Transcript PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

PHONETICS
AND
PHONOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
REVISION
PHONETICS
- The study of articulation,
transmission and perception of
speech sounds
- Articulatory phonetics
- Acoustic phonetics
- Auditory phonetics
Articulatory phonetics
• is the study of the way the vocal
organs are used to produce speech
sounds
• The number of vocal organs varies
with languages: there are speech
sounds that do not use an air-stream
from the lungs (non-pulmonic sounds,
e.g. clicks tut tut or tsk tsk)
Acoustic phonetics
• is the study of the physical properties of
speech sounds and how they are
transmitted
• Sound energy is a pressure wave consisting
of vibrations of molecules in an elastic
medium – a gas, a liquid, a solid; in this case,
air – air particles are disturbed through
the movements and vibrations of the vocal
organs, especially the vocal folds. The
process continues as a chain reaction for as
long as the energy lasts.
• Air particles move in the form of a wave:
they are characterized by oscillation ,
frequency (hertz), amplitude and intensity
(decibels).
Waveforms of the vowel /a:/
and the consonant /s/
Spectrograph:
• Speech spectrograph (a machine) is
used to display sounds acoustically:
time (duration) of a sound is
displayed horizontally, acoustic
frequency of a sound is displayed
vertically, and intensity is shown by
the relative darkness of the marks.
Types of spectrogram:
Spectrogram:
• Vowels and vowel-like sounds are
darkest and different vowel qualities
can be seen in the changing pattern
of black bands (formants) which
represent varying concentrations of
acoustic energy in the vocal tract.
Auditory phonetics
• is the study of the way people
perceive speech sounds; the
study of speech perception.
• 1st step – when sound waves
arrive at the ear;
• 2nd step – transmission of sound
along the auditory nerve to the
brain
PHONOLOGY
- The application of phonetics to a particular
language or languages
- In most languages fewer than 50 distinct
sound units
- It is concerned with establishing what units
of sound a language uses and how it makes use
of them
- Examines the relationship between sounds in a
given language and takes account of the
theory of sound systems in general
Phonology
• By contrast with phonetics, which
studies all possible sounds that the
human vocal apparatus can make,
phonology studies only those
contrasts in sound (the phonemes)
which make differences of meaning
within language.
Phonology
• When considering the sound system of English,
we are referring to the number of phonemes
which are used in the language, and to how they
are organized. To say there are 20 phonemes in a
particular accent means that there are 20 units
which can differentiate word meanings: e.g. /e/
is different from /i:/, for example, because there
are pairs of words (such as set and seat) which
can be distinguished only by replacing one of
these vowels by the other.
Purpose of the course
• How English is pronounced in the accent
chosen as the Standard
• (advanced level)
the above mentioned information in the
context of a general theory of speech
sounds and their use in a particular
language
• Phonetics and phonology – the theoretical
context
The necessity of
the theoretical background
• Working with the language at an
advanced level requires deeper
understanding of grammar and related
areas of linguistics
The basic ideas of
phonetics and
phonology
• Phonemes, e.g.
“pin” – “pen”
“pet” – “bet”
• Pronunciation also makes things difficult:
“enough” vs. “inept” vs. “stuff”
Same sounds have different spelling,
therefore can be recognized as same only
when transcribed
Course development
• Identifying and describing phonemes in
English, either vowels or consonants
• Phonemes and the use of symbols
• Larger units of speech,e.g. syllable, and
further:
stress (relative strength of a syllable)
and
intonation (use of the pitch of the voice to
convey meaning)
Using “ROACH”
• Bold type – introduction of technical
terms
• Single quotes – (‘...’) words used as
examples in spelling form
• Double quotes – (“...”) normal use of
quote marks
ACCENTS AND
DIALECTS
• Same languages pronounced differently by people
from different geographical areas, social classes,
ages, educational backgrounds, etc. are said to
have different accents
ACCENT ≠ DIALECT
• Varieties of a language different from others not
just in pronunciation but also in vocabulary,
grammar, word order are called dialects
RECEIVED
PRONUNCIATION (RP) –
BBC PRONUNCIATION
• The model of English most often
recommended for foreign learners
studying British English;
• Used by most announcers and
newsreaders on BBC showing
consistency in the broadcast speech
D. Jones (1909)
• “ ‘Good’ speech may be defined as a
way of speaking which is clearly
intelligible to all ordinary people.
‘Bad’ speech is a way of talking which
is difficult for most people to
understand. ...”
use of different sounds ≠
unintelligibility
However, do not doubt!
Concentrate on
STANDARD !
VARIETIES
will be considered
later !
THANK YOU!