DESCRIPTIVE

PHONETICS
LECTURE ONE
Chapter One
1
HOW SPEECH SOUNDS ARE PRODUCED?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
 What is the part of a human being which is specifically
designed for talking?
 What are the primary functions of the organs used for
speech?
Breathing, chewing, swallowing, smelling, other duties

 Phonetics is the science of speech.

 We all speak, but how many of us know how we speak?
Or what speech is like?

 Phonetics seeks to answer those questions. 2

 PHONETICS
 English Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of sound made in the production of
human speech. It deals with the production of the sounds, the
physical properties of the sounds

 Phonetics: The Sounds of Language

_ The systematic study of human speech sounds
_How they are produced
_How they are characterized

3
 Branches of Phonetics
 Principal branches of phonetics:
1.Articulatory phonetics:
Focuses on the human vocal apparatus and describes
sounds in terms of their articulation in the vocal tract.
2.Acoustic Phonetics:
Uses the tools of physics to study the nature of sound
waves produced in human language.
:Auditory phonetics .3
Studies the perception of sound by the brain through the
human ear.
4
 Linguistics:
It is the scientific study of human natural speech.
 Principals components of linguistics:

 Morphology:

The study of word formation in a language.

 Semantics:

The study of word and sentence meaning in a language.

 Syntax:

The study of sentence structure in a language.

 Phonology:

The study of sound pattern and structure I a language.

 Phonetics:

The study of sound s made in the production of human 5

speech
Phonetics and Phonology
 Phonetics and phonology are two branches of linguistics that
deal primarily with the structure of human language sounds.
Phonetics focuses on the physical manifestations of speech
sounds and on theories of speech production and perception.
Phonology is concerned with the systems of rules (or
constraints) that determine how the sounds of a language
combine and influence one another.
 As phonetics and phonology both deal with sounds, and as
English spelling and English pronunciation are two very
different things, it is important that you keep in mind that we
are not interested in letters here, but in sounds. In other
words, phonetics is about sounds of language, phonology
about sound systems of language 6
The importance of phonetics
 Phonetics and phonology are worth studying for several
reasons, that the study of the phonetics of a foreign language
gives us a much better ability both to hear and to correct
mistakes that we make, and also to teach pronunciation of
the foreign language (in this case English) to others.

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 ORTHOGRAPHY AND
SOUNDS
 Alphabetic spelling represents the pronunciation of
words. However, the sounds of the words in a language
are unsystematically represented by orthography
(Spelling).

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Even though alphabetic spelling is meant to represent the
pronunciation of words, it is not always reliable in figuring
out how a word is pronounced for the following reasons:

Different letters may represent the same sound:

e.g. to - too - two

A single letter may represent different sounds:

e.g. dame dad father call village many.

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 A combination of letters may represent a single
sound:
e.g. shoot - character - physics - rough

Some letters have no sound at all in certain

words:
_ knife - resign – lamb – talk

To sum up,
The English language is not phonetic. Words are not spelled as
they are pronounced.
There is no one to one correspondence between the letters and 10
the sounds.
 CHAPTER TWO
The Production of Speech
Sounds
11
 PHONES VS. PHONEMES
 In phonetics, the smallest perceptible segment is a
phone. In phonology, the smallest segment is a phoneme.
 We use slashes / / for phonemes
 We use brackets [ ] for phones.
 The phonemes in the words “bead and bean” are
represented as /d/, /n/
 The phones in the words “tap , bat “ are represented as
12
[tʰ] , [t], and they belong to the same phoneme that is /t/
 AIRSTREAM MECHANISM

 Most human sounds are produced by an egressive

pulmonic airstream.

_i.e. lungs pushing the air outwards

_ During speech, the lungs take in air rapidly

and let it go slowly.

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VOCAL ORGANS

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 All the sounds of English are made using air on its way out
from the lungs. The lungs pull in and push out air, helped by
the diaphragm. The air goes out via the trachea, where the
first obstruction it meets is the larynx, which it has to pass
through.
 Inside the larynx the air passes by the vocal folds (cords),
which, if they vibrate, make the sound voiced. Afterwards the
air goes up through the pharynx, and escapes via either the
oral or the nasal cavity.
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 VOWELS AND CONSONANTS

Phonetically, it is easy to give definitions:

A vowel is any sound with no audible noise produced by

obstruction in the vocal tract, while a consonant is a
sound with audible noise produced by obstruction .

Examples : Vowel /a/ like “father”

Consonant /f/ like “father”

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 Consonants are sounds in which there is an obstruction
to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips.
 Description of consonants:

To describe the articulation of a consonants we examine

the following points in the same order:

1. Voicing

2. Nasal / Oral

3. Place of articulation (where a consonant is made).

4. Manner of articulation (how a consonant is made). 17

18
FOUR DIMENSIONS OF ARTICULATION

1. Voicing

2. Nasal / oral

3. Place of Articulation

4. Manner of Articulation

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 VOICED AND VOICELESS .1
SOUNDS
 The air stream from the lungs passes through an opening
between the vocal cords, the glottis
 If the vocal cords are apart and the airstream is not
obstructed at the glottis, the sounds produced this way
are voiceless.
 If the vocal cords are together and the airstream forces
its way through, the vocal cords vibrate and the sounds
produced this way are voiced 20
 If you put a finger in each ear and say “zzzzz” you can
feel the vibrations.
 If you put a finger in each ear and say “sssss” you will
not feel any vibration.
 When you whisper, you are actually making all the
speech sounds voiceless
 In English the following consonants are voiced: [b, d, g,
v, ʒ, z, ð, l, r, j, w, dʒ, m, n, ŋ ]
 The following ones are voiceless: [p, t, k, f, ʃ, s,, h, tʃ, θ]
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STATES OF VOCAL CORDS
 See page 23-24
1. Wide apart cords: to produce Voiceless sounds

2. Narrow Glottis: To produce [h] sound

3. Vibrating / touching cords: to produce Voiced sounds

4. Tightly closed cords: to Produce [ʔ] sound

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 VARIATIONS OF THE
SUBGLOTTAL PRESSURE
 See page 25
 Subglottal Pressure: The pressure of the air below the
vocal cords.

1. Variations in intensity like shouting

2. Variations in frequency like producing many voiced /

voiceless sounds .e.g. “abandon”

3. Variations in quality like breathing or murmuring

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NASAL AND ORAL SOUNDS .2
When the soft palate or velum is raised to block the
passage of air stream through the nose and forced through
the mouth, sounds produced this way are called oral. If
you force the air out of the nose by closing your lips or
blocking the oral passage, sounds produced this way are
called nasal. In English the following consonants are oral:
[m, n, ŋ ], whereas the rest are oral.

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PLACE OF ARTICULATION
(VOCAL ORGANS)

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ORGANS OF SPEECH

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THE TONGUE

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 ARTICULATORS

See figure 2.1 page.8 - 11

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 PLACE OF ARTICULATION .3
1- Bilabial sounds are produced when the lips are brought
together. [p] , [m] , [b]
Examples “pay, bay, may”.

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2- Labiodental sounds are made when the lower lip is
raised towards the upper front teeth. /f/ &/v/.
Examples are [f] “safe” and [v] “save”.

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3- Dental (interdental) sounds are produced by touching
the upper front teeth with the tip of the tongue. Examples
are [θ] as in “they” and [ð] as in “clothe”.

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4. Alveolar sounds are made by raising the tip of the
tongue towards the ridge that is right behind the upper
front teeth, called the alveolar ridge.

Examples are [ t, s ] “too” , “sue” and [d, z , n, l, r ] “do,

zoo, nook, look, rook”.

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5. Palato-alveolar sounds are made by raising the blade of
the tongue towards the part of the palate just behind the
alveolar ridge.
Examples [ʃ , tʃ] as in “show, church”, and [ʒ , dʒ] as in
“pleasure , judge”.

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6. Palatal sounds are very similar to Palato-alveolar ones,
they are just produced further back towards the velum.
The only palatal sound in English is [ j] as in yes, yellow,
beauty, new and it is voiced.

34
7. Velar sounds are made by raising the back of the tongue
towards the soft palate, called the velum.
Examples [k] back, and [g, ŋ] both voiced “bag, bang”. [w]
as in “white “ is a velar which is accompanied with lip
rounding.

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8. Glottal sounds are produced when the air passes through
the glottis as it is narrowed: [h] as in high, and [ʔ] sound as
in “football”.

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PLACES OF ARTICULATION

37
 INTRODUCTION
There are still pairs of sounds where we cannot yet
describe the difference of one from the other, e.g. [b,m] as
both are voiced and bilabial, and [t,s] which both are
voiceless and alveolar. As the examples show, we can
however tell the sounds apart, and this is because the
sounds are different in a way we have not yet discussed,
and that is with respect to their manner of articulation.

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MANNER OF .4
ARTICULATION
The manner of articulation has to do with the kind of obstruction the
air meets on its way out, after it has passed the vocal folds. It may meet:

1. a complete closure (plosives / stops),

2. an almost complete closure (fricatives),

3. a smaller degree of closure (approximants),

4. the air might escape in more exceptional ways, around the sides of
the tongue (laterals),

5. a combination of a complete closure and a very slow release.

(affricates) 39
1. Stops (plosives) p.26

When the airstream enters the oral cavity it may be stopped

(obstructed) or flow freely. When the air is completely
stopped for a brief period of time, these speech sounds are
called stops.

English Stops are [b], [p], [t], [d], [k] and [g]

There is another kind of plosives, the glottal stop. The

word “football” can be pronounced without interruption in
the middle or with a complete closure of the glottis instead
of [t]: [ʔ]. 40
In English a voiceless plosive /p , t , k / that occurs at the
beginning of a word and is followed by a vowel, is rather
special in the sense that at the release of a plosion one can
hear a slight puff of air (called aspiration) before the
vowel is articulated, such as “pʰen”.

These aspirated voiceless plosives are not considered to be

different sounds from unaspirated voiceless plosives from
the point of view of how they function in the sound system.
This difference, which can be clearly heard, is said to be
phonetic. 41
 During the articulation of the plosive consonant the
following phases are involved:

1.Closing phase.

2. Compression phase.

3.Release phase.

4. Post-release phase ( puff of air).

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 TYPES OF PLOSIVES (STOPS)
* PLACE OF ARTICULATION:
1. Bilabials : [ p , b ]

2. Alveolars : [ t , d]

3. Velars : [k , g]

4. Glottal : [ʔ]

* VOICING / PHONATION
A. Voiced : [ b , d , g, ʔ]

B. Voiceless: [ p, t , k ]

* NASAL/ORAL
• 1. Nasal /m , n , ŋ/
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• 2. Oral /p , t , k ,b , d ,g/
 NASAL PLOSIVES

 Nasal sounds are plosives since there is a complete

obstruction of the airflow in the mouth but, in contrast,
the air pressure is not allowed to build up behind the
obstruction. Rather, it is allowed to escape through the
nasal cavity by lowering the soft palate. Consequently,
unlike plosives, it is possible to take a breath and
prolong a nasal sound.

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 There are only three English nasal consonants and they
are all voiced. They are made in exactly the same
position in the mouth as the plosives and, therefore, they
are named nasal plosives:

1. bilabial nasal [m] as in “mop and ham”

2. alveolar nasal [n] as in “not and loan”

3. velar nasal [ŋ] as in “wing and ring”

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 PLOSIVES OCCURRENCES
(POSITIONS)

1. Initial position CV

2. Medial position VCV

3. Final position VC

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 INITIAL POSITION CV .1
 All plosives (oral /nasal) occur in initial positions CV
(before a vowel): EXCEPT /ŋ/
e.g. “pat , bat , dad , tap , car , gang, man, nice”

 Voiceless plosives /p,t,k/ become Aspirated when they occur

initially.
 Aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies the
release of some sounds.

e.g. “pat”: / pʰæt /

“tap”: /tʰæp/
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“car”: /kʰar/
 SOME IMPORTANT POINTS FOR
INITIAL PLOSIVES

 Initially, / b , d , g, ŋ / can not be preceded by any

consonant in CCV.
 Whereas , / p , t , k , n , m / can be preceded by ONLY
by one consonant that is /s/.

e.g. “sky” , “stay” , “spy” , “smile” , “snap”

 But in this case, / p , t , k / become Unaspirated.

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 MEDIAL POSITION VCV .2

 All plosives , nasal and oral , can occur in medial

positions VCV (between two vowels) .

 e.g. “ akin , appear , again, readable, abandon , pity,

amount, sunny, engage”

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 FINAL POSITION VC .3

 All plosives , nasal and oral , can occur in final positions

VC (after a vowel)

e.g. “bad, bag , cat, back , tap , cab, gang, sun, dam”
 Voiced plosives become Almost voiceless when occur
finally.
 Vowels before voiceless plosives / p , t , k/ are much
shorter than those precede the voiced ones /b , d, g, n ,
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m, ŋ /
 FORTIS AND LENIS

 Fortis and lenis voiceless and voiced

 Strong and weak

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2. Fricatives

When the air is not stopped completely but is obstructed

from flowing freely, these speech sounds are called
fricatives. Mechanism of sound production is simple:
Air is passed through a narrow channel, creating
turbulence.

English Fricative Sounds “help, fan, van, thin , then , rice ,

rise , ship , measure”

[h] 52
3. Affricates (stop + fricative)

Some sounds are produced by a stop closure followed

immediately a slow release of the closure as in a fricative.
These speech sounds are called affricates. Affricates are
stops followed by short fricatives.

English affricates are [ʧ] and [ʤ].

The two English affricates are both Palato-alveolar. The

way an affricate resembles a plosive followed by a fricative
is mirrored in the symbols. Both consist of a plosive
symbol followed by a fricative one: [ t+ ʃ ], [d+ ʒ].
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4. Laterals

When the air escapes around the sides of the tongue. There
is only one lateral in English, [l], a voiced alveolar lateral.
It occurs in two versions, the so called "clear l" before
vowels, “light, long” , and the "dark l" in other cases,
“milk, ball”. "Clear l" is pronounced with the tip of the
tongue raised, whereas for "dark l " it is the back of the
tongue which is raised.

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CLEAR AND DARK [L]

55
5. Approximants

sounds where the tongue only approaches the roof of the

mouth, so that there is not enough obstruction to create
any friction. English has four approximants, which are all
voiced. [r] and [l] are alveolar, [j] is a palatal approximant,
[w] is a velar approximant. [w] always has lip-rounding as
well, and therefore it is sometimes called labio-velar.

Approximants has two types: glides and laterals.

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A. Liquids

When there is some obstruction of the air stream but not

enough to cause friction, these speech sounds are called
liquids.

English liquids are [l] and [r] as in “light, right”.

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B. Glides

When there is little or no obstruction of the air stream in

the mouth, these speech sounds are called glides or semi-
vowels.

English glides are [j] and [w] as in “yes , white”.

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 GROUPS OF MANNER OF
ARTICULATION
The manners of articulation can be put into two major groups,
obstruents and sonorants. The obstruents are oral plosives,
fricatives and affricates, all sounds with a high degree of
obstruction. Obstruents usually come in pairs, one voiceless,
one voiced, e.g. [p/ b, t/d]. Sonorants have much less
obstruction and are all voiced and therefore more sonorous.
They include nasal plosives, liquids , and glides .

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 Sonorants Obstruents

partial obstruction * * total obstruction

Sonorants are nasals , * * Obstruents are oral plosives,

.liquids and glides fricatives and affricates.

Sonorants have much less * * All sounds with a high degree

obstruction and are all of obstruction. Obstruents are
. voiced voiceless and voiced.

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 SUMMARY
 Fricatives
 Stops Obstruents
 Affricates

 Nasals
 Liquids Sonorents
 Glides

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 sibilants and non-sibilants
A distinction may be made between sibilant and non-
sibilant fricatives. Sibilant sounds are the fricatives with a
clear "hissing" noise, [s, z, ʃ , ʒ] as in “see , zoo , shop ,
garage “, and the two affricates [ʧ] and [ʤ] as in “choke,
joke”.

Sibilant sounds could be:

a. Voiced : [z, ʒ, ʤ]
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b. Voiceless : [s , ʃ, ʧ]
63
IDENTIFY THE
FOLLOWING :ARTICULATORS

64
CONSONANTS EXERCISES PAGE 24

a. Circle the words that end with a fricative:

race wreath bush bring breathe bang
rave real ray rose rough

b. Circle the words that end with a nasal:

rain rang dumb deaf

c. Circle the words that end with a plosive:

pill lip lit graph crab dog hide laugh
back
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d. Circle the words that begin with a lateral:
nut lull bar rob one

e. Circle the words that begin with an approximant:

we you one run

f. Circle the words that end with an affricate:

much back edge ooze

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 PAGE 25
 Write the symbol that corresponds to each of the
following descriptions, and then give a word that
contains the phoneme.
 Example: voiceless alveolar plosive : / t /, two.

a. voiced alveolar lateral

b. voiced dental fricative
d. voiced velar nasal
e. voiced palatal approximant
f. voiceless Palato-alveolar affricate
g. voiced bilabial plosive
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CONSONANTS EXERCISES

PAGE 20

68
WRITE THE PHONETIC SYMBOL FOR THE FIRST
:SOUND IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS

a. this g. knee

b. usual h. hear

c. church i. phonetics

d. Christian j. giant

e. thousand k. one
69
f. psychology
WRITE THE PHONETIC SYMBOL FOR THE LAST
:SOUND IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS

a. tough f. shapes

b. kicked g. bones

c. loved h. parking

d. health i. wave
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e. dog j. large
AMONG THE FOLLOWING WORDS, TICK
:THOSE WHICH START WITH A NASAL SOUND

a. know h. gnaw
b. mother i. look
c. another j. go
d. power k. beer
e. tea l. dear
f. kill m. near
g. mare n. pneumonia
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PAGE 23
Circle the words that begin with a bilabial consonant:
mat gnat sat bat rat pat

b. Circle the words that begin with a velar consonant:

knot got lot cot hot pot

c. Circle the words that begin with a labiodental consonant:

fat cat that mat chat vat
d. Circle the words that begin with an alveolar consonant:
zip nip lip sip tip dip

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e. Circle the words that begin with a dental consonant:
pie guy shy thigh thy high

f. Circle the words that begin with a Palato-alveolar

consonant:
sigh shy tie thigh thy lie

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PAGE 22
Circle the words in which the consonant in the middle is
voiced:

tracking mother robber leisure massive

stomach razor column briefing higher

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 CHAPTER THREE

75
Vowels