11 – 27.01.12

Phonetics

Linguistic level (in head,what we want to say)→ Psychological level → acoustic level → Physiological level → linguistic level

speaker → listener

Phonetics types:

• Articulatory – how the vocal tract produces the sounds

• Acoustic – the study of the physical properties of the sounds themselves

• Fundamental frequency (perceived as pitch) – how fast the variations of the air pressure occur (Hz)

• intensity (p. as loudness) – relates to the amplitude of the vibration

  

• duration (length)

spectograms (voiceprints) – pictures of sounds

formants – darker parts of a picture

• Auditory – the way listeners perceive the sounds of language

–

• accent vs. dialect

  • accent – differences in pronunciation

  • dialect – more differences to some differences in vocabulary used

• RP, BBC pronunciation

  • RP – received pronunciation – taught in state schools

  • BBC – tv, higher

• written vs. spoken language, letter vs. phoneme

  • that's why there are pronunciation dictionaries

Did he believe that Caesar could see the people seize the seas? /i:/

too two through threw clue shoe /u:/

dame /ei/ dad /ae/ father /a:/ call /o:/

write resign know debt (silent letter)

cute futile utility /ju:/

• phoneme vs. allophone

/l/ > clear [l]: <light>, syllabic [l]: <little>, dark [l]: <ball> <help>,

devoiced [l]: <play> <butler>

it can be pronounced it different ways

phoneme /_/- abstract representation of a sound which changes meaning of a word

allophone [_]– physical realisation of a phoneme, the actual sound we produce

• minimal pair – pair of words which differs only in one sound

  • to check whether sth is phoneme we should find minimal pair den - ten

one and the same phoneme can be pronounced in different ways

ten ←→ met

at the beginning 't' is aspirated

at the end 't' is not aspirated

aspirated stop appears on the onset of stressed syllables

aspiration applies to: p, t, k

distribution of allophones is context dependent, it's predictable from the context

• complementary distribution – phenomena which prohibits use of one thing if second is used there

• phonetic ([ ]) vs. phonemic ( // ) transcription

phonetic: /ten/

phonemic: [t^hen]

• vowel vs consonant – sometimes difference is blurred, there are some consonants which behave like vowels

/j/, /w/, /r/ - phonologically Cs, phonetically Vs (semi-vowels)

/n/, /l/ - phonetically Cs, phonologically may be Vs (syllabic Cs)

• obstruants vs. sonorants (noise component)

  • obsturents (+ noise component): plosives, fricatives, affricates

  • sonorants (- noise component): voice dnasals, approximants (frictionless continuants: /l/, /r,/ /j/, /w/), vowels ← probably not on exam

SYMBOLS FOR (RP) phonemes: znać wszystkie znaczki z podziałem

short vowels

long vowels

dipthongs

consonants

→ Chart of English phonetic alphabet

exam → picture of face, name places indicated (phonetics)

cartilages of the larynx

VOWELS

Important features in vowel-like sounds

• The position of the soft palate (raised or lowered)

  • nasal / oral

• The kind of aperture formed by the lips

  • spread /i:/ <sea>

  • neutral /e/ <set>

  • rounded

    • close rounded /u:/ <shoe>

    • open rounded /krótkie o/ <sock>

• The part of tongue which is raised and the degree of raising

  • back / front

  • low / high

→ Priary cardinal vowels

If there's voiceless consonants fallowing a vowel, the vowel is shortened

/i:/ 2x: bead, bee vs. 1x beat ~ bid (/I/)

test: Vowel chart – indicate vowels

ae – ash

^ - wedge

DIPHTHONG

centering closing

ending in schwa ending in I ending in u

ie oe ue eI aI oI eu, au

CONSONANTS

What is important in the description of consonants:

• whether the air comes from the lungs (pulmonic) or from somewhere else (non-pulmonic)

• is the airstream forced outwards (egressive) or sucked inwards (ingressive)

• Do the vocal folds vibrate (voiced) or not (voiceless)

• is the soft palate raised=, directing the airstream wholly through the mouth (oral), or lowered allowing the passage of air through the nose (nasal / nasalised)

• At what poin or points and between what organs does the clousure or narrowing take place (place of articulation)

• What is the type of closure or narrowing at the point of articulation (manner of articulation)

Test: few consonants – describe them using above notions

except: pulmonic/non, and in/egressive – all are pulmonic and ingressive