1、Lecture 2 Phonetics,Language is primarily vocal. The primary medium of human language is sound. Linguists are not interested in all sounds, but in speech sounds-sounds that convey meaning in human communication.,What is phonetics ?,-A branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of speech

2、 sounds and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription, e.g. p bilabial, stop.,Scope of phonetics,Articulatory phonetics-from the speakers point of view, “how speakers produce speech sounds”. Auditory phonetics-from the hearers point of view, “how sounds are perceived”.

3、 Acoustic phonetics-from the physical way or means by which sounds are transmitted from one to another.,Articulatory phonetics,word |w:d| |w:rd| pass |pa:s| |ps| box | bks | |baks| interesting |intristi| |intristi| system |sistim| |sistm|,Speech organs,A. The initiator of the airstream,B. The vocal

4、cords,C. The resonating cavities,The initiator of the airstream,The vocal cords,Cords open,Cords closed,Larynx,Three resonating cavities,Pharyngeal cavity - the throat The oral cavity - the mouth Nasal cavity - the nose,Three cavities,The diagram of speech organs,Lips Teeth Teeth ridge (alveolar) Ha

5、rd palate Soft palate (velar) Uvula Tip of tongue Blade of tongue Back of tongue Vocal cords Pharyngeal cavity Nasal cavity,More exactly,Terms: places of articulation,Bilabial; Labiodental; Dental or interdental; Alveolar; Palatoalveolar; Palatal; Velar; Uvular; Glottal.,Some major articulatory vari

6、ables,- dimensions on which speech sounds may vary: Voicing- voiced fricatives: f, v, s, z, , , , , h; affricates: t, d in “chuch, judge”. liquids: l(lateral), r; nasals: m, n, in “sing”. glides/semivowels/ approximant: w, j in “we, you”.,The description of English consonants,Description of English

7、consonants,p voiceless, bilabial, stop b voiced, bilabial, stop s voiceless, alveolar, fricative z voiced, alveolar, fricative Note: description of consonants voiced/ voiceless; Places of articulation; Manners of articulation.,Classification of vowels,- English vowels can be divided into two large c

8、ategories: Monophthongs or pure/single vowels Diphthongs or gliding vowels,Monophthongs or pure/single vowels,-According to which part of the tongue is held highest in the process of production, the vowels can be distinguished as: front vowels: i:, i, e, central vowels: :, , back vowels: u:, u, :, ,

9、 a:,According to the openness of the mouth (P.36),Close: i:, i, u:, u Semi-close: e, :; Semi-open: , :; Open: , a:, a, , ;,The diagram of single vowel classification by applying the two criteria so far mentioned:,According to the shape of the lips orthe degree of lip rounding,rounded: u:, u, :, ; un

10、rounded: i:, i, a:, a, e, : , ,According to the length of the vowels,long (tense): i:, a:, u:, :, : Short (lax): i, a, , u, , ,Diphthongs/gliding vowels,ei, u, ai, au, i, i, u, ,Description of English vowels,i: high, front, tense, unrounded u high, back, lax, rounded mid, central, lax, unrounded low

11、, back, lax, rounded Note: description of vowels The height of tongue raising (high, mid, low); The position of the highest part of the tongue (front, central, back); The tenseness of the vowel; Lip-rounding;,Exercises:,A bilabial consonant: mad sad bad cad pad had lad A velar consonant: god nod cod

12、 pod rod Labiodental consonant: fat rat vat sat mat chat pat An alveolar consonant: tick nick lick kick sick quick A palato-alveolar consonant: ship sip chip tip lip zip A dental consonant: thigh lie thy buy tie rye A glide: yolk rush war one,Underline the words that end with a sound as required:,A

13、fricative breath wreathe pay horse rice hang tough cave sing push A nasal train bang limb leaf A stop pipe crab drill fit ride laugh rack fog through tip An affricate: such ridge rack,Underline the words that contain the sound as required:,A central vowel: mad lot but boot word A front vowel: reed p

14、ad load fate bit bed cook A rounded vowel: who he bus her hit true boss bar walk A back vowel: paid reap fool top good father,Describe the underlined consonants according to three dimensions:,vd/vl place manner Letter vl alveolar stop/plosive Brother vd dental fricative Sunny vl alveolar fricative H

15、opper vl bilabial stop/plosive Itching Lodger Calling Singing Robber either,Phonetic transcription,- A standardized and internationally accepted system of phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The basic principle of the IPA is using one letter to represent one speech s

16、ound.,Examples,The phoneme /l/ is pronounced differently in those words let, play, tell. /l/ in let, the sound is made by raising the front of the tongue to the hard palate, while the vocal cords are vibrating l. /l/ in play, the sound is made with the same tongue position as the first, but the vocal cords are not vibrating l. /l/ in tell, the sound is made by raising not only the front, but also the back of the tongue while the vocal cords are vibrating .,Broad transcription,Broad