Uttalslra Introduction to phonetics and English phonology Consonants

Uttalslära Introduction to phonetics and English phonology: Consonants, part 2

Types of consonants • Plosives (stops) • Nasals • Fricatives • Affricates • Semi-vowels • Laterals • Frictionless continuants

The consonants of English 1 Fricatives Plosives Nasals Voiceless /f/ fan /s/ so /ʃ/ shore /θ/ thin /h/ hat /p/ pet /k/ kite /t/ take Voiced /v/ van /z/ zoo /ʒ/ vision /ð/ then /b/ bag /g/ bag /d/ dog /m/ men /n/ men /ŋ/ sing

The consonants of English 2 Affricates Voiceless Voiced /tʃ/ church /dʒ/ judge Semi-vowels /w/ well /j/ yes Lateral /l/ long Frictionless continuant /r/ rose

Nasals When producing a nasal, we let the air flow through the nose instead of the mouth. English has three nasals, all of them voiced.

/m/ as in me Examples: summer /'sʌmə(r)/ Always voiced in English. . . . but what about Swedish?

/n/ as in not Pronunciation: the tip of the tongue not touching the teeth “n” is mute in words with -mn: condemn /kən'dem/ hymn /hım/ damn /dæm/

/ŋ/ as in king The spelling “ng” is sometimes pronounced /ŋ/ and sometimes /ŋg/ herring singing angry hunger /'herıŋ/ /'sıŋıŋ/ /'æŋgrı/ /'hʌŋgə(r)/

Affricates Consist of a plosive followed by a fricative. English has two affricates; one voiced and one voiceless.

/tʃ/ as in church The plosive /t/ is followed by the fricative /ʃ/ Spellings: ch cheese /tʃi: z/ China /'tʃaınə/ children /'tʃıldrən/

/ʃ/ versus /tʃ/ sheep /ʃi: p/ cheap ship /ʃıp/ chip Charlotte /'ʃɑ: (r)lət/ Charles Talk is not sheep! /tʃi: p/ /tʃıp/ /tʃɑ: lz/

Pronunciations of ch /tʃ/ in most words /ʃ/ in champagne, chauffeur, Chicago, parachute /k/ in chaos, chemistry, echo, epoch Mute in yacht /jɒt||jɑ: t/

/dʒ/ as in judge Spellings: j, g, ge geography /dʒı'ɒgrəfı||dʒı'ɑ: grəfı/ jeans jam ridge /dʒi: nz/ /dʒæm/ /rıdʒ/

/dʒ/ versus /tʃ/ judge /'dʒʌdʒ/ church /tʃɜ: (r)tʃ/

/dʒ/ versus /g/ ginger /'dʒındʒə(r)/ urgent /'ɜ: (r)dʒənt/ gentle /'dʒent(ə)l/ giggle /'gig(ə)l/ target /'tɑ(r): gıt/ giddy /'gıdı/

Semi-vowels Produced like vowels, without any obstruction of the oral cavity, but behave like consonants. English has two semi-vowels, both voiced.

/w/ as in well The letter w is mute in words beginning with wr- and in names ending in -wich, wick. wring Warwick sword /rıŋ/ /'wɒrık || 'wɔ: rık/ /sɔ: (r)d/

/j/ as in yes Spelling: y, eu, u, ue, ui The letter “j” is never pronounced /j/! unit Europe /'ju: nıt/ /'ju: rəp/

/dʒ/ versus /j/ use your (noun) /ju: s/ /jɔ: (r)/ juice jaw /dʒu: s/ /dʒɔ: /

/l/ as in all A lateral consonant Two realisations: clear and dark In RP, /l/ is clear before vowels and /j/, dark in other positions including at the end of a word. In GA, /l/ is always more or less dark.

/l/ as in all Clear l: lip, less, fully, halyard Dark l: tall, world, help, humble Linda Wilson will perhaps be on television c d d c

/l/ as in all Clear and dark /l/ – sound examples “leap, play, pool” (clear, dark) “play, play” (first clear, then dark)

/l/ as in all The letter l is mute in some words with -alf, -alk, -alm, -olk Examples: calf /kɑ: f || kæf/ chalk /tʃɔ: k/ calm /kɑ: m/ yolk /jəʊk/ Also mute in salmon, Stockholm, colonel.

/r/ as in rose A fricative in Swedish. In English it is a frictionless continuant. In RP, final r is only pronounced before a vowel. In GA, /r/ occurs in all positions.

/r/ as in rose Linking /r/ occurs in RP when a word with a final r is followed by a vowel. Examples: far away, your answer, War and Peace Compare: before long before everyone

/r/ as in rose Intrusive /r/ occurs in RP in some positions where there is no r in the spelling. Used to prevent hiatus (vokalmöte). Examples: Asia and Africa /'eıʃər ən 'æfrikə/ law and order /lɔ: r ən 'ɔ: də/ drawing /'drɔ: rıŋ/