Introduction to linguistics

Phonetics

October, 29th, 2008

Structure of the talk

• Definition of phonetics
• Branches of phonetics
• The anatomy of the speech apparatus
• The larynx and the vocal cords
• The articulatory description of vowels
• The acoustics of vowel production

Components of grammar

• Grammar – the way smaller elements (e.g.

speech sounds or words) are combined

into larger elements (e.g. words or

sentences).

• Phonetics
• Phonology
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Semantics

Phonetics

• A branch of linguistics that deals

with the production, transmission
and perception of speech sounds.

Branches of phonetics

• Articulatory phonetics –

production of speech sounds

• Acoustic phonetics – physical

properties of speech sounds

• Auditory phonetics – reception of

speech sounds

The anatomy of the vocal

tract

The larynx

Articulatory description of

vowels

• The position of the tongue:
- high, mid or low?
- front, central or back

• The position of the lips:
- spread, rounded or neutral?

The vowel system of

English

Vocal fold vibration

The Bernoulli effect

Step I – vocal folds are adducted during

phonation

Step II – the subglottal pressure begins to build

up

Step III – the soft tissues of the vocal folds are

forced to separate – the airstream flows

through the glottis

Step IV – as a result the subglottal preassure

drops dramatically

Step V – the drop in preassure sucks the vocal

folds back together

Wave analysis

The physical properties of

sound waves

• Sound waves – variations in air

pressure caused by vocal fold vibration

• Physical properties of sound waves:

- Frequency – the number of cycles per second
- Amplitude – the maximum variation in air

pressure from normal

- Length – the distance covered by a sound

during one full cycle

Fundamental frequency

and the harmonics

Key terms

• Fundamental frequency – the overall

pattern of a soundwave

• harmonic frequencies – whole number

multiples of the fundamental frequency
and its constituents

• resonance – phenomenon whereby one

body can be set in motion by the vibrations
of another body

Formant frequencies

• The modes of vibration of the air in the vocal

tract that depend on the configuration of the
speech organs

• Formant frequencies depend on:
1.

The position of the point of maximum
constriction in the vocal tract

2.

The size of the cross-sectional area of the
maximum constriction

3.

The position of the lips

Formant frequencies

Diphthongs

• Diphthong – a sequence of two

vowel qualities that form the
nucleus of a syllable, e.g. go, how,
ear, air, boy, May, enjoy, etc.

• There are no diphthongs in Polish!
• Polish learners of English tend to

replace English diphthongs with
Polish vowel – glide sequences.

Articulation of diphthongs

Classification of

diphthongs

• Falling and rising diphthongs
• Centring and closing diphthongs
• The centring diphthongs of English:
• // - air, // - ear, // - poor
• The closing diphthongs of English:
• // - May, // - boy, // - cry
• // - go, // - now

Triphthongs

• Triphthongs – sequences of three

distinct vowel qualities that form
the nucleus of a syllable.

• Examples: fire //, power //
• Smoothing: fire //, /:/

Articulatory description of the

English consonants

• Source of energy (pulmonic, glottalic, velaric)
• Direction of the airstream (egressive,

ingressive)

• Place of articulation (bilabial, labio-dental,

dental, alveolar, alveo-palatal, palatal, velar,
glottal)

• Manner of articulation (plosives, affricates,

fricatives, liquids, glides)

• Position of the soft palate (oral or nasal)
• State of the glottis (voiced or voiceless)

The consonant inventory of

English

The International Phonetic

Alphabet

Bibliography

• O’Grady, William – Dobrovolsky, Michael –

Katamba, Francis. (1996). Contemporary
linguistics. New York, London: Pearson
Education.

• Wells, John. 1990. The Longman pronunciation

dictionary. London: Longman.

• Ladefoged, Peter. 1996. Elements of acoustic

phonetics. London, Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press.

• Cruttenden, Alan. 1996. Gimson’s pronunciation

of English. London: Arnold.