INTRODUCTION TO THE SOUNDS OF ENGLISH

PHONETICS

INTRODUCTION

It is well-known that in English oneto-one corresponndence between letters and sounds does not exist. These two must Never get confused if you want to learn good English. So, it is necessary to study English spelling and English

Pronunciation separately.

THE SCIENCE THAT DEALS WITH THE SOUNDS OF THE

LANGUAGE IS KNOWN AS PHONETICS.

FEATURES OF PRONUNCIATION

Phonemes Suprasegmental features

consonants vowels

voiced unvoiced Single vowels Diphthongs

short Long

Intonation stress

Word stress Sentence stress

• We Indians follow standard British English and recognise Received pronunciation as our model. Before you learn the sounds, let us look at the organs involved in the prOduCtion of the sounds.

Organs of Speech

Air from the lungs is pushed through these speech organs which articulate the sound.

• We draw air from the lungs, air passes through the wind pipe, then through the larynx, where the vocal cords are situated.

• Vocal cords are two small bands of elastic tissue almost like two flat strips of rubber.

• The space between the vocal cords is known as glottis.• The air then passes through the cavity of the mouth/nose. Organs in the mouth

also play an important role in shaping the sounds.• The tongue, teeth, teeth ridge, lips and soft palate are the speech organs in the

mouth that convert the air into a definite sound.• When concerned speech organs activate in a set pattern, the sounds are

produced depending on the articulation.

Sounds in the English language are divided on the basis of the manner and mechanism of their production.

Different kinds of sounds

Consonants are divided into three types according to their

• 1. manner of articulation

• 2. place of articulation, and

• 3. Voice

Sounds in English are divided into consonants and vowels based on the mechanism of their production.

Consonants are 24 in number and the production of them involves some friction.

Consonant sounds

Manner of Articulation

Manner of articulation refers to how the sound is produced and the way in which the air stream is modified as it passes through the vocal folds.

Consonant sounds are six types

depending on their manner of articulation

Plosives

It is a consonant characterized by complete obstruction of the outgoing air stream by one of the articulators; a build of intra-oral air pressure and a release.

eg. /p/ /b/ /t / /d/ /k/ /g/

Fricatives

It is a consonant produced by

forcing the breath stream through a constriction formed by articulators in vocal folds.

eg. /f / / v/ / / / / / / / / / /h /

Affricates

It is a consonant characterized by having both fricative and stop manner of production.

eg. / / / /

Nasals

Nasals

It refers to a consonant produced with complete closure in the oral cavity along with a lowered velum to allow air flow through the nasal cavity

eg: /m/ /n/ n/

Lateral

It is a generic label used to classify two approximate consonants /r/ and /l/

Semi-vowels

It is a consonant characterized

by a continuous gliding motion of articulators into the following vowel, also referred to as semi-level /j/ and /w/.

Place of Articulation

Place of articulation

Place of articulation refers to which articulators are involved in the

production of a particular sound. These are divided into seven types.

Place of Articulation• Bilabial: It refers to a speech sound produced by the contact of upper and lower lips.

• Labio-dental: It is one that is produced by the lower lip contacting upper front teeth.

• Dental: It is produced with the tongue contacting the teeth.

• Alveolar: It refers to a consonant produced with the tongue contacting the upper Alveolar ridge.

• Palato-alveolar: It is produced with the tongue contacting the hard palate.

• Velar: It refers to a consonant produced with the tongue contacting contacting the velum.

• Glottal: It is a place of articulation referring to a consonant that is produced by completely or partially contacting the glottis.

Voice of Articulation

Voicing pertains to whether or not the vocal folds vibrate during the production of a consonant. It is of two types.

Voiced: A voiced sound is produced with vibration of the abducted vocal

folds in the larynx. Voiceless: Voiceless sounds are produced

without the vibration of the vocal folds.

VOWEL SOUNDS

• A vowel sound is unobstructed in articulation as it is produced without friction.There are twelve (12) pure vowels land eight (8) diphthongs. In total twenty (20) vowel sounds. Vowels are divided into two categories based on sound production.

• Vowels are divided into monophthongs (pure vowels) and diphthongs

Monophthongs

• Based on the part of the tongue raised and the extent to which the tongue is raised towards the palate, monophthongs are of three types:

a) Front: A front vowel is produced with forward shifting of the tongue from its neutral or rest position.

(b) Central: A central vowel is produced with the tongue in its neutral position.

(c) Back: A back vowel is produced with the backward shift of the tongue from its neutral position.

• Monophthongs consist of sounds such as:• • Sounds Tongue positions Examples• • front, close, unrounded peach, tea• • front,unrounded vowel between close • and half close ink, pill

• front, unrounded vowel just between • half close and half open end, trend

• front, unrounded vowel just below the • half open position ant, man

• back, open, unrounded ask, flask

• back, open, rounded off, lot

• back, rounded vowel between half-close and • half-open all, tall

• back, rounded vowel between close and half-close put, could

• back, close, rounded vowel fool, stoop

• central unrounded vowel between open and half-open upm gun

• central, unrounded vowel between half-close and • half-open earth, yearn

• central, unrounded vowel between half-close and • half-open sofa, alike

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are two different vowels produced consecutively in the same syllable, moving articulations from the positions of one after the other.

Diphthongs consist of sounds such as:

• A glide from a front unrounded vowel just below half-close to a• centralized front unrounded vowel just above half-close. ale, make

• A glide from a front, open, unrounded vowel to a centralized• front unrounded vowel just above half-close. ice, mike

• A glide from a back, rounded vowel between open and half-• open to a centralized front unrounded vowel just above the • half close position. oil, boy

A glide from the back, open, unrounded position and moves in the direction of RP(u). about, mouth

A glide from a central unrounded vowel between half-close and half-open to a centralized back rounded vowel just above the half-close position. no, old

• A glide from a centralized front unrounded vowel just above• half-close ti a centraljunrounded vowel between half-close and • half-open. serious, period

• A glide from the centralized back, rounded vowel just above • half-close to a central unrounded vowel between half-close • and half-open. poor, cure

• A glide from a front half-open, unrounded vowel to a central• unrounded vowel between half-close and half-open. air, hair

Monophthongs

• Based on the part of the tongue raised and the extent to which the tongue is raised towards the palare, monophthongs are of three types:

•

• Front Central Back Close Close:u Half-close Half- close e

Half- Open Half-open

Open Op[en

It’s Fun Remembering This Way• 1. A Dip in Deep Sea: and

• 2. Many Mad Men: and

• 3. A Cot Caught in a Cart:

• 4. Look For Good Food:

• 5. Bad Luck, Early Worm:

• 6. Again and Again:• • 7. A China Clay Toy:

• 8. Holy Cow:

• 9. Here, There, Everywhere: