Chapter 2 PHONETICS

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Oct 30, 2023

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1 Chapter 2 PHONETICS: THE SOUNDS OF LANGUAGE Three main branches of phonetics : - acoustic phonetics - articulatory phonetics - auditory (or perceptual) phonetics Our main focus will be on articulatory phonetics. Speech as a continuum Physical measurements of speech show a number of features that humans are unaware of in their linguistic output. Conversely, the measurements do not show certain features that humans believe are present in their linguistic output. - the impression that humans have that there are ‘words’ when no physical correlate of ‘word’ is present, drawing on support from casual observation of ‘foreign’ languages. Speech as a continuum As you can see from both the waveform and the spectrogram, there are only two actual breaks in the speech stream in spite of the fact there are four ‘words.’ Moreover, the annotation shows that those breaks do not occur at any ‘word’ boundaries. Instead, the breaks correspond to the sounds that we represent by ‘t’ and ‘k’ there is apparently no physical evidence for ‘t’ and ‘k’ so: - a) why do we think there are any sounds at all there?; and - b) how can we possibly think there are two different sounds (from no sound at all)? Acoustic phonetics provides a wealth of information that allows us to see the physical basis upon which our mental representations of language are built. Measurements like these allow us at least to see where our mind’s contribution to the linguistic picture begins and ends… although we are still rather far from understanding the details of the interface between the organ that gets the physical (acoustic) stimulus and the cognitive (linguistic) module responsible for providing us with a linguistic percept. Articulatory Phonetics Pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. human speech sounds use only the upper respiratory tract, and in the majority of cases by exhalation (breathing out). In Figure 2.1: the airstream mechanism alone (the leftmost schematic upper respiratory tract) will not produce an [s], nor will the oral constriction (in this case at the alveolar ridge, where [s]’s are made) do so alone.

2 Only the combination of the two acts leads to the articulation of an [s]. In English-type grammars, all speech sounds are produced using a pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. All languages have sounds produced using this airstream mechanism. Some languages have sounds produced using different airstream mechanisms (‘ingressive pulmonic’, ‘glottalic ingressive/egressive’ and so on). Articulatory Phonetics The degree (none, partial, complete) and type of constriction of the airflow is the other critical factor in producing speech sounds. The traditional division of sounds into ‘consonants’ and ‘vowels’ is also used in phonetics. - Consonants (C) are produced with some type of airflow constriction or (partial or full) obstruction. - whereas Vowels (V) are produced with a relatively unobstructed airflow. These differences between C and V prompt us to use different parameters to describe their articulations. Consonants Consonants are classified according to the following parameters:  state of glottis (voiced or unvoiced; feature: [± voice]).  place of articulation (bilabial, labio-dental, alveolar… this is where in the oral cavity the airflow is being constricted).  manner of articulation (stop (oral or nasal), fricative, affricate, approximant (glides, laterals and rhotics)). The official way to refer to consonants generally, is to state their voicing, place, and manner , in that order. place of articulation (bilabial, labio-dental, alveolar… this is where in the oral cavity the airflow is being constricted). [p]=voiceless bilabial stop, [b]=voiced bilabial stop. [t]=voiceless alveolar stop, [d]=voiced alveolar stop, [s]=voiceless alveolar fricative, [l]=voiced alveolar lateral… v [ʔ]=voiceless glottal stop, [h]=voiceless glottal fricative

3 Oral vs nasal sounds The relationship between the nasal and oral cavities can be seen in Figure 2.2 where the velum is where air will divert between the two passages. The velum is a ‘movable’ part although it is difficult to sense this movement consciously. In particular, it can (and does) move back and block access to the nasal passage from the oral cavity. Consonants produced with the velum open (i.e., lowered) are called nasals. Articulatory Phonetics: Consonants: Relevant IPA symbols Vowels The four important parameters for vowel articulation are: - height of the lower jaw (high, mid, low) - position of tongue (front, central, back) - lip rounding (rounded, unrounded) - degree of vocal tract constriction (tense, lax)

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