1.

PHONETICS AS A BRANCH
OF LINGUISTICS
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1.1. BASIC PERSPETIVE

Phonetics may be loosely defined as the science that

studies oral speech.

There are verbal and non-verbal ways of

communicating meaning.
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Verbal meaning is expressed through words,

word combinations, utterances, and discourse.
In oral speech, we use speech sounds – vowels
and consonants, which are “building material”
for syllables, words, utterances, and discourse.
Syllables are the smallest units into which oral
speech can be divided because in connected
speech, sounds are not pronounced separately.
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The phonetic system of language comprises the four

components:
• the system of segmental units – phonemes (types of
sounds)
• the syllabic structure of words,
• word stress,
• prosodic features.
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The two basic sections of phonetics are segmental

phonetics and suprasegmental phonetics.
Segmental phonetics studies speech sounds and
phonemes (see the definition below).
Suprasegmental phonetics studies speech features that
extend over more than one segment – over syllables, tone
groups, utterances, stretches of discourse.
These features are
(i) pitch movement, also called speech melody or
intonation;
(ii) loudness;
(iii) tempo.
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They are factors in creating the effect of stress
and rhythm.
The effect of stress is caused by variations in
loudness, pitch movement, and tempo.
English rhythm is the result of regular recurrence
of stressed syllables in stretches of speech.
Another important phenomenon in oral speech is
pauses.
The use of all these components in speech is
called prosody.
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7
1.2. VERBAL COMMUNICATION AND VERBAL CODE

Communication is the transmission and

reception of messages. The process involves at
least two persons – a sender (addresser) and a
receiver (addressee).
Communication can be verbal and non-verbal.
Verbal communication presupposes the use of
language in oral or written form.
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Non-verbal communication has its own means:

• visualization (e.g. traffic signs, pictures, charts,
diagrams, maps, logos, etc.);
• body language (e.g. sign language, facial expression,
bodily gesture, deaf-blind language, secret codes,
bodily contact, physical distance between people, etc.);
• prosody (the use of pitch, loudness, tempo, utterance
stress, rhythm, pauses, specific timbre of voice);
• elements of other communication systems (e.g. light,
numbers, flowers, colours, clothes, jewellery, scent,
dance, sounds other than human voice such as
drumming, whistle, music, etc.).
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Language is a verbal code; it is a system of sounds, signs,
written symbols used for communication. Its resources are
• lexicon (vocabulary),
• grammar,
• phonology (the sound systems and the prosodic systems
of languages).

Language is the conventional system of sounds, signs, or

written symbols people use for communication and self-
expression.
Speech is planning and performing acts of speaking; oral
speech is the oral medium of message transmission.

Phonetics deals with the phenomena of oral speech.

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1.3. THE UNITS OF LANGUAGE AND THE UNITS OF
SPEECH
When speaking, people use various elements of the language
system.

The units of language are as follows (from the smallest to the

largest one):
• distinctive feature,
• phoneme,
• morpheme,
• word,
• phrase,
• sentence,
• text.
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• Distinctive feature is one of the constant,
relevant features that help to distinguish one
phoneme from all other phonemes in a
language.

• Phoneme is the smallest unit of language that

makes one word different from another (e.g.
/p/, /d/, /m/, /s/, /w/ in pay – day – may – say
– way, etc.).
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• Morpheme is the smallest unit of language

that has meaning of its own; words consist of
morphemes.

• Word is the smallest unit of language that can

stand alone – people understand words even
when they are taken out of context.
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• Phrase is a combination of words smaller than a
clause (a clause is a group of words that contains
a subject and a predicate, but is only a part of a
sentence).

• Sentence is a group of words that contains a

subject and a predicate, and expresses a complete
thought.

• Text is a stretch of spoken or written language

with a concrete communicative function (e.g. a
report, a story, a sermon, etc.).
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The units of speech are as follows (from the

smallest to the largest one):
• articulatory feature,
• sound (segment),
• syllable,
• rhythmic unit,
• tone group,
• utterance,
• discourse.
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• Articulatory features are positions and

movements of speech organs in the production
of a particular sound;
e.g. the lips may be stretched or rounded,
the tongue may be raised or lowered, the
vocal cords may vibrate or not, etc.

• Sound is the smallest segment in the flow of

speech.
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• Syllable a unit larger than a single segment (sound) and
smaller than a word.

Syllable is the smallest articulatory and perceptible unit in

connected speech. E.g. fac‧ul‧ty; gig‧a‧byte;
won‧der‧ful.

Pitch, loudness, and tempo can make a specific effect of

prominence of one or two syllables in a word.

Such prominence is called word stress.

A stressed syllable in English is perceived as having a
greater length, a greater degree of loudness, it is marked by
a higher pitch, the sounds in a stressed syllable are
pronounced more clearly compared to other (unstressed)
syllables.
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• In speech, syllables may combine to form larger

prosodic units – rhythmic units.
The types of rhythmic units are as follows:
(A) one stressed syllable,
(B) a stressed syllable followed by some unstressed ones,
(C) a stressed syllable with a number of unstressed ones
grouped around it (the initial rhythmic unit in a tone
group).
(For examples, see the sub-section Syllable,
Topic 1. PHONETICS AS A BRANCH OF
LINGUISTICS –
Ресурс, d-learn)
 18

Rhythmic units make up tone groups.

(For examples, see the sub-section Tone Group,
Topic 1. PHONETICS AS A BRANCH OF
LINGUISTICS –
Ресурс, d-learn)

• Tone group is a sense group with a particular tune

(specific intonation contour). Tone groups’ boundaries
are marked by pauses.
If one syllable expresses a complete thought, it can form a
tone group alone, e.g.
A. Tea?
B. Oh. Thanks.
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• Utterance is an oral “version” of a sentence, a

stretch of speech which is not associated with
grammar theory.

• Discourse is a stretch of speech larger than a

sentence, a complex communicative event.
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1.4. THE ASPECTS OF SOUND PHENOMENA.
THE BRANCHES OF PHONETICS

Phonetics studies the following aspects of human

speech:
(a) production,
(b) transmission,
(c) reception of speech sounds;
(d) it also makes generalizations about the systems
of sounds and prosodic features in a language
and their role in expressing meaning.
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The four aspects of sound phenomena are as
follows:
• the articulatory aspect (sound production),
• the acoustic aspect (the physical properties of
speech sounds),
• the auditory aspect (the perception of speech
sounds),
• the linguistic aspect (the linguistic functions of
sounds and prosodic features).
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The corresponding four branches of phonetics

are
• articulatory phonetics,
• acoustic phonetics,
• auditory phonetics,
• functional phonetics (phonology).
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ARTICULATORY PHONETICS deals with the ways
we use the vocal organs to produce speech sounds.
It studies
• respiration (the process of breathing),
• phonation (the production of voice),
• articulation (coordinated movements of the vocal
organs in the production of speech sounds).

For each sound, the vocal folds vibrate in a specific way,

the position of the vocal organs is changed and their
movements are different.
It means that the shape, the size, and the volume of the
oral and nasal cavities are changed. As a result, we
produce different speech sounds.
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ACOUSTIC PHONETICS studies the physical

features of speech sounds:
• frequency,
• intensity,
• duration,
• spectrum.
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Sound waves
Sound results from vibrations of different objects
such as motors, strings in musical instruments, bells,
tuning forks, vocal folds, etc.
Their vibrations make the particles of air oscillate
(move to and fro). The movement causes a chain
reaction in adjacent particles of air. In this way,
sound waves are produced.
Speech sounds are produced by the movements and
vibrations of the vocal organs, vocal folds in
particular. Sound waves are transmitted through the
air, the listener hears and interprets them.
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If the pattern of vibration is repeated at the same rate, we hear a
pure (single) tone, like that produced by a tuning fork (a small U-
shaped steel instrument that makes a particular musical note when you hit it
(LONGMAN DICTIONARY)).
The shape of such waves is sinusoidal; they are called
sine waves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_wave
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But speech waves are more complex.

The vocal folds simultaneously produce different
kinds of vibrations.
The vibrations over the whole length of the vocal
folds are called basic vibrations. They produce the
fundamental tone.
Parts of the vocal folds vibrate simultaneously with
their whole length. These simultaneous vibrations
generate other tones that are called overtones, or
harmonics.
The combination of the fundamental tone and
overtones results in a complex tone.
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Complex tone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_series_(music)
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Complex tones are an inherent component of

• vowels, sonants, and voiced consonants;
• speech melody.

Voiceless consonants are pure noises; the vocal

cords do not vibrate.
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Sound waves are generated not only by the
vibrations of the vocal folds. Their production is
influenced by
• the movements of other vocal organs – the
tongue, the soft palate, the lips;
• the properties of the vocal tract – pharynx, the
oral cavity, and the nasal cavity (for the nasal
sounds /m/, /n/, /ŋ/).
When speaking, a person changes the shape of
the vocal tract, which results in the production of
different sounds.
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There are periodic and aperiodic patterns of

vibration.
If the waveform pattern is regular and repeats
itself, the vibrations are periodic. The sound
waves of voiced sounds – vowels and nasals –
are periodic.
Random vibrations – those that have no regular
repeating pattern – are aperiodic. Voiceless
fricatives, such as /s/, /f/, etc., are aperiodic
speech sounds.
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Periodic and Aperiodic Waveforms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_travelling_wave
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Frequency
The number of vibrations per second is called the
frequency of a sound.
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).
The basic vibrations of the vocal folds are the
fundamental frequency, or the fundamental
(F₀). The fundamental frequency is lower than
the frequencies of overtones.
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There is a correlation between the frequency of a

pure tone (an acoustic feature) and pitch
(perceptible, auditory feature): the higher the
frequency, the higher is the perceived pitch level
of a sound.
But what the human ear perceives as pitch is the
result of several factors – frequency, duration,
and intensity – working together.
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Intensity
Intensity of a speech sound depends on the amplitude of the
wave: a greater amplitude results in a greater intensity of a
sound.
Amplitude is the maximum distance an air particle moves
in each direction from its rest point. Intensity is measured in
decibels (dB).
The reference level for measuring intensity is the threshold
of audibility, the point at which the human ear starts
hearing a sound.

A sinusoidal curve:
1.Peak amplitude
2. Peak-to-peak amplitude
3.Root mean square amplitude
4. Wave period (not an amplitude)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude
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E.g.

the threshold of audibility (the softest sounds) 0 dB

whisper about 30 dB
normal conversation about 60 dB
motorcycle about 95dB
a very loud radio or a rock concert 105–110 dB

Noise above 120 dB causes pain and hearing loss

See: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Loud Noise Can Cause Hearing Loss
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_he
aring_loss.html
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What we perceive as loudness depends on a

number of acoustic features:
• the amplitude of the vibration,
• frequency,
• duration of a sound.
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Duration
Duration is the length of a sound, the time during
which sound vibrations last. It is measured in
milliseconds (ms).
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Spectrum is a range of frequencies that form a

sound.
Within the spectrum of a sound, some
frequencies have greater amplitude than others.
These intensifies frequencies are peaks of
acoustic energy. They are called formants.
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Vowels usually have three formants – F1, F2, and F3,
each next formant has a higher frequency than the
previous one. Each vowel has a formant pattern of its
own.
Sonants are also characterized by formants.
Voiced plosives, voiced fricatives, and voiced
affricates “are characterized by a combination of
intervals of noise, silence, and changing formant
transitions”.
Voiceless consonants do not have formants.

See: Acoustic structure of consonants.

Available at
http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/consonant_acoustics.htm .
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AUDITORY PHONETICS studies the ways people
perceive speech sounds.
A sound wave passes along the external auditory canal
of the human ear and reaches the eardrum. In the ear,
vibrations of the air are transformed into nervous
stimuli and transmitted to the brain.
It is a very complex physiological and psychological
process, and the features of sounds we perceive
(auditory features) do not fully correspond to the
acoustic properties presented in the chart below
(See: L.V. Borisova, A.A. Metlyuk. (1980). Theoretical
Phonetics. Мinsk: Vysheishaia shkola.(p. 12) ).
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THE BASIC CORRELATIONS BETWEEN

THE ACOUSTIC AND AUDITORY ASPECTS OF SPEECH SOUNDS

ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES AUDITORY (PERCEPTIBLE) QUALITIES

fundamental frequency pitch
formant frequencies quality (timbre)
intensity loudness
duration length
See: L.V. Borisova, A.A. Metlyuk. (1980). Theoretical Phonetics. Мinsk: Vysheishaia
shkola.(p. 12) .
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We perceive the fundamental frequency as the

pitch of voice – the greater is the frequency, the
higher is the pitch.
But the intensity of a sound may also change our
perception of its pitch – the lower is the intensity,
the higher is the perceived pitch.
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Intensity is perceived as a certain degree of

loudness – the greater is the intensity of a sound,
the louder is the sound. But the degree of
loudness may also depend on its pitch and
length. A sound is perceived as louder
• if its pitch is higher than that of neighbouring
sounds;
• if it is longer than neighbouring sounds.
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Duration of speech sounds is perceived as their

length.
But our perception of length does not always
agree with the physical duration of speech
sounds or other speech units.
For example, the length of rhythmic units in a
tone group/utterance is usually perceived as the
same. But machine analysis shows that their
duration is actually different.
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FUNCTIONAL PHONETICS (PHONOLOGY)
studies the systems of segmental units (phonemes)
and suprasegmental, or prosodic, units (prosodemes,
intonemes). Their function is to distinguish one
word or one utterance from another,
e.g. bad from bed;
I want a blue HAT (not a jacket) from I want a
BLUE hat (not a black one).
The area of phonology that studies the distribution
and grouping of phonemes in syllables and words in
a language is called phonotactics.
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1.5. PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics. In a broad sense, it

studies the sound phenomena of language:
• segmental sounds (vowels and consonants), how
sounds organize themselves into the units of spoken
language;
• it also studies prosodic phenomena (speech melody,
stress, tempo, rhythm, pauses).

Phonetics studies the production of speech sounds, their

transmission through the air, and their reception by
listeners.
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Phonetics studies all possible sounds humans

produce.
Human speech organs can produce a great variety of
sounds. In speech, sounds that belong to the same
type are modified depending on their position in a
word and the nature of neighbouring sounds;
besides, different individuals pronounce the same
sounds a bit differently.
Despite such variations, we can recognize this or
that sound as belonging to a particular type.
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Consider, for example, such words as pay – day –
may – say – way.
There may be differences in the way they are
pronounced by different speakers.
But such variations in sound production do not
change the words’ meanings. We get the meanings
of these words because we perceive the properties
of /p/, /d/, /m/, /s/, /w/ that make them different from
one another.
We know that /p/, /d/, /m/, /s/, /w/ are different types
of sounds because they make differences in the
meanings of the words. Such types of sounds are
called phonemes.
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Sounds are the units of speech.

Phonemes are the units of language, they belong
to the language system.
The branch of phonetics that studies the sound
system of language and the system of prosodic
features (speech melody, stress, tempo, rhythm,
pauses), which can change the meaning of a
word or an utterance, is called phonology.
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E.g.
I want a blue HAT is different from
I want a BLUE hat
because we change the position of so-called nucleus (in
these utterances, HAT and BLUE).
The nucleus is a stressed syllable in the word which is the
most important one for a speaker in a given situation. It is
marked by a kinetic – falling, rising, falling-rising, rising-
falling – tone.
So the prosodic features of the nucleus are falling/rising
tone (speech melody), stress, and change in tempo (the
nuclear syllable is pronounced a bit slower than other
syllables).