PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
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VOWELS
Tense & lax
Tense vowels are produced with a general tension of the speech muscles. Lax vowels are produced with a more
relaxed speech muscle movement.
Fortis and lenis
Lenis = voiced
Fortis = voiceless
A diphthong is a sound which consists of a movement (a glide) from one vowel to another and in which the first
part is much longer and stronger than the second part.
Eg: time /pain / voice /tour/ home/ beard / town/ scare
Triphthongs = glide from one vowel to another and then to a third; produced rapidly and without interruption.
PLACE OF ARTICULATION
➔ Refers to where the obstruction of air takes place during sound production.
Bilabial : lips pressed together
Labio-dental : upper teeth touching the lower lips
Dental : tongue touching teeth
Alveolar : tongue blade pressed against the alveolar ridge
Post-alveolar : tongue moving towards the alveolar ridge without touching it
Palato-alveolar : tongue at the front of the hard palate near the alveolar ridge
Palatal : front part of the tongue touching the soft palate
Velar : back of the tongue touching the soft palate or velum
Glottal : consonant using glottis as primary articulator
Glottis : the part of the larynx consisting of the vocal cords and the opening between them. It affects voice
modulation through expansion or contraction
MANNER OF ARTICULATION
➔ Refers to how air is released through the vocal
Plosives : obstruction made to the flow of air followed by an explosion 6 plosive : [p],[t],[k],[b],[d],[g]
- Closing phase: one articulator is moved against another, or two articulators are moved against each other.
No air escapes from the vocal tract (total stricture, also called total obstruction).
- Compression phase : air is compressed behind the stricture.
- Release phase : the air is allowed to escape.
- Post-release phase : when the air is released, it will produce a loud noise, which is called plosion.
Fricatives : air escapes through a narrow passage and make a hissing sound (note : to his = to make a long ‘s’)
9 fricatives : [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ], [h]
Affricates : begin as plosives and as fricatives two affricate phonemes : [tʃ], [dʒ]
Nasals : air escapes through the nose 3 nasals : [m], [n], [ŋ]
Lateral : the air escape along the sides of the tongue
Approximant : the organs of speech approach each other but do not get sufficiently close to produce a plosive,
nasal or fricative [j], [w]
Describe a consonant fully in articulatory terms (and explain those terms) :
1. Air : pulmonic or non-pulmonic
Pulmonic is a consonant produced by air pressure from the lungs.
Non-pulmonic are sounds whose airflow is not dependent on the lungs.
2. Air : egressive or ingressive
The normal direction of airflow is called egressive.
Speech produced by breathing in is called ingressive.
3. Voicing : voiced or voiceless (lenis or fortis)
Voiced refers to a sound produced with the vocal folds vibrating, causing audible vibrations.
Voiceless sounds, the vocal folds remain open without vibrating.
4. Cavity : oral or nasal
When the air is sent through the mouth (oral cavity)
When the air is sent through the nose (nasal cavity)
5. The place of articulation
6. The manner of articulation
Air Voicing Cavity PA MA
p pulmonic egressive voiceless oral bilabial plosive
b pulmonic egressive voiced oral bilabial plosive
m pulmonic egressive voiced oral bilabial nasal
w pulmonic egressive voiceless oral bilabial approximant
f pulmonic egressive voiced oral labiodental fricative
v pulmonic egressive voiceless oral labiodental fricative
θ pulmonic egressive voiced oral dental fricative
ð pulmonic egressive voiced oral dental fricative
l pulmonic egressive voiceless oral alveolar Lateral-approximant
t pulmonic egressive voiceless oral alveolar plosive
s pulmonic egressive voiced oral alveolar fricative
d pulmonic egressive voiced oral alveolar plosive
n pulmonic egressive voiced oral alveolar nasal
z pulmonic egressive voiced oral alveolar fricative
dʒ pulmonic egressive voiced oral palato-alveolar affricative
ʒ pulmonic egressive voiced oral post-alveolar fricative
tʃ pulmonic egressive voiceless oral palato-alveolar affricative
ʃ pulmonic egressive voiceless oral post-alveolar fricative
r pulmonic egressive voiced oral post-alveolar approximant
j pulmonic egressive voiced oral palatal approximant
g pulmonic egressive voiced oral velar plosive
k pulmonic egressive voiceless oral velar plosive
ŋ pulmonic egressive voiced oral velar nasal
h pulmonic egressive voiceless oral glottal fricative
RP, “Received Pronunciation”, is a kind of ‘neutral’ British accent, used by most announcers and newsreaders on
BBC, which serves as a model for pronunciation.
Minimal pairs & process of commutation
Minimal pairs are word pairs that differ by only one sound. For example, “car, tar”, “light, white”, and “sip, ship”
are all examples of minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are important because this single sound difference changes the
meaning of the word.