“MIDTEST PHONOLOGY”

Elita Ria Bestri Agustina Siregar

147052007

Magister Bahasa Inggris

Fakultas Ilmu Budaya
Universitas Sumatera Utara
 Chapter I

Phonology, Phonetics, Phonemics

Human languages may have existed for more than a hundred thousand years, and
through most of this time languages have primarily been spoken. We shall refer to the study
of the sounds in language as phonology. The study the sounds in language is usually divided
into two parts, phonetics and phonemics, which can be defined in the following way:

PHONOLOGY
The study of the sounds in language.
PHONETICS PHONEMICS
The study of the physiological, aerodynamic, The study of how speech sounds are
and acoustic characteristics of speech sounds. organized into systems and utilized in
languages.

A. Phonology
Phonology is the study of the sound system of languages. It is a huge area of
language theory and it is difficult to do more on a general language course than have an
outline knowledge of what it includes. In an exam, you may be asked to comment on a
text that you are seeing for the first time in terms of various language descriptions, of
which phonology may be one. At one extreme, phonology is concerned with anatomy
and physiology - the organs of speech and how we learn to use them. At another extreme,
phonology shades into socio-linguistics as we consider social attitudes to features of
sound such as accent and intonation. And part of the subject is concerned with finding
objective standard ways of recording speech, and representing this symbolically.
For some kinds of study - perhaps a language investigation into the phonological
development of young children or regional variations in accent, you will need to use
phonetic transcription to be credible. But this is not necessary in all kinds of study - in an
exam, you may be concerned with stylistic effects of sound in advertising or literature,
such as assonance, rhyme or onomatopoeia - and you do not need to use special phonetic
symbols to do this.
One way to understand the subject matter of phonology is to contrast it with other
fields within linguistics. A very brief explanation is that phonology is the study of sound
structures in language, which is different from the study of sentence structures (syntax),
word structures (morphology), or how languages change over time (historical
linguistics). But this is insufficient. An important feature of the structure of a sentence is
how it is pronounced--its sound structure. The pronunciation of a given word is also a
fundamental part of the structure of a word. And certainly the principles of pronunciation
in a language are subject to change over time. So phonology has a relation to numerous
domains of linguistics.
The aim of phonology is to discover the principles that govern the way sounds
are organized in languages and to explain the variations that occur. We begin by
analyzing an individual language to determine which sound units are used and which
patterns they form--the language's sound system. We then compare the properties of
different sound systems, and work out hypotheses about the rules underlying the use of
sounds in particular groups of languages. Ultimately, phonologists want to make
statements that apply to all languages. . . Whereas phonetics is the study of all possible
speech sounds, phonology studies the way in which a language's speakers systematically
use a selection of these sounds in order to express meaning.
There is a further way of drawing the distinction. No two speakers have
anatomically identical vocal tracts, and thus no one produces sounds in exactly the same
way as anyone else. . . . Yet when using our language we are able to discount much of
this variation, and focus on only those sounds, or properties of sound, that are important
for the communication of meaning. We think of our fellow speakers as using the 'same'
sounds, even though acoustically they are not. Phonology is the study of how we find
order within the apparent chaos of speech sounds.(David Crystal, How Language Works.
Overlook Press, 2005)
When we talk about the 'sound system' of English, we are referring to the number
of phonemes which are used in a language and to how they are organized."
(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encylopedia of the English Language, 2nd edition.
Cambridge University Press, 2003)

B. Phonetics

Nowadays Phonetics is defined as an independent branch of Linguistics which

studies the sou nd matter of the language, its semantic functions and the lines of its
development. Phonetics began to be developed as a science in the 19th century. The
factors that stimulated its development were as follows:
  a more thorough acquaintance with the functioning of the human speaking
apparatus;
 investigations of many linguists who studied languages that had not alphabets;
 compiling alphabets for such languages.

The objects, aims and value of Phonetics are defined on the basis of scientific
conception of language based on the thesis that being the most important medium of
human intercourse, language is at the same time directly and inseparably connected with
thought. This connection manifests itself not only in the generally recognized fact that
thoughts can be expressed in actual speech only by means of words organized into
sentences pronounced with the proper intonation but also in the less obvious fact that
thoughts can originate and be formulated in the human mind also only on the basis of
words and sentences. It is clear that language can only exist in the material form of
speech sound, though the sounds of speech do not constitute a separate independent
element of language.
Speech sounds are vibrating particles of air or sound waves or still in other
words – a variety of matter moving in space and time. Speech sounds are produced by
human organs of speech. Every speech sound is a complex of definite finely coordinated
and differentiated movements and positions of various speech organs. They can be
considered from the physiological phenomenon having its articulating and auditory
aspects. Accordingly to it Phonetics is subdivided into three principal parts: the branch of
Phonetics concerned with the study, description and classification of speech sounds as
regards their reduction by the human speaking apparatus is called Articulatory Phonetics.
Its oldest and simplest method of investigation is the method of direct observation (visual
and auditory). This method is subjective. The objective methods require the use of
various apparatus and devices such as the artificial palate, photography, X-ray
photography, X-ray cinematography, laryngoscopy etc. The branch of Phonetics which is
concerned with the study of the acoustic aspect is called Acoustic Phonetics. It uses
kymograph (records, qualitative variations of sounds), a spectrograph (shows frequencies
of a given sound and its amplitudes), auscilograph (records sound vibrations) and
intonograph (investigates the fundamental frequency of speech as the component of
intonation). The branch of Phonetics which studies the units serving people for
communicative purposes is called Phonology. Besides we have Special Phonetics or
Descriptive Phonetics, General Phonetics, Historical Phonetics, Comparative Phonetics.
All the branches of Phonetics are closely connected with each other as well as with some
other branches of Linguistics such as Lexicology, Grammar, and Stylistics. The
connection of Phonetics with Lexicology lies in the fact that distinction of words is
realized by the variety of their appearances. The phonetic course of a given language
determines the sound composition of words.
Phonetics is closely connected with Syntax. Any partition of a sentence is
realized with the help of pauses, sentence stresses, melody. Changes in pausation can
alter the meaning of an utterance. For example: One of the travelers / said Mr. Parker /
was likeable (direct speech). If the pause is after “said”, then we have another meaning
of this sentence: One of the travelers said / Mr. Parker was likeable. The rising/falling
nuclear tone determines the communicative type of the sentence: You know him –
statement / You know him – general question. Phonetics is also connected with Stylistics
through repetition of sounds, words and phrases. Repetition of this kind creates the basis
of rhythm, rhyme and alliteration (repetition of sounds). Rhythm may be used as a
special device not only in poetry but in prose as well:

Round about the cauldron go

In the poison’d entrails throw
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble

C. Phonemics

The pronunciation of words are often written in a phonemic trancription, which is

marked by slashes: /…/. The letters of a phonemic transcription represent phonemes,
which we can define as follows:
Phonemes are sounds that distinguish words (word forms) from each other. We
may compare the English words pin /»pIn/ and pin /»tIn/, which are distinguished from
each other phonologically by the contrast between the /p/ of the first word and the /t/ of
the second. Consider also pin /»pIn/ and pan /»pQn/, which are distinguished by the
contrast between /I/ versus /Q/, and finally pin /»pIn/ versus pit /»pIt/, which are
distinguished by the contrast between /n/ and /t/. Pairs of words that are distinguished
from each other by a contrast between two phonemes are called minimal pairs.
 As a general rule, a phoneme may vary in pronunciation from one position in the
word to another. In English for example, /p/, /t/, and /k/ are aspirated (they are followed
by a strong breath, like an h) in word-initial position, for example in pin /»pIn/, tin /»tIn/,
and kin /»kIn/. On the other hand, they are unaspirated (they are not followed by a strong
breath) when following /s/, like in spin /»spIn/, sting /»stIN/, and skin /»skIn/. The
different pronunciation variants of a phoneme are called the allophones of that phoneme,
and we have a special phonetic transcription to write them in.
Sound differences that are phonetic (or allophonic or non-distinctive) in one
language may be phonemic (or distinctive) in another language. For English, the contrast
between unaspirated and aspirated stops is a phonetic contrast, while there are many
languages where the same contrast is phonemic, for example in many languages of India
—cf. the Hindi words pa\l /pa˘l/ ‘take care of’ and ka\n /ka˘n/ ‘ear’ versus pha\l /pHa˘l/
‘edge of knife’ and kha\n /kHa˘n/ ‘mine’. We have a tendency not to hear sound contrasts
that are phonetic in our own language. The phonemes may be characterized as basic level
terms of speech sounds, the highest level at which we can form a mental image of a sound
concept. We have no difficulties in forming a mental image of an English /p/-sound, /t/-
sound, or /k/-sound, but we are not able to form a mental image of a voiceless stop, which
is the hyperonym term of which /p/, /t/, and /k/ are hyponyms. As we have observed
earlier, terms above the basic level tend to have a more or less technical or scientific
«flavor»— which is certainly true of ’voiceless stop’. Even terms below the basic level
tend to belong to the world of experts. And there is a level of hyponyms of the basic level
phonemes, although the ordinary native speaker is seldom aware of its existence.
 Chapter II

Kinds of Phonetics

A. Articulatory Phonetics
Articulatory phonetics is the branch of phonetics which studies the organs of
speech and their use in producing speech sounds.

Part of Speech

The term organs of speech refers to those parts of the human body which are
concerned in various ways with the production of speech. A lot of them are only
secondarily concerned with the production of speech – their primary functions have to do
with eating, chewing, and swallowing food, and respiration. Those parts of the body
below (not the lungs) belong to the vocal tract. The vocal tract is divided into the
supraglottal and the subglottal tract.

 lips

 teeth

 nasal cavity

 tongue

 hard palate

 soft palate

 pharynx

 larynx

 vocal folds/cords

 trachea

 lungs
  uvula

 diaphragm

 jaw bone

Air Stream And Phonotation

In order to speak you need air. This airflow can be produced at different places
and it can go in to directions - outwards, i.e. egressive, or inwards, i.e. ingressive. In
English, as in many other languages, the sounds are produced with air moving out of the
lungs. But how do we actually manage to produce sounds? It all starts in our larynx or
the voice box:

1. vocal folds are being drawn together fairly tightly;

2. air pressure builds up from below and forces the vocal folds apart;

3. sudden release of the vocal folds reduces the pressure and the vocal folds are pulled
back together (Bernoulli effect);

4. pressure builds up again and the cycle repeats itself (many times per second).
 The whole process of the vocal folds closing and opening is called phonation (for
a detailed and animated illustration of how phonation works, check the phonetics
websites of the Uni Bremen). The pitch (frequency) of the speech sound perceived
depends on the muscle tension of the vocal cords. Still, the air flowing through the vocal
folds are not as such speech sounds we can "understand." In order to identify speech
sounds we have to use our oral cavity.

Phonotation Modes

Phonation describes whether a sound is voiceless or voiced or, more generally, it

describes all the means by which the larynx functions as a source of sound. Phonation
really is the single most important function of the larynx as a sound source. There are
basically six modes of phonation.

Mode Description
voiceless absence of any vocal fold vibration vocal folds far enough apart to
allow a laminar (= non-turbulent) airflow through the glottis
voiced normal vocal fold vibration occuring along most or all of the length
of the glottis
aspiration glottis is open (cf. voicelessness), but moves towards closure of
larynx closing movement causes aspirated sound
whisper greater constriction of the vocal folds than with voicelessness
narrowed glottal airflow path significant turbulence at the glottis
normal vocal fold vibration accompanied by some continuous
breathy voice turbulent airflow ("air leakage") which occurs when glottal closure
during the vibratory circle is not complete
 Place of Articulation

The place of articulation defines both the area of the oral-pharyngeal vocal tract
where the constriction is made and the part of the tongue used to form the constriction.
This gives us the following places of articulation:

 bilabial

 labial

 dental (apico-dental; lamino-dental)

 alveolar (apico-alveolar; lamino-alveolar; lamino-postalveolar;

sublaminopostalveolar)

 palatal (apico-palatal; lamino-palatal)

 velar

 uvular

 pharyngeal

 glottal

Manner of Articulation

Clark and Yallop use two features to describe the manner of articulation of:
constriction and articulation. The degree of constriction decreases from total closure via
partial constriction to a fully open vowel like manner. Articulation divides into dynamic
and stable. Altogether, there are seven recognized manners of articulation: stop, fricative,
approximant, nasal, flap, tap and trill.

The manners of articulation are described as follows:

Manner Manner
Stop formation and rapid release of a complete closure at any point in the
vocal tract from the glottis to the lips, dynamic articulation (e.g.
egressive pulmonic stops: plosives)
Fricative potentially stable articulation produced by a constriction in the vocal
tract that is narrow enough to create a turbulent airflow
Approximant in a vowel but not great enough to produce turbulence at the point of
constriction
Nasal stoppage at some point in the oral cavity, velum is lowered to allow
airflow through the nasal cavity, stable articulation
Tap dynamic articulation where there is a brief occlusion in the vocal tract,
a single deliberate movement to create a closure, equivalent to a very
short stop
Flap dynamic articulation where there is a brief occlusion in the vocal tract,
one articulator strikes the other in passing not so much to create a
brief closure but more as the incidental effect of the articulatory
gesture
Trill a dynamic articulation produced by the vibration of any articulator, a
series of vibrations

B. Auditory phonetics

If articulatory phonetics studies the way in which speech sounds are produced,
phonetics focuses on the perception of sounds or the way in which sounds are heard and
interpreted. Remembering our conventional division of linguistic communication into
several stages of a process unfolding between two parties, the sender of the message and
its addressee, we may say that while articulatory phonetics is mainly concerned with the
speaker, auditory phonetics deals with the other important participant in verbal
communication, the listener. It is again, obviously, a field of linguistic study which has to
rely heavily on biology and more specifically on anatomy and physiology.

We should say from the very beginning, however, that the mechanism and
physiology of sound perception is a much hazier field that the corresponding processes
related to the uttering of the respective sounds. This is so because speech production is a
process that takes place roughly along the respiratory tract which is, comparatively,
much easier to observe and study than the brain where most processes linked to speech
perception and analysis occur. Our presentation so far has already revealed a
fundamental characteristic of acoustic phonetics which essentially differentiates it from
both articulatory and acoustic phonetics: its lack of unity. We are in fact dealing with two
distinct operations which, however, are closely interrelated and influence each other: on
the one hand we can talk about audition proper, that is the perception of sounds by our
auditory apparatus and the transforming of the information into a neural sign and its
sending to the brain and, on the other hand, we can talk about the analysis of this
information by the brain which eventually leads to the decoding of the message, the
understanding of the verbal message.

When discussing the auditory system we can consequently talk about its
peripheral and its central part, respectively. We shall have a closer look at both these
processes and try to show why they are both clearly distinct and at the same time they are
closely related. Before the sounds we perceive are processed and interpreted by the brain,
the first anatomical organ they encounter is the ear. The ear has a complex structure and
its basic auditory functions include the perception of auditory stimuli, their analysis and
their transmission further on to the brain.

We can identify three components: the outer, the middle and the inner year. The
outer ear is mainly represented by the auricle or the pinna and the auditory meatus or the
outer ear canal. The auricle is the only visible part of the ear, constituting its outermost
part, the segment of the organ projecting outside the skull. It does not play an essential
role in audition, which is proved by the fact that the removing of the pinna does not
substantially damage our auditory capacity. The auricle rather plays a protective role for
the rest of the ear and it also helps us localize sounds. The meatus, or the outer ear canal
is a tubular structure playing a double role: it, too, protects the next segments of the ear –
particularly the middle ear – and it also functions as a resonator for the sound waves that
enter our auditory system. The middle ear is a cavity within the skull including a number
of little anatomical structures that have an important role in audition. One of them is the
eardrum. This is a diaphragm or membrane to which sound waves are directed from
outside and which vibrates, acting as both a filter and a transmitter of the incoming
sounds. The middle ear also contains a few tiny bones: the mallet, the anvil and the
stirrup. The pressure of the air entering our auditory system is converted by the vibration
of the membrane (the eardrum) and the elaborate movement of the little bones that act as
some sort of lever system into mechanical movement which is further conveyed to the
oval window, a structure placed at the interface of the middle and inner ear.
As pointed out above, the middle ear plays an important protection role. The
muscles associated with the three little bones mentioned above contract in a reflex
movement when sounds having a too high intensity reach the ear. Thus the impact of the
too loud sounds is reduced and the mechanism diminishes the force with which the
movement is transmitted to the structures of the inner ear. It is in the middle ear too, that
a narrow duct or tube opens. Known as the Eustachian tube it connects the middle ear to
the pharynx. Its main role is to act as an outlet permitting the air to circulate between the
pharynx and the ear, thus helping preserve the required amount of air pressure inside the
middle ear. The next segment is the inner ear, the main element of which is the cochlea, a
cavity filled with liquid. The inner ear also includes the vestibule of the ear and the
semicircular canals.
The vestibule represents the central part of the labyrinth of the ear and it gives
access to the cochlea. The cochlea is a coil-like organ, looking like the shell of a snail. At
each of the two ends of the cochlea there is an oval window, while the organ itself
contains a liquid. Inside the cochlea there are two membranes: the vestibular membrane
and the basilar membrane. It is the latter that plays a central role in the act of audition.
Also essential in the process of hearing is the so-called organ of Corti, inside the cochlea,
a structure that is the real auditory receptor. Simplifying a lot, we can describe the
physiology of audition inside the inner ear as follows: the mechanical movement of the
little bony structures of the middle ear (the mallet, the anvil and the stirrup) is transmitted
through the oval window to the liquid inside the snail-like structure of the cochlea; this
causes the basilar membrane to vibrate: the membrane is stiffer at one end than at the
other, which makes it vibrate differently, depending on the pitch of the sounds that are
received. Thus, low-frequency (grave) sounds will make vibrate the membrane at the less
stiff (upper) end, while highfrequency (acute) sounds will cause the lower and stiffer end
of the membrane to vibrate. The cells of the organ of Corti, a highly sensitive structure
because it includes many ciliate cells that detect the slightest vibrating movement,
convert these vibrations into neural signals that are transmitted via the auditory nerves to
the central receptor and controller of the entire process, the brain. The way in which the
human brain processes auditory information and, in general, the mental processes linked
to speech perception and production are still largely unknown.
 What is clear, however, regarding the perception of sounds by man’s auditory
system, is that the human ear can only hear sounds having certain amplitudes and
frequencies. If the amplitudes and frequencies of the respective sound waves are lower
than the range perceptible by the ear, they are simply not heard. If, on the contrary, they
are higher, the sensation they give is one of pain, the pressure exerted on the eardrums
being too great. These aspects are going to be discussed below when the physical
properties of sounds are analyzed.
As to the psychological processes involved by the interpretation of the sounds we
hear, our knowledge is even more limited. It is obvious that hearing proper goes hand in
hand with the understanding of the sounds we perceive in the sense of organizing them
according to patterns already existing in our mind and distributing them into the famous
acoustic images that Saussure spoke of. It is at this level that audition proper
intermingles with psychological processes because our brain decodes, interprets,
classifies and arranges the respective sounds according to the linguistic (phonological)
patterns already existing in our mind. It is intuitively obvious that if we listen to someone
speaking an unknown language it will be very difficult for us not only to understand
what they say (this is out of the question given the premise we started from) but we will
have great, often insurmountable difficulties in identifying the actual sounds the person
produced. The immediate, reflex reaction of our brain will be to assimilate the respective
sounds to the ones whose mental images already exists in our brain, according to a very
common cognitive reaction of humans that always have the tendency to relate, compare
and contrast new information to already known information.

C. Acoustics Phonetics
While articulatory phonetics focuses on the speech organs used to produce the
sounds of human language, acoustic phonetics focuses on the sound properties of human
speech. Acoustic phonetics also looks at audio perception of speech, examining how
different sounds are perceived by listeners. In the study of acoustic phonetics, a
phonetician looks at the frequency that a sound produces, the amplitude spectrum of the
sound, and the duration of the sound. These factors are used to describe the sound
acoustically.
 Phonetic Representation

Most linguistics use the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent all the
sounds of human language. The IPA has a particular written symbol to represent every
sound, and every variation of sound, that occurs in languages across the globe. The IPA
is a useful tool for linguists and students of language, because a linguist who knows the
IPA can read the transcription of any language and be able to reproduce the words
correctly, even if they are from a language he has never learned or heard before.

Chapter III
The Organs Of Speech : Active And Passive

It should be mentioned that the human being does not possess the organs which are
exclusively used for producing speech sounds. All the organs involved inpronunciation of
speech sounds, and human speech in general, primarily fulfil other functions – the functions
of swallowing and digesting food, respiratory functions, etc. The organs of speech began to
be used by human beings for the production of speech sounds in the course of their
development as Homo sapiens. It is most important for a learner of a foreign language to
know the functioning of the speaking apparatus.
When a thought which is to be communicated arises in the cortex an impulse is
transmitted through the nervous system to the organs of speech. The organs of speech,
obeying this impulse, produce speech sounds by which the thought is expressed. The human
speaking apparatus consists of the following main parts which participate in the formation of
speech sounds. The air exhaled from the lungs passes through the bronchi, then through the
windpipe (trachea) and gets into the upper part of the windpipe which is called the larynx.
The larynx is a rather wide pipe which is made up of two main cartilages. The lower
cartilage, which is called the cricoid, is firmly connected with the windpipe. The form of the
cricoid resembles a signet ring, the signet of which is turned to the rear. The second cartilage,
which is called the thyroid cartilage, lies on the cricoid and resembles two shields connected
at an angle.Inside the larynx, on the upper part of the signet there are two small movable
cartilages which are called pyramidal. The bundles of elastic muscles called vocal chords
are stretched horizontally across the larynx from the bases of pyramidal cartilages.
Owing to the mobility of the pyramidal cartilages, to which the vocal chords are
attached, and to the elasticity of the vocal chords, the latter can occupy different positions.
They may be tense or lax drawn together to different degrees or drawn apart, forming an
opening. The opening between the vocal chords is called the glottis. An erect cartilage at the
root of the tongue which lowers during swallowing to cover the glottis is called the epiglottis.

The Organs of Speech

1. Cricoid 2. Thyroid 3. Pyramidal Cartilages 4. Vocal Chords 5. Tip of the Tongue 6. Blade
of the Tongue 7. Front of the Tongue 8. Back of the Tongue 9. Root of the Tongue 10, 11.
Teeth 12. Alveoli 13. Hard Palate 14. Soft Palate 15. Uvula 16. Lower Lip 17. Upper Lip

The mouth cavity

For practical purposes it is enough to consider three main positions of the vocal chords:
1. The pyramidal cartilages are drawn wide apart, the vocal chords are lax and do not
vibrate, the glottis is broad. Neither voice nor noise is produced. This is the position
typical of breathing. The glottis is wider while inhaling and narrower while exhaling.
Speech sounds in English, as well as in most other languages, are produced while
exhaling.
2. The pyramidal cartilages are brought together, the vocal chords are tense and vibrate
when the air is exhaled from the lungs and passes between them. This position is
characteristic of vowels and voiced consonants.

The position of the vocal chords

 3. The pyramidal cartilages are slightly drawn apart, the glottis is narrowed bu the vocal
chords are not tense. This is the position characteristic of a whisper.

Having passed the larynx the air passes through the pharynx (the cavity above the
larynx) and gets into the mouth cavity or the nasal cavity. The following organs of speech
participate in the formation of speech sounds: the tongue, the hard and the soft palate, the
upper and the lower lips, the upper and the lower teeth and the lower jaw.
The tongue may be conventionally divided into blade, front, back and root. The very
front part of the tongue is called the tip. The roof of the mouth is divided into the alveoli
(situated immediately behind the upper teeth), the hard palate and the soft palate ending in the
uvula.
The mouth and the nasal cavities, as well as the larynx, serve as resonance chambers.
Sounds may be oral or nasal depending on the cavity through which the air passes. The
volume of the nasal resonance chamber remains unchanged. The volume of the mouth
resonance chamber depends on the position of the tongue, the lips, the soft palate with the
uvula and the size of the mouth opening.
Those organs of speech which, owing to their mobility, take an active part in the
production of speech sounds are called active.
The active organs of speech are: the vocal chords, the tongue, the soft palate with the
uvula, the lips and the lower jaw. The most movable organ of speech is the tongue.
The immovable organs of speech are called passive. They are: the upper jaw, the
alveoli, the teeth and the hard palate. The tongue is the main organ of producing speech
sounds – consonants and vowels, and speech in general. The mouth cavity, the pharynx and
the nasal cavity serve as resonance chambers.
 Chapter IV

Air Stream Mechanism: Pulmonic, Glottalic, Velaric.

Airstream Mechanisms
In order to generate sound, it is necessary to have air pressure. Speech sounds can be
classified according to the source of air pressure used to produce them.
There are three sources of air pressure:
1. The air pressure for pulmonic sounds is generated by the lungs. If the lungs are fairly full,
elastic recoil compresses them and generates air pressure. Otherwise, we may use the
intercostal muscles and the diaphragm to compress the lungs, producing positive pressure,
or to expand them, producing negative pressure.
2. The air pressure for velaric sounds is generated by closing the oral tract at the back by
raising the back of the tongue against the velum, closing it at the front with the tongue tip
or blade or the lips, pulling down the centre of the tongue, thereby expanding the volume
of the enclosed region and generating a vacuum. The closure at the front is then released.
3. The air pressure for glottalic sounds is generated by closing the oral tract at the glottis by
jamming the vocal folds together. When a closure is made somewhere farther forward,
the result is a sealed tube. If the larynx is then raised, the air is compressed.
In the case of speech this means that air may blow in two directions:

A. When the air pressure inside the mouth is greater than the air pressure outside the
mouth, air blows out of the mouth and the airstream is said to be egressive.
B. When the air pressure inside the mouth is lower than the air pressure outside the
mouth, air blows into the mouth and the airstream is said to be ingressive.

Pulmonic egressive sounds are found in all human languages. In many languages,
such as English, all of the sounds are pulmonic egressive. Pulmonic ingressive sounds are
physically possible but seem not to be used in human languages. Some languages use them
paralinguistically, that is, for communication outside of the normal linguistic system. For
example, Japanese has an ingressive [s] sound. When a Japanese person is told something
that upsets him, he will produce this sound. It is not considered a true Japanese speech sound
because it cannot be part of ordinary words of the Japanese language.
Velaric egressive sounds are physically impossible because there is no way to
compress portion of the oral tract between the velar closure and the anterior closure.
Velaric ingressive sounds are called clicks. Many English speakers have some clicks
used paralinguistically. For example, the kissing sound that many people make at babies is a
bilabial click. The sound that some people use to call to horses is an alveolar click. The only
languages that use clicks as regular speech sounds are found in Southern Africa.
Glottalic egressive sounds are called ejectives. Sometimes they are called \glottalized"
sounds, but the sounds called \glottalized" are not all ejectives. Ejectives do not occur in
European languages, except in the Caucusus region, at the border of Europe and Asia, but
they are quite common in the languages of the world. They are especially common in the
native languages of North America, particularly in the Paci¯c Northwest.
Glottalic ingressive sounds are called implosives. They are not as common as
ejectives, but are found in various languages around the world. They are especially common
in Africa. Some Mayan languages (Central America) have a single glottalic series of
consonants, with labial implosives but ejectives at other points of articulation.
 Chapter V

Description and Classification of Consonant

We form consonants by controlling or impeding the egressive (outward) flow of air.

We do this with the articulators - from the glottis, past the velum, the hard palate and
alveolar ridge and the tongue, to the teeth and lips. The sound results from three things:

 voicing - causing the vocal cords to vibrate

 where the articulation happens
 how the articulation happens - how the airflow is controlled 

Voicing

All vowels must be voiced - they are caused by vibration in the vocal cords. But
consonants may be voiced or not. Some of the consonant sounds of English come in pairs that
differ in being voiced or not - in which case they are described as voiceless or unvoiced. So
/b/ is voiced and /p/ is the unvoiced consonant in one pair, while voiced /g/ and voiceless /k/
form another pair.

We can explain the consonant sounds by the place where the articulation principally
occurs or by the kinds of articulation that occurs there. The first scheme gives us this
arrangement:
Articulation described by region

 Glottal articulation - articulation by the glottis. We use this for one consonant in
English. This is /h/ in initial position in house or hope.
 Velar articulation - we do this with the back of the tongue against the velum. We use
it for initial hard /g/ (as in golf) and for final /ŋ/ (as in gong).
 Palatal articulation - we do this with the front of the tongue on the hard palate. We
use it for /dʒ/ (as in jam) and for /ʃ/ (as in sheep or sugar).
 Alveolar articulation - we do this with the tongue blade on the alveolar ridge. We use
it for /t/ (as in teeth), /d/ (as in dodo) /z/ (as in zebra) /n/ (as in no) and /l/ (as in light).
 Dental articulation - we do this with the tip of the tongue on the back of the upper
front teeth. We use it for /θ/ (as in think) and /ð/ (as in that). This is one form of
articulation that we can observe and feel ourselves doing.
 Labio-dental articulation - we do this with the lower lip and upper front teeth. We use
it for /v/ (as in vampire).
 Labial articulation - we do this with the lips for /b/ (as in boat) and /m/ (as in most).
Where we use two lips (as in English) this is bilabial articulation.  

Articulation described by manner

This scheme gives us a different arrangement into stop(or plosive) consonants, affricates,
fricatives, nasal consonants, laterals and approximants.

 Stop consonants (so-called because the airflow is stopped) or plosive consonants

(because it is subsequently released, causing an outrush of air and a burst of sound)
are:
o Bilabial voiced /b/ (as in boat) and voiceless /p/ (as in post)
o Alveolar voiced /d/ (as in dad) and voiceless /t/ (as in tap)
o Velar voiced /g/ (as in golf) and voiceless /k/ (as in cow)
 Affricates are a kind of stop consonant, where the expelled air causes friction rather
than plosion. They are palatal /tʃ/ (as in cheat) and palatal /dʒ/ (as in jam)
 Fricatives come from restricting, but not completely stopping, the airflow. The air
passes through a narrow space and the sound arises from the friction this produces.
They come in voiced and unvoiced pairs:
 o Labio-dental voiced /v/ (as in vole) and unvoiced /f/ (as in foal)
o Dental voiced /ð/ (as in those) and unvoiced /θ/ (as in thick)
o Alveolar voiced /z/ (as in zest) and unvoiced /s/ (as in sent)
o Palatal voiced /ʒ/ (as in the middle of leisure) and unvoiced /ʃ/ (as at the end
of trash)
 Nasal consonants involve closing the articulators but lowering the uvula, which
normally closes off the route to the nose, through which the air escapes. There are
three nasal consonants in English:
o Bilabial /m/ (as in mine)
o Alveolar /n/ (as in nine)
o Velar /ŋ/ (as at the end of gong)
 Lateral consonants allow the air to escape at the sides of the tongue. In English there
is only one such sound, which is alveolar /l/ (as at the start of lamp)
 Approximants do not impede the flow of air. They are all voiced but are counted as
consonants chiefly because of how they function in syllables. They are:
o Bilabial /w/ (as in water)
o Alveolar /r/ (as in road)
o Palatal /j/ (as in yet)
 Chapter VI

Description and Classification of Vowel

Vowels are normally made with the air stream that meets no obstruction in the mouth,
pharyngeal and nasal cavities. On the articulatory level the description of vowels notes
changes:
1. in the stability of articulation
2. in the tongue position
3. in the lip position
4. in their length

The stability of articulation

All English vowels are divided into 3 groups: monophthongs, diphthongs, diphthongoids.

Monophthongs are vowels the articulation of which is almost unchanging.

They are – [i e ǽ a: o o: U Λ ə: ə ].

In the pronunciation of diphthongs the organs of speech glide from one vowel position to
another within one syllable. The starting point, the nucleus, is strong and distinct.

They are – [ei ai oi au əu iə εə uə]

In the pronunciation of diphthongoids the articulation is slightly changing but the difference
between the starting point and the end is not so distinct as it is in the case of diphthongs.

They are – [i: u:]

Tongue Position

The tongue may move forward, backward, up, down, thus changing the quality of vowels.

1. When the tongue is in the front part of the mouth and the front part of the tongue is raised
to the hard palate a front vowel is pronounced.
They are – [i: e ǽ]

2. When the tongue is in the front part of the mouth but slightly retracted and the part of the
tongue nearer to the centre than to front is raised, a front-retracted vowel is pronounced.
It is – [i].
3. When the front of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate the vowel
is called central.
They are – [Λ ə: ə].
4. When the tongue is in the back part of the mouth and the back of it is raised towards the
soft palate a back vowel is pronounced.
They are – [a: o o: u:].
5. When the tongue is in the back part of the mouth but is slightly advanced and the central
part of it is raised towards the front part of the soft palate a back-advanced vowel is
pronounced.
is – [U].

Moving up and down in the mouth the tongue may be raised to different height towards the
roof of the mouth.

1. When the front or the back of the tongue is raised high towards the palate the vowel is
called close.
They are – [ i: I u u:].
2. When the front or the back of the tongue is as low as possible in the mouth open vowels
are pronounced.
They are – [ǽ a: o o:].
3. When the highest part of the tongue occupies the position intermediate between the close
and the open one mid vowels are pronounced.
They are – [e Λ ə: ə].

Lip Position

When the lips are neutral or spread the vowels are called unrounded.

They are – [i: i e ǽ a: Λ ə: ə].

When the lips are drawn together so that the opening between them is more or less round the
vowel is called rounded.

They are – [o o: u u:].

Vowel Length

All English vowels are divided into long and short vowels.

Long vowels are – [i: a: o: u: ə:]

Short vowels are – [i

 Chapter VII

Phones, Phonemes And Allophones.

Firstly, we should look at the definition of each term:

  Phones are speech-sounds;

 Phonemes are groups of sounds which speakers usually think of as "one sound";

 Allophones are the variations within each group.

Phoneme is the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a

distinction in meaning. In other words, phoneme is a speech sound that signals a difference
in meaning. Consider, for example, the words “dime” and “dine”. They sound exactly alike
except for the /m/ and the /n/, but their meanings are different.
Therefore, it must be the /m/ and /n/ that made the difference in meaning, and these
two nasals are established as English phonemes.
Likewise, if we compare the sounds of “sin” and “sing”, we find only one difference
between them: sin ends in the alveolar nasal /n/ and sing ends in the velar nasal /ŋ/. (Don’t
be deceived by the spelling of sing; the letters “ng” represent a single sound /ŋ/. This
contrast is evidence that /n/ and /ŋ/ are both phonemes.
Pairs of words like those above that demonstrate a single phonemic contrast are called
minimal pairs. In other words, one method of establishing the phonemes of a language is by
means of minimal pairs.

The Rules for Minimal Pairs:

1. The words must have the same number of sounds;
2. The words must be identical in every sound except for one;
3.  The sound that is different must be in the same position in each word;
4. The words must have different meaning. 

Allophones:
Allophone is the variants of the phonemes that occur in detailed phonetic
transcriptions. In other words, allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds
(phones) use to pronounce a single phoneme. Allophone is non-distinctive individual
variation of the phoneme. The use of an allophone does not change the meaning of a word.
Example:
[p] and [ph] are allophones of the phoneme /p/
in some cases, such as:
/p/ as in pin [pɪn] is aspirated (as if pronounced by [ph];
/p/ as in spin [spɪn] is unaspirated (plain);
In the word paper, the first /p/ is aspirated and pronounced as [ph], and the second /p/ is
usually unaspirated and pronounced as a plain [p], like:
[‘peɪpə(r)] → [‘pheɪpə(r)]).

Suprasegmental Phonemes
Vowels and consonants can be thought of as the segments of which speech is
composed. Together they form the syllables, which go to make up utterances. Related to the
syllables, there are other features known as suprasegmentals. In other words,
suprasegmental features are the aspects of speech that involve more than single consonants
or vowels.
These features are independent of the categories required for describing segmental
features (vowels and consonants), which involve, for examples, air stream mechanism, states
of the glottis, and so on. The components of suprasegmental features consist of: stress,
pitch, intonation, tone, and tempo.

References

Burren, Van. English Phonetics Sounds. Dutch, 2000.

Handbook of the International Phonetics Association. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, [1999].
Lessons in Phonetic Sounds. Sanford, FL: New Tribes Mission, 2007.
Smalley, W. A. Manual of Articulatory Phonetics. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1980.

http://rudirumer.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/phones-phonemes-allophones-and-phonological-
rules-2/ diakses pada tanggal 7 Januari 2015

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2014