Phonetics

1
Phonetics

• Description and articulation of phones

2
Describing Consonants

• We use three parameters to describe phones
• VOICING
• PLACE OF ARTICULATION
• MANNER OF ARTICULATION
• The IPA chart shows all three parameters for each
  phone

3
VOICING

• The state of the vocal folds (VF) determines
  whether a sound is voiced or voiceless
• When VF are open air can pass through it freely,
  without any vibration
• When VF are drawn close together air passes
  through it with w/ difficulty, creating vibration
• Compare s vs z f vs v k vs g

4
PLACE OF ARTICULATION

• Refers to WHERE in the vocal tract a constriction
  is made (generally with some part of the tongue)

5
Places of articulation (see p. 18 in cp)

• Bilabial p, b, m, w
• Closure of both lips
• Labiodental f, v
• Lower lip touches upper teeth
• Interdental D, T
• Tongue protrudes through teeth
• Alveolar t, d, s, z, n, l,
• Tongue touches alveolar ridge

6
Places of articulation, continued

• Palatal S, Z, tS, dZ, j
• Top of tongue approximates/touches the
  middle/hard palate
• Velar k, g, ?
• Back of tongue touches the soft palate/velum
• Glottal h, /
• Opening or closing of the glottis (the space
  between the vocal folds)

7
MANNER OF ARTICULATION

• Refers to HOW this constriction is made

8
Manners of Articulation

• Stop p, b, t, d, k, g, / n, m, N
• airflow through mouth is completely impeded
• Fricative f, v, s, z, D, T, S, Z, h
• narrow constriction produces turbulence
• Affricate tS, dZ
• a stop followed by a fricative

9
Manners of Articulation, contd

• Nasal m, n, N
• air flows through the nose velum is lowered
• Approximants l, (liquids) w, j (glides)
• wide constriction that does not produce
  turbulence
• FLAP the voiced alveolar flap R is also an
  English sound, though its not listed in the
  chart.

10
Properties of Vowels

• Most Sonorant (Audible) Sounds
• Almost always voiced
• Vowel sounds change according to SHAPE of vocal
  tract, no obstructions in vowels

11
Parameters

• Review Consonant parameters?
• Voicing, Place of articulation, Manner of
  articulation
• Vowel articulation is described using FOUR
  parameters.

12
Four parameters of vowels

• Tongue HEIGHT
• high / mid / low
• Tongue BACKNESS
• front / central / back
• Lip ROUNDING
• round / unround
• TENSENESS
• tense / lax

13
Vowel Trapezium
14
Tongue Height

• High leak, lick, Luke, Look
• i, ?, u, U
• Mid bait, bet, but, bought, boat
• e, E, , ç, o
• Low cat, con
• Q, a

15
Tongue Backness

• Front seek, sick, sake, sec, sack
• i, I, e, E, Q
• Central luck
• Back ooze, look, road, law, dot
• u, U, o, ç, a

16
Lip Rounding

• In English, only the high and mid back vowels are
  produced with lip rounding
• Round vowels u, U, o, ç
• Unround vowels all the other vowels

17
Tenseness

• Tense vowels
• the tongue is at an extreme height or backness
• Lax vowels
• the tongue is not at an extreme position
• Compare Pete and pit

18
Diphthongs

• A diphthong is a complex vowel where the tongue
  begins in one place and moves to another (a two
  part vowel sound)
• The vowel diphthongs
• aj bite
• aw bout
• oj boy

19
Drills

• Voicing
• VD or VL
• Place
• BL, LD, ID, A, P, V, G
• Manner
• S, F, AF, N, AP