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Introduction To Phonetics and Phonology
Introduction To Phonetics and Phonology
Linguistics:
Phonetics vs. Phonology- differ by the subject they study but the focus is the same(speech)
PHONEME- The smallest distinctive, or contrastive, unit in the sound system of a language
(vowels and consonants)
Minimal pair - a pair of words that differ in meaning and in only one sound
We are sinking vs. We are thinking /s/ vs. /θ/
Allophones- different realizations of a phoneme
/t/ in tea vs. eat
Complementary distribution- distribution of a pair of speech sounds or a pair of linguistic
forms such that the one is only found in environments where the other is not
(found the definition in Merriam Webbster dictionary idk if its acceptable, seems legit tho)
English spelling (ortography)- inconsistent relationship between speech and writing
TRANSCRIPTION- the process of writing down spoken language in phonetic symbols
phonographic relationship: thorough /θʌrə/
slants (/ /) for phonemes -> International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
ACCENT- the pronunciation features of a language variety dependent on geographical places,
social class, age, educational background etc. (England vs. UK/Northern vs. Southern accent)
DIALECT- a variety of a language which is different from others not just in pronunciation but
in e.g. vocabulary, grammar and word order
RP- RECEIVED PRONOUNCIATION
Prestige accent, social accent
Extremely popular in the 20th century
Nicknames: The Queen’s English, BBC English, Oxford English
Spoken by small percentage of population
High status everywhere in Britain
Well received by the rest of the population- therefore the name
Nowadays considered old-fashioned and carrying objectionable social connotations
Non regional Pronunciation (NRP)- Lacks obvious local features
Present day variation that can be heard from educated middle and younger generation of
speakers in England
General American- Amalgam of the educated speech of northern USA, having
otherwise no recognizably local features
CARDINAL VOVELS:
not the vowels of any particular language
Upper vowel limit - rise
Lower vowel limit –depress
- Vowel area (area that tongue covers)
- Primary cardinal vowels: a e i o u
LIP ROUNDING:
3 possibilities: a) rounded b) spread c) neutral
DESCRIPTION OF A SYLLABLE:
Problem: division point→syllabification or syllabication
mourning /’mɔːnɪŋ/ : ˈmɔː +nɪŋ vs. ˈmɔːn + ɪŋ
Maximal onsets principle: where two syllables are to be divided, any consonants
between them should be attached to the right-hand syllable, not the left, as far as
possible.
Ambisyllabic consonant:
better /betə/ ; carry /kærɪ/
STRONG vs. WEAK SYLLABLEs:
Important in/ for : stress ellision intonation
Phonetic definition: a weak syllable: the vowel shorter, of lower intensity (loudness),
different in quality
data /deltə/ vs. bottle /ˈbɒtl/ -> syllabic consonant
Stress:Two perspectives:
production - using more muscular energy for stressed than for unstressed syllables
perception-
PROMINENCE(as a defying feature of stress:
Produced by: loudness(ii) length (iii) pitch (iv) quality
two-level analysis of stress: stressed and unstressed (around /əˈraʊnd/)
Primary stress: results from pitch movement
Secondary stress: photographic/ˌfəʊtəˈgræfɪk/ anthropology /ˌænθrəˈpɒləʤi/
tertiary stress? 'indivisibility' /ˌɪndɪˌvɪzɪˈbɪlɪti/
English word stress: difficult to predict because:
i) Whether the word is morphologically simple, or whether it is complex
ii) What the grammatical category of the word is (noun, verb, adjective, etc.)
iii) How many syllables the word has
iv) What the phonological structure of those syllables is
Complex word stress:
(i) words made from a basic word ( the stem)+ an affix (prefix or suffix)
care vs. careful, careless, carelessness ; unlawful
ii) compound words: ice cream, armchair
AFFIXES: The affix itself receives the primary stress
ii) The word is stressed as if the affix were not there
iii) The stress remains on the stem, not the affix, but is shifted to a different syllable
STRESS IN AFFIXATIONS:
Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves:
'-ee': -eer': '-ese‘'-ette‘'esque‘
Suffixes that do not affect stress placement:
-able, -age, -ing -less -al‘, -en, -ful, -wise, -ment –ness, -ous, -y –fy- ly,
Suffixes that influence stress in the stem (the stress remains on the stem but different
syllable):
-eous, -ial, -ic - ty -ious , -graphy, ion,
Prefixations: governed by the same rules as those for polysyllabic words without prefixes
STRESS IN CONPOUNDS:
typewriter /ˈtaɪpˌraɪtə/ car ferry /ˈkɑː ˈferɪ/ sunrise /ˈsʌn,raɪz/ suitcase/ˈs(j)uːt,keɪs/
,bad- 'tempered ,half- 'timbered ,heavy- 'handed
,three-'wheeler, second-'class, five-'finger ,head 'first ,North-'East ,down 'stream
,down 'grade(v.) ,back-'pedal(v.) ,ill- 'treat(v.)
STRESS POSITION VARIENCE:
bad-'tempered but a ,bad-tempered 'teacher
,half- 'timbered but a ,half-timbered 'house
Controversy: /ˈkɒntrəvɜːsi/ vs. /kɒn’trəvɜːsi/