LECTURE 1

PHONETICS AS A SCIENCE

Phonetics is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound-

making, especially those sounds used in speech, and provides methods of their
description, classification and transcription.
Three traditional branches of the subject are generally recognized:
1) articulatory phonetics (артикуляторна фонетика) is the study of the way
speech sounds are made (“articulated” by the organs of speech);
2) acoustic phonetics (акустична фонетика) studies the physical properties of
speech sounds, as transmitted between mouth and ear;
3) auditory phonetics (аудитивна фонетика) studies the response to speech
sounds by means of ear, auditory nerve and brain;
4) functional phonetics is concerned with the range and function of sounds in
specific languages. It is usually referred to as phonology.
Phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are made, transmitted, and
received.
The components of the phonetic system of English. The phonetic system of
English is a systemic combination of all the five components of the sound matter of
language which constitute the material (phonic) form of all the morphemes, words,
phrases and sentences in the language and serve a speaker to express adequately in
his utterances his emotions and feelings.
The first and basic component of the phonetic structure of English is the
system of its segmental phonemes existing in the material form of their allophones.
They are divided into two fundamental sound types – vowels and consonants.
The second component of the phonetic system of English is the syllabic
structure of its words. The syllabic structure has two aspects which are inseparable
from each other: 1) syllable formation and 2) syllable division. Both aspects are
sometimes designated by the term: syllabi(fi)cation.
The third component of the phonetic system of English is the accentual
system of its words as items of vocabulary. The accentual structure of words has
three aspects: 1) the physical (acoustic) nature of word accent; 2) the position of the
accent in disyllabic and polysyllabic words; 3) the degrees of word accent.
The fourth component of the phonetic system of English is the intonational
structure of sentences in it, intonation being understood in the broad sense.
The four components of the phonetic system of English (phonemic, syllabic,
accentual and intonational) all constitute its pronunciation.
Practical importance of Phonetics. The practical aspect of Phonetics is no
less important. Teaching of reading and writing is possible only when one clearly
understands the difference between the sounds and written forms of the language and
the connection between them. Phonetics is also widely used in teaching correct
pronunciation and allocution of actors, singers, TV announcers on the basis of
established orthoepical norms. Orthoepy is the correct pronunciation of the words of
a language. Phonetics is important for eliminating dialectical features from the
pronunciation of dialect speakers; in logopedics (in curing various speech defects); in
surdopedagogics (in teaching normal aural speech to deaf and dumb people).
Acoustic Phonetics and Phonology are of great use in technical acoustics or sound
technology that is the branch of science and technology which is concerned with the
study and design of techniques for the recording, transmission, reproduction, analysis
and synthesis of sound by means of various devices such as microphone, loud-
speaker, radio and television sets, speech synthesizers etc. Forensic voice analysis
has been used in a range of criminal cases, such as bomb threats, blackmail and
terrorism. Suspects leave recordings of the voices on the telephone, voice mail,
answering machines and these samples which have individual accents, speech habits,
breath patterns can be used as evidence.
There is a great variety in the way speech sounds are made and in their number
in different languages. But as there is an abstract alphabet as the basis of writing, so
there is an abstract set of sound-types as the basis of speech. These units are called
phonemes. The complete set of phonemes is called the phonemic system of a
language, and the realizations of phonemes in definite positions in words are called
allophones. A phoneme is the smallest, indivisible sound language unit that
differentiates words according to their meaning or the grammatical forms of one and
the same word. For example: bad [bæd] – bed [bed], man [mæn] – [men]. The
speech sound that we pronounce is always a variant of the phoneme or its allophone.
Thus, a phoneme in speech is realized only in the form of its allophones. For
example, the phoneme [t] is a forelingual, alveolar-apical, occlusive, plosive,
aspirated, voiceless consonant sound. Some allophones of the phoneme [t] are as
follows: tea (aspirated), stake (non-aspirated), at the (dental), twice (labialized), tree
(post-alveolar).
The abstractional and material aspects of the phoneme have given rise to the
appearance of transcription. Transcription is a visual system of notation of the sound
structure of speech. It is also a generalization of a great variety of sounds that are
uttered by a speaker of a given language.
THE ORGANS OF SPEECH

The human speaking apparatus consists of the following main parts which
participate in the formation of speech sounds.
1. The upper and the lower lips.
2. The upper and the lower teeth.
3. The palate (or the roof of the mouth). It consists of the following parts: a)
the alveoli (or the teeth-ridge – the part behind the upper teeth); b) the hard
palate (the part behind the alveoli); c) the soft palate (the back of the
palate); d) the uvula (the end of the soft palate).
4. The tongue. It is divided into the following parts: a) the tip of the tongue; b)
the blade of the tongue (the part situated opposite the alveoli); c) the front
of the tongue (the part situated opposite the hard palate); d) the back of the
tongue (the part situated opposite the soft palate); c) the root of the tongue.
5. The wind pipe (or the trachea).
6. The pharynx.
7. The larynx.
8. The vocal chords (stretched horizontally across the larynx). The space
between the chords is called the glottis.
9. The upper and the lower jaws.
10.The mouth and nasal cavities.
 Speech sounds in English are produced when we exhale. The flow of air passes
through the wind pipe from the lungs into the larynx. There are two vocal chords in
the larynx which are tense when brought together or lax when drawn apart. When
they are tense, the flow of air passing through the narrowed glottis causes the vocal
chords to vibrate and produce voice (thus vowels and voiced consonants are formed).
When the vocal chords are lax, the flow of air passes through the glottis freely and
does not cause the vocal chords to vibrate (thus voiceless consonants are produced).
From the larynx the air passes into the pharynx. Then, if the soft palate is raised, the
air passes out through the nasal cavity.
The organs of speech which are movable and take an active part in the
formation of sounds are called active. They are: the vocal chords, the tongue, the soft
palate with the uvula, the lips, the lower jaw. The most movable organ of speech is
the tongue. The immovable organs of speech are called passive. They are: the upper
jaw, the alveoli, the hard palate, the teeth.
SYLLABLE FORMATION AND SYLLABLE DIVISION IN ENGLISH

The syllable may be defined as one or more speech-sounds forming a single

uninterrupted unit of utterance which may be a whole word (e.g. man [mæn], I [ai])
or part of it (e.g. morning [mo:niŋ]). In English a syllable is formed by any vowel
alone or in combination with one or more consonants and by a word-final sonorant
(lateral or nasal) immediately preceded by a consonant.
For example: are [a:], he [hi:], man [mæn]
table [teibl], taken [teikn], garden [ga:dn]
Sonorants in word-final position are not syllabic when they are preceded by a
vowel sound (e.g. sand [sænd], don’t [dount]).
The consonant standing between the vowels join the right-side syllable if it is
preceded by a long vowel or diphthong. For example, party [pa:-ti], native [nei-tiv].
When the consonant is preceded by a short stressed vowel, the syllable ends after this
consonant. For example, better [bet-ǝ], sister [sis-tǝ].
 CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH SOUNDS

The work of the speech organs necessary for making speech sounds is called
articulation. According to the specific character of their articulation speech sounds
are divided into vowels and consonants.
Table 1.
In the articulation of vowels: In the articulation of consonants:
1. the flow of air passes freely (meets no 1. the flow of air meets an obstruction;
obstruction);
2. the flow of air is weak: 2. the flow of air is strong;
3. all organs of speech are tense; 3. the active organs of speech are tense
only in the place of obstruction;
4. voice prevails over noise; 4. noise prevails over voice;
5. vowels are syllable-forming sounds. 5. consonants are not syllable-forming
sounds, as a rule.

There is an intermediate type called sonants (sonorants). They have features

common to both vowels and consonants. A sonorant is characterized by an
obstruction, however the air passage is wide. In producing sonorants voice prevails
over noise. Some English sonorants [l], [m], [n] can form a syllable when they are
preceded by a consonant and if no vowel sound follows, e.g. people [ʹpı: - pl],
seldom [ʹsel - dm], taken [ʹtei -kn].
 LECTURE 3

PRONUNCIATION OF SPEECH SOUNDS IN CONNECTED SPEECH.

SOUND ALTERNATIONS
1. The stages of articulation of a speech-sound.
2. The types of junction of speech sounds.
3. Assimilation, types of assimilation.
4. Accommodation.
5. Elision.
6. Reduction of vowels, types of reduction.
7. Linking.

. The stages of articulation of a speech-sound. We have studied vowels and

consonants as individual units. But language in everyday use is not conducted in
terms of isolated, separate units, in words, phrases and longer utterances. There are
actually some remarkable differences between the pronunciation of a word in
isolation and of the same word in connected speech. Sounds are joined together in
specific types of junction to master which it is necessary to understand the
mechanism of joining sounds together. This mechanism can only be understood after
analyzing the stages in the articulation of a speech-sound pronounced in isolation.
Every speech-sound pronounced in isolation has three stages of articulation.
They are 1) the on-glide, or the initial stage; 2) the retention stage, or the medial
stage, and 3) the off-glide (release), or the final stage.
The on-glide, or the beginning of a sound, is a stage during which the organs
of speech move away from a neutral position to take up the position necessary for the
pronunciation of a consonant or a vowel. The on-glide produces no audible sound.
The retention stage, or the middle of a sound, is the stage during which the
organs of speech are kept for some time either in the same position necessary to
pronounce the sound (in the case of non-complex sounds) or move from one position
to another (within complex sounds such as diphthongoids, diphthongs and affricates).
For the retention stage of a stop consonant the term stop-stage may also be used.
The off-glide, or the end of a sound, is the stage during which the organs of
speech move away to a neutral position. The off-glide of most sounds is not audible,
the exception being plosives whose off-glide produces the sound of plosion before a
vowel and in a word-final position before a pause.
If we pronounce a sequence of sounds one after another separately, i.e. if we
pronounce each of them with all the three stages of articulation, the sounds do not
form a word, because the organs of speech move away to a neutral position at the end
of each sound, e.g. [p], [a:], [t].
2. The types of junction of speech sounds. In English there are two principal
ways of linking two adjacent speech sounds: 1) merging of stages; 2)
interpenetration of stages.
The type of junction depends on the nature of the sounds that are joined
together. As all English sounds come under the classification of consonants and
vowels we may speak of joining:
 a) a consonant to a following vowel (C + V), as in the word [mi:] me;
b) a vowel to a following consonant (V + C), as in the word [ɔn] on;
c) two consonants (C + C), as in the word [blǝu] blow;
d) two vowels (V + V), as in the word [ri:'ælıtı] reality.
Merging of stages, as compared with interpenetration of stages, is a simpler
and looser way of joining sounds together. It usually takes place if two adjacent
sounds of different nature are joined together. In this case the end of the preceding
sound penetrates into the beginning of the following sound. In other words, the end of
the first sound and the beginning of the second are articulated almost simultaneously.
Thus, during the merging of stages, some organs of speech move away from the
position taken up for the pronunciation of the first sound and others move to take up
the position necessary for the articulation of the second sound, e.g. part.

Interpenetration of stages usually takes place when consonants of a similar or

identical nature are joined. In this case the end of the first sound penetrates not only
into the beginning but also into the middle part of the second sound, as in [ækt] act,
[begd] begged. In the pronunciation of [-kt], [-gd] the organs of speech move away
already in the middle of the first sound to take up the position necessary to pronounce
the second sound. Two adjacent dental sounds with different manner of production of
noise are linked by interpenetration of stages as in [ın ðǝ] in the, [mɅnθ] month, [æt
ðǝ] at the. In the pronunciation of [nð], [nθ], [tð], [lð] the organs of speech, moving
away to take up the position necessary to pronounce the first sound, are already partly
preparing for the pronunciation of the second, as both of them are dental.

As a result of the intercourse between consonants and vowels and within each
class there appear such processes of connected speech as assimilation,
accommodation, vowel reduction and elision which is sometimes termed deletion.
3. Assimilation. Two adjacent consonants within a word or at a word boundary
often influence each other in such a way that the articulation of one sound becomes
similar to or even identical with the articulation of the other one. this phenomenon is
called assimilation. In assimilation the consonant whose articulation is modified
under the influence of a neighbouring consonant is called the assimilated sound; the
consonant which influences the articulation of a neighbouring consonant is called the
assimilating sound. The term assimilation may also be extended to include cases
when two adjacent consonants so influence each other as to give place to a single new
sound different from either of them.
 Assimilation may be of three degrees: complete, partial and intermediate. It
is said to be complete when the articulation of the assimilated consonant fully
coincides with that of the assimilating one. For example, in the word horse-shoe
[hɔ:ʃ ʃu:] which is a compound of the words horse [hɔ:s] and [ʃu:], [s] in the word
[hɔ:s] was changed to [ʃ] under the influence of [ʃ] in the word [ʃu:].
Assimilation is said to be partial when the assimilated consonant retains its
main phonemic features and becomes only partly similar in some feature of its
articulation to the assimilating sound. For example, in twice [twais], please [pli:z],
try [trai], the principal fully voiced variants of phonemes [w], [l], [r] are replaced by
their partly devoiced variants, while their main phonemic features are retained.
The degree of assimilation is said to be intermediate between complete and
partial when the assimilated consonant changes into a different sound, but does not
coincide with the assimilating consonant. Examples of intermediate assimilation are
gooseberry ['gu:zberı], where [s] in goose [gu:s] is replaced by [z] under the
influence of [b] in berry; congress ['kɔŋgres], where [n] is replaced by [ŋ] under the
influence of [g].
Assimilation may be of three types as far as its direction is concerned:
progressive, regressive and double.
In progressive assimilation the assimilated sound is influenced by the
preceding consonant. This can be represented by the formula A→ B, where A is the
assimilating consonant, and B – the assimilated consonant. In What’s this? [wɔts
ðıs] [z] is replaced by [s] under the influence of [t].
In regressive assimilation the preceding consonant is influenced by the one
following it (A←B). For example, the voiced consonant [z] in news [nju:z] is
replaced by the voiceless consonant [s] in the compound newspaper [nju:speipǝ]
under the influence of the voiceless sound [p].
In reciprocal, or double, assimilation two adjacent consonants influence each
other. For example, twenty ['twentı], quick [kwık] the sonorant [w] is assimilated to
the voiceless plosive consonants [t] and [k] respectively by becoming partly
devoiced. In their turn, [t] and [k] are assimilated to [w] and are represented by their
labialized variants.
If the present-day pronunciation of a word is the result of an assimilation
which took place at an earlier stage in the history of the language we have the so-
called historical assimilation. For example, reciprocal assimilation which took place
in the combinations [sj], [zj], [tj] changed them into [ʃ], [Ʒ], [tʃ] respectively, e.g.
occasion [ǝ'keiƷǝn] from [ǝ'kæzjon], picture ['pıktʃǝ] from [pıktjur], nation
['neiʃn] from ['næsjon]. The existence of two pronunciations of the word issue
['ısju:] and ['ıʃju:] shows that assimilations of this type are still going on in the
English language.
4. Accommodation. While by assimilation we mean a modification in the
articulation of a consonant under the influence of a neighbouring consonant, the
modification in the articulation of a vowel under the influence of an adjacent
consonant under the influence of an adjacent vowel is called adaptation, or
accommodation.
In accommodation the accommodated sound does not change its main
phonemic features and is pronounced as a variant of the same phoneme slightly
modified under the influence of a neighbouring sound. In ME there are three main
types of accommodation.
1) An unrounded variant of a consonant phoneme is replaced by its rounded
variant under the influence of a following rounded vowel phoneme, as at the
beginning of the following words: [ti:] tea – [tu:] too. This type of accommodation
presents labialization of consonants. Some other examples pool, moon, who, cool. It
is also possible to speak about the spread lip position of consonants followed or
preceded by front vowels [i:], [ı]. E.g. tea – beat; meet – team.
2) A fully back variant of a back vowel phoneme is replaced by its slightly
advanced (fronted) variant under the influence of the preceding mediolingual
phoneme [j]: ['mju:zik] music.
3) A vowel phoneme is represented by its slightly more open variant before the
dark [l] under the influence of the latter’s back secondary focus. Thus the vowel
sound in bell, tell is slightly more open than the vowel in bed, ten ([bel] – [bed],
[tel] – [ten]).
The position of the soft palate is also involved in the accommodation. Slight
nasalization as the result of prolonged lowering of the soft palate is sometimes traced
in vowels under the influence of the neighbouring sonants [m] and [n], e.g. and,
morning, men, come in (accommodation).
Palatalization of consonants is such a phenomenon when the front of the
tongue is raised to the hard palate additionally to the main articulation of the
phoneme. It is not a characteristic feature of English consonants. Only such
consonants as [ʃ], [Ʒ], [tʃ], [dƷ] are palatal ones. English consonants are always hard
before [i:]. In the Ukrainian language palatalization is an important feature of
consonant phonemes, which stand before front vowels: e.g. літо [л’іто], міст
[м’іст].
5. Elision. In rapid colloquial speech certain words may lose some of their
sounds (vowels and consonants). This phenomenon is called elision. It marks the
following sounds:
1. Loss of [h] in personal and possessive pronouns he, his, her, him and the
forms of the auxiliary verb have, has, had is widespread, e.g. What has he done?
[wɔt ǝz ı dɅn].
2. [l] tends to be lost when preceded by [ɔ:], e.g. always ['ɔ:wız], ['ɔ:redı], all
right [ɔ: 'rait].
3. Alveolar plosives are often elided in case the cluster is followed by another
consonant, e.g. next day [nekst dei] – [neks dei], just one [dƷɅst wɅn] – [dƷɅs
wɅn]. If a vowel follows, the consonant remains, e.g. first of all, passed in time.
Whole syllables may be elided in rapid speech: library ['laibri], literary ['litri].
Examples of historical elision are also known. They are initial consonants in
write, know, knight, the medial consonant [t] in fasten, listen, castle.
6. Reduction of vowels, types of reduction. The modifications of vowels in a
speech chain are traced in the following directions: they are either quantitative or
qualitative or both. These changes of vowels in a speech continuum are determined
by a number of factors such as the position of the vowel in the word, accentual
structure, tempo of speech, rhythm, etc. The change of quality and quantity of vowels
in connected speech is called reduction.
 1. Quantitative reduction is a change of the length of a vowel in an
unstressed position, e.g. [ʃı:] – [ʃı·] [ʃı].
2. Qualitative reduction is the change of the quality of a vowel in an
unstressed position, e.g. [ʹfo:] – [fǝ]; [kæn] – [kǝn].
3. Zero (complete) reduction is the falling out of an unstressed vowel, e.g.
[kæn] – [kn]; [æm] – [m].
In English there are certain words which have two forms of pronunciation: 1.
strong (full) form, when they are stressed; 2. weak (reduced) form, when they are
unstressed. These words include articles, prepositions, auxiliary and modal verbs,
some pronouns, conjunctions, particles, e.g. He will be ʹback at \five.ǁ [hı· wıl bı· ʹbæk
ǝt \faıv].
Strong and weak forms of the English functional words and some pronouns
Table 2
STRONG FORMS WEAK FORMS
The [ðı:] [ə] – (before consonants)
[ı] – (before vowels)
A [eı] – (before consonants) [ə] – (before consonants)
An [æn] – (before vowels) [ən], [n] – (before vowels)
At [æt] [ət]
For [fo:] [fə]
From [from] [frəm]
Of [ov] [əv]
To [tu:] [tə] – (before consonants)
Can [kæn] [kən], [kn]
Must [m^st] [məst], [məs]
Shall [ςæl] [ςəl], [ςl]
Do (auxiliary) [du:] [dυ], [də]
Does (auxiliary) [d^z] [dəz]
Have (auxiliary) [hæv] [həv]
Has (auxiliary) [hæz] [həz]
Had (auxiliary) [hæd] [həd]
Be [bı:] [bı]
Am [æm] [əm]
Are [a:] [ə]
Was [woz] [wəz]
Were [wε:] [wə]
You [ju:] [jυ]
He [hı:] [hı]
She [ςı:] [ςı]
We [wı:] [wı]
Some [s^m] [səm]
And [ænd] [ənd]
But [b^t] [bət]
Or [o:] [o]
As [æz] [əz]
To [tu:] [tə] – (before consonants)
 [tυ] – (before vowels)

Words that preserve their strong form in an unstressed position

Table 3
To be (is, are) (as notional verbs) [ız], [a:]
To do (do, does) (as notional verbs) [du:], [d^z]
To have (have, has, had) (as notional verbs ) [hæv], [hæz], [hæd]
When, then (adverbs) [wen], [ðen]
On, off, in [on], [of], [ın]
Will (modal verb) [wıl]
That (demonstrative pronoun) [ðæt]
Some (indefinite pronoun) [s^m]

7. Linking. Unlike mechanical speech, words in connected speech link

together to make speech run more smoothly. Usually it is the case of linking r when a
word with a final r is followed by a word which begins with a vowel. For example, in
the sentence Over a quarter of a year has passed linking r appears in Over a and
quarter of but not in year has.
Other frequent instances of linking r may be: thanks for everything [fǝr], my
father and mother ['fa:ðǝr], the weather ought to improve ['weðǝr], here and
there [hıǝr], I don’t care if they do ['kɛǝr], the door opened ['dɔ:r].
Many native speakers use r in a similar way to link words with a vowel even
when there is no “justification” from the spelling. This is called intrusive r as in the
examples:
India(r) and Pakistan
Media(r) interest
Law(r) and order
Flaw(r) in the argument
Formula(r) A
By the way, BBC announcers and teachers of English regard intrusive r as
incorrect or substandard pronunciation, but despite ferocious criticism it is
undoubtedly spread.
A great care should be taken as to the proper pronunciation of the stressed,
aspirated, long and reduced sounds to be able to make adequate boundaries between
words. The following examples illustrate variants of word boundaries:
A name – an aim (prolonged n – short n)
That stuff – that’s tough (unaspirated t – aspirated t)
The waiter cut it – the way to cut it (reduced ei – prolonged ei)
I scream – ice-cream (prolonged ai – reduced ai)
White shoes – why choose (reduced ai – prolonged ai)
An essential part in acquiring fluency in English is learning to produce
connected speech without gaps between words, and this is the practical importance of
linking as well as elision, assimilation being of much less importance.