Introduction

The study of speech sounds can be treated from two basic points of view: phonetics and phonology.
The terms phonetics and phonology are commonly used in discussions of the sounds of English and
of English pronunciation in general. These terms sometimes can be used with clear distinction and
sometimes with confusion or interchangeably. There is an important and fundamental distinction,
but at the same time there is an obvious and equally fundamental connection. To put it briefly at this
stage, one could say that phonetics and phonology are two ways of looking at the same thing with
their own different subject matters and tasks. For the definition of each term we would like to
present the aim and tasks of phonetics first, then we will look into those of phonology.

 3:  @ Í S Z Ù @ & Q E T U I O: A: D Z @ N U
NA S D Z V N
These terms sometimes can be used with clear
distinction and sometimes with confusion
Di:z t3:mz sVmtaImz k@n bi: ju:zd wI klI@ dIstI
Nk

1
Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of the sounds made by the human vocal apparatus, in particular of those
sounds used in speech. We can call these speech sounds. It is customary to recognize different
branches of phonetics.
1. Acoustic phonetics:
Acoustic phonetics studies the transmission of speech sounds through the air from the speaker to the
hearer and is thus concerned with measuring and analysing the movement and vibration of the air.
This involves investigation within the framework of physics, and an acoustic phonetician deals with
speech wave forms and studies their frequency and amplitude in much the same way as a physicist
or acoustic engineer.
Amplitude (or loudness, size of pressure differences)
- usually measured in decibels (dB)
Frequency (or pitch)
usually measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz)

Two sine waves may have

the same frequency and
different amplitudes, and
vice versa.

Wavelength
usually measured in centiseconds or miliseconds

2. Auditory phonetics:
Auditory phonetics is the study of the hearing of speech sounds and deals with such questions as
how we perceive and recognize different speech sounds. Such investigations take place largely
within the framework of psychology.

The human hearing system

the outer ear: modifies the incoming sound signal
and amplifies it at the eardrum

the middle ear: improves the signals and transfer

it to the inner ear

the inner ear: converts the signal from

mechanical vibrations into nerve impulses and
transmit it to the brain via the auditory nerve.

2
3. Articulatory phonetics
Finally, articulatory phonetics is the study of the production of speech sounds by the human vocal
apparatus, of how a speaker produces, by means of the organs of speech, the sounds he or she uses
in speech and of how we can classify and describe such sounds. From our point of view as teachers
and learners of language this is obviously the branch of phonetics which concerns us most, and this
course will be concerned mainly with articulatory phonetics. Henceforth, when we talk about
phonetics, we shall take this to refer to articulatory phonetics.
Phonetics, then, deals with all speech sounds. It tries to describe how they are made, to classify them
and to give some idea of their nature. Phonetic investigation shows that human beings are capable of
producing an enormous number of speech sounds. The range of articulatory possibilities is vast. Yet
we notice that each language uses only some of the sounds that are available. What is more, each
language has its own particular selection from all the available sounds, so that no two languages
have exactly the same set of speech sounds. Even more importantly, each language organizes and
makes use of the sounds in its own particular way.
The study of the selection that each language makes from the vast range of possible speech sounds
and of how each language organizes and uses the selection it makes is called phonology. We see
here the source of much of the confusion, because both phonetics and phonology are concerned with
the same subject matter, that is, with speech sounds as produced by the human vocal apparatus, but
they look at this subject matter from different points of view.
Phonetics tends to be a more general discipline, in that it is concerned with speech sounds without
reference to their function or role in any particular language. Because of this, it is sometimes
claimed to be an autonomous discipline, to be pursued without reference to phonology and other
aspects of linguistics. But even in general phonetics there are many notions and concepts, such as
that of the syllable, which it is virtually impossible to discuss without bringing in phonological and
other linguistic considerations. Phonology, on the other hand, tends to be more particular, in that it is
usually concerned with the patterning of sounds in a particular language. It always needs to make
reference to phonetics. Phonology can, of course, have a more general dimension, as when it is
concerned with the universal aspects of sound patterns and systems and of rules involving sounds,
since it appears that many principles governing the way sounds are used and organized apply to all
languages, although of course details differ from language to language. Similarly, phonetics can be
more particular, as when it confines itself to dealing only with the sounds of a particular language.
In the latter case, however, there is inevitably a close relationship with phonology, as it is difficult to
study the sounds of one language without taking into account their relationship to one another and
the way they work together. One might sum up the relationship between phonetics and phonology
by saying that phonetics provides the descriptive and classificatory framework for phonology. In
other words, phonetics describes and classifies the speech sounds while phonology studies how they
work together and how they are used. Or, we could say that phonetics is concerned with what speech
sounds are, their nature, while phonology is concerned with what they do, their function. The
distinction between phonetics and phonology is the familiar distinction between form and function
which is to be found in many fields of study.
In summary, systems of sounds can be studied from two basic points of view.
1 Phonetics is the study of the sounds of language according to their production in the vocal organs
(articulatory phonetics) or their effect on the ear (acoustic phonetics). All phonetics are interrelated
because human articulatory and auditory mechanisms are uniform. Systems of phonetic writing are
aimed at transcribing accurately any sequence of speech sounds; the best known is the International
Phonetic Alphabet.
3
2 Each language uses a limited number of all the possible sounds, called phonemes, and the hearer-
speaker is trained from childhood to classify them into groups of like sounds, rejecting as
nonsignificant all sorts of features actually phonetically present. Thus the speaker of English ignores
sounds that are very important in another language, e.g., French or Spanish. Phonemes include all
significant differences of sound, among them features of voicing, place and manner of articulation,
accent, and secondary features of nasalization, glottalization, labialization, and the like. The study of
the phonemes and their arrangement is the phonemics of a language. The term Phonemics can be
used as another term for Phonology.
Phonetics which is aimed at providing sets of features and properties for describing speech
sounds has 3 approaches:
1. Acoustic phonetics deals with the transmission of speech sounds through the air (How the sound
waves are measured)
2. Auditory phonetics deals with listeners’ perception (How speech sounds are perceived with the
ears, nerves and brain)
3. Articulatory phonetics deals with the physiological mechanism of speech production (How
speech sounds are produced using articulators).
Phonology which studies the function o speech sounds and how they are organized into
phonological patterns is aimed to answer these questions:
1. How many distinctive sounds are there in a particular language system?
2. Which rules that govern the interaction between these sounds?

4
 ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

VOCAL TRACT & ARTICULATORS

Trachea

Names of articulators
Perhaps readers and learners may get confused with the terms used for the articulators. The table
below will help the make clear the common names and what each of them mean.

Normal name Fancy name Adjective

Lips Labia Labial
Teeth Dental
Alveolar ridge Alveolar
Hard palate palatal
soft palate Velum Velar
Uvula Uvular
Upper throat Pharynx Pharyngeal
Voicebox Larynx Laryngeal
Tongue tip Apex Apical
Tongue blade Lamina Lamina
Tongue body Dorsum Dorsal
Tongue root Radical

5
In phonetics, the terms velum, pharynx, larynx, and dorsum are used as often or more often than the
simpler names.
alveolar ridge
A short distance behind the upper teeth is a change in the angle of the roof of the mouth. (In
some people it's quite abrupt, in others very slight.) This is the alveolar ridge. Sounds which
involve the area between the upper teeth and this ridge are called alveolars.
(hard) palate
the hard portion of the roof of the mouth. The term "palate" by itself usually refers to the
hard palate.
soft palate/ velum
the soft portion of the roof of the mouth, lying behind the hard palate. The tongue hits the
velum in the sounds [k], [g], and [N]. The velum can also move: if it lowers, it creates an
opening that allows air to flow out through the nose; if it stays raised, the opening is blocked,
and no air can flow through the nose.
uvula
the small, dangly thing at the back of the soft palate. The uvula vibrates during the r sound in
many French dialects.
pharynx
the cavity between the root of the tongue and the walls of the upper throat.
tongue blade
the flat surface of the tongue just behind the tip.
tongue front/ body/ dorsum
the main part of the tongue, lying below the hard and soft palate. The body, specifically the
back part of the body (hence "dorsum", Latin for "back"), moves to make vowels and many
consonants.
tongue back/ root
the lowest part of the tongue in the throat
epiglottis
the fold of tissue below the root of the tongue. The epiglottis helps cover the larynx during
swallowing, making sure (usually!) that food goes into the stomach and not the lungs. A few
languages use the epiglottis in making sounds. English is fortunately not one of them.
vocal folds/ vocal cords
folds of tissue stretched across the airway to the lungs. They can vibrate against each other,
providing much of the sound during speech.
glottis
the opening between the vocal cords. During a glottal stop, the vocal cords are held together
and there is no opening between them.
larynx
the structure that holds and manipulates the vocal cords. The "Adam's apple" in males is the
bump formed by the front part of the larynx.

6
 THE SPEECH PRODUCTION MECHANISM

The articulation process is the modification of sound waves produced by the airstream, phonation,
and oral-nasal processes. In other words, this process is a composition of 3 fundamental components
involving aspects of speech sound production known as initiation, phonation and articulation.

Initiation mechanism
At this initial moment, we need to have an airflow as a source of energy to make a speech sound.
Airflow generated from the lungs is called “pulmonic” and airflow out of the lungs is called
“egressive”. The vast majority of speech sounds in the world’s languages, in fact, all sounds in most
languages are made with “pulmonic egressive airflow”. However, it is possible to speak with
“ingressive pulmonic airflow” (going in the lungs). Although “ingressive pulmonic airflow” is
possible in the production of speech sounds, no language in the world seem to make distinctive use
of this mechanism. There are two good reasons why egressive airflow is the norm in all languages:
1. Ingressive airflow does not allow vibration in the vocal folds (phonation). It’s hard to make the
distinction between “pea” and “bee” when they are uttered with ingressive airflow.
2. Egressive airflow is easy because speaker can use the pressure of full lungs to control slow
sustained exhalation. With ingressive airflow, filling the lungs in a slow controlled inhalation is
harder and it is a problem for getting the oxygen into the bloodstream quickly and efficiently.
Ingressive or egressive?

Fig. 1 Egressive pulmonic airflow & Ingressive pulomonic airflow

7
Phonation mechanism
The term “Phonation” refers to all movements of the vocal folds in producing speech sounds – and
in particular to the sounds that involve vibrations of the folds. The vocal folds can be manipulated in
many ways, but linguists usually recognize five phonation modes which are relevant to speech
production (Only four will be mentioned in this course). A phonation mode is a category of vocal
setting that allows a particular type of voice quality.
In this section we will see the structure of vocal folds and how they move.
The structure of the larynx
The larynx is positioned in the top of the trachea. Primarily it is a valve which regulates the
respiration, but additionally it is a sound source. The larynx houses the vocal folds which open and
close. The larynx are very complex structure – a delicate web of bone, cartilage, muscle and
ligament. The vocal folds themselves are made up of loose bands of muscles that can move over
each other to allow high speed vibration.
Vibration cycle of the folds
Vibration is the opening and closing of the vocal folds, which repeats up to 400 times per second.
What kind of mechanical structure allows for such rapid movement and fine control?
The Aerodynamic Myoelastic theory suggests that, rather than any mechanical muscular action, the
airflow itself and the elasticity of the folds combine to produce this action (Known as “mucosal
wave”. Here is how the cycle works:
When the folds close, the pressure of the air below them increases. When this pressure exceeds the
pressure holding the folds together, they burst apart and air flows again. This air flow again drops
the pressure (the Bernouli effect), and the folds get sucked back together again.
It’s these pressure changes created by regular puff or air coming through the folds that produce
sound, not the folds clapping together or vibrating.
The vocal folds have a certain thickness, and the lower edge of the folds open before the upper edge,
so the opening moves upward. Then the lower edge of the folds closes before the upper edge, so the
closer moves upwards.

Fig. 2 The structure of the larynx Fig. 3: Vibration cycle of the vocal folds

8
The vocal folds are held together along their full length with enough tension to allow vibration:

1. The vocal folds momentarily block airflow from the lungs.

2. The air pressure underneath the vocal folds increases.
3. The increased pressure forces the vocal folds up and apart.
4. As the pressure falls again, the vocal folds snap back together.
5. Go to 1.

Fig. 4 The opening and closing of vocal folds in vibration cycles

Each repetition of this cycle causes a "glottal pulse". The number of times this occurs in a second is
the fundamental frequency of voice.

Varying the tension of the vocal folds results in different rates of vibration (and so different pitches).

Phonation modes
With different movements of the vocal folds, different phonation modes can be created. By
phonation mode, it means a category of vocal setting for a particular type of voice quality.

Fig. 5 Vocal folds are wide apart Fig. 6 Vocal folds are narrowing for vibration

Four phonation modes or glottal states

We mention here 4 phonation modes due to the work of glottis and vocal folds. In doing this, we try
to answer the main question: Are the vocal fold vibrating or not? A simple answer is: Segments with
vocal fold vibration are voiced, all others are voiceless.

As we will see, there's more than one way the vocal folds can vibrate. There's more than one way
they can fail to vibrate.

9
 voiceless sounds are This mode can be thought
Voiceless mode produced with the Voiced mode of as “normal” vocal fold
ligament folds and vibration” involving
arytenoids are held wide opening and closure along
apart to allow non- the full length of the folds,
turbulent airflow between e.g. [b] in bad, [d] in bad
them, e.g. [s] in sad, [f] in
fat

Fig. 6 Vocal folds for voiceless mode Fig. 7 Vocal folds for voiced mode

Whisper voice whisper mode involves Creaky voice creaky mode involves the
holding the length of the vibration in the vocal folds
ligament folds closed, but with very low
while holding the frequency, and the folds
arytenoids open. In being closed for more
whisper mode airflow is time; also, the folds being
forced through a much bunched up & thick allow
smaller opening than in slow vibration at a slow air
voiceless mode flow rate
Fig. 8 Vocal folds for whisper voice Fig. 9 Vocal folds for creaky voice
Note: Some Vietnamese learners of English tend to utter voiceless sounds with grave accent ` as in sờ ỏ
sì at the beginning of a word (e.g. “stress”) and thus fail to perform voiceless sound [ s ].

Articulation mechanism
For shaping the sounds, we need resonating cavities such as nasal cavity and oral cavity which are
responsible for the passage of the airstream. Besides these two resonators, the velum should be
mentioned here as the one that allows the airstream to go out through either the mouth or the nose to
be defined as oral sounds or nasal sounds.
Along with the resonators mentioned above, the articulators such as the tongue, the alveolar ridge,
the hard palate, the glottis, the lips and the teeth play an important role in yielding a variety of
configurations of sounds. Each of them may interact in the process of articulation depending on the
active role or passive role they assume.
3 fundamental components
involving aspects of sound production

Initiation mechanism phonation mechanism articulation mechanism

The lungs larynx & vocal folds Articulators & cavities
for for for
energy source vibration shaping sounds with
pulmonic airflow voicing sounds different quality &
constriction

Fig. 10 Three fundamental components involving aspects of sound production

10
 THE DESCRIPTION & CLASSIFICATION
OF ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS
Speech sounds as segments or phones
A segment
Any discrete unit or phone, produced by the vocal apparatus, or a representation of such a unit.
In linguistics (and phonetics), segment is used primarily “to refer to any discreet unit that can be
identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech” (after A Dictionary of Linguistics
& Phonetics, David Crystal, 2003, pp. 408–409).
- Sound waves are continuous, but to a large extent we perceive speech as segmented, and tend
to perceive differences between segment types as categorical.
- Segment types can be classified according to the way they are produced in the vocal tract (i.e.
an articulatory rather than acoustic classification).
A phone
In phonetics, the smallest perceptible segment is a phone as an unanalyzed sound of a language. It is
the smallest identifiable unit found in a stream of speech that is able to be transcribed with an IPA
symbol.
In spoken languages, a segment may be a consonant, vowel, tone, or stress.
In this course the term segment is used as to name a speech unit at the level of a sound that can be
identified from a larger unit like syllable. For example, there are 3 segments [ h ], [& ], [ t ] in the
sound sequence [ h&t ].
Vowels & Consonants – A major division among English speech sounds
In English, there are 44 basic speech sounds that can be grouped into 2 major classes: 24
consonants and 20 vowels. This basic division is made based on the distinguishing features or
phonetic properties that members in each class may share.
Vowels and consonants can be distinguished on the basis of difference in
- articulation
- acoustic manner
- function
For more details please consult table 2.2 the major difference between consonants and vowels
(Reference books: O’Grady, Wiliiam & Michael Dobrovolsky (1993) Contemporary Linguistics -
An introduction, St. Martin Press, New York, p. 18)

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 THE ENGLISH CONSONANTS

A. Definition
The consonant is a speech sound produced with a complete or partial obstruction of the air stream in
the vocal tract..
B. Description
The consonants can be described in terms of articulatory parameters:
I. Place of articulation
(This tells us the points where the articulators actually touch or are the closest)
In phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a consonant is the point of
contact, where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an active (moving) articulator
(typically some part of the tongue) and a passive (stationary) articulator (typically some part of the
roof of the mouth). Along with the manner of articulation and phonation, this gives the consonant its
distinctive sound.
Types of articulation
A place of articulation is defined as both the active and passive articulators. For instance, the active
lower lip may contact either a passive upper lip (bilabial, like [m]) or the upper teeth (labiodental,
like [f]). The hard palate may be contacted by either the front or the back of the tongue. If the front
of the tongue is used, the place is called retroflex; if back of the tongue ("dorsum") is used, the place
is called "dorsal-palatal", or more commonly, just palatal.

There are five basic active articulators: the lip ("labial consonants"), the flexible front of the tongue
("coronal consonants"), the middle/back of the tongue ("dorsal consonants"), the root of the tongue
together with the epiglottis ("radical consonants"), and the larynx ("laryngeal consonants"). These
articulators can act independently of each other, and two or more may work together in what is
called coarticulation (see below).

The passive articulation, on the other hand, is a continuum without many clear-cut boundaries. The
places linguolabial and interdental, interdental and dental, dental and alveolar, alveolar and palatal,
palatal and velar, velar and uvular merge into one another, and a consonant may be pronounced
somewhere between the named places.

In addition, when the front of the tongue is used, it may be the upper surface or blade of the tongue
that makes contact ("laminal consonants"), the tip of the tongue ("apical consonants"), or the under
surface ("sub-apical consonants"). These articulations also merge into one another without clear
boundaries.

Consonants that have the same place of articulation, such as alveolar [n, t, d, s, z, l] in English, are
said to be homorganic.

12
List of places where the main types of obstruction may occur

Fig. 11 Bilabial: between the lips Fig. 12 Labiodental: between the

lower lip and the upper teeth

and the upper

teeth

Fig. 13 Dental: between the front of Fig. 14 Alveolar: between the front of the
the tongue and the top teeth tongue and the ridge behind the gums

Fig. 15 Postalveolar: between the Fig. 16 Palatal: between the middle of

front of the tongue and the space the tongue and the hard palate
behind the alveolar ridge

Fig. 17 Velar: between the back of the

tongue and the soft palate (the velum)

13
 Apart from these places of articulation (for English phonetics), there are also:

• Retroflex: in "true" retroflexes, the tongue curls back so the underside touches the palate
• Uvular: between the back of the tongue and the uvula (which hangs down in the back of the
mouth)

(All of the above may be nasalized, and most may be lateralized.)

• Pharyngeal: between the root of the tongue and the back of the throat (the pharynx)
• Epiglotto-pharyngeal: between the epiglottis and the back of the throat
• Epiglottal: between the aryepiglottal folds and the epiglottis (see larynx)

Table 1 Place of articulation: 8 major types of interaction of consonants

Sound class Articulators Sound segments

Passive Active
Bilabial upper lip Lower lip [ p, b, m, w ]
Dental Teeth Tongue tip [ T, D ]
Labio-dental Upper teeth Lower lip [ f, v ]
Alveolar Teeth ridge tongue [ t, d, s, z, r, l, n ]
Palato-alveolar behind alveolar ridge tongue blade [tS, dZ, S, Z ]
Palatal hard palate tongue front [j]
Velar soft palate tongue blade [ k, g, N ]
Glottal vocal folds [ h, ? ]

II. Manners of articulation

(Types of obstruction caused by closing or narrowing the articulators)
Constriction degree
Place of articulation refers to where the narrowing occurs -- which active articulator gets close to
which passive articulator. Constriction degree refers to how close they get. The main constriction
degrees are:

Stop: the active articulator touches

the passive articulator and completely
cuts off the airflow through the
mouth. English stops include: [p], [b]
[t], [d], [k], [g], [?].

Fig.18 The silent phase Fig.19 The release phase

14
Affricate: can be seen as a sequence
of a stop and a fricative which have
the same or similar places of
articulation. They are transcribed
using the symbols for the stop and the
fricative. e.g. [tS], [dZ]
Fig.20 The silence phase Fig.21 The release phase

fricative: the active articulator

doesn't touch the passive articulator,
but gets close enough that the airflow
through the opening becomes
turbulent. English fricatives include
[f], [v], [T], [D], [z], [s], [S], [Z], [h] .
Fig.22 Fricative [ s ] Fig.23 Fricative [ S ]

In nasals, the velum is lowered to

allow air to pass through the nose
(technically a place, but generally as
a manner of articulation). English
nasals include [m], [n], [N]

Fig.24 Nasal [ m ] Fig.25 Nasal [ n ]

In lateral, the air is released past the

tongue sides and teeth rather than
over the tip of the tongue. English has
only one lateral [ l ]

Fig.26 Lateral [ l ] (clear)

approximant: the active articulator

approaches the passive articulator,
but doesn't even get close enough for
the airflow to become turbulent.
English approximants include [j],
[w], [r], and [l].
Fig.27 Approximant [ j ] Fig.28 Approximant [ w ]

15
 Table 2 Manner of articulation: 6 major types of stricture degrees

Stricture or Movement or interaction Sounds

obstruction types of articulators
Stops (plosives) complete stop of air, the [ p, b, t, d, k, g, ? ]
rapid separation
Affricates stop of air, then slow [ tS, dZ ]
separation
Fricatives narrowing, causing [ T, D, f, v, s, z, S, Z, h ]
audible friction
Nasals lowering of velum, air [ m, n, N ]
escapes through nose
Lateral air escapes downsides of [l]
tongue
Approximants slight narrowing, not [ w, j, r ]
enough to cause friction

Clear [ l ] vs dark [ 5 ]
It is a fact that quite a few Vietnamese learners of English fail to perform the correct form of dark [ 5
] in such sequences as [aI5 ] ( I’ll ). Most of them pronounce this dark [ 5 ] as [ n ] as in [ sku:n ] in
stead of [ sku:5 ]. Few of them realize that this velarized form can function as the back vowel [ U ]
in Vietnamese spelling and pronunciation. The evidence is that the Vietnamese word “hiu” sounds a
bit like “hill” [ hI 5 ]. As result, for some of them, [ kV5tS@ ] is made [ kVntS@ ]
Clear [ l ] (before a vowel) dark [ 5 ] (after a vowel)

I’ll [ aI5 ]
child [ tSaI 5 ]
while [ waI5 ]
owl [ aU5 ]
oil [ OI5 ]
meal [ mi:5 ]
school [ skU5 ]
useful [ ju:f5 ]
howl how
[ haU5] [ haU ]
fire-fire
[ faI5 ] [ faI@ ]
mile-mind
[l] [5] [ maI5 ] [maInd ]

16
Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, and other speech organs
involved in making a sound make contact. Often the concept is only used for the production of
consonants. For any place of articulation, there may be several manners, and therefore several
homorganic consonants. One parameter of manner is stricture, that is, how closely the speech
organs approach one another. Parameters other than stricture are those involved in the ar sounds
(taps and trills), and the sibilancy of fricatives. Often nasality and laterality are included in manner,
but phoneticians such as Peter Ladefoged consider them to be independent. Approximants are
speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. In the
articulation of approximants, articulatory organs produce a narrowing of the vocal tract, but leave
enough space for air to flow without much audible turbulence. Approximants are therefore more
open than fricatives. This class of sounds includes lateral approximants like [l], as in lip, and
approximants like [j] and [w] in yes and well which correspond closely to vowels and semivowels.
Palatal approximants correspond to front vowels, velar approximants to back vowels, and labialized
approximants to rounded vowels. They are typically briefer and closer than the corresponding
vowels. When emphasized, approximants may be slightly fricated (that is, the airstream may
become slightly turbulent), which is reminiscent of fricatives. Examples are the y of English yes!
(especially when lengthened) Occasionally the glottal "fricatives" are called approximants, since [h]
typically has no more frication than voiceless approximants, but they are often phonations of the
glottis without any accompanying manner or place of articulation. A stop cuts off airflow through
the mouth. Airflow through the nose does not matter -- you can have both oral and nasal stops. Oral
stops are often called plosives, including in the IPA chart. Nasal stops are usually just called nasals.
Approximants that are apical or laminal are often called liquids (e.g., [r], [l]). Approximants that
correspond to vowels are often called glides (e.g., [j] corresponds to [i], [w] to [u]).

2 subclasses of approximants:
Liquids [ l, r ] & Glides [ w, j ]

Approximants:
 no major obstruction
 no auditory effect of friction
Liquids [ l, r ]: Glides [ w, j ]:
characterized with high level of sonority characterized with their dual nature
 can be syllable nuclei, e.g. [teIbl]  predominantly vocalic (like vowel)
 can be consonant,e.g. [leIk]  distribution: consonantal
[ju:nIvs tI ] , [ nju:]

For some Vietnamese learners of English who come from the Northern part of Vietnam, the English
glide [ w ] is realized phonetically as [ u: ] due to the fact that in this northern dialect, there is no
speech sound like [ w ] in the sound system of Hanoi dialect. When performing [ w ], these people
may stay too long in the nucleus [ u: ] and thus fail to perform the gliding to [ @ ]. For some of them,
the phonetic form [ wUld ] may be pronounced as [ Uld ]. The same can be said to the glide [ j ]
which can be articulated by starting with the vowel [ i: ] then rapidly gliding into [ @ ]. Accordingly,
[ ju:niv3:s@tI ] may be realized as [ i:unIv3:s@tI ].

17
II. Voicing or State of the glottis:
Here, we deal with the vibration of vocal cords during the articulation of the consonant.
For now, we can simply use the terms "voiced" and "voiceless" to answer the question of what the
vocal cords are doing:

• In voiced sounds, the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation of the consonant, e.g. [b,
d, g]
• In voiceless sounds, the vocal cords are not vibrating during the articulation of the consonant,
e.g. [f, s, tS]

The pronunciation of Plural form – S

Although most learners of English have learned the rule to pronounce the plural form – s at the final
position in the syllable, they still fail to perform the actual phonetic forms of this inflectional or
grammatical ending. Especially, it is a problem of comprehending as well as pronouncing this plural
form – s in various contexts of connected speech. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh (2007) has pointed out
this problem and proposed solutions in terms communicative activities and exercises to enhance the
learners’ skill of pronunciation in terms of the pronunciation of inflectional endings – s, ed in
particular phonetic environment. For a detailed explanation, please read the Graduation Paper “An
investigation into the pronunciation of inflectional endings in English by students of College of
Foreign languages – University of Danang – Problems and solutions” (2006).

Below is the rule of pronunciation and exmples

1. N-STRIDEN + ES [ z ], e.g. 2 glasses, 2 watches
2. N-VOICED+S [ z ]. e.g. 2 pens on the table
3. N-VLESS +S [ s ], e.g. 2 bookson the table 6 stridens in English:
s S tS dZ z Z
e.g. [f, s, tS]
 The pronunciation of past form - ED

1. V-td + ED [d], e.g. wanted, needed

2. V-VOICED+ED [d]. e.g. He openeda box
3. V-VLESS +ED [t], e.g. He lookedat us

More examples: [ z ] or [ s ] or [ @z ] ?
dams, houses, tents, beds, dogs
[ d ] or [ t ] ?
helped us, asked us, begged us, missed it

18
C. Classification:
English consonants can be described in terms of 3 parameters: voicing, place of articulation and
manner of articulation.

Place Bilabial Dental Labio- Alveolar Palato- Palatal Velar Glottal

Manner dental alveolar
Stops
- voice p t k ?
+ voice b d g
Affricate
- voice tS
+ voice dZ
Fricative
- voice T f s S h
+ voice D v z Z
Nasal m n N

Lateral l 5

Appro- w r j w
ximant

D. Identification of a consonant
A consonant can be identified using the three parameters that has been mentioned above.
E.g. [ k ]
1. voicing: voiceless
2. place of articulation : velar
3. manner of articulation: stop

Also, a consonant can be judged with more phonetic values such as whether it is nasal or oral;
central or lateral depending on whether this consonant is articulated with the velum being lowered or
not; the airstream escaping through a passage in the middle of the tongue or downsides of the
tongue.
E.g.

Term 1 2 3 4 5
voiced or place of central or oral or articulatory
voiceless articulation lateral nasal action
Consonant
[s] voiceless alveolar (central) (oral) fricative

19
 SOME PHONETIC FEATURES
OF ENGLISH CONSONANTS

A. Force of articulation:
Greater or lesser effort and high/ low air pressure required for the articulation of a consonant.
I. Fortis consonants:
Voiceless consonants tend to have strong pronunciation. A fortis consonant is a “strong” consonant
produced by increased tension in the vocal apparatus. These strong consonants tend to be long,
voiceless, aspirated, and high.
e.g. [p, t, k]
II. Lenis consonants:
Voiced consonants tend to have weaker pronunciation. A lenis consonant is a “weak” consonant
produced by the lack of tension in the vocal apparatus. These weak consonants tend to be short,
weakly voiced or voiceless, aspirated, low, and the following vowel tends to be lengthened.
e.g. [b, d,  ]
Most Vietnamese learners of English do not pay attention to greater or lesser effort and air pressure
required for the articulation of a consonant. What’s more, few of them notice the influence of the
fortis and lenis consonant may have on the preceding vowel.
B. Length of articulation
I. Voiceless consonants are longer than voiced consonants at final position,
e.g. leak > league hit vs hid tap vs tab
For some acoustic evidence, just look at the sound wave form of the sound sequences [ hIt ] vs [ hId
] to see the difference between the final consonants in terms of length.

Fig.29 The sound wave form of the pair [ hIt ] vs [ hId ]- length of final [ t ] & [ d ]
II. Open syllables are longer than closed syllables,
e.g. be [ bi:] > bead [bi:d] > beat [bi:t]
III. Syllables closed with voiced consonant are longer than syllables closed with voiceless
consonants,
20
 e.g. bead [bi:d] > beat [bi:t], raise [reIz] > race [reIs]
Just look at the sound wave form of the sound sequences [ aIz ] vs [ aIs ], [ praIs ] vs [ praIz ] to see
the difference between the vowels in terms of length.

Fig.30 The sound wave form of the pair [ aIz ] vs [ VIs ]- length of vowel [ aI ] & [ VI ]

Fig.31 The sound wave form of the pair [ praIz ] vs [ praIs ]- length of the vowel [ aI ] & [ aI ]
C. Voice of articulation
1. Full voice:
Vietnamese learners of English have no problem of pronouncing [l, r] ] at the initial position in a
stressed syllable. Voicing [l, r] ] at the beginning of a word or syllable is a tendency of the
Vietnamese speakers and this the pronunciation of [[l, r] with full voice is an easy work without any
effort. As with [b, d, g] between two vowels,
1. [b, d, g] are intervocalic (between 2 vowels), e.g. about, ado, ago
2. [l, r] are syllable initial, e.g. rain, lean
2. Devoiced:
1. When [b, d, g] are syllable initial, they become devoiced. In this phonetic environment,
they are partially voiced and thus sound a bit like their voiceless counterpart [ p, t, k ].
e.g. be [bi:], do [d u:] go [ g]
2. [r, l ] are preceded by voiceless stops,

21
 e.g. train [ treIn] , clean [kli:n] clearly

For some evidence, just spell a name beginning with letter b, e.g. Bình, Bé, Ba … and ask a native
speaker of English to pronounce these names. The actual pronunciation of these names may sound
like [bIn], [be], [bA:] (like [ pì∆ ], [ pé ] in Vietnamese).

3. Voiceless:
When [b, d, g] are syllable final in a word, and there is a pause or silent phase after this
word, as in a dictation where there are short pauses after a sentence or phrase.
e.g. [li: d ] (lead) in There’s no lead and [ dQg ] (dog) in My grandfather has a dog.

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Final devoicing is a systematic phonological process occurring in languages such as German,

Dutch, and Russian, among others. In these languages, voiced obstruents in the syllable coda or at
the end of a word become voiceless. Some examples from German include:
Laub 'foliage', pronounced [laup]
Rad 'wheel', pronounced [ra:t]
Zug 'train', pronounced [tsu:k]
Phonological final devoicing can lead to the neutralization of phonemic contrasts in certain
environments.
English does not have phonological final devoicing of the type that neutralizes phonemic contrasts;
thus pairs like bad and bat are distinct in all major accents of English. Nevertheless voiced
obstruents are devoiced to some extent in final position in English, especially when phrase-final or
when followed by a voiceless consonant (for example, bad cat [b&d k&t]). The most salient
distinction between bad and bat is not the voicing of the final consonant but rather the duration of
the vowel and the glottalization of final /t/: bad is pronounced [b&:d] while bat is [b&t].
D. Syllabicity
When syllabic consonants [l, r, m, n ] are preceded by another consonant,e.g.
1. [l]: little [ l I t l ], table [teI bl ]
2. [r ] matter [ m t], ladder [ l d r]
3. [m ]: madam [m  dm], rhythm [r I m ]
4. [ n ] : listen [ l I s n], garden [gA:dn ]
More examples
people, medal, needle work
teacher, feature, manner
Socialism, capitalism, enthusiasm
suddenly, frightening, hidden

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

22
A syllabic consonant is a consonant which either forms a syllable of its own, or is the nucleus of a
syllable. The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the under-stroke, [  ].

Examples from English are button [bVtn], bottle [bQtl], butter [bVtr] (in dialects which
pronounce final ar). In words such as church, the syllabic nucleus may be either a rhotic vowel,
[ka:K], or a syllabic ar, [ sta:rtr], depending on the dialect and speaker. Note that all of these
consonants are sonorants.

E. Flapping [  ] or T-voicing
Voiceless alveolar [ t ] or voiced alveolar [d ] becomes voiced flap [] in an unstressed syllable, e.g.
[ "lI tl ], ladder ["l&dr], city [ "sI tI ] (BrE)

[ "lI 4l] [ ["l&4r ] [ "sI 4I ] (AmE)

More examples:
party, meeting, Saturday
He worked until the party started.
She’s [Link]’s daughter.

F. Aspiration with [ p, t, k ]
The pronunciation of the voiceless [p, t, k ] with an extra puff of air strongly expelled
I. Aspirated:
When [ p, t, k ] are syllable-initial in a stressed syllable
eg. pay [ph eI] top [th Qp] keep [khi:p]
II. Relatively aspirated:
When [p, t, k] are syllable-initial in an unstressed syllable
e.g. upon [" pQn ], happen [ "h&phn ] , ankle ["&nkhl ]
III. Unaspirated:
When [p, t, k] are preceded by [ s ]
e.g. speak [sp i:k], stab [st&b] , skill [skIl ]

When [p, t, k] are syllable-final

e.g. stop [st Qp], meat [mi: t ]
In general, aspiration is not a distinctive feature for the forms to contrast as different words. For
example, both [ pi: ] and [ ph i: ] can be interpreted as the same word pea
However, in some cases, aspiration can pay a significant contribution to the interpretation of two
different phonetic sequences as in
[phi: s t O: lk] pea stalk or [phi:s th O: lk] peace talk

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies the release of some obstruents
(non sonorants). To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, put your
23
hand or a lit candle in front of your mouth, and say top and then stop. You should either feel a puff
of air or see a flicker of the candle flame with top that you do not get with stop. In English, the t
should be aspirated in top and unaspirated in stop.

The diacritic for aspiration in the International Phonetic Alphabet is a superscript "h", [h].
Unaspirated consonants are not normally marked explicitly, but there is a diacritic for non-aspiration
in the Extended IPA, the superscript equal sign, [=].
Voiceless consonants are produced with the vocal cords open. (Voicing involves bringing the vocal
cords close together.) Voiceless aspiration occurs when the vocal cords remain open after a
consonant is released. An easy way to measure this is by noting the consonant's voice onset time, as
the voicing of a following vowel cannot begin until the vocal cords close.
English voiceless stops are aspirated when they begin a stressed syllable, as in pen, ten, Ken, but this
is not distinctive. That is, these consonants have unaspirated variants in other positions, such as
word-finally or in an initial cluster with [s], as in spun, stun, skunk. In many languages, such as
Cantonese, Hindi, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin, Thai, and Ancient Greek, [ph th kh] etc. and [p= t=
k=] etc. are different phonemes altogether.
Alemannic German dialects have unaspirated [p= t= k=]as well as aspirated [ph th kh]; the latter
series are usually viewed as consonant clusters. In Danish and most southern varieties of German,
the "lenis" consonants transcribed for historical reasons as <b d g> are distinguished them from their
"fortis" counterparts <p t k> mainly in their lack of aspiration.
Aspiration also varies with place of articulation. Spanish /p t k/, for example, have voice onset times
(VOTs) of about 5, 10, and 30 milliseconds, whereas English /p t k/ have VOTs of about 60, 70, and
80 ms. Korean has been measured at 20, 25, and 50 ms for /p t k/ and 90, 95, and 125 for [ph th kh].

Fig. Timing of articulators and vocal cord vibration for voiced, voiceless
unaspirated, and voiceless aspirated stops.

24
(Adapted from Fromkin, Victoria & Robert Rodman, Peter Collins, David Blair (1990))

The actual performance of voiceless [ p ] & voiced [ b] experienced by the Vietnamese learners
of English

Some Vietnamese learners of English actually make voiceless [ p ] as voiced [ b ]. This is due to a
fact that these students fail to perform the aspiration of [ p ] at initial position in the syllable. Though
this is not a distinctive feature to distinguish between such pairs as [ phi: ] and [ pi: ], the learners
failure to make distinction between [ phi: ] and [ bi: ] is understood as an ignorance of the difference
in meaning between two words “pea” and “be”.

25
 THE ENGLISH VOWEL

A. Definition:
a speech sound produced with relatively little obstruction of air stream in the vocal tract
B. Characteristics: Vowels are
1. voiced, i.e. They are produced with the vibration of the vocal cords
2. Sonorant: Acoustically, vowels are louder than consonants
C. Description:
The vowel can be described in terms of articulatory & auditory parameters:
 Tongue positions
 Shapes of lips
 Mouth aperture Tongue part (Advancement)
1. front: e.g. [ i: ], [ I ]
Front Central Back 2. central: e.g. [ @ ], [V ]
i: 3. back: e.g. [U ], [O:]
u:
close I U High
Tongue height (Jaw opening)
1. high: e.g. [ i: ], [ u: ]
2. mid: e.g. [@ ], [:]
: 3. low: e.g. [& ], [ Q ]
half close e 3: Mid
e
 Shape of lips (Lip rounding)
1. rounded: e.g. [: ], [u:]
2. unrounded, e.g. [ i: ], [& ]
half open V
Q
 Length (Duration)
Low 1. long: e.g. [ i: ], [u: ]
open A: 2. short: e.g. [ e,  ]

Tenseness
Cardinal Vowel Scale (Effort with tongue & jaw)
1. tense: e.g. [ i: ], [:]
2. lax: e.g. [e,  ]
C. Classification of the vowels
1. Principles of quality:
- tongue position:
+ horizontal (tongue part)
Front vowels: [i:], [I], [e], []
Central vowels: [@], [3:], [V]
Back vowels: [u:], [U], [:], [Q ], [A:]
+ vertical (tongue height):
High vowels: [i:], [I], [u:], [U]
Mid vowels: [[@], [3:], [e], [:]
Low vowels: [], [V], [Q ], [A:]
- lip position:

26
 + rounded Vowels:
[u:], [U], [:], [Q ]
+ unrounded Vowels:
The remaining ones

2. Principles of quantity:
- length of vowel:
Long vowels: [i:], [3:], [u:], [:], [A:]
Short vowels: [I], [e], [], [], [U], [V], [Q ]
- degree of tenseness:
Tense vowels: [i:], [:], [u:], [:], [A:]
Lax vowels: [I], [e], [], [], [U], [V], [Q ]

- character of their end: checked (strong end in closed syllable)

E.g. bit [ bIt ]
& unchecked (lessening end in open syllable)
E.g. be [ bi: ]

D. Identification of a vowel:
E.g. [ e ] is a front mid unrounded short lax
vowel
1. Tongue part : front
2. Tongue height : mid
3. Shape of lips : unrounded
4. Length : short
5. Tenseness : lax

The INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ASSOCIATION

Cardinal Vowel Scale

27
Further reading:

Tenseness is a term used in phonology to describe a particular vowel quality that is phonemically
contrastive in many languages, including English. It has also occasionally been used to describe
contrasts in consonants. Unlike most distinctive features, the feature [tense] can be interpreted only
relatively, that is, in a language like English that contrasts [i:] (e.g. beat) and [I] (e.g. bit), the former
can be described as a tense vowel while the latter is a lax vowel. Another example is Vietnamese,
where the letters ă and â represent lax vowels, and the letters a and ơ the corresponding tense
vowels. Some languages like Spanish are often considered as having only tense vowels.

Comparison between tense and lax vowels

In general, tense vowels are more close (and correspondingly have lower first formants) than their
lax counterparts. Tense vowels are sometimes claimed to be articulated with a more advanced
tongue root than lax vowels, but this varies, and in some languages it is the lax vowels that are more
advanced, or a single language may be inconsistent between front and back or high and mid vowels
(Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996, 302–4). The traditional definition, that tense vowels are produced
with more "muscular tension" than lax vowels, has not been confirmed by phonetic experiments.
Another hypothesis is that lax vowels are more centralized than tense vowels. There are also
linguists who believe that there is no phonetic correlation to the tense-lax opposition.

In many Germanic languages, such as RP English, standard German, and Dutch, tense vowels are
longer in duration than lax vowels; but in other languages, such as Scots, Scottish English, and
Icelandic, there is no such correlation.

Since in Germanic languages, lax vowels generally only occur in closed syllables, they are also
called checked vowels, whereas the tense vowels are called free vowels as they can occur at the end
of a syllable.

DIPHTHONGS

I. Definition:
A speech sound involving two vowels, the first of which glides into the second one
In simple vowels, or monophthongs, the tongue body has a relatively stable position throughout. But
there are other vowels where the tongue body does not stay in one place, even in the most abstract
diagrams with artificial slices. Complex vowels which are characterized by movement are called
diphthongs.
To transcribe a diphthong, we need two symbols: the first indicating the starting position and the
second indicating the finishing position or the direction of movement. E.g.

[eI ]

[e ] [I ]
1st element 2nd element
nucleus (core) terminating/ (glide)

28
 FRONT VIEW OF [eI]

SIDE VIEW OF [eI]

The representation of the articulation of the diphthongs [eI ], [ OI ] and [aI ]

Front Central Back

i: u:
close I U High

e :
half close 3: Mid
e


half open V
Q

Low
open a:

Cardinal Vowel Scale

29
C. Classification

According to the quality of the second element, English diphthongs can be classified into 2 major
groups

Diphthongs
Rising diphthongs Centring diphthongs

[eI ] [ OI ] [aI ] [ [a ] [ I [ e [

] ] ] ]

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

In the English diphthong [aj], the tongue body starts in the position for [a] -- between [æ] and [A:].
Almost immediately, it begins moving upwards and forwards. Occasionally it gets as far as [i], but
usually only as far as [I] or even lower. In a broader transcription, we can ignore the exact position
of the end-point and simply use the glide [j] as a cover symbol.
In the English diphthong [aw], the tongue body starts out in the same position (for most Canadian
speakers) and moves upwards and backwards, towards [u], [:], or [o]. In a broader transcription,
we can use the glide [w] as a cover symbol for the end-point. The lips become increasingly rounding
throughout the diphthong.
In the diphthong [Oj], the tongue body begins in the position for [O:] and moves upwards and
forwards. The lips become increasing less rounded throughout the diphthong.

The major differences between the vowels & the consonants

Sound classes Vowels Consonants

Basis of
differences
Articulation

Acoustics

Functions

30
 ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH
& COARTICULATORY PROCESSES

An overview:
Coarticulation
Consonants with two simultaneous places of articulation:
When these are doubly articulated, the articulators must be independently movable, and
therefore there may only be one each from the categories labial, coronal, dorsal, and radical.

Secondary articulation
There are also consonants of an approximantic nature, in which case both articulations can
be similar, such as labialized labials, palatalized velars, etc.
Some common coarticulations:
Labialization - also known as 'lip rounding', rounding the lips while producing the obstruction,
as in [ kʷ ] and English [ w ]. e.g. 'queen'
Palatalization, raising the body of the tongue toward the hard palate while producing the
obstruction, as in Russian [ tʲ ] or palatalisation in English- [lJ] e.g. intial sound in the word
'lewd'
Velarization, raising the back of the tongue toward the soft palate (velum), as in the English dark
el [ ], [ lˠ ], e.g. final sound in the word 'dull'

Speech is a continuous stream of sounds, without clear-cut borderlines between them, and the
different aspects of connected speech help to explain why written English is so different from
spoken English.

"English people speak so fast" is a complaint I often hear from my students, and often from those at
an advanced level, where ignorance of the vocabulary used is not the reason for their lack of
comprehension. When students see a spoken sentence in its written form, they have no trouble
comprehending. Why is this?

The reason, it seems, is that speech is a continuous stream of sounds, without clear-cut borderlines
between each word. In spoken discourse, we adapt our pronunciation to our audience and articulate
with maximal economy of movement rather than maximal clarity. Thus, certain words are lost, and
certain phonemes linked together as we attempt to get our message across.

From Vanessa Steele

BBC British Council Teaching English

So, what is it that native speakers do when stringing words together that causes so many problems
for students?

31
A. Assimilation

I. Definition
A coarticulatory process by which a sound segment is influenced and changes to become more like
its neighboring sound.
II. Types: 3 types of assimilation
1. Progressive assimilation: A B

A’
The change of a sound segment is brought about by the preceding sound, e.g.
books [ b k z]

[b  k s]
In the sound sequence [ b k z], the voiced alveolar [ z] is devoiced by the preceding voiceless [ k ]
and becomes voiceless [ s ].

Regressive assimilation : A B

B
The change of a sound segment is brought about by the following sound
a. Labialization (Assimilation of place of articulation):
 [t] [p, b, m ]

[p]
e.g. [ pen] (careful/ slow speech)

[p pen] (Casual/ rapid speech)

In the sound sequence [ pen], the alveolar [ t ] is labialized by the following bilabial [p] and
becomes bilabial [p]
[d] [p, b, m], e.g. [g  d baI] (careful/ slow speech)

[b] [g  b b aI ] (Casual/rapid speech)

 [n] [p, b, m], e.g. [g V n men] ](careful speech)

[m] [g V m men] (Casual/ rapid speech)

b. Velarization (Assimilation of place of articulation):
[t] [k, g], e.g. [t g 3:l] (careful/ slow speech)

[ k] [k g 3:l] (Casual/ rapid speech)

In the sound sequence [ g3:l] , the alveolar [ t] is velarized by the following velar
[g] and becomes velar [ k ].
 [d] [k, g], e.g. [g  d g 3:l] (careful/ slow speech)

[g ] [g  g g 3:l] (Casual/ rapid speech)

32
[n] [k, g ], e.g. [b &n k] (careful/ slow speech)

[N] [b &N k ] (Casual/ rapid speech)

C. Nasalization (Assimilation of manner of articulation):

[d] [ n/m ], e.g. [g  d naIt] (careful/ slow speech)

[n/ m] [g  n naIt] (Casual/ rapid speech)

In the sound sequence [g  d naIt] the stop [ d ] is nasalized by the following nasal [ n ]
and becomes nasal [ n ].

[v] [ m ], e.g. [g I v mi: ] (careful/ slow speech)

[ m] [g I m mi: ] (Casual/ rapid speech)

3. Mutual assimilation/ Coalescence (Assimilation of place of articulation): A + B

C
Two sounds coalesce or combine to make another sound.
a) [ t ] + [ j ] makes [tS], e.g. [w Q n t + ju:]

tS
In the sound sequence [w Q n tSju:] the alveolar [t ] coalesces or combines with the palatal [ j ] to
make the palato-alveolar [ tS ]
b) [ d ] + [ j ] makes [dZ, eg. [ni:d + ju:]

[dZ],
c) ) [ s ] + [ j ] makes [∫], eg.[mIs + ju:]

[S]

d) ) [ z ] + [ j ] makes [], eg. [lu:z + ju:]

[Z ]

Mutual Assimilation of [ t ] & [ j ]

33
Practice with assimilation
Ten men [ ten men ]
Downbeat [ daUnbi:t ]
Fine grade [ faIngreId ]
Incredible [InkredIble ]
Red paint [ red peInt ]
Admit [ @dmIt ]
Bad guys [ b&d gaIz]
Eight boys [ eIt bOIz ]
Tune [ tju:n ]
Endure [ Indju:@ ]
Factual [ f&ktju: l ]
Educate [ edju:keIt ]
Costume [ kstju:m ]
Tune [ tju:n ]
Mildew [ mIldju: ]
Adduce [ @dju:s ]
Amplitude [ amplItju:t ]
Reduce [rIdju:s ]
Education [edju:keISn ]
reconstitute [rIknstItju:t ]

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Assimilation is a regular and frequent sound change process by which a phoneme changes to match
an adjacent phoneme in a word. A common example of assimilation is vowels being 'nasalized'
before nasal consonants as it is difficult to change the shape of the mouth sufficiently quickly.

If the phoneme changes to match the preceding phoneme, it is progressive assimilation (also left-to-
right, perseveratory, or preservative assimilation). If the phoneme changes to match the following
phoneme, it is regressive assimilation (also right-to-left or anticipatory assimilation). If there is a
mutual influence between the two phonemes, it is reciprocal assimilation. In the latter case the two
phonemes can fuse completely and give a birth to a different one. This is called a
[Link] may result in the neighbouring segments becoming identical, yielding a
geminate consonant; this is complete assimilation. In other cases, only some features of phonemes
assimilate, e.g. voicing or place of articulation; this is partial assimilation.

Examples

Complete assimilation:
The word assimilation itself (from Latin ad + simile) illegible (in + legible)
suppose (sub + pose) in Italian: Egitto (tt < pt), dottore (tt < kt), and many more
Partial assimilation:
voicing: the pronunciation of absurd as apsurd
voicing: bats (bat + the plural morpheme s, which is underlyingly /z/)
place of articulation:

34
impossible (in + possible), incomplete (in which n represents the velar nasal)
Numerous examples can be found at List of Latin words with English derivatives.

B. Dissimilation
A sound segment becomes less alike its neighboring sound.
E.g. Fifths [fIfs ]

[fIfts ]
C. Elison (deletion)
A sound segment is deleted from the existing string of sounds.
I. Elision of the Schwa [  ]
 When preceded by a consonant in an unstressed syllable, e.g.
today [ t  deI ], police, correct


 After a consonant and before a linking [ r ] which precedes another vowel.
E.g. interesting [Int  r stIN], secretary, literature, dictionary


II. Elision of [ t, d ] between two other consonants,
E.g. Hand me [ h n d mi: ], next day [ neks t deI ]
F. Metathesis
The order of the sounds is rearranged to ease the articulation, e.g.
spaghetti [ sp g etI ] ask [ A:sk ]
[ p s g etI ] [ A:ks ]

G. Epenthesis
A sound segment is inserted within an existing string of sounds when there is a transition
from a sonorant to a nonsonorant.
E.g. warmth [wO: m T ]

p
[ le N  ]
[ prin s]

35
H. Liason (linking)
The linking of a final consonant in the preceding word to the initial vowel of the following word.
Sixhours
anhourago
halfanhour
twelvehoursa day,
Fouro’ clock
5o’ clock
6o’ clock
7o’ clock
8o’ clock
12o’ clock
A coupleof days
a bottleof wine,
2 peoplein the room
a table at Mario
Youwand I

Who ware you

So and so
w
See ja man

they jall

very interesting

I. Stress
I. Definition
The pronunciation of a syllable/ word with more force and prominence than the others nearby.
II. The characteristics
The prominence of a stressed syllable can be achieved in terms of production and perception
1. Loudness (dynamic accent ):
b BA b b

36
 2. Pitch (musical accent) :
b
b b b
3. Length (qualitative accent ):
b b: b b
4. Quality (quantitative accent):
b bi: b b
III. Types:
1. Word stress:
The stress pattern given to a word in isolation.
There can be 3 possible levels of stress within a word
a. Primary/ High stress: The greatest stress given to a syllable within a (polysyllabic)
word, e.g. independent
b. Secondary/ Low stress:
The next stress given to a syllable within a polysyllabic word, e.g. independent

• primary stress in marked with a raised vertical line, e.g. independent

• secondary (or medium) stress is marked with lowered vertical line e.g. independent
• Both marks come at the beginning of the stress syllable -- they apply to the entire syllable,
not to any single segment.

C. Tertiary/ Rhythmic stress:

The weakest stress of a syllable within a polysyllabic word
E.g. mag nification

Note: Word stress is fixed, i.e. the stress pattern of a word in isolation cannot be changed.
2. Sentence stress:
Stress given to words said to be important in a sentence.
Parts of speech usually have stress in a sentence: Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb.
E.g.  Tom  usually  comes to  class  late on  Monday.
IV. Function of stress
a. Distinguish between different parts of speech
Noun Verb/ Adjective
 Import import
 Contact contact
 Content content

37
 b. Distinguish between a compound and a noncompound (free word group)
 GREEN house (compound)
Green  HOUSE (noncompound)
 BLUE bottle (compound)
Blue  BOTTLE (noncompound)
V. Stress Shift/ Change
When a word/ phrase is followed by another word/ phrase with a high stress or tonic stress.
E.g. independent

She’s independent.

But She’s an independent  girl.

thirteen, absent-minded, diplomatic, artificial

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis given to certain syllables in a word.

The ways stress manifests itself in the speech stream is highly language dependent. In some
languages, stressed syllables have a higher or lower pitch than non-stressed syllables — so-called
pitch accent (or musical accent). There are also dynamic accent (loudness), quantitative accent (full
vowels), and qualitative accent (length, known in music theory as agogic accent). Stress may be
characterized by more than one of these characteristics. For instance, stressed syllables in English
have higher pitch, longer duration, and typically fuller vowels than unstressed syllables, as well as
being dynamically louder. Stressed syllables in Russian are broadly similar, but have lower rather
than higher pitch. Contrasting with these, stressed and unstressed vowels in Spanish share the same
quality, and the language has no reduced vowels like English or Russian.
The possibilities for stress in tone languages is an area of ongoing research.
Stressed syllables are often perceived as being more forceful than non-stressed syllables. Research
has shown, however, that although dynamic stress is accompanied by greater respiratory force, it
does not mean a more forceful articulation in the vocal [Link]
It would have been logically possible for every syllable to have exactly the same loudness, pitch,
and so on. (Some early attempts at speech synthesizers sounded like this.) But human languages
have ways to make some syllables more prominent than others.
A syllable might be more prominent by differing from the surrounding syllables in terms of:
+ loudness
+ pitch
+ length
NB: Prominence is relative to the surrounding syllables, not absolute. (A stressed syllable that is
nearly whispered will be quieter than an unstressed syllable that is shouted.)
Why?
38
Boundary marking
In normal speech, words and phrases simply don't have little pauses between them. Prominence can
help indicate where the boundaries are, making life easier for the listener.
French usually gives prominence to the syllable at the end of a word or phrase.
Many other languages give prominence to the initial syllables of words (e.g., Icelandic, Hungarian).
There seems to be a bias for English listeners to interpret a stressed syllable as the beginning of a
new word.
Children will delete unstressed initial syllables more often than unstressed final syllables.
([b'næn] is more common than [b'næn].)
Additional contrasts
In many languages, changing which syllable is stressed can change the meaning of a word. For
example,
English:
convert: vs. convert
console: vs. console
permit: vs. permit
The realization of stress in English
In English, the three ways to make a syllable more prominent are to make it:
+ louder
+ longer
+ higher pitched (usually)
English typically uses all three kinds of prominence simultaneously. Other languages might use only
one or two of them.
In English, vowels in unstressed syllables are systematically reduced. English speakers will not try
to control the position of the tongue body during the vowel of an unstressed syllable. Instead, the
tongue body will reach whatever point is convenient in getting from the preceding consonant to the
following consonant. The average position reached is mid-central schwa.
Failing to reduce unstressed vowels is one of the major contributors to an accent in non-native
speakers of English.
Reducing vowels inappropriately is one of the major contributors to an English accent in other
languages.
In general, the differences between stressed and unstressed syllables are more extreme in English
than in most languages.

J. Intonation
I. Definition:
The pronunciation of a sentence with a rise and fall of the voice in different levels of pitch.

39
 II. The Basic Tune shapes
1. The Glide Down (Falling Tune)
e.g. I’m from Canada.
2. The Glide Up (High Rising Tune)
e.g. Are you a student?
3. The Take Off (Low Rising Tune)
E.g. You are Chinese, aren’t you?
4. The Dive (Fall-Rise)
E.g. They sell milk, sugar, biscuit ...
III. The representation of the intonation contour
1. The Glide Down (Falling Tune)
e.g. I’m from Canada.

2. The Glide Up (High Rising Tune)

e.g. Are you a student?

3. The Take Off (Low Rising Tune)

E.g. You are Chinese, aren’t you?

4. The Dive (Fall-Rise)

E.g. They sell milk, sugar, biscuit ...
IV. How the Basic Tune shapes are used
1. The Glide Down can be used for:
a. A definite, complete statement,
e.g. I’m a student.
b. Most Wh-Questions,
e.g. What are you doing?
c. A question-tag when the speaker is certain of his/ her information,
e.g. She’s cold, isn’t she?
d. A strong command,
e.g. Come in.

40
e. An exciting greeting or exclamation,
e.g. Good evening! What a nice surprise!
f. A definite short, answer Yes/ No,
e.g. Yes, she is. No, she isn’t.
g. A repeated question,
e.g. A: Are you a foreigner?
B: Pardon”
A: Are you a foreigner?

2. The Glide Up can be used for:

a. Most Yes- No Questions,
e.g. Are you a student?
b. A statement intended as a question,
e.g. You’re a student?
c. A polite request,
e.g. Can you help me?
d. A casual greeting,
e.g. Good evening!
3. The Take off can be used for:
a. A question tag when the speaker isn’t certain of his information,
e.g. she’s cold, isn’t she?
b. A grumbling statement,
e.g. You’re always late.
c. An echoing question,
e.g. A: I’ve been to Wimbledon.
B: Where’s Wimbledon?
(Where have you been?)
4. The Dive can be used for:
a. A list of things,
e.g. They sell milk, sugar, biscuit ...
b. An incomplete statement implying BUT ...
e.g. He’s intelligent (but he’s lazy ...)
c. With Before/ When phrase,
e.g. Before I eat dinner, I’ll have a bath first.

41
d. Correcting thing,
e.g. A: He’s forty.
B: No, he’s fifty.
5. Alternative question A or B?,
e.g. Would you like tea or coffee?

42
 Exercises
1. Differences between spelling and pronunciation
a. Find out four words that show four different spellings of the sound [ f ]
b. Find out six words that have the letter a pronounced differently.
c. Find out four words in which different groups of letters represent only one sound

2. How many segments are there in the following words?

a) At c) hoping e) psychology h) awesome
b) Math d) cure f) knowledge g) mailbox

3. Pronounce the following words

a) Though e) zoom i) huge m) when
b) Thought f) silk j) choose n) buns
c) Form g) pan k) judge o) ghetto
d) View h) boat l) pneumatic p) winced
i) Is the first sound in each word voiced or voiceless?
ii) Is the last sound in each word voiced or voiceless?

4. For each of the following pairs of sounds, state whether they have the same or different
place of articulation. Then identify the place of articulation for each sound.
a) [s]:[l] e) [ m ] : [ n ] i) [ b ] : [ f ]
b) [k]:[N] f) [ t ] : [  ] j) [ t ] : [d ]
c) [p]:[g] g) [ f ] : [ h ] k) [ s ] : [ v ]
d) [l]:[r] h) [ w ] : [ j ] l) [  ] : [ t ]

5) For each of the following pairs of sounds, state whether they have the same or different
manner of articulation. Then identify the manner of articulation for each sound.
a) [s]:[] e) [ l ] : [ t ] i) [ r ] : [w ]
b) [ k]:[g] f) [  ] : [ v ] j) [ t ] : [ d ]
c) [w]:[] g) [ t ] : [ s ] k) [ h ] : [  ]
d) [ f ]:[] h) [ m ]:[N ] l) [ z ] : [  ]

43
6) Describe the consonants in the word “skinflint” using the chart below. Fill in all five
columns, and put parentheses around the terms that may be left out, as shown for the first
consonant.

Term 1 2 3 4 5
voiced or place of central or oral or articulatory
voiceless articulation lateral action
Consonant nasal
[s] voiceless alveolar (central) (oral) fricative
[k]
[ n]
[f]
[l]
[t]

7). Identify the corresponding consonant or vowel as described

(adapted from Ladefoged, 1982 p.17)
1. Circle the words that begin with a bilabial consonant:
mat gnat sat bat rat pat
2. Circle the words that begin with a velar consonant:
knot got lot cot hot pot
3. Circle the words that begin with a labiodental consonant:
fat cat that mat chat vat
4. Circle the words that begin with a alveolar consonant:
zip nip lip sip tip dip
5. Circle the words that begin with a dental consonant:
pie guy shy thigh thy high
6. Circle the words that begin with a palato-alveolar consonant:
sigh shy tie thigh thy lie
7. Circle the words that end with a fricative:
race wreath bush bring breathe bang rave real ray rose rough
8. Circle the words that end with a nasal:
rain rang dumb deaf
9. Circle the words that end with a stop:
pill lip lit graph crab dog hide laugh back

44
10. Circle the words that begin with a lateral:
nut lull bar rob one
11. Circle the words that begin with an approximant:
we you one run
12. Circle the words that end with an affricate:
much back edge ooze
13. Circle the words in which the consonant in the middle is voiced:
tracking mother robber leisure massive stomach razor
14. Circle the words that contain a high vowel:
sat suit got meet mud
15. Circle the words that contain a low vowel:
weed wad load lad rude
16. Circle the words that contain a front vowel:
gate caught cat kit put
17. Circle the words that contain a back vowel:
maid weep coop cop good
18. Circle the words that contain a rounded vowel:
who me us but him

8. Give the phonetic transcription that correspond to each of the following articulatory
description
a) Voiceless velar stop e) voiced velar nasal
b) Voiced labiodental fricative f) voiceless interdental fricative
c) Voiced alveopalatal affricate g) high back rounded lax vowel
d) Voiced palatal glide h) low front unrounded vowel

10. Which of the following pairs of words show the same vowel quality?
a) Back sat h) hide height
b) Cot caught i) least heed
c) Bid key j) drug cook
d) Luck flick k) sink fit
e) Ooze deuce l) oak own
f) Cot court m) pour port
g) Fell fail n) mouse cow

45
11. Using descriptive terms like sibilant, fricative … provide a single phonetic characteristic
that all the segments in each group shares
E.g. [ b d g m e j ] are all voiced
(a) [p t k g ]
(b) [&, i:, e ]
(c) [ t d   ]
(d) [p b m f v]
(e) [  Q  ]

12. Compare the careful speech and rapid speech pronunciation of the sound sequences in
column A and column B

Column A: Column B: Assimilatory

Careful speech Rapid speech Process

i. cat burglar [ "k&t "b3: gl ] [ "k&p "b3:gl  ] i.

ii. in camera [In "k&m  r  ] [IN "k&m  r  ] ii.
iii. wise youngster ["waIz jNst ] [ "waI "Nst ] iii.
a) Name the coarticulatory process that makes the rapid speech pronunciation different from the
careful speech in each case;
b) Explain why these processes happen.
i.

ii.

iii.

46
 PHONOLOGY
The function and patterning of sounds

What is phonology?

An overview
Phonology is the study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages.
The phonological system of a language includes
- an inventory of sounds and their features, and
- rules which specify how sounds interact with each other.
Phonology is just one of several aspects of language. It is related to other aspects such as
phonetics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.
The place of phonology in an interacting hierarchy of levels in linguistics:

Pragmatics
Semantics
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Phonetics

Comparison of phonetics & phonology

phonetics phonology
The basis for phonological The basis for further work in
analysis morphology, syntax, discourse &
orthography design
Analyze the production of all Analyze the sound patterns of
the human speech sounds, particular languages by
regardless of any particular determining what phonetic
language sounds are significant, and
explaining how these sounds are
interpreted by native speakers

47
PHONOLOGY

A. Definition:

Phonology is the study of languages' sound systems, for instance of how sounds combine to form
syllables, how they change according to the environments they occur in, and of the distinctive
features of speech sounds (the features that can change words' meaning) in a given language.

Briefly, it is the study of how the speech sounds function and form patterns according to
phonological rules.
B. Basic elements used to make up the phonological patterns:

The phonological system of a language includes various units plus patterns which are used to
combine the units into larger units. The units of a phonological system are:

I. The Features:

Aspects or characteristics of a speech sound that arise from the way the sound is articulated or the
way it sounds to the ear. 'Voicing' is a feature that varies according to whether or not the vocal cords
vibrate during the articulation of a sound; the sound [ s ] is voiceless, but the sound [ z ] is voiced,
for example. Other features include 'manner', or what sort of gesture or position is used to make a
consonant sound (a 'stop' involves blocking the airstream completely for a fraction of a second, as
for [ p ], while a 'fricative' involves creating a narrow opening through which air escapes, as for [ f ].
There are also suprasegmental features, which are 'overlaid' on syllables or words. One such
feature is stress, known outside linguistics as 'where the accent is in a word'. In 'potato', the stress
falls on the second syllable; in 'promise' on the first.

In this course, features are treated as the smallest phonological units to build up/ define the
segment,
e.g. /n/
- vocalic
+ nasal
- continuant
II. The segments:

A segment is a speech sound such as [ m ] or [ i ]. Speech sounds are made by putting several
features together. [ m ], for example, is created by vibrating the vocal cords (feature: voiced),
closing the mouth at the lips (feature: bilabial), and lowering the soft palate so that air can escape
through the nose (feature: nasal). These three gestures occur simultaneously. The result is a voiced
bilabial nasal, [ m ]. Thus, segments are units that are built up from features; features are the
building blocks for segments.

Segments can be viewed as the phonological discrete units used to build up the syllable, e.g. the
sound sequence / k I n / can be segmented into three discreet units / k /, / I /, / n /.

48
III. The syllables: suprasegmental unit
A syllable is a rhythmic unit of speech. Syllables exist to make the speech stream easier for the
human mind to process. A syllable comprises one or more segments; segments are the building
blocks for syllables.
Syllables are the phonological units (units above the segment) used to build up the word, e.g.
/ k&ndI / candy

k&n dI

Phonological representation of the hierarchical levels of elements

Wd Word level

 Syllable level

k & n Segment level

+ consonantal + vocalic + consonantal
- continuant - back - continuant Feature level
- voice - high + nasal

SEGMENTS IN CONTRAST
A. The Phoneme:
- Refers to the smallest contrastive or distinctive unit in the sound system of a language
- Serves distinguish between different words with different meanings.
e.g. / p / & / b / in / p  t / - / b  t / “pat” & “bat”
and / I / & / i: / in ”hit” / h I t / & “heat” / h i: t /
 /p/&/b/
/ I / & / i: / : different phonemes.

Phonologists have differing views of the phoneme. Following are the two major views considered
here:

In the American structuralist tradition, a phoneme is defined according to its allophones and
environments.
In the generative tradition, a phoneme is defined as a set of distinctive features.

49
Examples (Distinctive features: English)

Here is an example of the English phonemes /p/ and /i/ specified as sets of distinctive features:

/p/ /i/

-syllabic +syllabic
+consonantal -consonantal
-sonorant +sonorant
+anterior +high
-coronal -low
-voice -back
-continuant -round
-nasal +ATR

B. The Distinctive feature (Contrastive/phonemic):

Distinguish/contrast between two different phonemes, e.g.
+/- voice in 2 bilabial stops / p / & / b /
- voice + voice
+ labial + labial
+ stop + stop

C. The Minimal Pair Test :

The basic test to discover which sounds are phonemes
I. The Minimal Pair:
A pair that consists of two forms/words that are identical in everywhere except for one segment that
occurs in the same place in the string/phonemic environment/context

Here is an example of the phonemes /r/ and /l/ occurring in a minimal pair.

e.g. hit / hIt / / t / : voiceless

hid / hId/ / d / : voiced
race / reIs / / s /: voiced
raise / reIz / / z /: voiceless

The phones [r] and [l] contrast in identical environments and are considered to be separate
phonemes. The phonemes /r/ and /l/ serve to distinguish the word rip from the word lip.

50
II. Environment/Context/Background:
The phonemic context in which a sound or segment occurs, e.g.
/ f  n / is the environment for / f /
& / v  n / the environment for / v /
More examples:
cap – gap / kp / - / p /
leave live / li:v /- / lIv]

51
 PHONETICALLY CONDITIONED VARIATIONS
THE PHONEME & THE ALLOPHONE
A. The allophone:
Any form of the variants of a phoneme in pronunciation.
A predictable phonetic realization of a phoneme in speech.
e.g. In English, the phoneme / p / is aspirated when it is syllabic-initial, as in [ phi:k ] peak
but it is unaspirated after / s /, as in [ spi:k ] speak
Both aspirated [ ph ] & unaspirated [ p ] are two phonetic realizations or allophones of the same
phoneme / p /.
/p/ phoneme
h
[p ] [p ] allophones
B. Complementary Distribution (CD):
I. Definition:
Two or more sounds or segments never occur in the same phonetic environment, e.g.
voiced [ l ] voiceless [ l ]
lake [ leI k ] please [ pli:z ]
blue [ blu: ] clear [ klI ]
slow [ sl U] play [ pleI ]
Complementary distribution of [ l ] and [ l ] in English
Context [l] [ l ]
After voiceless stop no yes
Elsewhere yes no
If [ l ] and [ l ] are complementarily distributed in this way, they are said to be allophones of the
same phoneme / l /
/l/

[l] [ l ]
II. Non-distinctive/Phonetic/redundant/predictable feature:
The feature that makes this sound (allophone) phonetically differs from another sound
(allophone), e.g. the aspiration h in [ ph i: ] & [ p i: ] pea

III. Phoneme vs allophone

A phone A phoneme
One of many possible sounds in the languages of A contrastive unit in the sound system of a
the world. particular language
A contrastive unit in the sound system of a A contrastive unit in the sound system of a
52
particular language particular language
Pronounced in a defined way. Pronounced in one or more ways, depending on
the number of allophones.
Represented between brackets by convention. Represented between slashes by convention.
- What you hear - What you interpret
- actual member(s) of that class - Name for a class of sounds
- concrete unit of speech - abstract unit of language
- noncontrastive/ nondistinctive predictable - contrastive/distinctive/ non-predictable
- phonetic (in pronunciation) - phonemic (in dictionary)
- phonetic realization/ variant - basic, underlying form
- individual (free variation) - socialized
E.g. E.g.

53
 THE SYLLABLE

A. Definition
A unit of linguistic structure (< word > segment) that consists of a syllabic element and any segment
that are associate with it.
B. The internal structure of a syllable:
Syllables have internal structure: they can be divided into parts. The parts are onset and rhyme;
within the rhyme we find the nucleus and coda. Not all syllables have all parts; the smallest
possible syllable contains a nucleus only. A syllable may or may not have an onset and a coda.
Onset: the beginning sounds of the syllable; the ones preceding the nucleus. These are always
consonants in English. The nucleus is a vowel in most cases, although the consonants [ r ], [ l ], [ m
], [ n ], and the velar nasal (the 'ng' sound) can also be the nucleus of a syllable. In the following
words, the onset is in bold; the rest underlined.
read
flop
strap
If a word contains more than one syllable, each syllable will have the usual syllable parts:
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
Rhyme (or rime): the rest of the syllable, after the onset (the underlined portions of the words
above). The rhyme can also be divided up:
Rhyme = nucleus + coda
The nucleus, as the term suggests, is the core or essential part of a syllable. A nucleus must be
present in order for a syllable to be present. Syllable nuclei are most often highly 'sonorant' or
resonant sounds, that can be relatively loud and carry a clear pitch level. In English and most other
languages, most syllable nuclei are vowels. In English, in certain cases, the liquids [ l r ] and nasals
[ m n ] and the velar nasal usually spelled 'ng' can also be syllable nuclei.
Linguists often use tree diagrams to illustrate syllable structure. 'Flop', for example, would look like
this (the word appears in IPA symbols, not English spelling). 's' or  = 'syllable'; 'O' = 'onset'; 'R' =
'rhyme'; 'N' = 'nucleus'; 'C' = 'coda'. The syllable node at the top of the tree branches into Onset and
Rhyme; the Onset node branches because it contains two consonants, [ f ] and [ l ]. The Rhyme node
branches because this syllable has both a nucleus and a coda.
s
/ \
O R
/\ / \
| | NC
| | | |
[f l a p]
Fig. Representation of internal structure of the syllables of “flap”
Parts of a syllable

54
Parts Description Optionality
Onset Initial segment of a syllable optional
Rhyme Core of a syllable, consisting of obligatory
a nucleus and coda (see below).
-- Nucleus Central segment of a syllable. obligatory
-- Coda Closing segment of a syllable. optional

Kinds

Here are some kinds of syllables:

Kind Description Example

Heavy Has a branching rhyme. All syllables with a branching nucleus CV:C, CVCC, CVC
(long vowels) are considered heavy. Some languages treat
syllables with a short vowel (nucleus followed by a consonant
(coda) as heavy.
Light Has a non-branching rhyme (short vowel). Some languages treat CV, CVC
syllables with a short vowel(nucleus) followed by a consonant
(coda) as light.
Closed Ends with a consonant coda. CVC, CVCC, VC
Open Has no final consonant CV
Summary
A syllable may be composed of 4 subsyllabic units

1. Nucleus – N (a vowel: monophthong or diphthong)

2. Coda – C (consonant(s)) following the Nucleus
3. Rhyme – R (N+C)
4. Onset – O (consonant(s)) preceding the Nucleus


O R

N C

s p r I n t
Fig. Representation of internal structure of the syllables of “sprint”

55
C. Onset Constraints & Phonotactics
I. Onset constraints:
The segment sequences of some words that sound unusual and are not permissible to native speakers
of a given language.
e.g. the onset / pn / in the word pneumonia is not permissible in English phonology.
II. Phonotactics: (arrangements of segments).
The patterns or rule systems of a phonological system include:
phonotactics, also known as sequence constraints. These are restrictions on the number and type
of segments that can combine to form syllables and words; they vary greatly from one language to
another. In English, for example, a word may begin with up to three consonants, but no more than
three. If a word does begin with three consonants, the first will always be [ s ], the second must be
chosen from among the voiceless stops [ p t k ] and the third from among the liquids [ l r ] or
glides [ w j ]. Thus we get words such as 'squeeze' [ s k w i z ] in English, but not words such as
[ p s t a p ].
Phonotactics is the set of constraints on how sequences of segments pattern, forms parts of a
speaker’s knowledge of the phonology of his /her language. This knowledge allows the native
speaker to adjust the impermissible sequences of segments of some words to conform with the
pronunciation requirements of their own language
e.g. / p / in / pn / in pneumonia is dropped so that this word is pronounced as / nju:mU nI /
· Articulatory classification shows its usefulness in the description of language-specific patterns of
phonotactics
· The description of phonotactics also requires a notion of phonological structure (syllables, words,
phrases, etc.)

Possible Three-consonant Onset in English

(l)

p r

 {s t l Nucleus

k (w)
j

D. Setting up Syllables

1. Construct 2. Construct 3. Construct 4. Construct

the nucleus the onset the coda the word

56
E. Syllabic Phonology
Syllables in phonological analysis for stating generalizations about the distribution of allophonic
structure.
I. Distribution of aspirated stops in English
Aspirated stop Unaspirated stops
- Elsewhere:
- syllabic-initially + in a syllable onset preceded

- E.g. Pay [ ph eI ] by [ s ], e.g. Span [sp n]

(whether another C follows

or not), e.g. [splIt],[sprIn]
+ before a consonant

English voiceless stops are aspirated syllable-initially

Further reading (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Examples
Syllable nucleus
Word Nucleus
In phonetics and phonology, the nucleus (sometimes called peak) is the central
part of the syllable, mostly commonly a vowel. In addition to a nucleus, a cat [a]
syllable may begin with an onset and end with a coda, but the only part of a
syllable that is mandatory is the nucleus. The nucleus and coda form the rime of bed [e]
the syllable.

Diphthongs and triphthongs can also serve as the nucleus. Syllables with short tore [o]
vowels as nuclei are sometimes referred to as "light syllables" while syllables
with long vowels, diphthongs, or triphthongs as nuclei are referred to as "heavy ode [o]
syllables"; see Syllable weight for more discussion.
eat [i]
Sonorant consonants such as liquids (such as [r] and [l]) and nasals (such as [m]
and [n]) can serve as the nucleus if there is no vowel. The nucleus of the last
tea [i]
syllable in the final example at right is an example of a sonorant nucleus. Some
languages allow other sounds, such as stops, to become nuclei.
see [i]
Retrieved from
"[Link] bitten
[I], [ə]
able_nucleus" [bIt.ən]

In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable bitten

consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. "Rime" and "rhyme" are variants of [I], [n]
[bIt.n]
the same word, but the rarer form "rime" is sometimes used with the definition
given above in order to differentiate it from the concept of poetic rhyme. This
distinction is not made by all linguists and does not appear in most dictionaries.

Syllable onset

57
In phonetics and phonology, a syllable onset is the part of a syllable that precedes the syllable
nucleus.

Syllable structure

The segmental structure of a syllable begins with an optional onset, followed by a compulsory rime
or final (yunmu).

syllable: C1(C2)V1(V2)(C3)(C4) = onset: C1(C2) + rime: V1(V2)(C3)(C4)

syllable: V1(V2)(C3)(C4) = onset: Ø (null) + rime: V1(V2)(C3)(C4)

(C = consonant, V = vowel, optional components are in parentheses.)

Depending on the phonotactics of a language, the onset can consist of a single consonant or a
consonant cluster. If a syllable begins with a vowel or another syllabic sonorant, then the syllable is
said to have no onset, or a null onset. In Chinese language studies, the terms null initial and zero
initial are used as well.
Syllable coda
In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus,
which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a rime. A coda is not
required in syllables. Some languages' phonotactics, like that of Japanese, limit syllable codas to a
small group of single consonants, whereas others, like English can have any consonant or even
clusters of consonants in syllable codas.
Here are some single-syllable words with codas: (the codas are specified in the International
Phonetic Alphabet)
an: coda = /n/
cup: coda = /p/
tall: coda = /l/
milk: coda = /lk/
tints: coda = /nts/
fifths: coda = /fθs/
sixths: coda = /ksθs/
The following single-syllable words end in a nucleus and do not have a coda:
glue
pie
though
boy
Syllable weight
In linguistics, syllable weight is the concept that syllables pattern together according to the number
and/or duration of segments in the rime.
A heavy syllable is a syllable with a branching nucleus or a branching rime. A branching nucleus
generally means the syllable has a long vowel or a diphthong; this type of syllable is abbreviated
CVV. A syllable with a branching rime is a closed syllable, that is, one with a coda (one or more
consonants at the end of the syllable); this type of syllable is abbreviated CVC. In some languages,
both CVV and CVC syllables are heavy, while a syllable with a short vowel as the nucleus and no
coda (a CV syllable) is a light syllable. In other languages, only CVV syllables are heavy, while
CVC and CV syllables are light. Some languages distinguish a third type, CVVC syllables (with
both a branching nucleus and a coda) and/or CVCC syllables (with a coda consisting of two or more
consonants) as superheavy syllables.
58
In moraic theory, heavy syllables are analyzed as containing two moras, light syllables one, and
superheavy syllables three.
The distinction between heavy and light syllables plays an important role in the phonology of some
languages, especially with regards to the assignment of stress.

59
Phonological rules
Apart form the phonotactics, the patterns or rule systems of a phonological system also include:
Phonological processes, including coarticulation processes, are modifications of the feature
structure of a sound that occur for one of two reasons: to make sounds that are near each other more
alike, thus make articulation easier (assimilation), or to make sounds more different from each other
(for instance, aspiration makes voiceless stops such as [ p ] and [ k ] more different from voiced
ones such as [ b ] and [ g ].
 Each of the native speaker of a particular language may own a mental dictionary which consists
of:
- stores knowledge of its basic vocabulary
- the phonemic/ underlying representations (UR) of words
- their phonetic realizations (PR), and what these forms mean.
 The relationship between UR & PR is rule-governed.
 These phonological rules related the minimally specified phonemic representation to the phonetic
representation and are part of a speaker’s knowledge.
 The phonemic representation need only include the non-predictable distinctive features of the
phonemes of the words
 The phonetic representation derived by applying these rules includes all the linguistically relevant
phonetic aspects of all the sounds.
 The functions of phonological rules
The phonological ruled may provide the phonetic information necessary for the pronunciation of
utterances and produce the following alternations:
- Change the feature values (vowel nasalization rule)
- Add new features (aspiration rule)
- Delete segments (Schwa & final consonants rule)
- Add segments (insertion of schwa rule)
- Reorder segments (metathesis rule)
The process of modifying the forms of an utterance can be represented as follows:
Input Phonemic (dic.) representation of words in a sentence

Phonological rules (P-rules)

Output Phonetic (speech) representation of words in a sentence

60
 DERIVATIONS & RULE ORDERING

What is a phonological derivation?

A. Definition
A phonological derivation is the set of stages used to generate the phonetic representation of a
word from its underlying representation.
Phonological rules influence each stage of a derivation:
Apply Rules Apply Rules Apply Rules

Underlying Derivation1 Derivation n Phonetic

Representation Representation

Diagram of the stages in a derivation

The relationship between phonological and phonetic representation is formalized by assuming

that the unpredictable features of the phonetic segment are basic or underlying
Phonetic forms (PFs) are derived by setting up the underlying representation/form (URs/UFs)
and then allowing the rules in question to operate in those contexts where they are relevant.

Fig.: The representation of the derivation of the form of slap, tap and pad

UR (in Dic.)
(phonemic form) # sl æ p # slap # t & p # tap # p & d # pad

Aspiration ----NA------- # th & p # # ph & d #

V-length ----NA------- ----NA------- # ph &: d #
P.R. (in speech) [sl æ p ] [ th & p ] [ ph &: d ]
(phonetic form)

B. Rule application
I. Unordered & Free Rule Application:
These rules do not interact or alter each other in any way; the order in which they are applied makes
no different to the outcome of a derivation.

UR (in Dic.)
(phonemic form) # sl æ p # slap # t & p # tap # p & d # pad

V- length ----NA------- ----NA------- # p &: d #

Aspiration ----NA------- # th & p # # ph &: d #
P.R. (in speech) [sl æ p ] [ th & p ] [ ph &: d ]
(phonetic form)

61
 II. Feeding order in a derivation
The prior application of one rule will create an environment that allows another rule to apply later
on in the derivation

Fig.: The representation of the derivation of the form of parade

UR
Phonemic form (Dic.) # p  reId # parade
Stress Rule # p  "reId #
Schwa-deletion # p  "reId #
Liquid-glide devoicing # "p  reId #
PR (Pronunciation)] [ "p "reId ]

III. Extrinsic Rule Ordering

Bleeding Rule:
The application of one rule will remove the context that allows another rule to apply.

Fig.: The representation of the derivation of the form of writer

UR # raIt  r # writer UR # raIt  r # writer

Phonemic form Phonemic form
Stress # "raIt  r # Stress # "raIt  r #
Raising # "rVIt  r # Flapping # "raI4  r #
Flapping # "rVI4  r # Raising --- NA ----
PR PR
(Pronunciation) [ "rVI4  r ] (Pronunciation) [ "raI4  r ]

62
MORPHOLOGY & PHONOLOGY

A. Morphophonemics
Rules that account for alternations among allomorphs (contextual phonetic variants of
morphemes)
B. Characteristics of Morphophonemics
1. have exceptions, apply to a limited class of forms.
2. often make reference to particular morphemes or morphological structures.
C. Deriving allomorphs
1. Set up the basic underlying forms (U.F) of the words in question
2. Allow rules to apply for the derivation all phonetic variants form (P.F)
The representation of the derivation of English plural allomorphs
UF # b U k-z # # fIb-z # # m  t-z #
Schwa epenthesis
Voicing assimilation
PF

C. Deriving allomorphs
1. Set up the basic underlying forms (U.F) of the words in question
2. Allow rules to apply for the derivation all phonetic variants form (P.F)
The representation of the derivation of English plural allomorphs

UF # b U k-z # # fIb-z # # m  t-z #

Schwa epenthesis
Voicing assimilation
PF
D. Conditioning by morphological class

The morphophonemic rule of Irregular English Plurals refers to a subclass of forms.

This limited class of words show an alternation / f / and
/ v / in their plural form.
This derivation does not apply to new words entering English.
Stem-changing rule for English Plural:
Rule PL: f → v / _______ ] - Z plural
E.g. Derivation of English thieves and chiefs
UR # If - z # [+ Rule PL ] # tS I f - z #
F → v (Rule PL)
Voicing assimilation
Vowel lengthening
PF

E. Abstract underlying representations

Why abstract?
Why more abstract?
Why abstract UR has advantage?

63
Abstraction and English Stems
E.g. English k to s fronting in the derivation of electric and electricity
UR # Ilektr Ik # # Ilektr Ik – ItI #
Stress
k → s rule
Flapping
PR

Segment- deletion rules

A B
sign signature
design designation
paradigm paradigmatic
The representation of g-deletion of the word sign

Phonemic rep
/  / deletion –rule
Diphthongization rule
Nasalization rule
Phonetic rep.

Segment- deletion rules

A B
bomb bombadiar
iamb iambic
crumb crumble
The representation of b-deletion of the word bomb

Phonemic rep
/ b / deletion –rule
Unstress Vowel rule
Nasalization rule
Phonetic rep.

64
 TRANSCRIPTION (NOTATION)

 The use of a system of written symbols to represent the system of sounds of a given language.
 The most common system is IPA (International Phonetic Association/ Alphabets).
 Broad & Narrow Transcription
Broad (Phonemic) Transcription:
- Use of simple symbols for distinctive sounds of given languages
- Does not provide details how a particular sound is pronounced
- Use the slanting brackets, e.g. pea / pi: /, be / bi: /
Narrow Transcription:
- Use of phonetic symbols for the allophones of a given language.
- Provide finer points of the pronunciation of a particular sound
- Use the square brackets [ ] and diacritics for subtle details for the representation of phonetic
features, e.g. pea [phi:], be [bi:],

65
 Transcription exercises

1. Transcribe the following forms using symbols for Broad transcription

Enough unique hungry through tooth improve

Attitude advantage sandwich example junior useful

Europe beyond

2. Transcribe the following sentences using phonetic symbols for Narrow transcription

66
 REVISION

1. Examine the following data

wordy [ "w3: dI], boxes [ "b  ks  z ]
Provide the description for the consonants and vowels in these forms by filling the blanks in the
tables below

Word Consonant Voicing Place of articulation Manner of articulation

Word Vowel Tongue part Tongue height Shape of lips Length Tenseness

2. Provide examples of minimal pairs with

a. / p / - / b / in the initial position
b. / p / - / b / in the final position
c. / s / - / z / in the initial position
d./ s / - / z / in the final position

3. Syllables and their parts

Filling the blanks of the passage with the following words

stream speech division beats component end word meaning syllables (twice)

Words can be cut up into units called 1……………... Humans seem to need syllables as a way of
segmenting the 2………….. of speech and giving it a rhythm of strong and weak 3………. , as we
67
hear in music. Syllables don't serve any 4………….-signalling function in language; they exist only
to make 5…………. easier for the brain to process. A 6 …………….contains at least one syllable.

Most speakers of English have no trouble dividing a word up into its 7……………. syllables.
Sometimes how a particular word is divided might vary from one individual to another, but a 8
………….. is always easy and always possible. Here are some words divided into their component
9
……………… (a period is used to mark the 10…………. of a syllable):

tomato = [Link]
window = [Link]
4. Examine the data and the syllable structure analysis of the words below and answer the following
questions.

The syllable structure analysis of the words “read” and “window” are as follows:

read

Number of syllable Onset Rhyme

Nucleus Coda
One [r] [ i: ] [d]

window

Number of First syllable Second syllable

syllable
Onset Rhyme Onset Rhyme
Two Nucleus Coda Nucleus Coda

Please present your analysis with the following words: “manage”, “structure”

[m&nIdZ] [strVkÍ@]

Number of First syllable Second syllable

syllable
Onset Rhyme Onset Rhyme
Nucleus Coda Nucleus Coda
2

Number of First syllable Second syllable

syllable
Onset Rhyme Onset Rhyme
Nucleus Coda Nucleus Coda
2

68
4. Examine the sound sequences in column A and answer the questions that follow
Column A Column B Assimilatory
Careful pronunciation Rapid pronunciation Process
i. bad pain [ b&d peI n ] [ ] i.
ii. Where's yours? [we z j:z ] [ ] ii.
iii. congress [ kVngres ] [ ] iii.
iv. dress shop [ dres SQ p ] [ ] iv.

a) Provide the transcription to show the assimilatory process that may happen to these sound
sequences in rapid pronunciation.
b) Name the assimilatory process that is responsible for the change in pronunciation
c) Explain why these assimilatory processes happen.
i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

69
 A CHECK - UP TEST ON ENGLISH PHONETICS & PHONOLOGY
Time allotted: 25’
Please read the questions and tick the correct answer in your answer sheet
(Please do not write anything in this paper)
*
1. Which of the following phonetic transcriptions corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: high back rounded lax vowel?
a. [ U ] b. [ æ ] c. [ i ] d. [ Q ]

2. Which of the following phonetic transcriptions corresponds to each of the following

phonetic description: voiceless alveolar-palatal affricate ?
a. [ th ] b. [ t∫ ] c. [ d ] d. [ j ]

3. Which of the following symbols corresponds to each of the following phonetic description:
voiceless bilabial stop?
a. [ v ] b. [ g ] c. [ ð ] d. [ p ]

4. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in place of articulation from
the other segment?
a. [ t, r, d, s ]
b. [ k, g , ŋ, j ]
c. [ p, b, w ]
d. [ t, d, n, z ]

5. Which of the following groups contains a segment differs in voicing from the other segments?
a. [ d, g, b, m ]
b. [ m, n, ŋ, v ]
c. [ w, j , r, l ]
d. [z, d , S, b ]

6. Which of the following statements is correct?

When a feature value is unpredictable by a general principle or rule, it is
a. a distinctive feature for that class of segments
b. a phonetic feature for sounds that contrast
c. a phonemic feature for that class of segment
d. a non-distinctive or non-phonemic feature for that class of segments

7. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. Alveolars are sounds made at the soft area toward the rear of the roof of the mouth
b. Alveolars are sounds made just behind the alveolar ridge
c. Alveolars are sounds made at the teeth ridge
d. Alveolars are sounds made with the tongue placed against the teeth

8. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment they are
said to be different phonemes

70
 b. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment they are
said to be in free variation
c. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment they are
said to be identical segments
d. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment
they are said to be allophones of the same phoneme

9. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. The fricatives are consonants produced with a continuous airflow through the mouth
b. The fricatives are consonants produced with the complete stoppage of the air in the mouth
which causes explosion
c. The fricatives are consonants produced with the lowering of the soft palate
d. The fricatives are non-continuant consonants.

10. Which of the following is the minimal pair?

a. [ ð ] [ bet ] there - bet
b. [ dæb] [ bæd ] dab - bad
c. [ bæd ] [ bet ] bad - bet
d. [ ð ] [ d ] there – dare

11. Which of the following is the stress distribution for the compound word artificial as in this
context: Please give him artificial respiration?
a. [ a:ti"fiS@l ]
b. [ a:"tifiS@l ]
c. [ a:ti"fi S@l ]
d. [ "A:ti fiS@l ]

12. Which of the following assimilation processes occurs when [ b ] in the sound sequence [
[‘wIbsi:] becomes [ p ] in the sound sequence [ ‘wIpsi:] ?
a. voicing assimilation
b. progressive assimilation
c. regressive assimilation
d. both a and c

13. Which of the following coarticulation processes that may happen to the alveolar [ n ] in this
context: [ krænb@ri ] cranberry?
a. [ n ] may be devoiced before the voiced [ b ]
b. [ b ] may become syllabic after the nasal [ n ]
c. [ n ] may be labialized before [ b ]
d. [ b ] may be nasalised after [ n ]
14. Which of the following phonetic variations that may happen to the lateral [ l ] in this context: [
‘æŋgl ] angle ?
a. [ l ] becomes aspirated after voiced stop [g]
b. [ l ] becomes unaspirated after velar [g]
c. [ l ] becomes devoiced after voiced stop [g]

71
 d. [ l ] becomes syllabic after voiced stop [g]
15. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
All the aspirated voiceless stops are produced with
a. no vibration of the vocal cords
b. an extra puff of the air strongly expelled
c. the airstream from the lungs
d. the vibration of the vocal cords
16. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: short high front vowel
a. [ I ] b. [ e ] c. [ O: ] d. [ æ ]
17. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic description:
voiced interdental fricative
[m] b. [ v ] c. [ t ] d. [ ð ]

18. Which of the following statements is correct?

The number of segments in the word students is
a. six
b. seven
c. eight
d. nine
19. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in manner of articulation
from the other segments?
a. [ w, r, j ]
b. [ , ð, s ]
c. [ p, b, d ]
d. [ t, d, n ]
20. Which of the following statements is correct?
Palatal is the sound made
a. With the tongue between the teeth
b. with the tongue on or near the hard palate
c. just behind the alveolar ridge
d. with the upper lip and the lower teeth
21. Which of the following coarticulation processes that may happen to the alveolar [ s ] in this
context : [ ðis ji] this year?
a. [ s ] becomes voiced before palatal [ j ]
b. [ s ] is deleted before palatal [ j ]
c. [ s ] is velarised by the following [ j ]
d. [ s ] coalesces with [ j ] to make [ S ]
22. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in place of articulation from
the other segments?
a. [ p , m , w , b ]
b. [ t , d, S n ]
c. [ k, w, ŋ, g ]
d. [ t, d, n, z, l ]
23. Which of the following statements is correct?
Regressive assimilation is a process by which
a. the change of a segment is brought by the preceding segment
72
 b. a sound copies one or more phonetic features from the preceding sound
c. the sound becomes more like the preceding sound
d. a sound copies one or more phonetic features from the following sound
24. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a. Minimal pairs help us establish which sounds contrast in a language
b. Minimal pairs consist of forms that are placed along the horizontal axis with respect to their
place of articulation and the vertical axis to their manner of articulation
c. Minimal pair test is a basic test for deciding which sounds are the allophones of the phoneme
d. A minimal pair consists of two forms with distinct meanings that differ only by one segment
in the same position of each form.

25. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a. The phonetic representation of utterances shows what the speakers know about the
pronunciation of utterances.
b. The phonemic representation of utterances shows what speakers know about the abstract
underlying phonology.
c. The phonemic representation of utterances shows the finer points of the sounds or
segments in pronunciation
d. The phonetic representation of utterances shows us the non-distinctive features of the
sounds

26. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in manner of articulation
from the other segments?
a. [ p , b , t , d ]
b. [ t , b, k , g ]
c. [ k, t, d, g ]
d. [ m, ŋ , n, z ]

27. Which of the following is correct?

When a feature is predictable by the phonological rules, it is a
a. phonetic feature
b. phonemic feature
c. redundant feature
d. both a and c

28. Which of the following is the correct stress pattern of this word Portuguese?
a. ["pO: Í ǝgi:z ]
b. [ %pO:Íǝ"gi:z ]
c. [ pO: ‘Íǝ"gi:z ]
d. ["pO:Íǝ"gi:z ]

29. Which of the following is the phonetic transcription of this form Bangor?
a. ["b æ ŋ ]
b. ["bæŋ n ]
c. ["bæn ]

73
 d. ["bæŋg ]

30. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic description:
voiced labiodental fricative
a. [ v ] b. [ w ] c. [ ð ] d. [ f ]

31. The process by which an alveolar stop is heard intervocally (voiced) between 2 vowels, the
first of which is generally stressed, as in ["bet i ] Betty is called
a. metathesis
b. epenthesis
c. deletion
d. flapping

32. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a. An allophone is a predictable phonetic variant of a phoneme
b. An allophone is an unpredictable phonetic realisation of a phoneme
c. A phoneme is an abstract unit
d. An allophone is uttered in speech

33. Which of the following statement is incorrect?

Sonorants
a. do not include affricates, fricatives and liquids
b. do not include stops, affricates, and voiced fricatives
c. do not include voiced stops, fricatives, and voiceless stops
d. do not include vowels, nasals, liquids and glides

34. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. Phonology deals with the physiological and acoustic aspects of the of speech sounds.
b. Phonology aims to provide the set of features, or properties that can describe all sounds in
human language.
c. Phonology studies the ways phonemes function in language
d. Phonology provides the means for describing speech sounds.

35. Which of the following coarticulation processes may occur for the articulatory transition from
the sonorant [ ŋ ] to the nonsonorant [  ] to be eased in this context [ le ŋ  ] ?
a. the deletion of [ ŋ ]
b. the deletion of [  ]
c. the metathesis of the sound sequence [ ŋ ]
d. the epenthesis of a nonsonorant [ k ] within the sequence [ ŋ ]

36. Which of the following is the phonetic transcription of this form peace talk?
a. [ph i:s tO:k]
b. [pi:s tO:lk]
c. [ph i:s th O:lk]
d. [pi:s thO:lk]

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37. Which of the following phonetic variations that may happen to the voiced stop [ d ] in this
context : [ li:d ] lead ?
a. [ d ] is aspirated after the front vowel [ i:]
b. [ d ] is devoiced after the long vowel [ i:]
c. [ d ] is devoiced word finally
d. [ d ] is unaspirated in the final position of a stressed syllable

38. Which of the following phonetic transcriptions that corresponds to each of the following
phonetic description: voiced velar nasal?
a. [ m ] b. [ n ] c. [ ŋ ] d. [ r ]

39. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic description:
long low back vowel
a. [ O:] b. [ A:] c. [ i:] d. [u:]

40. Which of the following coarticulation processes that may happen to the alveolar [ d ] in this
context : [ red peint] red paint ?
a. [ d ] may be devoiced before the the voiceless stop [ p ]
b. [ d ] may be aspirated before the voiceless stop [ p ]
c. [ d ] may be labialised before the bilabial [ p ]
d. [ d ] may be nasalised before the bilabial [ p ]

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 References

Crystal, David (2003) A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics, Blackwell Publishing

Gimson, A.C. (1992), An in troduction to the Pronunciation of English 3rd Edition, Edward
Arnold
Fromkin, Victoria & Robert Rodman, Peter Collins, David Blair (1990) An Introduction to
Language, Holt, Rineart & Winston
O’Grady, Wiliiam & Michael Dobrovolsky (1993) Contemporary Linguistics - An introduction,
St. Martin Press, New York
Roach, Peter (1983) English Phonetics and Phonology - A practical course, Cambrigde
University Press
Ladeforged, Peter (1982) A Course in Phonetics, 2nd Edition Harcourt Brace Jevanovich,
Publishers
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Online dictionary

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