Transcript Document 7704892

LIN 3201 Sounds of Human
Language
Sayers -- Week 1 – August 29 & 31
What is Phonetics?
Study of human speech sounds:
Describing and classifying human sounds
Understanding production of sounds
Comparing and contrasting sounds across languages
Discovering constraints and limitations of possible
human speech
Purposes of Phonetic Investigation
Modifying or correcting pronunciation of
second language students or actors
Understanding dialectal differences and
historical changes in pronunciation
Assisting those with speech disorders
Forensic analysis of speech in law
Discovering the phonemic system of a
language – the way native speakers organize
and perceive sound
3 Fields of Phonetics
1. Articulatory Phonetics
Physical properties of sound – how sounds are
produced in the vocal tract
2. Acoustic Phonetics
Sound as a wave – air compression and disturbance
as sounds are released
3. Auditory Phonetics
Interpretation and reception of speech sounds
(Forensic Phonetics)
Application of all fields to analyze legal data
Phonetics and LIN 3201
4 Goals:
1. Understanding of the possible modifications
of sound as it travels through vocal tract
 What does our body do to produce a given sound?
2. Representation of sounds by a phonetic
alphabet
 Recognizing IPA symbols
 Understanding the physical properties each represents
3. Production of sounds
 Your actual practice in physical production
4. Perception of sounds
 Your practice in observation and perception
 A thorough understanding of phonemes and sound
system organization
A few caveats about
sound…
Or, Why Phonetics is so hard…
Adapted from Hardman 1996
Sound and Perceptions – Some Basics
Sound is a wave – a fluid flow of “chaos”
We attempt, as humans, to organize,
shape and structure these waves into
meaningful units
<<<BUT>>>
Sound,
as a physical event,
does not repeat itself
This means that…
You individually organize sounds based on
the structures of your native language(s) &
the languages you have studied
Native language(s) act as filter; don’t “hear”
phonetic distinctions; don’t hear phonetics
directly
SO Phonetics is hard because…
 You are attempting to
“observe” what your
brain has worked
against “observing”
In theoretical terms…
Humans perceive through repetition
Any actual repetition is a function of
your human capacity, not of “sound”
itself
Therefore…
Keep in mind that your phonetic
transcriptions are not “absolute reality”
At best, transcriptions are approximations
The IPA

International Phonetic Alphabet


One symbol represents individual elements of speech
sound
Serves as shorthand device for unique set of
characteristics in vocal tract
Consonants

Columns


front of mouth back of mouth
Rows

Greatest stricture  least stricture
Vowels

Columns


front of mouth back of mouth
Rows

Least open  most open
Articulatory Phonetics
How sounds are produced
by modifying air through
vocal tract
4 Processes in producing sounds
1.
2.
3.
4.
Airstream mechanism
State of Glottis
Manner of Articulation
Place of Articulation (Consonants) OR
Tongue & Lip Position (Vowels)
Active articulators
Anatomy

Active articulators –
speech organs,
generally at the top of
the mouth, that move
toward the upper mouth
to modify air
Organs & Adjectives


Lower lip - labial
Tongue - lingual





Tip - apical
Blade - laminal
Back - dorsal
Root - radical
Epiglottis - epiglottal

Passive articulators –
speech organs,
generally at the bottom
of the mouth, that
generally remain
inactive during speech
Organs & Adjectives
 Upper lip - labial
 Upper Teeth - dental
 Alveolar Ridge – alveolar
 Hard Palate – palatal
 Soft Palate (velum) – velar
 Uvula (uvular flap) - uvular
General Diagram of Vocal Tract

Other Speech Organs
Organs & Adjectives
 Pharynx – pharyngeal
 Glottis – glottal
 Larynx – laryngeal




Vocal Folds/Cords
Oral Cavity
Nasal Cavity
Lungs