LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION

A. Production of speech sounds

★ Articulators
- Larynx (the voice box / the Adam’s apple)
+ a tube-shaped organ in the neck containing
vocal cords
+ located between the pharynx and the
trachea
- Vocal cords
+ 2 small bands of elastic tissue; which can
be thought of as 2 flat strips or rubber,
lying opposite each other across the air
passage in the larynx.
+ The inner edges of the vocal cords can be
moved towards each other
=> They completely cover the top of the windpipe (the trachea), or can be
drawn apart so that there is a gap between them
- Pharynx
+ The space behind the tongue, immediately above the larynx, reaching up
towards the nasal cavity
- Palate
+ Forms the roof of the mouth
+ Separates the mouth/oral cavity from the nose/nasal cavity
+ The front part is hard while the back part is soft
+ The soft palate(velum) can be raised so it can make a firm contact with the
back wall of the pharynx
- Teeth
+ The lower front teeth are not very important in speech
+ The upper front teeth are more frequent used in English
- Tongue
+ Divided into the tip (or apex), and moving backwards, the blade (or lamina),
the front, the back or dorsum, and the root
+ The tongue modifies the shape of the cavity, acts as a valve by touching parts
of the mouth to stop the flow of air, and is shaped in various ways to direct the
flow of air.
+ The most important of the speech organs
- Lips
+ Consist of the upper lip and lower lip.
+ Can take various different positions:
1. brought firmly together so that they completely block the mouth.
2. The lower lip can be drawn inwards to touch the upper front teeth.
 3. kept apart either flat or with different amounts of rounding.
4. pushed forward to a greater or lesser extent.

★ How are speech sounds produced

1. The air from the lungs comes up through the windpipe/trachea and
arrives at the larynx.
2. Air goes through the vocal cords into the pharynx and up to the uvula.
3. At this point, the air may go in either way:
● into the oral cavity & get out through the mouth.
● into the nasal cavity & get out though the nose.

B. Oral vs Nasal sound

Oral sounds Nasal sounds

Production - Soft palate: raised - Soft palate: lowered

- Nasal cavity: blocked - Oral cavity: blocked
=> airstream –through→ mouth => airstream –through→ nose

Example /b/, /g/, /ʃ/, …… /m/,/n/,/ŋ/

C. Consonants vs vowels

Consonant Vowel

Production - 2 articulators come together => obstruct the - no obstruction to the flow
air-stream, the air-stream can’t get out free of air => the air can get out
=> consonant sounds freely => vowel sounds
- some consonants don’t obstruct the flow of
air more than vowels do (the beginning
sound of ‘hay’ and ‘way’) => base on their
distribution in the syllable

Example /k/, /f/, /b/, /m/…. /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ə/ /e/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /æ/ /iː/
 /uː/ /ɑː/ /ɔː/ /ɜː/ /eɪ/ /aɪ//ɔɪ/
/əʊ/ /aʊ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/

D. Voiced sounds vs Voiceless sounds

Voiced sounds Voiceless sounds

Production - The air-stream goes through the
vocal cords.
- The vocal cords come together
(=obstruct the air-stream) => Vocal
cords vibrate => Voiced sounds
- The air stream goes through the
vocal cords.
- The vocal cords come apart
(=open) => Do not obstruct the
air-stream => Vocal cords do not
vibrate => Voiceless sounds

Example /d/, /v/, /m/, /b/, /g/, /ð, /z/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /p/, /t/, /k/, /s/, /f/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /θ/
/ŋ/, /n/, /l/, /r/

LECTURE 2 - DESCRIPTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SOUNDS

I. Consonants
1. Definition
- The sounds are articulated with some kind of stricture, or closure, of the air
stream.
- Those segments which occur at the edges of syllables, and are optional in the
syllables.
2. Classification:
a. According to place of articulation

- Bilabial (Âm đôi môi):

E.g. /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/
- Labiodental (Âm môi răng): lower lip - upper front teeth
E.g. /f/, /v/
- Inter-dental/Dental (Âm hai răng):
E.g. /θ/, /ð/
- Alveolar (Âm chân/ ổ răng): lưỡi chân răng
E.g. /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /n/
- Alveolo-palatale/Palato-alveolare (Âm lợi): lưỡi thụt vào
E.g. /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /r/
- Palatal (Âm vòm): gạc gứng
E.g. /j/
- Velar (Âm vòm mềm/ gốc lưỡi):
E.g. /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/
- Glottal (Âm thanh hầu):
E.g. /h/

b. According to manner of articulation

- Oral Stop: âm bật (p t k b d g)
- Nasal Stop: (m n ng)
- Fricative (Spirant):
E.g. /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/
Notes: Fricatives are continuants consonants which means that you can continue
making them as long as you have enough air in your lungs.
- Affricate: A stop is immediately followed by a homorganic fricative.
E.g. /tʃ/, /dʒ /
 - Approximant (Frictionless continuant):
+ Lateral
E.g: /l/
+ Retroflex
E.g: /r/
+ Glide (semi-vowel)
E.g. /w/, /j/

c. According to voicing
- Voiced consonants:
E.g. /b/, /v/, /d/, /z/
- Voiceless consonants:
E.g. /p/, /f/, /t/, /s/

II. Vowels
1. Definition
- The sounds which none of the articulators come very close together so the air
can get out freely
- Depends mainly on the positions of the tongue, normally voiced
2. Cardinal vowels
- Represent the range of vowels that articulators can make
3. Classification

a. According to tongue height

- High vowels: /u:/, /i:/
- Mid vowels: /e/, /ɜː/
- Low vowels: /ɑː/, /æ/
b. According to the part of the tongue raised
- Front vowels: /i:/, /æ/
- Central vowels:/ə/, /ʌ/
- Back vowels:/ʊ/, /ɒ/
c. According to degree of lip rounding
 - Rounded vowels:/ʊ/, /ɒ/, /u:/, /ɔː/
- Unrounded vowels:/i:/, /ɪ/, /e/, /ɜː/, /ə/, /ɑː/, /ʌ/, /æ/
4. Long and short vowels
Long vowels: E.g. /ɑː/, /i:/, /u:/, /ɜː/, /ɔː/
Short vowels: E.g. /æ/, /ɪ/, /ʌ/, /ɜ/, /ɒ/, /ə/, /ʊ/
- Long vowels tend to be longer than short vowels in similar contexts. The
symbols consist of one single vowel plus a length mark made of two dots.
- They are different from short vowels not only in length but also in quality,
resulting from differences in tongue shapes and lip positions.
5. Diphthongs
a. Definition
A diphthong is a vowel in which the speaker's tongue changes position while it is
being pronounced, so that the vowel sounds like a combination of two other vowel
Diphthongs are like long vowels in terms of length.
b. Classification
- Centring: ending in /ə/: /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/
- Closing: ending in /ɪ/ or /ʊ/: /əʊ/ /aʊ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /eɪ/

LECTURE 3 - PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES

I. Phonemes:
1. Definition
● A phoneme is the smallest segment of sound that can distinguish two words.
● This is the smallest amount by which these two words can differ and still retain
distinct forms. Any further division is not possible
English does not subdivide /p/ or /b/. Therefore, /p/ and /b/ are considered two phonemes.
2. Minimal pairs
● Pairs of words such as 'pit' and 'bit', 'pit' and 'pet', 'back' and 'bag' which differ by
only one phoneme in identical environments are called minimal pairs.
● One way to determine the phonemes of any language is to look for minimal pairs.
3. Other aspect
● English has 44 phonemes: 24 consonants and 20 vowels.
● Each phoneme is meaningless in isolation. It becomes meaningful only when it is
combined with other phonemes.
● Problem:
- A letter can be represented by different sounds.
- A phoneme can be represented by different letters or combinations of
letters. => Phonemes form a set of abstract units that can be used for noting
down the sound of a language systematically and unambiguously.
II. Allophones:
● Allophones are the variants of phonemes that occur in speech.
 ● Reason: the way a phoneme is pronounced is conditioned by the sounds around it or
by its position in the word.
● /t/
- [tʰ] tea
- [t॰] stays
- [t⊓] get there
III. Symbols:

Phonemic symbols Phonetic symbols

● Symbols for phonemes. ● Symbols for allophones.

● The number of phonemic symbols
must be exactly the same as the
number of phonemes we decide to
exist in the language.
● In RP (BBC English), there are 44
phonemic symbols.
● They are used to give an accurate label to
an allophone of a phoneme or to represent
sounds more accurately.
● Phonetic symbols usually make use of
diacritics

IV. Phonemic (Broad transcription):

● A phonemic transcription is a transcription in which each phoneme is represented by
one phonemic symbol.
● In a phonemic transcription, every speech sound must be identified as one of the
phonemes and written down with an appropriate symbol.
● E.g:

● A phonemic transcription does not show a great deal of phonetic detail.

● A phonemic transcription is usually placed between slanting lines ( // ).

V. Phonetic (Narrow transcription):

● A phonetic transcription is a transcription that contains a lot of information about the
exact quality of the sounds.
● It shows more phonetic detail such as aspiration, length, and nasalization.., by using a
wide variety of symbols and in many cases diacritics.
● Eg:

● In a phonetic transcription, the symbols are used to represent precise phonetic values,
not just to represent phonemes.
LECTURE 4 - SYLLABLE STRUCTURE & SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES
I. SYLLABLE STRUCTURE
1. Definition: A syllable is a unit consisting of a vowel as the center (nucleus) and/or
consonant(s) before and after it.
2. The nature of syllables:
- A minimum syllable is a single vowel in isolation
- Some syllables have an onset
- Some syllables may have no onset but have a coda (termination)
- Some syllables have both an onset and a coda
Syllable

Onset Nucleus Coda

Rhyme
3. Syllable division
- Maximum Onset Principle: consonants are assigned to the right-hand syllable as far as
possible within the restrictions governing syllable onsets and codas
- Restrictions:
+ Begins < 3 consonants
+ End < 4 consonants
+ No one-syllable word ends with a short vowel
- Ambisyllabicity: when a consonant stands between vowels and it is difficult to assign
the consonant to one syllable or the other.

II. SUPRASEGMENTAL STRUCTURE

1. Stress
- Definition: an extra force exerted on a particular syllable or a particular word in
spoken language.
- 2 types of stress:
+ Word stress: extra force on a particular syllable of the word, usually fixed
e.g: /ɪnˈvaɪt/ - invite
+ Sentence stress: extra force put on a particular word in a sentence, not fixed,
depends on the speakers’ feelings and attitudes
e.g: ‘John ‘bought a ‘new ‘car ‘yesterday.
- Nature of stress:
+ Production (từ người nói): use more muscular energy
+ Perception (từ người nghe): all stressed syllable have prominence (loudness,
length, pitch, vowel quality)
- Level of stress:
+ Primary stress (/’/) (tonic/nuclear): strongest
+ Secondary stress (/, /) (non-tonic):weaker than primary stress, stronger than
unstressed; usually found in words of 4-5 syllables
e.g: /ˌfəʊ.təˈɡræf.ɪk/ - photographic
 + Unstressed
- Functions:
+ Distinguish different parts of speech
e.g: ‘produce (n) ≠ pro’duce (v)
+ Distinguish a word from a phrase (idiom)
e.g: ‘walkout (n) ≠ ‘walk ‘out (phrase)
+ Distinguish parts of speech of derivationally related words
e.g: ‘photograph (n - concrete) ≠ pho’tography (n - abstract) ≠ photo’grpahic (adj)
+ Distinguish function words and content words: function words (unstressed -
weak form) >< content word (generally stressed)
e.g: They often travel to and from London.
+ Provide contrastive emphasis
e.g: I want the ‘red one, not the ‘blue one.
+ Signal new as opposed to old information
e.g: Do ‘you want pizza for dinner?
Do you want ‘pizza for dinner?
Do you want pizza for ‘dinner?

2. Intonation
- Definition: the patterns of pitch variation in a sentence
- Functions: a meaningful suprasegmental feature of speech
+ affect the meaning of the sentence
+ indicate the attitude or relation of the speaker to the hearer
+ show various contextual features
- Common intonation patterns:
+ Long falling: finality, conclusion, affirmation, agreement
eg: I am going shopping.
This chapter is about intonation.
+ Short falling: attenuated or qualified conclusion
eg: The Earth is under threat due to human activities.
+ Long rising: questioning and lack of finality
eg: Did you enjoy the performance?
+ Short rising: some degree of reservation or a signal of attentiveness
(continuation marker)
eg: “You left?”
+ Rising-falling: finality with added emotion
eg: I was astonished by her action at the party.
+ Falling-rising: querulousness, skepticism, reservation
eg: “Is what you’ve told me the truth?”

➢ Tone Group
- Definition: the part of a sentence over which a particular intonation pattern extends.
- Nature:
+ Corresponds to a unit of information.
 + There may be more than 1 tone group per sentence.
+ A short utterance without any pause forms 1 tone group and a longer one with
pauses forms 2 or more tone groups.
+ Punctuation helps in determining tone groups.
+ Tone group boundary is indicated by a double slash (//).

E.g.: She sat by the window // in the late afternoon, // reading a letter.

➢ Tonic Syllable
- Definition: one syllable in a tone group that sounds more prominent.
- Nature:
+ Is stressed and carries a major pitch change.
+ Expresses the information that the speaker considers new and most
important.
+ Normally falls on the last new information.

E.g.: A whale is a mammal.

LECTURE 5 - MORPHOLOGY

A. MORPHEMES
1. Types of morphemes:
1.1. Definition of morphemes:
*Definition:
- the morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a language
- Like the phoneme, the morpheme refers to either a class of forms or an abstraction
from the concrete forms of language
Eg:
- book, run, cat
- unhappiness ( composed of the free morphemes "un," "happi," and "ness")
- Toothbrush (combining "tooth" and "brush")
*Characteristics:
- Internally indivisible: it can’t be further subdivided or analyzed into smaller
meaningful units.
- Internally stable: nothing can be interposed in a morpheme
- externally transportable: it has positional mobility or free distribution, occurring in
various contexts.
*Eg:
Identify the morphemes in the following sentence:
"Happily, he walked quickly to school."
1. Happi- (morpheme) - A root morpheme indicating a positive feeling.
2. -ly (morpheme) - A suffix indicating manner.
3. he (morpheme) - A free morpheme, a pronoun.
4. walk (morpheme) - A free morpheme, a verb.
5. -ed (morpheme) - A suffix indicating past tense.
6. quick (morpheme) - A free morpheme, an adjective.
7. -ly (morpheme) - Another instance of the suffix indicating manner.
8. to (morpheme) - A free morpheme, a preposition.
9. school (morpheme) - A free morpheme, a noun.

1.2 : Type of morpheme: This classification is based primarily on meaning.

- Grammatical :
+ functional words : in, on , at, ….
+ inflectional suffix: s, es, ing, ed, er, est
- Lexical:
+ content words ( N, adj, adv ) : dress,
+ derivational affix: re, dis, un ,...
 Grammatical morphemes Lexical morphemes

- Express a limited number of very common - Express lexical, or dictionary, meaning.

meanings or Express relations within the
sentence.
- This occurrences is predictable by the
grammar of the sentence
- Constitute closed word classes. Can be
exhaustively listed.
- Are parts of words (inflectional affixes) or
small but independent “function word”
belonging to the minor word classes i.e.
prepositions.
- Categorized into the major lexical
categories, or word classes: Noun, Verb,
Adjective, Adverb.
- Constitute open categories, to which new
members can be added.
- Are generally independent words (free
roots) or parts of words (derivational affixes
and bound roots).

● Function word ● Content word

- Pronouns, - Nouns
- Prepositions, - Verbs
- Auxiliary Verbs, - Adjectives
- Conjunctions, - Adverbs.
- Determiners.
● Inflectional affix ● Derivational affix
- “-s/es” : Singular/Plural - Prefixes: “re- , un- , dis- “
- “-er” , “-est” : Comparison - Suffixes:
- “-ing” , “-ed” : Participle + Nouns Suffixes
+ Verbs Suffixes
+ Adjectives Suffixes
+ Adverb Suffixes

B. MORPHS
1. Definition
- A morph: concrete realization of a morpheme
- classification: based primarily on word forms or phonetic forms
2. Types=> classification: based primarily on form
a. Free morph, Bound morph
3.
Free morphs Bound morphs

- can stand alone cannot stand alone, are always attached to

always a root morpheme another morph

carry principal or grammatical meaning

 e.g: open, tour, unavoidably

may attach to other free or bound roots: occasionally bound morphs (bound
morphemes roots)
e.g: reclassify, overgrown e.g: ceive: receive, perceive
vert: convert, revert
mit

Example: undercooked
under- cook -ed

b. Derivational and inflectional affixes

Derivational affixes Inflectional affixes

prefix or a suffix always a suffix

more than one per word only one per word

may attach to only a limited number of roots attach to all or most members of a certain
word class

- convert one part of speech to another grammatical meaning (tense, numbers)

(class changing)
- change the meaning of the root
(class maintaining)

always precede an inflectional affix always occur last

c. Enclitic
● Definition: a kind of contraction, a bound form which derives from an independent
word and must be attached to the preceding word
● Types
- Auxiliaries: attached to the preceding subject (you’re, I’d, he’ll)
- Negative: attached to the preceding auxiliary (won’t, mustn’t, hasn’t)
=> classification: based primarily on meaning
d. Root, stem, base
- Stem: ROOT + associated derivational affixes, to which inflectional affixes are added
- Base: ROOT + associated derivational affixes, to which derivational affixes are
added
e.g: engagements => root: gage
base: engage
stem: engagement

3. Morphemic analysis vs. morphological analysis

a, Morphemic analysis: The process of analyzing words into morphemes, recognizing the
abstract units of meaning present.
b, Morphological analysis:
NOUNS
Morphological analysis Morphemic analysis

writers 3 morphs writ/er/s 3 morpheme {write} + {-er} + {pl}

authors 2 morphs author/s 2 morphemes {author} + {pl}

mice 1 morph mice 2 morpheme {mouse} + {pl}

fish 1 morph fish 2 morphemes {fish} + {pl}

children 2 morphs child/ren 2 morphemes {man} + {poss}

man’s 2 morphs man/s 2 morphemes {man} + {poss}

men’s 2 morphs men/s 3 morphemes {man} + {pl} + {poss}

sheep 1 morph sheep 2 morphemes {SHEEP} + {pl}

{SHEEP} + {sg}

Note: If a morpheme is postulated for singular, we can account for number systematically

Morphological analysis Morphemic analysis

Author 1 morph 2 morphemes

Author {AUTHOR} + {sg}

ADJECTIVES

Morphological analysis Morphemic analysis

smaller 2 morphs 2 morphemes

small/er {SMALL} + {comp}

smallest 2 morphs 2 morphemes

small/est {SMALL} + {supl}

better 1 morph 2 morphemes

better {GOOD} + {comp}

best 1 morph 2 morphemes

best {GOOD} + {supl}

good 1 morph 2 morphemes

good {GOOD} + {pos}**

**:positive degree morpheme

VERBS

Morphological analysis Morphemic analysis

worked 2 morphs 2 morphemes {WORK} + {past}

work/ed {WORK} + {pstprt}

wrote 1 morph 2 morphemes {WRITE} + {past}

wrote

written 1 morph 2 morphemes {WRITE} + {pstprt}

written

working 2 morphs 2 morphemes {WORK} + {pstprt}

work/ing

put 1 morph 2 morphemes {PUT} + {past}

put {PUT} + {past}

Note:
● -ing verbal forms can be analyzed as present participle or gerund.
● Since gerunds are functioning as nouns, they may be pluralized.

sittings 3 morphs sitt/ing/s 3 morphemes {SIT} + {gerund} + {pl}

● a morpheme needs to be postulated {pres} to account coherently for the distinction

past vs present.

work 1 morph 2 morphemes {WORK} + {pres}

work

write 1 morph 2 morphemes {WRITE}+ {pres}

write
 PRONOUNS

Morphological analysis Morphemic analysis

we 1 morph 3 morphemes {1st p} + {pl} + {nomn}

we

him 1 morph 4 morpheme {3rd p} + {sg} + {m} +

him {obj}

its 2 morphs 4 morphemes {3rd p} + {sg} + {n} +

it/s {poss}

put 1 morph 2 morphemes {PUT} + {past}

put {PUT} + {past}

Note:
Nomn = nominative case
Obj = objective case
Morphemes combine and are realized by one of 4 morphological realization rules
1. agglutinative rule - 2 morphemes are realized by morphs which remain distinct and
are simply “glued” together, e.g., {WRITER} + {pl} > writers
2. fusional rule - 2 morphemes are realized by morphs which do not remain distinct but
are fused together, e.g./ {TOOTH} + {pl} > teeth
3. null realization rule - a morpheme is never realized as a morph in any word of the
relevant class, e.g, {sg} on nouns, which never has concrete realization in English.
4. zero rule - a morpheme is realized as a zero morph in particular members of a word
class , e.g., {SHEEP} + {pl} > sheep. Note that in most other members of the class
noun, {pl} has concrete realization as -s.

Examples:
agglutinative: {WORK} + {past} > worked
fusional: {WRITE} + {past} > wrote
null: {WORK} + {pres} > work
zero: {PUT} + {past} > put, {PUT} + {pstprt} > put
Phrasal Structure and Verb Complementation

1. Phrasal Structure

2. Verb complementation: