Phonetics. Block 1

1. BLOCK 1 PHONETICS

1. Phonetics and Phonology (review).
2. Syllabic Structure of Words.
3. Word Stress.
4. Prosodic Features.
5. English Varieties and Dialects.

2.

Speech sounds as was described before can be analyzed from
different aspects: regarded as physical phenomena with their
physical characteristics; as produced by the vibration of the
vocal cords; as perceived by human ear (nonperiodical vibration
creates noises, periodical sound waves give the auditory
impression of a musical (speech) tones).
The pronunciation of the same element in English can be varied
dependent of the environment it is found in. For example in
such positions as “try”, “take”, “bat”, “at the” t1, t2, t3, t4 are all
different from the acoustic and articulatory point of view. At the
same, though in actual speech we utter a great variety of
sounds, these sounds may be united into comparatively small
number of sound types which are capable to distinguish the
meaning and the form of words (functional approach).

3.

Aspects of a phoneme: a phoneme is a unity of three
aspects: 1) material, real and objective; 2) abstract
and generalized; 3) functional.
The phoneme – a minimal abstracted linguistic unit
realized through allophones in speech in the form of
speech sounds distinguishing the meaning of
morphemes and words.
Allophones
– variants or members of one and the
same phoneme, which never occur in identical
positions, but are said to be in complementary
distribution.

4.

Each phoneme manifests itself in a certain pattern of
distribution (distribution – the total sum of
environments in which a segment can or can’t occur).
1. Contrastive
Allophones of different phonemes occur in identical
positions and differentiate the meaning of morphemes
and words.
e.g. [bæd] / [bed], [pɪl] / [tɪl] / [bɪl]

5.

2. Non-contrastive
Complementary
Allophones of one and the same phoneme are found in
mutually exclusive positions.
e.g. [t]:
get me ([t] acquires nasal plosion);
little ([t] acquires lateral plosion);
get the ([t] becomes dental);
try ([t] becomes post-alveolar).
Free variation
Allophones of one and the same phoneme are found in
one and the same position but are realized differently
without any change in meaning. e.g. did you [d] + [j] =
[d] or [d] + [j] = [ʤ]

6.

PHONEME
LANGUAGE
(abstract notion,
only distinctive features)
ALLOPHONE
NORM
(environment,
rules of assimilation and accommodation,
distinctive and non-distinctive features)
SPEECH SOUND
SPEECH
(individual variants of pronunciation,
non-regulated changes)

7.

PHONEME
LANGUAGE
(mistake in distinctive features changes the meaning)
ALLOPHONE
NORM
(“correct” pronunciation)
SPEECH SOUND
SPEECH
(in real life we face more varieties then featured in
guidebooks)

8.

PHONEME
LANGUAGE
(identify mistakes and slips in pronunciation)
ALLOPHONE
NORM
(give distinctive and non-distinctive features of the
vowel / consonant;
comment on the realization in the particular word)
SPEECH SOUND
SPEECH
(describing character’s speech in the authentic text)

9. Distinctive features of English vowels

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH VOWELS
Tongue advancement (the horizontal movement)
Tongue height (the vertical movement)
The stability of articulation
Non-distinctive features of English vowels
The length
The degree of tenseness
The position of the lips
The character of the end
In certain positions distinctive features do not serve as such, they are
neutralized, they cease to be relevant.
[hed] vs [hæd] – tongue advancement is irrelevant in this opposition

10. Distinctive features of English consonants

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH CONSONANTS
The active organ of speech
The strength
The type of obstruction (and manner of the production of noise)
The position of the soft palate
Non-distinctive features of English consonants
The place of obstruction
The work of the vocal cords

11.

Characterize the following vowels and consonants from the point of view of
their distinctive and non-distinctive features (differentiate the phoneme and
allophone characteristics):
[æ] [i:] [d] [m]
Comment on the allophones of the phonemes:
— [k]:
thick, cat, cask, a black cap;
— [l]: dull, light, lure;
— [p]: park, play, ape, a cold pie.
What is the purpose of the following phonetic variations?
- Then the Australian guy, Dan, who lives below me, opened his window.
“Oy, Bridgid,” he shouted. “There’s water pouring through me ceiling.”
Then Dan appeared in the hall. “Chrisd,” he said. “You’d biddah have
one of these.” (H. Fielding)
- “Just going to the ladies,” I said through clenched teeth like a
ventriloquist keeping my face fixed, to reduce the appearance of
wrinkles.
“Are you all right, Bridge?” said June.
“Fn,” I replied stiffly. (H. Fielding)

12. SYLLABLE FORMATION & DIVISION IN ENGLISH

SYLLABLE FORMATION &
DIVISION
IN ENGLISH

13.

The smallest unit of speech is not a speech sound but a syllable
(though sometimes a syllable may consist of one sound only,
e.g. air, ear…).
A syllable is the smallest structural unit of speech.
One of the most difficult and controversial problems in phonetics
is the problem of the syllabic structure of English.
It is approached from 3 points of view:
1) Acoustic (the sonority theory by Jesperson, the “loudness”
theory by Zhinkin).
2) Articulatory (the expiratory theory by Sweet, the muscular
tension theory by Shcherba).
3) Functional (the syllable division theory by F. de Saussure
and others).

14. Acoustic theories: Otto Jesperson’s theory of sonority

ACOUSTIC THEORIES: OTTO JESPERSON’S THEORY OF SONORITY
All speech sounds have their own sonority, i.e. the relative prevalence of the
musical tone over noise. The inherent sonority is not distributed
proportionally. Sounds of higher degree of sonority are surrounded by sounds
of weaker sonority – “the peaks” of sonority are preceded / followed by “the
valleys” of it.
There are as many syllables in the word as there are peaks of sonority.
Speech sounds are divided into 9 classes according to their sonority:
1) open vowels
2) mid-open vowels
3) close vowels
4) semi-vowels (w, j)
5) sonorants
6) voiced fricatives
7) voiced plosives
8) voiceless fricatives
9) voiceless plosives

15. Articulatory theories: Shcherba’s tension theory

ARTICULATORY THEORIES: SHCHERBA’S TENSION THEORY
A syllable is an “arc of tension”. A word contains as many syllables as there
are arcs of tension. A syllable is a sound segment pronounced with one
articulatory effort which forms an arc.
The beginning of the syllable is a sound or a group of them pronounced on the
increase of articulation. Then comes the syllabic sound which forms the
nucleus (the climax) of the syllable. Finally there is a decrease of muscular
tension.
The weakest articulation marks the boundary between two syllables.
Shcherba’s theory is relevant for whisper – there is zero loudness but there are
changes in the articulatory effort.

16. Functional aspect: F. de Saussure’s theory of syllable division

FUNCTIONAL ASPECT:
F. DE SAUSSURE’S THEORY OF SYLLABLE DIVISION
Speech sounds may be pronounced when the organs of speech
come into contact (>) or move away from each other (<). The
syllable division takes place where the organs of speech pass
from one state to the other.
[ˈfɑː.ðə]
>> <>
The first stage is called implosion, the second – explosion. At the
juncture of implosion and explosion there is a syllable boundary. A
segment between two syllable boundaries is a syllable.

17. Functional aspect:

FUNCTIONAL ASPECT:
D. Jones – principle of maximal Onset
(the beginning of the syllable is characterized by the majority of
consonants).
win-dow
J. Wells - principle of maximal Stress
(the majority of consonants belong to the stressed syllable)
wind-ow

18. WORD STRESS

19. Word Stress

WORD STRESS
It is greater prominence given to a syllable in
comparison with other syllables in the word.
This prominence is achieved by:
A greater force of articulation
A change in the pitch of the voice
The quality of sounds
The quantity of sounds

20. Word Stress

WORD STRESS
It is greater prominence given to a syllable in comparison with other
syllables in the word.
In different languages different factors are more significant than others:
- Dynamic stress (is achieved through greater force of articulation)
- Tonic stress ( is achieved through the change of pitch)
- Qualitative (is achieved through the quality of a vowel under stress)
- Quantitative (is achieved through the changes in the length of a vowel)
Stress can be fixed and free. Russian and English are languages of free word
stress.

21. Word Stress

WORD STRESS
There are certain factors which determine the position and different degree of
word stress:
Recessive tendency (placing the word stress on the initial syllable (words of
Germanic stock, e.g. father, mother) or the root syllable (become, begin).
Rhythmic tendency (altering of stressed and unstressed syllables in time,
e.g. pronunciation, university).
Retentive tendency (retention of the primary stress on the parent word but
more often it is retained as a secondary stress, e.g. similar – similarity).
Semantic factor (the primary stress is given to the most important root in the
word, e.g. farmhouse, grandfather).

22.

Comment on the position of word stress in the
following words:
brother
daughter
psychology
begin
satisfactory
friend — friendly
chauffeur
umbrella
organize — organization
darkroom — dark room

23. PROSODIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH SPEECH

24.

The main suprasegmental features are sentence
stress, rhythm, tempo, pauses, speech melody
and timbre.
All together they are components of a complex unity
which can be referred to as intonation or
prosody.
The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably
(as synonyms) but when distinguished
intonation describes actual patterns used in
speech to convey certain meaning. For example,
a combination of a Low Level Scale with no
pauses, rather low in loudness and with a Low
Fall at the end reflects la reserved attitude with
some negative emotional colouring.

25.

The term “prosody” is more commonly used when
speaking about the abstract system of
suprasegmental characteristics and their
potential functions (without specific context).
Thus, the phrase “prosodic features” is used
when it is necessary to just give a list of
characteristics and “intonational patterns” –
when the meaning in context is analyzed (often
even accompanied by extralinguistic features,
such as body language, mimics etc.).

26.

The intonation group consists of the following parts:
• the pre-head
• the head
• the scale
• the nucleus
• the tail
The nucleus is the most important part of the intonation group.
The parts of the intonation patterns can be combined in various
ways.

27.

The parts of the intonation patterns can be combined in various ways to
express different meanings.
The number of possible combinations is more than 100 but not all of
them are equally important.

28.

PITCH
is an essential element of the sound system of English.
In terms of pitch parameters the direction of pitch, pitch levels and pitch
ranges are distinguished.
Not all stressed syllables are of equal importance. The nucleus is the main
focus of an intonation pattern. It is a strongly-stressed syllable of an
intonation pattern, characterized by a change in pitch direction (the pitch
goes up or down). While falling tones suggest certainty, completeness,
independence, a rising one expresses uncertainty, incompleteness,
dependence. Static tones are not moveable and convey a reserved
attitude.

29.

SENTENCE STRESS
is a greater prominence given to one or more words in a sense-group in
comparison with other words.
Sentence stress should not be confused with word stress, although
sometimes they may coincide (when speaking about terminal tones
which have word stress by themselves but also carry sentence stress in
a higher structural unit).
Sentence stress is distributed according to the situation and the verbal
context.
If the nucleus of the communicative centre is shifted from the last
notional word to some other – such sentence stress is called logical.
Sentence stress can be emphatic and unemphatic.
Emphatic stress implies the increase of the effort of expression.

30.

PAUSES
A pause is a moment of silence in the flow of speech; it is a complete
stop in phonation.
The term which is closely connected and is often used when researching
pauses is continuity (the incidence of pauses in the stream of speech –
where they come, how frequent they are, and how long they are).
In ordinary conversations nobody's speech is fluent. The more thought
there is behind what one is saying, the less fluent will be the speech.
Single syllables may be shortened or lengthened (clipped or drawled
respectively); stretches of one utterance may be faster or slower than
normal (allegro, lento), and the change may take place suddenly or
gradually (accelerando, rallentando speech).

31.

Based on their length (the amount of time the speaker is silent) short
stops (pauses) can be distinguished to separate intonation groups;
longer pauses which separate utterances, phrases; long pauses which
separate large fragments of speech, such as paragraphs (primary,
double, treble pauses).
There may be silent pauses and filled ones, which are filled by
interjections, coughing, prolonging sounds, etc.
Functionally we can distinguish syntactical, emphatic and hesitation
pauses. Syntactic pauses are used to separate syntactic units.
Emphatic pauses help emphasize the idea of the utterance. Hesitation
pauses are mainly used in spontaneous speech to think over what you
say next.

32.

TEMPO
is the rate of speech with which syllables are pronounced (although in
more detailed analysis it becomes clear that the term “tempo” implies
both the rate of the utterance and pausation).
The rate of speech can be roughly divided into slow, normal, fast (the
speed is measured by rate of syllable-succession). It is a feature which
in most cases is varied by the individual speaker. Some people employ
more variation in tempo than others, but everyone has a norm which is
characteristic of their everyday neutral speech.
It can be noted that everyone who starts leaning a foreign language has
the impression that its native speakers use an extraordinary rapid
tempo.

33.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still
have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of
former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit
down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content
of their character.
I have a dream today!

34.

I have a dream today.
- pronounced with only a syntactical pause at the end, sentence stress
on the last element, “today” is the nucleus, Low Fall is used in the
nucleus and before that Descending Stepping Scale – can reflect a
neutral statement of the fact;
- pronounced with only a syntactical pause at the end, sentence stress
shifted to the last element, but one “dream”, which becomes the new
nucleus, still Low Fall is used in the nucleus and before that Descending
Stepping Scale – can reflect a neutral statement but with a different
rheme;
- pronounced with only a syntactical pause at the end, sentence
stress shifted to the last element, but one “dream”, High Fall is
used in the nucleus - reflects a more emphatic statement of the
fact.
- …………………………………………