Ling 240: Language and

Mind
Phonetics

Phonetics

The study of physical properties of

sound
Sounds may not be represented
systematically by spelling.
Examples?

Why not just spell?

Sounds may not be represented

systematically by spelling because...
Same spelling for different sounds
Combination of letters representing
one sound,
Some letters are silent

Phonetic Alphabet

One symbol represents one sound

Each speech sound has a distinct symbol

Cross-linguistically applicable

IPA

IPA symbols for

Transcription
[p]= pat

[k]= car

[h]= hat

[b]= bat

[g]=guar
d

[m]=mull

[t]= tap
[d]=dam

[f]= foot
[v]= van

[n]= null
[]= ring

IPA symbols for transcription

[s] = sap
[z] = zip

[]= shine

[] =
[] = think vision
[

]=
tou
ch
[] = this
[]=
judge

[]= ring
[l]= leaf
[j] = yes
[w]=
with

IPA symbols for transcription

[i]=shee [u]=
boot
p
[]=ship

[]=put

[]= end []=

open

[]=ash
[]= father
[]=about
[]= but

Diphthongs (Complex
Vowels)

Complex because they are

two-part vowels
But count as a single
sound because two vowels
are articulated together.
Examples:
[] =bite
[] = boy
[e]= bait

IPA symbols for transcription

PRACTICE!

(Remember brackets!)
next
kite

chin
cat

lamb
meet

IPA symbols for transcription

PRACTICE!
next [nkst] chin [n]
[lm]
kite [kt]

cat [kt]

lamb

meet [mit]

The Vocal Tract

Consonants vs. Vowels

consonantal sounds: obstruction of

airflow in vocal tract
vowel sounds: little to no obstruction
of airflow

Features of Consonants

Voicing (state of the glottis)

Place of articulation
Manner of articulation
Site for listening to the sounds of
American English:
http://
www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/
english/frameset.html

Voicing

Voicing

Place of Articulation

Articulator: Organ a speaker employs

to produce and distinguish certain
speech sound (e.g. lips are active
articulators and hard plate is a
passive articulator)
Place of articulation: Identifies the
location of articulators

Place of Articulation

Bilabial
[p]
Labiodental [f] [v]
Interdental [] []
Alveolar
[t]
[]
Palatal
[] []
Velar
[k] [g]

[b] [m] [w]

[d] [n] [s] [z] [l]

[] [] [j]
[]

Manners of articulation

Stops [p] [b] [t] [d] [k] [g]

Fricatives [f] [v] [] [] [s] [z] [] []
Affricates [] []
Liquids
[l] []
Glides [w] [j]

Consonant Chart for English

Phonetic features of
consonants

To describe phonetic features of

consonants, list (a) voicing (b) place of
articulation and (c) manner of
articulation for consonants (3 features)
e.g. [p] = Voiceless bilabial stop
[z] = Voiced alveolar fricative

Features of vowels

All vowels in English are voiced and involve

a continuous flow of air through the oral
cavity. English vowels can be categorized by
4 distinctive features:
(1) Height of the tongue
(2) Frontness/backness of the tongue
(3) Tenseness/laxness i.e. whether the tongue muscle is
tense or lax
(4) Round/unrounded i.e. whether the lips are rounded or not

Every vowel is a combination

of 4 features.

[i] as in meet is high front tense

unrounded vowel
[] as in pat is low front lax
unrounded
[] as in pot is low back lax
unrounded

Vowels of English

What knowledge do we have

about the sounds of our native
language?

We know which sounds are distinctive

e.g. l and r are perceived as
different sounds in English but not in
Japanese
We know which sounds can (and cant
combine)
e.g. Are these possible English words?
mbeem, tsub, coofb

What do we know about sound

in (and not in) our language?

Recognize foreign accents

How does a French speaker pronounce the word

this?

How does a German speaker pronounce the word

think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64vBaFOfawI