Phonetics is the study of human speech sounds

Articulatory phonetics deals with speech production.

Auditory phonetics deals with speech perception.
Acoustic phonetics deals with speech transmission.
sound A separate speech segment/ A unit of speech
phone A separate speech segment/ A unit of speech
Separate speech segment/ A unit of speech a sound or a phone
Speech and writing parallel but different forms of the same language
unit of writing a letter or character
letter or character a unit of writing
Phonology a linguistic discipline concerned with the function,
behaviour and organization of sounds as linguistic items
SIGNIFIER the form which the sign takes - Saussure
SIGNIFIED the concept it represents - Saussure
the grammatical level - At the higher level (the level of
first articulation) the system consists of the smallest
meaningful units available. These are the morphemes.
At the lower level (the level of second articulation) the
code is divisible into minimal functional units which lack
meaning in themselves. Such units are the phonemes in
speech and the graphemes in writing. These lower units
are nonsignifying sign elements. Their function is to
differentiate the minimal meaningful units. In language
the level of second articulation is the phonological level.
Double Articulation
Semiotics study of signs
DIAPHRAGM (initiation); LARYNX (phonation); VOCAL
FOLDS (phonation); ARTICULATORS: TONGUE, LOWER LIP,
ACTIVE ORGANS OF SPEECH VELUM, UVULA (articulation)
LUNGS (initiation); CAVITIES: PHARYNGEAL, ORAL, NASAL
(articulation); POINTS OF ARTICULATION: UPPER LIP,
UPPER TEETH; ALVEOLAR RIDGE; PALATE; VELUM
PASSIVE ORGANS OF SPEECH (articulation)
SPEECH ORGANS AS INITIATORS lungs, diaphragm
SPEECH ORGANS AS VOICE MAKERS larynx (voice box), vocal folds (cords, bands)
A. Resonating cavities: pharyngeal, oral, nasal
B. Articulators: tongue, lower lip, velum, uvula
SPEECH ORGANS AS ARTICULATORS AND POINTS OF C. Points of articulation: upper lip, upper teeth, alveolar
ARTICULATION: ridge, palate, velum
Lungs provide the energy source - Initiation
Vocal folds convert the energy into audible sound -
Phonation
Articulators transform the sound into intelligible speech -
SPEECH GENERATION Articulation
Initiation Lungs provide the energy source
Phonation Vocal folds convert the energy into audible sound
Articulation Articulators transform the sound into intelligible speech
vowel MEDIAN ORAL RESONANTS
MEDIAN ORAL RESONANTS vowel
 have air escaping from the mouth with no strong local
friction
can be short or long
are syllabic
2. Vowels can be described as
high, mid and low (according to the vertical position of
the tongue or jaw height)
front, central and back (according to the position of the
highest part of the tongue)
tense and lax (according to the tenseness of the muscles
of the tongue and the whole vocal tract)
rounded and unrounded (according to the position of the
Vowels lips)
The matter of length does not involve the position of the
articulators. It reflects the length of time they are held in
a certain position. English vowels can be shortened or
VOWEL LENGTH lengthened.
a notational standard for the phonetic representation of
International Phonetic Alphabet all languages.

an organisation for phoneticians. The aim of the

organisation is to promote the scientific study of
International Phonetic Association phonetics and the practical applications of that science.
A vowel diagram or vowel chart is a schematic
arrangement of the vowels Vowel quadrilateral
1.[i]8.[u]
2.[e]7.[o]
3.[ε]6.[ ɔ]
Primary Cardinal Vowels 4.[a]5.[a]
presence of voice [e]
- no obstruction to the air stream
- weak air stream
- muscular tension evenly distributed
VOWELS - sounds of pure musical tone
CONSONANTS: obstruction to the air stream tension at the place of obstruction
VOICED CONSONANTS - weaker air stream – [b]
VOICED/VOICELESS CONSONANTS - VOICELESS CONSONANTS – strong air stream – [p]
NOISE CONSONANTS – noise prevails over tone [b], [p]
NOISE CONSONANTS/SONORANTS - SONORANTS – tone prevails over noise [m], [l]

Articulation involves COMPLETE CLOSURE. It consists of

two parts: the FORMATION and RELEASE of the closure.
Example: [b]
1A. AFFRICATES (AFFRICATED STOPS)
The momentary closure is released GRADUALLY, and not
abruptly. There is local FRICTION in roughly the same
region of articulation. Example: [ch]
1B. ASPIRATED STOPS
The compressed air is released in a PUFF clearly audible
STOPS (PLOSIVES) before the next sound begins Example: initial [p]
 Articulation involves NEAR–CLOSURE with AUDIBLE
FRICTION. Example: [f]
2A. SIBILANTS
S-like sounds made by chanelling the blade of the tongue
so as to project a stream of air against some point of
FRICATIVES (SPIRANTS) articulation. Example: [s]
The only function of the mouth and noise is to MODIFY
the sound produced in the larynx.
- NO CONSTRICTION in the mouth to produce friction or
any other appreciable sound.
3A. CENTRAL (MEDIAN) RESONANT ORALS (vowels)
3B. SEMI-VOWELS
3C. NASALS
RESONANTS 3D. LATERALS
Short vowels
Long vowel
Long and short vowels differ from each other not only in
quantity, but in quality as well
Pure, unchanging vowels
There is no perceptible change in the position of the vocal
Monophthongs tract throughout the duration of the vowel

Complex sounds (contain two vocalic elements – nucleus

and glide)
The speech organs start in the position of one vowel and
gradually glide in the direction of another, whose full
formation is generally not accomplished.
Diphthongs are single speech sounds, but in phonetic
transcriptions they are represented by a pair of symbols
Diphthongs indicating the initial and final positions of the vocal tract.
On-glide + nucleus
The intensity of stress increases
A combination of semivowel + vowel
[j], [r], and [w] are semivowels
Thus the diphthongs of
MULE, TRICK and TWIT
can be represented as consisting of a semivowel and short
vowel:
Rising diphthongs [mjul], [trɪk], [twɪt]
 Nucleus + off-glide
The intensity of stress decreases
CLOSING
The less prominent vowel (the glide) is closer than the
first

FRONTING
The off-glide is moving upward and forward.

CENTERING (LEVEL)
The movement is from a marginal (front or back position)
to a more central on (the schwa)

WIDE
The glide implies a radical movement

OPENING
The glide is more open than the nucleus

RETRACTING
The movement from nucleus to off-glide is upward and
back

DECENTERING
The off-glide moves to a less central position

NARROW
falling diphthongs The two vocalic elements occupy neighbouring positions
[aɪ] is falling, wide, and closing.
ICE BITE CRY
[ɔɪ] is falling, wide, and closing.
OIL BOIL BOY
[eɪ] is falling, narrow, and closing.
EIGHT, LACE, CLAY
Cockney pronunciation: [ʌɪ].
fronting diphthongs Glides to [ɪ] LATE [LʌɪT] DAY [Dʌɪ] SAY [Sʌɪ]
[əʊ] is falling, narrow, and closing.
OLD GOLD FLOW
[aʊ] is falling, closing, and wide
Retracting diphthongs Glides to [ʊ] OWL HOWL HOW.
[ɪə] is centring, falling, narrow and opening.
EAR TEAR IDEA
A variant: [jə] as in YEAR
[eə] is centering, falling, and opening.
AIR SCARCE THERE
[ʊə] is centering, falling, narrow and opening.
Centering diphthongs Glides to [ə] JEWEL SURE
Long vowels [iː] and [uː] can have a diphthongal
pronunciation in words like
SERIES [ɪə]
SERIOUS [ɪə]
DO [ʊu]
Diphthongized pronunciation of two long vowels KANGAROO [ʊu]
 FLOOR DOOR SHORE

The diphthong has survived in various English dialects, but

Diphthong [ɔə] not in RP.
[aɪ] + [ə]
[eɪ]
[ɔɪ]
[əʊ]
[aʊ]

[aɪə] as in FIRE
[eɪə] LAYER
[ɔɪə] EMPLOYER
[əʊə] MOWER
[aʊə] POWER
[aə]
triphthongs - Vowel complexes [a:]
VOICELESS APICO-ALVEOLAR AFFRICATE [tʃ]
}VOICED APICO-ALVEOLAR AFFRICATE [dʒ]
FRONT (PALATALIZATION) the front of the tongue raised
BACK (VELARIZATION) the back of the tongue raised.
VOICELESS LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [f]
VOICED LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [v]
}VOICELESS APICO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [θ]
}VOICED APICO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [ð]
VOICELESS APICO-ALVEOLAR SIBILANT [s]
}VOICED APICO-ALVEOLAR SIBILANT [z]
}VOICELESS FRONTO-PALATAL SIBILANT [ʃ]
VOICED FRONTO-PALATAL SIBILANT [ʒ]
VOICELESS GLOTTAL FRICATIVE [h]
VOICELESS DORSO-VELAR FRICATIVE [x]
MANNER OF ARTICULATION STOPS [b], FRICATIVES [v], AFFRICATES [tʃ]
ACCORDING TO THE ARTICUALTOR LABIAL [b], LINGUAL [k], GLOTTAL [h]
1. LABIAL [p]
2. DENTAL [f]
3. DENTAL (INTERDENTAL) [θ]
4. ALVEOLAR [t]
5. PALATO-ALVEOLAR [ʃ], [tʃ]
ACORDING TO THE POINT (REGION) OF ARTICUALTION: 6. VELAR [k]
A. BILABIAL [p]
LABIAL B. LABIODENTAL (unilabial) [f]
A. FRONT (forelingual)
Aa. APICAL (tip of the tongue) [t]
Ab. LAMINAL (blade of the tongue) [ʃ]
B. MID (mediolingual) [j]
LINGUAL C. DORSAL (backlingual, guttural) [k]
GLOTTAL [h]
1. Preliminary closing: articulator brought into close
contact with point of articulation
2. Intermediate closure: close contact maintained
3. Release: Articulator separated from point of
Phases of articulation articulation.
 When the speech organs are retained in the position of
closure, a stop is said to be unreleased. Stops can be
unreleased when they are in final position or when they
come before another stop: WEB
Unreleased stop PEPPED
The articulator is brought away sharply and the
Aspirated stop compressed air is released with a clearly audible puff.
The articulator is brought away slowly and the
Affricated stop compressed air escapes with a fricative sound.
1. VOICELESS BILABIAL STOP [p]
It can be aspirated in initial position: PEN
After initial [s] it is unaspirated: SPEED

Bilabial stops 2. VOICED BILABIAL STOP [b]

1. VOICELESS APICO-ALVEOLAR [t]
It can be aspirated initially: TEA.
After initial [s] it is unaspirated: STEP

Apico-alveolar stops 2. VOICED APICO-ALVEOLAR [d]

1. VOICELESS DORSO-VELAR STOP [k]
It can be aspirated initial position: CAT
It is unaspirated after initial [s]: SKY

Dorso-velar stops 2. VOICED DORSO-VELAR STOP [g]

The glottal stop may appear
A. between a stressed vowel and a final unreleased stop:
CAT
B. instead of [t] before a syllabic lateral or nasal: BOTTLE,
The glottal stop [ʔ] BUTTON
1. NASAL
2. ORAL
2A. LATERAL
2B. MEDIAN
2B1. CENTRAL MEDIAN RESONATS (VOWELS)
2B2. SEMIVOWELS (VOWEL-LIKE CONSONANTS)
Types of resonants
[j] – is a palatal (mediolingual) resonant
[w] - is velar, bilabial and lip-rounded
[r] (after [t]) – a median resonant with tongue-tip
Semivowels (Approximants) retroflection (“Retroflex” = “bent back”)
1. FLAPS – the articulator gives one rapid tap against the
region of articulation and then immediately releases.
Closing and release are formed together by a single
movement. Prolongation is impossible.
[r] in BERRY
2. TRILLS – iterative articulation. It involves repeated,
rapid and automatic approach and release of some
stricture. Scottish [r] (tongue tip against alveolar ridge) is
a trill.
Flaps and trills
 A. CLEAR [l] – LINK, LOVE, GLANCE, BLACK
B. DARK [ɫ] – Velarized alveolar, lateral resonant: FULL,
SPELLING, BOTTLE, MUSCLE
Velarized – the back of the tongue is raised towards the
Laterals (l-like sounds) velum.
[m]
syllabic [m] – GRAB’EM!
[n]
syllabic [n] – MOUNTAIN
[ŋ] – SONG, SINGING
dropping the “g” – SINGIN’
NASALS [siŋgin]

is a class (a family) of sounds (phone types), which are

phonetically similar and which show certain characteristic
patterns of distribution in a language or dialect.
A phoneme is a group of phone-types which are
phonetically similar and either in complementary
distribution or in free variation.
A phoneme can also be defined as the smallest
contrastive linguistic unit which may bring about a change
in meaning.
A phoneme is an element in the sound system of a
language and it has a characteristic set of
interrelationships (systematic relationships) with each of
phoneme the other elements of this system.

The different phone-types that make up a phoneme /l/

ALLOPHONES [l] [ɫ] [lo].
[m], [p], [b] – bilabials
[m], [n], [ŋ] - resonants, nasals
Phonetic similarity [f], [θ], [s] – voiceless fricatives
Phonetic transcription is a detailed transcription. It aims
at describing the extremely large number of idiosyncratic
or contextual variations in pronunciation that occur in
normal speech. It also attempts to describe the individual
variations that occur between speakers of a language or
dialect.
The goal of a phonemic transcription is to record the
phonemes that a speaker uses rather than the actual
spoken variants of those phonemes that are produced
Phonetic transcription when a speaker utters a word.
7 short: /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ə/
5 long (relatively pure): /i:, /u:/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/, /ɜː/
3 long (glides to [ɪ ]: /eɪ, /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/)
2 long (glides to [ʊ]: /əʊ, /aʊ/)
3 long (glides to [ə]: /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/)
RP VOCALIC PHONEMES
/ɪ/,/i:/, /e/,/æ/, /ʌ/,/ɑː/, /ɒ/, /ɔː/, /ʊ/, /u:/, /ə/, /ɜː/
Vowel sequence
 /ij/ - heat/ʌ/ - cut
/ɪ/ - n/ɔ/ - thought
/eɪ/ - rain/ʊ/ - look
/e/- get/ow/ - boat
/æ/ - cat/uw/ - blue, room
/a/ - hot
/aɪ/- pie
/aʊ/ - blouse
/ɔɪ/- boy
North American English vowel system
Uncolored vowel
/ɪ/bid/e/fed/ʊ/should/ʌ/ hut/a/ pot/ɔ/
cought/aɪ/ e/aʊ/ow!

/r/-colored vowel
/ɪr/ beard
/er/ fared
/ʊr/ assured
/ʌr/ hurt
/ ar/ part
/ɔr/court
/aɪr/tire
/aʊr/our

/r/-COLOURING
Obstruents:
/p, b/, /t, d/, /k, g/, /tʃ, dʒ/, /f, v/, /θ, ð/, /s, z/, /ʃ, ʒ/ +
glottal fricative /h/
Fortis: /p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, tʃ/
Lenis: /b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ, dʒ/
2. Sonorants
Nasals and laterals: ./m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/
English consonants Approximants: /w/, /r/, /j/
/p, b/, /t, d/, /k, g/, /tʃ, dʒ/, /f, v/, /θ, ð/, /s, z/, /ʃ, ʒ/, /h/,
/m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /hw/, /j/
The NAE consonantal system
BEMidwestern NAEWestern NAE
/spɑː//spa//spa/
/spɒt//spat//spat/
/strɔː//strɔ//stra/
SPA, SPOT, STRAW

British English: /ɒ/

American English: /a/
Differences in the vowel inventories SPOT, NOD, ROCK
 /r/ allophones: RED, VERY, CAR
/l/ allophones: LILY, LIP, LESS, PEELING/BULL, PULL, BOWL,
PEEL
/t/allophones: CITY, BETTER, LATEST, FORTY
WRITER/RIDER , LATTER/LADDER
TWEN(T)Y, SAN(T)A ANA, TORON(T)O, WIN(T)ER/WINNER
Differences in allophonic variation PIT, BELT, SAT, BUTTON
BE: “a”
/ɑː/ ASK, ANSWER, CAN’T, DANCE, HALF, PLANT, PATH.

/ju:/ TUNE, DUKE, NEW, SUIT, ZEUS.

NAE “a”
/æ/ASK, ANSWER, CAN’T, DANCE, HALF, PLANT, PATH.

/uw/TUNE, DUKE, NEW, SUIT, ZEUS.

Different pronunciations of common words

A-Z
Phonetics is the study of human speech sounds
A vowel diagram or vowel chart is a schematic
arrangement of the vowels Vowel quadrilateral
ACCORDING TO THE ARTICUALTOR LABIAL [b], LINGUAL [k], GLOTTAL [h]
1. LABIAL [p]
2. DENTAL [f]
3. DENTAL (INTERDENTAL) [θ]
4. ALVEOLAR [t]
5. PALATO-ALVEOLAR [ʃ], [tʃ]
ACORDING TO THE POINT (REGION) OF ARTICUALTION: 6. VELAR [k]
Acoustic phonetics deals with speech transmission.
DIAPHRAGM (initiation); LARYNX (phonation); VOCAL
FOLDS (phonation); ARTICULATORS: TONGUE, LOWER LIP,
ACTIVE ORGANS OF SPEECH VELUM, UVULA (articulation)
The articulator is brought away slowly and the
Affricated stop compressed air escapes with a fricative sound.

The different phone-types that make up a phoneme /l/

ALLOPHONES [l] [ɫ] [lo].
1. VOICELESS APICO-ALVEOLAR [t]
It can be aspirated initially: TEA.
After initial [s] it is unaspirated: STEP

Apico-alveolar stops 2. VOICED APICO-ALVEOLAR [d]

Articulation Articulators transform the sound into intelligible speech
Articulatory phonetics deals with speech production.
The articulator is brought away sharply and the
Aspirated stop compressed air is released with a clearly audible puff.
Auditory phonetics deals with speech perception.
BACK (VELARIZATION) the back of the tongue raised.
 1. VOICELESS BILABIAL STOP [p]
It can be aspirated in initial position: PEN
After initial [s] it is unaspirated: SPEED

Bilabial stops 2. VOICED BILABIAL STOP [b]

[ɪə] is centring, falling, narrow and opening.
EAR TEAR IDEA
A variant: [jə] as in YEAR
[eə] is centering, falling, and opening.
AIR SCARCE THERE
[ʊə] is centering, falling, narrow and opening.
Centering diphthongs Glides to [ə] JEWEL SURE
CONSONANTS: obstruction to the air stream tension at the place of obstruction

/r/ allophones: RED, VERY, CAR

/l/ allophones: LILY, LIP, LESS, PEELING/BULL, PULL, BOWL,
PEEL
/t/allophones: CITY, BETTER, LATEST, FORTY
WRITER/RIDER , LATTER/LADDER
TWEN(T)Y, SAN(T)A ANA, TORON(T)O, WIN(T)ER/WINNER
Differences in allophonic variation PIT, BELT, SAT, BUTTON
BEMidwestern NAEWestern NAE
/spɑː//spa//spa/
/spɒt//spat//spat/
/strɔː//strɔ//stra/
SPA, SPOT, STRAW

British English: /ɒ/

American English: /a/
Differences in the vowel inventories SPOT, NOD, ROCK
BE: “a”
/ɑː/ ASK, ANSWER, CAN’T, DANCE, HALF, PLANT, PATH.

/ju:/ TUNE, DUKE, NEW, SUIT, ZEUS.

NAE “a”
/æ/ASK, ANSWER, CAN’T, DANCE, HALF, PLANT, PATH.

/uw/TUNE, DUKE, NEW, SUIT, ZEUS.

Different pronunciations of common words

FLOOR DOOR SHORE

The diphthong has survived in various English dialects, but

Diphthong [ɔə] not in RP.
Long vowels [iː] and [uː] can have a diphthongal
pronunciation in words like
SERIES [ɪə]
SERIOUS [ɪə]
DO [ʊu]
Diphthongized pronunciation of two long vowels KANGAROO [ʊu]
 Complex sounds (contain two vocalic elements – nucleus
and glide)
The speech organs start in the position of one vowel and
gradually glide in the direction of another, whose full
formation is generally not accomplished.
Diphthongs are single speech sounds, but in phonetic
transcriptions they are represented by a pair of symbols
Diphthongs indicating the initial and final positions of the vocal tract.
1. VOICELESS DORSO-VELAR STOP [k]
It can be aspirated initial position: CAT
It is unaspirated after initial [s]: SKY

Dorso-velar stops 2. VOICED DORSO-VELAR STOP [g]

the grammatical level - At the higher level (the level of
first articulation) the system consists of the smallest
meaningful units available. These are the morphemes.
At the lower level (the level of second articulation) the
code is divisible into minimal functional units which lack
meaning in themselves. Such units are the phonemes in
speech and the graphemes in writing. These lower units
are nonsignifying sign elements. Their function is to
differentiate the minimal meaningful units. In language
the level of second articulation is the phonological level.
Double Articulation
Obstruents:
/p, b/, /t, d/, /k, g/, /tʃ, dʒ/, /f, v/, /θ, ð/, /s, z/, /ʃ, ʒ/ +
glottal fricative /h/
Fortis: /p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, tʃ/
Lenis: /b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ, dʒ/
2. Sonorants
Nasals and laterals: ./m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/
English consonants Approximants: /w/, /r/, /j/
 Nucleus + off-glide
The intensity of stress decreases
CLOSING
The less prominent vowel (the glide) is closer than the
first

FRONTING
The off-glide is moving upward and forward.

CENTERING (LEVEL)
The movement is from a marginal (front or back position)
to a more central on (the schwa)

WIDE
The glide implies a radical movement

OPENING
The glide is more open than the nucleus

RETRACTING
The movement from nucleus to off-glide is upward and
back

DECENTERING
The off-glide moves to a less central position

NARROW
falling diphthongs The two vocalic elements occupy neighbouring positions
1. FLAPS – the articulator gives one rapid tap against the
region of articulation and then immediately releases.
Closing and release are formed together by a single
movement. Prolongation is impossible.
[r] in BERRY
2. TRILLS – iterative articulation. It involves repeated,
rapid and automatic approach and release of some
stricture. Scottish [r] (tongue tip against alveolar ridge) is
a trill.
Flaps and trills
Articulation involves NEAR–CLOSURE with AUDIBLE
FRICTION. Example: [f]
2A. SIBILANTS
S-like sounds made by chanelling the blade of the tongue
so as to project a stream of air against some point of
FRICATIVES (SPIRANTS) articulation. Example: [s]
FRONT (PALATALIZATION) the front of the tongue raised
[aɪ] is falling, wide, and closing.
ICE BITE CRY
[ɔɪ] is falling, wide, and closing.
OIL BOIL BOY
[eɪ] is falling, narrow, and closing.
EIGHT, LACE, CLAY
Cockney pronunciation: [ʌɪ].
fronting diphthongs Glides to [ɪ] LATE [LʌɪT] DAY [Dʌɪ] SAY [Sʌɪ]
GLOTTAL [h]
Initiation Lungs provide the energy source
a notational standard for the phonetic representation of
International Phonetic Alphabet all languages.

an organisation for phoneticians. The aim of the

organisation is to promote the scientific study of
International Phonetic Association phonetics and the practical applications of that science.
A. BILABIAL [p]
LABIAL B. LABIODENTAL (unilabial) [f]
A. CLEAR [l] – LINK, LOVE, GLANCE, BLACK
B. DARK [ɫ] – Velarized alveolar, lateral resonant: FULL,
SPELLING, BOTTLE, MUSCLE
Velarized – the back of the tongue is raised towards the
Laterals (l-like sounds) velum.
letter or character a unit of writing
A. FRONT (forelingual)
Aa. APICAL (tip of the tongue) [t]
Ab. LAMINAL (blade of the tongue) [ʃ]
B. MID (mediolingual) [j]
LINGUAL C. DORSAL (backlingual, guttural) [k]
MANNER OF ARTICULATION STOPS [b], FRICATIVES [v], AFFRICATES [tʃ]
MEDIAN ORAL RESONANTS vowel
Short vowels
Long vowel
Long and short vowels differ from each other not only in
quantity, but in quality as well
Pure, unchanging vowels
There is no perceptible change in the position of the vocal
Monophthongs tract throughout the duration of the vowel
[m]
syllabic [m] – GRAB’EM!
[n]
syllabic [n] – MOUNTAIN
[ŋ] – SONG, SINGING
dropping the “g” – SINGIN’
NASALS [siŋgin]
NOISE CONSONANTS – noise prevails over tone [b], [p]
NOISE CONSONANTS/SONORANTS - SONORANTS – tone prevails over noise [m], [l]
/ij/ - heat/ʌ/ - cut
/ɪ/ - n/ɔ/ - thought
/eɪ/ - rain/ʊ/ - look
/e/- get/ow/ - boat
/æ/ - cat/uw/ - blue, room
/a/ - hot
/aɪ/- pie
/aʊ/ - blouse
/ɔɪ/- boy
North American English vowel system
LUNGS (initiation); CAVITIES: PHARYNGEAL, ORAL, NASAL
(articulation); POINTS OF ARTICULATION: UPPER LIP,
UPPER TEETH; ALVEOLAR RIDGE; PALATE; VELUM
PASSIVE ORGANS OF SPEECH (articulation)
 1. Preliminary closing: articulator brought into close
contact with point of articulation
2. Intermediate closure: close contact maintained
3. Release: Articulator separated from point of
Phases of articulation articulation.
Phonation Vocal folds convert the energy into audible sound
phone A separate speech segment/ A unit of speech

is a class (a family) of sounds (phone types), which are

phonetically similar and which show certain characteristic
patterns of distribution in a language or dialect.
A phoneme is a group of phone-types which are
phonetically similar and either in complementary
distribution or in free variation.
A phoneme can also be defined as the smallest
contrastive linguistic unit which may bring about a change
in meaning.
A phoneme is an element in the sound system of a
language and it has a characteristic set of
interrelationships (systematic relationships) with each of
phoneme the other elements of this system.
[m], [p], [b] – bilabials
[m], [n], [ŋ] - resonants, nasals
Phonetic similarity [f], [θ], [s] – voiceless fricatives
Phonetic transcription is a detailed transcription. It aims
at describing the extremely large number of idiosyncratic
or contextual variations in pronunciation that occur in
normal speech. It also attempts to describe the individual
variations that occur between speakers of a language or
dialect.
The goal of a phonemic transcription is to record the
phonemes that a speaker uses rather than the actual
spoken variants of those phonemes that are produced
Phonetic transcription when a speaker utters a word.
Phonology a linguistic discipline concerned with the function,
behaviour and organization of sounds as linguistic items

1.[i]8.[u]
2.[e]7.[o]
3.[ε]6.[ ɔ]
Primary Cardinal Vowels 4.[a]5.[a]
 Uncolored vowel
/ɪ/bid/e/fed/ʊ/should/ʌ/ hut/a/ pot/ɔ/
cought/aɪ/ e/aʊ/ow!

/r/-colored vowel
/ɪr/ beard
/er/ fared
/ʊr/ assured
/ʌr/ hurt
/ ar/ part
/ɔr/court
/aɪr/tire
/aʊr/our

r-COLOURING
The only function of the mouth and noise is to MODIFY
the sound produced in the larynx.
- NO CONSTRICTION in the mouth to produce friction or
any other appreciable sound.
3A. CENTRAL (MEDIAN) RESONANT ORALS (vowels)
3B. SEMI-VOWELS
3C. NASALS
RESONANTS 3D. LATERALS
[əʊ] is falling, narrow, and closing.
OLD GOLD FLOW
[aʊ] is falling, closing, and wide
Retracting diphthongs Glides to [ʊ] OWL HOWL HOW.
On-glide + nucleus
The intensity of stress increases
A combination of semivowel + vowel
[j], [r], and [w] are semivowels
Thus the diphthongs of
MULE, TRICK and TWIT
can be represented as consisting of a semivowel and short
vowel:
Rising diphthongs [mjul], [trɪk], [twɪt]
7 short: /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ə/
5 long (relatively pure): /i:, /u:/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/, /ɜː/
3 long (glides to [ɪ ]: /eɪ, /aɪ/, /ɔɪ/)
2 long (glides to [ʊ]: /əʊ, /aʊ/)
3 long (glides to [ə]: /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/)
RP VOCALIC PHONEMES
Semiotics study of signs
[j] – is a palatal (mediolingual) resonant
[w] - is velar, bilabial and lip-rounded
[r] (after [t]) – a median resonant with tongue-tip
Semivowels (Approximants) retroflection (“Retroflex” = “bent back”)
Separate speech segment/ A unit of speech a sound or a phone
SIGNIFIED the concept it represents - Saussure
SIGNIFIER the form which the sign takes - Saussure
sound A separate speech segment/ A unit of speech
Speech and writing parallel but different forms of the same language
Lungs provide the energy source - Initiation
Vocal folds convert the energy into audible sound -
Phonation
Articulators transform the sound into intelligible speech -
SPEECH GENERATION Articulation
A. Resonating cavities: pharyngeal, oral, nasal
B. Articulators: tongue, lower lip, velum, uvula
SPEECH ORGANS AS ARTICULATORS AND POINTS OF C. Points of articulation: upper lip, upper teeth, alveolar
ARTICULATION: ridge, palate, velum
SPEECH ORGANS AS INITIATORS lungs, diaphragm
SPEECH ORGANS AS VOICE MAKERS larynx (voice box), vocal folds (cords, bands)

Articulation involves COMPLETE CLOSURE. It consists of

two parts: the FORMATION and RELEASE of the closure.
Example: [b]
1A. AFFRICATES (AFFRICATED STOPS)
The momentary closure is released GRADUALLY, and not
abruptly. There is local FRICTION in roughly the same
region of articulation. Example: [ch]
1B. ASPIRATED STOPS
The compressed air is released in a PUFF clearly audible
STOPS (PLOSIVES) before the next sound begins Example: initial [p]
The glottal stop may appear
A. between a stressed vowel and a final unreleased stop:
CAT
B. instead of [t] before a syllabic lateral or nasal: BOTTLE,
The glottal stop [ʔ] BUTTON
/p, b/, /t, d/, /k, g/, /tʃ, dʒ/, /f, v/, /θ, ð/, /s, z/, /ʃ, ʒ/, /h/,
/m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /hw/, /j/
The NAE consonantal system
[aɪ] + [ə]
[eɪ]
[ɔɪ]
[əʊ]
[aʊ]

[aɪə] as in FIRE
[eɪə] LAYER
[ɔɪə] EMPLOYER
[əʊə] MOWER
[aʊə] POWER
[aə]
triphthongs - Vowel complexes [a:]
1. NASAL
2. ORAL
2A. LATERAL
2B. MEDIAN
2B1. CENTRAL MEDIAN RESONATS (VOWELS)
2B2. SEMIVOWELS (VOWEL-LIKE CONSONANTS)
Types of resonants
unit of writing a letter or character
 When the speech organs are retained in the position of
closure, a stop is said to be unreleased. Stops can be
unreleased when they are in final position or when they
come before another stop: WEB
Unreleased stop PEPPED
VOICED APICO-ALVEOLAR AFFRICATE [dʒ]
VOICED APICO-ALVEOLAR SIBILANT [z]
VOICED APICO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [ð]
VOICED FRONTO-PALATAL SIBILANT [ʒ]
VOICED LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [v]
VOICED CONSONANTS - weaker air stream – [b]
VOICED/VOICELESS CONSONANTS - VOICELESS CONSONANTS – strong air stream – [p]
VOICELESS APICO-ALVEOLAR AFFRICATE [tʃ]
VOICELESS APICO-ALVEOLAR SIBILANT [s]
VOICELESS APICO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [θ]
VOICELESS DORSO-VELAR FRICATIVE [x]
VOICELESS FRONTO-PALATAL SIBILANT [ʃ]
VOICELESS GLOTTAL FRICATIVE [h]
VOICELESS LABIO-DENTAL FRICATIVE [f]
vowel MEDIAN ORAL RESONANTS
The matter of length does not involve the position of the
articulators. It reflects the length of time they are held in
a certain position. English vowels can be shortened or
VOWEL LENGTH lengthened.
/ɪ/,/i:/, /e/,/æ/, /ʌ/,/ɑː/, /ɒ/, /ɔː/, /ʊ/, /u:/, /ə/, /ɜː/
Vowel sequence
presence of voice [e]
- no obstruction to the air stream
- weak air stream
- muscular tension evenly distributed
VOWELS - sounds of pure musical tone
have air escaping from the mouth with no strong local
friction
can be short or long
are syllabic
2. Vowels can be described as
high, mid and low (according to the vertical position of
the tongue or jaw height)
front, central and back (according to the position of the
highest part of the tongue)
tense and lax (according to the tenseness of the muscles
of the tongue and the whole vocal tract)
rounded and unrounded (according to the position of the
Vowels lips)