1.

Phonetics as a linguistic science

Phonetics as a science is concerned with the human noises by which the thought is
actualized or given audible shape: the nature of these noises, their combinations, and their
functions in relation to the meaning.

The phonetic system of English consists of the following four components: speech
sounds, the syllabic structure of words, word stress, and intonation (prosody). These four
components constitute what is called the pronunciation of English. Phonetics studies them.

Phonetics is subdivided into practical and theoretical. Practical or normative phonetics

studies the substance, the material form of phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning.
Theoretical phonetics is mainly concerned with the functioning of phonetic units in the language.

Phonetics is itself divided into two major components: segmental phonetics, which is
concerned with individual sounds (i.e. "segments" of speech) and suprasegmental phonetics
whose domain is the larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts.
 2. Phonetics as a linguistic science. Branches of phonetics.
Phonetics and phonology.
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics (a linguistic science) that studies sounds in their broad sense,
comprising segmental sounds (vowels and consonants) and prosodic phenomena (pitch, stress, tempo,
rhythm, pauses). It is a description of how vowel or consonant sounds as well as prosodic (intonational)
structures can be made and perceived.

Phonetics is subdivided into practical and theoretical. Practical or normative phonetics studies
the substance, the material form of phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning. Theoretical phonetics
is mainly concerned with the functioning of phonetic units in the language. Phonetics is itself divided
into two major components: segmental phonetics, which is concerned with individual sounds (i.e.
"segments" of speech) and suprasegmental phonetics whose domain is the larger units of connected
speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts.

All speech sounds have four aspects (mechanisms): articulatory, acoustic, auditory, functional.
We may consider the branches of phonetics according to these aspects:

1) Articulatory phonetics is concerned with the study of sounds as a result of the

activities of the organs of speech. It focuses on our voice-producing mechanism and the way we
produce sounds. Physiological phonetics.
2) Acoustic phonetics investigates the acoustic properties of the sound waves. It
studies speech sounds with the help of instrumental methods, analyzing frequency, intensity,
duration, etc.
3) Auditory (perceptual) phonetics studies listener’s perception of segmental
sounds, pitch variation, loudness and duration. It studies the ways in which sound perception is
determined by the phonetic system of a language. Physiological phonetics.
4) Phonology, or functional phonetics, is a purely linguistic branch of phonetics. It
deals with the analysis and description of the vowels, consonants and prosodic (intonational)
structures of particular languages.

Phonetic knowledge is applied in recording, describing and teaching languages; audiology;

speech therapy; speech synthesis; speech recognition.
 3.Articulatory classification of vowels.
Vowels are sounds, in the articulation of which there is no obstruction. The muscular tension is
spread evenly throughout the speech organs. Vowels are described by these basic dimensions:

1) according to the horizontal movement of the tongue:

a. fully front (i:, e, æ)
b. front-retracted (i)
c. mixed (з:, schwa-vowel)
d. back-advanced (ʊ, ʌ, u:)
e. back (ɑ:)
f. fully back (u:, ɔ:, ɒ)
2) according to the vertical movement of the tongue: are divided into close (high),
mid and open (low). Each class is also classified into a narrow or a broad variation.
3) according to the position of lips:
a. rounded (labialized) (ɔ:, ʊ, u:)
b. unrounded (non-labialized) (i:, e, æ, i, з:, ʌ)
4) according to the degree of muscular tension:
a. tense (long vowels)
b. lax (short vowels)
5) according to the stability of articulation:
a. monophthongs
b. diphthongs
 4.Articulatory classification of consonants.
Consonants have some obstruction of the airstream in the vocal tract.

1) according to the place of articulation (the active speech organ which forms an
obstruction):
a. labial – bilabial (p, b, m, w) and labio-dental (f, v)
b. lingual – forelingual – apical (alveolar t, d, n, l, s, z; interdental θ, ð;
palatal-alveolar ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ; and cacuminal (r)
– medio-lingual (j)
– backlingual (velar) (k, g, ŋ)
c. pharyngeal (h)
2) according to the manner of articulation (the type of obstruction):
a. occlusives – stops (plosives) (p, b, t, d, k, g) and sonorants (m, n, ŋ)
b. constrictives – noise fricatives (f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h) and sonorants
(median j, r, w and lateral l)
c. affricates (ʧ, ʤ)
3) according to the force of articulation: fortis (voiceless) and lenis (voiced)
 5.The phoneme as a language unit. Its definition and functions.
The phoneme is the smallest abstract unit of the sound structure of the language, which has the
function of distinguishing words and word forms (V.A. Vassyliev). In English there are 20 vowel
phonemes and 24 consonant phonemes.

Functions:
1) Distinctive. The opposition of phonemes in the same phonetic environment
differentiates the meaning of morphemes and words.
2) Constitutive. The phonemes themselves, in isolation, have no meaning, they are
linguistically important in their material form. They constitute morphemes, words, all of which
are meaningful.
3) Identificatory (recognitive) is distinguished on account of the fact that native
speakers identify definite combinations of phonemes as meaningful linguistic units (words, word
combinations, or phrases).
 6.Manifestation of phonemes in speech. Phoneme and allophone.
There are several approaches to the definition of allophones.
Approach 1. Since a phoneme is realized through allophones, any sound in the speech flow is an
allophone of some phoneme. Thus allophones are identified with sounds.
Approach 2. Allophones like phonemes are generalized units. But unlike phonemes allophones
are identified not on the functional level, but only on the basis of greater or smaller phonetic
similarity/differences of the sounds representing a phoneme. For example, ‘r’ in ‘try’, ‘pray’, ‘fray’ is
devoiced and fricative, while in ‘right’, ‘rain’ it is fully sonorous. Within this approach, allophones are
sometimes defined as only those variants of the phonetic manifestation of the phoneme that are
perceptibly different from each other in the pronunciation of all speakers of the language norm.
Approach 3. Allophones are positional and combinatory variants of the phoneme. The number
of allophones for each phoneme is determined by its distribution and occurrence in the words of a
language.

So, the phoneme is realized through allophones, which are generalizations on the grounds of
phonetic similarity, and allophones, in their turn, are represented through concrete (individual) speech
sounds. The native speaker is quite aware of the phonemes of his language, but less aware of the
allophones, as they have no distinctive functions.

Differences between phoneme and allophone:

1) Allophone differences are predictable and phonetic contrasts are not.

2) In general, allophones can be described as conditioned variants of a phoneme.
Allophones of a phoneme which never occur in identical positions are said to be in
complementary distribution. For example, a ‘dark’ variant of [l] is pronounced before consonants in final
position, whereas a ‘clear’ allophone of [l] is pronounced before vowels and [j]. They are in
complementary distribution, as they are never opposed to each other in identical phonetic positions.
Allophones of a phoneme which do occur in the same phonetic position, but can never
distinguish words, are said to be in free variation. For example, [t] in ‘Good night’ can be both plosive
and non-plosive. These sounds differ acoustically, but never distinguish words in English.
 7. phonological analysis : its aims and methods
Phonology is the study of those segmental (speech sound types) and prosodic
(intonation) features which have a differential value in the language. It studies the way in which
speakers systematically use a selection of units – phonemes or intonemes – in order to express
meaning. It investigates the phonetic phenomena from the point of view of their use.

The aim of the phonological analysis is, firstly, to determine the distinctive features of
sounds (or their phonemic status) and, secondly, to create the inventory of the phonemes of a
language (the phonemic system of a language). In other words, phonological analysis is aimed at
identifying the phonemes and classifying them.

There are two methods of phonological analysis: formally distributional method and
semantically distributional method. Formally distributional method is focused on the position
of a sound in the word, or its distribution.

The semantically distributional (semantic) method is based on the phonemic rule that
phonemes can distinguish words and morphemes when opposed to one another in the same
phonetic context. The main procedure is called commutation test. It consists in finding minimal
pairs of words and their grammatical forms, i.e. pairs of words or morphemes which differ in
only one sound in the same phonetic context. To establish the phonemic structure of a language
it is necessary to establish the whole system of oppositions. All the sounds should be opposed in
word-initial, word-medial and word-final positions.

The first problem of phonological analysis is to establish the phonemes in a definite language.
There are two methods of phonological analysis.

1) Semantic method. It is based on minimal pairs of words, which help to establish

the phonemes of a language. The sounds which differentiate the two words in such a pair are in
the same position, i.e. they are in paradigmatic relations. They are said to be in phonological
opposition. E.g. pen – pan, pig – big. Minimal pairs provide solid evidence of the pairs of sounds,
the differences between which are distinctive in a language.
2) Distributional method. It is based on the phonological rule that different
phonemes can freely occur in one and the same position, while allophones of one phoneme
occur in different positions and therefore cannot be phonologically opposed to each other. For
example, as [p] and [b] can occur in the same phonetic context (pea – bee), they are
consequently different phonemes. But you cannot find [p] aspirated and [p] non-aspirated in the
same phonetic position in English. Thus, they are allophones of one phoneme.
 8.The distinctive and non-distinctive features of English vowels.
The articulatory features which distinguish meaning and form the invariant of the phoneme are
called distinctive or relevant. The articulatory features which do not serve to distinguish meaning are
called non-distinctive or irrelevant.

Vowels have 2 main characteristics: length and quality. Quality is the distinctive feature of a
vowel, regardless of the position of the vowel. It components are:
1. stability of articulation (monophthongs, diphthongs, triphthongs, diphthongized vowels).
2. the position of the tongue (horizontal and vertical movement of the tongue, lip rounding).
Non-distinctive components are:
1) lip position
2) tenseness
3) checkness
They are considered non-distinctive as they have no phonological value. Vowel LENGTH is also a
non-distinctive feature. It is dependent on the phonetic context, in the particular on the following
consonant. It is the so-called "positional length". Vowels are the longest in the open syllable, slightly
shorter before a sonorant or a voiced consonant and they are the shortest before the voiceless
consonant:
be [i:] - the longest
beed [i:d] - a bit shorter
beat [i:t] - much shorter
 9.The distinctive and non-distinctive features of English consonants.
The articulatory features which distinguish meaning and form the invariant of the phoneme are
called distinctive or relevant. The articulatory features which do not serve to distinguish meaning are
called non-distinctive or irrelevant.

The phonologically relevant features for consonants are voicing – fortis (voiceless) and lenis
(voiced), place of articulation – labial, dental, alveolar, palatal, palatal-alveolar, velar, etc.; manner of
articulation – plosive, fricative, affricative, nasal, lateral, etc.

Aspiration, plosiveness, palatalization and labialization are phonologically irrelevant features

(non-distinctive). But this doesn’t mean useless for communication.

If the speaker substitutes one phonologically relevant feature (say, bilabial) for any other
relevant feature (say, forelingual), the phoneme becomes a different phoneme (e.g. /p/ is replaced by
/t/): pie – tie, cap – cat). The substitution of one irrelevant feature for another (say, aspirated for non-
aspirated) results in a different allophone of one and the same phoneme, and this doesn’t affect
communication.
 10.Problems of the phonemic inventory of English vowels.
The first problem of the phonological analysis is to establish phonemes in a language. There are
some difficulties in English:

1. IF THERE IS A SCHWA-VOWEL PHONEME? Though the schwa-vowel can be opposed only to

weakened vowel phonemes, which are partially reduced due to their position in unstressed syllables, it
can form phonological oppositions with the number of other phonemes and can distinguish words
(accept-except, solar-solo).

2. ARE DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS MONOPHONEMIC OR BIPHONEMIC CLUSTERS?

Trubetzkoy worked out a number of rules which help to determine whether a sound of a complex
nature is monophonemic: 1) a phoneme is indivisible, as no syllable division can occur within a
phoneme; 2) a phoneme is produced by 1 articulatory effort; 3) the duration of a phoneme should not
exceed that of other phonemes in the language => 1. The syllabis and articulatory indivisibility of
diphthongs and their duration of English historically vowels, clearly determine their monophonemic
character. 2. triphthongs [aue, aie] are not produced by a single articulatory effort, as there is an
increase in the force of articulation and intensity for the 1st and the last element. The syllabic division
generally occurs in between the diphthong and the schwa-vowel. So they are regarded as biphonemic
clusters. In such a way it has been established that in RP there are 20 vowel phonemes (12
monophthongs, 8 diphthongs).
 11.Problems of the phonemic inventory of English consonants.
The 1st problem of the phonological analysis is to establish phonemes in a language. There are
some difficulties in English:

1. IF [J] AND [W] ARE ALLOPHONES OF [I] AND [U] OR THEY ARE SEPARATE PHONEMES? Some
linguists treat them as allophones on account of their weakness and unstable articulatory features.
Others treat them as phonemes, because, as they say, [j] and [w] can form phonological oppositions
with each other and with other phonemes (yell-well, yet-met); moreover, they occur in phonetic
positions that are generally occupied by consonant phonemes, consequently, they cannot be considered
to be allophones of vowel phonemes.

2. IF THE SOUNDS [Ч], [дЖ], [TR], [DR], [TS], [DZ] ARE MONOPHONEMIC? Trubetzkoy worked out
a number of rules which help to determine whether a sound of a complex nature is monophonemic: 1) a
phoneme is indivisible, as no syllable division can occur within a phoneme; 2) a phoneme is produced by
1 articulatory effort; 3) the duration of a phoneme should not exceed that of other phonemes in the
language => 1. acoustic and physiologic analysis proved that the sounds [ч] and [дж] are produced by 1
articulatory effort, and their duration doesn't exceed the duration of either [t] or [ш], or [d]. Besides, no
syllabic division occurs within the sounds. So they are monophonemic. 2. [ts] and [dz] are obviously
biphonemic combinations, because their duration exceeds the average duration of either [t], [d], [s] or
[z]. 3. some linguists consider [tr] and [dr] as affricates as they are closely linked in the pronunciation of
Englishmen. But most phoneticians regard them as biphonemic clusters.
 12.Types of phonetic transcription.
Phonology deals with the problem of representing speech visually. This problem is closely
connected with the problems of phonological analysis, because any system of writing is not a simple
record of speech utterances, it is always a generalization about them.

Transcription is a visual system of notation of the sound structure in speech.

The extent of the generalization may vary. For example, one can classify the sounds into
phonemes disregarding different degrees of aspiration, labialization, length, palatalization and other
phonologically irrelevant features of the sounds. One the other hand, one can differentiate between all
those features and classify them as well. Consequently, there are different types of transcription.

1) Phonemic (broad) transcription. It provides each phoneme with a distinctive

symbol and it is used when only accuracy in the representation of phonemes is required. His
transcription contains as many symbols as there are phonemes in the language. The phonemic
data is usually enclosed between diagonals (/t/).
2) Phonetic (allophonic, narrow) transcription. Is used when exactness in the
differentiation of the allophones of each phoneme is required. It provides either different
symbols for each allophones or introduces special (diacritic) marks to represent different
features of allophones. The phonetic data is enclosed in square brackets ([t]).

The modern phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Transcription. It uses fewest
possible symbols of the simplest possible shape and contains a series of diacritic marks.
 13.The syllable as a phonetic/phonological unit. Structural peculiarities
of the English syllable.

The syllable is the smallest pronounceable unit capable of forming morphemes, words and
phrases. As a meaningful language unit it has two aspects: syllable formation and syllable division which
form a dialectal unity.

Though the basic phonological elements are phonemes, human intercommunication is realized
in syllables. A peculiarity of English is that the peak of prominence in a syllable is not necessarily a vowel.
It may be a nasal or a lateral sonorant.

The syllable can be defined in two ways: as a phonetic unit and as a phonological unit. Syllable as
a phonetic unit is the minimal grouping of vowels and consonants necessary for articulation, the
minimal unit of pronunciation.

When we talk about the phonetic definition of the syllable, we focus on its articulation and
perception or, in other words, on its formation and identification/delimitation in connected speech.
Thus the 2 aspects of the phonetic definition are syllable formation and syllable division.

Syllables can be open, when ending in a vowel, (V, CV), closed, ending in a consonant (VC, CVC),
covered, with a consonant for an onset (CV, CVC), uncovered, with no onset (V, VC). In English no more
than 3 consonants occur initially and no more than 4 occur finally. CV is the most frequent of all, likely
and expected sound to follow a consonant is a vowel. It is the most ‘basic’ for human language.
 14.Theories of syllable formation and syllable division.

1) Chest-pulse theory (R.H. Stetson)

Syllable=chest pulse.
This theory is based on the premise that the process of speech formation is not smooth. It is not simply
a smooth glide from one articulation to another, but a sequence of chest pulses. Each syllable
corresponds to a chest-pulse or a breath-pulse. The number of pulses corresponds to the number of
vowels. There are as many chest-pulses as there are vowels. The number of syllables is defined
according to the number of vowels.
A vowel is the nucleus of a chest-pulse, whereas the margins, the periphery of each syllable is formed by
consonants. Such a distribution is natural, it is based on physiological characteristics of vowels and
consonants. Thus this theory provides an explanation of the syllable as the minimal pronunciation unit.

2) The relative sonority theory (O. Jespersen)

All speech sounds can be graded as to the degree or the hierarchy of sonority.
The more ‘sonorous’ sounds have greater carrying power and require less energy, which corresponds in
articulatory terms to the freedom of the passage of air through the vocal tract. Each syllable
corresponds to one peak of sonority. From least sonorous to most sonorous: plosives and affricates (p) –
fricatives (s) – nasals (m, n, l) – liquids (l, r) – glides (j, w) – close vowels – open vowels. Although this
theory accounts for the perception of the number of syllables, it doesn’t explain all cases of syllable
division.

Whatever the approach, the syllable is associated with an arc at the center of which there is a vowel.

Every syllable contains a syllabic segment – usually a vowel (or a sonorant) – and most syllables have
non-syllabic segments – consonants – before and after the syllabic segment. The syllabic element is the
center, or nucleus of the syllable. The consonant or consonants that precede the nucleus are the onset
of the syllable, and those that follow make up the coda of the syllable. Instead of saying that a syllable
consists of onset nucleus and coda, we might say that a syllable consists of an onset, and the rhyme
consists of a nucleus and coda.
The formation of the syllable is reflected in its structure, which is traditionally presented in a following
way: SPEND. SP – onset, END – rhyme (E – nucleus, ND – coda).

The most controversial point of syllable division concerns the medial consonant clusters in English words
and it remains problematic. Compounds should be divided into syllables according to the morphological
principle (hard-ware).
A single consonant in an intervocalic position following a long vowel belongs to the next syllable (la-dy).

A single consonant following a short stressed vowel belongs to both the first and the second syllables
(city cit-ty).
 15.The notion of the orthoepic norm. Received Pronunciation (RP). Present-
day situation.
The orthoepic norm of a language is the standard pronunciation adopted by native speakers as the right
and proper way of speaking. It comprises the variants of pronunciation of vocabulary units and prosodic
patterns which reflect the main tendencies in pronunciation that exist in the language. It is used by the
most educated parts of the population.

National Pronunciation Standards are associated with certain professional groups and public figures,
radio and television newsreaders and presenters of such channels as Channel 3 and Channel 4 on BBC in
the UK.

Received Pronunciation (RP) is the national standard of the English language spoken in Great Britain; a
name given to the accent used as a standard for describing British English pronunciation for most of the
20th century and still in use (BBC English). It is spoken by 5% of the population. In the UK, it is the South-
East, or London, that gave rise to RP.

Regional Standards on the British Isles are Southern, Northern, Scottish and Northern Irish. Regional
standards are spoken by most educated people and they show regional deviation from the standard.

There are various forms of dividing RP. In the 60-s Alfred Charles Gimson distinguished 3 kinds of RP:

1) Conservative RP refers to a very traditional variety particularly associated with lawyers and
clergy.
2) General RP is usually associated with BBC presenters.
3) Advanced RP refers to young people and university graduates.
 16.Geographical factors of phonetic variation. National and regional variants
of English pronunciation. (nothen, scottisch, irish)
Phonetic variation may be geographical, social and situational.

Geographical-historical and socio-cultural factors that caused English to become a global language
spoken by 1.5 billion people are:

1) The British colonization.

2) The impact of American power in political life and business, esp. in computer software and
entertainment industries.
3) International communication: trade, business, diplomacy, safety, media, cultural exchange, etc.

English is a language which consists of many varieties, each distinctive in its use of sounds, grammar and
vocabulary.

In geographical variation we have to distinguish 2 basic concepts:

1) Dialect (variety). It is distinguished for its vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. In this sense
there are two major varieties of English – the BrE and the AmE. Any two local varieties like
Lancashire and New York Brooklyn speech may be treated as dialects.
2) Accent. It is a type of pronunciation or a feature which can be found in the speech of any
individual or the whole speech community. We can speak of an American accent or a Russian
accent in English, and by that we mean only the sounds of spoken English (vowels, consonants,
intonation).

According to David Crystal, accents of English worldwide are grouped into:

1) Accents in the countries where English is the mother tongue of the majority of the population
(“the inner circle”) (The UK, The USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand)
2) Accents in the new developing states, former British colonies, where English is one of the official
languages (“the outer circle”) (India, Singapore)
3) Accents in the countries where English is the most widely used foreign language taught at
schools (“the expanding circle”) (Russia, Belarus, Poland)

Most of the countries possess their

 National pronunciation standards

o RP in the UK
o GA (General American) in the USA
o Gen Can (General Canadian) in Canada
o Gen Aus (General Australian) in Australia
 Regional standards
o Southern, Northern, Scottish and Northern Irish in the UK
o Northern, Northern Midland, Southern Midland, Southern, Western in the USA
 Local accents
o Urban (characteristic of a city like Liverpool or New York)
o Rural (spoken in the countryside, like South Wales)

1. Geographical variation

2. Current changes in Received pronunciation (RP)

 3. Peculiarities of General American pronunciation compared to British English

The varieties that are spoken by a socially limited number of people and used only in certain
localities are called dialects.

An accent is a variety of a language which is distinguished from others exclusively in terms of

pronunciation. Accent variation may be geographical, social and situational. Geographically native
English accents are divided into British-oriented (U.K., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) and North-
America-oriented (U.S.A., Canada). Within each country national standards, regional standards and local
accents reflect both geographical and social diversity.

The orthoepic norm of a language is the standard pronunciation adopted by native speakers as
the right and proper way of speaking. It comprises the variants of pronunciation of vocabulary units and
prosodic patterns which reflect the main tendencies in pronunciation that exist in the language. It is
used by the most educated parts of the population.

National standards: RP, GA, Gen Aus, Gen Can. Regional standards in U.K.: Southern, Northern,
Scottish, Northern Irish. Regional standards in U.S.A.: Northern, Northern Midland, Southern Midland,
Southern, Western. National standards are associated with radio and TV newsreaders, certain
professional groups and public figures. Regional standards are spoken by most educated people and
they show regional deviation from the standard. In U.K. people in the South-East of the country are
closest to RP, in the U.S.A. it is people from the North, North Midland and the West who show the least
differences from the unofficial standard of American Network. Local accents are numerous, they can be
urban and rural.

Urban centres are leading in accent diversity today. The major accent-classifying feature is the
presence of r in ‘rhotic’ (r-full) accents and its vocalization in post-vocalic position in ‘non-rhotic’ (r-less)
accents. Most of the American accents (except southern and eastern) are rhotic, most of the British
accents are non-rhotic (except northern, Scottish, Irish).

Current changes in RP are grouped according to the degree of process completion: processes
almost complete, changes well-established, recent innovations and innovations on the verge of RP. A
more subtle realizational feature is /r/ pronounced as a post-alveolar approximant in all positions and
not, as formerly, as a tap in intervocalic positions following an accented syllable, e.g. very, error.
Comparing the sound systems of RP and GA we note differences in vowel systems (20 vs. 15), in
consonant systems (r-vocalization, t-voicing, etc.), in accent placement, rhythm and intonation. The
major differences in vowels are: [ɒ/ɑ:/ɔ:] in dog, stop, long, orange, [æ]-distribution in ask, dance, [oʊ]-
quality in go, home; less contrast in length between American tense and lax vowels; retroflexion quality
of American vowels before r, nasalization before nasals, loss of contrast in cot/caught, Merry Mary
married. In consonants, besides r-retroflexion and vocalization, there is American flap in better, letter, t-
omission before n in twenty, weakened [j] in news, Tuesday, dark [l] in little, less. There are also non-
systemic, lexical occurrences which create differences in pronunciation of words and their accentuation,
as [ɑ:/eɪ] in tomato, vase, [ʃ/sk] in schedule, accent patterns of [ˈ˗ ˗ / ˗ ˗ˈ] in address, adult, detail, ballet,
café, garage. Secondary (tertiary) stress occurrence, as in dictionary, ceremony, strawberry.

American rhythm is more smooth, not clipped as the British one due to an additional number of
stresses and to lower contrast 11 between accented and unaccented syllables in length and pitch (1.5
vs. 1.7). The monotony of American intonation is due to recurrence of mid-level wavy, rise-falling and
level-rise pitch patterns. On the whole American men’s speech, especially, is specific for its narrow pitch
range with rise-fall termination
 17. The Cockney accent and Estuary English as a source for new
tendencies in RP.
 18.American English pronunciation. Peculiarities of General American
pronunciation compared to British English.
Historical-geographical division of native English accents may be based on the division into:

1) British-oriented (non-rhotic or ‘r-less’ accents) – The UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
2) North-America-oriented (rhotic or ‘r-full’ accents) – The USA, Canada)

Comparing BrE and GA:

VOWELS
RP GA
[ɑ:] [æ]
dance [dɑ:ns] dance [dæns]
[ɒ] [ɔ:]
long [lɒŋ] long [lɔ:ŋ]
[ɒ] and [ɑ:] [ɑ:]
spot [spɒt] spot [spɑ:t]
spa [spɑ:] spa [spɑ:]
[ɑ:] [ei]
tomato [tə’mɑ:təʊ] tomato [tə’meitəʊ]
a marked degree of contrast of length between this contrast is much less evident, so the IPA
"short" and "long" vowels length symbol (ː) is often omitted
The distinction between unstressed /ɪ/ and /ə/ the distinction between unstressed /ɪ/ and /ə/
(e.g. roses vs Rosa's) is retained (e.g. roses vs Rosa's) is sometimes lost
batted [ˈbætɪd]
battered [ˈbætəd] homophones

CONSONANTS
RP GA
[j] weakened or omitted
news [nju:z] news [nu:z]
/nt/ [t] is nearly omitted
twenty [twenty] twenty [tweni]
[t] (intervocalic position) [t] is flapped (intervocalic position)
water [ˈwɔ:tə] water [ˈwɔ:rə]
[r] [r] is retroflexed and is pronounced in all the
positions where there is r in spelling
sister [sistə] sister [sistər]

Also, in GA there occurs tertiary stress in words like dictionary, ceremony, strawberry.
 19.The syllable as a prosodic unit. Word stress, its nature and functions.
Linguistically relevant types of word stress.
The syllable is the smallest pronounceable unit capable of forming morphemes, words and phrases. As a
meaningful language unit it has two aspects: syllable formation and syllable division which form a
dialectal unity.
The syllable is widely recognized to be the smallest prosodic unit. It has no meaning of its own, but it is
significant for constituting hierarchically higher prosodic units. Prosodic features of the syllable (tone,
stress, duration) depend on its position and function in the rhythmic unit and in the utterance. A
rhythmic unit (stress group) is either 1 stressed syllable or a stressed syllable with a number of
unstressed ones grouped around it. The stressed syllable is the nucleus of the rhythmic unit. There are
as many rhythmic units in an utterance as there are stressed syllables in it. The unstressed syllables are
called CLITICS. Those preceding the stressed syllable - PROCLITICS, those following it - ENCLITICS.
Word stress is a greater degree of prominence of a syllable or syllables as compared to the other
syllables of a word. The stressed syllables are pronounced with more muscular energy than the
unstressed ones. On the acoustic level stressed syllables are characterized by increased intensity,
duration and fundamental frequency, which correspond to increased loudness, length and pitch on the
perception level. Word stress is described as a potential for utterance stress, i.e. the syllable which
carries word stress is likely to carry utterance stress when the world is pronounced in speech.
Word stress in different languages can be:

 Quantitative (when the predominant parameter is length)

 Musical (when it is pitch)
 Dynamic (intensity, force of articulation)
 Qualitative (sound quality, spectral characteristics of a sound)

Word stress can perform the following functions:

 constitutive (it organizes the syllables into a word)
 identificatory, or recognitive (it helps the listener to recognize the word in the chain of speech)
 distinctive (it can distinguish grammatical forms and meaning of words)
 culminative (it indicates the number of the important points in an utterance)
 demarcative (it indicated the beginning or end of successive words in an utterance)
 syntactic (it distinguishes compound nouns and adjectives followed by a noun – hot dog)

The syllables in a word have different degrees of prominence. In English they generally distinguish three
linguistically relevant degrees of stress: primary, secondary and weak. Some scholars also include
tertiary stress, which is as weak as secondary but follows the primary while the secondary precedes it
(AmE laboratory, dictionary).

There is a fixed and free word stress. Languages with fixed stress:

1) Initial syllable stress (Finnish, Czech)

2) Penultimate syllable stress (Polish, Swahili)
3) Final syllable stress (French, Armenian, Turkish, Iranian)

Languages with free stress: English, Russian, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Romanian, etc.
 20.The accentual tendencies in English. Basic word stress patterns in English.

Two main tendencies determine the place and different degrees of word stress in English: the RECESSIVE
tendency and the RHYTHMIC tendency.

The oldest of the English word accentuation tendencies is the RECESSIVE tendency, characteristic of all
Germanic languages. It originally consisted in placing the word stress on the initial syllable of nouns,
adjectives, and verbs and on the root syllable of words which belonged to other parts of speech and had
a prefix. The recessive accent in Modern English is of two types: UNRESTRICTED and RESTRICTED (by an
unstressed prefix). UNRESTRICTED recessive accent falls on the first (root) syllable, as in words FATHER,
MOTHER, HUSBAND. RESTRICTED recessive accent falls on the second (root) syllable of native English
words with a prefix which has lost its meaning: AMONG, BECOME, FORGET, INDEED.

The rhythm of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables gave birth to the RHYTHMIC tendency in the
present-day English which caused the appearance of the secondary stress in the multisyllabic French
borrowings, e.g. revolution, organization, assimilation. It also explains the placement of the primary
stress on the third syllable from the end in three- and four-syllabic words, e.g. cinema, situate,
articulate.

Nowadays we witness a great number of variations in the accentual structure of English multisyllabic
words as a result of the in the interrelation of the tendencies.

A third tendency was traced in the instability of the accentual structure of English word stress, the
RETENTIVE tendency: a derivative often retains the stress of the original or parent word (similar –
assimilate).

The fourth theory – the SEMANTIC theory – is when the most important part of the word is stressed.

English word stress is considered to be free. It is free in the sense that stress is not fixed to any particular
syllable in all the words of a language.

One stress pattern

I. The majority of the English lexicon is comprised of monosyllabic (one-syllable) or disyllabic (two-
syllable) words. Word stress in two-syllable words usually falls on the first syllable of the root. Thus, in
case when the second syllable is stressed we actually deal with a word containing a prefix, sometimes of
a very ancient origin. 'table, e'lect, 'cancel, re'peat, 'edit, 'teacher.
II. Word stress in English can distinguish morphological classes of words. For example, the
noun record and the verb record have a similar spelling but different word stress patterns ('export –
ex'port, 'present – pre'sent). However, answer, picture, promise, reply, travel, visit always have stress on
the same syllable.
III. Words with one stress pattern also consist of more than two syllables in case when they are formed
with the help of suffixes and prefixes. Many suffixes and prefixes do not change the word stress pattern
of the original word - the place of the word stress remains the same.
Here are some suffixes which do not change the position of stress in a word (neutral suffixes): -age, -al, -
able, -ness, -ful, -less, -fy, -er, -y, -en, -like, -ly, -ment, -ous, -wise.
- Sometimes the pronunciation of the vowel in the stressed syllable changes
when a suffix is added, although it does not affect the stress pattern of the
word: type – typical, wise – wisdom, nation – national
- In some words, as well as a change in the pronunciation of the vowel in the
stressed syllable, there is also a change in the pronunciation of the consonant
(s) that follows it (sign – signature, introduce – introduction).

IV. Some suffixes and prefixes added to a word influence the position of the word stress.
ad'mire – 'admirable, 'prior – pri'ority, 'super – su'perior, re'fer – ˌrefe'ree – 'reference, ad'dress –
ˌaddres'see, 'courage – cou'rageous, 'recognize – ˌrecog'nition, 'person – per'sonify, a'nalysis – 'analyze,
'famous – 'infamous, 'office – o'fficial, 'music – mu'sician, 'politics – po'litical, 'luxury – lu'xurious.

Two Stress Pattern

In many polysyllabic words (compounds or derivatives) we observe more than one stress within a word.
The phonetic degree and the phonological status of these stresses might be either equal (then we deal
with two primary stresses within a word), or not equal (then one of the stresses is secondary).

Two primary stresses are observed in:

1) Compound adjectives (hard-working, second-hand, home-made)

2) Phrasal verbs (look out, get up)
3) Numerals from 13 to 19 (fifteen, eighteen) and numerals consisting of several words (twenty
one)
4) Compound adverbs (downstairs, outdoors)

Secondary + primary is observed in derivatives and words with suffixes carrying primary stress.

Primary + secondary is used only in compound nouns, nouns, formed of two stems in which the first
stem is semantically more important and thus more prominent than the second one. Сompound nouns
are spelt either as one word (bedroom), or with a hyphen (dining-room), or as two separate words (bus
stop).
 21.Speech prosody. Its acoustic properties and perceptible qualities.

Prosody is a complex unity formed by significant variations of pitch, tempo, loudness and timbre; non-
segmental phenomena regarded as the modifications of fundamental frequency, intensity and duration
at the level of their acoustic properties. The notion of prosody is broader than the notion of intonation,
whereas prosody of the utterance and intonation are equivalent notions. Prosody and intonation relate
to each other as a more general notion (prosody) and its part (intonation).

Acoustic properties of prosody are:

1) Pitch (speech melody) (correlates with the fundamental frequency of the vibration of the vocal
cords)
2) Loudness (intensity) (correlates with the amplitude of vibrations)
3) Tempo (phoneme and syllable duration) (is a correlate of time during which a speech unit lasts)

Phonetic studies of prosody often concentrate on measuring these characteristics.

Perceptible qualities of speech prosody:

1) SPEECH MELODY (rising and falling of the basic tone)
2) SENTENCE STRESS (distributing strong and weak stresses in an utterance)
3) TEMPO (relative acceleration and deceleration of speech)
4) RHYTHM (regular occurance of pattern in time)
5) TIMBRE (tone quality, tone colour)
 22.The notions of prosody and intonation. The linguistic functions of
utterance prosody (intonation).
There are two approaches to the definition of intonation. According to the broad approach, intonation is
a complex unity formed by speech melody, accent, the tempo, rhythm and pausation of the utterance,
and voice-timbre (V.A. Vassilyev).

According to the narrow approach, intonation is the variation of the pitch of the voice (speech melody).

Functions of intonation (utterance prosody):

1) Communicative (to determine the general aim of communication – statement, question,
imperative, etc.)
2) Accentual or culminative (to structure the information content so as to show which part of it is
new and which is given)
3) Emotional/attitudinal or pragmatic/modal-pragmatic (to convey the speaker’s attitudes to the
listener, to the subject-matter)
4) Grammatical (to resolve grammatical ambiguity by intonation means, e.g. a greenhouse – a
green house)
5) Stylistically-distinctive (to manifest or characterize a particular style or variety of the language)
6) Discourse (to indicate the position and the role of an utterance in a larger unit (paragraph))
 23.The tonal (pitch) subsystem of utterance prosody. Units of its analysis.
Tones and tonal contours.

Pitch is described as a system of tones, pitch levels (high, medium and low), and pitch ranges (wide,
medium and narrow).

Tone is the basic element of English intonation. Tones are divided into:
1) Static (keep the vocal cords at a constant tension thus producing a tone of unvarying pitch)
2) Kinetic, or dynamic (vary the tension of the vocal cords thus producing a tone of varying pitch)

According to the actual height within the speaker’s voice range, static tones may be high, mid and low
with further gradations within each type.

Kinetic tones are generally classified according to the following criteria:

 Direction of the pitch change

 Relative position of the pitch change within the speaker’s voice range (its pitch register)
 Width of the pitch change, or the interval of the pitch change

The number of kinetic tone types corresponds to the number of directional types of pitch-change in the
language, whereas variations in the width of the pitch-change and its register are responsible for further
subdivision of each of the tone types into subtypes.

Kinetic tones:

1) Indicate the communicative type of an utterance

2) Express the speaker’s attitude towards the subject-matter, the listener and the situation
3) Single out the communicative center of the message which is commonly the main focus of
information from the point of view of its novelty or/and semantic importance as viewed by the
speaker

The kinetic tone carried by the most important word (generally the last notional word) is called nuclear
tone. It may be called terminal, since it’s always the last kinetic tone in an intonation-group and serves
as it’s boundary marker.

A tone contour is a tone which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word.
When the pitch descends, the contour is called a falling tone; when it ascends, a rising tone; when it
descends and then returns, a dipping or falling-rising tone; and when it ascends and then returns, it is
called a peaking or rising-falling tone. A tone which remains at approximately an even pitch is called a
level tone.
The term tone should be distinguished from the term tune, which is used to refer to the pitch pattern of
the whole intonation-group. The notion of tune is wider than the notion of tone and a tune may
comprise several tones.
 24.The structure of a tone contour and the functions of its elements.
A PROSODIC CONTOUR/INTONATION GROUP is hierarchically higher than a rhythmic group. It is a
division in which not only stresses, but pitch and duration (i.e. intonation in the broad sense) play a role.

Structure and functions:

1. THE NUCLEUS - the most semantically important word, the only obligatory element of a tune
(expresses communicative and attitudinal meanings, indicates the end of the intonation group)
2. THE PREHEAD - unstressed or partially stressed syllables preceding the first fully stressed syllable (the
onset, determines the pitch movement within the intonation group)
3. THE HEAD - the first stressed syllable and the following stressed and unstressed ones. It consists of at
least one stressed syllable. Doesn’t include the nucleus.
4. THE TAIL - unstressed or partially stressed syllables following the nucleus (not an independent
functional element of an intonation group, since its pitch variations are determined by the nuclear tone)
 25.Utterance stress in English, its phonetic nature and functions. The
relationship between utterance stress and word stress.
Utterance stress is the greater degree of prominence given to certain words in an utterance. These
words are usually notional words. The means, with the help of which this prominence is achieved are
variations of pitch, loudness, length and quality. Acoustically utterance stress is determined by
variations of fundamental frequency, intensity, duration and formant structure.

Functions:
 CONSTITUTIVE - stresses form the utterance by integrating words
 SEGMENTATIVE AND DELIMITATIVE - stresses segment the speech continuum into
rhythmic units, intonation groups and utterances, and delimit them one from another
 DISTINCTIVE - differentiate utterances to their meaning, conditioning by the position
and type of stress
 IDENTIFICATORY - provide a basis for the hearer’s identification of the important parts
and for his understanding of the content.

The accentual structure of an utterance is conditioned by the stress patterns of its words. Word stress
and utterance stress are in close correlation. Whenever utterance stress occurs it will normally fall on a
syllable which also has word stress. The difference is that word stress is an essential part of word-shape,
whereas utterance stress is a feature of an utterance.
 26.Types of utterance-stress. Factors conditioning the location of utterance
stress.
The subsystem of utterance stress in English includes 3 basic functional types (the main difference
between them is in the way the syllables that bear them are marked):
1. NUCLEAR - is generally marked by a kinetic tone and is, therefore, perceived as the most prominent.
2. NON-NUCLEAR FULL - more often is marked by static tones. Both are pitch prominent, both initiate
tones.
3. PARTIAL - stress syllable is not pitch prominent, doesn’t initiate tones, his pitch characteristics depend
on the pitch pattern of the preceding fully stressed syllable.

The occurrence and distribution of utterance-stress in English is determined by factors of two kinds:
1) Semantic. It means that the placement of prominence is determined by the circumstances of
the speech situation and the speech context. The possibility of this rule is based, first of all, on
the high probability of final position of nuclear stress in the IG.
2) Rhythmic. It manifests itself mainly in the placement of prenuclear stresses, the number and the
location of which depend not only on the relative semantic weight of each of the words in the
prenuclear part of an IG, but also on the tendency of English speech towards a regular
alternation of prominent and non-prominent elements in the speech flow.
3) Grammatical. It is distinguished by Georgy Torsuyev and means that the grammatical structure
of an utterance also determines its accentual pattern. For instance, the inverted word order
requires stress on the auxiliary verb.
 27.The accentual-rhythmic group as basic unit of the rhythmic organization
of speech. Problems of its delimitation in an utterance.
The smallest rhythmic unit is a rhythmic group, which contains a stressed syllable with preceding or/and
following unstressed syllables attached to it. The initial unstressed syllables preceding the stressed one
are called proclitics (faster). Those following the stressed syllable are called enclitics (slower).

One of the disputable points of the treatment of English rhythm concerns the boundaries between units
of the rhythmic structure. There are 2 approaches to the rhythmic division of an IG or an utterance:

1) Formal approach. The effect of rhythmicality is based on the regularity of the occurrence of the
stressed syllables. It assumes that each rhythmic group begins with a stressed syllable and the
unstressed syllables function only as enclitics. Such an approach has an essential drawback, as it
ignores the ‘natural’ links between the words within an utterance, which may lead to semantic
distortions.
2) Semantic approach. It keeps more or less regular time intervals for each accentual group and
observes the semantic links between the stressed and unstressed syllables, which function as
either proclitics or enclitics.
 28.Speech rhythm as a universal phenomenon. Types of speech rhythm.
Peculiarities of the English rhythm. The phonetic nature of the English
rhythm.
Speech rhythm is traditionally defined as recurrence of stressed syllables at more or less equal intervals
of time in a speech continuum. The units of the rhythmical structure of an utterance are stress or
rhythmic groups. There are stress-timed and syllable-timed languages.

1) Stress-timed (isochronous). Stresses are said to occur at equal time-intervals. Only stressed
syllables count. English, Swedish, Russian, Arabic, etc.
2) Syllable-timed. Syllables follow each other at identical time intervals. Any syllable counts.
Spanish, French, Japanese, etc.

Scholars have attempted to find an explanation why languages like French, Japanese, Spanish are
categorized differently from languages like English, Russian and German.
1) There is considerable variation in syllable length in English as well as different kinds of syllables +
open syllables make up a minority of the total in English, compared with the minority in Spanish.
2) English uses a restricted set of vowels in unstressed syllables, typically [∂] or [i]. English stressed
syllables are typically 1,5 times longer than unstressed ones, while in Spanish they are about 1,3
times longer. This makes English stressed syllables even more prominent than unstressed
syllables.

Speech rhythm is defined as a regular occurrence of stressed syllables in a speech continuum.

English is a stress-timed language. In such languages rhythm is based on a larger unit 10 than syllable,
the rhythmic group. The stressed syllables in the rhythmic group form peaks of prominence.

Speech rhythm is regulated by the style of speech. Maximum rhythmicality is observed in

poetry. Rhythm performs the functions of delimitation and integration, aesthetic and pragmatic
functions.
 29.Speech tempo and pausation.
TEMPO. The tempo of speech is the rate at which utterances and their smaller units are pronounced. On
the acoustic level tempo is generally measured by the number of syllables per second.

Tempo of speech may be determined by different factors. It may vary depending on the size of audience,
the acoustic qualities of the room, the individuality of the speaker and other extralinguistic factors.
But most significant for the linguistic study is how variations in tempo correlate with changes in
meaning.

It is common knowledge that by slowing down the tempo of speech we can make an utterance or part
of it more prominent, thus underlining the semantic importance of it. On the contrary, by increasing the
speed of utterance we diminish prominence and, as a result the actual semantic importance of what we say.

Tempo can also be used to express the speaker's attitude or emotion. For example, fast tempo may express
excitement, joy, anger, etc. Slow tempo shows relaxation or calmness, reserved and phlegmatic attitude on
the part of the speaker.

Everybody's speech has some norm of tempo, deviations from which affect meaning. Phoneticians
generally distinguish normal tempo and two departures from the norm: fast and slow. D. Crystal gives a
more detailed classification of variations of tempo.

He distinguishes between simple and complex tempo systems. The simple tempo system is manifested
both in monosyllables and polysyllabic stretches of utterance. The complex tempo system is realized in
polysyllabic stretches. In polysyllabic stretches of utterance D. Crystal distinguishes two degrees faster than
the norm — allegro, allegrissimo, and two degrees slower than the norm — lento, lentissimo. In the complex
tempo system there are accelerando — a gradual increase in tempo, and rallentando — a gradual decrease.
These contrasts of tempo correlate with changes in meaning. They may also serve as a style—forming and
style—differentiating device.

PAUSATION. The speech continuum is divided into units of different length and hierarchy by means of
pauses. It is the main function of a pause to segment connected speech into utterances and intonation
groups to delimit one utterance or intonation group from another. Pauses are closely related with
tempo: the number and length of pauses affect the general tempo of speech.

Phoneticians distinguish 3 main types of pauses: silent pauses, pauses of perception and voiced (or filled)
pauses.

1) A silent pause is a stop in the phonation (a stop of the work of the vocal cords, which results in the
cessation of sound). Silent pauses are subdivided into several types according to their length:
short, long and extra—long. It should be noted that the duration of pauses is relative, not
absolute. It may vary depending on the general tempo of speech.
2) Pauses of perception are not a stop in phonation, as there is no period of silence. The effect of a
pause is produced by a sharp change of pitch direction, or by variations in duration, or both.
3) Voiced pauses have usually the quality of the central vowel [ 3: (Э) ] with or without nasalization
[ э (m) ]. They are used to signal hesitation or doubt and are therefore called hesitation pauses.

Pauses are very important constituents of intonation. Besides their segmentative and delimitative
functions they also perform a unifying function showing the relations between utterances or intonation
groups.
 30.Social factors of phonetic variation. The notion of speech style. Phonetic
style-forming means in English.
In all English-speaking countries there exists a close and obvious connection between language and
social class: speech stratification correlates with social stratification. But only in England phonetic
factors assume a predominating role which they do not generally have in other parts of the English-
speaking world.

There was a survey in 1972 carried out by National Opinion Polls and according to the results of it,
speech was regarded as more indicative of social class than occupation, education, and income; and
the likelihood is that by “the way they speak” respondents meant, above all, accent.

Thus accents are associated with the people who use them, with their way of life, and may have
symbolic values. The accents of big urban centres like Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow in UK may
have negative associations with the polluted environment of industrial area.

In the USA, New York is viewed as the centre of crime and drug taking (but also the financial and
intellectual centre). Although there is no necessary connection at all between personality types and
accents, most people react as if there were.
There is a stereotype of an RP speaker to possess authority, competence, intelligence and ambition
while local accent is associated with friendliness, personal integrity, kindness. RP speaker may be
disliked because he sounds “posh”, “affected”, while a person with a working class accent may be
positively assessed for “friendship”, “fight”, “solidarity”, “personal integrity”.

There is a new classification of RP in the 6th edition of A.C. Gimpon’s “Introduction to the
Pronunciation of English”:
 General RP
 Refined RP. Defined as an upper-class accent, mainly associated with upper-class families,
e.g. officers in the navy and some regiments. The number of speakers using Refined RP is
increasingly declining. Reason: for many other speakers a speaker of Refined RP has become a
figure of fun, and the type of speech itself is often regarded as affected.
 Regional RP. The type of speech which is basically RP except for the presence of a few
regional characteristics which may go unnoticed even by other speakers of RP. E.g., Estuary
English.

When used in speech, phonetic units undergo various changes under the influence of extralinguistic
factors. The bundle of these factors forms the extralinguistic situation. The extralinguistic situation
determines the choice of language means, phonetic means in particular.

Phonostylistics is a branch of phonetics which studies the way phonetic units (both segmental and
suprasegmental) are used in particular extralinguistic situations. It is concerned with the identification
of style-forming means, i.e. the phonetic features that enable the native speaker to distinguish
intuitively between different styles of pronunciation.

The extralinguistic situation can be described in terms of three components, i.e. purpose, participants
and setting. These components distinguish situations as the context in which speech interaction takes
place.

Purpose is the most important factor that guides the communication. It is the task that is achieved in
the course of communication. Participants are people involved in communication. Speech is a marker
of various characteristics of people, both individual and social: age, gender, family background,
occupation, social roles. The scene (setting) includes the physical orientation of participants, which is
connected with the type of speech activity they are engaged in. Scenes can also be described in the
following terms: public – non-public (private), formal – informal, monologuing – dialoguing –
poliloguing. The channel of communication is also to be taken into consideration: face-to-face
interaction – telephone communication, mass media communication.
The extralinguistic factors that determine the choice of phonetic means and result in phonostylistic
variation are:
– the purpose, or aim of communication;
– the degree of formality of the situation;
– the degree of spontaneity;
– the speaker’s attitude.

The purpose, or aim of communication may be called a style forming factor, while all the others cause
modifications within a particular style, which account for the existence of different kinds and genres of
texts within each phonetic style. All the factors are interdependent and interconnected.

The classification of phonetic styles is based on the purpose of communication, which is the most
significant extralinguistic factor. Five phonetic styles can be singled out according to the purpose of
communication:
1. Informational style;
2. Academic (Scientific) style;
3. Publicistic (Oratorial) style;
4. Declamatory (Artistic) style;
5. Conversational (Familiar) style.
Stylistic variations of sounds and intonation result from different combinations of extralinguistic
factors. Stylistic modifications of sounds are caused primarily by the degree of formality, while
variations of intonation are basically determined by the aim of communication.
In formal situations pronunciation tends to be careful and is characterized by articulatory precision. In
informal situations speech is generally faster and less careful. In informal casual discourse (fast
colloquial speech) the processes of simplification take place: assimilation, reduction, elision. Each of
the five phonetic styles is used in a particular sphere of discourse and is characterized by a set of
prosodic features, which in their combination form the model of the phonetic style.

PHONETIC STYLES. STYLE-FORMING MEANS IN ENGLISH

1. The problem of classification of phonetic styles

2. Phonetic style-forming means in English. Specific features of Informal talk in RP

When used in speech phonetic units undergo various changes under the influence of
extralinguistic factors. The bundle of these factors forms the extralinguistic situation. The extralinguistic
situation determines the choice of language means, phonetic means in particular.

Phonostylistics is a branch of phonetics which studies the way phonetic units (both segmental
and suprasegmental) are used in particular extralinguistic situations. It is concerned with the
identification of style-forming means, i.e. the phonetic features that enable the native speaker to
distinguish intuitively between different styles of pronunciation.

The extralinguistic situation can be described in terms of three components, i.e. purpose,
participants and setting. These components distinguish situations as the context in which speech
interaction takes place.

Purpose is the most important factor that guides the communication. It is the task that is
achieved in the course of communication. Participants are people involved in communication. Speech is
a marker of various characteristics of people, both individual and social: age, gender, family background,
occupation, social roles. The scene (setting) includes the physical orientation of participants, which is
connected with the type of speech activity they are engaged in. Scenes can also be described in the
following terms: public – non-public (private), formal – informal, monologuing – dialoguing –
poliloguing. The channel of communication is also to be taken into consideration: face-to-face
interaction – telephone communication, mass media communication.

The extralinguistic factors, that determine the choice of phonetic means and result in
phonostylistic variation are:

– the purpose, or aim of communication;

– the degree of formality of the situation;

– the degree of spontaneity;

– the speaker’s attitude.

The purpose, or aim of communication may be called a style forming factor, while all the others
cause modifications within a particular style, which account for the existence of different kinds and
genres of texts within each phonetic style. All the factors are interdependent and interconnected.

The classification of phonetic styles is based on the purpose of communication, which is the
most significant extralinguistic factor. Five phonetic styles can be singled out according to the purpose
of communication:

1. Informational style;

2. Academic (Scientific) style;

3. Publicistic (Oratorial) style;

4. Declamatory (Artistic) style;

5. Conversational (Familiar) style.

Stylistic variations of sounds and intonation result from different combinations of extralinguistic
factors. Stylistic modifications of sounds are caused primarily by the degree of formality, while variations
of intonation are basically determined by the aim of communication.

In formal situations pronunciation tends to be careful and is characterized by articulatory

precision. In informal situations speech is generally faster and less careful. In informal casual 12
discourse (fast colloquial speech) the processes of simplification take place: assimilation, reduction,
elision.

Each of the five phonetic styles is used in a particular sphere of discourse and is characterized by
a set of prosodic features, which in their combination form the model of the phonetic style.