chapter 2 the sounds of__ language

Phonology

2.1 Speech production and perception (Q1 ~ Q3)

Q1. What are speech sounds for human beings?

Human being are capable of making all kinds of sounds, but only some of these sounds have become units in the language system. These units are called speech sounds for human beings.

Q2. What does phonetics concern?

Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds of human beings. Phonetics can be sub-classified into articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics and auditory phonetics.

Q3. How do the three branches of phonetics contribute to the study of speech sounds?

Articulatory phonetics is the study of the production of speech sounds. Acoustic phonetics is the study of the physical properties of the sounds produced in speech. Auditory phonetics is concerned with the perception of speech sounds.

2.2 Speech organs (Q4~ Q6)

Q4. What do speech organs (vocal organs) include?

Speech organs are those parts of the human body involved in the production of speech. They are the lungs, the trachea (or windpipe), the throat, the nose and the mouth. To be more specific, inside the mouth is the tongue, which is further divided into five parts: the tip, the blade, the front, the back and the root, and the palate. Moreover, the upper part of the mouth includes the upper lip, upper teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate or the velum and uvula; the bottom part of the mouth includes the lower lip, lower teeth, the tongue and mandible. Inside the throat, there are pharynx and larynx, which includes vocal folds or vocal cords.

Q5. What is vocal tract composed of? How many positions of vocal folds do we have in the production of speech sounds?

V ocal tract is composed of oral cavity, nasal cavity and pharynx. V ocal folds have three positions. When the vocal folds are apart, the air can pass through easily and the sound produced is said to be voiceless. When they are close together, the airstream causes them to vibrate against each other and the resultant sound is said to be voiced. When they are totally closed, no air can pass between them. The result of this gesture is the glottal stop.

Q6. What is the distinction between pulmonic sounds and non-pulmonic sounds? What do non-pulmonic sounds include?

Speech sounds are produced with an airstream as their sources of energy. In most cases, the airstream comes from the lungs. It is forced out of the lungs and then passes through the bronchioles and bronchi into the trachea. Sounds that are produced in this way are called pulmonic sounds. In comparison, some languages contain speech sounds that are produced without airstream from the lungs. Those sounds are called non-pulmonic sounds. They include ejectives, implosives and clicks.

2.3 Segments, divergences, and phonetic transcription (Q7 ~ Q1O)

Q7. Please give examples to illustrate that languages have distinguishable segments. What is the reason for language divergence?

For example, in the production of the word what, although the spelling suggests four sounds, there are in fact three. When the word is said slowly, we recognize the three sound segments that are comparable to the “w”, “a” and …t” of the spelling. We find that there is a divergence between sound and symbol. The reason is that some of the sounds especially the vowels have undergone

changes in the history of English. Additionally, many English words have been borrowed from other languages throughout history and the irregularity of its spelling is made worse because of such borrowing.

Q8. Why do we need phonetic transcription? Which phonetic transcription is most popular?

The divergence between spelling and pronunciation become greater when we consider the many accents of English used by people from different regions. In addition, there are still many languages in the world that do not have a writing system of their own and we need to rely on a set of symbols to record the sounds they make too. Therefore, it is necessary to devise sets of symbols that can be used for transcribing sounds in language. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the most popular one. It is a compromise system making use of symbols of all sources, including diacritics indicating length, stress and intonation, indicating phonetic variation. Ever since it was developed in 1888, IPA has undergone a number of revisions.

Q9.What is Received Pronunciation? How is it established?

In many cases the pronunciation of English depends on individual speaker?s accent and personal preference. However, one form of English pronunciation is the most common model accent in the teaching of English as a foreign language. It is called Received Pronunciation. It originates historically in the southeast of England and is spoken by the upper-middle and upper classes throughout England.

Q10. What are broad transcription and narrow transcription? How are they manifested in IPA?

Broad transcription--one letter symbol for one sound. For instance, the symbol [l] is used for the [1] in words like leaf [li:f], feel [fi:l], children['t?ildr?n] and health[hel?].

Narrow transcription--diacritics are added to the one-letter symbols to show the finer differences between sounds. For example, the sound [1] in the above mentioned words differ slightly. The [1] in leaf[li:f]occurring before a vowel is called a clear [1] and the [1] in feel [fi:l]occurring at the end of a word or before another consonant is called dark [1] and in narrow transcription the diacritic [~] is used to indicate it is a dark [1]. Then in the sound combination [hel?] the sound is called a dental [l] because it is followed by dental [?].

2.4 Consonants (Q11~Q20)

Q11. How is the description of consonants different from that of vowels?

Consonants are produced by constricting or obstructing the vocal tract at some place to divert, impede, or completely shut off the flow of air in the oral cavity. By contrast, a vowel is produced without such obstruction so no turbulence or a total stopping of the air can be perceived.

Q12. In which two ways may consonants be classified?

The categories of consonant are established on two important factors which are named as manners of articulation and places of articulation.

Q13. What do manners of articulation concern?

Manners of articulation refer to the actual relationship between the articulators and thus the way in which the air passes through certain parts of the vocal tract.

Q14. According to the parts of the vocal tract which take part in the pronunciation, what are manners of articulation categorized into?

They are stop or plosive, fricative, (median) approximant and lateral (approximant). Other consonantal articulations include trill(roll), tap or flap and affricate.

Q15. Describe the characteristics of stop.

A stop is a complete closure of the articulators so that the airstream cannot escape through the mouth. If the air is stopped in the oral cavity but the soft palate is down so that it can go out through the nasal cavity, the sound pronounced is a nasal stop. Otherwise it is an oral stop.

Q16. Describe the characteristics of fricative.

A fricative is a close approximation of two articulators so that the airstream is partially obstructed and turbulent airflow is produced.

Q17. Describe the characteristics of (median) approximant.

Approximant is an articulation in which one articulator is close to another, but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.

Q18. Describe the characteristics of lateral (approximant).

Lateral (approximant) is an obstruction of the airstream at a point along the centre of the oral tract, with incomplete closure between one or both sides of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Q19. What do places of articulation concern?

Places of articulation concern the factor of where in the vocal tract there is approximation, narrowing, or the obstruction of air.

Q20. How can places of articulation be sub-classified according to IPA? Please describe their characteristics.

They are bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, postalveolar, retroflex, palatal, velar, uvular, pharyngeal and glottal. Bilabial is made with the two lips. Labiodental is made with the lower lip and the upper front teeth. Dental is made by the tongue tip or blade and the upper front teeth. Alveolar is made with the tongue tip or blade and the alveolar ridge. Postalveolar is made with the tongue tip and the back of the alveolar ridge. Retroflex is made with the tongue tip or blade curled back so that the underside of the tongue tip or blade forms a stricture with the back of the alveolar ridge or the hard palate. Palatal is made with the front of the tongue and the hard palate. Velar is made with the back of the tongue and the soft palate. Uvular is made with the back of the tongue and the uvula, the short projection of soft tissue and muscle at the posterior end of the velum. Pharyngeal is made with the root of the tongue and the walls of the pharynx. Glottal is made with the two pieces of vocal folds pushed towards each other.

2.5 Vowels (Q21~ Q23)

Q21. How do phoneticians classify vowels?

The description of vowels includes four aspects: the height of tongue raising (high, mid, low); the position of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back); the length or tenseness of the vowel (tense vs. lax or long vs. short) and lip-rounding (rounded vs.unrounded).

Q22. What are vowel glides about? What differentiates pure or monophthong vowels from vowel glides?

When pure or mnonophthongs are pronounced, the quality remains constant throughout the articulation. In contrast, those where there is an audible change of quality are called vowel glides. If a single movement of the tongue is involved, the glides are called diphthongs. A double movement produces triphthongs.

Q23. Summarize the characteristics of English monophthong vowels and consonants according to the categories mentioned above.

[i:] front high unrounded long

[i] front mid-high unrounded short

[e] front mid-high unrounded short

[?] front low unrounded short

[u] back high rounded short

[u:] back high rounded long

[o]? back low rounded short

[o:]? back mid-low rounded long

[Λ] back mid-low unrounded short

[a:] back low unrounded long

[?] central mid-low unrounded short

[?:] central mid-high unrounded long

[p] voiceless bilabial stop

[b] voiced bilabial stop

[t] voiceless alveolar stop

[d] voiced alveolar stop

[k] voiceless velar stop

[g] voiced velar stop

Im] bilabial nasal

[n] alveolar nasal

[η] velar nasal

[t[] voiceless postalveolar affricate

[d3] voiced postalveolar affricate

[1] alveolar lateral

[f] voiceless labiodental fricative

Iv] voiced labiodental fricative

[θ] voiceless dental fricative

[e] voiced dental fricative

[s] voiceless alveolar fricative

[z] voiced alveolar fricative

[r] voiced alveolar trill

[[] voiceless post-alveolar fricative

[3] voiced post-alveolar fricative

[h] glottal fricative

[w] bilabial approximant

[j] palatal approximant

2.6 Coarticulation (Q24)

Q24. What kind of linguistic phenomenon is coarticulation? Can this phenomenon be sub-divided?

Coarticulation refers to the phenomenon of sounds continually show the influence of their neighbours. For example, as in lamb, when a is followed by m, the velum will begin to lower itself during the articulation of a so that it is ready for the following nasal. When such simultaneous or overlapping articulations are involved, we call the process coarticulation. If the sound becomes more like the following sound, it is known as anticipatory coarticulation. If the sound displays the influence of the preceding sound, it is perseverative coarticulation.

2.7 Phonological analysis (Q25 ~ Q27)

Q25. To what extent is phonology related to phonetics and how do they differ?

Phonology is concerned with the linguistic patterning of sounds in human languages, with its primary aim being to discover the principles that govern the way sounds are organized in languages, and to explain the variations that occur. Phonetics is the study of all possible speech sounds while phonology studies the way in which speakers of a language systematically use a selection of these sounds in order to express meaning.

Q26. What do minimal pairs refer? Use an example to illustrate this linguistic phenomenon.

Certain sounds cause changes in the meaning of a word, whereas other sounds do not. For instance, the word big can be described in a phonetic transcription [big]. If [g] is replaced by [t], there is another word: bit. [g] and [t] are called minimal pairs. Therefore, when sound substitutions cause differences of meaning, these sounds are minimal pairs.

Q27. What is free variation?

If two sounds occurring in the same environment do not contrast; namely, if the substitution of one for the other does not generate a new word form but merely a different pronunciation of the same word, the two sounds then are said to be in free variation. The plosives, for example, may not be exploded when they occur before another plosive or a nasal. The minute distinctions may, if necessary, be transcribed in diacritics. These unexploded plosives are in free variation. Sounds in free variation should be assigned to the same phoneme.

2.8 Phonemes and allophones (Q28 ~ Q31)

Q28. Please use examples to explain the definitions of phones, phonemes and allophones.

(1) A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phones. When we hear the following words pronounced: [pit], [tip], [spit], etc., the similar phones we have heard are [p] for one thing, and three different [p]?s, readily making possible the narrow transcription or diacritics. Phones may and may not distinguish meaning. A phoneme is a phonological unit; it is a unit that is of distinctive value. As an abstract unit, a phoneme is not any particular sound, but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context. For example, the phoneme [p] is represented differently in [pit], [tip] and [spit].

(2) The phones representing a phoneme are called its allophones, i.e., the different members of a phoneme, sounds which are phonetically different but do not make one word so phonetically different as to create a new word or a new meaning thereof. So the different [p]?s in the above words are allophones of the same phoneme [p]. How a phoneme is represented by a phone, or which allophone is to be used, is determined by the phonetic context in which it occurs. But the choice of an allophone is not random. In most cases it is role-governed; these roles are to be found out by a phonologist.

Q29. What kind of phenomenon is complementary distribution?

When two sounds never occur in the same environment, they are in complementary distribution. For example, the aspirated English stops never occur after [s], and the unaspirated ones never occur initially. Sounds in complementary distribution may be assigned to the same phoneme. The allophones of [1], for instance, are also in complementary distribution. The clear [1] occur only before a vowel, the voiceless equivalent [1] occur only after a voiceless consonant. Q30. Are all the phones in complementary distribution allophones of the same phoneme?

No. They must be phonetically similar and in complementary distribution. Phonetic similarity means that the allophones of a phoneme must bear some phonetic resemblance.

Q31. The word either can be pronounced as ['aie?] or ['i:e?]. Are they allophones? Why?

No. They are free variants of the same phoneme. The difference may be caused by dialect, habit, or individual preference; instead of by any distribution rule. They may also be caused by regional differences.

2.9 Phonological process (Q32 ~ Q34)

Q32. What is assimilation? Is it similar to coarticulation? What dose it include?

Assimilation is a process by which one sound takes on some or all the characteristics of a neighbouring sound. It is often used synonymously with coarticulation. Nasalization, dentalization and velarization are all instances of assimilation. There are two possibilities of assimilation: if the following sound is influencing a preceding sound, it is regressive assimilation; the converse process, in which a preceding sound is influencing a following sound, is known as progressive assimilation.

Q33. There are three variants of the plural form in English. Which one is underlying form or underlying representation and which one is surface form or surface representation?

For the plural form in English, /s/ appears after voiceless sounds; /z/ appears after voiced sounds; the /iz/ appears after sibilants. /z/ occurs in the most cases and it is the basic form and the other two forms are derived from it. The basic form is known as underlying form or underlying representation. The derived form is the surface form or surface representation.

Q34. What are the definitions of, with examples, the sequential rule, the assimilation rule, and the deletion rule?

Sequential rule is the rule governing the combination of sounds in a particular language. For example, if an English speaker is asked to arrange the sounds p, r, h, o, he will not produce the combinations like rohp, because “h” is not to be followed immediately by “p”. His knowledge of sequential rule will get him a combination like this: roph or horp.

Assimilation rule is the rule assimilating one sound similar to the following one by copying one of its phonetic features. One good example will be nasalization. Take “trei” for illustration. When a sound “n” is added to it, thus resulting [trein], then the vowel [ei] will be nasalized.

Deletion rule is the rule governing the deletion of a sound in a certain phonetic context although it is represented in spelling. Generally this rule results from natural situation. For example, for an English speaker, it would be impossible to pronounce every single letter sound in “sign” as in one word. Therefore “g” is silent.

2.10 Distinctive features (Q35)

Q35. What are distinctive features? And what are binary features?

Distinctive features refer to the features that can distinguish one phoneme from another. If we can group the phonemes into two categories: one with this feature and the other without, this feature is called binary feature.

2.11 Syllable (Q36~Q39)

Q36. Analyze the structure of a syllable.

A syllable must have a nucleus or peak, which is often the task of a vowel. Sometimes, it is also possible for a consonant to play the part of a nucleus. A syllable can be divided into two parts: the rhyme and the onset. The consonants after the nucleus are termed coda.

Q37. What is the difference between open syllable and closed syllable?

All syllables must have a nucleus but not all syllables contain an onset and a coda. A syllable that has no coda is called an open syllable while a syllable with coda is known as closed syllable.

Q38. What is the maximal onset principle about?

The maximal onset principle states that when there is a choice as to where to place a consonant, it is put into the onset rather than the coda.

Q39. Why are certain consonant combinations not allowed?

The sonority scale works in the combination of consonant. The degree of sonority of different classes of sound affects their possible positions in the syllable. Vowels are the most sonorous ones and approximants, nasals and fricatives follow vowels. Stops are the least sonorous ones.

2.12 Stress (Q40 ~ Q41)

Q40. What are suprasegmental features? How do the major suprasegmental features of English function in conveying meaning?

Suprasegmental features are phonological features above the sound segment level. The major suprasegmental features in English-word stress, sentence stress, and intonation.

Q41. What is stress in a word? For words of more than one syllable, how are they pronounced?

Stress refers to the degree of force used in producing a syllable. For words of more than one syllable, one is more stressed than the other. The more stressed syllable is the primary stress while the less stressed syllable is known as the secondary stress.

Exercises

I. Fill in the blanks.

1._______ phonetics studies the movement of the vocal organs of producing the sounds of speech.

2.Speech takes place when the organs of speech move to produce patterns of sound. These movements have an effect on the _______ coming from the lungs.

3.Consonant sounds can be either _______ or _______, while all vowel sounds are _______.

4.Consonant sounds can also be made when two organs of speech in the mouth are brought close together so that the air is pushed out between them, causing _______.

5.The qualities of vowels depend upon the position of the _______ and the lips.

6.One element in the description of vowels is the part of the tongue which is at the highest point in the mouth. A second element is the _______to which that part of the tongue is raised.

7.Consonants differ from vowels in that the latter are produced with _______.

8.In phonological analysis the words fail-veil are distinguishable simply because of the two phonemes/f/-/v/. This is an example for illustrating _______.

9.In English there are a number of _______, which are produced by moving from one vowel position to another through intervening positions.

10._______refers to the phenomenon of sounds that continually show the influence of their neighbours.

11._______is the smallest linguistic unit.

12.According to _______, when there is a choice as to where to place a consonant, it is put into the onset rather than the coda.

II. Choose the best answer.

13.Pitch variation is known as _______ when its patterns are imposed on sentences.

A. intonation

B. tone

C. pronunciation

D. voice

14.Conventionally a _______ is put in slashes.

A. allophone

B. phone

C. phoneme

D. morpheme

15.An aspirated p, an unaspirated p and an unreleased p are _______ of the p phoneme.

A.analogues

B.tagmemes

C.morphemes

D.allophones

16.The opening between the vocal cords is sometines referred to as _______.

A. gottis

B. vocal cavity

C. pharynx

D. uvula

17.The diphthongs that are made with a movement of the tongue towards the center are known as

_______ diphthongs.

A. wide

B. closing

C. narrow

D.centering

18.A phoneme is a group of similar sounds called _______.

A. minimal pairs

B. allomorphs

C. phones

D. allophones

19.Which branch of phonetics concerns the production of speech sounds?

A. Acoustic phonetics.

B. Articulatory phonetics

C. Auditory phonetics.

D. None of them.

20.Which one is different from the others according to manners of articulation?

A. [z]

B. [w]

C. [0]

D. [v]

21. Which one is different from the others according to places of articulation?

A. [n]

B. [m]

C. [b]

D. [p ]

22. Which vowel is different from the others according to the characteristics of vowels?

A.[i:]

B. [u]

C.[e]

D. [i]

23. What kind of sounds can we make when the vocal cords are vibrating?

A. V oiceless

B. V oiced

C. Glottal stop

D. Consonant

24. Which consonant represents the following description: voiceless labiodental fricative?

A. [f]

B. [0]

C. [z]

D. [s]

III. Decide whether the following statements are true[T] or false[F].

__ 25.Of the three phonetics branches, the longest established one, and until recently the most highly developed, is acoustic phonetics.

__ 26.The sound [p] in th e word “spit” is an unaspirated stop.

__ 27.Supersegmental phonology refers to the study of phonological properties of units larger than the segment-phoneme, such as syllable, word and sentence.

__ 28.The airstream provided by the lungs has to undergo a number of modification to acquire the quality of a speech sound.

__ 29.Two sounds are in free variation when they occur in the same environment and do not contrast, namely, the substitution of one for the other does not produce a different word, but merely a different pronunciation.

__ 30.[p] is voiced bilabial stop.

__ 31.Acoustic phonetics is concerned with the perception of speech sounds.

__ 32.All syllables must have a nucleus but not all syllables contain an onset and a coda.

__ 33.When pure or monophthongs are pronounced, no vowel glides take place.

__ 34.According to the length or tenseness of the pronunciation, vowels can be divided into tense vs. lax or long vs. short.

__ 35.Received Pronunciation is the pronunciation accepted by most people.

__ 36.The maximal onset principle states that when there is a choice as to where to place a consonant, it is put into the coda rather than the onset.

IV. Explain the following terms.

37. Minimal pair 38. Sound assimilation

39. Suprasegmental feature 40. Free variation

41. Rounded vowel 42. Pitch

43. V owel glides 44. Anticipatory coarticulation

45. Allophones 46. Complementary distribution

47. Distinctive features 48. Sonority scale

V. Answer the following questions.

49. What is meant by phonetic transcription? What is it in contrast with?

50. In which two ways may consonants be classified?

Keys

I.Fill in the blanks.

1. Articulatory

2. airstream

3. voiced; voiceless; voiced

4. friction

5. tongue

6.height

7. obstruction 8. minimal pairs

9. diphthongs 10. Coarticulation

11. Phonemes 12. the maximal onset principle

II.Choose the best answer.

13. A 14. C 15. D 16. A 17. A 18. D

19. B 20. B 21. A 22. B 23. B 24. A

III.Decide whether the following statements are true[T] or false[F].

25. [F] It should be articulatory phonetics.

26. [T] 27. [T] 28. [T] 29. [T]

30. [F] It is a voiceless bilabial stop.

31. [F] Acoustic phonetics is the study of the physical properties of the sounds produced in speech.

32. [T] 33. IT] 34. [T]

35. [F] In many cases the pronunciation of English depends on individual speak er?s accent and

personal preference. However, one form of English pronunciation is the most common model accent in the teaching of English as a foreign language. It is called Received Pronunciation. 36. [F] The maximal onset principle states that when there is a choice as to where to place a

consonant, it is put into the onset rather than the coda.

IV. Explain the following terms.

37. Minimal pair: When two different phonetic forms are identical in every way except in one

sound element that occurs in the same position in the string, the two forms are said to form a

minimal pair.

38. Sound assimilation: Speech sounds seldom occur in isolation. In connected speech, under the

influence of their neighbours, are replaced by other sounds. Sometimes two neighbouring sounds influence each other and are replaced by a third sound which is different from both the original sounds. This process is called sound assimilation.

39. Suprasegmental feature: The phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments

are called suprasegmental features; these are the phonological properties of such units as the syllable, the word, and the sentence. The main suprasegmental ones includes stress, intonation, and tone.

40. Free variation: If two sounds occurring in the same environment do not contrast; namely, if

the substitution of one for the other does not generate a new word form but merely a different pronunciation of the same word, the two sounds then are said to be in free variation.

41. Rounded vowel: One of the criteria used in the classification of vowels is the shape of the lips.

If a vowel is pronounced with the lips rounded, then the vowel in question is a rounded vowel.

42. Pitch: Pitch is a suprasegmental feature, whose domain of application is the syllable. Different

rates of vibration produce what is known as different frequencies, and in auditory terms as different pitches. Pitch variations may be distinctive like phoneme, that is, when they may contribute to distinguish between different words. In this function, pitch variations are called tones.

43. Vowel glides: When pure or monophthongs are pronounced, the quality remains constant

throughout the articulation. In contrast, those where there is an audible change of quality are called vowel glides.

44. Anticipatory coarticulation: Coarticulation refers to the phenomenon of sounds continually

show the influence of their neighbours. If the sound becomes more like the following sound, it is known as anticipatory coarticulation.

45. Allophones: Phonemes are units of explicit sound contrast. For example, [ ph, p = ] are two

different phones and are variants of the phoneme/p/. Such variants of a phoneme are called allophones of the same phoneme.

46. Complementary distribution: The different allophones of the same phoneme never occur in

the same phonetic context. When two or more allophones of one phoneme never occur in the same linguistic environment they are said to be in complementary distribution.

47. Distinctive features: It refers to the features that can distinguish one phoneme from another. If

we can group the phonemes into two categories: one with this feature and the other without, this feature is called binary feature.

48. Sonority scale: The sonority scale works in the combination of consonant. The degree of

sonority of different classes of sound affects their possible positions in the syllable. V owels are the most sonorous ones and approximants, nasals and fricatives follow vowels. Stops are the least sonorous ones.

V. Answer the following questions.

49. Phonetic transcription is a method of writing down speech sounds in a systematic and

consistent way. In phonetic studies, it serves as an aid to the description of speech sounds.

Phoneticians usually enclose speech sounds in square brackets. It is in contrast with phonemic transcription.

50. The categories of consonant are established on two important factors, which are named as

manners of articulation and places of articulation. Manners of articulation refer to the actual relationship between the articulators and thus the way in which the air passes through certain parts of the vocal tract. Places of articulation concern the factor of where in the vocal tract there is approximation, narrowing, or the obstruction of air.