Phonology in English Language Teaching

Group 1
Name: Ni Putu Ayu Fitri Amelia Pirdiyanti(20212003)
Edmond Reinaldus Alfado (20212005)
Major: English Language Education
Semester: VII

Majoring in English Language and Literature

Education
Faculty of Language and Arts Education
Saraswati Tabanan Institute of Teacher Training and
Education

School Year 2021/2022

 Phonology in English Language Teaching
Phonology in English Language Teaching is an introductory text, specifically directed at
the needs of language teachers internationally. Combining an overview of English phonology
with structured practical guidance, this text shows how phonology can be applied in the
classroom.
There are two main parts in phonology, namely segmental phonemes and suprasegmental
phonemes. The first part covers vowels, consonants, diphthongs and syllabic sounds. Meanwhile,
the second part includes stress and intonation.
Segmental phonemes are phonemes that can be analyzed for their existence. It consists of
vowels and consonants. Suprasegmental phonemes are phonemes whose existence must be
present together with segmental phonemes and also Suprasegmental is something that
accompanies the phoneme which can be in the form of sound pressure (intonation), long-short
(pitch), and sound vibrations that show certain emotions. Suprasegmentals are elements that
"accompany" and influence language sounds, and are not true sounds.

Introduction
Segmental phonology: analyses speech into discrete segments, such as. phonemes and
studies the phonological rules that govern the way sounds. function in a language. (this area
studies sounds (phonemes and allophones) and sound patterns.
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies the sounds of human speech (general). It’s
concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds their actual production, acoustic
properties, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status. (practical)
Phonology is a branch of linguistics that deals with the systematic organization of sounds
in spoken languages, it covers aspects above the level of segments such as the syllable tones,
intonation, etc. it’s concerned with how phonemes function in the language and the relationship
among different phonemes. It deals with the abstract side of the sounds of a particular language.
Phonemes sequences and syllable structure, we cannot arrange sounds one after the other
freely; we rather have certain restriction i.e. sequencing sounds is not random but rather
controlled by rules. These rules are either universal or language-specific.
Universal rules are the rules that apply to all languages such as the rule that requires the
existence of a vowel in the syllable:
  If there is no vowel, there is no syllable
 The number of vowels decides the number of syllables in a word.
 Almost all languages need a vowel to be the nucleus or the heart of the syllable

Language-specific rules are the rules that apply to one language but do not necessarily apply to
another syllable, consonant sequences:
 Language shows different structures and frequencies of consonant clusters.
 Some languages allow consonant sequences with various structures and in different
positions.

Segmental Phonology

A. Segment
Speech is a production of a continuous stream of sounds. Consider: “see you at three” /si˘
Ju: Qt Tri:/
In studying speech, the stream is phonetically divided into smaller units called segments
or sounds. Segment is the smallest unit in language. It cannot be divided into smaller units.
For examples:
a. “fan” /f, Q, n/ →has the three segments.
b. “van” /v, Q, n/ →has the three segments.
If one segment of a word is substituted with another, the meaning of the word will
change. When two segments can be used to distinguish the meaning of words, they are said to be
two different phonemes.
Segmental Phonology is a phoneme that can be divided. For example, when we say
“language”, then the sounding noun can be divided into three syllables: la-ngu-age. Or divided
into smaller ones so that it becomes: l-a-n-g-u-a-g-e. Segmental sound phonology refers to the
notion of sounds that can be segmented or separated. Mature words, for example, can be
segmented into /r/i/p/e/. Clearly, these sounds indicate the presence of a phoneme. Thus,
actually, the sounds of the language that have been described previously are segmental
phonology sounds. In addition, segmental phonology sounds are sounds produced by breathing,
speech organs, and vocal cords. Segmental phonology sound above:
 a. Vowel, the sound produced without hindrance.
b. Consonants, sounds produced with resistance.
Segmental Phonology Sound Classification:
Segmental sound classification is based on various criteria, including:
1. Whether There Is Interference
What is meant by ‘interference’ is the narrowing or closing made by the speech organs on
the air currents in the formation of sound. The presence or absence of interference can be
grouped into two:
a. Vocoid Sound
Vocoid sounds are sounds that are produced without involving constriction or closure of
the articulation area. These vocoid sounds are few in number compared to contoid sounds
because of the limited positioning of the tongue and lips when the sound is spoken. Vocoid
points can be represented by cardinal vowels.
b. Contoid Sound
Contoid sound is a sound produced by involving the narrowing or closing of the
articulation area. These contoid sounds have more types than vocoid letters.

2. Air Mechanism
The air mechanism is where the air comes from which moves the vocal cords as a sound
source. This air mechanism can produce three possible sounds of language:
a. Pulmonary Air Mechanism
Pulmonary air mechanism, namely air from the lungs to the exit. This pulmonary air
mechanism occurs in almost all the sounds of language in the world.
b. Laryngeal or Pharyngeal Air Mechanism
The air mechanism of the larynx or pharynx, namely the air that comes from the larynx or
pharynx that occurs due to the condensation of air in the laryngeal and pharyngeal cavities so
that when one of the lids is opened (glottis, velum, velik) air will come out leaving the
laryngeal and pharyngeal cavities.
c. Oral Air Mechanism
The oral air mechanism is air coming from the mouth.
 3. Air Direction
Viewed from the direction of the air when sound is produced sound can be grouped into
two:
a. Aggressive Sound
Aggressive sound is a sound produced from the direction of the air heading out through
the oral cavity or nasal cavity. Aggressive sounds are divided into:
 Pulmonic aggressive sound, formed by shrinking the space of the lungs,
abdominal muscles, and chest cavity.
 Glottal aggressive sound, formed by closing the vocal cords so that the glottis is
closed.

b. Ingressive Sound
Ingressive sound is a sound that is produced from the direction of air entering the lungs.
 Ingressive Glottal: Its formation is the same as that of glottal aggressiveness, only
the air currents are different, that is, it is formed by sucking in air and tightening
the vocal cords so that the glottis closes.
 Velaric Ingressive: Formed by raising the base of the tongue and placing it on the
soft palate.

4. Vocal Cords
Judging from whether or not the vocal cords vibrate when sound is produced, sounds can
be grouped into two:
a. Sound Off or Sound Mute
Sound off, namely the sound produced by the vocal cords not making an opening and
closing movement so that the vibration is not significant, for example, sound: (k), (p), (t),
(s).
b. Live Sound or Sound
Live sound is the sound produced by the vocal cords opening and closing rapidly so that
they vibrate significantly, for example, sound: (g), (b), (d), (z).
 5. Air Hole
Seen from the air passing sound can be grouped into two:
a. Oral Sound
Oral sounds are sounds produced by air exiting through the oral cavity, by closing the
velik on the pharyngeal wall. An example of a language sound whose air passes through
the oral cavity is: (p), (g), (k).
b. Nasal Sounds
Nasal sounds are sounds that are produced by expelling air through the nasal cavity, by
closing the oral cavity and opening the velik wide. An example of a language sound
whose air passes through the nasal cavity is: (m), (n), (ŋ), (n’)

B. Phonemes
When two sounds contrast, they are part of different phonemes.
• /p/ and /b/ are different phonemes
Phonemes are abstract mental units that represent sounds. Phonemes are not sounds themselves,
they are mental units representing sounds.Phoneme, in linguistics, smallest unit
of speech distinguishing one word (or word element) from another, as the element p in “tap,”
which separates that word from “tab,” “tag,” and “tan.” A phonememay have more than one
variant, called an allophone (q.v.), which functions as a single sound; for example, the p’s of
“pat,” “spat,” and “tap” differ slightly phonetically, but that difference, determined by context,
has no significance in English.
linguists conventionally place symbols for phonemes between slash marks: /p/. The
term phoneme is usually restricted to vowels and consonants, but some linguists extend its
application to cover phonologically relevant differences of pitch, stress, and rhythm.
C. Allophones
Phonetic forms that don’t contrast (make a difference in meaning) . There are often differences in
the way a phoneme is pronounced in a specific context. The variant pronunciations are called
allophones ("other sounds").
• [t] and [th] are allophones of the phoneme /t/
Allophones are the various pronunciations of a phoneme.
Allophones are the linguistically non-significant variants of each phoneme / In other words a
phoneme may be realised by more than one speech sound and the selection of each variant is
usually conditioned by the phonetic environment of the phoneme / Occasionally allophone
selection is not conditioned but may vary form person to person and occasion
to occasion (i.e. free variation).

When it's important to make this difference:

 we'll use [square brackets] to indicate sounds from a phonetic point of view, i.e.
focusing on their physical properties and the details of actual pronunciation.
 we'll use /slashes/ to indicate sounds from a phonological point of view, i.e. as
part of an abstract representation independent of potential differences in the way
the sound is pronounced in specific contexts.
 I.e., [ ] = allophone, / / = phoneme.

A classic example of sound alternation in English relates to the [s] found at the beginning of a
syllable before a voiceless stop. Spin is basically pinned with [s] added, but the /p/ in each case is
pronounced differently.
 pin contains an aspirated version of /p/, with a puff of air after the stop is released;
[ph]
 spin contains a plain /p/, without a puff of air after the stop; this is written just [p]

The same is true for pairs like pit~spit, pot~spot, pair~spare, etc. A simple statement of this
alternation is as follows:
the phoneme /p/ becomes: allophone [p] immediately following [s] allophone [ph] at the
beginning of the word, but the same generalization holds not just for /p/ but for the other
voiceless stops, /t/ and /k/. Compare these word pairs:

 top~stop, take~stake, tie~sty, etc.

 kin~skin, cope~scope, can~scan, etc.
So more accurately, there's a single general statement that covers all these cases, stated in terms
of natural classes, voiceless stops are: unaspirated immediately following [s] aspirated at the
beginning of the word

D. The Sound Patterns of Language

Every person has a different vocal tract according to their contexture. Consequently, in
physical terms, every single person will pronounce sounds differently. Then, there are many
different physical ways of saying a simple word, for instance: me. On the other hand, a person
will not produce a word in a physically identical manner on every occasion.
1) Minimal pairs

Minimal pairs are phonetic distinctions in a language tested via pairs of words. When
two words such as pat and bat are identical in form except for contrast in one phoneme in the
same position, the two words are described as minimal pairs.

Examples of minimal pairs:

 Fan – Van
 Site – Side
 Safe – Save
 Ferry – Very
 Ship – Sheep
 Light – Right
 Lice – Rice
 Sheep – Ship
 Bad – Bat
 Look – Loop
 Darling – Dialing

2) Minimal Set
 Minimal sets are groups of words that can be differentiated from the other by
changing one phoneme always in the same position.

Examples of minimal sets:

 Feat, fit, fat, fate fought, food.

 Big, pig, rig, fig, rig, wig, dig.

3) Phonotactics

Phonotactics is a type of exercise, involving minimal sets, and that allows us to see
that there are indeed definite patterns to the types of sound combinations permitted in a language.
"Phonotactics is a branch of phonology that deals with restrictions in a language on the
permissible combinations of phonemes. Phonotactics defines permissible syllable structure,
consonant clusters, and vowel sequences by means of phonotactic constraints” Definition
retrieved from “The Sound System”, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by
David Cristal

a. Syllables and Clusters

A syllable is composed of one or more phonemes and it must contain a vowel sound.
Every syllable has a nucleus, usually a vowel-liquid or nasal. The basic elements of the
syllable are the onset (one or more consonants) and the rhyme. Plus, any following
consonants are treated as the coda.

The syllables that haven’t got a coda are known as ‘OPEN SYLLABLES’ when a coda is
present; they are called “CLOSED SYLLABUS”. Cup => closed syllable No => open
syllable Both onset and coda can consist of more than one consonant known as a
CONSONANT CLUSTER. /s/ + (/p/, /t//k/) + (/r/, /l/, /w/)

b. Co-articulation effects

In much of the preceding discussion, we have been describing the speech sounds as if
they are always pronounced carefully and almost in slow motion, but speech isn´t like that
very often. Mostly our talk is fast and spontaneous, and it requires our articulators to move
 from one sound to the next without stopping. The process of making one sound almost at the
same time as the next is called Co-articulation. There are two types of co-articulation:

 Assimilation
 Elision

c. Assimilation

It is the process in which two phonemes occur in sequence and some aspect of one
phoneme is taken or copied by the other. For example, N becomes M or ŋ :

 It´s only ten miles from here

 He is Ken Miller
 Only a man can carry that
d. Elision

It is the omission of a sound segment that would be present in the deliberate

pronunciation of a word in isolation. It´s very common in consonant clusters, coda position:
friendship, you and me.

E. Conclusion

Segmental Phonology A. Segment Speech is a production of a continuous stream of

sounds. Consider: “see you at three” /si˘ Ju: Qt Tri:/ In studying speech, the stream is
phonetically divided into smaller units called segments or sounds. The segment is the smallest
unit in language.

It cannot be divided into smaller units. For example, a. “fan” /f, Q, n/ →has the three segments.
b.

“van” /v, Q, n/ →has the three segments. If one segment of a word is substituted with another,
the meaning of the word will change. When two segments can be used to distinguish the
meaning of words, they are said to be two different phonemes. Segmental Phonology is a
phoneme that can be divided.
For example, when we say “language”, then the sounding noun can be divided into three
syllables: la-ngu-age. Or divided into smaller ones so that it becomes: l-a-n-g-u-a-g-e. Segmental
sound phonology refers to the notion of sounds that can be segmented or separated. Mature
words, for example, can be segmented into /r/i/p/e/.

Clearly, these sounds indicate the presence of a phoneme. Thus, actually, the sounds of the
language that have been described previously are segmental phonology sounds. In addition,
segmental phonology sounds are sounds produced by breathing, speech organs, and vocal cords.
Segmental phonology sound above:

Vowel, the sound produced without hindrance. Consonant sound is produced with resistance.
Segmental Phonology Sound Classification: Segmental sound classification is based on various
criteria, including 1.

Whether There Is Interference What is meant by ‘interference’ is the narrowing or closing made
by the speech organs on the air currents in the formation of sound. The presence or absence of
interference can be grouped into two: a. Vocoid Sound Vocoid sounds are sounds that are
produced without involving constriction or closure of the articulation area. These vocoid sounds
are few in number compared to contoid sounds because of the limited positioning of the tongue
and lips when the sound is spoken.

Vocoid points can be represented by cardinal vowels. b. Contoid Sound Contoid sound is a
sound produced by involving the narrowing or closing of the articulation area. These contoid
sounds have more types than vocoid letters.

Air Mechanism The air mechanism is where the air comes from which moves the vocal cords as
a sound source. This air mechanism can produce three possible sounds of language: a.
Pulmonary Air Mechanism, namely air from the lungs to the exit.

This pulmonary air mechanism occurs in almost all the sounds of language in the world. b.
Laryngeal Or Pharyngeal Air Mechanism The air mechanism of the larynx or pharynx, namely
the air that comes from the larynx or pharynx that occurs due to the condensation of air in the
laryngeal and pharyngeal cavities so that when one of the lids is opened (glottis, velum, velik) air
will come out leaving the laryngeal and pharyngeal cavities.
 Suprasegmental Phonology

1. Suprasegmental Phonology

Suprasegmental Phonology, also called prosodic feature, in phonetics, a speech feature

such as stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies or is added over consonants and
vowels; these features are not limited to single sounds but often extend over syllables,
words, or phrases. Suprasegmentals are so called in contrast to consonants and vowels,
which are treated as serially ordered segments of the spoken utterance.

2. Suprasegmental Phonemes

Vowels and consonants can be thought of as the segments of which speech is composed.
Together they form the syllables, which go to make up utterances. Related to the syllables,
there are other features known as suprasegmentals.

In other words, suprasegmental features are the aspects of speech that involve more than
single consonants or vowels.

These features are independent of the categories required for describing segmental
features (vowels and consonants), which involve, for examples, air stream mechanism, states
of the glottis, and so on.

The components of suprasegmental features consist of: stress, pitch intonation, tone, and
tempo.

3. Stress

Stress is the rhythm of a language. In pronunciation, stress can refer to words, part of
words, or even one word in a group of words that receives the most emphasis.

Stress is one of the suprasegmental features of utterances. It applies not to individual

vowels and consonants but to whole syllables. In the level of word, a stressed syllable is
pronounced with a greater amount of energy than an unstressed syllable.

4. Pitch
 Based on the aspect of articulator, pitch is influenced by the tension of the vocal cords. If
the vocal cords are stretched, the pitch of the sound will go up.

Pitch refers to the normal melodic height of an individual’s speech. It is like a degree of
highness or lowness of one’s speech.

We make use of pitch as a part of our signaling system. Although we employ many
degrees of pitch in speaking, we use only four levels of relative pitch as phonemes. They are:

a) 4 >> extra-high
b) 3 >> high
c) 2 >> normal
d) 1 >> low

This is to say, the normal pitch of speaking voice, whatever its actual height, is called
level 2; and from this, we make various upward and downward. These variations of pitch we
make in speaking will affect the intonation of our speech.

5. Intonation

Intonation shows how the ‘music’ of a language rises and falls over a speech. In other
words, it can be also described as a fluctuation of one’s voice, which is characterized as a
downward or upward movement of a voice or sound in an utterance as a result of the pitch
variations. Thus, the intonation of a sentence is the pattern of pitch changes that occurs.

6. Tone

Pitch variations that affect the meaning of a word are called tone. The meaning of the
word depends on its tone.

Tone is shown or heard in how something is being said. It is more like an attitude rather
than being a voice pattern. Emotion has also a great deal of influence to one’s tone. By using
different tones, the words in a sentence can have different meanings.

7. Tempo

Tempo of speech is the relative speed or slowness of utterance which is measured by the
rate of syllable succession/movement, the number, and duration of pauses in a sentence.
 In English, speakers try to make the amount of time to say something the same between
the stressed syllables. If there are three or four unstressed syllables between the stressed
syllables, for example, the unstressed syllables will be spoken faster, so that the speaker can
keep the rhythm. For this reason, English is a said as a “stressed time language”.

8. Cluster

A cluster is when two consonants of different places of articulation are produced together
in the same syllable. Note that clusters are determined based on the sounds, not the letters of
the words.Cluster can appear in the initial, medial, or final positions of words,

a) Initial clusters are usually formed by combining various consonants with the /s/, /r/,
or /l/ phonemes.
Examples: sleep ['sli:p], green ['gri:n], blue ['blu:]

b) Medial clusters usually appear at the beginning of a second or third syllable in a

multisyllabic word.
Examples: regret [rɪ'gret], apply [ə'plaɪ], approve [ə'pru:v]

c) Final clusters are usually composed of a variety of phonemes including /sk/, /mp/,
/ns/, /st/, and /ŋk/.
Examples: desk ['desk], camp ['kæmp], mince ['mɪns], fast ['fɑ:st], bank ['bæŋk].

9. Conclusion

Suprasegmental, also called a prosodic feature, in phonetics, a speech feature such as

stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies or is added over consonants and vowels; these
features are not limited to single sounds but often extend over syllables, words, or phrases.
Vowels and consonants can be thought of as the segments of which speech is composed.
Stress is the rhythm of a language. Stress is one of the suprasegmental features of utterances.
Based on the aspect of the articulator, the pitch is influenced by the tension of the vocal
cords. Pitch refers to the normal melodic height of an individual’s speech. We make use of
pitch as a part of our signaling system. This is to say, the normal pitch of a speaking voice,
whatever its actual height, is called level 2; and from this, we make various upward and
downward. Intonation shows how the ‘music’ of a language rises and falls over a speech.
Pitch variations that affect the meaning of a word are called tone. The meaning of the word
depends on its tone. The tone is shown or heard in how something is being said. In English,
speakers try to make the amount of time to say something the same between the stressed
syllables. A cluster is when two consonants of different places of articulation are produced
together in the same syllable.