Ling 240: Language and Mind

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Ling 240 Language and Mind

• Phonetics

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Phonetics

• The study of physical properties of sound
• Sounds may not be represented systematically by
  spelling.
• Examples?

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Why not just spell?

• Sounds may not be represented systematically by
  spelling because...
• Same spelling for different sounds
• Combination of letters representing one sound,
• Some letters are silent

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Phonetic Alphabet

• One symbol represents one sound
• Each speech sound has a distinct symbol
• Cross-linguistically applicable

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• IPA

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(No Transcript)
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IPA symbols for Transcription
k car gguard f foot v van
h hat mmull n null ? ring

• p pat
• b bat
• t tap
• ddam

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IPA symbols for transcription

• s sap
• z zip
• ? think
• ð this

? shine ? vision ? touch ? judge
? ring l leaf j yes w with
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IPA symbols for transcription
u boot ?put ? open
æash ? father ?about ? but

• isheep
• ?ship
• ? end

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Diphthongs (Complex Vowels)

• Complex because they are two-part vowels
• But count as a single sound because two vowels
  are articulated together. Examples
• ?? bite
• ?? boy
• e? bait

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IPA symbols for transcription
PRACTICE! (Remember brackets!)

• next chin lamb
• kite cat meet

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IPA symbols for transcription
PRACTICE!

• next n?kst chin ??n lamb læm
• kite k??t cat kæt meet mit

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The Vocal Tract
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Consonants vs. Vowels

• consonantal sounds obstruction of airflow in
  vocal tract
• vowel sounds little to no obstruction of airflow

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Features of Consonants

• Voicing (state of the glottis)
• Place of articulation
• Manner of articulation
• Site for listening to the sounds of American
  English
• http//www.uiowa.edu/acadtech/phonetics/english/
  frameset.html

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Voicing
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Voicing
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Place of Articulation

• Articulator Organ a speaker employs to produce
  and distinguish certain speech sound (e.g. lips
  are active articulators and hard plate is a
  passive articulator)
• Place of articulation Identifies the location of
  articulators

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Place of Articulation

• Bilabial p b m w
• Labiodental f v
• Interdental ? ð
• Alveolar t d n s z l ?
• Palatal ? ? ? ? j
• Velar k g ?

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Manners of articulation

• Stops p b t d k g
• Fricatives f v ? ð s z ? ?
• Affricates ? ?
• Liquids l ?
• Glides w j

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Consonant Chart for English
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Phonetic features of consonants

• To describe phonetic features of consonants, list
  (a) voicing (b) place of articulation and (c)
  manner of articulation for consonants (3
  features)
• e.g. p Voiceless bilabial stop
• z Voiced alveolar fricative

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Features of vowels

• All vowels in English are voiced and involve a
  continuous flow of air through the oral cavity.
  English vowels can be categorized by 4
  distinctive features
• (1) Height of the tongue
• (2) Frontness/backness of the tongue
• (3) Tenseness/laxness i.e. whether the tongue
  muscle is tense or lax
• (4) Round/unrounded i.e. whether the lips are
  rounded or not

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Every vowel is a combination of 4 features.

• i as in meet is high front tense unrounded
  vowel
• æ as in pat is low front lax unrounded
• ? as in pot is low back lax unrounded

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Vowels of English
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What knowledge do we have about the sounds of our
native language?

• We know which sounds are distinctive
• e.g. l and r are perceived as different
  sounds in English but not in Japanese
• We know which sounds can (and cant combine)
• e.g. Are these possible English words?
• mbeem, tsub, coofb

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What do we know about sound in (and not in) our
language?

• Recognize foreign accents
• How does a French speaker pronounce the word
  this?
• How does a German speaker pronounce the word
  think?
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v64vBaFOfawI