Phonetics:Dimensions of Articulation

October 13, 2010

A Quick and Dirty Review• Last time we learned about….

• phonemes, phones, and allophones

• phonetic transcription

• the primary phonemes of the English language

• the principle of contrast

• This time we’ll learn:

• how we actually produce the sounds of English

The Last Quick Write

The Last Quick Write

The Last Quick Write

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

English PhonemesUnfamiliar IPA symbols, for vowels:

30. ‘bid’ “cap-I”

31. ‘bed’ “epsilon”

32. ‘bad’ “ash”

33. ‘bud’ “wedge”

34. ‘foot’ “upsilon”

More Diphthongs35. [aj] ‘bide’

36. [aw] ‘bowed’

37. [oj] ‘Boyd’

• And one more:

38. ‘about’ “schwa”

• only appears in unstressed syllables.

• Also--the following alphabetic symbols do not represent any English sound:

c q x y

• However, they are used for sounds in other languages.

Stress• Stress makes a syllable sound more prominent.

• (due to increased articulatory effort)

• Stress may be denoted by an accent over the vowel in the stressed syllable.

• Examples of stress contrasts:

• “contrast”

• (N)

• (V)

• “insult”

• (N)

• (V)

Tools of the Trade

vocal tract

diaphragm

A Basic Distinction• Vowels and Consonants

• Vowels: unconstricted flow of air through vocal tract (above the glottis)

• Consonants: completely or severely constricted flow of air through vocal tract

• Also: sound is often created at the consonant constriction

• Let’s look at the production of consonants first…

• (it’s easier to sense what we’re doing with our articulators)

Consonants• Consonants are produced with more obstruction of the

airflow through the vocal tract than vowels

• They are characterized by the following set of attributes:

1. Voicing

• vocal fold position and movement

2. Place of Articulation

• location of constriction in the vocal tract

3. Manner of Articulation

• type of constriction made in the vocal tract

Voicing• On the way out of the lungs

• Air passes through the trachea

• Reaches the larynx

• The larynx consists of two “vocal folds” which may be opened and closed. If the vocal folds are:

1. open: air passes cleanly through

= voiceless sound

2. lightly brought together: vocal folds vibrate in passing air

= voiced sound

Vocal Fold Schematics

Voiceless (folds open) Voiced (folds together)

Some Voicing Distinctions• Among English consonants:

Voiceless Voiced Voiceless Voiced

[f] [v] [p] [b]

[t] [d]

[s] [z] [k] [g]

Laryngoscopy

Source: http://homepage.mac.com/changcy/endo.htm

Stefan’s Bogus video

Place of Articulation

• bilabial =

constriction made by both lips

• bilabial consonants in English include:

[p] [b]

[m]

Place of Articulation

• labio-dental =

constriction made by lower lip and upper teeth

• labio-dental consonants in English include:

[f] [v]

Place of Articulation

• interdental =

constriction made by pushing tip of tongue between the teeth

• interdental consonants in English include:

Place of Articulation

• alveolar =

constriction made by tip of tongue against alveolar ridge

• alveolar consonants in English include:

[t] [d]

[s] [z]

[n] [l]

Place of Articulation

• post-alveolar =

constriction made by blade of tongue behind alveolar ridge

• post-alveolar consonants in English include:

[r]

Place of Articulation

• palatal =

constriction made by body of tongue near top of the palate

• the only palatal consonant in English is:

[j]

Place of Articulation

• velar =

constriction made by back of tongue against soft palate

• velar consonants in English include:

[k] [g]

Place of Articulation

• glottal =

constriction made at the glottis

• glottal consonants in English include:

[h]

Stefan’s Bogus Video, again

Manner of Articulation1. Stop = complete closure in vocal tract

• English stops:

[p] [t] [k]

[b] [d] [g]

2. Fricative - narrow constriction that causes disruption of airflow

• think “friction”

• English fricatives:

[f] [s] [h]

[v] [z]

Manner of Articulation3. Affricate

• = brief closure with a fricated release

• English affricates:

4. Nasal

• = velum is lowered and allows air to flow through the nose

• English nasals:

[m] [n]

The X-Ray video

Manner of Articulation5. Liquid = minimal constriction in vocal tract

• lateral = tongue is constricted in center of mouth; air passes out through the sides of mouth

English lateral liquid: [l]

• retroflex = tongue is either:

a. curled back

b. bunched up

English retroflex: [r]

6. Glide = least amount of constriction without being a vowel

• English glides: [w] [j]

What about vowels?• Vowel articulations can be characterized along four

dimensions:

1. Height (of tongue body)

• high, mid, low

2. Frontness (of tongue body)

• front, central, back

3. Roundness (of lips)

• rounded, unrounded

4. Tenseness

• tense, lax

Corner Vowels

[i] to [a] movie

The “Vowel Space”

The dimensions height and front/backness define the vowel space.

Other Vowel Features• Rounding:

• [u], [o], are pronounced with rounded lips

• the other English vowels are not

• “Tenseness”:

• A “tense” vowel is closer to the edge of the vowel space

• a “lax” vowel is closer to the center

• Ex: [i] is tense, is not.

• Note: tense/lax distinctions are very hard for non-native speakers of English to hear