PHONETICS

Chapter 2:
THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH
2.1. The Organs of Speech
The speech organs are divided into 2 parts:
Points of articulation
Articulators
Articulators are movable parts.
They include: the lower lip and the tongue.
Points of articulation are fixed points on the roof of the mouth.
They include the upper lip, the upper teeth, the alveolar ridge, the hard palate, the velum or soft palate and the uvula.
Other organs include the lungs, the larynx, the vocal cords, the pharynx, the oral cavity and the nasal cavity.
2.2. The Description of The Speech Organs.
A. The Lungs:
2 sack – like respiratory organs located in the thorax.
Function: they furnish the airstream that is necessary to produce sounds.
B. The Larynx ( voice box ):
A structure composed of cartilage.
Function: it contains the vocal cords and this is where sounds are produced.
C. The Vocal Cords and Glottis:
- The vocal cords are a pair of elastic bands attached to the wall of the larynx just behind the Adam’s apple.
- The glottis are the opening between the vocal cords.
Voiceless sounds:
Ex: p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ(sh), h, tʃ(ch)

The glottal stop:
Ex: h

Voiced sounds:
Ex: b, d, g, m, n, ŋ(ng), v, ð(th), z, ʒ(zh), l, j, w, dʒ
D. The Pharynx:
The cavity located in the throat immediately behind the mouth.
E. The Oral Cavity:
This is where sounds produced in the larynx are resonated
The oral cavity includes the following parts:
1. The alveolar ridge
2. The hard palate
3. The velum or soft palate
4. The uvula
5. The teeth

6. The tongue: is divided into 4 parts:

a. The apex
b. The blade
c. The front
d. The back or dorsum


7. The lips
F. The Nasal cavity
is situated on the top of the oral cavity, and is separated from the oral cavity by the palate.
2.3. The Production of Speech
The production of speech sounds is accomplished through the simultaneous activities that producing a string of speech sounds involves:
(1). The respiratory system
(2). The larynx (or voice box)
(3). The articulatory system (vocal tract)
 The three systems combine to produce speech sounds.
Chapter 3
Phonetics: The Sounds of Language
3.1. Phonetics
Study the sound features of a language.
Study of the articulatory and acoustic properties of sounds.
Ex:
Phonetics:
Articulatory
Acoustic
Auditory
3.1.1. Articulatory phonetics
Concerned with the ways produced the sounds.
Ex: Tongue and lips
3.1.2. Acoustic phonetics
Study of the physical characteristics.
Ex: Fricative /z/ is produced with a voiced source and a simultaneous turbulence noise source.
3.1.3. Auditory phonetics
Concerned with the physical effect of sounds.
Ex: The lips could come together for the sound ‘b’ as in ball
Speaker
Listener
3.2. The Phonetic Alphabets
Introduction
Phonetic alphabets is a system of conventional symbols representing for a particular speech sound appearing in utterances (words)
Example: “æ” in cat, “θ” in thin,…
International phonetic Alphabet (IPA) devised ( established) by International Phonetic Association (IPA) is most accepted world – wide.
Phonetic Transcription Types.
Conventionally, phonetic transcription is
indicated when enclosed (put) in square
brackets (called phonetic brackets)
Narrow phonetic transcription.
It includes:
Broad phonetic transcription.
Narrow phonetic transcription gives more detail when representing a sound such as aspiration, length, etc…
Example:
Pretzel in a narrow transcription would
be [‘pʰɹ̥ʷɛʔt.sɫ̩]
Broad phonetic transcription gives less
detail when representing a sound.
Example:
Pretzel broader transcription would
be [pɹɛt.sl]
3.3 Phonetic Details or Narrow Phonetic Transcription
Aspirated Stop [ h ]
Voiceless stops are called aspirated sounds .
They occur as the first sound in a stressed syllable
e.g. pen: [ phen ]
Stop consonants involve the complete blockage of airflow in the oral tract. An oral stop to be unreleased when it occurs before another stop.
Unreleased Stops [ ¬ ]
e.g: popcorn: [pɔ:p¬kɔ:n].
Flap [ ſ ]
Flap sound is produced when [t, d] in unstressed position between two vowels.
e.g. catty: [kæſl]
Dental Consonant [ ̪ ]
Alveolar consonants are produced as dental variant when occurring before a dental sound

e.g. health: [he ̪ lθ], wealth: [we ̪ lθ]….
Velarized [ ~ ]
The lateral sound [ l ] is velarized when occurring at the end of a syllable or before another consonant.
e.g. tall: [to:ł] , ball: [bo:ł]
Voiceless Liquid and Glides [ο]
When liquid sounds and glides are followed by a voiceless obstruent, they are pronounced as voiceless consonants.
e.g. place: [p0leis]
Nasal Vowels [ ˜ ]
Vowels are nasalized when standing before a nasal consonant.
e.g. thinking: [θĩŋkĩŋ]
Lengthened Vowels[ : ]
Vowels are lengthened when standing before a voiced consonant.
e.g. peas: [phi:z]
Symbols Description Examples

[˜I] Nasalized [s˜iŋ] sing
[ ο ] Voiceless (breathed) [poleis] place
[ w ] [ w ] Labialized (lip rounding) [twwink] twinkle
[ ̪ ] Dentalised [he ̪ lθ] health
[┤] Palatalized [k┤i:] key
[├] Retracted tongue [t├ ri:] tree
[¬ ] Unreleased [pɔ:p¬kɔ:n] popcorn
[ h ] Aspirated [phen] pen
[ n ] Nasal release [bʌtnn] button
[ l ] Lateral release [bʌtll] bottle
[~] Velarized [tɔ:ɫ ] tall
[ ſ ] Flap [kæſti] catty
[:] Lengthened [phi:z] peas
3.4. Phonetic Features


Besides the way to describe sounds according to the air steam mechanism and the functions of the related organs of speech a set of phonetic features allow us to descried sounds with cross-linguistic validity.
For example: instead of using the term alveolar to descried [t] and [d], phonologists have postulate a feature coronal to describe all articulations in which the tongue blade raises to approach or contact the teeth, the alveolar ridge.
The feature conoral is more general than the traditional feature alveolar.
However, with the combination of other features, the place of articulation can be recognized exactly.
For example:

The sound [t] is described as [+coronal, +anterior] but the sound [tʃ] is [+coronal],[-anterior].
For those reasons, it is clear that the manner and place of articulation features are not the optimum set of features for describing sounds in a language.
These phonetic features for are not only descriptive but also contrastive:
Descriptive because they express some details of the production of sounds
Contractive because they permit one sound to be distinguished from another
Features may specify which major sound class a segment is characterized or descried by the combination of all such features.
In most cases, it is assumed that features can be assigned binary values, that is, that we can specify them by indicating whether a given attribute is present.
Rather than having two separate labels, such as voiced and voiceless.
We set up the single label [voiced] and simply indicate voiced as [+ voiced] and voiceless as[- voiced].
In this way oppositions are established, and sets of sounds are are differentiated by the plus or minus value.
3.4.1 The major class features
The major class features are:
1. Syllabic
2. Sonorant
3. Consonantal
1. Syllabic
The sound has feature [+syllabic] when it is the head (or peak) of a syllable.
On another hand, the head of a syllable is nucleus vowel.
Otherwise it is [-syllabic]
 And non-vowel are [-syllabic]
 And nucleus vowels are [+syllabic]

[-syll]: oral stops, affricate, fricative, nasal liquids, glides.
[+syll]: Vowels, syllabic nasals/liquids.
However, sometimes non-vowels constitute a syllable head  they are [+syllabic]
EX: [m, n, l, ŋ]

[n] in [bʌtn] button
2. [l] in [lɪtl] little
3. happen  [hæpən] or [hæpm]
4. broken  [brəʊkən] or [brəʊkŋ]
5. Capitalism  [kæpitəlizm]
2. Sonorant
sonorant: is the sound has feature [+sonorant] is sounds released with a vocal tract not constricted
[+son] Vowels, glides [j ,w], syllabic nasals/liquids [l, r], nasals
b. [-sonorant]: are frequently refer to as obstruents
[-son]: glottal consonants
3. Consonantal
consonantal: are sound with the feature [+consonantal]  they are form with an obstructed vocal tract
Otherwise it is [-consonantal]
[+cons]: oral stops, affricates, fricatives, nasals, liquids [r, l], syllabic nasals/ liquids.
[-cons]: Vowels, glides, glottal consonants.
The major class features
3.4.2 Manner of articulation
1. Continuant
2. Strident
3. Nasal
4. Lateral
Continuant
A sound is [+continuant] if it is made without such a blockage of the oral tract; Otherwise it is [-continuant].
[+cont]: fricatives, glides, vowels, lateral liquids

[-cont]: oral stops affricatives, nasals
Strident
A sound is [+strident] when it is characterized by the high- frequency turbulent noise;
Otherwise it is [-strident]
[+stri]: fricatives (except [θ, ð]), affricates

[-stri]: oral stops, nasals, lateral liquids
Nasal
A sound is [+nasal] when the velum is lowered to allow the nasal cavity;
Otherwise it is [-nasal]
[+nas]: nasals

[-nas]: oral stops, fricatives, glides, vowels, lateral liquids
Lateral
A sound is [+Lateral] if the tip of the tongue is blocking the air stream, but the allowed to pass along one or both sides of the tongue.
Otherwise it is [-lateral]
[+lat]: laterals liquids
[-lat]: All other sounds
Manner of articulation
3.4.3. Oral Articulation
Labial: A labial articulation involves a bringing together or closing of the lips.
The phonemes /p, b, f, v, m/ are all labials.
Anterior: [+ anterior] sounds are made with the primary constriction in front of the alveo-palatal position.
Labials, dentals, alveolar articulations are [ +anterior].
Ex: /p, b, t, d, m, n/
Coronal: The blade of the tongue is raised toward or touches the teeth or the alveolar ridge.
Dentals, alveolar, and alveo-palatals are [ +coronal].
Ex:/t, d, n, l/
High: The body of the tongue is raised toward or touches the roof of the mouth.
Ex: /I, u, i/
Low: Sounds with feature are made with the tongue body lowered.
Ex: /a/
Back:
[+back] sounds are made the tongue body slightly retracted from the rest position.
Ex: /u, o, a/
[ -back] Sounds are made the tongue body in a relatively forward position.
Ex: /i, l…/
Long: The feature [ +long] is associated with a more extreme articulatory gesture.
Ex: /i, u, a…/
3.4.4. Laryngeal Features
Voiced: sounds are [ +voiced] when their articulation is accompanied by a periodic vibration of the vocal cords.
Ex: /b, t, n, v/
Ex: we may say that the specification [+ nas] implies the other feature values within the segment.
[+ nas] => [ + son, - lat, + voi]
The sound [t] may be described as:
[t] = [ - son, + cons, - syl, - cont, - voiced,
- lab, + ant, + cor, - back, - stri, - nas]
=> [ - voiced, - cont, - cor, + ant]
3.5. Redundant Features
3.6 Natural Classes
The feature class is smaller than the number of features required to distinguish any member of that class.
The class of English vowels can be specified by four features:
- consonantal
+ syllabic  
+ voiced
+ sonorant
The class of voiceless stops /p,t,k/ can be specified by 2 features:
- continuant
- voiced
while /t/ is - continuant /p/ is - continuant /k/ is - continuant
- voiced - voiced - voiced
- strident - strident - strident
+ coronal - coronal - coronal
- labial + labial - labial
- back - back + back