Phonetics & Phonology

Lecturer/Tutor: Dr. Tawanda Nhire

+258 867182389 / 842880053

tawandanel@gmail.com

Universidade Pedagogica de Maputo

2024
 Course Description

 Reading Books
Main Reference: English Phonetics & Phonology
by Peter Roach 3rd edition ( 1983-2000)

Extra Readings

 A course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoged. 3rd edition (1975-

1993)
 Perfecting your English Pronunciation by Susan Cameron
(2012).
 Phonology Theory and Analysis by Larry M. Hyman (1975)
 Course Outline
• Lecture 1: Introducing the course the Production of Speech Sounds
• Lecture 2: consonants & Vowels
• Lecture 3: voicing & Consonants
• Lecture 4: The Phoneme
• Lecture 5: Fricatives & Affricates
• Lecture 6: the Syllable
• Lecture 7: Mid-Term Exam
• Lecture 8: strong & Weak Syllables
• Lecture 9: stress in simple and complex words
• Lecture 10: weak Forms
• Lecture 11: aspects of connected speech
(phythm, Assimilation, Elisions & Linking
• Lecture 13: Intonation
• Lecture 14: Final Exam
 Definition of Phonetics
 Phonetics is the science of speech sounds, which
aims to provide the set of features or properties
that can be used to describe and distinguish all the
sounds used in human language (Peter Roach, 2000).
 The branch of linguistics concerned with the study
of speech sounds with reference to their
distribution and patterning
• Phonetics - a theory about speech sounds,
describing the sounds that we use in speaking

 The system of sounds of a particular language.

• sourceThe American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by
Houghton Mifflin
 Types of Phonetics

 Articulatory phonetics: the study of the

production of speech sounds by the
articulatory and vocal tract by the speaker
 Acoustic phonetics: the study of the physical
transmission of speech sounds from the
speaker to the listener
 Auditory phonetics: the study of the
reception and perception of speech sounds
by the listener
 Definition: Phonology
 Phonology is the study of the properties of sound
systems, the principles that govern the ways in
which speakers of different languages organize
speech sounds to express meanings.
 Phonology - explains how phonemes function in
language, the relationships among different
phonemes
 Phonology is the study of the way sounds function
in languages, including phonemes, syllable structure,
stress, accent, intonation, and which sounds are
distinctive units within a language; The way sounds
function within a given language.
 Source:Phonology - Critical Concepts in Linguistics by Charles W. Kreidler
 Branches of Phonology
1. Segmental Phonology :- It analyses speech into
discrete segments, such as phonemes.
2. Supra- segmental Phonology :- It analyses those
features which extend over more than one
segment such as intonation , stress.
3. Diachonic Phonology :- It studies the patterns
of sound system through the history of language.

4. Synchronic Phonology :- It studies the patterns

of sound regardless of the process of historical
change.
 Definition of Terms

• Phoneme - a unit within a set of units as

the basis of our speech. If we put one of
these units in the place of one of the
others, we can change the meaning of
the word

• Allophone – different realisations of one

and the same unit
 Phonetics & phonology

 Phonetics is the study of sound in speech;

phonology is the study (and use) of sound
patterns to create meaning.

 Phonetics focuses on how speech is physically

created and received, including study of the
human vocal and auditory tracts, acoustics,
and neurology.
 Source;http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/phonetics-and-phonology-51
 Phonetics & phonology

 Phonology relies on phonetic information for

its practice, but focuses on how patterns in
both speech and non-verbal communication
create meaning, and how such patterns are
interpreted.

 Phonology includes comparative linguistic

studies of how cognates, sounds, and meaning
are transmitted among and between human
communities and languages.
 Source;http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/phonetics-and-phonology-51
 More…..
Phonology is concerned with the
functional properties of speech
sounds

Phonetics is concerned with the

physical aspects of speech sounds
 Three stages in speech chain
 The production of the message
 The transmission of the message
 The reception of the message
– Articulatory phonetics
– Acoustic phonetics
– Auditory phonetics
 The Speech Organs
• Pharynx
• Oral Cavity
• Nasal Cavity
• Uvula
• Tongue (tip/blade/front/ middle/back/root)
• Hard Palate
• Soft Palate (Velum)
• Alveolar Ridge (teeth-ridge)
• Teeth (upper &lower)
• Lips (upper &lower)
• Epiglottis
The Speech Organs
Process of Producing Speech

The air breathed in → lungs →

the air pressed out →

mouth cavity

windpipe (trachea) → larynx

→ pharynx →

↘ nasal cavity
 Voice Production
 organs of speech - in the mouth and throat.

 air pushed out from the lungs through

the larynx and epiglottis vibrates the
vocal cords-

 producing a continuous tone whose pitch

can be changed by varying the shape of the
larynx

 Consonants - modified by the tongue and

lips, are formed when air is emitted
suddenly or when it is cut off firmly.
 Voice Production Cont…
 Voice production occurs in the larynx
 During breathing the vocal cords are held
apart, but as speech commences, the
cartilages of the larynx are drawn together
by the action of muscles and a "chink" is
created.
 The tension of the vibrating cords, changed
by the tilting of the cartilages, alters the
pitch of the spoken sound. High notes are
produced by the vibration of tight vocal
cords and low notes are produced by
vibrating loose cords.
Definition of Consonants & Vowels
Consonants: the sounds in the
production of which there is an
obstruction of the air- stream at some
point of the vocal tract .

Vowels: the sounds in the production of

which no articulators come very close
together and the air-stream passes
through the vocal tract without
obstruction.
 Place of Articulation

 When describing the place of

articulation, what we usually
consider is the place within the
vocal tract where the articulators
form a stricture
 The place of articulation

Bilabial e.g. [p], [m].

Labio-dental e.g. [f].
Dental e.g.[ð]
Alveolar e.g. [t]
Palatal e.g..[j].
Palato-alveolar e.g. [ʃ]
Velar e.g. [k].
Glottal e.g. [h]
Retroflex .
Uvular,
Pharyngeal
 Consonant Articulation

▪ Places Manners
– lips (labial) stop/plosive
– teeth (dental) fricative
– alveolar ridge (alveolar) nasal
– hard palate (palatal) lateral
– soft palate (velar)
glide/approximant
– uvula (uvular) trill
– pharynx (pharngeal) tap/flap
– larynx/glottis (glottal)
 Give the IPA symbol for each of the
consonants described below
1. voiced bilabial plosive b
2. voiceless alveolar plosive t
3. voiceless dental fricative Ѳ
4. voiced bilabial nasal m
5. voiceless labio-dental
fricative f
A Diagram of English Vowels
 Types of Vowels

monophthong e.g. [u]

diphthong e.g. [au] [uə]

triphthong e.g. [auə]

 Types of Vowels

 7 diphthongs: 5 closing: eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, aʊ,

әʊ and 2 (3) centring: eә, ɪә, (ʊә)

• 12 monophthongs: 7 short: ɪ, e, æ, ʌ,
ɒ, ʊ, ә and 5 long: i: , ɑ: , ɔ: , з: , u:
 Intonation

• Stress
• Rise
• Fall
• Rise-fall
• Fall-rise
PHONEMIC CHART