Phonetics and Phonology

English Language Phonetics and Phonology

What are prosodic features?

Refers to pitch, stress, volume, tempo and intonation, which are used to draw attention to key elements of spoken language, and colour spoken discourse.

What is pitch? How does pitch change?

How high the voice is, the faster the vocal cords vibrate, the higher the pitch will be.

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EXAMPLE: the rise in pitch in line 3 ("__") indicates an increased level of excitement

What is stress?

The degree of force with which we articulate a syllable. Syllables can be stressed or unstressed.

Emphatic stress is used to emphasise particular lexemes in a spoken discourse, or to convey astonishment/disbelief/etc.

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EXAMPLE: emphatic stress is used by the speaker throughout the discourse to draw the listener's attention to lexemes of particular importance, as seen in line 3 (__), etc. Emphatic stress also serves to convey disbelief

What is volume?

Refers to the loudness of the voice.

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EXAMPLE: when a topic shift occurs in line 8, where the issue of whale hunting is raised, an elevated volume is used by Amanda in line 9, which demonstrates her passion in the matter.

What is tempo?

The speed at which one speaks.

What is intonation?

The pattern of pitch change in an utterances. They may be rising, falling, rising-falling or falling-rising.

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EXAMPLE: a salient feature of Australian English is the high-rising terminal, typically at the end of an interrogative sentence.

What are vocal effects?

Refer to the non-linguistic sounds we make, such as laughter, coughs, crying, and breaths.

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EXAMPLE: the use of vocal effects, such as laughter, lend the piece an informal register and contribute to its entertainment value.

What is assimilation?

The process by which the sounds of a word may change to become more like neighbouring sounds, aiding fluency and articulation.

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EXAMPLE: assimilation is evident when X says 'grampa' rather than 'grandpa', which contributes to the informal register and aids the fluidity of X's expression.

What is elision?

The omission of phonemes in connected speech, aiding fluency and articulation.

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EXAMPLE: elision contributes to the informal register of the text and is evident when X says "ol' man" instead of "old man" (line 6)

What is insertion?

The inclusion of extra phonemes for ease of articulation.

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EXAMPLE: insertion is used by X the in line 6 ('cudduly' instead of 'cuddly'), which conveys a sense of cuteness and immaturity as he describes the security blanket he used to own.

What is reduction?

When the total number of phonemes in a lexeme is reduced by the means of elision, assimilation and insertion. It contributes to an informal register.

EXAMPLE: the use of the reduction 'gonna' (line 6) contributes to the informal register of the discourse.

What is vowel reduction?

Refers to how vowels are unstressed, usually replaced with weak central vowels such as the schwa.

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EXAMPLE: the unstressed vowels in 'water', 'a-bout'

What is the general australian accent?

The accent in which most Australians speak. It is characterised by neutral vowel qualities, lacking the stigma attached to the Broad accent and the pretentiousness associated with the Cultivated accent.

What is the Broad Australian accent?

The more extreme Australian accent associated with country and working class folk, the stereotypical Aussie accent. Furthest from British Received Pronunciation. Speakers of Broad accent are often disparaged and perceived to be uneducated, hence are often socially disadvantaged.

What is the cultivated Australian accent?

A ‘prestigious’ Australian accent associated with the British Received Pronunciation. In the past, only the wealthy (who spoke with RP) attended school, and it became associated with respectability, good education and high social status.

What is alliteration?

Repetition of a consonant sound in a phrase at the beginning of a series of words.

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EXAMPLE: Phonological patterning such as alliteration (“fame and fortune” line 8; “reduce, reuse, recycle” line 9) is used to enhance meaning, make the text more memorable, and create a sonorous effect.

What is assonance?

The multiple use of the same vowel sound in a phrase.

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EXAMPLE: The use of assonance in the Hoover vacuum cleaner advertisement helps the discourse reinforce its message and make the slogan more memorable: “It beats as it sweeps as it cleans!”.

What is consonance?

Repetition of a consonant sound in a sequence of words, but not necessarily at the beginning.

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EXAMPLE: Consonance is evident in the advertisement in the repetition of the ‘nz’ phonemes in “Beanz Meanz Heinz”, which helps make the slogan more memorable.

What is onomatopoeia?

Words that imitate the sound they are describing.

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EXAMPLE: The use of onomatopoeia in “the gushing stream flows through the forest” enhances the meaning of the statement through the connotations of rush and speed brought about by the lexeme ‘gushing’, thus helping the reader better visualise the stream.

What is rhyme?

The recurring pattern of identical or similar sounds at the ends of words.

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EXAMPLE: The use of phonological patterning such as rhyme in “Good, better, best – never let it rest!” contributes to the balance and rhythm of the text, as well as making the slogan more memorable.

What is rhythm?

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllable in language

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EXAMPLE: Parallelism appears frequently throughout the discourse to add emphasis, build up to climaxes and to create a sense of rhythm: “we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills…” (lines 4-7).

What are connected speech processes?

Elision, vowel reduction, assimilation, insertion

What is phonological patterning?

Alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme