1、,Chapter 2 Speech Sounds,Introduction As human beings we are capable of making all kinds of sounds, but only some of these sounds have become units in the language system. We can analyze speech sounds from various perspectives and the two major areas of study are phonetics and phonology.,Phonetics s

2、tudies how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived.,Three main areas: Articulatory Phonetics is the study of the production of speech sounds. Acoustic Phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds. Perceptual or Auditory Phonetics is concerned with the perception

3、of speech sounds.,Phonology is the study of the sound patterns and sound systems of languages. It aims to discover the principles that govern the way sounds are organized in languages, and to explain the variations that occur (Crystal, 1997:162). In phonology we normally begin by analyzing an indivi

4、dual language, say English, in order to determine its phonological structure, i.e. which sound units are used and how they are put together. Then we compare the properties of sound systems in different languages in order to make hypotheses about the rules that underlie the use of sounds in them, and

5、 ultimately we aim to discover the rules that underlie the sound patterns of all languages.,2.1 How speech sounds are made,2.1.1 Speech organs,Speech organs(vocal organs)(言語(yǔ)器官): those part of the human body involved in the production of speech Part of the body that are involved in the production of

6、speech: the lungs（肺），the trachea(氣管), the throat（咽喉）, the nose and the mouth The mouth: the tongue, the plate(腭) The throat: pharynx (upper)(咽), larynx (lower)(喉頭) The vocal tract(聲道): the pharynx, mouth, and nose The mouth: the oral cavity(口腔) The nose: the nasal cavity(鼻腔),Vocal folds(vocal cords,

7、 vocal bands): a pair of structure that lies horizontally with their front ends joined together at the back of the Adams apple. The vocal folds are either (a) apart, (b) close together, or (c) totally closed. Voiceless(清音): the vocal folds are apart, the air can pass easily p,s,t Voiced(濁音): the voc

8、al folds are close together, the airstream causes them to vibrate against each other b,z,d Glottal stop(喉塞音): the vocal folds are totally closed, no air can pass between them,Position of the vocal folds: voiceless,發(fā)音器官的構(gòu)造及其作用,世界上所有的聲音都是物體振動(dòng)產(chǎn)生的聲波在介質(zhì)中傳遞的結(jié)果，因此聲音的產(chǎn)生離不開(kāi)振動(dòng)的動(dòng)力、振動(dòng)的源頭和振動(dòng)的共鳴腔。語(yǔ)音說(shuō)到底也是一種聲音，因而也離

9、不開(kāi)振動(dòng)的動(dòng)力、源頭和共鳴腔，只不過(guò)語(yǔ)音是由人類的發(fā)音器官各部分協(xié)同動(dòng)作所產(chǎn)生的，研究語(yǔ)音的產(chǎn)生，就必須首先了解發(fā)音器官的構(gòu)造和功能。 人類的發(fā)音器官可以分為三大部分：呼吸器官、喉頭聲帶與聲腔（口腔、鼻腔與咽腔），我們?cè)敿?xì)介紹各部分的構(gòu)造和功能。,發(fā)音器官的構(gòu)造及其作用,1 呼吸器官 呼吸器官主要包括肺、氣管和支氣管。肺部的收縮和擴(kuò)張可以產(chǎn)生呼氣和吸氣的氣流變化，這種氣流變化不僅為人類的生存提供氧氣和二氧化碳的交換，而且為語(yǔ)音的發(fā)出提供了振動(dòng)的動(dòng)力。世界上多數(shù)語(yǔ)言的語(yǔ)音利用呼氣作為動(dòng)力，非洲有些語(yǔ)言還利用吸氣發(fā)音。,發(fā)音器官的構(gòu)造及其作用,2 喉頭和聲帶 喉頭由軟骨構(gòu)成，呈圓筒狀，上接咽腔，下

10、接氣管，喉頭的外表就是喉結(jié)。喉頭軟骨構(gòu)成的圓筒中有一對(duì)聲帶，聲帶是兩片富有彈性的唇性肌肉，其前后兩端都粘附在軟骨上。兩片聲帶之間的空隙叫聲門，聲門又可以分為音門和氣門兩部分。由于肌肉的松弛緊縮和軟骨的開(kāi)合回轉(zhuǎn)，聲帶可以放松或拉緊，聲門可以打開(kāi)和關(guān)閉，從而產(chǎn)生不同的氣流狀態(tài)。聲帶的兩小片肌肉可以在氣流的沖擊下振動(dòng)，這種振動(dòng)產(chǎn)生了語(yǔ)音中的濁音。所以聲帶的主要作用是振動(dòng)的源頭之一-濁音的音源。,發(fā)音器官的構(gòu)造及其作用,3 聲腔 聲腔包括口腔、鼻腔和咽腔三部分。 口腔可分為上下兩個(gè)部分，上面部分包括上唇、上齒、齒齦、硬腭、軟腭和小舌。齒齦是上腭前段凸出的部分，硬腭是齒齦之后口腔上壁堅(jiān)硬的部分，軟腭是硬

11、腭后面的柔軟部分。軟腭后面連接的是小舌，軟腭與小舌可以上下移動(dòng)?？谇坏南旅娌糠职ㄏ麓?、下齒和舌頭。舌頭是口腔里最重要、最靈活的器官，它可以分為舌尖、舌葉、舌面三部分。舌尖位于舌頭的最前端，舌頭自然平伸時(shí)，舌尖后面與齒齦相對(duì)的部分叫舌葉。舌葉之后的部分叫舌面，又可以分為前、中、后三部分。其中相對(duì)于硬腭的部分是舌面前和舌面中，相對(duì)于軟腭的部分是舌面后，舌面后又可以叫舌跟。,發(fā)音器官的構(gòu)造及其作用,鼻腔位于口腔的上方，好像一個(gè)是樓上，一個(gè)是樓下，上腭就是樓板，而軟腭帶動(dòng)小舌就像一扇活動(dòng)的樓門。（解釋：口音 鼻音 鼻化音） 咽腔位于喉頭的上面，是一個(gè)管狀的三岔口，上通鼻腔，前通口腔，下通喉頭和食道。

12、 在上述各發(fā)音器官中，有些器官如唇、舌、軟腭、小舌、聲帶等是能活動(dòng)的，叫作主動(dòng)發(fā)音器官；有些器官如上齒、齒齦、硬腭等是不能活動(dòng)的，叫作被動(dòng)發(fā)音器官。我們發(fā)音的時(shí)候，常由主動(dòng)發(fā)音器官向被動(dòng)發(fā)音器官接觸或靠近，讓氣流沖擊產(chǎn)生振動(dòng)而發(fā)音。 聲腔是人類最重要的發(fā)音器官，聲腔中又以口腔及其中的各種器官作用最大。,2.1.2 The IPA,The International Phonetic Association (IPA)(標(biāo)音法) 1897 The International Phonetic Alphabet (the IPA chart) 1888first version The lates

13、t version was revised in 1993 and updated twice in 1996 and 2005. In the IPA chart, the sound segments are grouped into CONSONANTS and VOWELS.,The InternationalPhonetic Alphabet (Revised to 2005),2.2 Consonants and Vowels元音和輔音,The sound segments are grouped into consonants and vowels. Consonants are

14、 produced by a closure in the vocal tract, or by a narrowing which is so marked that air cannot escape without producing audible friction. A vowel is produced without obstruction of the air so that air escapes in a relatively unimpeded way through the mouth or nose.,The distinction between vowels an

15、d consonants lies in the obstruction of airstream. As there is no obstruction of air in the production of vowels, the description of the consonants and vowels cannot be done along the same lines.,2.2.1 Consonants,In the production of consonants at least two articulators are involved. For example, th

16、e initial sound in bad involves both lips and its final segment involves the blade (or the tip) of the tongue and the alveolar ridge. The categories of consonant, therefore, are established on the basis of several factors.,The manner of articulation refers to the ways in which articulation can be ac

17、complished: the articulators may close off the oral tract for an instant or a relatively long period; they may narrow the space considerably; or they may simply modify the shape of the tract by approaching each other.,Stop (or Plosive) Oral provide a frame of reference for the description of the act

18、ual vowels of existing languages. represent extreme points of a theoretical vowel space Thus, the cardinal vowel diagram in the IPA is a set of hypothetical positions for vowels used as reference points,based on a combination of articulatory and auditory judgments, the front, center, and back of the

19、 tongue are distinguished, as are four levels of tongue height(the highest position, the lowest position and two intermediate levels). The system defines eight “primary” cardinal vowels: iea (unrounded) ou (rounded),Jones: An Outline of English Phonetics (1918),Black: IPA Red: English,Vowel glides(元

20、音音渡）,Pure/Monophthongmnuf vowels(純?cè)艋騿卧?: Vowels whose quality remains constant throughout the articulation Vowel glides: Vowels where there is an audible change of quality Diphthongdf, (雙元音): a single movement(way, tide, how, toy, toe) of tongue is involved Triphthongtrif (三重元音): a double movement

21、(wire, tower) of tongue,2.2.3 The sounds of English,The most common accent in the teaching of English: RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION (RP)(BBC English, Oxford English). The Kings/Queens English It originates historically in the southeast of England and is spoken by the upper-middles and upper classes throug

22、hout England. In the USA, the widely accepted accent used is GENERAL AMERICAN (GA) English consonants,Describe consonants,Place of articulation Manner of articulation Voicing Eg. p voiceless bilabial stop b voiced bilabial stop s voiceless alveolar fricative z voiced alveolar fricative,English vowel

23、s,Four basic requirements for the description of vowels 1) the height of tongue raising (high, mid, low) 2) the position of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back) 3) the length or tenseness of the vowel (tense vs. lax or long vs. short) 4) lip-rounding (rounded vs. unrounded),We can n

24、ow describe the English vowels in this way: high front tense unrounded vowel high back lax rounded vowel mid central lax unrounded vowel low back lax rounded vowel,2.3 From phonetics to phonology,2.3.1 Coarticulation and phonetic transcriptions Speech is a continuous process, so the vocal organs do

25、not move from one sound segment to the next in a series of separate steps. Rather, sounds continually show the influence of their neighbors. For example, map, lamb.,When such simultaneous or overlapping articulations are involved, we call the process coarticulation. If the sound becomes more like th

26、e following sound (lamb), it is known as anticipatory coarticulation (逆化協(xié)同發(fā)音). If the sound displays the influence of the preceding sound (map), it is perseverative coarticulation (重復(fù)性協(xié)同發(fā)音). The former is more common than the latter.,The fact that the vowel in lamb has some quality of the following

27、nasal is a phenomenon we call nasalization. To indicate that a vowel has been nasalized, we add a diacritic to the top of the symbol , as .,By the same token, we can use these diacritics for recording other variations of the same sound. Take p for example, it is aspirated in peak and unaspirated in

28、speak. This aspirated voiceless bilabial stop is thus indicated by the diacritic h, as ph, whereas the unaspirated counterpart is transcribed as p.,For most purposes, however, it is not necessary to indicate such variations of a sound every time. When we use a simple set of symbols in our transcript

29、ion, it is called a broad transcription. The use of more specific symbols to show more phonetic detail is referred to as a narrow transcription. Both are phonetic transcriptions so we put both forms in square brackets .,2.3.2 Phonemes 音位,Phonology is not specifically concerned with the physical prop

30、erties of the speech production system. Phoneticians are concerned with how sounds differ in the way they are pronounced while phonologists are interested in the patterning of such sounds and the rules that underlie such variations.,Crystal: Phonological analysis relies on the principle that certain

31、 sounds cause changes in the meaning of a word or phrase, whereas other sounds do not. Minimal pairs test Phonemes,Minimal pairs(最小對(duì)立體): Phonological analysis relies on the principle that certain sounds cause changes in the meaning of a word. e.g. t and d: tin/din, tie/die i: and i: beat/bit, bead/b

32、id These important units are called phonemes,MINIMAL PAIR： Two words in a language which differ from each other by only one distinctive sound (one phoneme) and which also differ in meaning. For example, the English words bear and pear are a minimal pair as they differ in meaning and in their initial

33、 phoneme /b/and/p/,The phoneme theory Phoneme: units of explicit sound contrast, built on the idea of contrast Languages differ in the selection of contrastive sounds. In English, the distinction between aspirated ph and unaspirated p is not phonemic.,By convention, phonemic transcriptions are place

34、d between slant lines (/), while phonetic transcriptions are placed between square brackets ( ). In phonetic terms, phonemic transcriptions represent the “broad” transcription,2.3.3 Allophones,p, ph are two different phones and are variants of the phoneme /p/. Such variants of a phoneme are called a

35、llophones of the same phoneme. In this case the allophones are said to be in complementary distribution because they never occur in the same context: p occurs after s while ph occurs in other places.,/p/ p /s _ ph elsewhere This phenomenon of variation in the pronunciation of phonemes in different p

36、ositions is called allophony or allophonic variation. Another example: the phoneme /l/ It is pronounced differently in lead and deal.,Velarization: clear l and dark l / / _ V / V _ Think about tell and telling!,Some phones are in complementary distribution, but there is another restriction for phone

37、s to fall into the same phoneme. Phonetic similarity: the allophones of a phoneme must bear some phonetic resemblance. Sometimes a phoneme may also have free variants. Free variants and free variation:,For example, the final consonant of cup may not be released by some speakers so there is no audibl

38、e sound at the end of this word. In this case, it is the same word pronounced in two different ways. The difference may be caused by dialect, habit, or individual preference, instead of any distribution rule. Free variation is also seen in regional differences. Either, direction,2.4 Phonological pro

39、cesses and phonological rules,2.4.1 Assimilation,Nasalization, dentalization, and velarization are all instances of assimilation, a process by which one sound takes on some or all the characteristics of a neighboring sound. If a following sound is influencing a preceding sound, we call it regressive

40、 assimilation. The converse process, in which a preceding sound is influencing a following sound, is known as progressive assimilation.,English Fricative Devoicing,These changes exhibit PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES in which a TARGET or AFFECTED SEGMENT undergoes a structural change in certain ENVIRONMENTS

41、 or CONTEXTS. In each process the change is conditioned or triggered by a following sound.,Any phonological process must have three aspects to it: A) a set of sounds to undergo the process B) a set of sounds produced by the process C) a set of situations in which the process applies,/v/ f /z/ s etc.

42、 voiced fricative voiceless / _ voiceless This is a PHONOLOGICAL RULE. A voiced fricative is transformed into the corresponding voiceless sound when it appears before a voiceless sound. Nasalization rule: -nasal +nasal / _ +nasal Dentalization rule: -dental dental / _ dental Velarization rule: -vela

43、r +velar / _ +velar,2.5 Suprasegmentals,Suprasegmental features are those aspects of speech that involve more than single sound segments. The principal suprasegmentals are:,2.5.1 The syllable structure, Onset Rime Nucleus Coda k r k t,Open syllable: bar, tie Closed syllable: bard, tied Maximal Onset

44、 Principle (MOP) When there is a choice as to where to place a consonant, it is put into the onset rather than the coda. This explains the question of why /l/ in telling is pronounced as the clear l.,2.5.2 Stress,Stress refers to the degree of force used in producing a syllable. In transcription, a

45、raised vertical line is often used just before the syllable it relates to. A basic distinction is made between stressed and unstressed syllables, the former being more prominent than the latter, which means that stress is a relative notion.,At the word level, it only applies to words with at least t

46、wo syllables. At the sentence level, a monosyllabic word may be said to be stressed relative to other words in the sentence. The stress pattern in English is no easy matter. In principle, the stress may fall on ant syllable. They also change over history and exhibit regional or dialectal differences

47、.,Changing English Stress Pattern,Becoming norm inTEGral coMMUNal forMIDable conTROVersy,Considered conservative INtegral COMMunal FORmidable CONtroversy,RP laBORatory DEBris GARage,GA LABoratory deBRIS gaRAGE,RP vs. GA,Verb conVICT inSULT proDUCE reBEL,Noun CONvict INsult PROduce REbel,V vs. N,BLAC

48、Kboard BLACKbird,black BOARD black BIRD,Compound Phrase,Compound vs. Phrase,Primary vs. Secondary Stress,epiphenomenal unsatisfactory discrimination standardization communication industrialization,Sentence Stress,Sentence stress is much more interesting. In general situations, notional words are nor

49、mally stressed while structural words are unstressed. Sentence stress is often used to express emphasis, surprise, etc. so that in principle stress may fall on any word or any syllable.,John bought a red car. JOHN bought a red car. John BOUGHT a red car. John bought a RED car. John bought a red CAR.

50、,2.5.3 Intonation,Intonation involves the occurrence of recurring fall-rise patterns, each of which is used with a set of relatively consistent meanings, either on single words or on groups of words of varying length. For example, the fall-rise tone in English typically involves the meaning of a contrast within a limited set of items stated explicitly or implicitly.,(Isnt her name Mary?) No / Jenny The old man didnt come / whereas the young man / did come and actually enjoyed himself I didnt do it,2.5.4 Tone,In Chinese tone changes are used in a different way, affect