Phonetics

On his book; however, Roach (1992:81) defines phonetics as: The scientific study of
speech… the central concern in phonetics are the discovery of how speech sounds are
produced, how they are used in spoken language, how we can record speech sounds with
written symbols, and how we hear and recognize different sounds.
Another definition for each one is given by Widdowson (1996:42). He claims that the study
of the allophonic manifestation, how the sounds of speech are actually made, is the business
of phonetics.” He continues (1996: 42) “the study of phonemes and their relations in sound
systems is the business of phonology”.
One more definition is introduced by Kelly (2000:9). He declares: The study of
pronunciation consists of two fields, namely phonetics and phonology. Phonetics refers to the
study of sounds. A phonetician usually works in one or more of the following areas:
physiological phonetics, articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics, auditory phonetics and
perceptual phonetics.
He goes on defining phonology along with phonetics(2000:9) “if phonetics deals with the
physical reality of speech sounds then phonology, on the other hand, is concerned with how
we interpret and systematize sounds. Phonology deals with the system and pattern of the
sounds which exist with particular languages”.
Phonetics ( from the Greek Word phone = sound / voice ) is a fundamental branch of
Linguistics and itself has three different aspects :
 Articulatory Phonetics = describes how vowels and consonants are produced or
“articulated” in various parts of the mouth and throat .

 Acoustic Phonetics = a study of how speech sounds are transmitted : when sound
travels through the air from the speaker’s mouth to the hearer’s ear it does so in the
form of vibrations in the air.

 Auditory Phonetics = a study of how speech sounds are perceived : looks at the way
in which the hearer’s brain decodes the sound waves back into the vowels and
consonants originally intended by the speaker.

The actual sound produced , such as a simple vowel or consonant sound is called
phone .
2
It is the scientific study of speech. It is a long history, going back certainly well over two
thousand years ago. It was studied as early as the 4th century B.C: in the Indian subcontinent,
with Panini’s account of the place and manner of articulation of consonants in his treatise of
Sanskrit. The Phoenicians are credited as the first to create a phonetic writing system, from
which all major modern phonetic alphabets are now derived .
The central concerns in phonetics are

 the discovery of how speech sounds are produced,

 how they are used in spoken language,
 how we can record speech sounds with written symbols
 and how we hear and recognize different sounds.
In the first of these areas, when we study the production of speech sounds we can observe
what speakers do (articulatory observation) and we can try to feel what is going on inside our
vocal tract (kinesthetic observation).
The second area is where phonetics overlaps with phonology: usually in phonetics we are
only interested in sounds that are used in meaningful speech, and phoneticians are interested
in discovering the range and variety of sounds used this way in all the languages of the world.
This is sometimes known as linguistic phonetics.
Finally, the auditory aspect of speech is very important: the ear is capable of making fine
discrimination between different sounds, and sometimes it is not possible to define in
articulatory terms precisely what the difference is. A good example of this is in vowel sounds
classification. While it is important to know the position and shape of the tongue and lips, it
is often very important to have been trained in an agreed set of standard auditory qualities
that vowels can be reliable related to .

The Physiology Of Pronunciation

Speech organs
The muscles in the chest that we use for breathing produce the flow of air that is needed for
almost all speech sounds; muscles in the larynx produce many different modifications in the
flow of air from the chest to the mouth. After passing through the larynx, the air goes through
what we call the vocal tract, which ends at the mouth and nostrils; we call the part comprising
the mouth the oral cavity and the part that leads to the nostrils the nasal cavity. Here the air
from the lungs escapes into the atmosphere. We have a large and complex set of muscles that
can produce changes in the shape of the vocal tract, and in order to learn how the sounds of
speech are produced it is necessary to become familiar with the different parts of the vocal
tract. These different parts are called articulators, and the study of them is called articulatory
phonetics .
Basically, when the human voice produces sounds in the following manner:
1. Air pressure from the lungs creates a steady flow of air through the trachea (windpipe),
larynx (voice box) and pharynx (back of the throat).

2. The vocal folds in the larynx vibrate, creating fluctuations in air pressure that are known as
sound waves.

3. Resonances in the vocal tract modify these waves according to the position and shape of
the lips, jaw, tongue, soft palate, and other speech organs, creating formant regions and thus
different qualities of sonorant (voiced) sound .

4. Mouth and nose openings radiate the sound waves into the environment.

Vowel and consonants

The most common view is that vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow
of the air as it passes from the larynx to the lips. But if we make a sound like /s/ it can be
clearly felt that we are making it difficult or impossible for the air to pass through the mouth.
Most people would have no doubt that sounds like /s/ or /d/ should be called consonants.
Therefore, it is possible to establish two distinct groups of sounds (vowels and consonants) in
another way. Consider English words beginning with the sound /h/. We find that most of the
sounds we normally think of as vowels can follow, but practically none of the sounds we
class as consonants, with the possible exception of /j/ n a word such as ‘huge’ /hju:dᵹ/.What
we are doing here is looking at the different contexts and positions in which particular sounds
can occur; this is the study of the distribution of the sounds. Consequently, if we look at the
vowel-consonant distinction in this way, we must say that the most important difference
between vowel and consonant is not the way in which they are made, but their different
distributions.
The classification of vowels is based on four major aspects :
1. Tongue height , according to the vertical position of the tongue (high vowels, also
referred to as close; low vowels , also referred to as open ; intermediate close-mid and
open-mid).
2. Frontness vs backness of the tongue , according to the horizontal position of the
highest part of the tongue .
3. Lip rounding , whether the lips are rounded (o-shape) or spread (no rounding) when
the sound is being made .
4. Tenseness of the articulators , refers to the amount of muscular tension around the
mouth when creating vowel sounds. Tense and lax are used to describe muscular
tension .
In vowels air is manipulated by the shape of the oral cavity and the position of the speech
organs. Thus you can have:
 Frontal vowels : / i (need) / I (name) / ɛ (bed) / æ (cat)/ (front of the tongue + palate)
 Middle vowels : / ʌ (cup) / ɜ (bird) / ə (mother)/ (middle of the tongue + palate)
 Back vowels: / a(car) / ɒ(not) / ɔ (ball) / ʊ (book) / ʊ (blue) / (back of the tongue +
palate).
Consonants and semi-vowels
Consonant are formed by interrupting, restricting or diverting the airflow in a variety of ways.
A general classification of consonants is according to the force which they are pronounced.
Some phoneticians say that, for example, the sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/ are produced with more
force than the sounds /b/, /d/ and /g/, and that it would therefore be better to give this two sets
of plosives (and some other consonants) manes that indicate that fact; so the voiceless
plosives /p/, /t/ and /k/ are sometimes called fortis (meaning ‘strong’) and the voiced
plosives /b/, /d/ and /g/ are called lenis (meaning ‘weak’) . In order you can check physically
these principles, try holding a small slip of paper in front of your mouth and making both
sounds; the paper should flap for /p/ and hardly move for /b/. Therefore, consonants can be
called voiced or lenis, and unvoiced, voiceless or fortis. In addition to the presence or absence
of voicing, consonants can be described in terms of the manner and place of articulation .
With regard to the manner of articulation, the vocal tract may be completely closed so that
the air is temporarily unable to pass through. Alternatively there may be a closing movement
of the lips, tongue or throat, so that it is possible to hear the sound made by air passing
through. Or, as in the case of nasal sounds, the air is diverted through the nasal passages.

MANNER OF ARTICULATION

The manner of articulation is the way the airstream is affected as it flows from the lungs and
out the nose and mouth. 

Manner of articulation –mainly for consonant sounds- describes the degree of narrowing in
the oral tract (the degree of stricture). However, manner labels also specify the escape
channel, the initiating source of the airflow involved, and certain acoustic or perceptual
characteristics. The escape channel is either oral or nasal (or both – nasalized segments), and
when it is oral it can be central or lateral. The airstream mechanism used for most speech
articulations is pulmonic.
The degree of structure can be complete closure, producing stops and nasals. Pulmonic stops
made with outward-flowing air are called plosives, e.g. the phoneme /p/. The different
manners of articulation heavily constrained by articulatory apparatus and the acoustic
consequences of changes in the degree of constriction in the oral cavity. There are essentially
four types of constrictions between articulators .

On this page I will cover six different manners of articulation in English that will distinguish
one consonant sound from the next. There is a lot of information on this page, so don’t worry
if you can’t remember everything now. You can always bookmark this page and refer back to
it.

Looking at these sounds from a different perspective will help you develop your physical
awareness of them. Make sure to try these movements out loud to yourself to really feel
them.

1. Nasal

Nasal consonants are created when you completely block air flow through your mouth and let
the air pass through your nose.
There are three nasal consonants in English.

 /m/ – “mad” and “clam” – oral passage is blocked by closing the lips (bilabial).
 /n/ – “no” and “man‘ – oral passage is blocked by pressing tongue tip against the
alveolar ridge (alveolar).
 /ŋ/  –  “going” and “funk” – Oral passage is blocked by pressing the the back of your
tongue
 against the soft palate (velar).

2. Stop

Like nasal consonants, stop consonants occur when the vocal tract is closed completely. But
for stops the airflow is NOT redirected through the nose. Instead, the air quickly builds up
pressure behind the articulators and then releases in a burst.

English contains the following stop consonants.

 /p/ – purse and rap – oral passage is blocked by closing the lips (bilabial).
 /b/ – “back” and “cab” – oral passage is blocked by closing the lips (bilabial).
 /t/ – “tab” and “rat” – oral passage is blocked by pressing the tongue tip against the
alveolar ridge (alveolar)
 /d/ – “dip” and “bad” – oral passage is blocked by pressing the tongue tip against the
alveolar ridge (alveolar)
 /k/ – “kite” and “back” – block airflow with the back of the tongue against the soft
palate (velar).
 /g/ – “good” and “bug” – block airflow with the back of the tongue against the soft
palate (velar).

3. Fricative

While nasal and stop consonants involve a complete blockage of the vocal tract, fricative
sounds involve only a partial blockage of the vocal tract so that air has to be forced through a
narrow channel.

For example, you create a /t/ stop consonant when you block airflow completely with your
tongue against the alveolar ridge. But if you let up with the tongue a bit and let the air seep
through, you make an /s/ fricative consonant.

The English fricative sounds are as follows:

 /f/ – “fro” and “calf“- air is forced through the upper teeth and lower lip (labiodental)
 /v/ – “vine” and “have” – air is forced through the upper teeth and lower lip
(labiodental)
  /θ/ – “thick” and “bath” –  air is forced through upper teeth and tongue (dental)
 /ð/ – “the” and “rather” – air is forced through upper teeth and tongue (dental)

 /s/ – “suit” and “bus” – air is forced through tongue and alveolar ridge (alveolar)
 /z/ – “zit” and “jazz” – air is forced through tongue and alveolar ridge (alveolar)

 /ʃ/ – “shot” and “brash” – air is forced through the tongue and point just beyond
alveolar ridge (post-alveolar)
 /ʒ/ – “vision” and “measure” – air is forced through the tongue and point just beyond
alveolar ridge (post-alveolar)
 /h/ – “happy” and “hope” – actually /h/ isn’t a fricative. It’s technically not even a
real consonant sound since there’s no constriction/obstruction of airflow.

4. Affricate

When stop consonants mix with fricative consonants, the result is an affricate consonant.

Affricate consonants start as stop sounds with air building up behind an articulator which
then releases through a narrow channel as a fricative (instead of a clean burst as stops do).

The English affricate sounds are:

 /tʃ/ – “chick” and “match” – air is blocked with tongue just beyond the alveolar ridge
(post-alveolar), then released as a fricative.
 /dʒ/ – “jam” and “badge” – air is blocked with tongue just beyond the alveolar ridge
(post-alveolar), then released as a fricative.

5. Approximant

Approximants are when two articulators come close together but not quite close enough to
create air turbulence.  

The resulting sound is more like a fast vowel than anything else. For example, the /w/
approximant is like a fast /u/ sound (say /u/ + /aɪ/ really fast and you get the word “why”).
Notice how your tongue never actually comes in contact with the top of your mouth.

There are three English approximants:

 /w/ – “wet” and “howard” – back of tongue raises to velum (but not too close!) and
lips are rounded (velar)
 /j/ – “yes” and “bayou” – tongue raises to hard palate (but not too close!) (palatal)
 /ɹ/ – “right” and “roar” – tongue raises to hard palate (but not too close)
(alveolar/post-alveolar)

6. Lateral
Lateral consonants are when the tongue blocks the middle of your mouth so that air has to
pass around the sides.  There is one lateral consonant in English

 /l/ – “luck”- place the tip of the tongue at the alveolar ridge (alveolar)

You might want to return to this after you spend some more time thinking about your English
sounds and fidgeting around with your speech organ. So feel free to bookmark these pages
for further reference.

Why is this information important? Because these same phonetic concepts are going to apply
to your target language. Your target language is going to have sounds that are completely
new to you.  The best way for you to master the articulation of these new sounds is to
understand these basic concepts behind them.

PLACE OF ARTICULATION
Place of Articulation is the point in the vocal tract where the speech organs restrict the
passage of air producing distinctive sounds and is particularly important for the production of
consonants. Consonant sounds are referred to by their place of articulation:

1. Bilabial

Bilabial consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow out of the mouth by bringing
your lips together.

English contains the following three bilabial consonants:

 /p/ as in “purse” and “rap“

 /b/ as in “back” and “cab“

 /m/ as in “mad” and “clam“

2. Labio-dental

Labio-dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by curling your lower lip
back and raising it to touch your upper row of teeth.
English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:

 /f/ as in “fro” and “calf“

 /v/ as in “vine” and “have”

3. Dental

Dental consonants occur when you block/constrict airflow by placing your slimy tongue
against your upper teeth. 

English contains the following two labio-dental sounds:

 /θ/ as is “thick” and “bath“

 /ð/ as in “the” and “rather”

4. Alveolar

The alveolar ridge is where your teeth meet your gums. You create Alveolar
consonants when you raise your tongue to the alveolar ridge to block or constrict airflow.

The English alveolar consonants are as follows:

  /n/ as in “no” and “man“
 /t/ as in “tab” and “rat“
 /d/ as in “dip” and “bad“
 /s/ as in “suit” and “bus“
 /z/ as in “zit” and “jazz“
 /l/ as in “luck” and “fully”

5. Post-alveolar

When you retract your tongue back just a bit from the alveolar ridge, the sounds change
enough to be recognized as distinct consonants. So post-alveolar consonants are those that
occur when the tongue blocks or constricts airflow at the point just beyond the alveolar
ridge. 

The post-alveolar english consonants are as follows: 

 /ʃ/ as in “shot” or “brash”  

 /ʒ/ as in “vision” or “measure”
 /tʃ/ as in “chick” or “match”  
 /dʒ/ as in “jam” or “badge“

6. Palatal

The roof of your mouth is the hard palate. You may know it as “the place that burns like
hell when I eat pizza that is too hot.”  You create Palatal consonants when you raise the
tongue to this point and constrict airflow.  
English has only one palatal consonant: 

 /j/ as in “yes” and “bayou”

7. Velar
Behind your hard palate you have the velum or soft palate. Unlike the bony hard palate in
front of it, the this consists of soft, mucousy tissue.  You make Velar Consonants when you
raise the back of your tongue to the velum to block or restrict airflow.

English has the following velar consonants:

 /ŋ/ as in “going” and “uncle” (note that the ‘n sound’ in these words is NOT made at
the alveolar ridge, which is why it is distinct from /n/).
 /k/ as in “kite” and “back“
 /g/ as in “good” and “bug“
 /w/ as in “wet” and “howard”

8. glottal

The glottis is actually two vocal folds (i.e. vocal cords). It acts as a sort of bottle cap to your
windpipe. Inhale and then hold your breath for a few seconds while keeping your mouth
open. What you are actually doing to keep the air from expelling out of your lungs by closing
your glottis. Glottal consonants aren’t actually consonants; they just play consonant roles in
the language. In English, the following things happen at the glottis:

 /h/ as in “hi” and “Bahamas.” Say these words and notice how you’re not actually
constricting or blocking airflow for this /h/ sound. You’re just exhaling a little bit
 harder than you would for a normal vowel sound in transition to the following vowel
sound.
 /?/ – This is actually the culprit behind many of the “silent syllables” we discussed in
the first lesson. For example, in the phrase “wha(t) time is it?” the /t/ in “what” is
dropped and the vowel sound before it is closed at the glottis.

Note :beb ini untuk yang Place of Articulation