Chapter 2 Phonetics
Phonetics A science to study how linguistic sounds are
produced. Three subfields of phonetics: acoustic phonetics,
auditory phonetics, and articulatory phonetics.
To describe how linguistic sounds are produced.
Outline1. Backgrounds 1.1 Segments and transcription
1.2 Speech organs
1.3 Phonation
1.4 Distinction between vowels and consonants
2. Place of articulation3. Consonants
4. Consonants: Manner of articulation 4.1 Obstruents
4.2 Sonorants
5. Vowels 5.1 Monothongs
5.2 Diphthongs
5.3 Nasalized vowels
6. Suprasegments 6.1 Syllables
6.2 Stress
6.3 Tone
6.4 Intonation
7. Summary
1. BACKGROUNDS
1.1 Segments and transcription1.2 Speech organs1.3 Phonation1.4 Distinction between vowels and consonants
1.1 Segments and Transcription
Spoken sounds written wowrds
can be reserved for a long time
disappear as soon as they are uttered
Sounds were transcribed for teaching & studying
RecordersPhonetic
transcription system
IPA
Unintelligible sounds
=Noises
1.1 Segments and Transcription
Ex: Takebanuad spoken by Bunun in Xingyi, Nantou.
1. “ Where is the teacher?”
2. A sentence composed of seven syllables I-isaq-a-masnanava?’
Sounds cannot be written but they can be transcribed. IPA
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)
Designed in 1821 by International Phonetic Association (also abbreviated as IPA).
The version in 1995:
1.2 Speech organs Any sound is produced with three factors:
1. a vibrator2. a force to make it vibrate3. a transmission media
Ex:
the vibrator : six cords
the force that makes cords vibrate : fingers
the transmission : air
1.2 Speech organs Three Steps of sound production:
1. inhale air and save it in our lungs2. when we speak, press our lungs so an airstream
will come out3. the airstream vibrates vocal cords, resulting in
waves
The waves was transmissioned to audience’s ears.
the vibrator : vocal cords
The force makes vocal cords vibrate : the airstream saved in our lungs
the transmission : air
1.3 Phonation Phonation : production of voiced and voiceless
sounds due to the close or open of the vocal cords in the larynx.
(voiced consonants)Airstream vibrates
English [b, d, g,, m, n, N , v, , d, z, l, r, w, j] Chinese [l, m, n, N, w, j]
(voiceless consonants)open in 60%-95%Airstream comes out without vibrating the vocal cords
English [p, t, k, f, , s, h, , t]Chinese [p, ph, f, t, th, k, kh, ts, tsh, s, , t, th, , t, th, h]
1.3 Phonation Two ways to identify voiceless and voiced:
1. Put your hands over the larynx, feel the vibration of the vocal cords.
2. Cover your ears with your hands. When a voiced sound is produced, you can hear a hissing sound,
much like a bee’s buzzing.
Ex: [s] from [z] → repeat sssszzzzsss.
1.3 Phonation Aspiration: a voiceless consonant produced with the
duration of noiselessness e.g. English [ph] in pie [phai] Chinese [ph] in assign [phai] [th] in tie [thai] [th] in too much [thai] [kh] in kite [khait] [kh] in fast [khuai]
Unaspirated: consonants produced without such a voiceless duration
e.g. English [p] in spy [spai] [t] in stick [stik] [k] in sky [skai].
What is a vowel?What is a consonant?
What are the differences?
1.4 Disctinction between vowels and consonants
1.4 Disctinction between vowels and consonants1. Vowels differ from consonants in waveforms.
vowels: periodic consonants: aperiodic.
1.4 Disctinction between vowels and consonants2. Vowels differ from consonants in oral cavity.
vowel: the oral cavity is wide enough without incurring any friction.
consonant: part of the tongue body is raised over a certain point in such a way that a narrow cavity emerges, which in turn causes friction.
1.4 Disctinction between vowels and consonants3. Vowels differ from consonants in formants.
vowels: there are formants consonants: the formants are far less clear for
consonants.
1.4 Disctinction between vowels and consonants
4. Vowels differ from consonants in the position of a syllable. vowel: usually occurs in the nucleus position of a
syllable. Consonant: usually does not occur in the nucleus
position.
e.g. In the syllable [hd] (head), [] is the nucleus [h] is onset [d] is coda
2. PLACE OF ARTICULATION
Place of articulation Organs are divided into two types: laryngeal and
supralaryngeal
place
manner
voiced
voiceless
Place of articulation The velum will decide whether the air stream has to
pass either oral or nasal cavity, or both.
Place of articulation1. Nasal: English [m, n, N].
2. Nasalized: Taiwanese [i(], [e)], [a)], [o)] [i)]= ‘yard’ [e)]= ‘baby’ [a)]= ‘to bend’ [o)]= ‘to make a baby sleep’
3. Oral: English [i, e, o, , æ]
Place of articulation
Passive(cannot move freely)
Active(mainly our tongue)
3. CONSONANTS
CONSONANTS
Bilabial consonants [b, p, pH, m]
Three steps for the production of bilabial consonants:1. Squeeze the lungs so that the airstream would
come to the oral cavity.2. Stop the airstream by closing the upper and the
lower lips.3. Release the airstream by opening the oral cavity.
Stop consonant(plosive consonants): When the airstream coming from lungs it is stopped
Distinctive features In the field of phonology and phonetics, we use
distinctive features to characterize sounds. Distinctive features are essentially based on place and
manner of articulation. All the features are marked by [+] or [-]. e.g. A [+] denotes the presence of that feature
A [-] denotes the absence from that feature
describe whether the airstream is stopped or continuous
Distinctive features
CONSONANTS
Labio-dental consonants [f, v] /f/, /v/: Produced by having the upper teeth put
on the lower lip.
Continuents : The point where the upper teeth and the lower lip are put together is not so tight that the airstream from the lungs can barely go through.
Fricative consonants: Some friction in the narrow cavity between the upper teeth and the lowerlip forces (f, v,)
stop
continuent
Interdental consonants [, ] //, //: Produced by putting the tip of the tongue
between the upper and the lower teeth.
Fricative continuents : Although the tip is put between the upper and the lower
teeth, some space is left for the airstream, making it continuous.
Voiced: // Voiceless: //
Distinctive features
CONSONANTS
Alveolar [d, t. n. l, s, z] /d/, /t/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/: Produced in the same
manner by raising the tip of the tongue to the alveolar.
Three steps of the production of alveolar stops:1. Puff the airstream out of the oral cavity.2. Stop the airstream somewhere.3. Release the airstream when
followed by a vowel. [d, t, th, n] differ from [b, p, ph, m] in place.
The airstream is stopped at the point where the upper and the lower lips are closed.
The airstream is stopped at the point where the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar.
Alveolar [d, t. n. l, s, z] Fricative continuents: The tip of the tongue merely
touches the alveolar in such a way that some space is left for the airstream to pass through
Sibilants : All of the fricative consonants come up with some turbulent noises due to the friction
CONSONANTS
coronal
Coronal [d, t, th, n, s, z] Coronal: The area from the alveolar to the post-
alveolar. All the consonants produced at any point of the
coronal, are of the feature [+coronal].
[d, t, th] are [-nasal], while [n] is [+nasal], owing to the different position of the velum.
labial alveolar
segmentfeatures b p m f v d t n l s z
place
[labial] + + + + + - - - - - -
[alveolar] - - - - - + + + + + +
[coronal] - - - - - + + + + + +
[anterior] + + + + + + + + + + +
manner
[continue] - - - + + - - - + + +
[nasal] - - + - - - - + - - -
[voiced] + - + - + + - + + - +
[lateral] - - - - - - - - + - -
CONSONANTS
Post-alveolar [, ] / /, / /: Produced by raising the tip of the tongue
up to the post-alveolar Also called alveo-palatal: A little back from the
alveolar and it is part of the hard palatal.
[+coronal] Voiced: / / Voiceless: / /
Anterior Anterior: Adopted for the distinction between
segments produced before the alveolar and those after that.
[+anterior]: labials, labio-dentals, alveolars [-anterior]: post-alveolars
anterior
Affricate consonants [t, d] Affricate: A combination of a stop and a fricative. There is a very short closure for the airstream, and
then in a very short time it is open for the airstream to come out.
Voiced: /d/ Voiceless: /t/
e.g.: white sheep [wait ip] → [waitip]white shoes →why choose
labial alveolar Post-alveolar
segmentfeatures b p m f v d t n l s z t d
place
[labial] + + + + + - - - - - - - - - -
[alveolar] - - - - - + + + + + + - - - -
[coronal] - - - - - + + + + + + + + + +
[anterior] + + + + + + + + + + + - - - -
manner
[continue] - - - + + - - - + + + + + - -
[nasal] - - + - - - + - - - - - - -
[voiced] + - + - + + - + + - + - + - +
[lateral] - - - - - - - - + - - - - - -
Liquids [r, l] /r/: the tip of the tongue is a little curled back, when
it is raised upward To compare with [l], [r] leaves more space between
the tip of the tongue and the post-alveolar ridge.
Liquid: Can be produced or perceived differently depending on different individuals, like water.
Coronal Lateral
[l] + +
[r] - -
/l/+vowel → clear /l/ (let)vowel + /l/ → dark or velarized /l/ (tell)
CONSONANTS
Velar stop consonants [g, k, kh,] Very much like other stops [b, p, ph, m] and [d, t, th, n]
in place and manner of articulation. The closure point lies in the contact between the
tongue body (specifically the dorsal) and the velar
velar nasal
Velar stop consonants [g, k, kh,] Three steps for the production of stop consonants:
1. Press the lungs so that airstream is pushed out.2. Stop the airstream by raising the back of the dorsal to
contact the velar. 3. Release the airflow when it is followed by a vowel.
[b, p, ph, m]
[d, t, th, n]
[g, k, kh, ]
The closure lies in the closure of the upper and the lower lips.
The closure occurs because of the tight contact between the tip of the tongue and the alveolar.
The closure occurs in the dorsal and the velar.
labials alveolars velars
b p pH m d t tH n g k kH
place
[labial] + + + + - - - - - - - -[cronal] - - - - + + + + - - - -[velar] - - - - - - - - + + + +
manner
[continuent] - - - - - - - - - - - -[voiced] + - - + + - - + + - - +[asp] - - + - - - + - - - + -[nasal] - - - + - - - + - - - +
Sounds Laryngeal
Voiced[b, d, g] Voiceless
Aspirated[ph, th, kh]
Unaspirated[p, t, k]
Supralargeal
Place
Bi-labial
Labio-dental
Dental
Alveolar
Alveo-palatal
Velar
Coronal
Manner
Stops
Fricatives
Affricatives
Laterals
Nasals
4. CONSONANTS: MANNER OF ARTICULATION
4.1 Obstruents4.2 Sonorants
4.1 Obstruents Obstruents: A group of consonants produced with
more or less friction in the oral cavity.
They can further be decomposed into stops, fricatives, and affricates.
4.1 Obstruents
Consonants produced with a closure at the places of lips, alveolar, or velar are called stop consonants or plosive consonants.
(a) from the nasal cavity(b) also recognized as sonorants
Results from a narrow cavity, formed by the tongue body and the upper ridge.
The cavity is so narrow that the airstream coming out of the lungs is turbulent, giving rise to friction.
The upper teeth bites the lower lip
The tip of the tongue is put between the upper and the lower teeth
The tip of the tongue is raised to the alveolar or the post-alveolar
Results from a combination of a stop and a fricative.
4.2 Sonorants Sonorants are usually produced without obvious
friction. (no narrow cavity for those consonants)
Sonorants can be divided into three types: nasals, glides, and liquids. However, glides and liquids are also grouped into the class of approximants.
4.2 Sonorants
One of the stop consonants; However, there are some resonances occurring in the nasal cavity.
1. The waveforms of sonorant consonants are periodic, more or less like vowels.2. Most sonorants get obvious but not so clear formants.3. Sonorants are loud enough to be different from obstruents.
consonant
vowel
Danial Jones (1948)
approximant
Glide Usually called semi-vowels. [j] → front glide [w] → back glide. Slightly different from high vowels [i] and [u]. Semi-vowels and high vowels are treated as allophones. e.g.
cute [kjut] house [hws]
heed [hid]hood [hud]
not syllable nucleus→ glide
at the nucleus of that syllable →vowel
5. VOWELS
5.1 Monothongs5.2 Diphthongs5.3 Nasalized vowels
Vowels The most sonorous of all linguistic sounds
There is no or little friction (produced with oral cavity as wide as possible)
Classified into monothongs and diphthongs, or oral and nasalized vowels
5.1 Monothongs The distinction lies mainly on lip rounding and the
backness of the tongue body
schwa []: not high and not low, neither front nor back
high / lowfront / back.
5.1 Monothongs
the tongue body is raised high
the tongue body is low
the tongue body is raised upward (almost to the post-alveolar ridge)e.g. key [ki]
the back of the tongue body is raised upward (nearly to the velar)e.g. cool [kul]
the tongue body stays at the low and central positione.g. car [kar]
[i] [u]
[a]
5.1 Monothongs
the tongue body is between [i] and [a]
The tongue body is between [u] and [a] for the back vowels
[e]
[o]
2/3
cardinal vowels
5.1 Monothongs In addition to the tongue body, vowels can be
distinguished by lip rounding.
rounded, spread, or neutral
schwa []e.g. about [b@ut]
[u] and [o] [i] and [e]
5.1 Monothongs In the theory of distinctive features, four features,
[high], [low], [back], and [round], are adopted:
In a few languages, the low vowel is essentially central, so there are usually two allophones occurring in different situations.
[a] (the front /a/) [] (the back /a/)
5.1 Monothongs In English, there are two sets of vowels.
tense vowels are longer than lax vowels in duration.
The duration between tense and lax vowels (Laver, 1994)
5.2 Diphthongs A diphthong is basically composed of two vowels:
(a vowel + a glide, [j] or [w])
[aj, oj, aw]
the sonority is from high (vowels) to low (glides), so the three diphthongs are called falling diphthong
5.3 Nasalized vowels
In English, there is no phonemic nasalized vowel.
nasal consonant + vowel
vowel + nasal consonant
/i/→[i)] in me
/o/→[o)] in no
can [k)n]
pen [p)n]
They are unpredictable and distinctive.
5.3 Nasalized vowels In Southern Min of Taiwan, nasalized vowels are
phonemic.
A lot of languages also have phonemic nasalized vowels, such as Sudanese, Indonesian, Malay, French, etc.
6. SUPRASEGMENTS
6.1 Syllables6.2 Stress6.3 Tone6.4 Intonation
Suprasegments By suprasegments, we mean syllable, stress, tone, and
intonation, which cannot be characterized by a single segment.
A segment can be described precisely on the basis of manner and place of articulation. However, a suprasegment is far more beyond that.
6.1 Syllables onset + rime (nucleus + coda)
More examples:
branching rime
heavy syllable
non-branching rime
light syllable
unstressed
stressed
Open syllableNo coda
→ unstressed Close syllableCoda [t] / [r]→ stressed
6.2 Stress Stress is usually denoted by pitch.
A stressed syllable gets a higher pitch A non-stressed syllable gets a lower pitch
higher lower lower higher
differently stressed due to categorical difference
6.3 Tone
stress languages
• English • German• Spanish
tone languages
• Chinese• Tibetan • Vietnam• Tai
perceived by a higher pitch
perceived by an absolute pitch
1
2
3
6.3 Tone
High tones of different languages might be different in pitch values.
the highest tone clothes
Mandarin 5 shan55
Southern Min 4 Sa)44
stress languages
• English • German• Spanish
tone languages
• Chinese• Tibetan • Vietnam• Tai
high tone
rinsing tone
contour tone
falling tone
The level high tone remains intact when it is followed by other tones.
6.3 Tone Tones of most African languages are composed of
high tone (H), mid tone (M), and low tone (L). Contour tones like High Low or Low High tones can
sometimes be combined with H and L, or L and H, respectively.
Contour tones emerge when a high tone is added with a low tone suffix. e.g. ebu@ + olu→ ebu^lu
H L HL(contour tone)
6.4 Intonation Stress → the contrast between a stressed and an
unstressed syllable Intonation → sentential stress.
6.4 IntonationThe most prominent syllable
The pitch is higher
The pitch contour is exactly of the pattern 231
stressed
6.4 Intonationfalling pattern
(231)
rising intonation (223)
rising and falling (23, 23, 231)
statements wh-quesitons
yes/no questions
alternative statements