Lecture A 5 English Phonetics and Phonology Whats

Lecture A 5 English Phonetics and Phonology

What’s in A 5? � Textbook sections A 5 and A 6 are technical explorations of phonetics… � …but for our purposes we will discuss (and be tested on) only the ‘Highlights’. � The other content is useful (and interesting!) but the highlight slides will have BLUE titles.

A 5: Consonant Possibilities � How can we pronounce consonants? � Consonants are usually referred to by brief descriptive labels stating 1) energy, 2) place of articulation and 3) manner of articulation � However, we shall discuss energy of articulation last, since it’s the most complex.

Place of articulation � What does that mean? � Where the sound is made… � Different languages use different places of articulation… � …and languages other than English might have more! � Example: French “r”

Places of articulation � Usually there are one (sometimes two) places of articulation for a single consonant. � One: ‘th’ unvoiced � Two: ‘w’ (lips and velum used at the same time)

Try this:

Pg. 46 (full list of consonant labels)

Manner of Articulation � Place of articulation = where � Manner � “How” of articulation = how in articulation involves stricture Narrowing vocal tract to affect air � Three types: � � 1) Complete closure (block all air) � 2) Close approximation (block some air… throat becomes narrow) � 3) Open approximation (air moves freely, but vocal tract shape changes This creates resonance

Resonance

Active & Passive Articulators? � With manner of articulation… � Active = organ that moves � Passive = target (where the sound need to go to)

Practice:

Complete Closure � Easy � In way to talk about this… “stop” other words… complete closure = air stops � Two types of stops: � Plosives (p, t, k, b, d, g) � Affricates (ch…as in church and dg… as in judge)

Nasals, Trills and taps � These sounds are normally voiced in English. � Made using the ____. � Trills… not common in Standard English � Used in Spanish ‘rr’ � Taps… one beat of a trill

Sound Scottish � Some varieties of Scottish (and Northern) English include a tap for the letter ‘r’.

Fricatives (close approximation)

Obstruent � Fricatives � Stops = stops & fricatives (f/v/th/s/z) (plosives…p/b/t/d/k/g), (affricates… ch/j) � How to remember this? The term ‘obstruent’ comes from the vocabulary ‘obstruction’. � Obstruction means to stop or get in the way Stops “stop” Fricatives “get in the way”

Sonorant � All other consonant sounds (and vowels) are sonorant. � Sonorant sound) comes from the word sonorous (to make

Central approximants

Try this:

The r sound

Lateral (approximant)

Try this:

Voicing

Try this:

Secondary articulation

Know this!

Labialisation

Palatalisation

Velarisation

Glottalisation & Nasalisation

End of A 5