Consonants of world

languages: Manner

LIN228: Phonetics, Fall 2021

University of Toronto Mississauga
Instructor: Avery Ozburn
ORGANIZATION
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• If you want us to re-evaluate your
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– You can find them under Modules >
Administrative on Quercus
• If you fill out an assignment re-grading
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and/or textbook pages
Quiz 4
 Quiz 5
• Monday, Nov. 8
• As usual, open noon-1pm, 20min time limit
 Anonymous survey
• Thanks to everyone who filled it out!
MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
OVERVIEW
7
 Manner of articulation
• Stops: complete closure
• Fricatives: turbulent airflow
• Nasals: lowering of velum, airflow through
nose
• Rhotics: ‘r’-like sounds, trills, taps,
approximants
• Laterals: air passes out the sides of the
tongue
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9
 Acoustics of different manners
• Acoustic properties
– Vowels a strong formant pattern
– Glides
weaker formant pattern
– Liquids
– Nasals a weak formant pattern
– Fricatives
• sibilant a period of high intensity noise
• non-sibilant a period of low intensity noise
• voiceless
• voiced + a voice bar
– Stops silence + abrupt onset of noise (short)
• voiceless +aspiration noise
• voiced + a voice bar
– Affricates
silence + abrupt onset of noise (long)
MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
STOPS
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Stops

12
 Stops
• Component parts of stop articulation?

(surrounding vowels)
stop closure
stop release (burst)

/əˈdɑ/

13
 Stops: Aspiration
• In English and some other languages
(including Cantonese, Mandarin, and
Dutch), voiceless stops /p, t, k/ in certain
positions are pronounced with aspiration.
– Certain positions = the beginning of a
stressed syllable ’pie’ [pʰaɪ]
‘bye’ [paɪ]
• Narrow or “phonetic” transcription: [pʰ, tʰ,
kʰ]
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One of these is ‘pie’ and one of them is ‘by’.

‘pie’ is B – aspiration (see blue box)

A B

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 Stops: aspiration and voicing
A gap, silence (ß no - Voiceless: [h]-like aspiration noise
airflow) (in appropriate contexts)
Followed by an abrupt - Voiced: a voice bar
onset of noise – burst (ß
articulator release).

[baɪ], [paɪ], [phaɪ]

[baɪ] ‘bye’ [phaɪ] ‘pie’ [paɪ] ‘bye’

(voiced) (aspirated) (voiceless)

voice bar aspiration

 English initial stops

“voiced” 8000 8000 “voiceless” 8000

/b/
Frequency (Hz) /p/

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)
0 0 0
1.103 1.432 1.103
3.886 4.343 1.432 3.886 4.343
Time (s) TimeTime
(s) (s) Time (s)

8000 8000 8000 8000

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)
0 0 0 0
1.103 1.432 6.968
1.103 7.379 1.432 6.968
3.886
9.462 4.343
7.379
9.94 9.462 9.94
Time (s) TimeTime
(s) (s) Time (s) Time (s)

pa/b̥a ba pʰa bʰa

8000 8000
Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)

0 0
 Seeing stops
• We measure and categorize the laryngeal
gestures involved in making stops using
Voice Onset Time (VOT)
• This gives us an objective way to compare
stops in different positions and different
languages
• Languages differ in their realization of stop
phonation contrasts
 Voice Onset Time (VOT)
Lisker and Abramson (1964): Voice onset time is a
single dimension that can be used to differentiate stops
in most languages

VOT = the time from the release of the stop until voicing
begins

Positive VOT (voicing begins AFTER stop release)

– Can be long or short
– Phonetically voiceless
Negative VOT (voicing begins BEFORE stop release)
– Phonetically voiced
 Measuring VOT
• VOT should always be measured in
milliseconds (ms)
– Praat displays time in seconds (s).
– Multiply by 1000!
 Measuring VOT
• If there is voicing during the stop
closure, VOT is negative
stop release

regular
oscillations

voice bar
 Measuring VOT
• If there is no voicing, VOT is
positive. voicing onset

release
burst

release
burst
 Measuring VOT
• If there is no voicing, VOT is
positive. voicing onset aspiration

release
burst

release
burst
 Voice Onset Time in English
• Voiceless stop /p/ is realized as [pʰ] word-
initially
(Long-lag VOT, aspirated)
• Voiced stop /b/ is realized as [p] (=[b̥ ]) word-
initially
(Short-lag VOT, unaspirated)
– But it can also be realized as voiced [b] (negative
VOT, voiced)
– Can you tell the difference?
a b c
Voice onset time cross-
linguistically
 Voice Onset Time
Thai (3-way contrast)
 Voice Onset Time
Hindi (4-way contrast)

or “breathy voiced”
 VOT: reference guide

IPA Length of VOT VOT phonetic

vocabulary vocabulary
[b, d, g] Negative VOT Prevoiced voiced

[ph, th, kh] Long positive VOT Long-lag VOT aspirated

(> roughly 30 ms)

[p, t, k] Short positive VOT Short-lag VOT unaspirated

(< roughly 30 ms)
MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
FRICATIVES
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 Fricatives
• Characterized by turbulent airflow
caused by air passing through a narrow
constriction

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 Fricatives
• Characterized by turbulent airflow
caused by air passing through a narrow
constriction

spy

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 Fricatives
A random noise pattern
- Greater intensity for sibilants (/s, z, ʃ, ʒ/)
- Frequency: higher (above 4000 Hz) for
alveolars; lower (2000-6000 Hz) for postalveolars.

• A spectrogram of fie, thigh, sigh, shy. The scale is 0 - 8000 Hz. The arrows
mark the onsets of the second formant transitions.
From P. Ladefoged’s ‘Course in Phonetics’
 Acoustics of fricatives: English sibilants
• Noise frequencies
seashells
0 3.75138322
104
9000
8000
)z 7000
H
( 6000
yc
ne 5000
uq
er 4000
F 3000
2000
1000
0
0 3.751
Time (s)

She sells seashells on the seashore

and the seashells that she sells are
seashells I'm sure.
Acoustics of fricatives: English sibilants
• Filtered above and below 2000 Hz
seashells_band
0 3.75138322
104
9000
8000

z) 7000
(H 6000
y
c 5000
n
e
u
q
er 4000
F 3000
2000
1000
0
0 3.751
seashells_band
Time (s)
0 3.75138322
104
9000
8000
)z 7000
H
( 6000
y
c 5000
en
u
q
er 4000
F 3000
2000
1000
0
0 3.751
Time (s)

She sells seashells on the seashore

and the seashells that she sells are
seashells I'm sure.
 Acoustics of fricatives
• Australian Aboriginal languages: no fricatives
– High incidence of ear disease (otitis media)
Nunngubuyu coronal places
– Fricatives are poorly perceptible.

– Central Arrernte (Breen & Dobson 2005)

narrative_arrente
2.40964101 6.82946021
104
9000
8000
)z 7000
H
( 6000
y
cn 5000
eu
q
er 4000
F 3000
2000
1000
0
2.41 6.829
Time (s)
 Arabic sibilants
Multiple sibilant fricatives
104

9000

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

sa sˁa ʃa
0 1.56635
Time (s)
 Arabic sa vs. sˁa vs. ʃa
Cues to the consonants in the vowels
104

9000

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

sa sˁa ʃa
0 1.56635
Time (s)
Acoustics of fricatives: Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin fricatives
 Affricates
Fricative-like high frequency random noise
preceded by a silence gap

Similar to stop+fricative
MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
NASALS
40
Nasals

41
 Nasals
• Notice how nasals all appear on the right
side of their respective boxes
– They are all voiced
• Diacritics can be added to nasals in cases
where they are voiceless

42
 Nasals Place is most
apparent in the
transitions from
A weak formant pattern (airflow through the nose neighbouring
only) vowels
Some energy around 500 Hz, some at 2500-3000 Hz
Voice bar (voiced)

• A spectrogram of a Pam, a tan, a kang. The arrows indicate the oral

closures forming the nasal consonants.
From P. Ladefoged’s ‘Course in Phonetics’
MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
RHOTICS
44
 Rhotics: “r-coloured” sounds

[r] alveolar trill

English:

right [ɹajt]
[ɾ] alveolar tap
ladder/latter [læ.ɾə˞]

Spanish:
[ɹ] alveolar approximant
caro ‘expensive’ [kaɾo]
[ʀ] voiced uvular trill carro ‘car’ [karo]

[ʁ] voiced uvular French: ‘rouge’ red

fricative/approximant Provençal French: [ʀuʒ]
Parisian French: [ʁuʒ]

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 Rhotics: any r-like sounds,
Flap: a manner of articulation
incl. taps, trills, and alveolar,
Manner: Rhotics and trills
• a lower articulator begins in one retroflex, and uvular
position, strikes an upper articulator in approximants.
passing and ends in a different position.

tap trill

flap

approximant

bilabial trill Trill: a manner of articulation

• 1 articulator vibrates against
Tap: a manner of articulation another
• a lower articulator strikes an upper • a rapid series of closures and
articulator releases.
• a single rapid closure and release
 Rhotic sounds

alveolar tap retroflex flap

from USC Speech Production and Articulation Knowledge Group: http://sail.usc.edu/span/rtmri_ipa/pk_2015.html

47
Manners of articulation:
Data examples
Manners of articulation:
Data examples
Manners of articulation:
Data examples
MANNER OF ARTICULATION:
LATERALS
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 Laterals
• Not really a manner of articulation, but
rather a descriptor of airflow
– Air passes out the side(s) of the tongue.

Examples: https://corpus.linguistics.berkeley.edu/acip/course/chapter7/

52
Manner: Laterals

velar

voiced
Lateral:
voiceless a sound made with air
passing around one or both
sides of the tongue.

Liquid:
any lateral or rhotic.
Manners of articulation:
Data examples
Manners of articulation:
Data examples
PHONATION TYPES: STATE OF
THE GLOTTIS
56
 Phonation types

[p, t] = [b̥ , d̥ ]

English: Phonemic voicing contrast in

obstruents only (stops and fricatives)
Voiceless
- Allophonic voiceless sonorants [phl̥ eɪ]
Voiced - Other languages can have voiceless
nasals

[b, d] = [p̬ , t̬ ]

Graphics by Richard Wright and Dan McCloy, University of Washington

Voiced vs. Voiceless

English has a phonemic voicing contrast in:

a. stops
b. fricatives
c. laterals
d. (a) and (b)
e. (a), (b), and (c)
 Voiced vs. Voiceless
• Some languages have phonemic voicing
contrast in sonorants or nasals
Toda (Southern Dravidian, India)
 Phonation types

Graphics by Richard Wright and Dan McCloy, University of Washington

 Phonation types:
Murmur/breathy voice
• Vocal folds further apart than in voiced
sounds so air can escape, but vocal folds
are also vibrating.
• Not phonemic in English
• Can be phonemic in other languages
– Tends to accompany voiced stops or vowels
 Phonation types:
Murmur/breathy voice
• Breathy nasals in Marathi (India)

http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/appendix/languages/marathi/marathi.html
 Phonation types: Creaky voice
• Arytenoid cartilages are tightly together so
vocal folds can only vibrate at anterior
end.
• Not phonemic in English, but can be
phonemic in other languages
 Phonation types: Creaky voice
• Mazatec (Mexico)

http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/vowels/chapter12/mazatec.html
 Phonation types: Creaky voice
• “Laryngealized,” “Vocal Fry”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEqVg
tLQ7qM
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/employers-
look-down-on-women-with-vocal-fry/371811/,
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/24/vocal-
fry-strong-female-voice,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3559946/Rise-
vocal-fry-Young-women-changing-low-talk-sound-like-Kim-
Kardashian-Katy-Perry.html,
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/23/425608745/from-upspeak-to-vocal-
fry-are-we-policing-young-womens-voices,
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/study-prefer-breathy-voices-marilyn-monroe-article-1.1622537,
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/asset?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088616.PDF
Creaky voice in Mandarin Tone
3
• Mandarin Chinese is a tone language
• One of the tones is also often
characterized by creaky voice
撕 [sɨ] (tone 1) 死 [sɨ] (tone 3)
‘tear’ ‘dead’
 Vocal folds completely closed?
• Glottal stop [ʔ]
– Not phonemic in English, but used
• Uh-oh [ʌʔoʊ]
• D’oh! [doʊʔ]
– Can be phonemic in other languages
• Hebrew

ʔ
I put the ‘-’
in “uh-oh”
 Voicing in spectrograms and
waveforms

frication

voice bar

[asa] [aza]
 Voicing in stops
Which one has voicing?
8000 8000

a. A

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)
b. B
c. neither
0 0
1.103 1.432 3.886 4.34
Time (s) Time (s)

8000 8000 8000

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)
0 0 0
1.103 1.432 6.968 7.379 9.462 9.9
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)
 Aspiration in stops
Which one has aspiration?

a. A
b. B
c. neither

8000 8000 8000

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)

Frequency (Hz)

0 0 0
1.103 1.103 1.432 1.432 3.886 4.343
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)

8000 8000
(Hz)

(Hz)
SUMMARY

74
 Manner of articulation
• Stops: complete closure
• Fricatives: turbulent airflow
• Nasals: lowering of velum, airflow through
nose
• Rhotics: ‘r’-like sounds, trills, taps,
approximants
• Laterals: air passes out the sides of the
tongue
75