Phonetics: Introduction to Speech Sounds - Ling 203, Lecture notes of English

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Phonetics

Ling 203 - Languages of the World

9/03/

What is phonetics?

Definition: The study of speech sounds

Branches:

1. acoustic (the physics of sound)
2. auditory (how the ear processes sound)
3. articulatory (how we produce speech sounds)

Why do we need a phonetic

alphabet?

English: Czech

[k] [ts]

cat co ‘what’ cord Václav (name) cup třicet ‘thirty’

Why do we need a phonetic

alphabet?

In English:

ball tall

sand stop make later patience train

Why do we need a phonetic

alphabet?

In English:

late

< h> hour

< k> knee

Why do we need a phonetic

alphabet?

In English:

Vowel letters:

Vowel sounds: monophthongs: beat, bit, bate, bet, bat, boot, bull, boat, bought, (ro)bot, but, bulemic, *bird

diphthongs: bow, bout, bide, bike, boy

International Phonetic Alphabet

(IPA)

This is only part of the IPA. A full chart will be handed out later.

International Phonetic Alphabet

(IPA)

• IPA is not the only phonetic alphabet used, though it is the most common

Places of Articulation

• refers to which parts of the vocal tract are used to make consonant sounds

Source: Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:13)

Places of Articulation

English uses the following places of articulation:

1. bilabial
2. labiodental
3. interdental
4. alveolar
5. postalveolar
6. palatal
7. velar
8. glottal

Manners of Articulation

English uses the following manners of articulation

1. plosive (= stop)
2. fricative
3. affricate
4. nasal
5. approximant
6. lateral approximant
7. flap

Manners of Articulation

Rather than using the terms “approximant” and “lateral approximant”, you will frequently see the following:

• liquid = [l] and [ɹ]
• glide = [j] and [w]

Voicing

Consonant sounds can be:

1. voiced (vibration)
2. voiceless/unvoiced (no vibration)

The Consonants of English

Notes: The handout I gave you lists [w] as ausing two places of articulation at the same time. In reality, it is labio-velar, so there is no perfect place velar sound. Actually, it is a co-articulated sound, in this case to put it. Also note that I include a glottal plosive [ʔ] that was not on the handout. This is usually called a ‘glottal stop’. When writing about English, people frequently use [r] in place of [ɹ]. Technically, this is not correct ([r] is a different sound in the IPA), but be aware that you will see it.

plosive bilabialp b labiodental^ interdental^ alveolart d post-alveolar^ palatal^ velark g^ glottalʔ affricate fricative (^) f v θ ð s z tʃʃ dʒʒ h flap nasal (^) m nɾ ŋ approximant lateral w ɹ j approximant l