English Phonetics

Three branches:

Phonology vs phonetics

• phonetics: precise qualities of sounds [ ]

• phonology: sound systems of languages and distinct phonemes / /

• Grapheme -> distinctive letters

• Phonemes -> distinctive sounds

Phoneme

• the minimal unit in the sound system of a language

• the set of sounds that have the power to distinguish one word from another

• an abstract concept

• in opposition with other phonemes

Phones

• realisations of phonemes

• free variation

• the concrete sounds we use

Allophones

• abstract

• the variants of a phoneme

• in complementary distribution

Vowels and consonants

• A vowel is an oral sound during which the air escapes freely through the vocal tract and that cannot function as a syllable margin (note syllabic consonants)

• A consonant is a sound during which there is some sort of narrowing in the vocal tractand that can function as a syllable margin (note central approximants)

1. Prevocalic

   - Refers to a consonant that comes before a vowel.

   - Example: In cat, the /k/ sound is prevocalic because it occurs before the vowel /æ/.

2. Postvocalic

   - Refers to a consonant that comes after a vowel.

   - Example: In cat the /t/ sound is postvocalic because it occurs after the vowel /æ/.

3. Non-prevocalic

   - Refers to a consonant that is not immediately followed by a vowel.

   - This often includes consonants at the end of words or those in clusters where no vowel follows directly.

   - Example: In stop, the /p/ sound is non-prevocalic because it is not followed by a vowel.

Consonants

Describing a consonant:

• voicing

• place of articulation

• manner of articulation

Producing sound

• Egressive = air goes out from lungs

Voicing

• Voiceless/unvoiced = the vocal cords are wide open and the air passes freely through the larynx

• Voiced = the vocal cords are held loosely together so that the pressure of the air from the lungs forces them apart -> vibrations

• A continuum between  purely voiced and voiceless sounds based on the exact timing of voicing

VOT aka Voice Onset Time

1. The release of a consonant (usually a stop, like /p/, /t/, /k/).

2. The start of vocal fold vibration (voicing) for the following vowel or voiced sound.

Fortis vs lenis

Places of articulation

• In order to describe a consonant, we need to identify

• The active articulator - usually the tongue, sometimes the lips

• The passive articulator - the surface against which the tongue (or lips) move in order to create a closure or narrowing

• By naming the passive articulator, we can describe exactly where the tongue (or lips) go when producing a consonant

• The active articulator only needs to be separately mentioned when it's not the tongue

Manners of articulation

• Obstruents = the flow of air from the lungs is somehow obstructed (partially or completely) as it passes through the vocal tract -> most consonants

• Sonorants = have no closure nor narrowing which obstructs the air stream -> vowels, nasals, approximants

Total closure

• Plosive (stop) = a complete closure at some point in the vocal tract, the soft palate is raised; air pressure builds up behind the closure, which is then released explosively

• Affricate = a complete closure at some point in the mouth, the air pressure is released slowly → frication noise (a combination of two sound segments)

obstruent

• Fricative = two vocal organs come so close together that the movement of air can be heard (narrowing)

• Sibilant = belongs to fricatives; sharper sound than the others, because they are made with a narrower groove in the tongue

→ obstruent

• Nasal = a complete closure at some point in the mouth, the soft palate is lowered and air escapes through the nose

• Approximant = two articulators are brought close but no friction noise is produced when the airstream passes the narrowing (there may be a partial oral closure)

The→ sonorant (although the oral cavity is closed, the air flows freely through the nose!)

Diphthongs

• Several diphthongs in RP

• Front-closing /ai, e1, pI/

• Back-closing /au, au/ and

• Centring /Ia, ea, va/

Triphthongs

• Triphthongs can be analysed as combinations of diphthongs and the schwa

• Smoothing = some vowel qualities disappear

• Single syllables

• Closing diphthongs + a schwa

• The schwa is often historically an r; rhotic accents still have r instead of schwa

Monothongs

• Definition: Monothongs are vowel sounds that consist of a single, unchanging sound quality and are produced with a steady airflow.

• Characteristics:

  • Remain constant throughout their duration.

  • Do not involve a glide from one vowel sound to another.

• Examples: Common English monothongs include the vowels in ‘cat’ (/æ/), ‘bed’ (/ɛ/), and ‘dog’ (/ɒ/).

• Contrast with Diphthongs: Unlike diphthongs, which have a glide between two vowel sounds (e.g., /aɪ/ in ‘my’), monothongs maintain a single sound quality.

Clipping is when a vowel is shorter when followed by a fortis consonant

Intelligibility and Comprehensibility

• Intelligibility: Refers to how recognizable or clear speech is to a listener. It depends on the clarity of the speaker's pronunciation, articulation, and acoustic qualities of the speech sounds. High intelligibility means that the listener can easily understand the words being spoken.

• Comprehensibility: Refers to how well a listener understands the meaning of what is being said. It involves the listener's background knowledge, vocabulary, and the context in which the speech occurs. High comprehensibility indicates that the listener grasps the concepts and ideas conveyed by the speaker.

CONNECTED SPEECH

• Focuses on aspects of stress and weak forms in English phonetics.

Structure of Speech

• Hierarchical Relationship:

• Speech comprises various levels: Utterances, Tone-units, Feet, Syllables, Phonemes.

Word Groups and Feet

• Word Group/Tone Unit:

• Contains a complete thought (often a clause).

• Composed of at least one foot/stress group.

• A foot begins with a stressed syllable, followed by unstressed syllables.

• Rhythm in Word Groups:

  • Generally has regular rhythm.

  • Typically features a single intonation pattern (tone group or tone unit).

  • Assimilation and linking phenomena occur internally within a word group.

Example of Word Groups

• Example Phrase: "Mary had a little lamb."

• Breakdown of Stress Groups:

  • Mary (stress group/foot)

  • had a

  • little

  • lamb

• Study phrase: "Mary discovered something interesting."

• IPA for Practice: //ˈmeəri dɪsˈkʌvəd ˈsʌmθɪŋ ˈɪntrəstɪŋ//

Stress and Rhythm

• Stress-timed vs. Syllable-timed Languages:

• Syllable-timed Languages: (e.g., French)

  • Regular intervals of syllables (similar to a machine gun rhythm).

• Stress-timed Languages: (e.g., English)

  • Regular intervals of stresses (similar to Morse code rhythm).

  • Unstressed syllables can shorten to increase speech tempo.

  • Certain languages may have longer unstressed syllables (e.g., Estonian).

Examples of Stress-timing vs. Syllable-timing

• English Example (stress-timed):

  • "Tom hit Bill"

  • "Matthew complained about the task."

  • "An outstanding contribution to contemporary literature."

• Finnish Example (syllable-timed):

  • "Mikä se oli?"

  • "Vantaan kaupunki."

Stress Demonstration

• Dialog between Chris and Elise shows differing stress in conversation.

  • Discussion of hair color demonstrates stress pattern.

• Source: Mimi Ponsonby, 1982.

Stress Timing Considerations

• According to Cruttenden (2014):

• Stress-timing is more of a rhythm tendency; it can't always be measured accurately.

• Full vowels are critical for establishing the rhythm in English.

• Unstressed vowels may borrow time from the preceding full vowels, affecting duration.

Linguistic Rhythm

• Rhythm varies based on style of speaking.

• English can appear more rhythmic than it actually is as it relies on perceived regularity in speech.

Stress Characteristics

• Stress as a syllable feature:

• Syllables can be strong (stressed) or weak (unstressed).

• The vowel sound primarily determines stress.

• Types of Stress Patterns:

• Free stress: can occur on any syllable.

• Fixed stress: predetermined in certain words.

• Emphasis on learning stress patterns upon learning vocabulary.

Weak and Strong Forms

• Weak Form: refers to unstressed pronunciation of function words, often reduced.

• Strong Form: refers to citation forms often used in dictionaries.

• Weak forms typically use reduced vowels (often /ə/) and simplified consonant clusters.

Common Weak Form Words

• Function words such as prepositions, auxiliaries, and determiners:

  • /æm/ → /əm/

  • /kʊd/ → /kəd/

  • /tuː/ → /tə/

  • /mʌst/ → /məs/

  • Example of weak forms: "I went to the hotel..."

  • IPA equivalent: //aɪ ˈwentə ðə həʊˈtel...//

Weak Form Minimal Pairs

• Ex: "The speaker asked four questions" vs. "The speaker asked for questions."

Weak Forms in Context

• Strong forms are maintained in cases of emphasis or contrast:

  • Sentence-finally: Full vowel retention occurs in pronouns and auxiliary verbs.

  • Example: "They’ve gone to the bar."

Linking in Connected Speech

• Importance of linking within word groups to convey clear speech.

• Types include linking /r/, intrusive /r/, and linking consonants.

  • Examples show how words combine in fluent English.

• Linking glides occur after close vowels.

Assimilation in Speech

• Sounds can change due to context.

• Co-articulation examples include:

  • /t/ → /p/: "that pen"

  • /d/ → /b/: "good boy"

Importance of Fluency

• Fluent speakers recognize where to pause and which elements to stress.

• Disfluency may cause pauses mid-clause.

Page 3: Tone-unit Definition

• Tone-unit (also known as tone-group, sense-group, information unit)

  • Basic unit of intonation

  • Structure:

    • Pre-head: unstressed beginning

    • Onset: first accent before nucleus

    • Head: from onset to last syllable before nucleus

    • Nucleus (tonic): typically the last stressed syllable, carrying the most prominence

    • Tail: extends pitch change post-nucleus

Page 4: Tone-unit Example

• Structure remains the same despite different tone choices for nucleus.

• Source: Wells, J.C. (2006) English Intonation: An Introduction.

Page 5: Notation in Tone-unit

• Representation: Each 'ball' indicates a syllable.

• Stress: Size of the ball signifies stress level.

• Pitch: Height of the ball relative to lines indicates pitch level.

Page 6: Importance of the Nucleus

• The nucleus is the most critical syllable of the intonation unit, often the most stressed.

• Example: "Do you ˈthink he ˈmight be disˈhonest?"

Page 7: Nucleus and Semantics

• Placement of tonic/nucleus is often semantically motivated.

• Example Sentences:

  • "My wife doesn’t look like a sack of potatoes."

  • Main stress typically on the last content word.

  • Contrastive stress example:

    • "Was it a blue dress? No, it was a red dress."

Page 8: Understanding Sentence Stress

• The nucleus/tonic syllable acts as sentence stress.

• General idea: applies word stress concepts to larger units.

Page 9: Fluency in English

• Knowledge of where to pause and which elements to stress is crucial for learners.

• Disfluent speakers often pause mid-clause, prolonging pauses incorrectly.

• Incorrect stress can alter implications in speech.

Page 10: Introduction to Second Language Acquisition

• SLA: Focus on fluency in L2 Learning and Use.

• Citation: Edited by Pekka Lintunen, Maarit Mutta, Pauliina Peltonen.

Page 11: Returning to Tone Unit Structure

• Review of tone unit structures and groupings.

Page 12: Speaker Decisions in Intonation

• 1. Chunking (Tonality): Determining tone unit boundaries.

• 2. Tonicity: Identifying the nucleus and stresses.

• 3. Tone: Deciding on ascension or descension of intonation pattern.

Page 13: Chunking Examples

• Variations in chunking effect meaning:

  • "We don’t know who she is."

  • Different chunking can imply different meanings.

Page 14: Identifying Nucleus and Stresses

• Examples illustrating different placements of stresses:

  • "We’re ˈplanning to fly to ˈItaly."

  • Variations affect semantic interpretation.

Page 15: Understanding the Head in a Tone-unit

• Head structure: begins with first stressed syllable, ends at the one before tonic.

• Height variation between stress syllables is common.

Page 16: Example Intonation Patterns

• Question: Do you 'think he 'might be dis honest?

Page 17: Analyzing Example Intonation

• Structure of intonation patterns conveyed.

• Stresses and grouping indicated for analysis.

Page 18: Variations in Intonation Types

• Different intonation patterns examined:

  • Rising and Falling intonations analyzed in examples.

Page 19: Further Examples of Intonation Patterns

• More examples on falling vs rising intonations.

  • Different interpretations depending on intonation.

Page 20: Types of Intonation Patterns

• Three simple tones:

  • Fall, Rise, Level

• Two complex tones:

  • Fall-rise, Rise-fall

Page 21: Practical Examples of Tone Types

• Examples of various tones in sentences:

  • Fall: yes interesting

  • Rise: yes interesting

  • Level: yes interesting

  • Fall-rise/Rise-fall examples also provided.

Page 22: Intonation and Emotional Meaning

• Emotional state affects vocal cord tension, leading to pitch variation.

• Acknowledges the interplay between language and emotion.

Page 23: Differences Between Falling and Rising Intonations

• Tones convey different meanings:

  • Falling: statements, wh-questions, commands, interjections.

  • Rising: incomplete statements, yes/no questions, requests, open lists.

Page 24: Open and Closed Lists in Intonation

• Examples of tone usages in enumeration:

  • List patterns analyzed to determine how intonation influences understanding.

Page 25: Functional Significance of Tones

• Tones serve various communicative functions:

• Fall indicates neutrality; Rise invites continuation; Level suggests boredom; Complex tones convey strong emotions.

Page 26: Core Functions of Intonation

• Four basic functions explored:

  • Attitudinal, Accentual, Grammatical, Discourse.

• Challenges in separating these due to overlapping features.

Page 27: Attitudinal Function

• Expresses speaker emotions and attitudes.

• Influences sequencing and prosodic features.

• Paralinguistic elements play vital roles.

Page 28: Meanings of Attitudes and Tones

• Overview of tones and their common meanings

  • Fall: finality; Rise: questions/invitations; Fall-rise: uncertainty; Rise-fall: surprise.

Page 29: Accentual Function of Intonation

• Distinction between word stress and sentence stress elucidated.

• Tonic usually placed on last lexical word for semantic priority.

Page 30: Grammatical Function Importance

• Tone-unit boundaries often coincide with grammatical units.

• Comparison between restrictive and non-restrictive clauses noted.

Page 31: Discourse Function

• b endings:

  • robbed → /rɒbd/, talked → /tɔːkt/

• Devoicing examples: please → /pl̥iːz̥/, twenty → /ˈtw̥enti/

Coalescent Assimilation

• Blending of two sounds into a third:

  • Examples:

    • don't you → /ˈdəʊntʃə/

    • would you → /ˈwʊdʒə/

    • Historically: issue → /ˈɪsjuː/

  • Reflects a modern feature of English pronunciation.

Elision in Speech

• The omission of sounds:

  • Examples:

    • listen → /ˈlɪsn/

    • Christmas → /ˈkrɪs(məs)/

    • and in casual speech: bed and breakfast → [ˈbɛdən ˈbrɛkfəst]

  • Elision often occurs with /t/ and /d/ sounds in fast speech.

Compression

• The reduction of syllables:

  • Example transformations can occur in phrases:

    • buttoning → /ˈbʌtn̩ɪŋ/

    • library → /ˈlaɪbri/

Epenthesis

• The insertion of sounds, often for ease of articulation:

  • Examples:

    • prince → [prɪnts]

    • athlete → [ˈæθlɪt]

Intonation

• Definition:

  • Use of pitch patterns and melody in speech.

• Hierarchical Relationships in Speech:

  • Utterances, tone-units, feet, syllables, phonemes.

Word Group and Foot

• Word Group/Tone Unit:

  • Represents one thought (or clause).

  • Includes at least one foot/stress group, starting with a stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllables.

Tone-Units in Intonation

• Basic unit of intonation that contains clauses:

  • Options for chunking tone units can alter meaning.

Structure of Tone-Units

• Components:

  • Pre-head, onset, head, nucleus (tonic), tail

  • The nucleus is essential and carries stress and semantic weight.

Nucleus/Tonic in Speech

• The most significant syllable of an intonation unit:

  • Determines the stress and has a high prominence.

  • Examples used to illustrate placement and emphasis in sentences.

Nucleus Placement and Semantics

• Placement influences meaning:

  • E.g., stress on different words changes sentence interpretation.

Sentence Stress

• The concept of nucleus relates to broader sentence stress:

  • Reflects overall stress patterns in larger linguistic units.It plays a crucial role in conveying meaning, as the placement of stress can highlight important information and influence the listener's understanding.