English Phonetics

UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH PHONETICS

A. Theory
# Organs of speech: inwards

Fig 1. Organs of Speech

Lips (upper and lower) / nasal cavity (khoang mũi)  teeth (upper and lower)  alveolar ridge
(chân răng)  toungue (tip, blade, front, back or root) / hard palate (ngạc cứng)  soft palate (ngạc
mềm)  uvula (lưỡi gà)  pharynx (glottis – hầu / họng)  epiglottis (nắp thanh quản)  larynx
(thanh quản)  vocal folds (vocal cords - dây thanh)  trachea (khí quản) / oesophagus (thực
quản) ( lungs).
1. Define Phonetics and Phonology?
- Phonetics is the study of speech sounds which are utilized by all human languages to represent the
meaning. It concerned with the describing the speech sounds which occur in the languages of the
world.
- Phonology is the description of the systems and patterns of sounds that occur in a language.
Phonology deals with how these speech sounds are organised into systems for individual language.

2. What are the stages of speech chain during human communication in sounds?
Stages of speech chain are the steps in which the sounds are produced and used for communication.
These stages of speaker differ from those of listener.

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- Speaker: 3 stages
+ Psychological stage: idea is transmitted to the brain throught the 5 senses of human.
It is the process of thinking and choosing what to say.
+ Physiological stage: idea is transmitted to the brain and then to the mouth through
nervous system.
+ Physical stage: the process of producing and articulating the sounds. The mouth
works to speak out the sounds.
- Listener: such stages are simplier. Nervous system carries the sounds from the ears up to the brain.
The brain will analyse the sounds.

3. What is the difference between pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism and ingressive
airstream mechanism? What airstream mechanism do English sounds belong to?
The difference between these two mechanism is the direction of the airstream. In pulmonic
egressive mechanism, the airstream move outwards from the lung to the trachea (windpipe – khí
quản) to pharynx (họng) and to the mouth, but the airstream in pulmonic ingressive mechanism
move inwards from the outside.
English sound belong to the pulmonic egresive airstream mechanism and this mechasnism is also
used in almost languages in the world.

4. What is voiced, voiceless sound? In what way(s) are voiced sounds different from voiceless
ones?
- Voiced sounds are the sounds produced by the rapid opening and closing of vocal cords. In a
voiced sound, the rapid opening and closing of vocal cords is a kind of vibration.
- Voiceless sound are the sounds made with vocal cords drawn apart so that the air can pass out
freely between them and there is no vibration.
Voiced and voiceless sounds can be distinguished according to the following criteria:

Criteria Voiced sound Voiceless sound

State of the vocal cords Rapid opening and closing Are drawn apart

The airstream from the lungs Being obstructed by the vocal Passes out freely
cords

Vibration Made by the rapid opening and There is no vibration

closing of the vocal cords

5. What is the difference between articulatory phonetics and acoustic phonetics?

Articulatory phonetics studies the physical processes involved in speech production while acoustic
phonetics deals with the physical properties of speech sounds (linguistically relevant acoustic
properties).
Articulatory phonetics examines:
- The airstream mechanism: where the air used in speech starts from, and which direction it is
travelling in

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- The state of the vocal cords: wherether or not the vocal cords are vibrating, which
determines voicing
- The state of the velum: whether it is raised or lowered, which determines whether the sound
is oral or nasal
- The place and manner of articulation: the horizontal and vertical positions of the tongue and
lips
Acoustic phonetics studies the specific and measurable effects on the air involved in the production
of the speech sound.

6. What is the difference between a vowel and a consonant in the English language? Give
example to illustrate?
 Definition:
- Consonants are speech sounds produced by creating an obstruction to the airstream during the
articulation.
- Vowels are speech sounds where the airstream escapes the oral tract (organs of speech)
unobstructed.
 Differences: vowel and consonant can be distinguished according to the following criteria:

Criteria Vowel Consonant

Airstream Escapes freely from the oral Being obstructed on the way
tract out from the lungs

Nasal or oral All vowels are oral sounds as Consonants may be nasal
the velum is raised while the when the velum is lowered or
sounds are produced oral when the velum is raised
Eg. /i:/, /u:/, / :/, / :/, / Eg. /m/, /n/, / / (nasal); /p/,
:/; / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /d/, /k/, / /…(oral)
/

7. Classify English speech sounds?

English speech sounds can be classified according to the following criteria: voicing, state of the
velum, state of the vocal cords
- According to voicing criteria, English speech sounds can be divided into: voiced and voiceless
sounds.
Eg. Voiced sounds such as: /b/, /v/, /d/, / /, /z/, / /, / /…
Voiceless sounds such as: /p/, /f/, /t/, /k/, /s/, / /, / /…
- According to the state of the velum, there are nasal and oral sounds.
Eg. Nasal sounds: /m/, /n/, / /
Oral sounds: /b/, /v/, /d/, / /, / /, / / (consonants), or / /, / /, / /, / /, / / (vowels)
- According to the state of the vocal cords, there are vowel and consonant.
Eg. Vowels: /i:/, /u:/, / :/, / :/, / :/; / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /, / /
Consonants: /b/, /v/, /d/, / /, /z/, / /, / /, /p/, /f/, /t/, /k/, /s/, / /, / /…

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B. Practice
1. Fill in the blanks in the following passage
There are three principal airstream mechanisms: the pulmonic airstream mechanism, the velaric
airstream mechanism and the glottalic airstream mechanism. In normal utterances in all languages
of the world, the airstream is always flowing outwards if the pulmonic egressive airstream
mechanism is involved. Stops made with this mechanism are called plosives (tắc). The only
mechanism that is used in some languages to produce some sounds with inward going air and some
sounds with outward going air is the glottalic airstream mechanism. Stops made with this
mechanism acting ingressively are called implosives (đóng). Stops made with this mechanism
acting egressively are called ejectives (bật). The mechanism which is used in the language to
produce sounds only with inward going air is the velaric airstream mechanism. Stops made with
this mechanism are called clicks.

UNIT 2 CONSONANTS
# Definitions:
- Consonants are speech sounds produced by creating an obstruction to the airstream during
the articulation.
- Voiced sounds are sounds produced by the rapid opening and closing of the vocal cords. In
a voiced sound, the rapid opening and closing of the vocal cords is a kind of vibration.
- Voiceless sounds are sounds made with vocal cords drawn apart so that the air can pass out
freely and there is no vibration.
- Fortis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively strong energy. They
are voiceless sounds and usually shorten the preceeding vowel. Eg. bat
- Lenis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively weak energy. They are
voiced sounds and usually lengthen the preceeding vowel.
# Criteria to classify English consonants:
- Place of articulation
- Manner of articulation
- State of the velum (nasal or oral)
- Position of the vocal cords (voiced or voiceless)
- Force of articulation / degree of muscular tension (fortis or lenis)
!!! To descript an English consonant we should descript the following aspects:
Voicing  place of articulation  manner of articulation ( place of velum  force of
articulation)
Eg. p: voiceless – bilabial – plosive (– oral – fortis)

Place Bilabial Labio- Dental Alveolar Retro Plato- Palatal Velar Glottal
dental flex alveolar
Manner

Plosive p b t d k

Fricative f v s z h

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Approximant w r j

Lateral l

Affricate t d

Nasal m n

Table 1. English Consonants

(Voiceless sounds are on the left)
A. Theory
1. Classify all the English plosives, providing the words containing the sounds.
English plosives are classified according to the following 3 criteria:
- According to the place of articulation: there are 3 types
+ Bilabial plosive: /p/, /b/ eg. pet, pay, big, boy
+ Alveolar plosive: /t/, /d/ eg. tape, talk, date, dog
+ Velar plosive: /k/, / / eg. key, kitchen, go, gap
- According to position of the vocal cords: voiced and voiceless
+ Voiced plosive: /p/, /t/, /k/ eg. pet, pay, tape, talk, key, kitchen
+ Voiceless plosive: /b/, /d/, / / eg. big, boy, date, dog, go, gap
- According to force of articulation:
+ Fortis plosive: /b/, /d/, / / eg. big, boy, date, dog, go, gap
+ Lenis plosive: /p/, /t/, /k/ eg. pet, pay, tape, talk, key, kitchen

2. List the bilabial consonants. For each bilabial, provide one word containing it.
There are 4 bilabial consonants in the English language: p, b, w, m
- Bilabial plosive: /p/, /b/ eg. pet, pay, big, boy
- Bilabial approximant: /w/ eg. wait, watch
- Bilabial nasal: /m/ eg. mother, meet

3. What is the distinctive feature that makes /p/ and /b/ different sounds?
/p/ and /b/ are bilabial plosive consonants, but the distinctive feature that makes them different
sounds is the voicing. /p/ is a voiceless consonant while /b/ is a voiced one. We can realize such
difference when these sounds are articulated by touching the Adam’s apple. When /b/ is articulated,
there is a vibration, but there is no such vibration when /p/ is pronounced.

4. According to what are English consonants classified? Give examples

English consonants are classified according to 5 criteria:
 According to place of articulation:
- Bilabial: p, b, w, m eg. pay, boy, wait, man

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- Labiodental: f, v eg. figure, velar

- Dental:
- Alveolar: t, d, s, z, l, n
- Retroflex: r
- Palato-avleolar: , , t , d
- Palatal: j
- Velar: k, ,
- Glottal: h
 According to manner of articulation:
- Plosive: p, b, t, d, k, ,
- Fricative: f, v, , , s, z, , , h
- Approximant: w, r, j
- Lateral: l
- Affricate: t , d
- Nasal: m, n,
 According to State of the velum:
- Nasal: m, n,
- Oral: p, b, t, d, k, , f, v, , , s, z,
 According to State of the vocal cords:
- Voiced sounds: b, d, , v, , z, , w, r, j, l, d , m, n,
- Voiceless sounds: p, t, k, f, , s, , h, t
 According to Force of articulation:
- Fortis consonants: voiceless sounds
- Lenis consonants: voiced sounds
eg. think, this
eg. toy, date, size, zoo, long, name
eg. run, ray
eg. shine, ship, measure, closure, watch, catch, fridge, jane
eg. yet, yes, yellow
eg. key, dog, king, thing
eg. house, home
eg. pay, boy, toy, date, key, dog
eg. five, van, think, this, sun, zoo, shine, measure, hot
eg. wait, run, you
eg. long, later
eg. watch, catch, fridge, jane
eg. main, nation, thing, king
eg. main, nation, thing, king
, , w, r, j, l, t , d , h,

5. What are the differences between a plosive and an affricate in English?

Criteria Plosive Affricate

Airstream The airstream is stoped in the oral or The tongue comes up to make a contact
nasal cavity by the as the lips contact with the alveolar ridge to form a stop
or the soft palate raises forming a velic closure and this contact is then slacken
closure (loosen) to make a fricative.

Number of Plosive The combination between plosive and

manners fricative
involved

6. What is the distinction between an alveolar plosive and an alveolar fricative?

The distinction between an alveolar plosive and an alveolar fricative is the airstream: in alveolar
plosive, the soft palate is raised so that the nasal tract is blocked off, then the airstream is

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completely obstructed while in an alveolar fricative, the close approximation of two articulators
caused the airstream partially obstructed and turbulent airflow is produced.

7. Classify the English fricatives according to the criteria for classification of the sounds. Give
the words containing these consonants.
English fricatives can be classified according to the following criteria:
- Accroding to the Place of articulation:
+ Labiodental fricative: f, v eg. fingure, fan, vapour, van
+ Dental fricative: , eg. think, this
+ Alveolar fricative: s, z eg. sun, single, zoo, zero
+ Palato-avleolar fricative: , eg. shine, measure
+ Glottal fricative: h eg. horse, house, hat
- According to the State of the vocal cords:
+ Voiced sounds: v, , z, eg. van, this, zoo, measure
+ Voiceless sounds: f, , s, , h eg. fan, think, sun, shine, hot
- According to the Force of articulation:
+ Fortis: f, , s, ,h eg. fan, think, sun, shine, hot
+ Lenis: v, , z, eg. van, this, zoo, measure

8. What are fortis consonants and what are lenis ones?

- Fortis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively strong energy. They are
voiceless sounds and usually shorten the preceeding vowel. Eg. bat
- Lenis are consonants which are tend to be articulated with relatively weak energy. They are
voiced sounds and usually lengthen the preceeding vowel.

9. What is the main difference in articulation between a velar plosive and a bilabial plosive?
Bilabial plosive is formed by the contact between the two lips while velar plosive is formed by the
back of the tongue articulates with the soft palate (the soft palate is raised to make velar closure).

10. State basic difference between fortis consonants and its lenis counterparts?

Criteria Fortis Lenis

Force of articulation Relatively strong energy Relatively weak energy

Voicing Voiceless Voiced

Proceeding vowel Shorten Lengthen

B. Practice:
1. Describe the consonant in the word “skinflint”: /‘skinflint/

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s voiceless alveolar fricative (oral fortis)

k voiceless velar plosive (oral fortis)
n voiced alveolar nasal (lenis)
f voiceless labiodental fricative (oral fortis)
l voiced alveolar lateral (oral lenis)
t voiceless alveolar plosive (oral fortis)

2. Underline:
a. The words that begin with a bilabial consonant
mat knee sat bat rat pat
b. The words begin with a velar consonant
knot got lot cot hot pot
c. The words begin with a labiodental consonant
fat cat that mat chat vat
d. The words begin with a alveolar consonant
zip nip lip sip tip dip
e. The words begin with a detal consonant
pie guy shy thight thy high
f. The words begin with palato-alveolar consonant
sigh shy tie thigh thy lie
g. The words end with a fricative
race wreath bush bring breathe bang
rave rouge ray rose rough
h. The words end with a nasal
rain rang dumb deaf
i. The words end with a stop (plosive)
pill lip lit limb crab dog hide laugh back
j. The word begin with a lateral
nut lull bar rob one
k. The words that begin with a approximant
we you one run
l. The words end with an affricate
much back edge ooze

3. Write the symbol that corresponds to the following phonetic descriptions. Give an English word
that contains this sound
a. voiced bilabial plosive b eg. big, ball, ban
b. voiceless alveolar fricative s eg. seven, sun, son

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c. voiceless labiodental fricative f eg. fan, finger, farm

d. voiceless palato-alveolar affricate t eg. chain, watch
e. voiceless palato-alveolar fricative eg. shine, ship
f. voiced labiodental fricative v eg. vapour, vanish
g. voiced velar plosive eg. games, dog,

UNIT 3 ENGLISH VOWELS

Note: - vowel with the mark “:” means long vowel, and also tense vowel
- beside four round vowels (u:, , :, , :), there are three neutral vowel ( , :, ) and
the rests are unround vowels.
# Definitions:
- Vowels are speech sounds where the airstream escapes the vocal tract unobstructed.
- Monothong is a pure vowel sound which is pronounced without changing of the position of
the organ of speech throughout the duration of the vowel articulation.
- Dipthong is a complex sound consisting of two vowel elements pronounced so as to form a
single syllable. In the pronunciation of dipthong, the position of organ of speech starts in the
position of one vowel and glides gradually to the other one.
Description of English vowel:
Monothong: Height  Position  Shape  Length  Degree (of articulation).
Diphthong: Height + Pisition (1st vowel) glides to Height + Position (2nd vowel).

A. Theory
1. What is monophthong / diphthong?

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- Monophthong: is a pure vowel sound which is pronounced wothout changing of the position of
the organ of speech throughtout the duration of the vowel articulation.
- Diphthong: is a complex vowel sound consisiting of two elements pronounced so as to form a
single syllable. In the pronunciation of the diphthong, the position of the organ of speech starts in
the position of the first vowel and glides to gradually to the other one.

2. What are the differences between a monophthong and a diphthong? Give example
- Monophthong: is a pure vowel sound which is pronounced without changing in the position of
the organ of speech throughout the duration of vowel articualtion.
- Diphthong: is a complex vowel sound consisting of two elements pronounced so as to form a
single syllable. In the pronunciation of the diphthong, the position of the organ of speech starts in
the position of the first vowel and glides gradually to the other one.
The differences of monophthong and diphthong lie in the number of vowel element and the position
of the organ of speech during the articulation:

Criteria Monophthong Diphthong

Number of vowel element: One Two

Position of organ of speech Unchange Glides gradually from the

position of the first vowel to the
other.

Eg. Hat /h t/ - is a monothong, Nation /ne n/ - is a diphthong

a low front vowel. consisiting of and , mid front
glides to high front.

3. How are English monophthong classified? Give example

a. Definition
b. Classification
English monophthong can be classified according to the followings criteria:
 Position of the tongue: front, central and back vowels
- Front vowels: the front of the tongue raises towards the hard palate
:, , ,
- Central vowels: the centre of the tongue raises towards the junture of the hard palate and the
soft palate
:, ,
- Back vowels: the back of the tongue raises towards the soft palate
:, , , , :
 The height of the tongue in the mouth: high, mid and low vowels
- High vowels: :, , :,
- Mid vowels: ( ), :, ,
- Low vowels: , , , :

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 The shape of the lips: round, neutral and unround vowels

- Round vowels: :, , ,
- Neutral vowels: , :,
- Unround vowels: :, , , , :
 The length of the sounds: long and short vowels
- Long vowels: :, :, , :, :
- Short vowels: , , , , , ,
 The degree of muscular tension: tense and lax vowels
- Tense (long) vowels: :, :, , :, :
- Lax (short) vowels: , , , , , ,

4. What makes an English front vowel different from ist back counterpart? Give example
An English front vowel differs from its back counterpart is due to the position of the tounge in the
mouth or the raising part of the tongue.
In the pronunciation of an front vowel: the front of the tongue raises towards the hard palate, but in
the articulation of the back vowel the back of the tongue raises towards the soft palate.

5. List all the diphthong. How are they classified into different groups according to their
direction of glide?
a. Definition, list
There are 8 diphthongs in the English language, including: , , , , , , ,
b. Classification
English diphthongs can be classified according to the direction of glide:
- Diphthongs gliding to (centring group): , ,
- Diphthongs gliding to (closing group): , ,
- Diphthongs gliding to (closing group): ,

6. What are the differences between a vowel and a consonant in the English language? Give
example
a. Definition
- Consonants are speech sounds produced by creating an obstruction to the airstream during the
articulation.
- Vowels are speech sounds where the airstream escapes the oral tract (organ of speech)
unobstructed.
b. Differences

Criteria Consonants Vowels

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Airstream movement: The airstream is obstructed The airstream passes freely

during the articulation of the through the vocal track
speech sound

Voicing Consist of voiced and voiceless Consist of voiceless sounds

sounds only

Eg. /p/, /b/ , ,

B. Practice
1. Write the symbol that correponds to each of the following phonetic description and then
give an English word contaning the sound:
a. high front unround lax vowel: bit / /
b. mid front unround lax vowel: bet / /
c. low front unround lax vowel: hat / /
d. low back unround tense vowel: : farm / /
e. low back slightly round lax vowel: top / / (it can be )
f. mid back round tense vowel: cot / /
g. mid central neutral lax vowel: the / /
h. mid central neutral tense vowel: : her / /
i. low central lax vowel: current / /

2. Underline the word that:

a. contains a diphthong:
A. peep B. quay C. tie D. grease
b. begins with a central vowel:
A. university B. utterance C. Oxford D. eat
c. contains a high vowel:
A. sat B. meet C. got D. much
d. does not contain diphthong:
A. duration B. station C. smooth D. crime
e. contains a central low monothong:
A. superd B. supper C. stupid D. swear
f. does not contain a monophthong:
A. twice B. headlight C. funny D. fine
g. contains a round short vowel:
A. spoon B. understood C. good D. food

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UNIT 4 INTRODUCTION TO PHONOLOGY

A. Theory
1. What is phonology?
Phonology is the description of the systems and patterns of sounds that occur in a language.
;
2. What is a phoneme / allophone? Prove your point of view
- Phonemes are the smallest segments of sound that can be distinguished by their contrast within
words.
(Segments: are the smallest pieces of sound that are divided from a speech)
- Allophone are phonemes derived from the same phoneme in different distribution.
Eg. stop talking / /
=
[ ] and [ ] are allophone of phoneme [ ]

3. What are the differences between phonemic transcription and allophonic (phonetic)
transcription? Give example
- Transcription is the use of a set of symbols representing sounds to show the sounds in written
form.
There are two kinds of transcription: phonemic (broad) transcription and allophinic (phonetic or
narrow) transcription.

Criteria Phonemic transcription Allophonic transcription

Symbols Uses slanting bracket Uses square bracket

Feature Shows different phonemes that make Shows how sounds are pronounced
up word. It does not show any extra including phonetic details
features, no detail of pronunciation; (allophones)
therefore, we can’t look at this
transcription to pronounce the word

Eg Car / :/ - shows the phonemes Car / :/ - show both phonemes

involved in the word only. and phonetic detail. The symbol [ ]
indicates that phoneme [k] is
aspirated.

4. What can be stated as necessary conditions for forming a minimal set? Give set of words to
illustrate
In order to form a minimal set, we must have more than two words which are different in meaning,
but they have the same number of segments and only one different segment in the same
position/distribution.

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Eg. bat / /, but / /, bet / /

pad / /, pat / /, pan / /

5. What is a minimal pair / set? Give example

- Minimal pair: is a pair of words which are different in meaning, having the same number of
segments with only one different segment in the same position/distribution.
Eg. hat / /, cat / / - the different segment is the first one.
- Minimal set: is a set of more than two words of different meaning which have the same number
of segment and only one different segment in the same position/distribution.
Eg. bat / /, but / /, bet / / - the different segment is the middle one.

B. Practice
1. Which of the followings is a minimal pair?
A. cater – better B. round – bound C. rock – box
/ /-/ / / /-/ / / /-/ /
2. Which of the following is not a minimal pair?
A. time – mine B. table – cable C. teacher – richer
/ /-/ / / /-/ // /-/ /
A. road – load B. back – bad C. sea – saw
/ /-/ / / /-/ / / /-/ /

UNIT 5 RULES FOR ENGLISH ALLOPHONES

A. Rules
Note: [+ voiced: voiced sound], [- voiced: voiceless sound]
[+ aspirated: aspirated], [- aspirated: unaspirated]

1. Aspiration
a. Aspirated
Symbol: [ ]
[- voiced, + plosive]  [+ aspirated] when syllable initial.
Means: voiceless plosive sounds (/p, t, k/) will be aspirated as they are the initial syllable, or when
they stand in initial position of a stress syllable.
Eg. car [ :] important [ ] top [ ]

b. Unaspirated
Symbol: [=]
[- voiced, + plosive]  [- aspirated] when standing:

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+ after /s/ at the beginning of the syllable; or

+ in medial or final position of a syllable
= = =
Eg. sport [ ]happy [ ] map [ ]

2. Unexploded articulation
Symbol: [ ]
[- voiced, + plosive]  unexploded before another [+ plosive]
Eg. act [ ] adapt [ ] looked [ ]

3. Dentalization
Symbol: [ ]
[+ alveolar]  [+ dental] before [+ dental], means that alveolar (/t, d, s, z, l, n/) will be dentalized
when it stand before a dental sounds (/ , /).
Eg. eighth [ ] width / /

4. Consonants:
[+consonantal)  longer when at the end of the word.
Eg. mum [ ]-/ / is pronounced longer.
[-voiced]  longer when at the end of the word.
Eg. cap [ ] cook [ ]-/ / and / / are pronounced longer.

5. Devoicing
Symbol: [ ]
[+ approximant]  devoiced after [+ aspirated, + plosive]
Approximant (/w, r, j, l/) will be devoiced when stand after aspirated plosive.
Eg. play [ ] cry [ ] between [ ]

6. Syllabicity (forming syllable without vowel)

Symbol: [ ]
[+ nasal]  [+ syllabic] when at the end of the word and after [+ obstruent] (plosive, fricative or
affricate)
Eg. chasm [ ] mechnism [ ]
[+lateral]  [+ syllabic] when at the end of the word and after another consonant.
Eg. channel [ ] metal [ ]

7. Velarization
Symbol: [ ]

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[+ lateral]  velarized when after a vowel and before another consonant; or at the end of the
word.
Eg. milk [ ]file [ ] mill [ ]

8. More front articulation

[+ velar]  more front before more front vowels
Eg. key [ ] gap [ ]
/ / and / / become more front as they stand before front vowels

9. Vowel quality
a. [+vowel]  longer in open syllables (no consonant after the vowel).
Eg. see [ :] key [ ]

b. [+ vowel]  longer in stressed syllable.

Eg. populate [ ] population [ ]

c. [+ vowel]  shorter before voiceless sounds in the same syllable.

Eg. lap [ ] hit [ ] – the vowel is pronounced shorter.

d. [+ vowel]  [+ nasal] before [+ nasal]

Symbol: [ ]
Eg. ban [ ] calm [ ] bean [ ]

5. [+ front vowel]  [retracted] before syllable final / /; or before velarized [ ]

Eg. milk [ ]calory [ ]

B. Exercises
1. Give some allophones of the phoneme /k/ that occurs in different distribution?
[ ] - /k/ is aspirated when it is initial syllable; or stands in initial position of stress syllable.
Eg. car [ ] can [ ]
=
[ ] - /k/ is unaspirated when it stands aster /s/ in the beginning syllable; or in the medial or final
position of the word.
Eg. scar [ ] book [ ]
[ ] - /k/ is unexploded as it stands before another plosive.
Eg. act [ ] cooked [ ]
[The same is applied to other voiceless plosive (/p, t/)].

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 English Phonetics

2. What happens to an English fortis plosive when they are preceded by a voiceless alveolar
fricative? Give one example for each plosive of this kind.
When an English fortis (voiceless) plosive (/p, t, k/) is preceded by a voiceless alveolar fricative
(/s/), it will be unaspirated.
Eg.
Eg. sport [ ]
sky [ ]
stay [ ]

3. Transcribe the word PRACTICAL phonetically, then give the description of the
transcribed consonants.
Practical [ ]

4. Show the differences between the underlined sounds in the following pair of words

a. wide Width The first one is longer, the f. quite sky / / in the first word is
second is dentalized. shorter, but / / in the
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
second is longer

b. quick skill /k/ in the first word is g. good food / / in the first word is
longer as it stand at the [ a short vowel, but / /
[ ] [ ] ] [ ]
final position, /k/ in the is a long vowel
second is unaspirated as
standing after /s/.

c.import shore / / in the first word is h. truth true / :/ in the first word is
shorten, but / / in the [ shorter as standing
[ ] [ ] ] [ ]
second is longer. before fortis sound, but /
:/ in the second is longer

d. bill plate /l/ in the first word is i. kilt led / / in the first word is
velarized, but /l/ in the [ velarized, but / / in the
[ ] [ ] ] [ ]
second word is devoiced second word is
unchanged

e.health love /l/ in the first word is j. cook key /k/ in the first word is
dentalized, but /l/ in the [k unaspirated, but /k/ in
[ ] [ ] ] [ ]
second word is unchanged the second one is
aspirated

5. What do the following formulas mean? Give example for each case.
a. [+ alveolar]  [+ detal] before [+ dental]
means alveolar (/n, t, d, s, z, l /) will be dentalized when it stands before a dental sound (/ , /).

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 English Phonetics

Eg. eighth [ ] width [ ]

b. [+ approximant]  [-voiced] after aspirated plosives
means approximant (/w, r, j, l /) will be devoiced when it stands after aspirated plosives (/ , , /).
Eg. play [ ] cry [ ] between [ ]
c. [+ vowels]  [+ nasal] before [+ nasal]
means vowel will be nasalized as standing before a nasal sound (/m, n, /).
Eg. ban [ ] calm [ ] bean [ ]

UNIT 6 ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH

A. Theory
1. What is assimilation in the English language? Give example
Assimilation is a process when one sound adapts itself to the neighbouring sound so that it becomes
close to the assimilating one in one or more aspects.
Eg. in the [ ][ ]
right place [ ][ ]

2. What is elision / liaision? Give example

Elision is the missing out of a consonant or vowel or both in informal spoken English or in rapid
speech in English.
Eg. acts [ ]-/ / will be disappeared in the articualtion of the word.
looked back [ ]-/ / will be disappeared in the articualtion of the
word.
today [ ]-/ / is disappeared
potato [ ]-/ / is disappeared
Liaision is a phenomenon where a sound is linked to another in informal speech.
Eg. come in [ ] set up [ ]

3. What is the difference between progressive assimilation and regressive assimilation? Prove
it.
Consider a case where two words are combined, the first word ends with a single final consonant
(Cf) and the second one starts with a single initial consonant (Ci).
We have the following construction: …..Cf | Ci
In progressive assimilation, the initial consonant (Ci) changes to become like the final consonant
(Cf) in some ways, whereas (Cf) changes to become like (Ci) in some aspects in regressive
assimilation.
Eg.
regressive assimilation: good morning [ ][ ];
one more [ ][ ]

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 English Phonetics

progressive assimilation: in the [ ][ ]

4. What is the difference between elision and liaison? Prove

Elision is the missing out of the consonant or vowel or both in informal spoken or rapid speech,
whereas liaision is the linking of a sound to another in informal speech.
Eg. today [ ]-/ / is disappeared (elision)
Eg. come in [ ] →[ ] (liaison)

5. Give example of liaison of consonant and vowel

Liaision is the phenomenon in which a sound is linked to another in informal speech.
Eg. come in [ ] (final consonant + initial vowel)
my turn [ ] (final vowel + initial consonant)

6. What are the types of assimilation? Give example

a. According to the direction of change
- Regressive assimilation: Ci  Cf
Eg. good morning [ ][ ];
one more [ ][ ]
- Progressive assimilation: Cf  Ci
Eg. in the [ ][ ]
b. According to the way which phonemes change
 Assimilation of place of articulation:
Alveolar (/t, d, n/) + bilabial (/p, b, m/)  bilabial
/t/ + /p, b, m/  /p/ right place [ ][ ]
/d/ + /p, b, m/  /b/ good boy [ ][ ]
/n/ + /p, b, m/  /m/ ten men [ ][ ]
Alveolar (/t, d, n/) + velar (/ , /)  velar
/t/ + / , // / white coat [ ][ ]
/d/ + / , // / bad guy [ ][ ]
/n/ + / , // / one cup [ ][ ]
Alveolar (/s, z/) + palato-alveolar (/ /) / palatal (/ /)  palato-alveolar
/s/ + / , / this year [ ][ ];
nice shoes [ ][ ]
/z/ + / , / those shops [ ][ ]
 Assimilation of manner of articulation:
Plosive (/t, d/) + fricative (/s, z/) / nasal (/n/)  fricative / nasal

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/t, d/ + /s/  /s/ that side [ ][ ]

good song [ ][ ]
/t, d/ + /z/  /z/ that zoo [ ][ ]
bad zone [ ][ ]
/t, d/ + /n/  /n/ hot night [ ][ ]
good night [ ][ ]
Plosive / nasal (/t, d, n/) + fricative (/ /)  plosive / nasal
/t, d, n/ + / /  /t, d, n/ get them [ ][ ]
read these [ ][ ]
in the [ ][ ]
 Assimilation of voicing in consonant:
Lenis (voiced) / , , /  fortis (voiceless) / , , / +  ; +  ; +

tomb place [ ][ ]
bad toy [ ][ ]
big car [ :]  [ :]
Note: fortis + lenis  no assimilation.

7. Types of elision:
a. Definition:
Elision is the missing out of a consonant or vowel or both in informal spoken English or in rapid
speech in English.
b. Types of elision
 Consonant:
Plosive + plosive + plosive / fricative  the middle plosive will disapprear
Eg. looked back [ ]; acts [ ]
/ / + plosive / nasal / fricative  / /
Eg. last time [ : ] last night [ : ] last song [ : ]
/ / + plosive / nasal / fricative  / /
Eg. left door [ ] left mountain [ ] laft shoe [ :]
/ / + nasal / lenis (voiced) plosive  / /
Eg. kind nurse [ : ] canned bacon [ ]
/ / + nasal / lenis (voiced) plosive  / /
Eg. skimmed milk [ ] seemed good [ : ]
Loss of / / in ‘of’ + consonant
Eg. lots of them

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 English Phonetics

 Vowel:
Fortis plosive aspirated + weak vowel / , // , / will disappear
Eg. today [ ] potato [ ]
Weak vowel (/ , /) + / , , // , , / become syllabic consonant
Eg. tonight [ ] delight [ ]

8. Types of liaision:
Liaision: is the a phenomemon in which a sound is linked to another in informal speech
 Final consonant + initial vowel:
Eg. come in [ ]
 Final vowel + initial vowel:
Eg. my turn [ : ]
 Final vowel + initial vowel:
Eg. the end [ ]
 Final / / + initial vowel:
Eg. her own [ : ]
 Intrusive / /: letter ‘a’ + vowel:
Eg. media event [ : ]
r

B. Practice:
1. Explain why [ ] is chosen for substitution for [ ] instead of the other sounds in the phrase
“good girl” when it is pronunced by native English speaker in casual speech. State the principle for
this phenomenon.
Good girl [ : ][ : ]
[ ] is chosen for the substitution for [ ] because they have the same place of articulation; there
for the articulation is simplified.
Principle: alveolar + velar  velar

2. Give phonetic transcription and explain changes (if any) in term of assimilation, elision or
liaision
a. this sharp pen is mine, and that pen is your
[ : , ]
[ : , ]
- [ : ] [ : ]: / / is assimlated into / / as: alveolar + palato-
alveolar  palato-alveolar
- [ ]: the linking between final consonant and initial vowel
- [ ] [ ]: / / is assimilated into / /as: plosive + fricative 
plosive

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 English Phonetics

- [ ][ ]: the linking between final consonant / / and initial

vowel / /; the assimilation between / / and / /: alveolar + palatal  palatal alveolar

b. ten boys meet and said good morning

[ : ]
[ : ]
- [ ][ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: alveolar + bilabial 
bilabial
- [ : ]: the linking between final consonant and initial vowel
- [ ][ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: plosive + fricative 
fricative
- [ ][ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: alveolar + velar  velar
- [ ][ ]: / / is assimilated into / /: alveolar + bilabial 
bilabial

c. she acts particularly well in the first scene

[ : : : ]
[ : : : ]
- [ : ]: the linking between final vowel and initial vowel; the elision of /t/: plosive +
plosive + fricative
- [ ]: / / is missed out as standing after a fortis (voiceless) aspirated plosive
- [ ]: linking between final consonant and initial vowel
- [ ][ ]: nasal + fricative  nasal
- [ : : ][ : : ]: / // / as it stands before fricative
sound.

UNIT 7 STRESS
A. Theory
1. English word stress and its functions?
a. Definition
Stress is the pronunciation of a syllable with more force than the surrounding ones, that means the
way the speakers use energy created from the lungs to make a syllable more prominent than the
others. The salience of a sound or syllable is called stress.
b. Functions
 Grammatical / syntactic function:
- Stress is used to change the word class without changing in the writing of the word. (noun
has stress on the first syllable and verb has stress on the second syllable)

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 English Phonetics

Eg. abstract [ ] (n) – abstract [ ] (v)

transport [ ] (n) – transport [ ] (v)
- Stress is used to distinguish compound words from a free combination of words (if the stress
is on the first element – compound; if stress is on both elements – free combination)
Eg. whitehouse [ ] (compound) – white house [ ] (free
combination)
- Stress is used to indicate grammatical structure of the words
Eg. diplomat [ ] (n) – person who works in diplomatic field
diplomacy [ ] (n) – skill in dealing with people
diplomatic [ ] (adj) – concerning diplomacy
 Emphasis function: stress is employed to give emphasis to word to to contrast word with
another.
 Stress helps to form the intonation.

2. What is meant by “prominence of a stressed syllable” in English?

All stressed syllable have the one characteristic in common which is called prominence, means that
this characteristic helps to distinguish stressed syllable from unstressed one.

3. What is the nature of English word stress?

The nature of English word stress includes four factors:
- Loudness: stressed syllable is louder than unstressed one.
- Length: stressed syllable is pronounced longer than unstressed one.
- Pitch: stressed syllable has higher pitch than unstressed one.
- Quality of neighbouring vowel: the vowel of stressed syllable is different from the others

4. Placement of stress within word

a. Stress on simple words:
 Two-syllable words:
- Verbs:
+ Stress is marked on the second syllable if it contain a long vowel or diphthong or ends with
more than one consonants.
Eg. apply [ ] attract [ ]
+ Stress is on the first syllable if final syllable contains short vowel and one (or no)
consonant.
Eg. enter [ ] open [ ]
+ Stress is placed on the first syllable if the final syllable contain diphthong “ ”.
Eg. follow [ ] borrow [ ]
- Adjective, adv, preposition: same rule to verbs
Exception: honest [ ] perfect [ : ]

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 English Phonetics

- Nouns:
+ Stress is on the first syllable if second syllable contains a short vowel
Eg. money [ ] product [ ]
+ Stress is marked on second syllable if it contain long vowel or diphthong
Eg. design [ ] balloon [ : ]
- Noun and verb with identical spelling: stress is on the first syllable if it is noun
and stress is on the second syllable if it is verb
Eg. import [ ] (n) - [ ] (v)
export [ ] (n) - [ ] (v)
 Three-syllable words:
- Verbs:
+ Stress is placed on the middle (second) syllable if final syllable contains a
short vowel or ends with not more than one consonant.
Eg. encounter [ ] determine [ : ]
+ Stress is on the final syllable if it contains a long vowel or diphthong or ends with
more than one consonant.
Eg. recommend [ ] entertain [ ]
- Nouns and Adjectives:
+ Stress is marked on middle (second) syllable if: final syllable contains a short vowel or “
”; middle syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong or ends with more than one
consonant.
Eg. disaster [ : ] potato [ ] discover [ ]
convenient [ : ]
+ Stress is on the first syllable if: final syllable contains a short vowel and the middle syllable
contains a short vowel and ends with not more than one consonant.
Eg. quantity [ ] cinema [ ] custody [ ]
opportune [ : ] generous [ ]
+ If final syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong or end with more than one consonant,
stress is usually on the first syllable and the final syllable is said to have secondary stress.
Eg. entellect [ ] alkali [ ] marigold [ ]
b. Stress in complex words:
 Verbs ending in “-ate”:
- Two-syllable verb: stress is on the second syllable
Eg. donate [ ] relate [ ]
- Three-syllable verbs: stress is on the first syllable
Eg. dominate [ ] calculate [ ]
- More than three syllables: stress is on the sencond one
Eg. investigate [ ] anticipate [ ]
 Adjective ending in “-ative”:

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 English Phonetics

- Two and three-syllable adj: stress is on the first syllable

Eg. attractive [ ]
- More than three syllable: stress is on the original place
Eg. communicative [ : ]
 Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves (secondary stress is on the first syllable):
- ‘-ee’: employee [ :] transferee [ : :]
- ‘-eer’: engineer [ ] volunteer [ ]
- ‘-ese’: vietnamese [ : : ] japanese [ : ]
- ‘-ette’: cigarette [ ]
- ‘-esque’: picturesque [ ]
 Suffixes that do not affect stress placement:
- ‘-able’: comfort [ ] comfortable [ ]
- ‘-age’: marry [ ] marriage [ ]
- ‘-al’: approve [ :] approval [:]
- ‘-en’: dark [ :] darken [: ]
- ‘-ful’: wonder [ ] wonderful []
- ‘-ing’: amaze [ ] amazing [ ]
- ‘-ish’: book [ ] bookish [ ] (for Adjs or Vs with more
than one syllable: stress is always on the syllable preceding ‘-ish’ eg. demolish
- ‘-like’: bird [ :] birdlike [: ]
- ‘-less’: power [] powerless [ ]
- ‘-ly’: careful [ ] carefully []
- ‘-ment’: punish [] punishment []
- ‘-ness’: homeless [ ] homelessness []
- ‘-ous’: poison [ ] poisonous []
- ‘-fy’: glory [ ] glorify []
- ‘-wise’: clock [] clockwise []
- ‘-y’ (Adjs or Ns): fun [] funny []
 Suffixes that influence the stem (attract stress to the syllable preceeding them):
- ‘-enous’: advantage [:] advantageous
[]
- ‘-graphy’: photo [] photography [ ]
- ‘-ial’: adverb [:] adverbial [:]
- ‘-ic’: diplomat [] diplomatic []
- ‘-ion’: graduate [] graduation []
- ‘-ious’: injure [] injurious []
ambitious []
- ‘-ty’: equal [ :] equality [:]

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 English Phonetics

- ‘-ive’: impulse [] impulsive []

 Suffixes: ‘-ance’, ‘-ant’ and ‘-ary’
- Single-syllable words: stress is on the stem
- More than one syllable stem: stress is on one of them (use the rules above)
+ If final syllable is strong (containing long vowel or diphthong): it has stress
Eg. importance []
+ Otherwise (containing short vowel), stress is on the syllable preceding the final one.
Eg. inheritance []
 Prefixes: stress in words with prefixes is governed bu the same rules as those for words without
prefixes.
c. Stress on compound words
 Compounds = N + N: stress is on the first element
Eg. typewriter []suitcase [:]
newspaper [ :]
 Compound = Adj + N_ed / Compound = Number + N: stress is on the final element
Eg. bad-tempered [] half-timbered [:
]
first-classs [::]
 Compounds functioning as adverbs: stress is on final element
Eg. North-East [ :] downstream
 Compounds functioning as verbs and having an adverbial first element (the first element is adv):
stress is on final element
Eg. back-pedal [] up-grade []
(Note: “bad-tempered” [] but “a bad-tempered teacher”
[ :])
d. Word-class pair
Two words (two-syllable) with identical spelling, one of them is V and the other is either a N or an
Adj:
- If stress is on the second syllable: it is V
- If stress is on the first syllable: it is N or Adj
Eg. abstract [] (Adj) abstract
[] (V)
contract [] (N) contract [] (V)

B. Practice:
1. Mark the stress on the words below:

a. optimistic [] b. development

[]

c. autonomous [] d. expectation

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 English Phonetics

[]

e. representation f. tragedy []

[]

g. freedom [:] h. championship

[]

2. Work out the rule for stress placement from the examples below:

a. possibility Suffix ‘-ty’ attracts stress to the syllable

[] preceding it.
capacity []

b. record [] (N) Word-class pair: Noun has stress on the first
syllable while Verb has stress on the final
record [] (V)
syllable.

3. Mark the stress on the following compounds and then work out the rule
- blacksmith []: Compound = N+ N  stress on the first element
- walking-stick []: free combination of words
- non-government []: Stress on words with prefix is based on
the rules for those without prefix
- hot-tempered []: Compound = Adj + N_ed  stress is on the final
element

UNIT 8 INTONATION
A. Theory
1. English intonation and its function?
a. Definition
When speaking, people generally raise the pitch of their voice forming pitch pattern. They also give
syllable in their utterances greater degree of loudness and change their speech rhythm. These
phenomena are called intonation. In other words, intonation is the raises and falls in which level or
pattern of pitch change.
b. Functions
- Attitudinal function: Intonation enables us to express emotions and attitudes as we
speak, and adds special “meaning” to spoken language.
- Accentual function: Intonation helps to produce the effect of prominence on
syllables that need to be perceived as stressed.

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- Grammatical function: The listener is better able to recognise the grammar and
syntactic structure of what is being said byusing information contained in the intonation.
- Discourse funtions: Intonation can signal to the listener what is to be taken as
“new” information and what is already “given”

2. What are the basic tunes in English intonation and their uses?
 Falling tune (intonation): 
- Uses:
+ In statement
+ In imparative sentence (câu mệnh lệnh không có chủ ngữ)
+ Wh-question
- Rules:
+ The voice decends step-wise on each stressed syllable. Unstressed syllables are on the same
level at the preceding stressed syllable.
+ To avoid monotomy, speaker can make his voice used of the convenience of stressed
syllable, but not as high as stressed syllable
+ For long statement, break them into different tunes.
Eg. He goes to the cinema with her.

     
 

 Raising tune (intonation): 

- Uses:
+ Yes / No question
+ Imparative as request or statement as remark of emotion
- Rule: the voice ascends step-wise at each stress syllable ans then rises.
(Note: Trợ động từ trong câu hỏi Yes/No vẫn có stress)
Eg. Did you break the vase?

_  _
 

 Sustained tune: the combination of falling and raising tunes

Uses:
- Clause: Subordinate clause: raising tune + Main clause: falling tune
Eg. When he came, I asked him to wait

      
 

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 English Phonetics

- Main clause: falling tune + Adv phrase: raising tune

Eg. You can ask me, if necessary

    
   
- Tag question:
+ Imply answer (agreement): statement: falling tune + tag: falling tune
Eg. It’s a nice day, isn’t it?

   
 
+ Ask for information: statement: falling tune + tag: raising tune
Eg. It’s a nice day, isn’t it?

    


3. Form of intonation
a. Definition
- Tone-unit: is a unit generally greater in size than the syllable is needed to analyze the
intonation.
- Tonic syllable: is a syllable which carries a tone will be called tonic syllable. Tonic syllable
has a higher degree of prominence.

b. Structure of the tone unit

TONE-UNIT = Prehead (PH) + Head (H) + Tone Syllable (TS) + Tail
- Prehead: all stressed syllable before the first stressed syllable
- Head: extends from the first stressed syllable up to the TS (not including TS)
- Tonic Syllable: main stressed syllable on which pitch movement begins
- Tail: the remained part (all unstressed syllable after TS)
Eg. I have gone to the zoo.
PH  H  TS

I’m talking to a student now.

PH  H TS Tail

B. Practice
Mark the possible intonation for the following:
a. Have you been to Mary’s wedding party? (raising tune – Yes/No question)

_  _   

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-   
b. You must take him home (falling tune – imperative)

  -  
c. Get on with your dinner (falling tune – imperative)

    
d. Shall I bring some sandwitches for you, too? (raising tune)

  -    
  
e. Please sit down (falling tune – imperative)

 

f. If you like, I’ll send the car for you (if-clause: raising tune + main clause: falling
tune)

      
  

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