The Sounds of

English
Language

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 Phonetics
• Scientific study of production,
transmission & reception of
human speech sounds

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 Branches of Phonetics

• Articulatory Phonetics (Production)

• Acoustic Phonetics (Transmission)
• Auditory Phonetics (Reception)

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 The Organs of Speech

• The respiratory system, consisting of the

lungs, the muscles of the chest, and the
wind-pipe (trachea)
• The phonatory system, formed by the
larynx
• The articulatory system, consisting of the
nose, the mouth (including the tongue, the
teeth, the roof of the mouth, and the lips)

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 Organs of Speech

Respiratory System Phonatory System Articulatory System

Lungs Muscles of Trachea Pharynx Lips Teeth Roof Tongue

the chest of the
Larynx mouth

Vocal Teeth Hard Soft Uvula

cords ridge palate palate

Tip Blade Front Back Rims

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 Consonant Sounds
Consonant sounds can be classified
according to three dimensions:
1.Voicing (voiceless or voiced)
2.The Place of Articulation (where the sound
is made)
3.The Manner of Articulation (how the sound
is made)

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 The Articulators
• The organs of speech above the glottis are the
articulators involved in the production of consonants:
– Active articulator
• the lower lip and the tongue
– Passive articulator
• the upper lip, the upper teeth, the roof of the mouth
and the back wall of the throat (or Pharynx).

• In the production of a consonant, the active articulator is

moved towards the passive articulator.

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 Voicing
• A sound is voiced if the
vocal cords vibrate.
• A sound is voiceless if the
vocal cords are not vibrating.

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 The State of the Glottis
• When we breath in and out, the glottis is
open. That is, the vocal cords are drawn
wide apart producing voiceless sounds.
• If the vocal cords are held loosely
together, the pressure of the air coming
from the lungs makes them vibrate; that is,
they open and close regularly many times
a second. Sounds produced in this way
are called voiced sounds.

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 Place of Articulation
1. Bilabial- two lips touching each other
2. Labio dental- lower lip touches the
upper teeth
3. Dental- tip of the tongue and the inner
edge of the upper teeth
4. Alveolar- tip of the tongue and hard
palate

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5. Palatal- the tongue and
hard palate
6. Velar- dorsal tongue and
soft palate
7. Glottal- throat passage

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Manner of Articulation
1. Stops/Plosives- These are the sounds
produced when the air stream is blocked
completely before it is abruptly released.
2. Fricatives- These are the sounds
produced when the air stream is
compressed and passes through a small
opening creating friction. The sounds

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3.Affricates- These are the sounds
produced when a plosive is
followed by a fricative.
4. Nasals- These are the sounds
produced when the oral cavity is
blocked, and so the air passes
through the nose.

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5. Lateral- Sounds are produced
when air stream moves around
the tongue in an obstructed
manner.
6. Approximant- Sounds that are
close to vowel sounds.

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 What You Need to Know for
Vowels
• FRONT/CENTRAL/BACK: These three
refers to the position of the tongue from
front to back of the mouth during the
production of the sound.
• HIGH/MID/LOW: This designation refers
to whether the lips are rounded (O shape)
or spread (no rounding) when the sound
is being made.

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 Vowels
• The stricture involved in the production of vowels is
open approximation.
• The active articulators: the front, the back, the centre of
the tongue
• The passive articulators: the hard palate, the soft palate,
the meeting point of the hard and soft palates
• The active articulator is raised towards the passive
articulator in such a way that there is a sufficient gap
between the two for the air to escape through the mouth
without any friction.

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• A vowel is described using a three-term
label:
– part of the tongue raised (front, centre, back)
– the height to which the tongue is raised
(close, half-close, half-open, open)
– the position of the lips (unrounded or
rounded)

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 Diphthongs

/aʊ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /eɪ/

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Activity

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Consonant IPA Voicing Place of Manner of
sound Articulation Articulation
s
sh
th
th
ch
zh
j
ng
y
t
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Consonant IPA Voicing Place of Manner of
sound Articulation Articulation
s s Voiceless Alveolar Fricative
sh ʃ Voiceless Palatal Fricative
th θ Voiceless Dental Fricative
th ð Voiced Dental Fricative
ch tʃ Voiceless Palatal affricative
zh ʒ Voiced Palatal Fricative
j dʒ Voiced Palatal Affricative
ng ŋ Voiced Velar Nasal
y j Voiced Palatal Glides
t t Voiceless Alveolar Stops
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