Language in a Social Context VO1

Phonetics studies speech sounds as physical phenomena. It looks at how sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived.

Three main questions:

• How are sounds produced? (articulatory phonetics)

• What are their physical properties? (acoustic phonetics)

• How do we hear them? (auditory phonetics)

Example: Phonetics can describe the sound /p/ as:

• produced by closing both lips

• releasing air suddenly

• having no vocal fold vibration

Phonology studies how sounds function within a language system. Instead of the physical sound itself, phonology focuses on:

• how sounds distinguish meaning

• how sounds pattern in a language

Example:

• /p/ vs /b/

  • pat vs bat

-> The difference in sound changes the meaning -> therefore they are different phonemes in English

1. Articulatory Phonetics = studies how speech sounds are produced in the vocal tract.

   • Focus: movement of lips, tongue position, airflow

   • Example question: Where in the mouth is /t/ produced

2. Acoustic Phonetics = studies the physical properties of sound waves

   • Focus: frequency, amplitude, sound waves

   • Example: When you record speech and analyze it on a computer, you are studying acoustic phonetics

3. Auditory Phonetics = studies how humans perceive speech sounds

   • Focus: ear function, brain interpretation, speech perception

   • Example: Why listeners can distinguish /s/ from /ʃ/

Problem: English spelling is inconsistent -> English spelling reflects older pronunciation, so the relationship between spelling and sound is irregular

One sound can have many spellings — /uː/

• who

• shoe

• moon

• you

• true

One spelling can have many sounds — ea

• beat /iː/

• head /e/

• great /eɪ/

Because of this inconsistency, linguists created the IPA.

The International Phonetic Alphabet is a standardzed system used to represent speech sounds with symbols.

• One symbol = one sound

• Each symbol represents exactly one pronunciation

Example:

While IPA can represent all sounds in human languages and consists of 550+ consonants and 300+ vowels and diphtongs, English only uses about 50 symbols

Grapheme = a written symbol in a writing system

Example: <b> <sh> <ea>

Phoneme = a sound unit that distinguishes meaning in a language

Example: /b/ vs /p/

1. Lungs = provides the airflow needed for speech

   • Most speech uses: Pulmonc egressive airstream -> air flows out of the lungs

2. Larynx = contains the vocal folds

   • The vocal folds determine voicing (if they vibrate -> sound is voiced, if they do not vibrate -> sound is voiceless)

   • voiced: /b/, /d/, /z/

   • voiceless: /p/, /t/, /s/

3. Vocal Tract = structures in the vocal tract modify airflow to create different speech sounds

   • tongue

   • lips

   • teeth

   • alveolar ridge

   • palate

Active articulators move to produce sounds.

Examples: tongue and lower lip

Passive articulators do not move to produce sounds.

Examples: upper teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate

For the sound /f/:

• lower lip (active)

• upper teeth (passive)

The key difference is airflow obstruction.

Vowels = produced without blocking airflow in the mouth. Air moves freely through the vocal tract.

Examples: /i/, /u/, /a/

Consonants = produced with some obstruction of airflow.

Examples: /p/, /t/, /s/,

Consonants are described using three parameters. These three features together describe exactly how a sound is produced:

1. Voicing = depends on vocal fold vibration

   • Voiced consonants = vocal folds vibrate

     • Examples: /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/

   • Voiceless consonants = no vibration

     • Examples: /p/, /t/, /k/, /s/

   • Voiced-Voiceless Pairs: English often has pairs that differ only in voicing. (/p/ + /b/, /t/ + /d/, /f/ + /v/, /s/ + /z/)

2. Place of articulation = this refers to where in the vocal tract the airflow is obstructed

   • Bilabial = both lips come together (/p/, /b/, /m/)

   • Labiodental = lower lip and upper theeth (/f/, /v/)

   • Alveolar = tongue touches the alveolar ridge (/t/, /d/, /s/)

   • Palato-alveolar = Tongue between alveolar ridge and hard palate (/ʃ/ ship, /tʃ/ church)

   • Palatal = tongue touches the hard palate (/j/ yes)

   • Velar = back of tongue touches soft palate (velum) (/k/, /g/, /ŋ/ sing)

   • Glottal = produced at the glottis/vocal folds (/h/)

3. Manner of articulation = this describes how airflow is modified

   • Plosives (stops) = airflow is completely blocked and then suddenly released

     • Examples: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/

   • Fricatives = air is forced thorugh a narrow gap, creating friction

     • Examples: /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /h/

   • Affricatives = combination of stop and fricative

     • Examples: /tʃ/ church, /dʒ/ judge

   • Nasals = air flows through the nose

     • Examples: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/

   • Approximants = articulators approch each other but do not create friction

     • Examples: /l/ (lateral approximant), /w/, /j/, /r/

/k/ -> voiceless velar plosive

/g/ -> voiced velar plosive

/m/ -> voiced bilabial nasal

/s/ -> voiceless alveolar fricative

/ʃ/ -> voiceless palato-alveolar fricative