I

NTHENAMEOFTHEALMI
GHTY

ACOURSEI
NGENERALLI
NGUI
STI
CS

SESSI
ON6i
nBr
ief
:

TheSoundsofLanguage

Wher easphonol ogyi sessenti

allyconcernedwi ththedescr i
ptionoft hesy stemsandpat t
erns
ofspeechsoundsi nal anguageandi sconcer nedwi ththeabst ractorment alaspectofthe
soundsi nlanguage, phoneti
csi sthestudyoft hemostconcr etedirectl
yobser v
ableaspectof
l
[Link] icsi
sconcer nedwi t
hhowspeechsoundsar epr oducedi nthevocal
tr
act(articulat
oryphonetics),
aswel laswi t
hthephy si
calproper ti
esoft hespeechsoundwav es
generatedbyt hev ocaltr
act(acousticphonetics).Ital
sodeal swi thsoundper cepti
on;itr
efers
tothehear ingofsoundsbyl i
steners(audit
oryphonet ics)
.Her ewef ocusonar t
icul
atory
phoneti
cswhi chisthestudyofhowt hev ocaltractproducest hesoundsofl [Link]
withwehav ethephy siol
ogyabr i
efmentionoft hear t
icul
atorsort hephy siologyofspeech
production.

[Link]
arynxi
swhatwecommonl ycal
lthe"Adam'
sappl
e".I
tcanbefel
tbypl
aci
ngthefinger
ti
psonthemiddler
egi
onofthefr
ontneck;wit
hint
hel
ary
nx,ther
earetwomuscul
arbandsof
ti
ssuet
hatstr
etchf
rom f
rontt
oback.

[Link]
ynxi
sat
ubewhi
chbegi
nsj
ustabov
ethel
ary
nx.

[Link]
um orsof
tpal
atei
sinaposi
ti
ont
hatal
l
owsai
rtopasst
hrought
henoseandt
hrough
themouth.

[Link]
dpal
atei
sof
tencal
l
edt
her
oofoft
hemout
h.

[Link]
veol
arr
idgei
sbet
weent
het
opf
rontt
eet
handt
hepal
ate.

[Link]
ongueis,ofcour
se,
aver
yimpor
tantar
ti
cul
atorandi
tcanbemov
edi
ntomanydi
ff
erent
pl
acesandshapes.

[Link]
eet
h

[Link]
i
ps

[Link]
cav
ity
Linguist
sdi f
ferregar
dingthepar ti
cul arsetoffeaturestheyutil
izeintheirdescri
ptionofsounds.
Basicall
y,therearetwoov erdroppingset sotfeatures:thoseoft r
aditi
onal st
ructur
alli
nguisti
cs
andt hoseofcont emporaryt r
ansfor mationall
inguist
[Link] equitewidelyused,iti
s
necessaryt obecomef amilierwit
hbot [Link],thefeaturesofthet r
ansf r
mat i
onalapprochare
emphasi zed,butthetr
aditionalfr
at uresarealsoment i
onedwhenev ertheydiff
erfrom those
thatarethebasi sofdisci
ssion.

Ast heairstream mov esupf r

om t helungs, i
tmustpasst hr
ought hevocalcor
dswhicharea
pai rofmembr anesat tatchedhor izontall
yint [Link],ar
emadeupofel asti
c
ti
ssueandmaybespr eadapar torpulledt [Link] l
,pr
essuref
rom the
mov ingairwi l
lthencauset hev ocalcordst ov i
[Link]
heless,t
herearesomespeech
soundswhi char earti
culatedwi thspreadv [Link],theairst
ream moves
freelyt hr
oughwi thoutcausi ngv i
brati
[Link] oducedwi t
hv i
brati
ngvocalcor
dshav et
he
feat ure[+voice]
; soundswhi charear t
iculatedwi t
ht hevocalcordsspreadandnotvibr
ati
ngare
[-
v oice]

Whent hev ocal t

ractispositi
onedi nsuchawayt hatai rmov esthroughv ocalcor dswhicharein
vibr
atingposi t
ionandt henpassedoutoft heoralcav i
tywithouti nterference,thesound
producedi s[+vocali
c].Allofthevowel sinEnglishhav ethisf eature, andsodot hesound
segment s[l]and[r
].Ther emainingsoundsegment sofEngl i
shar e[-vocalic)
.Intheirproducti
on,
theairst ream isblockedei t
hercompl etelyorparti
al l
[Link] eature[ consonant al
]ispresent
whenev ersomepar tofthev ocaltractmov essubst anti
all
yawayf r
om t hepr espeechposi t
ion
andf ormsanobst r
uctiontot heairstream intheor alcavi
[Link] icfeatures[vocal
ic]and
[consonant al]divi
dethesoundsegment sofEngli
shi ntofourmaj orcl asses.
[
+vocal
i
c,-
consonant
al][
i,
l,e,
ɛ,æ,
ə,ʊ,
U,o,
ɔ,ɑ]Vowel
s

[
-vocal
i
c,+consonant
al][
p,b,
t,d,
k,g,
m,n,
ŋ,f
,v,
θ,ð,
s,z,
tʃ,
tʒ,
dʒ]Consonant
s

[
+vocal
ic,+consonant
als][
l,
r]Li
qui
ds➡ t
heset
woar
edi
sti
ngui
shedf
rom oneanot
herbyt
he
f
eatur
e[ l
ater
al]

[
-vocal
i
c,-
consonant
al][
h,w,
y]Gl
i
des➡Theyar
esomet
imescal
l
edsemi
vowel
s.

Posi
ti
onsofar
ti
cul
ati
on

Tr
adit
ionall
y,l
i
nguistsconcernedwit
hart
icul
atoryphonecti
cs, hav
edescr i
bedtheposit
ionsof
ar
ti
cul
ationswhichar enotr
elevantt
[Link]
ngtot hisapproach,t
heposit
ionsof
ar
ti
cul
ationofEnglishconsonantsar
edescri
bedbyt hefeaturesgivenbelow.

Posi
ti
onofAr
ti
cul
ati
on Ar
ti
cul
ator Consonant
s

Labi
odent
alsounds uppert
eet
handl
owerl
i
p [
f,v
]

Labi
als Bi
l
abi
alsounds bot
hli
ps [
p,b,
m]

(
Int
er)
dent
als t
het
ipoft
het
onguei
sinser
ted [
θ,ð]

bet
weent
heupperandl
owerl
i
ps

Al
veol
ars t
onguei
sincont
actwi
thal
veol
arr
idge [
t,d,
n,s,
z,l
,r]

Vel
ar backoft
het
onguei
sincont
actwi
thv
elum [
k,g,
ŋ]

Pal
atal
soral
veopal
atal
s t
onguei
sincont
actwi
tht
hepal
ate [
tʃ,
dʒ,
ʃ,ʒ]

Thear t
iculationposit
ionsofvowels,int
radi
ti
onalart
iculat
oryphonetics,
aredescri
bedbya
total
lydiff
er entsetoffeat
[Link]
nthehei ghtofthetongueandt heposit
ionofthe
highestpar tofthetongue.(Wetherthehi
ghestparti
st owardthefrontoforalcav
ity
,inthe
center,oratt heback.)
Recently
,li
nguist
icswor ki
ngonsy stematicphoneticshav eabandonedt hearti
culat
ionposit
ion
featur
esoft r
adit
ionalarti
culator
yphonet icsinfavorofadi f
ferentsetofphoneticfeat
[Link]
reasonforthechangei nthesetoff eat
ureswast her ecogni
ti
ont hattherearesimil
ari
ti
es
amongconsonant sandv owelsint ermsoft hei
rpositionsofarti
culat
[Link]
featur
escapturesthissimilari
tybymaki nguseoft hesamef eaturesforbothtypesofsounds.

[anter
ior]
:Soundst hataremadebyobst ructingtheairst
ream inthef
ronthal
foftheor alcavi
ty
are[+anter i
or];
thosei nvolv
inganobstr
uct i
oni nthebackhalfoftheoral
cavit
yare[-anteri
or]
.
Thedi vi
dniglineist [Link]
nce(
anterior)ref
erstothelocati
onofanobstruct
ionint heoral
cavity
,iti
sr el
ev antonlyto[+consonantal]sounds;[-
consonantal
]soundsarenecessaril
y[-
anteri
or]sincetheydonoti nvolv
eanyobst ruct
ion.

[Cor
onal]:Thi
sf eatur ereferstotherai
singofthebladeofthetongueaboveit
spespeech
posi
[Link] hebl adei srai
sed,i
tnatur
all
[Link]
segment scall
ed[ dent al][
alveol
ar]
,and[pal
atal
]intradi
ti
onalar
ti
culat
oryphoneti
cdescr
ipti
onof
Engl
ishar econsider ed[ +coronal
]insyst
ematicphoreti
[Link],t
hesegmentsthat
are[
Labial]or[vel
ar ]ar e[-
consonantal
].

Insy stemat icphonet i

cs, theot herfeaturesdescr i
bingposi ti
onsofar ti
culational li
nvolvethe
factthatt hebl adeandt hebodyoft het onguemaybemov edawayf rom t heirpositi
onj ustprior
[Link] ure[cor onal]r
eferst ot her aisingoft hebladeoft het ongueabov ei t
s
prespeechposi t
[Link] hebladei sraised, i
tnat urall
yappr oachest hear eaoft her oofoft he
mout [Link] scal l
ed[ dental][
alveol er]
, and[ palatal
]int r
aditi
onal articul
atoryphonet i
c
descr ipt
onofEngl ishar econsi dered[ +coronal ]insy stemat i
cphonet i
[Link] heot herhand, the
segment sthatar e[ l
abial]or[ v
elar]are[-cor onal].Inthepr oduct ionoflabials, t
het onguei snot
i
nv olvedatal [Link] el
ars, thebodyoft het ongue, butnott hebl adeisr [Link] vet hatthe
featur e[coronal]charact erizestwol ocationsoft hev ocaltr
act :center[+cor onal]andt he
periphery[ -
cor onal]
;soundsar e[ -
coronal ]i
ft heyar earti
culatedatt hev eryf rontorthev eryback
oftheor alcav i
[Link] owel segment sofEngl ishal lshar ethef eature[-coronal ]
.
Thetwof eatur
es[anter
ier]and[
cor
onal
]divi
dethevocaltr
actint
ofourpar
[Link]
eatur
e
[
ceronal]r
eterstothebladeofthet
[Link]
herfeatur
esinvol
vemovementsofthebody
oft
het ongue.

l
abi
al [
-cor
onal
,+ant
eri
or] [
f,v
,m,
b,p]

Dent
alandal
veol
ar [
+ant
eri
or,
+cor
onal
] [
θ,ð,
t,d,
n,s,
z,l
,r]

Pel
atal [
-ant
eri
or,
+cor
onal
] [
ʃ,t
ʃ,dʒ,
ʒ]

Vel
or [
-ant
eri
o,-
cor
onal
] [
g,k,
ŋ]

( Int heinart
icul
ati
onofv
owel
sounds,
justt
hebodyoft
het
ongue,
nott
hebl
ade,
par
ti
cipates.
)

I
nar ti
culat
ionofbot hconsonant sandv owel
s,wemaykeept hebodyofthetonguein
prespeechposit
ion, r
aiseit,
lowerit,orputi
tbackfr
om prespeechposi
ti
[Link]
ons
humanbei ngshav eregantungt hepositi
onofthebodyofthetonguear
erepresent
edbythe
phoneticfeat
ure[high],[
low],and[back].

Thefivefeat
uresofarti
culat
ionpositi
oninsy stematicphonet
icsare:[anter
ior
],[
coronal
],
[hi
gh]
,
[l
ow],and[back]
.InEngli
sh,[anter
ior
]and[ coronal
]aremostimpor tuntforthedescri
pti
onof
consonants,whi
le[hi
gh],[
low],and[back]playamaj orrol
eincharacterizi
ngvowels.

[
+hi
gh,
-l
ow,
-back] [
i,
ɪ,y
] [
+hi
gh,
-l
ow,
+back] [
w,u,
U]

[
-hi
gh,
-l
ow,
-back] [
e,ɛ] [
-hi
gh,
-l
ow,
+back] [
ɘ,o,
ɔ]

[
-hi
gh,
+low,
-back] [
æ,h] [
-hi
gh,
+low,
+back] [
ɑ]
Thefeat
ure[tense]ref
erstothet ensionofthemuscl
esofspeechor [Link]
/bi
t/andbit/bɪt
/.Youwillnoti
cet hatthemusclesi
nyourspeechorgansar etensef
orbeet,
but
rel
axedinbit
.Thev owelin"pool"istense,andt
hevowelin"pul
l"i
nlax.

Thef eat
ure(-
aspi
rat
ion]refer
stothesoundsegment
sinwhichthereisneveranypuf
fofbreath
accompany i
ngthei
rarti
culati
[Link]
,whenasli
ghtpuf
fofbreathaccompaniesthesound,
thefeatur
e(+aspi
rat
ion)isusedtodescri
beit
.

e.
[Link]
e[+aspi
rat
ion]
, spy[
-aspi
rat
ion]

Anot
herphoneti
cfeat
urewhi
chmayseem lessindependenti
sli
pr oundi
[Link]
s
pr
esenti
ntheEngli
shsoundsegmeri
ts[
u,U,o,ɔ].Thesesegmentsarethus[+round]whil
eal
l
ot
herEngl
ishvowelsegment
sare[
-r
ound]
.

Diphthongs:Vowelsoundsinwhichthetonguest
artsi
noneposit
ionandr
api
dlymov
est
o
anotherarecall
eddipht
hongs./
ɔɪ/,/
eɪ/,
/ ɑɪ
/,/
ɑʊ/,/
ɘʊ/,/
ɪɘ/
,/ʊɘ/

I
naddi ti
ont ophonet icf
eatur
est hatdescri
bethear t
iculati
onofi ndivi
dualsounds,
ther
eare
featur
es, characteri
zi
ngpropert
iesar t
icul
ati
onofsy l
[Link] eaturesdescr
ibi
ngproper
ti
es
ofunitslongert hanasingl
esoundsegmentof tenarer eferr
edt oassupr asegmentalf
eatur
es:
[
St r
ess],[
t one]
,[lengt
h],
and[i
ntonat i
on]aresuprasegment alfeatures.

Manner
sofAr
ti
cul
ati
on

StopsandConti
nuants:Soundsthatar est
oppedcomplet
elyi
nt heor
alcavi
tyf
orabri
efperi
od
arecal
ledst
[Link]
om allt
heot
herspeechsoundswhichar
ecall
ed
conti
nuant
sbecauseairstr
eam Continueswithoutcompl
etei
nterr
upt
ionthr
oughthemouth.

st
ops:[Link]
alst
ops:p,
b,t
,d,
k,g

[Link]
stops:
m,n,
ŋ

Thenonnasal
oror
alst
opsar
eal
socal
l
edpl
osi
vesbecauset
heai
rexpl
odeswhent
hecl
osur
eis
rel
eased.

Or
alst
ops:
[Link]
l
abi
alst
ops:
p,b,
m

[Link]
veol
arst
ops:
t,d,
n

3.v
elarst
ops:
k,g,
ŋ

Fr
icat
ives:
Fri
cati
vesaresoundsproducedwhentheairfl
owisfor
cedthroughanar
rowopeni
ng
i
nthevocaltr
actsothatnoi
seproducedbyfr
ict
ioniscreat
ed.[
f,v
,θ,ð,s,z,
ʃ,ʒ,
h]
Afri
cates:Anaffr
icatei
sasimpl ebutcompl
exsound,
begi
nni
ngasast
opbutr
eleasi
ng
secondaril
yint
oaf ri
cat
ive.[
tʃ,
dʒ]

Nasal
s:Nasel
sar
evoi
cedor
alst
ops.[
m,n,
ŋ]

Li
qui
ds:[
L]and[
r]ar
eli
qui
dsoundswhi
chshar
ebot
hpr
oper
ti
esofconsonant
sandv
owel
s:

L➡[
+at
eral
]r➡[
-l
ater
al]

Gl
ides:
Gli
desar
evowel
-l
ikear
ti
cul
ati
onst
hatpr
ecedeandf
oll
owt
ruev
owel
s.

Sibi
lants[+st
ri
dent
]:Thef
ri
cti
oncreat
edintheproduct
ionofthefri
cat
ivesi
nthewor
dssit
,zi
p,
shoe,lei
sure,
andmeasureandtheaff
ri
catesint
hewor dschurchandj
udgecauseahissi
ng
[Link]
assedassibi
lant
sorstri
dents.

Obstruent
sandSonor ants:Thenonnasal st
ops,thefri
catives,andtheaf f
ri
catesfor
m amajor
cl
[Link] heairstream cannotescapet hrought henose;iti
seit
herful
l
y
obst
ructedinit
spassaget hroughthevocaltr
actorpar t
iall
yobst r
[Link]
obst
[Link]
opsar esonorantsbecausealthought heairisblockedinthemouth,i
t
cont
inuestomov ethroughthenose.