated accent. The most widely used is that generally
heard on the BBC; but there are also conservative and trend-setting forms. The
former is found in many older establishment speakers. The later are usually
associated with certain social and professional groups – the voice of the London
area.
• In recent decades Received Pronunciation has also undergone frequent change,
the BBC accent from the 1950s is different to that spoken today on the BBC.
• Some linguists claim that today RP has been substituted by the so-called
Estuary English.
THE ARTICULATORS
VOWELS - PHONATION
• By definition vowels are pure tones.
• When we phonate, our vocal folds produce a complex sound
spectrum, made up of a wide range of frequencies and overtones.
The spectrum travels through the various differently-sized areas in
the vocal tract. Their resonation depends on the sizes of the resonant
areas in the tract. Larger spaces in the vocal tract are the throat and
mouth. They produce the two lowest resonant frequencies, of
formants. These formants are designated as F1 (the pharyngeal cavity)
and F2 (the oral cavity).
CLASSIFICATION OF VOWELS
QUALITATIVE ASPECT
• Horizontal position of the tongue: front vs back or central
• Vertical position of the tongue: open vs closed or mid
• Lip rounding: rounded vs unrounded
QUANTITATIVE ASPECT (relative)
• Long
• Short
PRIMARY CARDINAL VOWELS
Johns´ trapezoid (representing oral cavity and position of tongue)
ENGLISH SHORT VOWELS
ENGLISH LONG VOWELS
VOWELS - QUADRILATERAL
DIPHTHONGS
combinations of two vowels in the same syllable
CENTRING DIPHTHONGS ɪə, eə, ʊə
• BEARD, WEIRD, FIERCE
• SCARCE, AIRED
• TOUR, LURE
CLOSING DIPHTHONGS: eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ
• PAIN, FACE, PAID
• TIDE, TIME, NICE
• VOICE
• Because of the gradual
movement of the tongue from
one position to another they
are also called glides.
CLOSING DIPHTHONGS əʊ, aʊ
• əʊ LOAD, HOME, MOST
• aʊ LAOUD, GOWN, HOUSE
TRIPHTHONGS
a compound vowel sound within the same syllable resulting from a succession of three
connected vowels.
• eɪə LAYER, PLAYER
• aɪə LIAR, FIRE
• ɔɪə LOYAL, ROYAL
• əʊə LOWER, MOWER
• aʊə POWER, HOUR
DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS:
TENDENCIES IN PRONUNCIATION
• There is a general tendency to the diphthongization and monophthongization
of English diphthongs and tiphthongs.
• Diphthong /ʊə/ is pronounced as a long monophthong /ɔ:/, e.g. poor, tour,
you‘re, …
• Triphthongs are pronounced as diphthongs or even long monophthongs, e.e.
smoothing (the contour of tongue movement is smoother):
aɪə → aə → ɑ: fire aʊə → aə → ɑ: tower
ɔɪə → ɔə → ɔ: lawyer əʊə → əə → ə: mower
eɪə → eə → e: layer
ENGLISH CONSONANTS
Consonants unlike vowels are noises (there is some obstacle in the air flow). The noise
is produced by the air.
Classification of consonants:
- Manner of articulation (plosives, fricatives, affricates, nasals, approximants)
- Place of articulation (labials, labiodentals, dentals, alveolars, pst-alveolars, palatals,
velars, glottals)
Classification in terms of voicing:
- VOICED consonants
- VOICELESS consonants
Classification in terms of tensing:
- FORTIS consonants
- LENIS consonants
ENGLISH CONSONANT PHONEMES
PARTIAL REPRODUCTION OF THE IPA
The larynx
ʺBOXʺ
• made of two cartilages
• the vocal folds (vocal cords)
• Adamʼs Apple
The inside of the larynx
• at the front – fixed to the thyroid
cartilage
• at the back – attached to the
arytenoid cartilages (hlasivkové chrupavky
when they move, the vocal folds
will move too)
• air below the v. f. (subglottal
pressure must be under enough
pressure to be forced through
the glottis
Closing and opening of the glottis
GLOTTIS
hlasivky
• opening between the vocal folds
• G. closed: v. f. pressed together
• G. open: v. f. apart
Four different states of the vocal folds/glottis
1 WIDE APART
for normal breathing, during voiceless consonants, e.g. /p/, /f/, /s/
2 NARROW GLOTTIS
air is passed through the narrowed glottis – result: a fricative sound /h/, a voiceless glottal fricative, e.g. saying
ahahahahahahaha (alternating between 2 and 3)
3 POSITION FOR V. F. VIBRATION
- the edges of the v. f. touching each other (nearly touching)
- air passing through the G. Causes vibration; pressed up from the lungs, air pushes the v.f. apart → a little air
escapes; v. f. brought together again
- Opening and closing happens very rapidly, repeated regularly (200 – 300 per sec)
4 VOCAL FOLDS TIGHTLY CLOSED
- v.f. firmly pressed together – air cannot pass between them
- in speech: glottal stop/glottal plosive Ɂ (coughing gently, Ɂa Ɂa Ɂa Ɂa Ɂa Ɂa Ɂa)
The lungs and the rib cage (1)
• Speech sounds – made with some movement of air
• Rib cage – lifted upwards/outwards, returned back to its rest
position (air is expelled – used for producing speech sounds)
• Lungs – expand – take in more air
(Rib cage pressed down on the lungs – more air is expelled –
egressive pulmonic airstream)
• EGRESSIVE PULMONIC AIRSTREAM
- air is made to move out of the lungs
• OBSTRUCTIONS/STRICTURES in the vocal tract (we obstruct the
airflow to make speech sounds)
- in the larynx (bringing the v. f. close to each other)
-Voicing/phonation– vibration of v. f.
The lungs and the rib cage (2)
VARIATIONS OF SUBGLOTTAL PRESSURE
1 INTENSITY – voicing with:
high i. – shouting
low i. – speaking quietly
2 FREQUENCY – v. f. vibrate:
high f. - v. f. vibrate rapidly
lower f. – there are fewer vibrations per sec
3 QUALITY – produce different-sounding voice qualities
e.g. harsh, breathy, murmured, creaky
PLOSIVESražené souhlásky
• One articulator is moved against another / two articulators are moved against each
other → form a stricture (allows no air to escape from the vocal tract).
• Stricture has been formed, air has been compressed behind it, air is released (allowed
to escape).
• The air behind the stricture is still under pressure → the escape of air will produce
noise loud enough to be heard = plosion.
• presence/absence of voicing during part or all of the plosive articulation
VOICING AND ASPIRATION OF PLOSIVES
Czech plosives can be classified as voiced and voiceless. This criterion
does not apply to English. English plosives have the following features:
• Initial fortis plosives (p, t, k) are aspirated.
• Initial lenis plosives (b, d, g) have little voicing.
• Final fortis plosives shorten the previous vowel – CLIPPING.
• Final lenis plosives take the quality of the previous vowel – they are
not voiced.
• Initial sp, st, sk have no aspiration.
Four Phases of the Plosives Production
1 CLOSURE PHASE
the articulator/articulators move to form the stricture for the plosive
Full closure of air channel is made.
2 HOLD PHASE
the compressed air is stopped from escaping
Air accumulates behind the closure.
3 RELEASE PHASE
the articulators used to form the stricture are moved so as to allow air to escape
Sudden release and outburst.
4 POST-RELEASE PHASE
happens immediately after phase 3
PLOSIVES
Bilabial, Alveolar & Velar Articulation
BILABIAL: p and b
• lips pressed together
ALVEOLAR: t and d
• tongue blade pressed against the alveolar
ridge
VELAR: k and ɡ
• back of the tongue against the area where the
hard palate ends, soft palate begins
PLOSIVES
Bilabial, Alveolar & Velar Articulation
INITIAL position (at the beginning of a word): preceding vowels CV
➢ closure phase – silently for p, t, k, b, d and ɡ
➢ hold phase – no voicing in p, t, k little voicing in b, d, ɡ (in careful pron. – fully voiced, in rapid speech – no voicing at all)
➢ the release of : p, t, k = audible plosion (burst of noise)
➢ post-release phase – air escaping through the v. f. makes a sound like h= aspiration
➢ the release of: b, d, ɡ = followed by weak plosion
The difference between initial p, t, k and b, d, ɡ is the ASPIRATION of the voiceless plosives p, t, k .
ASPIRATION, not voicing distinguishes initial p, t, k from b, d, ɡ.
b, d, ɡ cannot be preceded by any consonant in initial position
p, t, k may be preceded by s in initial position (always unaspirated in initial combinations sp, st, sk)
PLOSIVES
Bilabial, Alveolar & Velar Articulation
MEDIAL position (plosive between vowels): VCV
• pronunciation of p, t, k and b, d, ɡ depends on whether the syllables preceding and following the plosive are
stressed
• a medial plosive may have characteristics either of final or of initial plosives
FINAL position (at the end of a word): following vowels VC
• final b, d, ɡ normally have little voicing (or at the beginning of the hold phase)
• final p, t, k are voiceless
• the plosion following the release of p, t, k and b, d, ɡ is very weak, often not audible
The difference between p, t, k and b, d, ɡ in final position is primarily the fact that
vowels preceding p, t, k are much SHORTER.
Plosives – place of articulation
English plosives and Czech speakers
Czech speakers have to pay attention to the following aspects:
• English initial fortis plosives are aspirated – unlike Czech
• Lenis plosives have little voicing – unlike Czech (bus, door, gate)
• Initial sp, st, sk have no aspiration (tendency to over pronunciation)
• t, d have a dental feature in Czech while in English they have alveolar
place of articulation
Glottal stop is common in current usage, namely in a trendy RP form of
Estuary English.
THE PHONEME
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
SEGMENTS:
• In speech – a continuous stream of sounds
– divided into small pieces, e.g. ʼman‘ /mæn/ 3 seg.,
ʼmine‘ /maɪn/ ? seg.
• Set of vowels – pronounced in many slightly different ways – infinite
range of sounds
• If we put one of the twenty vowels in the place of one of the others
→ we change the meaning of a word (bed X bad) /e X æ/
The phoneme
and the alphabet (abstract X real/concrete)
• 26 letters BUT infinite number of different shapes and sizes (an abstract alphabet as the basis of our writing)
• The letter of the alphabet used in writing = a unit which corresponds to the unit of speech, i.e. SEGMENT
• Five letters – VOWELS: ‘aʼ, ‘eʼ, ‘iʼ, ‘oʼ, ‘uʼ
• Substituting one letter for another changes meaning (a letter ‘pʼ and ‘tʼ)
pit – pet – pat – putt – pot – put
pɪt – pet – pæt – pʌt – pɒt – pʊt
• Characters A a a = represent the same letter (u – a different letter)
- occur in printed/typed writing, handwriting;
(depends on the context in which they can occur, e.g. names, beginning of a sentence, …)
- no difference in meaning if we substitute one for the other
THE PHONEME
PRINCIPLES OF THE SOUNDS OF SPEECH
• Speech can be divided into SEGMENTS (great variety in the way they are made)
PHONEMES = an abstract (and complete) set of speech units →
→ PHONEMIC SYSTEM of the language
• Many slightly different ways in which we make the sounds that represent
phonemes, just as there are many ways in which we may make a mark on a piece of paper to represent a particular
(abstract) letter of the alphabet.
FREE VARIATIONS
- two different realisations of one phoneme, e.g. /b/ in ‘badʼ:
there is little difference in pronouncing the sound /b/
(practically no voicing – usually pronounced X full voicing – speaking very emphatically)
→ the sound is still identified as the phoneme /b/
THE PHONEME
one can only occur where the other cannot, e.g. /t/
the aspirated and unaspirated realisations are both recognised as /t/ by English speakers
despite their differences.
ALLOPHONES: different realisations of phnenemes
COMPLEMENTARY DISTRIBUTION = strict separation of places
the aspirated realisation will never be found in the place where the unaspirated realisation
is appropriate and vice versa
e.g. aspirated and unaspirated allophones of the phoneme /t/:
TEA
/tʰi:/
voiceless plosive
• aspirated
before stressed vowels at the
beginning of a syllable
EAT
/i˙t/
voiceless plosive
• unaspirated
occur at the end of a syllable and is not
followed by a vowel
SYMBOLS AND TRANSCRIPTION (RP)
• PHONEMIC/PHONEME SYMBOLS - symbols for phonemes
- do not have to indicate precise phonetic quality
- phonemic transcription, e.g. ʹpeatʹ /pi:t/
• PHONETIC SYMBOLS - all the symbols and diacritics, e.g. [ä]
- much more accurate in phonetic detail
- phonetic transcription, e.g. ʹpeatʹ [pʰi˙t]
- here for precise phonetic values in square brackets
- used occasionally when it is necessary to give an
accurate label to an allophone of some English phoneme
• Broad phonetic transcription, i.e. containing only a little more information than a phonemic
transcription
• Narrow phonetic transcription, i.e. containing a lot of information about the exact quality of
the sounds
• RP – received pronunciation
PHONOLOGY
to acquire a full understanding of the use of sounds in English speech, we must study both,
PHONETICS and PHONOLOGY
PHONETICS
- describing the sounds that we
use in speaking
PHONOLOGY
- how phonemes function in
language, and the relationships
among the different phonemes
- the abstract side of the sounds
of language
THE PHONEMIC SYSTEM
“A Set of Pieces“ in a game of chess
• The exact shape and colour of the pieces are not important to the game as long as they can be
reliably distinguished.
• Number of pieces, the moves they can make and their relationships to all the other pieces are
important.
• If any of these were to be changed, the game would no longer be what we call chess.
“A Set of Cards“ in a card game
• Playing-cards can be printed in many different styles and sizes – changing it does not affect the
game played with them.
• If we were to remove one card from the pack or add one card to it before the start of a game,
nobody would accept that we were playing the game correctly.
“A set of phonemes“ in a game of speaking English
• We have a more or less fixed set of ʺpiecesʺ (phonemes) with which to play the game of speaking
English.
• There may be slightly different realisations of the various phonemes, but the most important
thing for communication is that we should be able to make use of the full set of phonemes.
PHONEME SEQUENCES AND SYLLABLE
STRUCTURE
• PHONOLOGY
- restrictions and regularities on the sequences of phonemes that
are used in a particular language
- syllables of the language, e.g. in English no /zbf/ at the
beginnings
SUPRASEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY
SOUND CONTRAST
extend over several segments (phonemes) → suprasegmental contrasts
• stress, e.g. ʼimportʼ different word class (noun X verb)
• intonation, e.g. ʼrightʼ - the pitch of the word rising → likely to be
heard as a question or an invitation to a
speaker to continue
- falling pitch → likely to be heard as
confirmation or agreement
FRICATIVES AND AFFRICATES
• Fricatives
- air escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound
- continuant consonants = you can continue making them without
interruption as long as you have enough eir in your lungs
• Affricates
- complex consonants, simple, independent phonemes of English, i.e.
/t/ = one phoneme, /ʃ/ = one phoneme, /tʃ/ = one phoneme
- begin as plosives and end as fricatives
- composed of a plosive plus a fricative, e.g. ʹchurchʹ /tʃɜ:tʃ/ (a three phoneme word)
- not all sequences of plosive plus fricative make an affricate, e.g.
ʹbreakfastʹ → /kf/ is not a consonantal unit in the way that /tʃ/ seems to
- must be homorganic, i.e. made with the same articulators – made with the
tongue blade against the alveolar ridge.
THE FRICATIVES OF ENGLISH
• Two articulators get closely together making a narrow gap between them. The
air flow escapes through the gap producing a characteristic hissing sound.
• complex system of fricative phonemes
• each place of articulation – a pair of phonemes
• one exception – glottis
ENGLISH FRICATIVES
• FORTIS: greater force
friction noise is louder
the effect of shortening a preceding vowel, e.g.
ʹiceʹ ʹeyesʹ
/aɪs/ /aɪz/
• LENIS: very little or no voicing in initial and final positions
may be voiced when occurring between voiced sounds
LABIODENTAL FRICATIVES
f, v
• fan, van; safer, saver; half, halve
• lower lip, upper teeth
• fricative noise never strong
• fricative noise scarcely audible in /v/
DENTAL FRICATIVES
θ, ð
• thumb, thus; ether, father;
breath, breathe
• the tip of the tongue touching
the inside of the lower front
teeth and the blade of the
tongue touching the inside of
the upper teeth
• the air escapes through the gaps
between the tongue and the
teeth
• fricative noise is weak
Pronunciation of θ, ð
Dental fricatives are often described as if the tongue was placed
between the teeth, It is, however, normaly placed inside the teeth, with
the tip touching the inside of the lower front teeth and the blade
touching the inside of the upper teeth. The air escapes through the
gaps between the tongue and the teeth. The tongue has a convex
shape. Czech speakers have a tendency to raise the tip of the tongue
(concave shape).
ALVEOLAR FRICATIVES
S, Z
• sip, zip; facing, phasing; rice, rise
• the air escapes through a narrow
passage along the centre of the
tongue
• the sound produced is
comparatively intense
PALATO-ALVEOLAR FRICATIVES
ʃ, ʒ
• ship, (initial ʒ is very rare in
English); Russia, measure; Irish,
garage
• partly palatal, partly alveolar
• the tongue in contact with an area
slightly further back than that for
s, z
• make s, then ʃ → feel the tongue
move backwards
• the air escapes through a little
wider passage (than s, z) along the
centre of the tongue
• lips are rounded for ʃ, ʒ
GLOTTAL h
• head, ahead, playhouse
• place of articulation is glottal
• the narrowing that produces the friction noise is between the vocal folds
• breathe out silently: production of h
• your vocal folds is moving from wide apart to close together (this is not producing
speech)
• it always has the quality of the vowel it precedes: hit, hat, hot, hut, …
• Phonetically: /h/ is a voiceless vowel with the quality of the voiced
vowel that follows it
• Phonologically: /h/ is a consonant, usually found before vowels
• when h occurs between voice sounds (voiced only between vowels, e.g. ahead,
beehive, behave, …, greenhouse) → pronounced with breathy voice (a weak, slightly
fricative sound)
• Sub-standard pronunciation: omission of the h in unstressed pronunciations, e.g. her,
he, him, his, have, has, had
GLOTTAL h
and two uncommon sounds
• words beginning orthographically with
ʹwhʹ
• which, why, whip, whale
• most RP speakers pronounce it as w
• some speakers, when speaking clearly
or emphatically (American and
Scottish speakers), pronounce a
voiceless fricative with the same lip,
tongue and jaw position as ʍ
THE AFFRICATES
tʃ, dʒ
• the only two affricate phonemes in English: tʃ, dʒ
• FORTIS/LENIS pair
• tʃ - slightly aspirated
- palato-alveolar place of articulation (the same as for ʃ, ʒ)
- when tʃ is final in the syllable it has the effect of shortening a
preceding vowel
• tʃ, dʒ often have rounded lips
ENGLISH SONORANTS m, n, ŋ, l, ɫ, r, j, w
ENGLISH SONORANTS m, n, ŋ, l, ɫ, r, j, w
NASALS / APPROXIMANTS / SEMIVOWELS(a term used for consonants only)
• Nasal consonants m, n, ŋ
• Approximants/Liquids l, ɫ, r
• Approximants/Semivowels j, w
NASALS
• the air escapes through the nose
• the soft palate is lowered
• complete closure in the mouth (corresponds to the three places of articulation
for the pairs of plosives pb, td, kɡ)
• Bilabial (lips) m
• Alveolar (tongue blade against alveolar ridge) n
• Velar (back of tongue against the palate) ŋ
phonetically simple (easy to produce)
but phonologically complex (not easy to describe the contexts in which it occurs)
VELAR NASAL ŋ (1)
1 Initial position Ø
2 Medial position -nk- will always be pronounced
-ng- a) ŋɡ in the middle of a morpheme
b) ŋ (without ɡ) at the end of a morpheme
MORPHEME-BASED RULE
Morphology: A (one morpheme) B (two morphemes)
finger singer
/fɪŋɡə/ /sɪŋə/
anger hanger
/æŋɡə/ /hæŋə/
VELAR NASAL ŋ (2)
3 Final position -ng always pronounced with ŋ
(no ɡ after ŋ at the end of a morpheme)
sing hang song bang long
/sɪŋ/ /hæŋ/ / sɒŋ/ /bæŋ/ /lɒŋ/
long long + morpheme (ʹ-ishʹ) longish
/lɒŋ/ /lɒŋɪʃ/
EXCEPTION: the comparative ʹ-erʹ & superlative ʹ-estʹ suffixes
- treated as single-morpheme words
longer longest
/lɒŋɡə/ /lɒŋɡəst/
4 ŋ following short vowels, e.g. pink
/pɪŋk/
rarely occurs after diphthongs or long vowels
LIQUIDS l, ɫ, r(SOUHLÁSKY PLYNNÉ/SONORNÍ)
• Lateral approximant l long hill
/lɒŋ/ /hɪl/
• complete closure along the centre (between the centre of the tongue
and the part of the roof of the mouth; the passage of air doesnʹt go
along the centre of the tongue but along the sides of the tongue)
• dldldldl feel the movement of the sides of the tongue
necessary for the production of the lateral l
• a loud whispered l feel the air rushing along the sides of your
tongue
LATERAL APPROXIMANT ʹlʹ
Initially, medially, finally
allophones
CLEAR l lea
/liː/
- resembles an [i] vowel
- front of the tongue raised
- never occurs before consonants, before a pause
- only occurs before vowels
- most Welsh and Irish speakers use clear l in all
positions
DARK ɫ (phonetic symbol) eel
/iːl/
- quality rather similar to [u] vowel
- back of the tongue raised
- most American and lowland Scottish speakers
use dark ɫ in all positions
POST-ALVEOLAR APPROXIMANT ʹrʹ (1)
• articulators approach each other but do not get sufficiently close to each other
to produce a ʹcompleteʹ consonant sound (e.g. plosive,…)
any vowel articulation could also be classed as an approximant, but the term is usually used only for consonants
• very slightly rounded
• the tip of the tongue approaches the alveolar area in approximately the way it would for a ʹtʹ or ʹdʹ but never makes contact
with any part of the roof of the mouth (Czech: tongue-palate contact is made, alveolar trill)
• RETROFLEX CONSONANT r: - the tongue is slightly curled backwards
with the tip raised (sequence of drdrdrdrdr) r is post-alveolar
-the tip tongue is not raised nor curled back
• VOICELESS & FRICATIVE r: - at the beginning of a syllable, preceded by p, t, k
- e.g. press, tress, cress
POST-ALVEOLAR APPROXIMANT ʹrʹ (2)
• Pronounced only before vowels:
red arrive hearing
/red/ /əˈraɪv/ /ˈhɪərɪŋ/
• no 'r' in the pronunciation:
a) car ever here
/kɑː(r)/ /ˈevə(r)/ /hɪə(r)/
b) hard verse cares
/hɑːd/ /vɜːs/ /keə(r)z/
• RHOTIC ACCENTS: (e.g. American, Scots, West of England) have 'r' in final
position (before a pause) and before a consonant
• NON-RHOTIC ACCENTS: (e.g. BBC) 'r' only occurs before vowels
SEMIVOWELS 'j' &'w‚ (1)
• yet, wet
• phonetically: vowel-like character, i.e. phonetically like vowels, but only occur before vowel phonemes
- 'j' close to [i] but very short
- 'w' close to [u]
• phonologically: consonants
- a year, a way
- 'the' pronounced /ðə/
• mispronounced as fricatives or affricates by foreign learners
• Friction noise in w, j: ONLY when preceded by p, t, k at the beginning
of a syllable
pure tune queue Poirot twin quit
/pjʊə(r)/ /tjuːn/ /kjuː/ /pwɑ:rəʊ/ /twɪn/ /kwɪt/
SEMIVOWELS 'j' &'w‚ (2)
• p, t, k followed by a vowel at the beginning of a syllable:
- aspirated
- voiceless beginning of a vowel in this context
• p, t, k followed by - l, r, j, w (voiced continuant consonants)
- lose their voicing and become fricative
• Devoiced fricative l, r, w, j: play tray (X dray) quick cue
/pleɪ/ /treɪ/ /kwɪk/ /kjuː/
• Voiced l, r, w, j: lay ray wick you
/leɪ/ /reɪ/ /wɪk/ /ju/
TONGUE TWISTER FOR CZECH ř (miniscule)
̝̝ řeka, řvát simultaneous [r] and [ʒ]
̝̊[r̝̊] chřest, keř simultaneous [r̥] and [ʃ]
THE SYLLABLE
1 Minimum syllable a single vowel in isolation
preceded and followed by silence (are /ɑ:/, or /ɔ:/, err /ɜ:/;
but also sound for: agreement /m/ or when asking for silence /ʃ/)
2 Onset one or more consonants preceding the centre
of the syllable (bar /bɑ:/, key /ki:/, more /m ɔ:/)
3 Coda no onset
end with one ore more consonants
(am/æm/, outht /ɔ:t/, ease /i:z/)
4 Onset and coda ran /ræn/, sat /sæt/, fill /fɪl/
CONSONANT CLUSTER (1)
Two-consonant clusters:
a) PRE-INITIAL /s/ + INITIAL CONSONANT
sting /stɪŋ/, sway /sweɪ/, smoke /sməʊk/
b) INITIAL CONSONANT + POST-INITIAL /l/, /r/, /j/, /w/
play /pleɪ/, try /traɪ/, quick /kwɪk/, few /fju:/
c) FINAL CONSONANT one consonant only
(except /h/, /w/, /j/; final /r/ in rhotic accent only)
d) TWO-CONSONANT FINAL CLUSTER:
pre-final /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /s/, e.g. bump /bʌmp/, bank /bæŋk/
post-final /s/, /z/, /t/, /d/, /θ/, e.g. bets /bets/, beds /bedz/
CONSONANT CLUSTER (2)
• Three-consonant clusters:
a) PRE FINAL + FINAL + POST FINAL
helped /helpt/, twelfth /twelfθ/
b) PRE-FINAL + FINAL + POST-FINAL 1 + POST-FINAL 2
fifths /fɪ-fθs/, next /ne-kst/
• Four-consonant clusters:
c) PRE-FINAL + FINAL + POST-FINAL 1 + POST-FINAL 2 (/s/, /z/, /t/, /d/, /θ/)
twelfths /twelfθs/, prompts, /prɒmpts/
d) ZERO PRE-FINAL + FINAL + POST-FINAL 1 + POST FINAL 2 + POST-FINAL 3
sixths /sɪ-ksθs/, texts /te-ksts/
MAXIMUM PHONOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
of the English syllable
EXEPTION:
• SYLLABIC CONSONANTS l, n, m, ŋ, r
e.g. students /stju:dnts/
- two syllables
- second syllable ending with the cluster /nts/ = as though there was a
vowel between /d/ and /n/; a vowel occurring in a very slow, careful
pronunciation only
RHYME
• the vowel and the coda = RHYME
• rhyming English verse: rhyming works by matching just that part of
the last syllable of a line
• Rhyme
a) PEAK (normally the vowel)
b) CODA (optional, e.g. me – no coda)
• Onset - obligatory
STRONG AND WEAK SYLLABLES
• Peaks in STRONG syllables ▪ never ə, i, u in its peak
▪ ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ + coda
• Peaks in WEAK syllables
▪ the vowel ə (schwa), e.g. better /betə/, open /əʊpən/
▪ a close front unrounded vowel i, e.g. happy /hapi/
▪ a close back rounded vowel u, e.g. thank you /θæŋk ju/
SCHWA /ə/
1 Spelled with 'a', strong /æ/
attend, character
2 Spelled with 'ar', strong /ɑ:/
particular, molar
3 Adj. endings spelled 'ate', strong /eɪ/
intimate, accurate
4 Spelled with 'o', strong /ɒ/, /əʊ/
tomorrow, carrot
5 Spelled with 'or', strong /ɔ:/
forget, opportunity
6 Spelled with 'e', strong /e/
postmen, violet
7 Spelled with 'er', strong /ɜ:/
perhaps, stronger
8 Spelled with 'u', strong /ʌ/
autumn, support
9 Spelled with 'ough'; many pronunciations for -ough
thorough, borough
10 Spelled with 'ou', strong /aʊ/
gracious, callous
SYLLABIC CONSONANTS
as a peak of the syllable (instead of the vowel)
- in syllables in which no vowel is found
• a small vertical mark (ˌ)beneath the symbol (l, r, nasals), e.g. cattle /kætl/
• Syllabic l a) with alveolar consonant preceding
cattle, bottle, muddle
b) with non-alveolar consonant preceding
couple, trouble, knuckle
• Syllabic n - finally and medially, e.g. threatening /θretnɪŋ/, threaten /θretn/
- after alveolar plosives and fricatives, e.g. eaten
• Syllabic m, ŋ e.g. happen /hæpm/, /hæpn/, /hæpn/
between velar consonants: broken key /brəʊkŋ ki:/
(could be substituted with n, ən)
• Syllabic r in rhotic accents, e.g. particular /prˈtɪkjəlr/ X /pəˈtɪkjələ/
hungry /ˈhʌŋɡri/ X Hungary /ˈhʌŋɡəri/, /ˈhʌŋɡri/
STRESS (ACCENT)
• NOT single phonemes, but SYLLABLES are STRESSED
• Intuitive identification
• Stressed syllables are PROMINENT
a) are LOUDER
b) are LONGER
c) have a HIGHTER PITH (perceived as the syllables with
higher frequency)
d) differ in QUALITY from other syllables (babababiba)
TYPES (LEVELS) OF STRESS
• PRIMARY STRESS /ˈ/: photograph /ˈfəʊtəɡrɑːf/
• SECONDARY STRESS /ˌ/: photographic /ˌfəʊtəˈɡræfɪk/
STRESS PLACEMENT
• In Czech on the 1st syllable 'Ostrava
• In French on the last syllable boule'vard
• In English on any syllable but rule governed:
1 the length of the word (short – easy vs. long – complex)
2 the morphological structure (stress carrying suffixes, stress moving
suffixes, compound words)
3 part of speech (noun, adjective, verb)
4 linguistic characteristics of speech – tone unit
COMPLEX WORDS – STRESS CARRYING SUFFIXES
- ain entertain /ˌentəˈteɪn/, ascertain /ˌæsəˈteɪn/
- ee employee /ɪmˈplɔɪiː/, refugee /ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/, evacuee /ɪˌvækjuˈiː/
- eer engineer /ˌendʒɪˈnɪə(r)/, mountaineer /ˌmaʊntəˈnɪə(r)/
- ese Vietnamese /ˌvjetnəˈmiːz/, Portuguese /ˌpɔːtʃuˈɡiːz/, journalese
- ette cigarette /ˌsɪɡəˈret/, launderette /ˌlɔːndəˈret/, kitchenette
- esque picturesque /ˌpɪktʃəˈresk/
- ique unique /juˈniːk/
COMPLEX WORDS – STRESS MOVING SUFFIXES
stress is on the last syllable of the stem
-eous advantageous /ˌædvənˈteɪdʒəs/, courageous /kəˈreɪdʒəs/
-graphy photography /fəˈtɒɡrəfi/
-ial proverbial /prəˈvɜːbiəl/
-ic climatic /klaɪˈmætɪk/
-ion perfection /pəˈfekʃn/
-ious injurious /ɪnˈdʒʊəriəs/
-ity tranquillity /træŋˈkwɪləti/
-ive reflexive /rɪˈfleksɪv/
STRESS IN COMPOUND WORDS
• are lexemes composed of more than one root and functioning as single words
• always have only one primary stress
• possible rules for stress placement are not very reliable → advisable to learn them in
usage, e.g. a black 'bird vs. a 'blackbird
Compounds functioning as
➢NOUNS have the primary stress usually on the first element: dancing shoes, cooking apples,
steering wheel, green house, …
➢ADJECTIVES with –ed at the end have the stress usually on the second element: bad-tempered,
heavy-handed,…
➢ADVERBS usually have the stress on the second element: north-east, east-bound, …
➢VERBS with the first element adverbial usually have the main stress on the second element:
undergo, ill-treat, download, …
➢with the first element represented by a NUMERAL usually have the stress on the second element:
three-wheeler, second-class, four-footed, half-size, …
• Frequent errors: yellowhammer /ˈjeləʊhæmə(r)/, blackboard /ˈblækbɔːd/,
'primary school teacher, 'English teacher, …
VARIATION OF STRESS – WORD CLASS
• Word stress in English can have a grammatical function which results
in a change of the word class:
• The placement of stress in connected speech can change, e.g.
thir'teen X 'thirteen roses, Heath'row X 'Heathrow 'airport
NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE VERB NOUN ADJECTIVE
‘abstract ab'stract ‘absent ab'sent ‘compact com'pact
‘conduct con'duct al'ternate ‘alternate ‘minute mi'nute
‘contract con'tract ‘frequent fre’quent
‘desert de'sert
‘export ex'port
‘permit per'mit
‘object ob'ject
WEAK FORMS (1)
• FULL LEXICAL WORDS carry the primary stress
In some words it is only a potential quality:
• if pronounced in isolation = STRESSED; have a strong form
• if pronounced in connected speech = WEAK; are not stressed
WEAK FORMS (2)
• function words
• monosyllabic
• carry little or no lexical meaning
• used in connected speech (characteristic feature of connected speech)
• when pronounced in isolation – native speakers will use a strong form
• ‘Chips are what I’m fond of’ 'tʃips ə wɒt aim 'fɒnd ɒv
WEAK FORMS (3)
Weak forms include:
• determiners (a, an, the)
• prepositions (at, for, from, to, …)
• conjunctions (and, but, that)
• pronouns (we, you, he, she, his, her, your, him, her, us, relative that,
some)
• auxiliary verbs (can, could, have, has, had, shall, should, must, do,
does, am, was, were)
• some adverbs (there)
CONNECTED SPEECH
Human speech is not performed by means of isolated words. Words are
linked into a sort of continuing sound.
Connected speech is characterized by the following features:
• Linking
• Rhythm
• Assimilation
• Elision
• Intonation
CONNECTED SPEECH – LINKING /r/, /j/, /w/
• When r occurs before a suffix, it s pronounced: stir /stɜ:/, stirring /stɜ:rɪŋ/ - the insertion is
obligatory.
• The insertion of r is optional, though generally present before a following word with initial
vowel: stir it in /stɜ:r ɪt ɪn/ - historically justified.
• When one word ends with /ə/ and the following begins with a vowel /r/ is generally
inserted: idea of /aɪdɪər əv/, vanilla essence /vənɪlər əsens/ - historically unjustified, socalled
INTRUSIVE /r/.
• Intrusive /r/ before a suffix is strongly stigmatized: gnawing /nɔ:rɪŋ/.
• When one word ends with /ʊ/, /u:/, also in diphthongs, and the next begins with a vowel
/w/ is inserted: blue eyes /blu:'waɪz/, no understanding /nəʊw ʌndəstændɪŋ/.
• When one word ends with /ɪ/, /i:/ and the next begins with a vowel /j/ is inserted: easy
exercise /i:zi 'jeksəsaɪz/, the apple /ði 'jæpl/.
CONNECTED SPEECH - RHYTHM
• English – rhythmical language, i.e. its events happen at regular intervals of
time. It is stressed timed. Czech i a syllable timed language.
Walk 'down the 'path to the 'end of the ca'nal.
• English utterance + clasp our hands = pronunciation is rhythmical
• The principle of isochrony /aɪ'sɒkrəni/ (the time period from one stressed
syllable to the next one is approximately the same irrespective of the
number of syllables) is applied.
• Due to the existence of weak forms. If weak forms are not used properly
the rhythm is broken.
CONNECTED SPEECH – RHYTHM
exercises
• I 'think he 'might
• I 'want to 'know
• To 'do it 'well
• A'nother 'time
• It‘s 'quite all 'right
• I 'think it 'is
• He 'tied it 'up
CONNECTED SPEECH – ASSIMILATION (1)
• A type of coarticulation; one sound influences the articulation of another
which then becomes more alike, or identical.
• Regressive assimilation of place (the final and the initial sounds are of the
same manner of articulation, only the place is different which results in its
unification):
that pen /ðæp 'pen/ good girl /ɡʊɡ 'ɡɜ:l/
ten men /tem 'men/ good boy /ɡʊb 'bɔɪ/
• Regressive assimilation of manner (the final and the initial sounds are of a
different manner of articulation which results in its unification:
good night /ɡʊn 'naɪt/ that side /ðæs saɪd/
CONNECTED SPEECH – ASSIMILATION (2)
• Assimilation of voice (only limited occurrence in English):
I have to /aɪ hæf tu/
• Yod coalescence:
did you /dɪtʃu:/ get you /ɡetʃu:/
• Assimilation of two plosives into a single release:
grab both /ɡræ'bəʊθ/, left turn, wind down, mashed potatoes
CONNECTED SPEECH – ASSIMILATION (3)
• Be careful of the incorrect assimilation of voice in words like
basic /ˈbeɪsɪk/, basis /ˈbeɪsɪs/ (the reason why people take a particular
action), consonant /ˈkɒnsənənt/, insist /ɪnˈsɪst/, also /ˈɔːlsəʊ/
• A strong foreign accent:
I like that black dog. /aɪ laɪɡ ðæd blæɡ dɒɡ/
back door /bæɡ dɔ:r/
CONNECTED SPEECH – ELISION (1)
= is omission of sounds, which facilitates the pronunciation
1 Loss of weak vowel after p, t, k: tomato /tˈmɑːtəʊ/, perhaps /pˈhæps/,
today /tˈdeɪ/, canary /kˈneəri/
2 Weak vowel + n, l, or r becomes syllabic consonant (tonight, police, correct)
3 Avoidance of complex consonant clusters: acts /æks/, scripts /skrɪps/,
clothes /kləʊz/
4 Loss of final v before consonants: losts of them /lɒts ə ðəm/
CONNECTED SPEECH – ELISION (2)
Juncture – specific minimal pairs
• might rain vs my train
r in rain voiced
aɪ in might shortened
r in train voiceless
aɪ shorter
• keep sticking vs keeps ticking
t unaspirated after s
t aspirated in initial position
Connected speech – INTONATION
suprasegmental phonology
• the distinctive use of patterns of pitch or melody
• THE TONE
- the distinctive pitch level of a syllable
1 falling (fall, glide-down) \ yes
2 rising (rise, glide-up) / yes
3 level - yes
4 falling-rising (fall-rise, dive) ꓦ yes
5 rising-falling (rise-fall) ꓥ yes
TONES AND THEIR FUNCTION (1)
• FALL
- regarded as neutral
- gives an impression of finality
A: Is there a post office near here?
B: Yes
TONES AND THEIR FUNCTION (2)
• RISE
- gives an impression that something more is to follow
A: Is there a post office near here?
B: Yes?
TONES AND THEIR FUNCTION (3)
• LEVEL
Its usage is restricted to routine, boring or uninteresting utterances,
e.g. Teacher calling the names of pupils and their replies, doctor
examining a patient, bank officer filling in a form, …).
TONES AND THEIR FUNCTION (4)
• FALL-RISE
- very frequent in English
- used when we want to express limited agreement or response with
reservations, e.g.
A: I‘ve heard that he‘s a brilliant physicist.
B: ꓦ Yes.
TONES AND THEIR FUNCTION (5)
• RISE-FALL
- conveys strong feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise
A: Isn‘t he a darling!
B: ꓥ Yes.
TONE-UNIT: (PH) – (H) - TS – (T)
• English – an intonation language
• English utterances – continuous speech
• Intonation analysis – tone-units (larger units), e.g. Is it ̸ you?
• Intonation and stress are vocal equivalents of written punctuation,
therefore intonation transcription is given in spelling form, no
punctuation is used (it would be confusing to include it).
TONE-UNIT
̸ you
• underlined – syllables that carry a tone
is it ̸ you
• a three syllable utterance, consisting of one tone-unit
• the 3rd syllable is more prominent than other two
• the 3rd syllable carries a rising tone = tonic syllable (nucleus)
• the 3rd syllable carries a kind of stress = tonic stress (nuclear stress)
• the other two are less prominent, on a level pitch
THE STRUCTURE OF THE TONE-UNIT
ꓦ John is it ̸ you
• a fall-rise tone used in calling someone‘s name
• each simple tone-unit has one and only one tonic syllable
• tonic syllable = obligatory component of the tone-unit (cf. the role of
the vowel in the syllable)
THE HEAD OF THE TONE-UNIT (1)
• optional element
• \those one syllable utterance with a tonic syllable
• 'give me \those a long utterance of one tone-unit
• the rest of the tone-unit, i.e. 'give me is called the head
- the 1st syllable has a stress mark
- if there is no stressed syllable before the tonic syllable, there
cannot be a head
- extends from the first stressed syllable up to (but not including) the
tonic syllable
THE HEAD OF THE TONE-UNIT (2)
'Bill 'called to 'give me \these
• the head – first five syllables
in an \hour
• no stressed syllable preceding the tonic syllable → no head
• the syllables "in an" form a pre-head
THE PRE-HEAD
• optional element
• is composed of all the unstressed syllables in a tone-unit preceding the first
stressed syllable
• occur in two main environments:
1 when there is no head (no stressed syllable preceding the tonic
syllable), e.g. in an \hour
2 when there is a head, e.g. in a 'little 'less than an \hour
• pre-head: in a
• head: 'little 'less than an
• tonic syllable: \hour
THE TAIL
• optional element
• any syllables between the tonic syllable and the end of the tone-unit
\look at it /what did you say \both of them were here
• each tone-unit consists of an initial tonic syllable and a tail
• when it is necessary to mark stress in a tail, the symbol used is a raised dot /·/
\both of them were ·here /what did you ·say
PRONUNCIATION IN CONVERSATION
features of fluent speech
PRONUNCIATION IN SLOW SPEECH
We are likely to speak more slowly
• carefully explaining sth to sb
(e.g. a nurse explaining how to make a
sling)
• talking to a large audience
(e.g. giving a presentation)
• unfamiliar/difficult topic
(e.g. using professional terminology)
PRONUNCIATION IN FAST SPEECH
We are likely to speak more quickly
• in informal conversation
(e.g. talking to friends, relatives, …)
• talking about routine or familiar objects
• leaving consonant sounds out of
consonant clusters (e.g. jumps, last night,
a bottle of water), contracted forms (e.g.
You‘ve gotta be …), ellipsis (e.g. I‘ve Got a
headache)
PRONUNCIATION IN SLOW & FAST SPEECH (A) A11
PRONUNCIATION IN SLOW & FAST SPEECH (B) A12
PRONUNCIATION IN SLOW AND FAST SPEECH (1) A16
PRONUNCIATION IN SLOW AND FAST SPEECH (2) A17
PRONUNCIATION IN SLOW AND FAST SPEECH (3) A18